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

After dealing with Wang Hu's matter, Shen You went to the old lady for a free meal, rested in the kitchen for a while, and then went directly to the "Demon Hunting Team" to report for duty.

The "Demon Hunting Team" operates once a week, and today is the day for their mission.

Upon arriving at the demon-hunting team, Shen You's team was the White Team, led by a white-robed apprentice named Liu Gongbai. The team consisted of ten members, including Shen You, and several of them were familiar faces.

Besides Shen You, Tian Yi'er, as well as Hong Xiugu and Han Shu, whom they had met at the Mayi Examination, also joined the team.

Tian Yi'er came with Shen You, while Han Shu was dragged along by Hong Xiugu. When Hong Xiugu saw Shen You, she glared at him and started yelling at him, but Shen You remained unmoved, which infuriated her again, but their affinity steadily increased.

As the team leader, Liu Gongbai's strength surpasses that of the three white-robed senior brothers in Shen Youhuang Feng Academy. It is said that he is the personal disciple of one of the three Jinyi Pharmacists, holding a prominent position that is unmatched in the inner academy.

Moreover, among the three major families in Chengdu—the Liu, Lin, and Song families—he was the first-ranked Liu family. Even though he wasn't flamboyant, it was enough to make people's imaginations run wild.

"Recently, there have been several incidents of demonic snakes injuring people in Rongcheng, so our mission this time is to hunt down these demonic snakes. Snake meat is edible, and snake gall, eyes, and molted skin can be used in medicine. A single demonic snake is extremely valuable to us, enough to earn us two hundred merit points. Therefore, we should all go all out and not be negligent."

Liu Gongbai, expressionless, explained the details of the mission to everyone.

He had a noble appearance and an extraordinary temperament. His indifference was not arrogance, but rather an innate nobility that made it impossible for people to feel any ill will towards him. Instead, people would feel that it was perfectly natural.

Shen You picked at his ear: "I get it! I'm good at catching snakes, I'm closest to snakes!"

"Tch, bragging again!" Hong Xiugu couldn't help but glance at him and scoff.

Shen You simply took out a bamboo leaf green tea from his pocket and played with it in his hand.

Hong Xiugu's eyes widened, and she was so frightened that she couldn't speak.

Shen You casually turned to Hong Xiugu and asked, "What did you just say?"

"N-nothing...it's nothing..." Hong Xiugu's face turned deathly pale. "Don't...don't take it!"

Shen You didn't continue to scare her; she shook her head and put the bamboo leaf green back into her arms.

【Ding! 】

[Affinity value increased; Hong Xiugu's current affinity value: 60 (Her Beloved)]

Strangely, Hong Xiugu's affinity score actually increased again, and she also became "the one".

"Is this spoiled girl a masochist?" Shen You wondered to herself.

Following Liu Gongbai, Shen You left Renxintang for the first time and came to the city.

The inner city of Chengdu is bustling with people and vehicles, and is quite prosperous.

Upon arriving, Shen You said to Liu Gongbai, "Captain Liu, I don't like large groups when hunting demons. How about I handle things on my own here? I promise... I'll bring back at least ten demon snakes!"

Liu Gongbai glanced at Shen You and said, "Whatever you want."

Shen You snapped his fingers; he liked this kind of straightforward superior.

"Brother Shen..."

Shen You turned her head and saw Tian Yi'er staring at her expectantly again.

Shen You thought for a moment, then pointed at Tian Yi'er and said, "He's worth ten snakes if he follows me!"

Liu Gongbai nodded, too lazy to say anything.

Seeing this, Shen You nodded to Liu Gongbai. "He's so handsome! Could he really be a member of the Liu family?"

Just as Shen You was about to leave with Tian Yi'er, Hong Xiugu followed with Han Shu.

"Why are you following me?" Shen You asked, puzzled.

"Who's following you!" Hong Xiugu glared at Shen You first, then said righteously, "I want to see how you catch snakes. I won't allow you to cheat!"

"Ha, fine, but if you can't catch the snake yourself, don't blame me!"

Shen You didn't seem to care much about Hong Xiugu's arrogant demeanor; in fact, she was rather pleased. After all, how would she train her innate talent if Hong Xiugu wasn't around?

It was Han Shu, who followed behind Hong Xiugu, who always made Shen You feel uneasy. This guy was unassuming, but he seemed like a tough nut to crack.

Shen You led the three of them to the Lin residence.

The grand mansion bore the Lin family name plaque, and its vermilion gate was adorned with animal-head rings. Below it was a high threshold, preceded by several steps. Further ahead stood two enormous stone lions, exuding majesty.

Passersby dared not get too close to the Lin family mansion gate.

Seeing this, even the usually fearless Hong Xiugu felt a chill and tugged at Shen You, saying, "You...you're not going to take me to the Lin family, are you?"

"So what if it is?" Shen You glanced at her.

Hong Xiugu suddenly became anxious: "Are you crazy! What kind of existence is the Lin family? If we accidentally offend them, my grandfather can at most save me, but the other three of you will all die here!"

"Ha, so you have something you're afraid of too!" Shen You completely ignored Hong Xiugu's worries and just kept sneering.

"You, you're courting death!" Hong Xiugu shouted angrily.

"Go ahead and die!"

Shen You strode up and knocked on the Lin family's door.

"It's over!" Hong Xiugu's face turned pale.

Tian Yi'er, who was standing to the side, knew that Shen You had a close relationship with the Lin family. She smiled awkwardly, but didn't know how to explain it to Hong Xiugu.

A short while later, a servant came to answer the door. Shen You spoke a few words to him and then turned back.

"Where did you go and what were you doing?!" Hong Xiugu asked, grabbing Shen You.

"Let go!" Shen You said coldly, "Why should I explain my actions to you?"

Hong Xiugu was stunned and dared not grab Shen You again.

【Ding! 】

[Affinity value increased; Hong Xiugu's current affinity value: 65 (Her Beloved)]

No, you're such a jerk!

Shen You was too lazy to complain that this could increase affinity points. She shook her head and prepared to turn around and leave with the others.

He came to the Lin residence to ask someone to pass on a message to Xiao Hui, asking her to buy another gecko and send it over tomorrow.

Now that their goal had been achieved, they naturally planned to return home.

After all, the snake-hunting mission still needs to be completed; otherwise, being expelled from the demon-hunting team for failing to meet the targets would be a huge loss.

Just as I was about to leave, a shout came from behind:

"Big brother!"

Shen You paused, turned around, and saw Xiao Hui push open the door and rush out of the Lin family home, panting. When she saw Shen You from afar, her face lit up with joy.

She rushed straight to Shen You, her face beaming with joy, and exclaimed, "Big...Big Brother, what brings you here!"

Shen You couldn't help but laugh: "Catch your breath before you speak. I joined the Renxin Hall's demon-hunting team, and while I was out hunting demons, I thought I'd drop by to see you."

Xiao Hui gasped for breath a few times, finally calming down. She raised her head and said happily, "Xiao Hui and Big Brother haven't seen each other in so long!"

"Yes, I miss you too!" Shen You patted Xiao Hui's head.

【Ding! 】

[Affinity value increased; Xiaohui's current affinity value: 85 (Good Match)]

Hong Xiugu, who was watching from the side, was dumbfounded and couldn't help but ask, "What... what is your relationship?"

Shen You smiled slightly, took Xiao Hui's hand, and introduced her, "This is my younger sister; she works as a maid in the Lin family!"