From the Dragon and Tiger Cavalry to Hunting Sins and Becoming Saints

Chapter 1 Abandoned Temple and Toad

The night was deep, the moon was dim, and amidst the hooting of owls, a few bats stood upside down under the eaves.

This is a dilapidated temple where it is impossible to see what is being worshipped. Only half of the plaque remains, and you can barely make out the character for "wealth".

Inside, a bonfire was lit, and the crackling of firecrackers, along with the aroma of roasting meat, drifted into the deep, cold night.

Beside the fire, two figures, one thin and dark-skinned, the other plump and fair-skinned, sat cross-legged on a straw mat, enjoying their meal.

The dark, thin figure trembled his long beard, and the sound of copper coins jingling audible as he rubbed his left hand together.

In the flickering firelight, a plump, white figure wiped his greasy mouth and suddenly asked:

"Brother, I see those farmers still have some savings and can continue to extract money from them. Why do you want me to stop selling the toad venom and let them recover?"

Upon hearing this...

The crisp sound of the coins clinking together abruptly ceased. The thin, dark figure tucked the coins into his sleeve, his beady eyes gleaming with cunning.

"Of course we should know when to stop. We're not like those accomplished old men in the mountains. If we get caught up in the Dragon Tiger Guards' investigation because of greed, our lives will be in danger."

Not long ago, wasn't it because of his greed that Wolf Six went down the mountain and devoured a virtuous local gentry that Tiger Riders tracked him down and took his head?

"Well, hehe, you're only using a small amount of toad venom. At most, those farmers will just feel tired and have caught a cold. They'll get better quickly after taking the medicine prescribed by this itinerant doctor. It won't attract any attention."

"I see, I understand. With the God of Wealth's blessing, our cultivation is not a problem. The most important thing is safety. Compared to robbery, cheating is much safer."

The plump figure nodded, seemingly understanding, but just as he was about to continue eating and drinking, he remembered something and asked, "Then why did you mark those households that didn't buy medicine, brother?"

"Of course..."

The dark, thin figure was smug, but before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly interrupted:

"Naturally, it will be a dark and windy night after the storm has passed, when we will sneak in to steal the treasure."

Refusing medicine from itinerant doctors shows a lack of trust in them, but the illness persists and treatment is needed. The best course of action is to seek medical help in the county town. Being able to receive treatment in the county town means a family's wealth far surpasses that of ordinary farmers, resulting in a substantial income.

"Big brother, you're really quick-witted..."

"I never thought you, with your blockhead, would actually get it..."

Before they could finish speaking, their expressions suddenly froze.

Who was speaking just now?

They instinctively looked in the direction the voice came from, and saw a figure leaning against the entrance of the dilapidated temple, smiling at them. On the chest of his black military uniform, a blue wind-riding pattern shone brightly in the firelight.

"I originally thought it was some quack who had learned a few tricks of witchcraft and wandered over here to make money with these low-class scams, but I never expected it was you who did it."

Fu Que grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Gentlemen, there are some kinds of money that can get you killed if you cheat someone out of it."

"Dragon Tiger Cavalry!"

The chubby figure looked terrified when he saw the Wind Control Mark on Fu Que's chest, and sores appeared on his face, their faint smell mingling with the aroma of roasted meat.

"Big brother, us?!"

The chubby white figure puffed out his cheeks.

"Don't panic, it's just a cyan wind-riding pattern. It's merely a reserve tiger rider with limited strength. Sacrificing it might just bring us more rewards from the God of Wealth!"

The dark, thin figure quickly suppressed his fear with a fierce look in his eyes, fixing his gaze on the patterns on Fu Que's chest.

Gray hairs grew on his face, and his nose became sharp and long, making him look extremely sleazy.

Seeing that Fu Que was alone, the fat and thin men felt a little relieved. They took their positions and tacitly surrounded Fu Que from the left and right.

"Although it seems a bit unrealistic, considering your identities and your method of feigning illness before selling medicine, I think it's still necessary to ask a question."

Fu Que ignored the two demons who had surrounded him, and instead asked slowly, "Do you know what the Legend of the White Snake is?"

puff!

shhhhh!

His response was a foul-smelling water jet and two thrown copper coins.

"Then I don't know."

Fu has a flaw.

In the blink of an eye, the world before him changed, and everything in sight became a monotonous black and white.

The fat and thin figures that followed the water arrows and copper coins towards Fu Que also transformed into toads and rats drawn with black and white lines.

In the ink-wash world, everything seemed to slow down, and Fu Que calmly dodged the incoming water arrows and copper coins.

Immediately afterwards, he turned to the side, and amidst the rustling sound of fabric rubbing together, he used his right thumb to pry open the hilt of the knife, hooking the rope handle onto the whistle that the toad was swinging, while his left hand curled into a claw and touched the intersection of the lines of the toad's arm in the simple black and white line drawing.

Taking advantage of the momentary pause in the baton strike, he smoothly redirected his force towards the short knife that the rat was thrusting at his waist.

The clanging of metal was exceptionally crisp, and both demons were numbed by the force transmitted back from their weapons.

The rat was sent flying as if it had been hit by a car, while the toad, with its size and weapon advantage, only took a step back.

But this step also cost it its life.

