Fortunately, I managed to avert the crisis through sheer chance.
However, since the Mohe spies had died in the Jin family's villa, for the protection of the Jin family's grandparents and grandchildren, Yaoyao brought them back from Shengjing.
"So that's how it is." I was filled with emotion after hearing this. I never expected there to be such a large, unknown mysterious organization in the martial world. Old Mr. Jin said that "Mohe" was just the largest demon hunting organization in the Northeast. Besides them, there were many other demon hunting organizations in the Northeast, as well as a greater number of independent demon hunters. Moreover, in other regions of Yanxia outside the Northeast, there were even larger demon hunting organizations than "Mohe".
"Nationwide," Sister Jin estimated, "there are at least fifteen thousand people engaged in this profession, most of whom still operate under the guise of martial arts sects. In other words, most martial arts sects have their own secret demon hunting organizations to generate profits."
"Does your Jin Qiang Sect have one?" I asked with a smile.
Old Master Jin repeatedly waved his hands, "We are righteous sects and never engage in such wicked deeds!"
"But you can't control your subordinates from secretly carrying out such activities, can you?" Yaoyao said coldly.
"Uh... this..." The old master stammered, unable to refute, and could only offer a conciliatory smile. It seemed they were birds of a feather.
As the saying goes, the law does not punish the masses. If all sects were involved in demon hunting, then there would be no distinction between justice and injustice.
To illustrate: Regarding the act of killing, all humans can agree that killing is wrong. However, the essence of war is also killing, yet war is sometimes divided into just wars and unjust wars. People only discuss the nature of the war, whether it is aggression or counter-aggression, just or evil, and no longer care about the act of "killing."
Demon hunting is similar. If it is elevated to a war between humans and demons, and humans are artificially designated as "righteous" and demons as "evil," then no one would care about killing demons that look almost identical to humans.
Demons eat humans for cultivation.
Humans hunt demons for profit.
Each takes what they need, no need for entanglement.
The law of the jungle has no right or wrong!
I placed my hands together on the table, pretending to close my eyes in contemplation for a moment, then opened my eyes and smiled, "Old Mr. Jin, regardless of anything else, the news leaked from your residence. To say that you bear no responsibility for this matter would be difficult to accept, wouldn't it..."
"Uh... Yes, yes, yes..." Old Master Jin offered a conciliatory smile. Originally, he was only suspicious, but now that he knew our true identities, he became even more cautious, afraid of angering the monsters in the room behind me who ate meat without spitting out bones.
"So, regarding the weapons, Old Mr. Jin, shall we discuss it again?" I probed.
Old Master Jin looked troubled, "This..."
"I know what you are concerned about," I smiled, "I don't know much about weapon forging, but I'd like to ask, if you saw a weapon outside, how would you determine if it was from the Jin Qiang Sect?"
Sister Jin chimed in, "That's very simple. All weapons produced by our sect have special inscriptions. If there are quality issues, consumers can use the inscriptions as proof to seek maintenance, repair, or even a replacement from us."
"Anything else?" I asked again. It couldn't be that simple.
"Materials," Old Master Jin said lightly, "It's not arrogance, but among the sects in the martial world, only the Jin Qiang Sect can forge meteor iron into exquisite weapons. Moreover, meteor iron has a unique color, and it can be identified at a glance from its appearance. Therefore, any meteor iron weapons that appear on the market, if they are genuine, are 100% forged by our Jin Qiang Sect!"
"I see..." I nodded. It seemed there was no other way, unless I coerced them, but that was never my intention.
"What about a second-best option?" Yaoyao asked, "Does your sect have weapons made from other excellent materials? I recall that four hundred years ago, near Hetu Alah, a cousin of the great Khan Nurhaci specialized in supervising weapons for the Eight Banners army. During the Battle of Sarhū, when both sides engaged in close combat in the mountain valleys, the Great Khan's army relied on the waist knives he supervised to defeat the eleven armies of the Ming Dynasty on four fronts, one by one. From then on, the Later Jin army's advantage in cold weapons grew increasingly. I remember that the weapons equipped for the White Banner soldiers were already exquisite works, reaching the pinnacle of the entire history of cold weapon forging."
Old Master Jin's eyes lit up, "Oh? How do you know about this?"