Chapter 13: The Lin Family's Only Daughter

If this were his past life, Shen Yi would probably have started letting his imagination run wild toward ghosts and spirits.

But now, he sat up and looked down toward the foot of the bed.

Something had felt off earlier—who would seal the underside of a bed with wooden planks?

Rather than searching for a mechanism, Shen Yi applied a little force, broke through the planks, and reached for the saber resting by the bed.

"Shhk!"

The instant the creature below poked its head out, the blade was already pressed against its neck.

Shen Yi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Under the threat of the blade, the woman had her dark hair in disarray, her features delicate yet touched with a heroic air; her filthy face burned with fury, her mouth bound by a strip of cloth, the muffled sounds she made not sounding like anything pleasant.

A long robe that had once been snowy white was now barely cleaner than a rag.

Her hands were bound behind her back with hemp rope.

Judging from her faintly reddened forehead, she had probably been ramming her head against the bed plank.

Taking in the young woman's beautiful face, Shen Yi's expression gradually shifted—from confusion to annoyance—until at last he could only steady his emotions with a deep breath.

You son of a bitch… just how much trouble did you leave behind for me!

There was no point getting angry with a dead person. Shen Yi lowered his eyes helplessly and casually tore the cloth strip from the woman's face.

"You bastard, you lackey of a tiger! You'll die a horrible death!"

"Let me go right now! Otherwise I'll report to my sect and have you, you dog-thief, cut into a thousand pieces! You—"

A flash of silver swept past.

Shen Yi drew back his blade. The woman stared at the severed hemp rope, opened and closed her mouth, seeming a little reluctant to stop, yet unsure how to continue cursing.

That's it? She's letting me go?

Not quite what she'd imagined.

She licked her dry lips, thought for a moment, and said: "I'm hungry. Got anything to eat?"

Shen Yi glanced at her and shook his head. "Get out."

He did want a woman by his side, but not enough to let lust cloud his mind.

The other's identity was far too special—so special that just thinking about it would keep him awake all night.

Though Bai Yunxian could hardly be called a wealthy place, it did have a few rich merchants, the Lin family being one of them, having made their fortune trading in silk.

If it were only that, it would be fine.

Though the Lin family's only daughter was dearly loved, before the government office she still didn't amount to much.

What made it special was precisely that word "only."

No one knew what was wrong with Old Master Lin—wives and concubines aplenty, yet few children, and they kept dying young, leaving only this one daughter.

With no choice, he adopted a male heir to carry on the family business.

As for this daughter, he spent a fortune sending her out to learn the arts.

What no one expected was that she actually succeeded… and the first thing she did upon returning was to take up her sword and go slay demons.

That was when Shen Yi got mixed up in it.

She had left the city and, all on her own, provoked that group of fox demons. That she managed to come back alive was no small feat.

The reason, in the end, was that one curious fox, intrigued by the mortal world's splendor, insisted on staging a swap-the-cat-for-the-crown-prince trick.

It brought this Miss to Shen Yi's home, not only mimicking her speech and behavior but completely giving itself an identical face, then having Shen Yi personally deliver the "gravely wounded" it back to the Lin residence, to resolve the problem of lost memories.

Shen Yi handled everything neatly. The fox was pleased, and so it rewarded this Miss to him.

As long as she didn't show her face in Bai Yunxian, he could do with her as he pleased. To that end, it had even sealed Miss's acupoints.

"In the days before, I still got rice porridge every day. Now you won't even give me water. Do you know how I've managed to get through these past two days?"

Lin Baiwei rose weakly and sat on the edge of the bed.

Shen Yi glanced sideways. "You wanted me to let you go, and I've let you go. Why haven't you left?"

A fox that could shapeshift at will was absolutely not something the current him could handle.

The other had entered the Lin residence and hadn't yet harmed anyone. Shen Yi didn't want to make things worse.

"Just venting with a few curses. You think I'm stupid?"

Lin Baiwei rubbed her belly, her voice weak: "That beast left a binding on me. The moment I step out of this room, it'll be here within an hour to take my head."

Hearing this, Shen Yi's lips curled into a cold smile. "So, to you, I'm very safe?"

"Touch me and I'll fight you to the death." Lin Baiwei shot him a glance, her pearly teeth clenched. "But if you don't touch me, I need to eat!"

From this Miss's resolute gaze—

Shen Yi felt that the other truly loved eating.

He didn't want to keep dwelling on this issue any longer: "Listen, I'm going to rest now. As for you, just don't make another sound. The rest is up to you."

With that, Shen Yi lay straight back down, casually pinning his official saber under his arm.

"…"

"…"

A moment later, Shen Yi turned his head to look.

He admitted Lin Baiwei was extremely beautiful—even in such a disheveled state, she was the most stunning person he had seen since transmigrating here.

But that still couldn't withstand her sitting beside him like some female ghost, hair loose, face expressionless, fixing him with that eerie gaze.

"Are you sick in the head?"

"I didn't make a sound." Lin Baiwei kept staring at him.

"I'm sorely tempted to stuff you back under the bed." Shen Yi slowly sat up.

"Be my guest. Need to tie me up again?" Lin Baiwei held out her hands.

This demeanor made Shen Yi wonder who had truly been the ruffian before: "Are you sticking to me now?"

"I just don't want to die. I need to eat to stay alive." Lin Baiwei's expression was quite calm.

"If you don't want to die, why provoke those foxes?" Shen Yi found it absurd; he had thought she was a rash and impulsive Young Lady, but she turned out to be quite adaptable.

Hearing this, the Miss looked at him in confusion: "They prey on the people of Boyun County; how does that make me the one provoking them?"

As she spoke, Lin Baiwei suddenly leaned her face close, her fingers gently rubbing the part of Shen Yi's tunic stained red by demon blood.

Sniffing the foul, bloody scent like a young beast, she raised her head: "Besides, aren't you provoking them too?"

"I'm not as stupid as you."

Shen Yi pushed her small face away and said indifferently, "Do you really have a sect?"

The ability to distinguish the scent of demon blood meant she possessed some genuine skill.

"Mountain-Splitting Peach Blossom Axe, Demon-Slaying Peerless Sword, Eighteen Forms of Wave-Cutting Palm..."

"Just two steamed buns; how many moves do you want to learn?"

Watching Lin Baiwei raise her fingers as if reciting a menu.

Shen Yi's mouth twitched twice: "Go wash up and sleep..."

Indeed, good fortune like Chen Ji casually pulling out a cultivation method happened only once in a while, and that was enough.

His own panel was more reliable.

Seeing him lie back down on the bed, Lin Baiwei helplessly lowered her hand.

Names made up on the spot were indeed useless for tricking someone into giving food.

She gazed at Shen Yi's back, lost in thought.

Could it be that she had stayed outside for too long? How did a mere Torture Chamber Attendant come into contact with the threshold to reach the initial realm?

Hiss, should she fabricate another set of more credible things?

(End of this chapter)