Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

Qin Lie walked along the familiar alley.

Not long after, the somewhat dilapidated wooden door of the Zhang family's courtyard appeared in front of them.

The gate to the courtyard was not closed properly, leaving a not-so-wide gap.

Before anyone even went inside, Tiger's cheerful voice could already be heard coming from within.

Qin Lie felt much more relaxed.

He dismounted and led the horse to the courtyard gate.

He raised his hand and gave a gentle push.

With a creak.

As soon as the gate made a slight noise, Xiao He, who was picking vegetables in the yard, looked up.

She was still holding a few freshly picked vegetable leaves in her hand.

The little girl was clearly taken aback when she saw Qin Lie standing at the door.

After a moment, she quickly put down what she was holding.

"Uncle Qin".

The voice was very soft, and carried a hint of uncertainty.

Tiger, who was playing over there, turned around immediately when he heard his sister's voice.

After he saw who was standing at the door, his face immediately lit up with undisguised joy.

"Uncle Qin, you're finally back!"

Tiger ran this way with his short little legs.

After running up to Qin Lie, she immediately hugged his leg.

She tilted her head back and looked him up and down.

"Uncle Qin, my mother said you're coming back to take us to Dongxuan City."

Is it true?

Qin Lie raised his hand and rubbed Hu Zi's head twice.

"It's true. I came back here to take you to Dongxuan City."

"We won't be living here anymore."

Upon hearing this, Tiger couldn't help but break into a wide smile.

"Yay! I'm going to Dongxuan City! I can live in a big city now!"

Xiao He walked over and patted Hu Zi on the head.

"Alright, Uncle Qin just got back."

"All you do is pester him. Can't you let Uncle Qin sit down and have a drink of water first?"

Tiger then realized what was happening and quickly released his grip on Qin Lie's leg.

Qin Lie was amused by the little guy and laughed.

He put the reins aside, reached into the bundle, opened it, and took out two paper packets.

One was handed to Xiaohe, and the other to Huzi.

"These are for you."

"The sugar cakes from Lijia Town."

"You can have a little to satisfy your craving, but you can't finish it all at once. You still need to eat dinner later."

Tiger's eyes lit up immediately, and he reached out and took the paper package.

"Thank you, Uncle Qin! I knew you were the best to me!"

After saying that, he opened the paper package, took out a piece, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"It's so sweet, Uncle Qin, this is delicious!"

Xiao He stood to the side, but did not reach out.

She glanced at Qin Lie, then at the sweet cake handed to her, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"I don't need Uncle Qin, just give it to Hu Zi. I don't really like sweets."

Qin Lie knew exactly what the child was thinking, so he simply shoved the paper packet into her hand.

He then raised his hand and gently patted her head twice.

"I bought two portions, one for Tiger and one for you."

"His bag is enough for him, you can take this one."

Tiger nodded quickly beside him.

"Yes, sister, you can take them all. I have so many, that's more than enough!"

Xiao He then accepted the paper package.

She looked down at the item in her hand and said softly, "Thank you, Uncle Qin."

At that moment, footsteps could be heard coming from the kitchen.

Liu Yunniang came out from inside.

He was still holding a bunch of unwashed greens in his hand, and there were obvious water stains on his sleeves.

As soon as I stepped out of the kitchen, I saw Qin Lie standing at the gate of the yard.

Their steps suddenly stopped.

The two people stared at each other for a while, separated by half a courtyard.

Liu Yunniang didn't say anything, she just stood there and carefully looked Qin Lie up and down.

Only after confirming that all his belongings were intact and there were no problems did the tense expression on his face ease.

"You're back?"

Qin Lie looked at her and nodded.

"I'm back."

Liu Yunniang looked down at the green vegetables in her hand.

A smile gradually appeared on her lips.

"It's good that you're back. Go sit in the main room for a while. I'll cook a couple more dishes today."

After saying that, she took the vegetables and turned back to the kitchen.

