Walking through the streets of Baiyun County, Shen Yi asked each of the girls where they lived.
He had dismissed the other constables, mainly because he found their reputations too tarnished to be suitable companions.
Even so, the pedestrians on the street avoided him like the plague.
Shen Yi shook his head and knocked on the rickety wooden door in front of him.
A teary-eyed woman opened the door, and upon seeing the young man with a sword at his waist, she instinctively tried to close it.
Shen Yi reached out to stop her, then stepped aside as a little girl rushed into the woman's arms, crying hoarsely, "Mom!"
The woman stood frozen for a long moment, her swollen eyes blinking in disbelief.
Then, her nose twitched, and she hugged the frail little body tightly.
"My child! Those damned officials!" Her words cut off abruptly as she glanced at the tall figure in front of her, realizing she had spoken out of turn.
But Shen Yi acted as if he hadn't heard.
He turned and took two bags of rice and flour, along with a piece of pork, from Chen Ji, bending down to place them at the woman's feet.
"The child has been hungry for a long time and has been frightened. Cook her some meat porridge to nourish her."
Chen Ji, carrying the rice and flour, looked at Shen Yi with a hint of surprise.
The usually stern-faced official now clasped his hands in a gesture of apology, a gentle smile on his face as he closed the door for the mother and daughter.
What in the world was going on?
This scene repeated itself six more times.
After sending all the girls home, Shen Yi returned to the street, rubbing his stiff jaw.
Seeing this, Chen Jinyu couldn't help but chuckle, finding it oddly amusing.
It was clear that Shen Yi wasn't used to dealing with people, let alone apologizing.
Despite his calm demeanor, his entire body was tense.
"Brother, is he your new superior at the yamen?" Chen Jinyu asked.
Chen Ji glanced at his sister.
"No, he's Shen Yi."
Hearing the name, Chen Jinyu instinctively covered her mouth.
Though she had never met the man, she had heard plenty about his notorious reputation, thanks to her brother's protection.
"Stay away from him," Chen Ji warned softly, though his emotions were growing more complicated.
Not only was Shen Yi's behavior baffling, but there was also a more pressing matter to deal with.
Now that the girls had been sent home, how were they going to deal with the old apes? When the time came, what would Shen Yi use to fulfill his duty?
"Sir Shen," Chen Ji approached slowly.
Shen Yi snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at him.
"The rest is for your sister. Take it back."
"That's not what I wanted to talk about!" Chen Ji gritted his teeth in frustration.
He couldn't understand why Shen Yi kept changing the subject.
It was the same with the dog demon earlier.
Did he think ignoring the problem would make it go away?
Under Chen Ji's gaze, Shen Yi stood with his hands at his sides, then said calmly, "I don't know."
Those four simple words made Chen Ji's expression change.
"Are you joking with me?"
Shen Yi looked at him calmly.
He was telling the truth.
Baiyun County was already in deep trouble, far beyond what a reformed villain could solve.
The black dog demon from the Liu family, the couple Huang Liu in the village, and the increasingly demanding ape demons—all of them were trampling on the unspoken rules they had with the county yamen.
This meant one of two things: either the officials' retreat had emboldened the demons, or the demons had heard about the impending arrival of the Demon-Suppression Bureau and were worried the yamen would betray them, so they were lashing out while they still could.
Shen Yi was just a minor official.
He had no way to communicate with the Demon-Suppression Bureau, nor did he have the ability to turn the situation around.
He could either hand over the entire county to the demons or quit his job and save himself.
[Remaining Lifespan: One Year]
He turned his head slightly, looking at the cold text on the panel.
Saving himself was pointless.
If he wanted to survive, he could only hope to find some profound martial arts technique here that could extend his lifespan.
Whether it was through the panel or by joining the Demon-Suppression Bureau, it all came down to slaying demons.
The only thing Shen Yi could rely on was the long blade in his hand.
"Let's go," he said, stepping forward.
"Where to?" Chen Ji followed closely.
"To your place for a meal. I'm hungry."
"..."
It was clear that Chen Ji was reluctant to let Shen Yi into his home.
But after what had happened today, though he was still unhappy about it, he tacitly accepted the situation.
The siblings lived in a house assigned by the yamen.
There was only one bedroom, which Chen Jinyu used, and a small woodshed that had been converted into Chen Ji's living space.
"Brother, come inside and sit," Chen Jinyu offered.
"No need. Go cook," Chen Ji said, leading Shen Yi into the woodshed and pulling out two small stools.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Shen Yi raised an eyebrow, looking at the stools that were barely a foot high.
They might as well have been sitting on the ground.
"Your sister's room is quite spacious. I'm not a thief. Why are you so wary of me?"
"Just make do," Chen Ji said, walking to the bed and lifting the straw mat.
He pulled out a yellowed piece of paper.
He hesitated for a long moment, closing his eyes as he recalled Shen Yi stabbing the dog demon while casually chatting with him, a stark contrast to the apologetic smile he had shown when returning the girls.
"Whether you truly have no solution or just don't want to share it with me, I really can't help you," Chen Ji said, opening his eyes and handing the paper to Shen Yi.
"Take this."
"What is it?" Shen Yi took it and skimmed through it, his expression gradually changing.
Before Chen Ji could answer, the panel provided the answer.
[Wind and Thunder Scripture, First Volume (Not Yet Mastered)]
"The Demon-Suppression Bureau's captain once sought me out, saying I had talent. Besides teaching me three martial techniques, he also wrote these seventy-eight words for me," Chen Ji explained.
"This is a method of refining the body through medicine, focusing on the tendons, bones, skin, and flesh. Once mastered, it can bring a mortal body to its peak."
Chen Ji smiled self-deprecatingly.
"The captain had a keen eye, but he must have missed you. Maybe he saw through your character early on. It's a pity that in three years, I haven't even broken through the first barrier."
"Giving this to you now probably won't make much of a difference, but it's all I have to offer... Take your time reading it. I'll go help with the cooking."
Shen Yi suppressed his excitement and waved his hand.
"Go ahead."
Chen Ji's words made sense.
Even the most profound martial arts wouldn't be of much use if learned at the last minute.
But for Shen Yi, it was different.
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: 199 Years]
Thankfully, he had held back earlier that morning.
Shen Yi steadied his breathing.
As usual, he started with ten years.
Ten years of demon lifespan poured into the Wind and Thunder Scripture, and lines of text appeared before him.
[Year 1: You study the body-refining method, nourishing your tendons with the essence of heaven and earth.]
[Year 3: Without medicinal resources, you can only extract a minuscule amount of essence from your food, making progress slow.]
[Year 7: You sense a breakthrough approaching, your tendons like dragons, but the lack of essence forces you to proceed gradually, building up strength.]
[Year 10: You break through the tendon barrier, mastering the first volume of the Wind and Thunder Scripture.]
...
(End of Chapter)