Fu Que flicked his wrist and drew his waist knife swiftly from its sheath. His left hand tightened around the hilt, and the gleaming blade lightly circled the neck of the toad that was stuck in place. Instantly, blood splattered.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The toad only felt a blur before his eyes and then lost track of Fu Que. Before he could find him, his hand holding the stick suddenly went numb, and the stick somehow collided with his elder brother's short knife.

Immediately afterwards, he felt a chill on his neck, as if all his strength had been drained away by the cold, and his vision blurred. He subconsciously touched his neck, finding it slippery.

"Is it raining?"

After his initial confusion, a tidal wave of darkness engulfed him.

Fu Que turned around leisurely and looked at the rat who was kneeling by the fire, leaning on his knife and pushing aside the rubble. Behind him was a fat toad lying helplessly on its back, blood oozing from between its fingers.

A deep fear flashed in the rat's eyes. In just a brief exchange, he realized that the person in front of him was no ordinary Tiger Rider and that he was no match for him.

He disregarded his brother's tragic death, flung several copper coins at Fu Que, and turned to flee through the breach in the deserted temple.

At the same time, the bonfire burning inside the temple whipped up a gust of fire, like a tongue of fire licking at Fu Que's face, forcing Fu Que to step back.

The mouse seized the opportunity to rush out of the dilapidated temple, rolled twice on the grass, and then ran away.

No matter how cold the midnight wind was, it couldn't chill the rat's heart. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he got up, but a yellow talisman wrapped in grass suddenly fell from a branch and blew right onto the rat's pointed-mouthed, monkey-faced face.

next moment.

A blinding white light flashed in the pitch-black night. The mouse felt a blinding white light before its eyes, and its eyes stung as if oil had been poured into them. Its fleeing body involuntarily stopped.

A gust of wind howled behind him, and he hurriedly called out:

"Spare me...!"

puff!

Fu Que casually drew his waist knife, letting the blood drip from the blade.

The dead rat demon quickly transformed into a large gray rat, but behind its gray fur, like the toad that died in the temple, there was a rusty green copper coin tattoo.

Wisps of dark gray ink drifted from the corpse of the gray-haired rat and gathered on Fu Que's raised left hand.

These dark gray, cloud-like things are the sins committed by the gray-haired rat before it died, through its swindling and theft.

You have accumulated fifteen points of sin.

A piece of information flashed into my mind.

Fu Que closed his eyes.

In the hazy sea of ​​consciousness, an unfurled scroll fluttered in the breeze. On the three-foot-long sheet of paper, with only a few lines outlining the figure, a waist-cinching swordsman strides forward, his sword held high.

As Fu Que made a slight thought, a three-inch-long black line was added to the portrait of the waist-cinching swordsman.

As the black lines appeared, a warm and gentle power flowed into Fu Que's body. He felt as if he had drunk a bowl of ginger tea on a cold winter's day, feeling completely refreshed.

A moment later, the warmth dissipated, and Fu Que slowly opened his eyes. Everything before him came alive again, no longer the black and white vision he had before the battle.

This is the source of Fu Que's confidence in facing the two demons alone. He calls this ability, which he only gained after coming to this other world, the "Alien Painter".

The alternate artist has two abilities.

One is the true vision that allows one to see the true nature of all things, which is the black and white line vision that Fu Que unfolds when he kills demons. In this state, everything slows down, and Fu Que can calmly observe the movements of his opponents through the intersection of the black and white lines.

The more sin points Fu Que collects and uses, the stronger the effect of True Vision will be, and the longer it will last.

The other is the scroll in his sea of ​​consciousness. Every bit of sin that Fu Que collects will be transformed into painting ink by the other painter. He can create on the scroll according to his own will and then use it for his own purposes. The more vivid the image on the painting, the stronger the ability Fu Que will gain.

The swordsman on the scroll of consciousness is the state he is currently depicting.

After prying off the rusty copper coin skin from the rat's back and putting it into the cloth bag at his waist, Fu Que turned back into the dilapidated temple.

After searching behind the collapsed incense table, they finally found the statue, which was now only the size of a fist.

Under normal circumstances, a rat and a toad demon of such strength would not possess such high intelligence, but it would be different if they were enlightened by a deity from the previous dynasty.

Even the slightest remaining bit of fortune, gathered from the collective energy of all living beings, is enough to transform it completely.

Unfortunately, the previous dynasty had been replaced by the Great Zhao, and the dynasty's lifespan had collapsed. Its fortune and deities were also tainted by the resentment and grief of the chaotic world. Otherwise, the treasure-hunting rat and the gold-swallowing toad, enlightened by the God of Wealth, would have had bright gold coins on their backs instead of rusty green coins, and they would not have engaged in such fraudulent activities.

"nice one."

Fu Que played with the statue for a moment, then put it away. Although it was useless to him, as a member of the Great Zhao Dragon Tiger Cavalry, handing over something that carried the power of the previous dynasty's fortune could bring him considerable benefits.

For example, the yellow paper flashbang trap that we just set for the rat demon is one of the benefits.

Fu Que was about to grab the money pouch and leave, but then he seemed to remember something.

Placed the satchel that the two demons had tricked him into giving him beside him, Fu Que relit the campfire, took the wine gourd from his waist, and began to drink by himself, along with the leftover roasted meat from the two demons.

It wasn't until dawn that Fu Que, having eaten and drunk his fill, leisurely descended the mountain in the morning light.