Another Twist

As Butcher Zhang spoke at length, a vast, sprawling world of the jianghu gradually took shape in Shen Yi's mind.

The swordsmen of Green Peak Mountain were chivalrous yet tenderhearted. They rode far across nine mountains and ten rivers, slew the Bull Demon, and rescued a beloved concubine. At last, their family of more than twenty was reunited. They then battled behind closed doors at home for three days and nights, their fame resounding throughout Qing Prefecture.

A bandit from Flat Sand Valley snuck into a prince's manor by night and drank all the fine wine the prince loved most. He let it ferment inside him, then pissed it back into the jug. For that, he earned the nickname "Borrowed and Returned."

A master from the Vajra Sect begged for two erotic paintings of women, then secretly hung them on either side of a Buddha statue. The sight left the prefect who'd come to burn incense wide-eyed. The abbot chased the master out of Qing Prefecture with a meditation staff, and he fled to Baiyun County...

Shen Yi wore a strange expression.

Butcher Zhang smacked his lips. "I'd already offended them, and they'd docked my martial arts and precious medicines. Before I left, I had to make them sick of me, too."

"Fair enough."

Shen Yi looked toward the courtyard gate.

All morning, not a single outsider had come to the Constabulary Office.

He wasn't afraid of being called to account, but he still wasn't used to the matter of him killing Liu the Clerk being brushed aside so lightly.

With no troubles, life felt easy.

He chatted with Butcher Zhang from time to time, and whenever they had a spare moment, they'd spar.

Butcher Zhang was a martial arts fanatic, too. Even knowing that Shen Yi was far stronger than him, he still brimmed with fighting spirit.

Shen Yi sparred with him using only Cloud-Parting Long Fist and Spirit Snake Eight Steps. He had to admit he gained quite a bit from it.

Martial arts proficiency and practical combat experience weren't one and the same.

He had to know not only how to use his own moves but also how to judge his opponent's reactions.

The progress wasn't as quick as gaining years of life by slaying demons, but by now the area around Baiyun County was on edge. No demons dared attack. As far as Shen Yi knew, there were only two demon lairs: Old Mother Green Scale's and the North Cliff Fox Demon's.

Old Mother Green Scale was a notorious Jade Liquid Realm demon. If he went out of the city alone to face her, it was hard to say whether he'd be taking years of life or throwing his own away.

He'd also asked Butcher Zhang whether there were any small demons wandering around on their own.

Butcher Zhang had regarded him with a hint of confusion. "Even street thugs in the city know to band together and carve up territory. Otherwise, they can't get their hands on any money. If you were a demon, would you let some strange demon wander into your territory looking for food? You'd either take it under your wing or crush it on the spot."

"In a situation like that, if one really could survive alone, how could it be some obscure little demon?"

"..."

Shen Yi put that idea aside for the time being.

Whenever inspiration struck, he'd return to his room under the pretext of getting a drink of water and use the panel to deduce martial arts a little.

When the office closed, he'd carry home the vegetables and raw meat Chen Ji had bought for him.

This went on for five days.

During that time, the entire Constabulary Office was so quiet it seemed everyone had forgotten it existed, which made Chen Ji a little uneasy.

Butcher Zhang was delighted. No one coming to their door meant no one was suffering from demon attacks. He simply had a few constables patrol the streets more diligently and occasionally check the nearby villages, just in case anything had slipped through the cracks.

"Today we've got water bamboo and lettuce. I did as you asked and had the butcher set aside two pounds of lamb ribs. Here's the change." Chen Ji returned from his patrol and set the things in his hands on the table.

"Good. Head back. I'll lock up today."

Shen Yi pocketed the coins and glanced at the notification on his panel, feeling rather pleased.

His gains these past few days couldn't compare to Four-Unity True Qi, but he hadn't spent many years of life, either.

First, he'd combined Spirit Snake Eight Steps with Heart Ape to create a new footwork technique. Then he'd refined it to perfection. All told, it had cost him only thirty-seven years.

