There is nothing wrong with the training method of the Justice Messenger

"Hahaha." Iwata laughed heartily after being praised, but shook his head. "What's so great about that? I've already retired. I'm just a soldier. Team leader Jinguji hired me because of this. But to be honest, although I have the talent to see ghosts, I awakened too late. I didn't do any training when I was young. At my age, I can't learn anything too complicated. It's impossible for me to catch up with geniuses like you. I'm called an exorcist, but in fact I'm just here to help you under the care of the team leader."

“…That really can’t be helped.”

Li Nian understood that what Yanduan said was right, because the reality was like this. It was impossible to become powerful through practice without sufficient talent and accumulation. Li Nian himself was an exception. It was impossible for everyone to be like him, with a "god" transforming their bodies, providing them with a skill tree that they could learn freely, and instilling the knowledge they had chewed into their brains.

Li Nian thought of this and said with a smile: "But there is no need to say anything discouraging. An experienced driver who drives steadily and well is also very good."

"Hahaha, kid, you really know how to talk." Iwata laughed twice. "Indeed, I retired from being a mercenary because I was tired of that dangerous job. Uncle, I'm happy to drive for you. It's just right to leave the spiritual disaster to you capable young people."

"That's the truth." Li Nian smiled and nodded, then remembered something strange and asked, "By the way, why didn't Isayama appear?"

"Hmm? Ah, because usually this kind of thing will be entrusted to one person to investigate first. If one person can't handle it, they can feed the information back to the office and ask for support."

"Shouldn't we go find Isayama first?"

"This... I remember that the principle of the Yin-Yang Department in selecting the commissioners to deal with spiritual disasters is basically based on the distance and specific strength of the nearby exorcists." Iwata said with a smile: "Perhaps the department thinks that Mr. Li, you are stronger than Xiao Huangquan."

"..."

Li Nian felt strange again. He felt that his strength was already quite good at this point, but in terms of performance, he was a newcomer who had just dealt with spiritual disasters once. He had only completed an internship period. The personnel selection was also the allocation of task commissions. Why did he get a higher priority than Isayama?

Wait, speaking of judging strength, the last assessment...

Li Nian thought of the examiner named Tianruo.

He's a big shot, a national-level demon exorcist and the director of the Yin-Yang Bureau's Curse Search Department.

Did he do something?

Chapter 105: Grand Murder

An hour later, Li Nian and Iwata Koji arrived in Yachiyo City and went straight to the crime scene.

It is now past four in the morning and the city is silent. But because of this, the flashing red and blue police lights seen from afar are extremely conspicuous.

Iwata drove over and parked nearby, and two police officers noticed them and approached them.

Yan Duan sat there without moving. He only said to Li Nian, "Please come in, Mr. Li." It seemed that he really had no authority to intervene in the incident. Li Nian nodded, got out of the car, and directly showed his exorcist certificate to the two police officers. The two police officers' faces changed and they immediately showed respect. After listening to Li Nian's identity and confirming his certificate, they took him inside.

Li Nian was brought to a middle-aged man. Two police officers told him that Li Nian was an exorcist. The middle-aged man turned around and looked at the boy in front of him for a while. He felt that although he was young, he looked calm and reliable. He did not question anything, but just stretched out his hand to shake hands with Li Nian and briefly introduced himself, claiming to be a police captain and the person in charge here.

The man looked serious and without much politeness, he went straight to the point. He said, "Please follow me," and took Li Nian to the crime scene, explaining the situation as they walked.

Li Nian learned what happened from his story. She knew the incident happened two hours ago. He said that a resident nearby heard a woman's scream and howl, as well as the roar of a wild animal, and called the police immediately. However, the resident was afraid and hid at home, so he didn't dare to check the situation. The police arrived quickly and got the location he pointed out. After they went there, they only found a female corpse. After looking at the scene, they suspected that the incident was a third-class spiritual disaster and reported it directly to the Yin-Yang Department.

The roar of a wild beast?

Li Nian seemed to be thinking about something.

The crime scene was in a small alley, the entrance of which had been blocked by the police. As Li Nian approached with the middle-aged man, his senses were triggered, and he frowned.

He sensed a distinct lingering aura, and it had a familiar quality...similar to the aura he had felt from those mice, Kidomaru, and the old man who called himself Nurarihyon.

Immediately, in Li Nian's judgment, the word "suspected" was removed from this "suspected third type spiritual disaster", and he was certain that it was 80% to 90% related to monsters.

He followed the police officer through the cordon without stopping. The further he went inside, the stronger the smell became.

Some people in police uniforms had gathered deep in the dark alley, lighting up a place with flashlights. A middle-aged man led Li Nian closer and said to the people blocking the way, "Make way, the exorcist is here." As he spoke, he stepped aside first, and several police officers also made way. Then the scene in front of Li Nian suddenly became clear, and he saw the full appearance of a female corpse inside.

At first glance, Li Nian knew why the police suspected that it was a third-level spiritual disaster.