Qin Lie stood there, watching her departing figure.

When Liu Yunniang reached the kitchen door, she raised her hand and wiped her eyes.

Although he moved quickly, Qin Lie still noticed that her eyes were already a little red.

At that moment, a slight noise came from the other side of the door.

Zhang Erniu slowly pushed his wheelchair out of the house.

Upon seeing Qin Lie standing in the courtyard, his expression visibly paused for a moment.

Both hands instinctively gripped the armrests on both sides of the wheelchair.

However, this reaction did not last long and was quickly replaced by a warm smile.

"Qin Lie, you're back!"

Qin Lie turned around and looked at Zhang Erniu.

"Brother Zhang, I'm back."

"During my absence these past few days, has anything happened at home?"

Zhang Erniu shook his head.

"It's alright, everything's been fine these past few days, nothing dangerous has happened."

As he said this, he glanced outside the courtyard gate.

The courtyard gate was open, and there was no one else in the alley outside.

Zhang Erniu confirmed for a moment before casually asking, "Did you come back alone?"

Qin Lie didn't think much of it.

"I came back with my colleagues."

"He still has some things to take care of, so he'll go ahead and get busy."

After hearing this, Zhang Erniu's smile became more natural.

"If they have time, please invite them back for a meal."

"You two worked together, so you must have looked after each other along the way."

"But if he doesn't have time, then that's fine too."

At this point, he raised his hand in a gesture of greeting.

"Don't just stand at the door, come in quickly."

Qin Lie nodded, led the horse into the yard, and tied it to a wooden post next to the eaves.

After he settled the horse, the sound of stir-frying could be heard coming from the kitchen.

Liu Yunniang cooks very quickly; in no time at all, one dish after another is served on the table.

Qin Lie must still have a considerable amount of money left over from before that hasn't been spent.

So today's meal is quite lavish.

There was fish, meat, eggs, and several plates of freshly picked vegetables from the yard.

The family sat down around the table.

Tiger had barely picked up the bowl when he started asking questions.

"Uncle Qin, after you went to the Demon Suppression Division, did you kill any demons?"

"Are all monsters very big and particularly scary-looking?"

He asked several questions in one breath, without even eating.

Qin Lie looked at him, a smile appearing on his face.

"Of course we killed him."

"Let me tell you, the biggest monster I've ever seen was bigger than our entire Black Mountain Town."

Tiger was stunned when he heard this.

His mouth was slightly open, and the chopsticks in his hand were suspended in mid-air.

Although Xiao He didn't speak, her eyes were fixed on Qin Lie.

I forgot to put the food I had just picked up into my mouth.

Seeing the two children's reaction, Qin Lie couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"But what's the use of that monster being so big? In the end, I still managed to kill it!"

"So? What do you guys think? Isn't Uncle Qin amazing?"

Tiger nodded immediately.

"Amazing! Uncle Qin is amazing!"

"When I grow up, I want to join the Demon Suppression Bureau, and I want to kill even bigger monsters than Uncle Qin has killed."

Qin Lie raised his hand and tapped the table.

"You can kill the great monster if you want, but you have to eat properly first. If you don't eat enough, you won't grow tall."

"By then, let alone killing monsters, I'll be exhausted before I even see one."

After hearing this, Tiger immediately lowered his head and shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth.

"Then I'll eat two bowls."

After saying that, he felt that two bowls were not enough.

I'll eat three bowls.

Liu Yunniang sat beside her, a relaxed smile on her face.

"Okay, there's plenty of food now. Eat as much as you can, so hurry up and eat."

Tiger then buried his head in his food.

Xiao He also lowered her head and ate in small bites.

The two children ate very quickly.

Before long, the food in the bowl was gone.

Seeing that they had finished eating, Zhang Erniu took out a few copper coins from his pocket and handed them to Hu Zi.

"Here, take this and go out with your sister for a while. Buy her whatever you want to eat."

Tiger's eyes lit up immediately when he saw the copper coin.

