In the quiet duty room.
Shen Yi clumsily gripped the brush, and though he was not skilled in calligraphy, he still tried his best to make each character more legible.
When he was still a troublemaker, keen to don the robes of the yamen, he had been a diligent student—practicing martial arts, social customs, including reading and writing.
With muscle memory, his handwriting wasn't pretty, but it was passable.
The Blood Fiend Blade Technique had been deduced from the slate, and all its details were engraved into his mind, making transcription not difficult.
When it was time to leave the office.
Shen Yi stopped writing and let the ink dry before reaching for the meal that Chen Ji had brought.
Yellow flour buns from Huang Ji's East Street, plus salted fish hawked by street vendors, didn't make for a delicacy, but they were quite filling.
After gobbling down the food, he stood up to stretch his body and stepped through the door.
In the courtyard, Zhang Dahua was soaked in sweat, grudgingly practicing a warm-up boxing routine; the Niu brothers and Chen Ji were repeatedly swinging their blades, their brows furrowed, and whenever they got their postures slightly wrong, Zhang the Butcher wouldn't hesitate to kick them.
"Can a few flashy tricks from you guys really deal with the Demonic Beasts in such a large Baiyun County?"
When Zhang the Butcher heard the voice, he turned around, puzzled, and said, "This is too poor, only that Chen kid is passable, the rest are what exactly?"
Before the others could speak, Zhang Dahua shouted, "Who wants to fight demons? It's only because that Eunuch Clerk has it in for our Officer Shen, insisting on driving us to our deaths!"
Hearing this, Zhang the Butcher was momentarily taken aback, as if realizing something, he spat on the ground: "A bunch of no-gooders."
He had only learned of Baiyun County's abundance of Demonic Beasts from his senior brother after arriving here.
Concealing calamities caused by Demonic Beasts was common everywhere; just last year, more than ten county magistrates had been beheaded over it.
But to use Demonic Beasts as an excuse to purge dissenters was utterly shameless.
Shen Yi did not say much, just handed over the transcribed Blade Technique.
He had to slay demons to gain enough demonic essence to fundamentally clash with the yamen's schemes.
Employing official pressure was one thing, but using dark and dirty tricks was all too common.
Zhang the Butcher was somewhat surprised, taking the pages, "What I worked out, plainly speaking, is just martial arts for conditioning the body. Among the many sects in Qingzhou, it's considered the lowest threshold, and with enough time, there's almost no bottlenecks."
He put the Blade Technique into his chest, "Remember, don't be impatient or restless; come ask me if there's anything you don't understand."
Shen Yi nodded, bade him farewell.
He then left the duty room carrying the fresh meat and spices Chen Ji had been asked to buy.
"He can cook too?" Butcher Zhang scratched his head.
"If you had seen Officer Shen half a month ago," Chen Ji took a deep breath and continued standing steady in his stance, "you'd realize that it's not surprising he's capable of anything."
"Is that so," Zhang the Butcher didn't argue, just chuckled.
After all, it was only a small county town. Having never been to Qingzhou, how could he know the grace of a true genius?
In his eyes, Shen Yi's character and strength were quite good, certainly better than his, but that was about it.
The horizon was ablaze like burning fire.
Shen Yi knocked on the door and then pushed it open.
The woman was bent over the desk, her black hair like a waterfall, her fair little face tranquil and lovely, with only her slightly furrowed brow and trembling thick eyelashes betraying a hint of unease.
Shen Yi walked slowly over, glanced at the thick stack of yellow paper pressed under her forearm, the ink stains dirtying the edges and also marking her lips.
He pinched the brush with some speechlessness, pulling the nib out of Lin Baiwei's mouth.
"Mine... don't take it..."
She bit down hard on the pen, squinting her eyes as she muttered, "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"
Then, with a look of distress, she turned to the stack of papers and quickly extended her hand to tidy them up, "Half of it is already copied..."
Before she finished speaking, Lin Baiwei noticed something in Shen Yi's hand, and her face lit up with joy.
"I'll leave this here with you!"
She took the fresh meat and headed toward the backyard.
Shen Yi looked at the scattered pages on the table and meticulously gathered and put them away.
He walked into the kitchen in the backyard.
There he saw Lin Baiwei with her hair tied up, adeptly fetching water and washing vegetables, and without turning her head, she waved her hand, "Out, out."
Feeling that he couldn't contribute, Shen Yi simply sat down in the courtyard and picked up an ax to start chopping firewood.
As dusk gradually fell, the ground was piled with neatly stacked firewood.
The scent of rice mixed with the smell of meat wafted into his nostrils.
Shen Yi turned around to see the woman standing behind him, carefully holding a piece of stewed meat that was half fatty and half lean with her chopsticks, blowing on it to cool it down, her delicate cheeks brimming with confidence, "Here, open your mouth and taste it for saltiness."
As a lone wolf in two lives,
he instinctively leaned back, just about to say something, when she quickly shoved the chopsticks into his mouth, "..."
"How is it?" Lin Baiwei asked expectantly.
It wasn't exactly delicious, but surprisingly not bad either. It reminded him of communal cooking from his previous life, rough around the edges but likely satisfying with rice.
Shen Yi threw down the ax and stood up, ready to serve the meat soup.
"Of course, it's good," Lin Baiwei hummed lightly, standing with her hands behind her back like a proud chef.
At that moment, the sound of violent kicking on the door echoed.
"Shen, come out here!"
Shen Yi hesitated a moment, then frowned and walked outside.
Lin Baiwei wore a puzzled expression but chose not to ask any questions, quickly stepping into the kitchen.
The next moment, five or six officers strode in through the broken door.
Two figures stepped through the doorway, one after the other.
The one in front was an old man with white hair and beard, wearing a blue robe and with a sullen face, none other than Liu Dianli.
The skinny monk behind him stood with drooping hands, looking on with the air of someone enjoying the spectacle.
Outside, Chen Ji and his three companions were being pressed against the wall by officers with knives on their shoulders, struggling against the restraint. Zhang the Butcher stood far away on the street, his face dark, his fists, large as sea bowls, clenched tightly.
"The yamen trusted you, gave you an important task, and put you in charge of the demon affairs," Liu Dianli raged, trembling with anger as he pointed at Shen Yi. "In two nights, more than ten children from Baiyun County and the surrounding three villages and six outposts have been abducted, yet you comfortably lie at home, your entire squadron rotten to the core, failing to report... I treated you like my own kin."
With revived vigor, the old man's voice sharpened, "You deserve to die!"
"Our squad headquarters' doors are wide open, we've received no such news!" Chen Ji protested loudly, breathing heavily.
If a family lost a child, they would be frantic. With Officer Shen's reputation soaring, how could they not search for him? Instead, they went to Eunuch Clerk Liu.
His response was a crisp slap across the face.
Liu Dianli withdrew his hand, "Still trying to argue your point."
In the midst of these words, about twenty strong men approached from the end of the street, all armed with bows and crossbows, their clothing different from that of the officers, apparently they were soldiers tasked with guarding the city.
Liu Dianli turned to face Shen Yi, "If I don't get rid of the demon today, I will take your head!"