[Initial Realm White Ape Plays with Python (Perfected)]

Compared to Spirit Snake Eight Steps, this new martial art was not only faster but also enhanced his use of short weapons. It was another Initial Realm martial art that suited him well.

Of course, what Shen Yi looked forward to most was the Blood Baleful Blade Technique, which had finally shown a response after he'd poured more than fifty years into it.

[Year Fifty-Four: You try to temper Blood Baleful Intent into baleful true qi. This step is extremely dangerous, but fortunately, you have mastered a true-qi technique to perfection. Using it as a reference, you faintly touch the threshold.]

If the deduction succeeded, he'd have created a Jade Liquid Realm martial art with his own hands—one he'd honed for many years and tailored entirely to himself.

Unfortunately, he didn't have many years of demon life left.

Shen Yi sighed and looked at Wind and Thunder Demon-Subduing True Interpretation.

The problem was probably still with Wind and Thunder Precious Scroll. He'd only obtained the first half, then used the clumsy method of harming himself to force a crooked path out of it. That had let him break through to the Initial Realm, after which he'd strayed farther and farther down that same path.

It was clumsy in the most satisfying way. He'd poured in over a hundred years of life and still only gotten the words "draw from Heaven and Earth."

As if Heaven and Earth wouldn't get tired.

[Remaining demon life: 185 years]

"I'll give it another try tonight. I'll keep a hundred years in reserve, just in case."

Shen Yi dismissed the panel and left the office with the lamb ribs.

These past few days, he'd tasted all sorts of meat dishes that went well with rice. Even his palate had grown pickier, and his opinion of Lin Baiwei's cooking had climbed higher and higher. That was why he'd finally been willing to spend money on some good meat.

He hadn't even been very interested in the cured-meat flatbread Chen Ji had brought back for lunch.

Compared to the hot soup and rice he ate at home every day, the unleavened flatbread was a bit hard to swallow, and the meat was too salty.

"It's hard to go from luxury back to frugality."

Thinking that, Shen Yi felt a little guilty, then quickened his pace.

When he reached his door, he pushed it open without thinking.

He didn't see the familiar figure by the back door.

Puzzled, Shen Yi stepped inside.

Suddenly, a pair of arms slid around him from behind, encircling his waist. Slender fingers interlaced over his lower abdomen.

Familiar white sleeves, delicate wrists, and a faint, sweet scent drifted around him from behind.

"Why did you take so long to come back?"

Her delicate face rested sleepily against Shen Yi's arm like a kitten. Her glistening eyes held a hint of reproach, and her red lips parted. Her breath was sweet, her voice soft as a mosquito's buzz, yet tender and alluring. "I missed you."

Shen Yi lowered his eyes in silence and lifted the lamb ribs slightly.

Lin Baiwei pressed her heavy chest firmly against his straight back. She didn't even glance at the lamb ribs, only stared into his eyes. "Why aren't you saying anything? What are you thinking?"

At that, Shen Yi casually let go of the lamb ribs and let them hit the ground. A hint of irritation entered his voice. "I actually wanted to play along with you, but your acting is terrible. If I keep pretending not to know, I'll really look like an idiot."

"And besides..."

"Besides what?"

Lin Baiwei widened her eyes and looked up at him with a beaming smile.

Shen Yi furrowed his brow, sneering. "Your fox stink is overwhelming me."

As he spoke, his five fingers settled on the black hilt at his waist. The blade, gleaming with a dark sheen, flashed from its sheath, and a dense wave of Blood Baleful Intent poured forth with it.

The blade rang like a vengeful soul lamenting, striking terror into the heart.

The woman's pupils contracted slightly, and she quickly pulled her arms back.

But however fast she reacted, she couldn't match the Black Blade. In an instant, its razor-sharp sword qi tore through her sleeves and split her pale skin.

The force of that mighty slash was enough to cleave her delicate body clean in half!

Then a clear bell rang through the room.

In Shen Yi's sight appeared two flickering Copper Bells. As they chimed, the Black Blade seemed to sink into a mire, frozen in midair.