These past few days had been the most comfortable Jiang Yuechu had lived since transmigrating.
Every day, she slept until she woke naturally, and the moment she opened her eyes, steaming medicine and fine rice porridge awaited her.
She did not understand what had been added to the medicinal broth; she only knew that after drinking it, her whole body felt pleasantly warm.
Her injuries were also recovering at a gratifying pace.
Wei Qing was a good girl, gentle in brow and eye, soft-spoken, and always carrying a pleasant medicinal fragrance.
She patiently blew the porridge cool before handing it over, carefully wiped the corners of her mouth, and chattered like a neighboring older sister about amusing tales from Liangzhou Prefecture.
"Your skin is naturally so nice, yet you simply do not know how to take care of it."
As Wei Qing combed through her long hair, she said with heartache, "Once you have recovered, I'll take you to the finest shop in the city and buy you some rouge and powder. A girl should always dress herself up."
Jiang Yuechu pursed her lips and said nothing.
"Oh, right, you're eighteen this year too, aren't you?" As though recalling something, Wei Qing covered her mouth and chuckled. "Once you've found your footing in the Demon Suppression Office, if you want to find yourself a fine match, Liangzhou Prefecture has no shortage of outstanding young men."
Jiang Yuechu silently drank her porridge, but the warmth in her stomach seemed to have changed flavor.
If only she were still a man.
With her current abilities, she could accomplish great deeds in this other world and earn enough to fill basin and bowl to overflowing.
Then she could marry dozens of wives.
No, dozens would not be necessary. Seven or eight like Wei Qing would be enough.
She could spend every day drunk in life and dreams—waking to wield a sword that killed men, drunkenly sleeping upon beauties' knees.
With life reaching this point, what more could one possibly ask for?
What a pity.
She lowered her head and looked at her reflection in the soup bowl.
Delicate brows and clear features, red lips and white teeth.
Would she marry someone in the future?
For the first time, that question circled her mind with such clarity.
Since transmigrating, she had been struggling only to survive.
The pressure of survival had made her instinctively overlook the changes brought by this body.
She still thought like a man, using the most direct and brutal methods to solve every problem.
Yet this world reminded her at every moment.
You are a woman.
An unprecedented irritation surged up from the depths of her heart.
No matter how powerful demons and monsters were, she could simply kill them with one slash.
But how was she supposed to break free from this sense of dislocation that had seeped into her bones?
"What's wrong? Does the porridge not suit your taste?"
Seeing that she had not moved for a long while, Wei Qing asked with concern.
"No, it's delicious."
Jiang Yuechu came back to herself and drained the remaining porridge in one gulp, swallowing those chaotic thoughts along with it.
Forget it.
Could thinking about all this nonsense make a flower bloom?
Jiang Yuechu was not someone prone to melancholy.
When the cart reached the mountain, there would always be a road.
In any case, she did not need to consider such things right now.
At worst, if anyone dared force her to marry, she would cut them down with one slash.
Just as she handed the bowl back to Wei Qing, the door was pushed open.
Wei He entered, still dressed in that dark everyday uniform, his steps steady.
The instant he appeared, the faint warmth in the room vanished without a trace.
"Brother."
Wei Qing hurriedly rose and saluted him.
Wei He nodded, his gaze falling on Jiang Yuechu as he looked her over from head to toe.
"You look much better."
He never spoke a single unnecessary word.
"Looks like it's time for you to earn back the medicine money you've spent."
Jiang Yuechu raised a brow.
What a thing to say...
Though it was true, it still sounded rather strange.
That was what she thought, but her expression remained unmoved.
"At your command, sir."
"Mhm." Wei He was very satisfied with her attitude. "Now that your injuries have healed, it is time for you to take up your post. Go to the Demon Suppression Office and report your name. Someone will guide you through the necessary procedures."
"Yes, sir."
She agreed without hesitation and immediately prepared to get out of bed.
"Hey, slow down." Wei Qing hurriedly supported her, unable to stop herself from complaining to her brother. "Brother, her injuries have not fully healed yet!"
"She won't die."
After saying that, Wei He turned and left.
Wei Qing sighed helplessly and took a brand-new fitted black uniform patterned with crimson from the side.
"I'll help you change."
As the cool fabric touched her skin, and as the waist token and horizontal saber hung at her waist...
Jiang Yuechu looked at the heroic young woman in the bronze mirror, and the irritation in her heart somehow dissipated by more than half.
The person in the mirror wore a Gao ponytail, her gaze cold and sharp, her back ramrod straight.
"When serving at the Demon Suppression Office, it is best to be careful in all things." Wei Qing tucked a brocade sachet embroidered with green bamboo into her hand. "This is a safety talisman I prayed for. Keep it close to you."
The sachet was warm in her hand and carried a faint body fragrance.
Jiang Yuechu squeezed it, feeling the exquisite embroidery upon it, and her heart stirred.
She raised her head and looked into Wei Qing's concerned eyes, then, as if possessed by a ghost, asked a question.
"Miss Wei, if a woman... never marries for her entire life, what would happen?"
Wei Qing froze, clearly not expecting her to ask that.
After thinking for a moment, she answered seriously, "If you do not want to marry, then do not marry. As a woman, you can still live very well by relying on yourself."
After saying that, she blinked mischievously.
"Besides, once you have earned great merit and risen to Gao office, perhaps you can even follow Princess Anle in the capital and keep a few male favorites."
Jiang Yuechu: "..."
She silently tucked the sachet into her robe, thanked Wei Qing, then turned and pushed open the door.
Demon Suppression Office.
Upon the Gao flagpole, the great Demon Suppression banner—black with crimson patterns—snapped loudly in the wind.
Demon-Suppression Guards in fitted uniforms, horizontal sabers hanging at their waists, could be seen everywhere. Every one of them wore a cold expression and hurried along.
Jiang Yuechu reported her name to one of the Demon-Suppression Guards guarding the gate. After twisting and turning through several corridors, she arrived at a side hall.
"Old Wang, she's here."
Hearing this, the old clerk reluctantly raised his head. His clouded eyes glanced at Jiang Yuechu, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
"Name."
"Jiang Yuechu."
"Age."
"Eighteen?"
"Place of origin."
"..." Jiang Yuechu paused.
The old clerk seemed to have known already. He simply picked up his brush and began writing.
"Jingzhao Prefecture, a native of Chang'an."
As he wrote, he said without even raising his head, "Once you enter the Demon Suppression Office, everything from before is in the past. Do not dwell on it."
"The lowest rank in the Demon Suppression Office is Ninth-Rank Demon Suppressor. Killing demons and monsters earns merit. Slaying a String-Hearing Monster alone earns ten merit points; a Bone-Chiming Great Demon earns one hundred merit points."
"Accumulate one hundred merit points, and you may be promoted to Eighth-Rank Squad Commander, commanding a squad of Demon-Suppression Guards..."
The old clerk did not speak quickly, but every word was exceptionally clear.
Jiang Yuechu listened silently, gaining a rough understanding.
So, killing one Bone-Resonance Realm demon would let her rise in rank?
"This is your appointment document. Keep it safe."
The old clerk tossed a document stamped with the great seal of the Demon Suppression Office onto the table.
"From today onward, you are a Demon-Suppression Guard of Xuan Camp, Longyou Circuit Demon Suppression Office."
"Go out. Your squad commander is waiting for you outside."
Jiang Yuechu raised a brow.
Waiting for her outside?
But when she had entered, she had clearly seen no one outside the door.
Wei Qing
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