Song Changfeng lay in the corner, barely clinging to life.
His peripheral vision caught the figure of a young man slowly approaching.
His face twitched, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he let out a series of hoarse, pained gasps.
His body, numb from the pain, instinctively shrank back.
What he had just witnessed was beyond belief.
Years ago, it was Song Changfeng himself who had picked Shen Yi out from a group of ruffians, drawn to the young man's cleverness.
But he never expected Shen Yi to be too clever.
Not only had Shen Yi risen to prominence in Baiyun County, but he had also managed to befriend demons and handle official matters for the yamen with ease.
Despite this, Song Changfeng had merely avoided him, not wanting to provoke him, though he still held a deep disdain for Shen Yi in his heart.
But now, a thick sense of fear welled up within him.
To take on three enemies at once and slaughter three ape demons with such ease—such formidable strength wasn’t something one could achieve overnight.
When he thought about how Shen Yi usually spent his days carousing with friends, partying every night, and even needing to support his waist after walking a few steps, Song Changfeng couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.
What kind of patience and planning lay behind such a facade?
As his thoughts raced, the young man had already reached him.
Song Changfeng instinctively raised his hand to shield his face.
The next moment, he was hoisted onto Shen Yi’s back.
Shen Yi could feel the middle-aged man trembling and sighed, "Is this really necessary? It’s not like you’ve lost an arm or a leg."
The yamen’s punishment hall was responsible for the security of the entire county.
As the head of the hall, with the ape demons already dead, why was he still so terrified? If it weren’t for the eight hundred soldiers guarding the city, the people of Baiyun County would have long been devoured by demons.
Song Changfeng didn’t respond.
Shen Yi had initially wanted to ask where Song Changfeng lived, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, his feet naturally carried him forward.
They left the yamen and headed east.
It was already late at night, and the streets were pitch black, making it hard to see.
But Shen Yi didn’t feel lost.
He stopped in front of a small courtyard and knocked on the door.
"You finally decided to come back? You might as well have died out there," a cold voice rang out as the door was gently pushed open.
The person who opened the door was a beautiful woman in her thirties, dressed in a thin pink gauze.
She was alluring, with a well-maintained figure, smooth and firm skin, and a graceful, voluptuous waist.
When she saw Shen Yi, her expression changed slightly, and a hint of joy appeared in her narrow eyes.
"What brings you here? Is that old thing still at the yamen?"
"..."
Shen Yi’s expression turned strange as he slightly turned to let her see the "old thing" he was carrying on his back.
The woman looked surprised but didn’t panic.
She glared at Song Changfeng, who looked half-dead, and scolded, "You went to the yamen to sit and drink tea, and you still managed to end up like this? Can’t you have a bit more backbone?"
Hearing this, even Shen Yi felt a bit sorry for Song Changfeng.
His work wasn’t going well, he had to avoid his subordinates as the boss, and now he had to endure this at home.
A man in his late forties, nearly fifty, with a charming wife who had been snatched away by someone else.
Shen Yi carried Song Changfeng into the house and placed him on the bed.
The old man turned his head toward the wall and pretended to be unconscious.
I saved your life, and you can’t even say thank you...
Shen Yi shook his head and turned to leave.
As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, a warm, soft body pressed against him.
"What’s going on today?" Sister Song wrapped her arms around Shen Yi’s arm, pressing it against her ample bosom, her voice filled with concern.
"Are you okay? Come, let’s go inside. I’ll give you a thorough check."
"Ahem."
Shen Yi’s mind wavered for a moment.
A moment later, he glanced at the door that had just closed and gently pulled his arm free.
"Song Changfeng killed the demons. I still have to go back to the yamen to handle the aftermath. I won’t disturb you any longer."
The woman watched as the young man walked away, stomping her foot in frustration.
"He can kill demons? With that kind of ability? You heartless thing."
...
After leaving the Song residence, Shen Yi stood on the empty street, pulling his clothes tighter around him.
