The next day.
Daylight had fully broken.
Jiang Yuechu pushed open the courtyard gate. Outside, the streets were already beginning to stir with the smoke and bustle of daily life.
The streets of Peaceful Ward were usually occupied by Demon Suppression Bureau brothers and their families; outsiders were seldom seen.
The vendors were all familiar faces as well, making their living selling food.
She casually stopped at a stall.
"Old man, five meat flatbreads."
"Right away!"
The owner was an old man in his fifties. Jiang Yuechu had heard someone mention that his son had once served in the Demon Suppression Bureau years ago. Something had happened, and only half of him had come back.
As for which half, Jiang Yuechu had not asked too closely.
Either way, it made little difference.
Jiang Yuechu pulled out more than a dozen copper coins and tossed them onto the counter. Then she added, "Extra meat, and more sauce too."
After reaching the Core Formation Realm, her appetite had risen right along with the tide. What would normally feed three to five people was barely enough to line her stomach.
Five steaming hot flatbreads landed in her hands.
Too lazy to care about appearances, she tore open the oiled-paper bag, grabbed a scalding flatbread, and stuffed it into her mouth as she headed toward the Demon Suppression Bureau.
Just as she reached the street corner, a familiar voice called out hesitantly from behind her.
"J-Jiang... Lord Jiang?"
Jiang Yuechu's mouth was stuffed full. She paused and turned around.
It was Liu Chen.
He looked much the same as before, though his expression was haggard, and he seemed a few years more weathered.
Jiang Yuechu's puffed-up cheeks worked for a moment before she finally swallowed the food in her mouth. She nodded, counting it