The deceased had not been dead for long. She was a woman in her thirties. Judging from her permed and dyed hair and revealing clothes, she should be a prostitute. Her powerless body slumped against the wall. She must have experienced great fear and despair before. Her face was frozen with a terrified expression. Her lifeless eyes stared straight ahead, and two tear marks were noticeable on her heavily made-up face.

Her entire chest was ripped open, and all her organs were turned out by external force and scattered all over the pool of blood. There were obvious bite marks on those organs, but the cause of her death did not seem to be the wounds from the disembowelment, but the three scratch-like lacerations on her neck. The wounds were deep in the middle of her neck, almost causing her head to fall off her body.

The whole scene was as if the woman had been attacked by a ferocious beast, which had killed her and feasted on her flesh.

This is a horrible scene that can scare people to death and make them vomit.

Li Nian himself had created corpses, but this was the first time in his life that he had seen such a horrific death. However, he was not surprised or frightened at all. Instead, his heart became calmer as if a cold wind had blown through it, and his eyes became colder.

At this point, the aura was already so strong that even the dullest psychic could easily detect it. And seeing this scene, Li Nian said decisively.

"It was definitely done by a monster. There's no doubt about it."

There was nothing to doubt anymore. The criminal probably didn't even think about hiding himself. It was a monster that killed and ate people openly.

The exorcists who arrived at the scene made a judgment and the incident was completely classified as a third-category spiritual disaster.

“Is that so…” The middle-aged man looked at the corpse. As a criminal policeman, he was obviously used to seeing all kinds of corpses. He was not disturbed by a murder case, but he still showed a worried look at this time: “Then this is the 89th case of monster injury in the country in the past month. It was obviously at the height of the spiritual disaster in Kyoto. Who gave these bastards the courage to jump out and stir up trouble…”

Li Nian caught some of the words and turned to ask in confusion: "The eighty-ninth case this month?"

"Mr. Li, you don't know?" The middle-aged man was a little surprised. Seeing Li Nian shaking his head, he explained, "Recently, these monsters all over the country have gone crazy for some reason. They have started to hurt and kill people more and more frequently. The third-category spiritual disasters have occurred frequently all over the country, and the density is far higher than before. It is relatively easy to determine the nature of a crime like today's. If we also count those murders that are not so clear and have not been determined, but are suspected to be third-category spiritual disasters, and disappearances with no clues, the number will double."

“…It wasn’t this frequent before?”

"How can it be so frequent? Your Yin-Yang Department has always regarded the third type of spiritual disaster as the top priority of your work, and has cracked down on it with great force. How could the monsters dare to be so arrogant before? Something must have happened recently to stimulate this group of terrorists. Don't you exorcists know this?"

"I'm sorry, at least I don't know." Li Nian shook his head and answered like this. Perhaps the Yin-Yang Bureau had already conducted an investigation and got some answers, but he was a new independent exorcist who was on the outside and had no position to access that information.

Having said that, Li Nian thought to himself and vaguely realized that this change might be related to the spiritual disaster in Kyoto.

"Really..." The inspector sighed and said no more about the matter: "Let's not talk too much about it. Let's focus on the incident at hand. When it comes to dealing with spiritual disasters, you are the expert, Mr. Li. Our Yachiyo City Police will fully cooperate and provide support. Just tell me if you need anything. Do you want to retrieve the nearby video footage first?"

Li Nian raised his head and looked at the high wall. With his amazing eyesight, he found several inconspicuous scratches on the two walls in the faintest reflection.

"Maybe it doesn't need to be so troublesome...just wait for me for a moment." Li Nian looked around and suddenly jumped up. He stomped repeatedly on the high walls on both sides and used the force to jump. In the blink of an eye, he lightly flipped to the roof and disappeared, leaving the police captain staring at the scene in amazement.

Chapter 106: Killing in Anger

It has been no more than three hours since the woman was murdered, and many clues have been well preserved. No... let me say clues. Those clues left behind are as thick as the ruts left by a passing carriage. In Li Nian's perception, they are as conspicuous as flashes in the dark night. There is no need to look carefully for them. When you look around, you can see them everywhere. It seems that the murderous monster never thought of hiding himself from the beginning.

The traces have not been covered up or cleaned up, and it has not been long since the incident, so now is undoubtedly the right time to give chase.

After making this judgment, Li Nian immediately set out to follow the traces left by the murderer.

The figure jumped and flashed between the floors, and he moved quickly in a certain direction.

The claw marks left behind and the remaining breath were all guiding him on the road.

Li Nian did not need to spend much energy to find those traces. For someone with a keen sense like him, it was a very simple thing. He moved forward without hesitation and without any stopping.

It can be imagined that the other party is not reckless. It can be seen that he ran wildly in one direction after leaving the crime scene, as if he was ready to escape after committing a crime. In three hours, no one knows where he has run to. Maybe he has already run out of the city of Yachiyo. But no matter where he runs, I am definitely faster than him if I chase him at this speed.

Li Nian was certain about this and was not worried. While he was chasing, he was thinking about other things.

This was the second time I saw a dead body.

The first time he saw a corpse was when Li Nian killed several monsters with his own hands.

