Walking on the streets of Baiyun County, Shen Yi asked each of the girls about their residences.
He dismissed the remaining attendants, mainly because he disliked their bad reputations and felt they were unsuitable to follow him.
Even so, pedestrians on the street avoided him as if he were the plague.
Shen Yi shook his head and knocked on the broken wooden door in front of him.
The door was opened by a woman with tear-blurred eyes, who attempted to close the door to avoid him when she saw the young man with a sword.
Shen Yi stopped her with his hand, stepped aside, and a young girl suddenly threw herself into the woman's arms, gasping as she cried hoarsely, "Mother!"
The woman was dazed for a long time, her swollen red eyes blinked repeatedly, seemingly in disbelief. Then her nose turned sour, and she hugged the frail body tightly, "My child! Those damnable government officers!"
Her words stopped abruptly as she sneaked a glance at the tall figure in front of her, realizing she had said something wrong.
However, as if he hadn't heard her, Shen Yi turned and took two bags of rice and flour and a strip of pork from Chen Ji's hands and set them down beside the woman's feet.
"The child has been hungry for a long time and was frightened; make her some meat porridge to replenish her."
Chen Ji carried the rice and flour, his somber expression tinged with a trace of surprise.
Seeing Officer Shen, who usually had a cold face, now fold his hands and bow with an apologetic smile, he then gently closed the door for the mother and daughter.
It was truly bizarre!
This scene repeated itself six times.
After delivering all the girls home, Shen Yi returned to the street and rubbed his stiff mouth corner forcefully: "..."
Seeing his action, Chen Jinyu couldn't help but chuckle lightly, finding it oddly amusing.
The other party was clearly not good at socializing, nor was he good at apologizing. Despite his seemingly nonchalant demeanor, his entire body was actually stiff.
"Brother, is this your office's new superior?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Ji silently shot his sister a glance: "No, he is Shen Yi."
At the mention of this name, Chen Jinyu subconsciously covered her red lips. Although she had never met the owner of that name, it was because her brother had always shielded her, and she had long heard of his bad reputation.
"Stay away from him."
Chen Ji warned softly, yet his thoughts grew increasingly complex.
It wasn't just the changes in Shen Yi that he couldn't understand, but also because there were more important issues to deal with.
Now that all the girls had been sent home, how should they deal with that group of old apes?
What will Shen Yi take to the rendezvous at the agreed time?
"Officer Shen."
Chen Ji approached slowly. Shen Yi came back to his senses and glanced at him casually: "The rest is for your sister; take it all back with you."
"I didn't mean to talk about this!"
Chen Ji clenched his teeth in frustration, unable to understand why the other party kept changing the subject.
It was the same with the Dog Demon before, as if by not talking about these issues, they could be treated as non-existent.
Under his gaze, Shen Yi stood with his hands hanging down, and after a moment, he said indifferently, "I don't know."
The simple four-word response made Chen Ji's face change color: "Are you joking with me?"
Shen Yi looked at him calmly.
He was telling the truth.
Baiyun County was now fraught with peril, and it wasn't a problem that could be solved by just one bad person turning over a new leaf.
The black-skinned Dog Demon that suddenly attacked him at the Liu Family, the couple of Old Sixth Huang residing in the village, and the increasingly demanding Ape Demon.
They were all trampling the unspoken rules set with Baiyun County Office like they were nothing.
This meant either the government officers had emboldened the demons by their regressions, or the demons knew about the imminent message from the Demon-suppression Bureau and, fearing betrayal from the office, wanted to vent their fury in their last moments.
Shen Yi was just a minor official with no qualifications to communicate with the Demon-suppression Bureau, and therefore had no ability to alter the situation.
He must personally hand over all the people of the county to be ravaged by the demons or shed his uniform early to save himself.
[Remaining Lifespan: One year]
He turned and glanced sideways at the cold text on the panel.
"Preserving one's self has no meaning. If one wants to survive, the only hope lies in profound martial arts that can extend life."
Whether it was through deducing with the panel or entering the Demon-suppression Bureau to search, it all depended on slaying demons and eradicating evil.
All Shen Yi could rely on was the long saber in his hand.
"Let's go," he said, striding forward.
"Where to?" Chen Ji followed closely.
"To your place for a meal, I'm hungry."
"…"
It was clear that Chen Ji was very resistant to Shen Yi stepping into his home.
But after the events of the day, despite his reluctance, he tacitly accepted the situation.
The siblings lived in a house allocated by the office.
There was only one bedroom, which was given to Chen Jinyu to sleep in, and a small firewood room, which was tidied up for Chen Ji's dwelling.
"Brother, come inside and have a seat," Chen Ji said.
"No need, go and cook."
Chen Ji, with his head down, led Shen Yi into the firewood room and dragged out two small stools.
"Isn't this a bit too much?" Shen Yi raised an eyebrow as he looked at the stool barely a foot tall, which was practically no different from sitting on the ground. "Your sister's room is quite spacious. I'm not a thief, so what are you guarding against me for?"
"Make do," Chen Ji said as he walked to the bed, flipped over the straw mat, and took out a yellowed sheet of paper.
He closed his eyes and hesitated for a long time, the image of Shen Yi throwing an arm around his shoulder and stabbing the Dog Demon to death contrasting sharply with the smile on his face when he returned the favor.
"I don't care whether you truly have no other choice or simply don't wish to share with me, but I really can't offer much help," Chen Ji said as he opened his eyes and handed over the paper. "Here, take this."
"What is this?"
Shen Yi took it and briefly looked it over, his expression gradually changing.
Before Chen Ji could answer, the panel provided the response.
[Wind-Thunder Precious Scroll Upper Volume (Uninitiated)]
"The Demon-suppression Marshal once sought me out alone, saying I had some talent. He gave me this seventy-eight-character secret technique in addition to the three martial arts techniques."
"This is a method for refining the body, concerning sinews, bones, skin, and flesh, the four major bottlenecks. Once cultivated to completion, one reaches the pinnacle of ordinary human existence."
Chen Ji revealed a self-mocking smile, "The Colonel had such discerning eyes, yet he overlooked you. I wonder whether he saw through your character long ago. It's a pity that, in all of three years, I haven't even broken through the first bottleneck."
"Giving it to you now may not be much help, but I have nothing else to offer… Take your time with it. I'll go out and help with the cooking."
Suppressing his excitement, Shen Yi simply waved his hand and said, "Off you go."
Chen Ji's words were reasonable; no matter how profound the martial arts, last-minute efforts would not make much difference.
But for Shen Yi, it was completely different.
[Remaining Demon Lifespan: One Hundred Ninety-Nine Years]
Fortunately, he had held back that morning.
Shen Yi steadied his breathing, following the old rule, and opted for ten years first.
Instantly, ten years of demon lifespan was infused into the Wind-Thunder Precious Scroll, and several lines of text quietly emerged.
[First year, you immersed yourself in the art of refining, using the Essence of Heaven and Earth to nourish the large sinews of your body]
[Third year, with no medicine available, you could only extract the negligible Essence Yuan through diet, which meant slow progress]
[Seventh year, hints of a breakthrough began to appear, your body sinews as strong as dragons; but due to the scarcity of Essence Yuan, you had to proceed gradually and accumulate strength slowly]
[Tenth year, you broke through the bottleneck of the sinews, mastering the basics of the Wind-Thunder Precious Scroll Upper Volume]
...