Chapter 8: Wind and Thunder Scroll

Walking along the streets of Bai Yunxian, Shen Yi questioned each of the girls in turn to find out where they lived.

He had driven off the other constables, mainly because he found their reputations too foul and they weren't really fit to follow him around.

Even so, the passers-by on the street dodged him as if he were a plague-bearer.

Shen Yi shook his head and knocked on the broken wooden door before him.

The one who opened it was a woman with tear-blurred eyes; upon seeing the young man with a blade at his hip, she instinctively tried to shut the door and hide.

Shen Yi reached out to stop her, then tilted his body aside, and a little girl immediately flung herself into the woman's arms, sobbing in a hoarse voice until she could barely catch her breath: "Mother!"

The woman stood dumb for a long while, her swollen red eyes blinking again and again as if she could hardly believe it; then her nose stung and she clutched the thin little body tight: "My child! Those cursed officials!"

Her words cut off abruptly; she stole a glance at the tall figure ahead and realized she had spoken out of turn.

Yet Shen Yi acted as though he hadn't heard; he turned, took two sacks of rice and flour from Chen Ji's hands, along with a strip of pork, and bent down to set them by the woman's feet.

"The child's been starving for a long while, and got a fright too. Go cook her some meat porridge to build her back up."

Chen Ji, shouldering the rice and flour, had a flicker of surprise break through his sullen expression.

He saw my lord Shen, who wore a cold face all day long, now cupping fist in salute, wearing an apologetic smile, and gently closing the door behind the mother and daughter.

What a sight to behold!

This same scene played out six more times in succession.

Only after every girl had been delivered home did Shen Yi step back onto the street and vigorously knead his stiffened mouth: "……"

Watching his movements, Chen Jinyu couldn't help a soft laugh, finding it oddly amusing.

The man was clearly unaccustomed to dealing with people, and even less accustomed to apologizing; for all his breezy, unhurried air, his whole body was stiff as a board.

"Brother, is this the new superior at your government office?"

At her words, Chen Ji cast his sister a quiet sidelong glance: "No, he's just Shen Yi."

Hearing the name, Chen Jinyu instinctively covered her red lips; though she had never met the man behind the name, that was only because her brother had always shielded her — she had long heard plenty about his infamous reputation.

"Stay away from him."

Chen Ji warned her softly, but his own thoughts grew ever more tangled.

It wasn't only Shen Yi's change that he couldn't make sense of — there was also a more important matter that needed dealing with.

Now that the Misses had all been sent home, how was he to deal with those old apes?

When the appointed time came, what was Shen Yi supposed to hand over to answer for the task?

"my lord Shen."

Chen Ji walked over slowly; Shen Yi came back to himself and gave him a casual glance: "What's left is for your sister — take it all home."

"That's not what I meant to say!"

Chen Ji ground his teeth in frustration, unable to fathom why the man kept steering the topic elsewhere.

It had been the same with the dog demon before — did he think that as long as no one brought it up, the problem would simply cease to exist?

Under his gaze, Shen Yi stood with his hands at his sides, and after a moment said flatly: "I don't know."

That four-word answer made Chen Ji's face change at once: "Surely you must be joking with me?"

Shen Yi looked at him calmly.

He was telling the truth.

The present Bai Yunxian was already beset with dangers on all sides — far from being a problem that one bad man turning over a new leaf could solve.

The black-furred dog demon that had suddenly attacked him at the Liu family, the couple Huang Lao Liu and his wife staying in the village, and the ape demons whose demands kept growing higher.

All of them were treating the unspoken rules once agreed upon with the Bai Yunxian government office as so much hot air, trampling them underfoot.

This meant either the constables' retreat had emboldened the demons, or the demons had also caught wind of the Zhen Mo Si's impending arrival, feared the government office might turn on them, and wanted to vent their fury in the time they had left.

Shen Yi was only a minor clerk, with no standing to liaise with the Zhen Mo Si, and therefore no ability to mediate the situation from within.

