"What is this?" Shen Yi casually loosened his grip on the scabbard.
He had already guessed a little.
Sure enough, A Qian's voice carried a teasing tone: "A Demon Hunter's waist token."
"Demon Hunters..."
Shen Yi had heard this title more than once, and had even seen a few on Qingfeng Mountain.
"Traveling thousands of miles to track down demons, they operate outside the Demon Suppression Bureau, taking orders but not commands. That's what Demon Hunters are," Jiang Chengyun slowly stepped into the room, his face expressionless, as he tucked the silver bell at his waist into a cloth belt.
The so-called "taking orders but not commands" meant that while they could act on orders from the Demon Suppression Bureau, no one could interfere with their methods.
They had the utmost autonomy, delivering results without concern for the process.
This "no interference" policy even included the General Commander.
Moreover, it was "could act on orders."
If they felt they had more important matters at hand, or simply didn't feel like it, they could ignore the orders altogether.
Not only externally, but even within their ranks, they were divided by bronze, silver, and gold bells.
Yet, even a gold-bell Demon Hunter couldn't issue orders to a bronze-bell one.
Such loose rules represented the court's unconditional trust in them.
To join the Demon Hunters, being a Deputy General was just the simplest threshold.
They also tested one's intelligence, character, and strength.
"What are the benefits?" Shen Yi withdrew his gaze.
Hearing this, Jiang Chengyun gritted his teeth slightly, while A Qian chuckled, clutching her stomach as she lay back in her chair: "Demon Hunters have direct access to the court. Whatever you want, as long as it exists in the Great Qian Dynasty, we have it... and we don't have as many annoying rules as the Demon Suppression Bureau."
"We only care about one thing," A Qian extended two fingers: "How many demon traces you can gather, or how many demon heads you can chop off."
Jiang Chengyun helplessly glanced at his grandmother's fingers and added in a deep voice: "You also gain access to the largest intelligence network in Qingzhou. Of course, you yourself become a part of it."
A Qian shook the bell again: "With this, you can leave messages anywhere. Deputy Generals and above have similar methods. Other bell holders can receive them as long as they're nearby. Within a hundred miles, you can use it to exchange information... though, if you want to use it to flirt with girls, that's fine too."
"Besides that, it can also store things, temporarily serving as a protective tool."
As she spoke, A Qian leaned back on the table, slowly pushing the silver bell forward: "Inside, there's a method for concealing your aura, a transformation technique, a method for tracking and gathering energy, and a little gift A Qian specially prepared for you. Old General Chen mentioned you seem to like this kind of thing. Big brother, still need to think about it?"
Her delicate face held a smile, but it seemed a bit strange.
Jiang Chengyun also looked over with drooping eyelids.
Both of them had just talked about the benefits.
But anyone with a brain would know that once you took this thing, it meant facing what kind of risks.
A silver-bell Demon Hunter's status was no less than a Deputy General, but their situation was the complete opposite.
If the Demon Suppression Bureau's people were treading on a path of knives and fire, moving cautiously step by step, then the Demon Hunters were a group of barefoot dancers on the edge of a blade.
Though they had the capital to be arrogant, walking by the river often meant getting your shoes wet.
In other words, their shoes were never truly clean.
"Probably not necessary."
Under their gazes, Shen Yi casually put away the bell, his eyes calm, as if it were just an ordinary bell.
"..."
Seeing this, A Qian and Jiang Chengyun exchanged a glance.
So nonchalant, so indifferent.
If this young man in black wasn't a fool who didn't understand, then it could only mean one thing.
His level of arrogance even exceeded A Qian's expectations!
"Convinced? How does he compare to you back then?" A Qian patted Jiang Chengyun's arm.
"Grand... ouch!" Before Jiang Chengyun could finish, the small hand on his arm twisted sharply.
He lowered his gaze to the side and stopped speaking.
Indeed, back then, he had been excited and full of courage before finally taking that bell.
Far from the composure of the man before him.
But the difference was, before becoming a Demon Hunter, he had gone through over a decade of life-and-death battles.
Even with a gold-bell Demon Hunter grandmother, she had never lifted a finger to help him.
With her personality, even if she heard news of her grandson's death, she would only laugh and mock his uselessness, perhaps hiding a bit of sorrow in her tears.
Shen Yi, on the other hand, had been in the Demon Suppression Bureau for less than a month, yet Lin Baiwei had sent him a letter, and Chen Qiankun had taken care of him.
Hard to say if it was just a case of a newborn calf not fearing the tiger.
"Big brother, just channel your energy into it. When he's done with his tasks, I'll have him show you the ropes."
"Try to learn the things inside as quickly as possible. Being intimidated by a few brain-damaged stupid flood dragons is really embarrassing. If you can't beat the oldest one, at least run fast, give it a slash on the head, slap it hard, and lead it around like a dog for three thousand miles. Then circle back and kill its offspring. It's really thrilling, you should try it sometime."
A Qian jumped off the chair, waved her hand, and skipped out of the room.
Jiang Chengyun gave Shen Yi one last look and slowly followed.
Only after walking some distance did he voice his dissatisfaction: "Grandma, isn't it a bit unfair to us to just give him a silver bell like that?"
"Here."
A Qian raised her wrist, shaking a delicate little gold bell: "Trade with you."
Looking at the swaying bell, Jiang Chengyun's drooping eyes burned with desire.
In all of Qingzhou, there were only three such gold bells, each representing someone comparable to a Demon Suppression General.
In other words, the twelve Demon Suppression Generals, plus the three gold-bell Demon Hunters, made up the fifteen top experts in Qingzhou, aside from the General Commander.
But soon, Jiang Chengyun suppressed that burning desire: "Let's wait until you die, and I reach the peak of the Dan Formation realm, officially stepping into the Dan Formation stage."
"Then that's settled."
A Qian rolled her eyes: "A stupid bell is useless. Can't I give him the position Chen Qiankun offered? What matters is how many demon traces, heart-blood energy it has collected, and how many precious medicines and martial arts it can exchange for."
"Does he have that ability?" Jiang Chengyun looked at her in confusion.
A Qian stopped, looking at him as if he were an idiot: "No, you really expect someone at the Jade Liquid Perfection stage to do much? It's just to give him a boost. Tracking and killing demons is your job. Growing strong is his."
The two walked off again.
In the quiet room of the courtyard.
Shen Yi sat back on the edge of the bed, taking out the silver bell, his eyes filled with confusion.
What kind of luck had he been having lately?
Sitting quietly in his room, then two people show up, offering intelligence, treasures, and a bunch of protective techniques.
That girl's mischievous smile had almost made Shen Yi nervous.
And the final cost was... no cost?
Killing demons alone was something he had already planned to do.
"Really strange."
Shen Yi shook his head.
He tried channeling his energy into it.
Immediately, it was as if he had entered an inner vision, and several items appeared before his eyes.
A few manuals recording various techniques.
And the little gift A Qian had mentioned.
It was a quietly lying, Dan Formation stage flood dragon core.
(End of Chapter)