16: I'll make you a lieutenant when I get back.

Village entrance.

"Centurion?"

Bao Jing looked at the middle-aged man on the lead horse, dressed in a date-red robe with a cape tied behind him, and was a little surprised.

"Bao Jing."

The Centurion reined in his horse. Behind him, eight masked men in black, also riding tall horses, followed.

The black clothes of these men were embroidered with a large ‘Zhan’ character, looking full of Killing Intent.

At the rear of the procession, there was also a date-red steed, but its back was empty.

"Centurion, why have you brought the Demon Slayer Guard here?"

"Is there a place to stay? Take us there first."

...A moment later, in the east room of the village chief's house.

The Centurion, with his cape draped over his back, sat on a wooden chair.

Behind him, the eight masked men in black stood ramrod straight.

"I had originally planned to lead my men directly to Black Wind Mountain, but we just had an accident; Zhan Shiliu died."

Jiang Lan listened from the side.

The Demon Suppression Division doesn't just have Demon Suppression Guards.

Besides the Demon Suppression Guards, there are also Demon Slayer Guards.

However, they generally aren't responsible for ordinary matters; they only mobilize when there's news of demons.

These individuals are orphans gathered by the Demon Suppression Division and trained from a young age.

Thus, they have no names, being named Zhan One, Zhan Two, and so on.

If one of them dies, the names of those after him automatically advance by one number.

The strength of these Demon Slayer Guards is also more than one level higher than that of the Demon Suppression Guards.

Even the weakest among them possesses the strength of roughly Bone Refinement Third Stage.

The Centurion took a deep breath.

"The vicinity of this Black Wind Mountain... is not that simple. It's too late now; if we force our way into the mountain, I'm afraid something unexpected might happen. We happened to pass by Xiao Nan Village, and remembering that you two were here, I came to check."

As he spoke, the Centurion suddenly sniffed, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Why is there such a strong scent of blood in this room? And some rouge?"

As a Martial Artist, one's five senses are far superior to those of ordinary people.

So, even subtle scents can be clearly distinguished by a Martial Artist's nose.

His gaze first fell on Bao Jing, but quickly moved away, shifting to Jiang Lan.

Noticing the Centurion's gaze, Jiang Lan directly said:

"There was a fox demon in the village; I killed it."

"A fox demon?"

"Yes." Jiang Lan paused, "That fox demon came down from Black Wind Mountain."

The Centurion was first stunned, then a hint of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

"Black Wind Mountain? Did you get any useful information?"

He understood that when Jiang Lan said the fox demon came from Black Wind Mountain, it wasn't a meaningless remark.

If no information had been obtained, Jiang Lan wouldn't have bothered to mention Black Wind Mountain.

Hearing this, Jiang Lan nodded slightly.

Seeing this, the Centurion's joy grew even stronger.

"She said that the tiger demon's Realm is Bone Refinement Sixth Stage. As for whether she was lying, I'm not sure." Jiang Lan pondered for a moment, "As for the tiger demon's hiding place..."

"Where?"

The Centurion looked eager.

Jiang Lan, however, shook his head.

The Centurion became more anxious.

"Why don't you speak?"

Jiang Lan feigned recollection.

After a long while, he finally spoke:

"She wasn't clear about the exact location, only mentioning some surrounding scenery. If I were to point the way rashly, I wouldn't be sure if it's correct."

"That's true..."

There are no road signs on Black Wind Mountain; relying solely on verbal descriptions would certainly not be clear.

Thinking of this, the Centurion sighed.

Just then, Jiang Lan said, "However..."

The Centurion, halfway through his sigh, inhaled again.

"However, what?"

"If you, Centurion, could take me there, I might be able to find the way."

The Centurion fell silent for a moment.

He stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Black Wind Mountain is extremely dangerous. This time, he brought nine Demon Slayer Guards, all of whom were in the Bone Refinement Sixth or Seventh Stage.

With such a configuration, one had already died before even reaching the destination.

If Jiang Lan were to go along, no one could guarantee his safety.

But the sooner the tiger demon's hiding place was found, the smaller the chance of further incidents.

Black Wind Mountain was not a simple hill.

At the very least, the entire mountain spanned dozens of miles.

If they searched bit by bit, there was no telling how long it would take.

After a difficult internal struggle, the Centurion finally looked up again.

"No... it's too dangerous."

A smile appeared at the corner of Jiang Lan's mouth.

It seemed that Qiu Rang was still a good person.

In his memory, there wasn't much information about this Centurion.

But now it seemed, this Centurion was quite decent.

His current strength, in the Centurion's eyes, should be Bone Refinement Second Stage.

So the Centurion must also know that if he were to go to Black Wind Mountain, encountering danger would likely mean certain death.

It was fine; at least he wasn't being sent to his death just to quickly kill the tiger demon.

That was already enough.

Jiang Lan said:

"No matter, if I encounter danger, I will hide behind."

Hearing this, the Centurion's eyelids twitched.

"Hide behind?"

You'd have to have the chance to hide first.

Bone Refinement Third Stage might be able to show off in Yan Du City, but near Black Wind Mountain, it might not be enough.

If real danger struck, there might not even be time to hide.

"You..."

Jiang Lan interrupted the Centurion.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. And the later we find that tiger demon, the greater the chance of an accident."

This accident was not for them, but for the ordinary people living near Black Wind Mountain.

A tiger demon in the Bone Forging Realm, who knows, if it gets hungry one day and comes down the mountain to eat some people, who could stop it?

The Centurion's expression struggled for a moment.

A moment later, he exhaled.

"Well done, stronger than your father! If you can return alive, I'll make you a Captain."

Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow.

The Centurion suddenly wanted to promote him; this was unexpected.

Although Captains, like Demon Suppression Guards, were unranked positions.

But at the very least, in the Demon Suppression Division, a Captain's status was still a bit higher.

However, the Centurion's sudden remark, while unexpected, was also within reason.

Normally, a Demon Suppression Guard could be appointed Captain after reaching the Bone Forging Realm.

But the problem was, the efficiency of the higher-ups would certainly not be that fast.

As far as Jiang Lan knew, Monk Bao Jing had already entered the Bone Forging Realm half a year ago, yet wasn't he still a Demon Suppression Guard?

Jiang Lan slightly cupped his hands.

"Then I thank you, Centurion."

To be honest, he wasn't very interested in being a Captain or not.

What he was interested in was only the tiger demon within Black Wind Mountain.

Bone Refinement Sixth Stage—that one head alone would be enough to add over a hundred years to his lifespan.

How could Jiang Lan not be tempted by this?

As for the tiger demon's hiding place... to be honest, Jiang Lan didn't know.

Saying he knew was only to be able to follow the Centurion and his men to Black Wind Mountain.

Once on the mountain, there would be no rush.

He could just take his time searching.

After all, it was just one mountain; could that tiger demon fly into the sky or something?