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

After leaving Huang Yaoshi, Shen You arrived at the demon-hunting team.

Today is another day for going out to hunt monsters.

The current task of the demon-hunting team is still the snake demons that appear everywhere in the city.

These snake demons have been wreaking havoc in Chengdu for more than half a month.

Not only Shen You's demon-hunting team, but other demon-hunting teams also come to exorcise demons every day.

In addition, other forces in Rongcheng would naturally not sit idly by and would also take action on a regular basis.

Even so, the number of snake demons continued to grow, and young women in the city were still being killed every day.

Shen You followed the demon-hunting team outside and even felt that the streets were much quieter. There were hardly any women to be seen on the streets; everyone was on edge and dared not go out.

Shen You said to Liu Gongbai, "Senior Brother Liu, this can't go on. I have a way that might help us find the mastermind behind the snake demon and solve this problem completely."

"Oh? What's your plan?" Liu Gongbai cast a cold glance his way.

Shen You smiled and said, "I have a brilliant plan, but I also have a favor to ask."

"What do you want?" Liu Gongbai frowned slightly.

Shen You laughed and said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Liu, I'm not someone who can't tell what's important. I just want to ask Senior Brother Liu to promise me that after we finish hunting the demon, I can go to the Liu family to check the information of the Liu family member who became entangled with the lotus demon back then."

"Why are you so interested in him?" Liu Gongbai asked coldly.

"Senior Brother Liu, you may not know this," Shen You said. "I've always been very interested in storybooks, and I've written quite a few myself. The story of the Liu family's son falling in love with the lotus fairy is perfect material for a storybook, so I just want to find out more about it."

"Understood." Liu Gongbai pondered for a moment and said, "I can agree to your request... but only on the condition that we make progress in our demon-hunting."

"Of course!" Shen You said with a satisfied smile.

Now I finally have the opportunity to learn more about San Niang and Liu Lang.

As for finding the mastermind behind it all, Shen You's method was actually quite simple.

He took out the bamboo viper he had been raising for more than half a month and placed it on the ground.

"Xiaoqing, go wherever you like."

Shen You let Zhu Ye Qing act freely, while he led the demon-hunting team to follow behind.

"Will this be enough to find the mastermind?" Liu Gongbai asked.

"Senior Brother Liu, I've been thinking about something. Surely all those snake demons couldn't have just appeared out of thin air?" Shen You said with a smile. "I suspect that the mastermind behind this must have a way to transform ordinary snakes into demons. If that's the case, he must be secretly attracting and collecting these ordinary snakes. If we follow one of them, we can naturally find him by following the clues."

"You're right." Liu Gongbai nodded in agreement, acknowledging Shen You's line of thought.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: ①⓪①ⓚⓚⓢ.ⓒⓞⓜ]

The group followed Zhu Yeqing straight to the outer city, and the further they went, the more remote it became, until they reached an abandoned, stinking ditch.

Tian Yi'er, Hong Xiugu, and Han Shu followed behind Shen You. In addition, there were some other apprentices in green robes from other courtyards, as well as Liu Gongbai in white robes. That was the entire lineup of the demon-hunting team.

With this lineup, they would be able to put up a fight even against a demon or martial artist at the peak of the third rank, so everyone was very confident and moved without hesitation.

As they walked, Hong Xiugu suddenly approached Shen You and casually asked, "Junior Brother Shen, what is your cultivation level now?"

"Why are you asking this?" Shen You glanced at her.

"Because..." Hong Xiugu hesitated for a moment, then glared at Shen You and said, "These two times you went out to hunt demons, weren't you too relaxed? Even a second-grade snake demon, you casually cut it in two with a single stroke... This doesn't make sense. When did you become so powerful?!"

"Right, you think I'm amazing too?" Shen You chuckled.

He had already broken through to the second rank with Huang Yaoshi's help half a month ago, and he had never deliberately concealed his cultivation level, so it's no wonder that Hong Xiugu was unsure.

Hong Xiugu couldn't see through his cultivation level, yet she dared not guess that he had already reached the second rank, which was probably why she was so troubled.

"Tell me quickly! What is your current cultivation level?!" Hong Xiugu said imposingly.

Shen You smiled casually, "Not high, just enough to be your senior brother!"

"Are you looking for death?!" Hong Xiugu was so angry that her eyebrows shot up.

Shen You, however, was not afraid of her at all, and continued to tease her, "How about this, as long as you call me senior brother, I will tell you my cultivation level."

"You..." Hong Xiugu gritted her teeth in anger, glaring at Shen You for a long time, but then snorted coldly and turned her head away, "Fine, don't talk then, so what!"

She suppressed her temper and didn't continue to cause trouble for Shen You. She didn't even go far away, but stayed awkwardly by Shen You's side.

Shen You glanced at the affinity score above her head.

Hong Xiugu

【Fate Value: 69 (Her Beloved)】

For some inexplicable reason, this girl's affinity rating is about to rise to the next level. But strangely enough, her attitude remains terrible.

"Hong Xiugu's affinity value has a lot of room for improvement. Maybe I can use her to improve my innate talent." Shen You thought to himself, "However, this girl is stubborn and doesn't respond well to gentle persuasion. She's proud and awkward. I need to think carefully about how to proceed."

At this moment, the group arrived at a secluded, stinking ditch.

Bamboo Leaf Green swam into a crack in the ground. Liu Gongbai drew his longsword and slashed it. The crack collapsed, revealing a deep underground passage.

"Found it!"

Everyone was pleasantly surprised. Liu Gongbai said to Shen You, "Junior Brother Shen, you deserve the greatest credit for finding the demon's lair this time."

"What's the big deal?" Shen You smiled nonchalantly. "Just don't forget what Senior Brother Liu promised me."

"Don't worry." Liu Gongbai nodded. "I will definitely find the ancient records related to that Liu family member from a hundred years ago when I get back. Please go and look them up, Junior Brother."

"Thank you for your trouble." Shen You nodded and smiled.

Although Senior Brother Liu was stern and somewhat expressionless, he was very reliable in his words and deeds. Since he said so, Shen You felt much more at ease.

With his help, we should be able to find more information about San Niang and Liu Lang, and perhaps we can find a way to resolve San Niang's inner conflict and take our relationship to the next level.

"Let's go in. You stay close to me and don't wander off."

Liu Gongbai led the way, guiding everyone into the tunnel.

The tunnel was dark and damp, the air stifling and foul-smelling, with occasional hissing sounds coming from all around. Upon arriving, everyone fell silent, walking forward with uneasy expressions, none daring to make a move.

Seeing that Hong Xiugu's body was trembling slightly, Shen You couldn't help but smile and ask her, "What's wrong, Junior Sister Hong? Are you scared?"

"Who, who's scared!"

Hong Xiugu trembled and turned her head to glare at him fiercely.

She was extremely beautiful, and even in the darkness, she gave off a radiant feeling.

Shen You was about to say something more when he suddenly heard Liu Gongbai shout from ahead:

"Watch out, the demonic snake is coming!"

In an instant, the rustling sound of serpents moving could be heard from all directions, and everyone felt their scalps tingle.