He didn't have any special thoughts about it at that time, because that's how a life-and-death struggle is, you live and I die, no one has a way out, and there is no need to look back further.

He believed that he would have to do the same thing again in the future, and would become enemies with others and kill them. At that time, he, Li Nian, would still not hesitate or waver, and would be ready to continue chopping people into corpses and get used to it.

In fact, when he saw the corpse again, he did not feel any emotional fluctuations, but his heart became calmer.

But he still felt that there were differences between the corpses he saw then and now.

It's not such a superficial and boring distinction as whether the person who died there was a human or a monster. As individuals with intelligence and thoughts, death is equal to all intelligent life. Whether it's a monster or a human, there is no difference in the meaning of a corpse.

What is different is the nature, the process, and the meaning behind it.

What happened in that alley was not a battle, but a massacre.

The person who died there was not an exorcist or a monster, but a woman who was unarmed and had no ability to resist.

She who is wandering on the street late at night may be a prostitute, the so-called bottom of society, a profession that is looked down upon by people with fine clothes, but she should also have a place to go back to, she has parents who gave birth to her and even children to raise. She is struggling for a living and trying her best to live, just like all ordinary people.

But her life was over.

Rather than the horrific scene of death by disembowelment, what remained unforgettable in Li Nian's mind was the expression of fear and despair frozen on the woman's face.

Knowing that her idea was naive and stupid, Li Nian still felt that she should not have died there.

Even if you are busy making a living, running around in the world, facing the blows of reality and the cruelty of society, and feeling more colorful pains - there is no reason to endure the pain of your body being torn by claws, or suddenly die in some dark alley from an attack by a wild beast.

This killing is meaningless.

This violence is senseless.

This death means nothing.

She... No, not only this woman, but also the other victims who died in the third type of spiritual disaster mentioned by the inspector. Further expansion, it is ordinary people like them, who are everywhere in the world, and they should not die in such an unprovoked disaster...

What Li Nian was thinking about at this moment were the people he had met since coming to this world, Kanda, Aki, Kamiigusa, Gogen, Aoyama...

They are also vulnerable ordinary people.

I thought that if the person who died there was not a woman I didn't know, but a face I knew well...

A fire suddenly ignited in Li Nian's cold heart, and he suddenly felt angry.

He clearly understood that he had only felt angry at this moment, and this change in emotion was due to selfishness.

So Li Nian laughed at himself.

"God, look at me like this, how can I be qualified to be a messenger of justice?"

He has always been aware of his own ordinariness and selfishness, which is no different from everyone else. Even though he once said that he wanted to be a hero, he also knew that it was impossible for him to truly become someone who loves the world selflessly like a hero.

For example, the murderous intent that was surging in his heart at this moment was simply due to his own anger.

Therefore, Li Nian would not think that he was doing something just by preparing to kill someone in anger.

……

……

Not long after, Li Nian suddenly captured a specific target in his perception.

He landed on the fence of a tall building's roof, stopped moving, and cast his cold eyes towards the ground.

The source of the breath is right there, still and motionless.

Li Nian chased the guy for more than ten kilometers, and perhaps he thought that he was far enough away from the crime scene and there was no need to worry about being caught so soon, so he stopped here.

In the garbage dump under the dim light, there was a slovenly man sitting inside a garbage bag with disheveled hair. He was holding something in his hand and was biting it fiercely.

Taking a closer look under the dim light, I saw that it was actually a piece of fresh flesh, still dripping with blood.

He seemed to be enjoying the food very much, tearing into it like a wild beast and devouring it with relish.

"Is it tasty?"

The sudden sound in his ear made the man alert quickly, and he subconsciously jumped up, but before that, Li Nian appeared in front of him and kicked out.

"boom!"

The kick hit the man right in the face, and with a loud noise, the man's head and entire body were stepped into the stacked garbage bags.

Because of the cushioning of these things, although the man was dizzy and in pain, he still made the right judgment immediately.

It's an exorcist.

He wanted to release his power immediately, and saw his limbs begin to change shape - he wanted to change from human form back to the original monster form, so that it would have all the strength to resist.

But before the process was completed, he was pierced through his hands and feet by four ice cones. What spread from the pierced places was not only pain, but also a biting cold current that rushed into his body from his limbs. Wherever it passed, the flowing power was forcibly frozen. He was forcibly stopped in the process of transforming his form, and all his movements were frozen.

An expression of horror appeared on the man's features, which were distorted by being trampled - the only part of him that was not frozen was his head.

He knew very well that he had already lost, but in his despair he felt confused and dazed. He didn't know why in just a moment he was stepped on by someone and deprived of all his ability to move.

"I ask, you answer"

Li Nian asked, and his resounding cold voice contained a powerful spiritual power.

There was a buzzing in the man's head, and his consciousness instantly dissipated, entering a hazy state of consciousness.

Li Nian asked.

"Three hours ago, did you kill a human woman?"

"……Yes."

"Because you want to eat her?"

“…This is just one of the reasons.”

"…Is there any other reason?"