Although he had already eaten quite a bit, the joy on his face didn't diminish at all when he heard that he could go out to buy more food.

"Thank you, Dad!"

He quickly put the coins away and then reached out to pull Xiaohe.

"Sis, let's go out."

Xiao He glanced at the adults at the table, then followed Hu Zi out the door.

As the children's footsteps faded into the distance, the area around the dining table fell silent.

Only Qin Lie, Liu Yunniang, and Zhang Erniu remained.

Qin Lie put down his chopsticks.

Zhang Erniu deliberately sent the two children away; he must have something to say.

Once the two children had gone far away, the yard became much quieter.

Zhang Erniu put down his chopsticks, reached for the wine glass in front of him, and looked at Qin Lie.

"Brother Qin."

"I heard from Yunniang that you came back this time to bring our whole family to Dongxuan City."

Is that true?

When Zhang Erniu asked about this, Liu Yunniang paused in her chopsticks and instinctively gripped her sleeve with her other hand.

She never mentioned this to Zhang Erniu, so how did Zhang Erniu find out?

Now he's asking Qin Lie directly in front of him. What is he really thinking?

Liu Yunniang didn't say anything, she could only sit and watch.

Qin Lie didn't think there was anything wrong with talking about this.

"Yes, I do have that plan."

"I am now a full-fledged demon hunter in the Demon Suppression Division, and I have already rented a house in Dongxuan City."

"The yard isn't very spacious, but it's more than enough for the few of us to stay in."

Zhang Erniu held his wine glass, but the smile on his face slowly faded.

"So you'd already found a house."

Qin Lie didn't pick up on the emotion in his words and assumed that Zhang Erniu was just not used to the new environment, so he continued to explain.

"Heishan Town has been rather unsettled lately."

"A rat demon appeared in the town before, and monsters are often seen in the nearby mountains."

"The town's guards are not enough, so if something happens, they may not be able to get there in time."

"The situation in Dongxuan City is much more stable. There are garrison troops stationed on the city walls, and there is also a Demon Suppression Division inside the city."

"Even if a monster does appear, it would be difficult for it to break into the city directly."

At this point, Qin Lie glanced at the courtyard gate again.

Tiger and Xiaohe had long since run far away; their voices could no longer be heard outside.

"Besides, Hu Zi and Xiao He are not young anymore; they've reached the age where they should be going to school."

"Once we get to Dongxuan City, I plan to find a suitable school and send them both there."

"Knowing more words will be more useful in the future, no matter what you do, than staying in town and running around every day."

Qin Lie continued recounting the events one by one.

He had thought all of these things through before he came back.

With a place to live, safety is no longer a major concern, and the two children can attend school.

In his view, this arrangement was already quite appropriate.

But the smile on Zhang Erniu's face had completely disappeared.

He slowly placed the wine glass back on the table, the bottom of the glass hitting the surface with a clear clinking sound.

"Brother Qin."

"Now that you mention it, it seems you've already made arrangements for our family."

Qin Lie finally noticed that something was off about his tone, and his brows furrowed.

"Brother Zhang, I just prepared in advance for the things I could think of."

"So that when we actually move there, nothing is arranged and everyone is scrambling to get things done."

Zhang Erniu nodded.

"It certainly sounds like they're thinking of us."

"But shouldn't you have asked me beforehand about this?"

"After all, we're family now."

"You arranged everything, and only came back to tell me at the very end."

"I still feel a little uncertain."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunniang quickly put down her chopsticks.

"Erniu, Qin Lie meant well."

"It's probably hard to find a house in Dongxuan City, so he rented a place to stay first in case we don't even have a place to stay after we get there."

Zhang Erniu turned to look at Liu Yunniang, his eyes now filled with obvious dissatisfaction.

"I know he meant well."

"I didn't say there was anything wrong with what he did."

"I just think, shouldn't we discuss something this important with them first?"

Liu Yunniang opened her mouth.

