"Just came to see you," Shen Yi said with a soft smile as he stepped forward.
"Brother Huang, why did you suddenly come down from the mountain without giving me a heads-up?"
The dog demon stopped chewing and remained silent for a long while.
Its body shifted slightly, revealing the scene on the bed.
Another, slightly thinner dog demon lay quietly on the bed, nibbling on a piece of soft, tender organ.
Beneath it, a palm-sized puppy demon was curled up, suckling milk.
"Too many enemies on the mountain. Came down to lay low," Huang Liu grumbled in a muffled voice.
"Don't talk to me about rules. There's plenty of food and drink here. I'm staying for half a year until my child grows a bit more."
Seeing this, Shen Yi's eyes lit up with even more joy.
"Congratulations! Mother and child are safe and sound."
As he spoke, he walked over to Huang Liu's side and, without minding the blood-stained bed, casually sat down.
Shen Yi reached out and placed his hand on the dog demon's neck.
"You should've told me about this happy occasion earlier, brother."
Huang Liu glanced at him but didn't pull away.
"Don't get too familiar. Today, even if your county magistrate came, I wouldn't leave."
"Of course, of course," Shen Yi said with a smile, his clear black-and-white eyes growing even brighter.
Hearing this, Huang Liu finally showed a faint smile.
He turned to look at Shen Yi, about to speak, when his pupils suddenly contracted.
Under the guise of their intimate gesture, a steel blade had already pierced his chest.
"Gah! Gah!"
Hearing the strange noise, Chen Ji suddenly looked up, his body trembling in shock.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Shen Yi was holding Huang Liu, his expression calm.
"A guest is a guest. Why would I drive you away?"
As soon as he finished speaking, another blade plunged into the dog demon's heart.
Blood splattered onto both of them, adding a touch of vividness to the dim red of the room.
"You should... stay here forever... and never leave," Shen Yi's voice grew gentler, his movements more practiced.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each word was accompanied by a ruthless stab, turning the robust body into a pulpy mess.
Huang Liu struggled with all his might, but no matter how much strength he used, it was like a clay ox entering the sea—utterly ineffective against Shen Yi's arm.
To an outsider, it looked as if Huang Liu was sitting obediently, watching himself being pierced by the blade.
After a long while, Shen Yi finally let go, coldly watching the lifeless dog demon collapse to the ground.
He looked up.
"You go out first."
Chen Ji's body was as stiff as wood, his mind in complete chaos.
Under Shen Yi's gaze, he shuddered and turned to walk out of the room.
Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance back one more time.
Shen Yi was sitting on the edge of the bed, slowly pulling the steel blade from Huang Liu's body.
He turned his gaze to the dog demon on the bed, its eyes filled with fear.
He reached out and took the organ from its mouth, murmuring softly, "Sister-in-law, a family should stay together, don't you think?"
Chen Ji stumbled as he stepped out.
He stood outside the house, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
A moment later, Shen Yi walked out leisurely, wiping his slender fingers with a cloth.
"Go in and clean up properly," he said indifferently.
Hearing this, Chen Ji opened his eyes and looked back at the familiar face.
His thoughts were a tangled mess, but they finally condensed into one stunned question: "Why?"
"Why what?" Shen Yi raised an eyebrow, looking at him in confusion.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
Chen Ji clenched his teeth, his eyes wide.
Why did you suddenly attack? Why were you chatting one second and then slaughtering the dog demon like an animal the next?
Why did you have that damn smile on your face while doing it? Do you hate them or not? How do you see the dead villagers? How do you see these demons?
In Chen Ji's eyes, Shen Yi could coldly watch his own kind being devoured and then treat the dog demons, including the blind puppy, with the same coldness.
This was completely incomprehensible.
Amidst his many doubts, Chen Ji forced himself to calm down and asked the most practical question: "Why did you kill them? Aren't you afraid of the Yellow Skins' revenge? Or does Lord Shen already have a better solution?"
"What solution?" Shen Yi frowned, speaking indifferently.
"It didn't want to leave, and I didn't want it to keep eating people. So I found a compromise that satisfies everyone."
"This... this counts as a reason?"
Hearing this, Chen Ji took a deep breath, realizing that Shen Yi didn't want to explain further.
He simply lowered his head and rushed into the room to clean up the dog demon's corpse.
After just a few days, he found that he no longer understood this man.
"..."
When he was alone, Shen Yi stood quietly at the door, finally tossing aside the cloth and revealing his slightly trembling fingers.
He looked down at his palm, clenched his fist tightly, and forced his fingertips to steady.
As a transmigrator, this was the first time he had seen death so clearly—watching the stinking, rotting flesh being torn off in large chunks, even seeing the strands of meat stuck between the dog demon's teeth.
Shen Yi really wanted to vomit, but he could only rely on continuous stabbing to vent his fear and anger.
But he had to control his emotions.
Only by staying calm could he hold out until the arrival of the Demon-Suppression Bureau.
If even he was afraid, no one in the vast Baiyun County would lend him a hand.
As for the question Chen Ji raised, Shen Yi had also thought about it, but in the end, he realized one thing.
Was there another solution? The answer was no.
If he did nothing, the villagers would still die.
It was a no-win situation.
So, he just needed to do his job and not overthink it.
Instead of using phrases like "the greater good" or "endure for peace" to numb himself, it was better to collect more demon lifespan, strengthen his power, and cut down the next beast that dared to raise its claws!
...
Thinking of the demon lifespan, Shen Yi felt that this harvest was quite substantial.
[Enlightened Dog Demon, not yet at the initial stage, total lifespan 145 years, remaining 59 years, absorbed]
[Enlightened Dog Demon, not yet at the initial stage, total lifespan 152 years, remaining 61 years, absorbed]
[Unenlightened Dog Demon, total lifespan 80 years, remaining 79 years, absorbed]
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 199 years]
[Remaining Personal Lifespan: 1 year]
"It even rounded up for me, totaling exactly 200 years."
Shen Yi hadn't yet decided where to invest the demon lifespan next.
Should he continue with the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique, using the Sun Blade as a foundation to explore more about the initial stage?
Or should he focus on the Cloud-Parting Fist, trying to gain more talent in fist and palm techniques?
As Shen Yi pondered, Chen Ji had already loaded the demon corpses onto a cart and brought over the old donkey.
"Whatever Lord Shen's considerations are..."
Chen Ji handed over the reins, his expression complicated, and looked back into the distance.
The villagers standing sporadically on the ridges were still in their numb state, like living dead, their hands hanging limply.
Only when their eyes swept over the cart did a faint emotion flicker in their vacant gazes.
"At least today, you saved their lives."
After saying this, Chen Ji tried to force a smile but felt the reins being pulled from his hand.
He looked up to see Shen Yi riding the old donkey, already leisurely walking away.
"..."
Shen Yi stretched lazily and rolled his eyes.
Considerations? What considerations? If you want to compliment someone, don't start with sarcasm.
What kind of attitude is that?
So pretentious.
(End of Chapter)