31: Eleventh place on the list

"Lord Chu, I want to take one last look at my mother!" Su Yaner spoke up at this moment, pulling Chu Jiang's thoughts back to reality.

In the courtyard, the body of Su Yaner's mother was no longer intact, covered almost entirely in wounds.

Su Yaner suppressed her grief and laid her mother's remains to rest. With her only relative in the world gone, she did not know what to do now.

After a long while, Liu Ding and Li Dagang arrived in a hurry with their men.

Seeing the tragic scene before them, everyone froze, their bodies trembling uncontrollably as they stuttered, "Th-this... so many demons, were actually slain by Lord Chu alone."

The ground was littered with demon remains, scattered here and there. In particular, the gruesome state of the Old Sheep Demon was chilling and physically revolting.

But.

When they saw how the villagers had been slaughtered, they completely understood Chu Jiang's actions and wished they could go up and strike another blow themselves.

These demons were truly becoming increasingly excessive.

Several members of the Demon Hunting Division composed themselves and began to work, clearing away the demon corpses and counting the number of survivors.

In the past, the Demon Hunting Division members had just been coasting through life, but since Chu Jiang became the head, they finally looked a bit like real demon hunters.

"Lord Chu, there are fifty-two people left in the village. Among them are twenty-five elderly, ten middle-aged, six young adults, five women, and five who are severely injured or disabled. Under the age of eighteen, only one person survived."

Liu Ding's tone was heavy. When he mentioned those under eighteen, he glanced at Su Yaner; she was the village's only remaining seedling.

Chu Jiang was momentarily stunned. Two demon infestations had left this village almost extinct.

He had rushed over at top speed, but in the end, he was a step too late.

Those who remained were almost all elderly.

An elder's flesh was poor in quality and lacking in vitality, making it tough for demons to chew.

Therefore, their survival rate was slightly higher.

However, that did not mean the elderly were absolutely safe; when a demon felt a whim, it did not care about one's age. If they couldn't eat them, they would cruelly slaughter them for amusement.

A dozen figures walked over shakily. The leader was the village chief from last time, who led the others in kneeling before Chu Jiang.

"Thank you, Lord Chu, for saving our dilapidated village twice. It is a pity that our village has nothing left now; we cannot offer you anything."

The old village chief's voice trembled with emotion. He was the eldest in Daxing Village and had experienced over a dozen demon infestations, but this one was the most severe.

The demons had hardly intended to leave any survivors; they wouldn't even spare the livestock.

"This old one has a presumptuous request. Our village's younger generation has all perished, leaving only Yaner as the sole seedling. I implore you to take her into the city."

"Even if it is just to serve tea and pour water as a maid, that would be fine!" the old village chief said. He could not bear to see the village's only child suffer further disasters.

Nowadays, the demon scourge was becoming increasingly severe; only in the county town would it be much safer.

The county town had the Demon Hunting Division and, more importantly, Chu Jiang, so the demons would not dare to invade.

"This old man kneels before you!"

After the old village chief knelt, the large group of people behind him also knelt in unison.

As for these old men, if the demons attacked again, they would die if they died, but this child could not suffer any more. Her father had died, and now her mother had died too.

Who else could she rely on now?

Staying in the village would only be more difficult.

Su Yaner was exceptionally sensible at this moment. Knowing the old village chief's good intentions were to secure a path for her, she immediately spoke up: "Lord Chu, Yaner is very hardworking. I can wash clothes and cook, I can do anything. Whatever you tell me to do, I will do it. I won't be a freeloader... You only need to give me two steamed buns per meal."

Su Yaner widened her eyes, which looked like two black gemstones, her face full of sincerity.

"Get up!" Chu Jiang said.

Since he had the ability now, he would lend a hand; why not?

For him now, it was just a trivial matter.

Moreover, given the current situation of Daxing Village, it was not appropriate for this girl to continue staying here.

Chu Jiang patted Su Yaner's head. "Come with me."

Su Yaner nodded vigorously, her small hand tightly gripping the corner of Chu Jiang's clothes.

Matters concluded.

Chu Jiang took her and left Daxing Village.

As they walked, Su Yaner suddenly looked up at Chu Jiang, her eyes determined as she said, "Lord Chu, in the future, I will definitely be as strong as you and protect everyone!"

Chu Jiang was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Then set a small goal for yourself first: surpass me!"

"Okay!"

Their figures gradually drifted further away, disappearing into the distance.

...

Seven days later.

The entire Annan Prefecture was spreading explosive news.

The Human Ranking had been updated.

The Human Ranking only included one hundred people, and the entire Annan Prefecture only had five people on the list, which showed how difficult it was.

Every change attracted attention.

When the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion published the list on time, their newspapers were almost sold out.

"First on the Human Ranking: Sword King Sect, Gu Jian, Innate Peak. Fought head-on against three Early Stage Vajra Realm experts, two died and one fled..."

"Second on the Human Ranking: Loose Cultivator, Mad Saber, Innate Peak. In one battle, slew four Peak Ghost-level demons and defeated one Grudge-level demon..."

"Third on the Human Ranking: Vajra Sect, Yan Xiyue, Innate Peak. Withstood the prolonged attacks of an Early Stage Vajra Realm expert, exhausting their True Qi..."

"Fourth on the Human Ranking: Hundred Flowers Sect, Sikong Miaoyin, Innate Peak..."

"..."

"Eleventh on the Human Ranking: White Stone County Demon Hunting Division, Chu Jiang, Innate Peak..."

"Twelfth on the Human Ranking: Gongsun family, Gongsun Sheng, Innate Peak..."

"..."

The top ten possessed Vajra Realm combat power; the top three basically all had the strength to defeat Early Stage Vajra Realm experts, but only the first place had a record of a direct kill.

The rankings on the list had basically not changed, except that the original eleventh place, Gongsun Sheng, had been pushed down by a newcomer and became twelfth.

"Where did this Chu Jiang pop out from? White Stone County Demon Hunting Division, Chu Jiang? Why have I never heard of this person's great name before?"

"By the way, where is this White Stone County?"

This White Stone County was considered one of the most pathetic counties in Annan Prefecture, with little presence. There were no experts there, nor were there any sects.

"This White Stone County borders Dahe Prefecture and is a poor county, lacking in resources."

"A Dragon that crossed the river actually emerged from such a small place."

There were only five people from Annan Prefecture on the list in total.

The first was Sikong Miaoyin of the Hundred Flowers Sect, ranked fourth.

The second, third, forty-fiftieth, fourth, fifth, and seventieth or eightieth—the rankings were further back.

Now this was the sixth, and he was almost about to break into the top ten.

"Doesn't the Demon Suppression Guard not participate in the Human Ranking competition? Why did the people from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion include someone from the Demon Hunting Division in the list today?"

Although people from the Demon Hunting Division were not official members of the Demon Suppression Guard, they were, after all, an external agency of the Demon Suppression Guard. Strictly speaking, they could be counted as half a Demon Suppression Guard.

"You don't understand, do you? The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion loves to play these gray areas. If there weren't explosive news, who would buy their newspapers?"

"..."