Demons and monsters wreak havoc: gain one new confidante every day.

Everything happened too fast.

Huang Yaoshi and Hong Yaoshi actually had time to stop Zhu Xiaobao from wielding his dagger.

But the murderous aura that Shen You exhaled was so fast that even the two pharmacists were caught off guard.

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Xiaobao died before everyone's eyes.

Even his brain was shattered by that malevolent energy; he was beyond dead.

Everyone watched this scene in utter horror.

Pharmacist Hong spread his hands: "This... what should we do!"

Huang Yaoshi snorted coldly: "Dare to attack the apprentices in my courtyard? So what if they die! What does it matter!"

"But... he's the young master of the Zhu family!" Pharmacist Hong said with a bitter expression.

"The Zhu family?" A cold glint flashed in Huang Yaoshi's eyes. "He attacked first, yet he was killed in retaliation. Even if the Lin family came, they wouldn't have anything to say!"

"Old Master Huang, you... sigh!" Unable to argue with Huang Yaoshi, Hong Yaoshi could only sigh.

Huang Yaoshi's gaze fell on Shen You.

"Shen boy, I didn't expect you to not only eat the flesh and blood of demonic beasts, but also learn the 'Containing Evil' technique! But this technique involves holding evil energy in the back of your tongue, and in the long run, it will only affect your temper, making you irritable and easily angered. You are not allowed to use it again!"

Shen You was still in a daze.

In his rage, he unleashed a murderous aura, only to realize, when he came to his senses, that another life had been lost before his very eyes.

In a short period of time, he had two more lives on his hands.

He didn't feel anything when he killed Wang Long, but now that he has killed Zhu Xiaobao, he realizes how fragile human life is, as if it could perish at the slightest change.

Zhu Xiaobao's empty eyes stared intently at Shen You, making him feel nauseous.

"I killed him..."

Shen You muttered to himself in a daze.

"Kill him if you want!"

Huang Yaoshi's face showed a mocking expression, "You...aren't you a hero anymore?"

Shen You had no way to argue with Huang Yaoshi.

The weight of human life is far greater than Shen You originally thought.

"Yi'er, take him to the stage!"

Huang Yaoshi called out, and Tian Yi'er ran over, whispered an apology to Shen You, picked him up, and carried him to the high platform next to Huang Yaoshi, placing him beside Huang Yaoshi's seat.

Huang Yaoshi returned to his seat and said, "Let's continue the test!"

Two people died, but he acted as if nothing had happened.

The group looked at each other, and after a while they finally began to move. Naturally, guards with waist knives dragged away the two corpses, while the rest of the group continued the examination in hemp clothing.

The remaining hemp-clad apprentices engaged in one-on-one duels, which weren't particularly exciting. After all, most of these hemp-clad apprentices hadn't become martial artists, so even if they fought to the death, the spectacle would be rather limited.

Hong Xiugu did challenge Tian Yier to another fight, but Tian Yier cowered in a corner, only knowing how to defend himself, which made Hong Xiugu furious. In the end, she had no choice but to throw down the whip and stop fighting.

She spread out to the sides, and glared at Tian Yi'er several times, clearly dissatisfied with Tian Yi'er's cowardice.

She ran over to Shen You again, kicked him with her toe, and said angrily:

"You and I will fight next time!"

Shen You glanced at Hong Xiugu and was surprised to find that their affinity had increased significantly.

Hong Xiugu

【Fate Value: 38 (Strangers)】

He thought about it and concluded that this unruly girl probably responded better to force than gentleness.

If you go along with her, she'll look down on you instead.

Shen You then raised an eyebrow, revealing a slightly arrogant smile:

"I'm afraid I'll beat you to death!"

"You?!"

Enraged, Hong Xiugu kicked Shen You hard in the shin.

"Hey, my leg is still broken!" Shen You cried out in pain.

"Who told you to speak so rudely!" Hong Xiugu glared at Shen You, but when she saw Shen You's miserable state, she couldn't help but smile.

Her smile was like a garden full of flowers blooming before Shen You's eyes.

[Your affinity has increased; you and Hong Xiugu have already met for the first time (Affinity Value: 43)]

"I'll come back and beat you up again next time!"

Hong Xiugu waved her fist at Shen You and turned to leave.

