The Identity of Lin Baiwei

The sky grew dim.

Shen Yi knocked on the door as usual, then pushed it open.

Lin Baiwei was hiding in the backyard as always, only poking her head out after hearing his voice.

Unlike the damp, bedraggled state she was in yesterday, the woman had changed into that white outfit today. The slim-fitting long robe fluttered about her, making her appear ethereal; if that exquisite face could restrain its greed just a little and stop swallowing hard at every turn, she could truly be called a vision of fairy-like grace.

"Hehe, I smell meat."

"Did you get your stipend?"

She reached out to take the clay pot and lotus leaf parcel from Shen Yi's hands, placing them on the table and opening them impatiently.

Shen Yi watched her silhouette, feeling a slight sense of envy.

Whether it was eating a simple flatbread or a gourmet meal, she could wear the same smile. If he had possessed such a temperament in his past life, perhaps he wouldn't have had to live so arduously.

"You have bloodstains on you again. Every time you go out..."

Lin Baiwei teased him with feigned indifference, but as the lotus leaf and clay pot were uncovered, she frowned slightly, her expression turning much colder.

Seeing her change in demeanor, Shen Yi didn't know what had happened.

But he couldn't be bothered to care; if she wanted to eat, she could, if not, she didn't have to.

He sat at the table and reached out to grab a goose leg. The fragrance of the crispy skin and meat juices bloomed on his tongue, masking the slight blandness of the dish.

Lin Baiwei's nose twitched. She simply closed her eyes and hugged her arms tightly. "It's so greasy! I have no appetite at all."

Shen Yi rolled his eyes at her and took a swig of Huadiao wine directly from the spout.

Lin Baiwei opened her eyes a crack, her lashes fluttering. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her pearly teeth biting her red lip. "If you can't get used to eating flatbread, buy some raw meat and soy sauce tomorrow. I'll cook for you, okay? Why go and rob others..."

"You know how to cook?"

Shen Yi looked up, somewhat surprised.

"I would have starved to death long ago if I didn't. It's not like there are eateries everywhere... are you even listening to me?"

Lin Baiwei counted on her fingers. "A catty of pork is about twenty wen. If you save a bit on your monthly stipend and account for firewood, rice, oil, and salt, you could eat meat almost every day. I also know how to sew; we wouldn't need to buy new clothes or shoes when they tear."

In the dim room, Shen Yi watched her list these things like a treasure, then thought of the extravagance with which Master Lin had casually produced eight hundred taels of silver.

"Are you really the daughter of the Lin family?"

"Are you deaf?" Lin Baiwei was frustrated; why couldn't he just listen?

A clean, honest runner living off the imperial stipend—if he wasn't consorting with demons, he was bullying commoners. It was a waste of his potential.

In the past, she would have grabbed him by the ears for this.

The woman's pouting expression was quite endearing. Shen Yi looked away, pulled a few pieces of silver from his waist, and tossed them on the table, interrupting her incessant chatter. "Your father gave these."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Lin Baiwei froze, her gaze darting between the silver and the bloodstains on Shen Yi.

"You went to find him?"

Before he could answer, she stood up abruptly, leaning over to bring her pretty face close to the young man's, anxious. "Do you have any idea how serious this is? They aren't as simple as you think. The North Cliff Fox Demon has an elder wandering in these parts. The only reason it hasn't entered the city is because it fears my identity! But if you really kill its descendant and provoke it completely, no one can protect you!"

She was clearly truly worried.

Shen Yi felt the fragrance wafting toward him and remained calm. "So, what is your identity?"

Hearing this, Lin Baiwei's voice cut off abruptly. After a long silence, she muttered sullenly, "You managed to hear the important part of that, at least."

Shen Yi also stood up, expressionless, and without hesitation, he snuffed out the strange emotion that had sprouted in his heart.

This woman was indeed still hiding things; the trouble surrounding her was far greater than he had imagined.

"Eat."

Shen Yi returned to the bed and sat down.

"I'm not a bad person, anyway." Sensing his distance, Lin Baiwei sat back down and poked at the yellow croaker with her chopsticks.

This time, she truly had no appetite. After a long while, she whispered, "Is my father okay?"

"For now."

Shen Yi roughly understood her current state of mind. "The fox demon isn't at the manor, but it has brought other demons into your home."

"Thank you."

The bloodstains on the young man and the silver on the table already explained everything.

Lin Baiwei tried hard to steady her trembling hands, holding the clay pot and sipping the fish soup in small mouthfuls.

She regulated her breathing, and her emotions gradually stabilized.

Shen Yi recalled what she had said earlier—that she must stay alive... it turned out the more precise meaning was that even if her own parents' fates were uncertain, she had to survive.

According to Lin Baiwei, the so-called fox demon elder was actually afraid of her identity and dared not enter the city.

"I want to raise the price."

"What?"

Under Lin Baiwei's surprised gaze, Shen Yi used a rag to carefully wipe his scabbard. "I said, two Initial Realm martial arts manuals aren't enough. I want Jade Liquid Realm ones, two of them as before, and I want one in advance as a deposit."

Since her identity had changed, the price naturally had to change as well.

Lin Baiwei stared at him silently, actually accepting this "highway robbery." She picked up her chopsticks again to pick at the fish. "I can only memorize one at a time. Get me paper and a brush, and I'll give it to you in three days."

The woman chewed the fish meat forcefully to hide the grievance welling up in her eyes.

She was not used to showing weakness in front of anyone.

Suddenly, that cold, annoying voice reached her ears again.

"Does what you said earlier still count?"

"What words?" Lin Baiwei stuffed the sweet, tender fish into her mouth, her cheeks bulging and oil staining her lips, not wanting him to hear the tremor in her voice.

"Cooking and preparing meals."

Shen Yi hung the cleaned scabbard on the wall.

Even though she was like a riddle, he had roughly sorted out his thoughts.

The fox demon didn't kill her because it feared her identity, yet it had casually dumped this powerless woman onto his predecessor. No matter how supernatural these foxes were, could they guard against her day and night?

It was nothing more than wanting to use his predecessor's hands to finish her off.

And what was special about him?

After thinking it over, Shen Yi could only come up with his status as a runner. From this, he could easily deduce the truth Lin Baiwei was stammering to cover up.

Tsk, the Lin family sent their only daughter out to apprentice, and it turns out they sent her straight into the Demon Suppression Division.

What she feared most wasn't the fox demon at all; it was him.

If she were killed by an imperial runner, the fox demons could easily distance themselves from the incident and shift the blame entirely.

If he had let his thoughts wander just a fraction earlier.

If he had really slashed this woman with one blade and killed someone from the Demon Suppression Division with his own hands.

Shen Yi felt a chill down his spine just imagining being hunted by the entire Great Gan Dynasty, and he cursed his predecessor—that lecherous fool—in his heart.

You'd dare touch any woman!

"..."

Lin Baiwei had no idea what was going through Shen Yi's mind. She swallowed the fish, sniffed her slightly reddened nose hard, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll do it!"

It's just cooking, I'll stuff you until you burst!

She gripped her chopsticks so hard they creaked. Once she made it through this month and found a way to break the seal.

She would definitely prepare a big basin of dishwater and force it down his throat while pinching his nose.

Thinking of this, Lin Baiwei's mood improved slightly. She took the wine pot and downed it in one go.