If this were his past life, Shen Yi might have let his imagination run wild, thinking about ghosts and spirits.
But now, he sat up and looked down under the bed.
Something had felt off earlier—who would seal the underside of a bed with wooden planks?
Without bothering to look for any hidden mechanisms, Shen Yi simply broke the planks with a bit of force and reached for the saber by his bedside.
"Whoosh!"
The moment the creature below peeked out, the blade was already pressed against its neck.
Shen Yi narrowed his eyes.
Under the threat of the blade, the woman’s black hair was disheveled, her delicate features carrying a hint of fierceness.
Her dirty face was filled with anger, and her mouth was gagged with a cloth, muffling what sounded like curses.
Her once snow-white robe was now barely cleaner than a rag.
Her hands were tied behind her back with hemp rope.
Judging by the slight redness on her forehead, she had likely been banging her head against the bed planks earlier.
As Shen Yi took in the young woman’s beautiful face, his expression shifted from confusion to irritation.
Finally, he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Damn it... how many more problems have you left me with?"
There was no point in getting angry at a dead man.
Shen Yi sighed, lowering his gaze, and casually removed the cloth gagging the woman.
"You scoundrel! You’re aiding evil! You’ll die a horrible death!"
"Let me go! Or I’ll report you to my sect, and they’ll have you sliced into a thousand pieces! You—"
A flash of silver light cut through the air.
Shen Yi sheathed his blade.
The woman stared at the severed hemp rope, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to keep cursing but didn’t know what else to say.
Was she really being let go? This wasn’t what she had expected.
She licked her dry lips and, after a moment of thought, said, "I’m hungry. Got any food?"
Shen Yi glanced at her and shook his head.
"Get out."
He wouldn’t mind having a woman by his side, but he wasn’t so foolish as to let his desires cloud his judgment.
Her identity was far too special—so special that just thinking about it would keep him up all night.
Baiyun County wasn’t exactly a wealthy place, but it did have a few wealthy merchants, and the Lin family was one of them.
They had made their fortune selling silk.
That alone wouldn’t have been a big deal.
The only daughter of the Lin family, though doted on, wasn’t particularly significant in the eyes of the local authorities.
What made her special was the word "only."
Old Master Lin, for some reason, had many wives and concubines but very few children, most of whom had died young, leaving only this daughter.
In desperation, he had adopted a male heir to continue the family line.
As for this daughter, he had spent a fortune to send her away to learn martial arts.
Unexpectedly, she had actually succeeded.
Her first act upon returning was to take up her sword and slay demons.
Shen Yi had gotten involved at this point.
She had left the city alone and provoked a group of fox demons.
It was a miracle she had survived.
The reason was that one of the foxes, curious about the human world, had decided to play a game of "swapping the prince for a cat."
It had brought the girl to Shen Yi’s home, imitated her speech and actions, and even changed its face to look exactly like hers.
Then, through Shen Yi, it had sent the "severely injured" version of itself back to the Lin family to solve the problem of lost memories.
Shen Yi had handled the matter smoothly, and the fox had been pleased.
As a reward, it had given the girl to him.
As long as she didn’t show her face in Baiyun County, he could do whatever he wanted with her.
To ensure this, the fox had even sealed her acupoints.
"Until a few days ago, I at least had some porridge to eat. Now, I don’t even get water. Do you know how I’ve survived these past two days?"
Lin Baiwei weakly sat up on the edge of the bed.
Shen Yi glanced at her.
"I’ve already let you go. Why aren’t you leaving?"
A fox that could shapeshift at will was not something he could handle right now.
It had entered the Lin family’s estate and hadn’t harmed anyone yet.
Shen Yi didn’t want to make things worse.
"I just wanted to curse a bit to vent. Do you think I’m stupid?"
Lin Baiwei rubbed her stomach, her voice weak.
"That beast left a restriction on me. If I take even one step out of this room, it’ll come and take my head within half an hour."
Hearing this, Shen Yi smirked.
"So, to you, I’m safe?"
"If you touch me, I’ll fight you to the death," Lin Baiwei said, glaring at him, her teeth clenched.
"But if you don’t touch me, I need food!"
From the determination in her eyes, Shen Yi could tell that she really, really liked eating.
He didn’t want to argue about this anymore.
"Listen, I need to rest now. As for you, as long as you don’t make any noise, do whatever you want."
With that, Shen Yi lay back down, placing his official saber under his arm.
...
...
A moment later, Shen Yi turned to look at her.
He had to admit that Lin Baiwei was stunning.
Even in her disheveled state, she was the most beautiful person he had seen since coming to this world.
But her sitting there like a ghost, her hair a mess, staring at him with those eerie eyes, was too much.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"I didn’t make any noise," Lin Baiwei continued to stare at him.
"I’m seriously considering stuffing you back under the bed," Shen Yi said, slowly sitting up.
"Go ahead. Do you need to tie me up again?" Lin Baiwei held out her hands.
Her attitude made Shen Yi wonder who the real troublemaker was here.
"Are you just going to cling to me now?"
"I just don’t want to die. I need food to survive," Lin Baiwei said calmly.
"If you didn’t want to die, why did you provoke those foxes?" Shen Yi found it absurd.
He had thought she was just a reckless young lady, but she seemed quite adaptable.
Hearing this, the girl looked at him in confusion.
"They were preying on the people of Baiyun County. How is that me provoking them?"
Then, Lin Baiwei suddenly leaned closer, her fingers lightly brushing the spot on Shen Yi’s robe that was stained with demon blood.
She sniffed the foul scent like a young animal and looked up.
"Besides, aren’t you provoking them too?"
"I’m not as stupid as you," Shen Yi said, pushing her face away.
"Do you really have a sect?"
The fact that she could recognize the smell of demon blood meant she had some real skills.
"Split Mountain Peach Blossom Axe, Demon-Slaying Peerless Sword, Eighteen Waves-Breaking Palms..."
"Just two buns, and I’ll teach you a few moves."
Watching Lin Baiwei list off names like she was reciting a menu, Shen Yi’s lips twitched.
"Go to sleep..."
As expected, stumbling upon a cultivation manual like Chen Ji had was a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck.
His own system was much more reliable.
Seeing him lie back down, Lin Baiwei sighed and lowered her hand.
The random names she had made up clearly weren’t going to get her any food.
She stared at Shen Yi’s back, lost in thought.
Had she been away for too long? How had a mere prison guard like him managed to touch the threshold of the first realm?
Hmm, maybe she should come up with a more believable story next time.
(End of Chapter)