Never Apart

Before long, the system's notification rang out in Shen Lin's mind. Killing an Enlightened Wolf Demon. Had not entered the Innate Realm. Lifespan: two hundred years. Remaining lifespan: one hundred and fifteen years. Absorption complete.

The previous Mantis Demon and Ape Demon had lifespans of only one hundred and fifty years.

This Meridian Opening Realm wolf demon had lived fifty years longer than those demons in the martial realms.

Having obtained the Demon Lifespan he had yearned for, Shen Lin walked toward Sun Zhi with a smile and called out loudly, "Captain Sun! Bring the stuff. Shall we go?"

Those words jolted Sun Zhi awake. When he came to his senses and saw Shen Lin standing before him, he opened his mouth, but not a sound escaped.

That was...

The astonishment in his mind had yet to fade when his body obediently rose. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he hoisted the wolf demon's corpse onto his shoulder.

Even after following Shen Lin for quite some time, he still couldn't accept what he had just witnessed.

The wolf demon was as powerful as a Meridian Opening Realm expert and could cripple him with a casual strike. Yet before Shen Lin, it had been no different from a child.

This fellow... has been hiding his true abilities all along!

After pondering for a long while, this was the only conclusion he could reach.

The notion that Shen Lin had broken through in the midst of a life-or-death crisis was complete nonsense.

Sun Zhi didn't believe that Shen Lin could have become a Meridian Opening Realm martial artist in just a few days.

So there was only one explanation.

This fellow had been a martial artist long ago. He had merely been concealing his strength all this time.

And he had recently begun to reveal his sharp edge because his cultivation had reached a critical juncture, making it necessary for him to obtain cultivation resources as quickly as possible.

Thinking of Shen Lin's performance just now, Sun Zhi felt certain that he wasn't a newcomer to the Meridian Opening Realm.

He had to have opened at least two meridians to beat down a wolf demon of the same realm.

Then the answer was actually obvious.

Shen Lin was about to break through into the Innate Realm!

At the thought of this possibility, Sun Zhi's eyes widened, and he unconsciously stopped walking.

The most recent Innate Realm martial artist recorded in the annals of Qiulin County had appeared twenty years ago.

That senior had served as the County Lieutenant in Qiulin County all his life. At the age of eighty, he had attained enlightenment and broken through into the Innate Realm.

According to legend, on the day he broke through, his head of white hair instantly turned ink-black. Every wrinkle on his skin vanished, and he grew several decades younger in the blink of an eye.

As for Shen Lin before him, if Sun Zhi remembered correctly, he was only twenty years old this year...

A twenty-year-old in the Innate Realm was unheard of.

"Captain Sun!" Noticing that he had stopped, Shen Lin turned around and asked softly with a smile, "Tired?"

Sun Zhi abruptly raised his head. His sweat-covered face forced out a smile as he stammered, "Not tired, not tired..."

"That's good. Since we've finished this job, we need to hurry over and find Old Master Bai."

Hearing that, Sun Zhi froze for a moment and instinctively asked, "Go back and find Old Master Bai?"

He had thought Shen Lin was traveling through the night to hurry back to the County Yamen, hand over the demon corpse, and exchange it for a reward.

As for the Bai Family, to be honest, Sun Zhi was somewhat reluctant to go there.

That whole family was too creepy.

Even if they wanted to continue doing business in the future, they could simply send a constable under them to deliver the remaining money. Why was there any need to rush?

"Of course!"

Shen Lin nodded naturally. "When doing business, one must value honesty. We should give them the rest of the payment before taking on our next job."

Hearing this, Sun Zhi became even more certain of his earlier guess.

He was in such a hurry because he was eager to break through into the Innate Realm.

The two continued onward. By the time the rising sun appeared, Bai Family Village was already close at hand.

Sun Zhi felt his vision constantly swaying, while his body grew hotter and hotter.

The wolf demon's tail strike earlier had broken several of his ribs.

Having pushed himself along at high intensity without resting on the spot, he had now begun to run a fever, and his consciousness was growing hazy.

Shen Lin glanced at him, looked around for a while, then entered a peasant household.

A moment later, he emerged with an old farmer.

The old farmer led a donkey, which pulled a wooden cart behind it.

Shen Lin walked up to the tottering Sun Zhi, took out all the banknotes hidden on him, casually pulled out one, and handed it to the old farmer.

"One hundred taels. That should be enough, right?"

The old farmer's eyes crinkled into slits as he hurriedly said, "More than enough, Constable. You're far too generous..."

Shen Lin smiled, removed the wolf demon's corpse from Sun Zhi's shoulder, and tossed it onto the donkey cart.

Then he looked at Sun Zhi, who was swaying on his feet with a vacant stare, and tossed him beside the wolf demon's corpse as well. Turning to the old farmer, he said, "Old sir, come with me!"

Leading the donkey cart, Shen Lin made his way to Old Master Bai's residence and knocked on the gate.

With a creak, the gate opened, and an alluring woman revealed half her face. When she saw Shen Lin, her eyes flashed, and she whispered, "Young Master Shen, you're... back."

Seeing that it was Qianqian at the door rather than the servant from before, Shen Lin froze for a moment. He turned his head and said, "Old sir, keep an eye on the cart for me. I'll be out in a moment."

With that, he followed Qianqian into the courtyard.

"Captain Sun, he..."

"He fought fiercely with that wolf demon and suffered some injuries. He'll be fine after proper treatment at the County Yamen. It's nothing serious."

"Oh, Captain Sun was injured too. That wolf demon must have been terribly fierce. But..."

Qianqian's eyes rippled as she looked timidly at Shen Lin. "Young Master Shen, you don't have a single injury. You're even more formidable."

Shen Lin smiled at that. "I'm formidable in plenty of other ways, too. You'll see soon enough."

"Oh my!"

Qianqian's face flushed bright red, and the tail behind her swished rapidly. She whispered, "Father is in the rear courtyard!" Then she ran off.

She hurried all the way back to her boudoir and buried her head in the pillow.

"Qianqian! What's wrong?"

The dignified and graceful fox demon Shen Lin had seen before walked in and asked gently.

"Shen, my love... Shen, my love..."

Qianqian murmured as her body trembled uncontrollably. Suddenly, she tore off all her clothes and transformed into a silver-white fox.

Her mouth hung slightly open, saliva dripping incessantly. Her eyes were bloodshot, as though she were desperately enduring something.

Seeing this, the old fox demon sighed. "It's happening again. You've fallen for him?"

The silver-white fox nodded and spoke in a human tongue.

"I want to so badly, so badly. I want to sleep with Shen and hold him tight..."

"Then tear him apart bit by bit and swallow him."

"Let him become one with me, forever and ever..."

"Never apart!"