The warm, moist sensation from earlier lingered in his mind.
It wasn’t that he was thinking about the woman, but he felt a strange emptiness, a sense of unease.
Although he didn’t like the situation at Song Changfeng’s house, he couldn’t help but feel that having someone like Chen Ji, who had a light left on for him at home, wasn’t such a bad thing.
Unfortunately, his previous self had been a scoundrel.
He had lost his parents at a young age and had no close friends or family.
His bed had been filled with nothing but prostitutes.
Shen Yi took a deep breath of the night air and summoned his panel.
[Intelligent Ape Demon, not yet at the initial realm, total lifespan: 326 years, remaining: 44 years, absorbed]
[Intelligent Ape Demon, not yet at the initial realm, total lifespan: 355 years, remaining: 78 years, absorbed]
[Intelligent Ape Demon, not yet at the initial realm, total lifespan: 420 years, remaining: 83 years, absorbed]
[Remaining demon lifespan: 222 years]
...
Shen Yi planned to invest all of this lifespan into the Wind and Thunder Treasure Scroll.
The Demon-Slaying Sun Blade was indeed powerful, a technique that touched upon the initial realm.
When he killed the last ape demon dressed in scholar’s robes, Shen Yi had clearly felt the process of his blood and energy transforming into mist within his body.
This blade technique wasn’t limited by the strength of one’s force or the finesse of one’s skill—it was a different realm altogether.
But after all, it was just a shortcut taken by ordinary people, forcibly consuming one’s own energy to temporarily reach that realm.
It still couldn’t compare to the true initial realm.
"I wonder if two hundred years will be enough."
Shen Yi knew he wasn’t a genius.
To create a path from nothing, he would need to rely on a massive amount of time to build it up.
He didn’t have the luxury of waiting for a ready-made technique.
The disappearance of the three ape demons from Baiyun County was completely different from the previous cases of the black-skinned dog demon and Huang Liu.
The other ape demons would soon notice that most of their children had been killed.
The true great demon wouldn’t let him off easily.
Baiyun County was a remote area, surrounded by four demon factions: the yellow-skinned demons to the west, the apes of the eastern mountains, a snake demon known as the Green-Scaled Old Mother, and a group of foxes.
Shen Yi had already offended two of them.
Although he had been careful, demons didn’t need evidence to seek revenge.
If they suspected him, they wouldn’t hesitate to wipe out the entire Baiyun County.
"Let’s go home first."
Shen Yi’s head ached from thinking.
He wasn’t a ruthless person.
Earlier, he had only acted with a sense of reckless ferocity because he had only a year of life left.
But now, with an extra twenty years of life and having witnessed the profound realm of martial arts, he wanted to live on if he could.
His thoughts drifted as he finally returned to a small side room.
As a minor official, the yamen had arranged slightly better accommodations for him than for Chen Ji, but it wasn’t much of an improvement.
Although he had amassed quite a bit of wealth, his previous self hadn’t been interested in buying a house.
After all, in Baiyun County, aside from a few people he couldn’t afford to offend, he could sleep wherever he wanted.
His own room was a mess.
Shen Yi frowned in disgust and, despite his exhaustion, began to tidy up.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have a broom, so he could only throw the clutter and the empty wine jars scattered across the floor into the backyard.
He glanced at the greasy straw mat, his brow furrowing, and decided to toss it out as well.
After finishing, Shen Yi lay down on the hard wooden bed, his eyelids growing heavy.
Logically, his current body shouldn’t feel tired, but perhaps because he had experienced too much in such a short time and seen too many unpleasant things, he felt the need to rest.
A deep sleepiness washed over him.
Shen Yi closed his eyes completely, enjoying a moment of peace.
If there was one thing he was dissatisfied with, it was the lack of a soft, fragrant body to hold while he slept.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
Shen Yi opened his eyes, puzzled, and looked toward his bed.
...
(End of Chapter)