The Only Daughter of the Lin Family

If he were still in his previous life, Shen Yi would likely have let his imagination run wild with thoughts of ghosts and spirits.

But now, he sat up and looked down at the space beneath the bed.

He had felt something was off just a moment ago; what kind of person would seal the underside of a bed with wooden planks?

Without bothering to look for a mechanism, Shen Yi applied a bit of force to break the boards, then reached out and gripped the saber resting by the bedside.

"Swish!"

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

Shen Yi narrowed his eyes.

Under the threat of the blade, a woman with disheveled dark hair and exquisite, heroic features appeared. Her dirty face was etched with fury, and her mouth was bound with a strip of cloth, the muffled sounds she made not sounding like anything pleasant.

Her once snow-white long gown was now little cleaner than a rag.

Her hands were tied behind her back with hemp rope.

Judging by her slightly reddened forehead, she had likely been banging her head against the bed frame just moments ago.

As he took in the young woman's beautiful face, Shen Yi's expression shifted from confusion to annoyance, finally settling into a deep breath to steady his nerves.

Damn it all... just how much trouble have you left behind for me!

There was no point in getting angry at a dead man. Shen Yi lowered his gaze in resignation and casually tore the cloth strip from the woman's face.

"You bastard, acting as a lackey for evil! You'll meet a wretched end!"

"Let me go at once! Otherwise, I shall report this to my sect, and I will see you hacked into ten thousand pieces, you dog-thief! You..."

A silver flash swept past.

Shen Yi retracted his blade. The woman looked at the severed hemp rope, her mouth hanging open; she seemed to have more to say, but she didn't know how to continue the tirade.

She had been released just like that?

This wasn't quite what she had expected.

She licked her dry lips and pondered for a moment. "I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

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

He certainly wanted a woman's company, but he wasn't so blinded by lust that he'd lose his mind.

The woman's identity was far too special—so special that just thinking about it kept Shen Yi from sleeping through the night.

Although Baiyun County wasn't exactly a wealthy place, it had a few prominent merchants, and the Lin Family was one of them, having made their fortune in the silk trade.

If that were all, it would be fine.

Though the only daughter of the Lin Family was pampered, she was nothing in the eyes of the local yamen.

The specialty lay in the word "only."

For reasons unknown, the old Master Lin had many wives and concubines, yet few children, and those he did have died one after another, leaving only this daughter.

In desperation, he had to adopt a male heir to carry on the family business.

As for this daughter, he had spent a fortune sending her away to learn a craft.

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

That was exactly when Shen Yi had gotten involved.

She had left the city, single-handedly provoking that pack of fox demons, and it was a miracle she had managed to keep her life.

The reason for it all was that a certain fox, curious about the prosperity of the human world, had insisted on staging a "civet cat for the crown prince" drama.

It had brought this girl to Shen Yi's home, not only mimicking her speech and actions but also completely adopting her exact face. Finally, it had used Shen Yi to deliver its "severely wounded" self back to the Liu Mansion to resolve the issue of its missing memories.

Shen Yi had handled the matter perfectly, and the fox, satisfied, had gifted the girl to him.

As long as she didn't show her face in Baiyun County, he could do whatever he wanted with her, and the fox had even gone so far as to seal the girl's vital acupoints.

"For the past few days, there was at least rice porridge to eat, but now you won't even give me water. Do you know how I've survived these last two days?"

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

Shen Yi glanced sideways at her. "You asked me to let you go, and I have. Why haven't you left?"

A fox capable of shapeshifting at will was certainly not something he could handle in his current state.

The creature had entered the Lin Mansion and hadn't yet harmed anyone, and Shen Yi didn't want to make matters worse.

"I was just cursing to satisfy my temper. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Lin Baiwei rubbed her lower abdomen, her voice weak. "That beast left a restriction on me. If I step one foot out of this room, it can come and take my head within half an hour."

Hearing this, a cold sneer curled the corners of Shen Yi's lips. "So, to you, I am safe?"

"If you try anything, I'll fight you to the death." Lin Baiwei glared at him, her teeth gritted. "But if you don't touch me, I need to eat!"

From the girl's resolute gaze, Shen Yi could tell that she truly loved to eat.

He didn't want to dwell on this issue any longer. "Listen, I need to rest now. As for you, as long as you don't make any noise, do as you please."

With that, Shen Yi lay back down, tucking his official saber under his arm.

"..."

"..."

A moment later, Shen Yi looked back.

He admitted that Lin Baiwei was incredibly beautiful; even in this disheveled state, she was the most stunning person he had seen since crossing over.

But that didn't make it any easier to have her sitting next to him like a female ghost, hair hanging loose, face expressionless, staring at him with that eerie gaze.

"Are you sick in the head?"

"I didn't make a sound." Lin Baiwei continued to stare at him.

"I really want to stuff you back under the bed," Shen Yi said, slowly sitting up.

"Go ahead. Do you need to tie me up again?" Lin Baiwei held out her hands.

Her demeanor made Shen Yi wonder which of them had been the ruffian in the past. "Are you latching onto me now?"

"I just don't want to die. I have to eat to stay alive," Lin Baiwei said, her expression quite calm.

"You didn't want to die, yet you went to provoke those foxes." Shen Yi found it absurd. He had expected a reckless, impulsive young lady, but he hadn't expected her to be so capable of bending when necessary.

At this, the girl looked at him in confusion. "They were preying on the people of Baiyun County. How does that make it me provoking them?"

As she spoke, Lin Baiwei suddenly leaned in close, her fingers gently brushing the lapel of Shen Yi's robe, right where it was stained red with demon blood.

She sniffed the foul scent like a young beast, then looked up. "Besides, aren't you provoking them too?"

"I'm not as stupid as you."

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

The fact that she could distinguish the scent of demon blood suggested she did have some genuine skills.

"The Splitting Mountain Peach Blossom Axe, the Peerless Demon-Slaying Sword, the Eighteen Wave-Breaking Palms..."

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

Watching Lin Baiwei hold up her fingers as if reciting a menu, Shen Yi's mouth twitched.

"Wash up and go to sleep..."

As expected, a stroke of luck like Chen Ji casually handing over a cultivation manual was something that happened only once in a blue moon.

His own system panel was much more reliable.

Seeing him lie back down, Lin Baiwei lowered her hands in resignation.

The names she had made up on the spot clearly weren't enough to trick him into providing food.

She watched Shen Yi's back and fell into deep thought.

Could it be that she had been away for too long? How could a lowly clerk in the detention room have come into contact with the threshold of the Initial Realm?

Hiss, should I come up with a more convincing story?