A Master Comes to Join

Shen Yi regretted most that he hadn't been able to wave someone's banner and slay a few more demons.

Of course, he couldn't say that outright.

He removed the scabbard and tucked his saber back beneath his arm. It did dig in a little, but that was better than losing his head without even realizing it.

Seeing how cautious he was, Lin Baiwei pressed her red lips together.

If only she'd been more careful back then. Then she wouldn't have ended up in this state.

She went to the counter for paper and brush, then sat down at the table and added some oil to the lamp.

In the wavering lamplight, she closed her eyes and recalled the details as she ground the ink.

A moment later, Lin Baiwei began copying everything down in earnest. With each movement of her slender fingers, neat, graceful characters appeared on the page.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to sleep?" Shen Yi turned around.

"If we don't get what we need, do you think you'll be able to sleep?" Lin Baiwei pursed her lips.

They were all ordinary people with their heads on the line. Why pretend to be so calm?

She still remembered the first time a demon had grabbed her by the throat. Even after her colleague quickly cut off its head, the moment she'd nearly suffocated had left her rattled all night.

If someone had been there with her, she might not have woken in the middle of the night, crying after a nightmare.

"..."

Shen Yi stayed silent for a long while, then closed his eyes.

When the rooster crowed, he slowly got up and glanced at the woman yawning beside the table.

This really won't do... Even knowing she's from the Demon Suppression Division, Shen Yi still wasn't used to sleeping with a clothed, living person beside him. 😡💚 🐊☜

"Mm, I've copied half of it."

Lin Baiwei rubbed her wrist and carefully checked her work. "Don't complain that I'm slow. Even one small mistake in something like this could cause major problems."

Shen Yi changed into clean clothes and nodded. "Thanks for the effort."

"Tsk." Lin Baiwei put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression. "So you do know how to speak nicely."

"After all, I'm counting on trading you to the Lin Family for some silver. You know how badly I need money."

Shen Yi straightened his cuffs, picked up his saber, and went out.

Baiyun County wasn't big. A lot of things could spread through town in a single night.

It was still early, but a crowd had already gathered outside the Constabulary Office courtyard, shouting and jostling until the entrance was completely blocked.

Someone called out, "Constable Shen is here!"

A wide path immediately opened in front of Shen Yi. He looked ahead in confusion and saw Chen Ji and the others, all red-faced with anxiety.

"I'll say it again: this place deals with demons. We don't deal with lechers, and we're not responsible for finding your lost purses!"

"Nonsense! Old Yang's wife brought a man home, and those two tall fellows were the ones who went to arrest him! I saw it with my own eyes!"

The crowd erupted into an uproar. "Maybe a demon took my purse too. Lord Shen, you have to give me justice!"

"..."

Shen Yi walked into the courtyard in silence and waved a hand. "Close the door."

The men strained against the wooden door. After much effort, they finally managed to slide the bolt into place, then sank to the ground and stared at one another, exhausted.

Zhang Dahu said nervously, "Damn it, people used to steer clear of me. Now they're running amok, daring to storm my Constabulary Office!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong. He quickly turned to Shen Yi with an ingratiating grin. "You're the boss. You're my own dear boss."

Chen Ji stood up with a laugh, but his expression suddenly changed as he looked toward the wooden door behind them.

The next moment, someone pounded on it. Bang! Bang! Bang!

"They're really getting bolder by the minute."

The Niu Brothers rolled up their sleeves and swung the door open, ready to curse the intruder. But then they shuddered all over and stared up in shock.

The two of them were already tall, burly men, but the newcomer stood a head taller than either of them, and his build was even more massive. His bulging, greasy belly was especially frightening.

With a frame like that, he could easily knock over several men without ever learning martial arts.

The Niu Brothers had never seen such a fearsome fellow. They retreated two trembling steps. "Boss, someone... someone's here to start trouble."

Chen Ji stood his ground, his expression grave, and didn't dare make a move.

He couldn't figure out why a master from the Vajra Sect had come to this tiny constabulary office. If there was something even Chen Ji couldn't handle, then there probably wasn't another person in all of Baiyun County who could.

"It's broad daylight and the door's shut. I thought I'd come to the wrong place."

Butcher Zhang chewed on a blade of grass and smiled at the men opposite him. "So you really are here."

Shen Yi saw no sign of Thin Ascetic behind him. He cupped his hands. "What brings you here, senior?"

"Don't call me senior. What a load of crap."

Butcher Zhang squeezed into the courtyard and replied casually, "Someone invited me here from Qing Prefecture. Now he thinks I'm too stupid, and I can't stand how clever he is. After turning it over in my mind, I figured you were just as stupid as me, so I thought I'd come here and get a meal."

At that, Chen Ji nearly lost his footing.

A martial artist with a master and a place in the Initial Realm, short on food? Absurd.

Never mind anything else. Given Baiyun County's current situation, if the man named his price, plenty of wealthy merchants would pay to treat him like an ancestor.

The combined salaries of more than a hundred constables wouldn't be enough to hire him for half a month.

"First of all, I'm not stupid."

Shen Yi looked up helplessly, then spread his hands. "And I'm very poor."

"Then I'm not stupid either." Butcher Zhang burst out laughing and headed straight inside. "I'm just as broke. A bowl of coarse tea and a simple meal is all I need."

Shen Yi was about to explain that he might not even be able to provide coarse tea and a simple meal. The man's belly was no ordinary belly, after all.

Chen Ji was already stamping his feet in a panic.

What the hell was wrong with these two? One had real silver and gold within reach and wouldn't take it, while the other had a master practically delivered to his door and was still trying to find an excuse to turn him away!

He pulled a silver ingot from his waist and tried to stuff it into Shen Yi's hand, his eyes nearly squeezing shut.

Shen Yi glanced at Chen Ji and pushed it back. "Go play somewhere else."

Did he really look that stingy?

"Who's that?" The Niu Brothers might not have known, but Zhang Dahu understood Chen Ji's character well. He saved every last bit of his monthly pay for his younger sister. Why was he suddenly being so generous?

"He's the junior fellow disciple of the man at the county magistrate's residence."

At that, everyone's minds went blank.

To them, Thin Ascetic was just a figure from rumor. At the very least, one had to be on Liu the Clerk's level to have a chance of seeing him in person—and even then, all one could do was see him.

Now a master of the same caliber had appeared right inside their Constabulary Office, and was even having fun with a stone lock he probably hadn't touched in years.

The stone lock was purely for show and weighed at least three or four hundred pounds, yet the man lifted it with one palm and tossed it around for fun...

"Do you usually train your strength with this?" Butcher Zhang asked curiously.

"No. I usually practice martial arts before bed," Shen Yi replied without changing expression.

He was telling the truth. If he were always working out martial techniques in the street, people would think he was a fool.

"When it comes to martial arts, the worst thing you can do is shut yourself away and study alone. I'm sick of being cooped up in Baiyun County by myself. How about we spar sometime?" Butcher Zhang set down the stone lock.

"No problem." Shen Yi nodded. He could use someone to help him catch up on all the relevant basics.

At that, a smile suddenly spread across Butcher Zhang's face. "I'm free right now."

Shen Yi: "..."

"Oh no, he really did come here to start trouble." The Niu Brothers shook their clever heads, nearly fooled by the big-bearded man.