It was either hand the whole county's people over to the demons to be ravaged at will, or strip off this uniform as soon as possible and put his own survival first.

【Remaining Lifespan: One Year】

He turned his head and glanced sideways at the cold characters on the panel.

Preserving himself was pointless; if he wanted to live, he could only hope that somewhere here there existed a profound martial art capable of extending his lifespan.

Whether it was using the panel to deduce one, or entering the Zhen Mo Si to search for one, neither could be done without slaying demons and ridding the world of evil.

All Shen Yi could rely on was the long blade in his hand.

"Let's go." He set off.

"Where to?" Chen Ji trailed at his heels.

"To your place to scrounge a meal — I'm hungry."

"……"

It was obvious that Chen Ji was deeply reluctant to have Shen Yi set foot in his home.

But after the day's events, though he disliked it intensely, he still tacitly accepted the situation.

The siblings lived in a house assigned by the government office.

There was only one bedroom, left for Chen Jinyu to sleep in; at the back was a small woodshed, which had been tidied up into Chen Ji's quarters.

"Brother, come inside and sit down."

"No need — go cook."

Chen Ji, head lowered, led Shen Yi into the woodshed and dragged out two small wooden stools.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Shen Yi raised a brow, looking at the stool barely a foot tall — what was the difference between this and sitting on the ground? "Your sister's room is plenty spacious; I'm not a thief, what are you guarding against me for?"

"Make do." Chen Ji walked to the bed, lifted the straw mat, and pulled out a yellowed sheet of paper from beneath it.

He closed his eyes and hesitated for a long while; in his mind rose the image of Shen Yi slinging an arm around a shoulder and stabbing the dog demon to death, in stark contrast to the smile on his face when he had come to return the girl.

"I don't care whether you truly have no way, or simply won't confide in me — I really can't be of much help."

Chen Ji opened his eyes and handed the paper over: "This is for you."

"What is this?"

Shen Yi took it, gave it a cursory glance, and his expression gradually changed.

Without waiting for Chen Ji's answer, the panel had already given the answer.

【Wind Thunder Treasure Scroll, Upper Volume (Not Yet Initiated)】

"Back then, the Captain of Zhen Mo Si came to me alone, said I had quite the talent, and besides the three martial techniques, specially wrote these seventy-eight characters of true words for me."

"This is the method of medicinal refinement—tendons, bones, skin, flesh—four major barriers. Once practiced to perfection, it is the peak of an ordinary mortal body."

Chen Ji's face showed self-mockery as he smiled and said: "The Captain had a pair of keen eyes, yet he alone missed you. I don't know if he saw through your character long ago. It's a pity that in three years, I couldn't even break through the first barrier."

"Giving it to you now probably won't be of much use, but I have nothing else to help you with… take your time reading it. I'll go out and help cook."

Regarding Chen Ji's words, Shen Yi barely suppressed his pleased expression, merely waving his hand: "Go, go."

The other's words had no real issue—even the most profound martial art, cramming at the last minute wouldn't be of much use.

But for himself, it was an entirely different story.

【Remaining Demon Longevity: 199 years】

Fortunately, he had held back in the morning.

Shen Yi steadied his breathing. Same old rule—start with ten years.

Ten years of demon longevity instantly poured into the Wind Thunder Treasure Scroll, and a few lines of text quietly sprang forth.

【Year one, you thoroughly studied the method of medicinal refinement, using the essence of heaven and earth to nurture the body's great tendons】

【Year three, with no medicines available, you could only draw the negligible essence through diet, progress slow】

【Year seven, you faintly showed signs of breaking through the barrier, your whole body's great tendons like dragons, but suffering from insufficient essence, you could only proceed step by step, building up for a great leap forward】

【Year ten, you broke through the tendon barrier; Wind Thunder Treasure Scroll, Upper Volume initiated】

……

(End of this chapter)