For a moment, I didn't know how to answer.

Qin Lie had indeed mentioned this to her before.

She just never told Zhang Erniu.

Zhang Erniu stopped arguing with Liu Yunniang, picked up his wine cup, and took a sip.

After a while, he looked at Qin Lie again.

"Brother Qin, you may not be aware of this."

"Yunniang and I have lived in Heishan Town for so many years, we've long since gotten used to it."

"We know all the neighbors, so if something happens, we can just call out and someone will come to help."

"Dongxuan City is indeed good."

"But when we got there, we were in a completely unfamiliar place, and we didn't know anyone there."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the two children, they don't necessarily have to go to the city to study."

"We are all from the countryside, and our ancestors have always lived like this. Whether we can read or not is not that important."

"I'll learn a skill that will allow me to support myself, and I can still make a living."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunniang finally couldn't hold back any longer and stood up from the stool.

"It's a good thing that children have the opportunity to study. How can you say it's unnecessary?"

Zhang Erniu looked up at her, his face already looking rather grim.

Liu Yunniang gripped her sleeve tightly, and her voice rose slightly.

"You've already spent your whole life lying in the mud, do you want Tiger and Xiaohe to suffer the same fate, toiling in the fields their entire lives?"

Snapped!

Zhang Erniu slammed the wine glass on the table, spilling a lot of wine and shaking the table.

"What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm a useless person and that I'm embarrassing you?"

Liu Yunniang gripped her sleeve even tighter.

He moved his lips several times before saying in a low voice, "I just feel that if children have the opportunity to study, they should be allowed to."

"The more they learn, the more paths they will have in the future."

Zhang Erniu stared at her for a while, then lowered his head and chuckled.

The laughter didn't sound very happy.

"Alright, since you all think Dongxuan City is good, then you can go. I can stay in Heishan Town by myself."

"Anyway, no one is willing to listen to what I say now."

Seeing that the two were getting increasingly tense, Qin Lie quickly stood up.

"Brother Zhang, Yunniang, there's no rush. We can discuss it further."

"I can stay for a few more days this time, so there's no need to finalize anything today."

"Let's eat first."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunniang remained silent for a moment before sitting down again.

Zhang Erniu did not speak again.

But now, no matter how much I eat, this meal just doesn't taste good anymore.

There was still a lot of food left on the table, but none of the three of them touched it.

Qin Lie did not continue to persuade him.

In his view, Zhang Erniu was simply reluctant to leave Heishan Town.

After all, I've lived here for so many years.

Familiar people, familiar places, all are here.

Moreover, Zhang Erniu's legs are weak, which makes him prone to overthinking.

If I actually went to Dongxuan City and saw all those able-bodied people coming and going, I might feel even more uncomfortable.

Today, things just happened to get heated, and everyone started talking with emotion.

Once everyone calms down by night, there should still be room for negotiation.

After the meal, Qin Lie helped Liu Yunniang clear the dishes.

Liu Yunniang carried the bowl to the kitchen door, then turned back and said, "I'll make your bed in a bit."

"You've traveled such a long way, get some rest early tonight."

Qin Lie nodded.

"it is good."

The two people left the room one after the other.

Zhang Erniu sat alone at the table, watching their departing figures.

The hands resting on the knees slowly clenched into fists.

From the moment Qin Lie stepped into this home, many things changed.

No matter how poor the family was before, he was still the head of the household.

When Liu Yunniang encounters a problem, she will first ask for his opinion.

The two children would only revolve around him and Liu Yunniang.

But now?

Qin Lie has acquired cultivation.

They received their salary from the Demon Suppression Bureau.

There's also a Demon Suppression Division waist token that makes others look at you with more respect.

Liu Yunniang was willing to listen to him.

When the two children see him, they will run over to him on their own.

Even where they would live in the future and whether the two children would go to school had already been arranged by Qin Lie.

No one asked him, as a husband and father, if he was willing.

After they move to Dongxuan City, they will live in the house that Qin Lie rented.