Shen You ignored Hong Xiugu and focused on the "fate value" in front of her.

"Although my affinity level has increased by one level to 'First Hearing', my innate talent has not increased."

"It seems that only by increasing the affinity value starting from the 'Beauty' level can I improve my innate constitution?"

After all, the information given by the "Yuanzi Jade" is "to form a bond with that person" in order to improve one's inherent qualities.

Shen You then recalled that Aunt Dou's affinity points increased in the following way—

The beautiful woman (60), the confidante (70), the good match (80).

"Although Aunt Dou's fate value had already exceeded 60 when she became 'Yi Ren', it is not certain that 60 is the threshold for becoming 'Yi Ren'."

"However, let's assume it's like this for now. First, we need to raise the other person's affinity value to 60, making them 'the one I love,' before we can continue to increase their potential!"

"The task is arduous and the road ahead is long!"

Shen You couldn't help but sigh.

He suddenly realized that this "golden finger" technique was quite difficult to master.

After all, it would be very difficult to develop the same deep relationship with another woman as he did with his aunt.

"This is truly a bond formed!"

While Shen You felt it would be difficult, she couldn't help but feel a little hopeful.

After this, it seems I should find another "beauty".

"Who could be my new 'beloved'?"

Shen You's gaze involuntarily fell on Hong Xiugu, but she quickly shook her head.

This girl is too difficult to win over, and she has such a bad temper. If you really get along with her, who knows how she'll torment you.

"I still prefer the obedient and well-behaved type."

Are there girls like that?

Shen You fell into reverie.

"What's wrong with you?"

A sound suddenly came from in front of me.

Shen You snapped out of her daze and realized that Tian Yi'er was squatting in front of her, looking at her with a mixture of timidity and curiosity.

"It's nothing," Shen You said, looking bewildered.

"But...you're drooling." Tian Yi'er pointed at Shen You's face.

"Oh!" Shen You hurriedly wiped the drool from her mouth. "It was all that old devil Huang's doing! I couldn't control myself!"

"..." Upon hearing Shen You mention Huang Yaoshi, Tian Yi'er immediately fell silent.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master Huang asked me to carry you back."

Shen You's limbs are still broken, so she needs to be carried.

"Where to?" Shen You asked.

"go……"

Tian Yi'er's gaze shifted, landing on one side of the training ground.

That was a territory that Shen You had never set foot in before.

"...Huangfeng Courtyard, which is the small courtyard where Master Huang resides."

Tian Yi'er explained.

Shen You followed Tian Yi'er's gaze and looked over.

A long, high red wall separated the inner and outer courtyards. From this vantage point, one could see that the other courtyard was lush with trees and had tall, imposing buildings.

Inner Courtyard!

The place Shen You had always dreamed of.

Once you get there, you'll have plenty to eat and sleep in, and you'll never have to smell smelly feet again.

Shen You saw that Huang Yaoshi had already walked over there first. Pharmacist Hong, along with Hong Xiugu and the honest-looking Han Shu, also left.

Shen You's gaze shifted again, and he saw that Guard Xue was still there, scolding some of the men in line who had passed the examination and making them line up neatly to go to the inner courtyard.

Guard Xue turned his gaze over and met Shen You's eyes. He frowned, looking somewhat worried about Shen You, but still nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

The presence of Guard Xue reassured Shen You somewhat, and Shen You couldn't help but nod gratefully to him.

With Guard Xue around, at least when I went to the inner courtyard, I wasn't completely without anyone to look after me.

"Let's go, Brother Tian, ​​please carry me on your back."

Shen You said to Tian Yi'er.

Tian Yi'er shook her head innocently and smiled, saying, "Brother Shen, you can just call me Yi."

"You call me Big Brother?" Shen You asked in surprise.

Tian Yi'er nodded and said, "That's right. You look older than me and are more capable than me, so of course I should call you big brother."

"Brother Shen...?"

Shen You stroked her chin. "Sounds pretty good!"

He nodded. "Great, from now on I'll call you Xiaotian!"

"Okay, Brother Shen." Tian Yi'er had no objections and readily agreed.

He carried Shen You on his back and walked towards the inner courtyard.

Suddenly, Shen You seemed to sense something and turned around to look.

In the shade of a tree not far away, a small tabby cat stared intently at him.