Food and clothing also require the money Qin Lie earned.

By then, what will Zhang Erniu be?

A useless person who can't do anything and can only be supported by others?

Zhang Erniu lowered his head and looked at the wine glass on the table.

The resentment in my heart grew stronger and stronger.

Judging by the timeline, Yanyu Tower should have taken that token long ago.

But why was Qin Lie able to come back alive?

Could it be that Yanyu Tower never took on this deal at all?

It seems he'll have to go to the City God Temple himself tonight.

After clearing away the dishes on the table, Liu Yunniang brought out a clean quilt from the small room next to the kitchen.

"Qin Lie, I'll go make your bed."

Qin Lie reached out to take the bedding from him.

"I'll do it myself."

Liu Yunniang stepped aside to avoid being touched.

"You've traveled such a long way, just sit still."

"Making a bed doesn't take much effort, I'll do it."

After saying that, she carried the bedding into the room where Qin Lie used to live.

Qin Lie stood in the courtyard for a while, but finally followed him inside.

However, he did not close the door.

The door was wide open, and you could hear the sounds coming from inside the room even from the yard outside.

Liu Yunniang first picked up the old bedding from the bed and neatly placed it aside.

Then he took a clean cloth and wiped the bed frame from top to bottom.

She carefully cleaned away the dust that had accumulated in the corner of the bed.

Qin Lie sat on the chair next to her and watched her busy herself for a while before saying, "Brother Zhang seemed a little unhappy during dinner just now."

Liu Yunniang paused for a moment while wiping the bed.

However, she did not turn around. Instead, she put the cloth in her hand aside, picked up the bedding, and slowly spread it out on the bed.

"His legs have become inconvenient in recent years, and he has more things on his mind than before."

"You suddenly said you were going to take us to Dongxuan City, and you even arranged a house for us and school for the two children."

"He probably felt that he no longer had a say in this family."

Qin Lie thought about what Liu Yunniang said, and it seemed to be true.

Zhang Erniu was already somewhat self-conscious because of his disability in both legs.

Now that I've arranged everything myself, it's bound to hurt his pride.

"I admit I didn't consider this matter thoroughly enough."

"I only thought that Dongxuan City would be safer, and that Hu Zi and Xiao He could go to school there."

So I rented a place to live first.

"I didn't ask Brother Zhang's opinion beforehand, and I didn't handle this matter properly."

Liu Yunniang turned her head and looked at Qin Lie.

"You did nothing wrong."

"It's already very kind of you to be willing to consider our accommodation and support our two children's education."

"As for what your brother Zhang just said, don't take it to heart."

"Sometimes he gets lost in his own thoughts and doesn't think much about others when he speaks. Don't take it to heart."

Qin Lie waved his hand.

"I'm not angry."

"Heishan Town is where Brother Zhang has lived for so many years."

"All the people he knows are here. It's normal that he'd be reluctant to move out suddenly."

"You can try to persuade him again when you have time."

Liu Yunniang did not answer, but lowered her head and tidied up the corners of the quilt one by one.

The room was quiet for a while before she spoke.

"But I want to go."

His voice wasn't loud, but his tone was very serious.

Qin Lie raised his head and looked at Liu Yunniang.

Liu Yunniang also turned around, not avoiding his gaze.

"Actually, it doesn't matter to me where I live."

"I've long been used to a simpler life."

"But Hu Zi and Xiao He are still young."

"They now have the opportunity to go to school, and I don't want them to miss it."

She paused for a moment at this point.

"Your brother Zhang and I have suffered so much over the years because we can't read."

"Sometimes when you get scammed, you don't even know what's written on the things the other person brings you."

"When it comes to things that require signing or putting your fingerprint on documents, you can only listen to what others have to say."

"I don't want Hu Zi and Xiao He to live like that in the future."

"I don't want them to spend their whole lives tending only a few acres of land."

"They don't even know what's outside Black Mountain Town."