I Possess a Scroll of Demon-Subduing Records

Lin Yi knew that He Dong would eventually discover something was wrong with his cultivation level, but he didn't expect her to react like this.

Before he could even say anything, He Dong had already prepared a crisis plan.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Lin Yi patted He Dong's shoulder and then put his arm around her waist.

He Dong leaned against Lin Yi and sighed, "How many secrets are you still hiding from me?"

This……

Lin Yi was still struggling with how to put it when He Dong said, "I was just asking casually, so you'd better not tell me. Anyway, I'm only concerned with collecting my debts, and I don't need to worry about so many of your things."

The tsundere has reverted to his arrogant nature, even though his feelings are clearly very complicated.

"The spoils from that battle should be enough to pay off a lot of debts, right?"

"What debt settlement? That's my rightful share. It was agreed that no matter how much effort I put in, even the least would get 30%."

He Dong became much more energetic as he did the math, and quickly put the cloud bag into his Ghost Realm Treasury, not wanting Lin Yi to steal it.

She hasn't gone out to earn money in a long time, and now that she's finally made some unexpected money, she wants to give it back?

nonexistent!

Lin Yi chuckled at the greedy man's antics, but he was rather casual about paying off his debts, figuring it was just a matter of kissing him once a day.

"I get it, you just want me to kiss you for a few more years. If you want me to kiss you, just say so!"

"I didn't!"

"Then you should convert the spoils you just collected into money so I can pay off my debt."

"I do not!"

The two started playfully fighting, and the serious and solemn atmosphere from before faded considerably. Once He Dong began absorbing yang energy, he temporarily forgot about what had happened earlier.

However, though she didn't say it, she was still uneasy inside.

Heaven is impartial; for every gain, there is a loss. Today's cause will have tomorrow's effect. He Dong was very worried that Lin Yi would sacrifice a bright future for his current power.

However, she knew that her worries were not very helpful. All she could do was cover for Lin Yi. At least, Lin Yi had not killed any good people yet, so perhaps the divine retribution he would suffer in the future would not be too severe.

She didn't try to persuade Lin Yi to stop practicing. At this point, it wasn't necessarily something Lin Yi could stop whenever he wanted.

The best thing she could have done was to pretend she didn't know.

She shouldn't have asked that question in the first place.

I was so shocked at the time that I forgot about that.

Fortunately, no one nearby heard their conversation, so the problem wasn't too serious.

On the shore, just a few hundred meters from the small boat, a girl in plain clothes stared intently at the boat. The sounds of a man and woman kissing inside the boat were clearly audible, making her clench her teeth.

"Xue Ji, my disciple, you have truly given me a wonderful surprise..."

Chapter 188 Guyue Village

While Lin Yi was fishing on the river, Xiao Se also received a letter from his father.

Before reading the letter, Xiao Se had a guess in her mind. Perhaps it was because she had escaped a calamity before, and her father sent a letter to question her, or perhaps it was an order to send her to her death.

Xiao Se sighed softly, recalling what Lin Yi had said before: no matter what, always think of the worst possible outcome for people, so that she can be prepared for any situation.

She now imagines her father to be at his most heartless level, so whatever she sees in this letter won't hurt her.

To her great surprise, the letter contained none of what she had expected, only words of care and concern.

When asked how she was doing in Xingsha City and how her training was progressing, his words were filled with the warm concern of an old father for his child. If she hadn't just experienced an assassination attempt the night before, she would probably still be very moved.

This letter must have been sent recently. It's not hard to guess that once it arrives, he'll be able to play along with his father and put on a show of deep affection for his son.

After thinking it through, Xiao Se found all these words utterly repulsive.

He casually burned the letter, and his desolate heart became much more resolute.

Lin Yi and Wu Yun are right. She should live for herself, or at least for those who care about her, instead of dying for someone who doesn't care about her.

After calming herself down, Xiao Se prepared to go to work. She was still the acting chief constable of the Jingye Division, and she couldn't be like some acting chief constable who had been absent from work for a long time but was on a temporary business trip. The Jingye Division was short-staffed and had many places where people were needed.

Upon arriving at the Jingye Division, Chen Huaiyuan hurriedly came over to tell her about a case.

The Jingye Division of Xingsha City hasn't handled any cases for a long time. Although the city has been restless lately, there haven't been many things that ordinary constables have to deal with.

The matter Chen Huaiyuan came to discuss this time was not about reporting a crime, but rather that a few days ago someone reported to the county government that their son and daughter-in-law had gone to the countryside to visit relatives and had not returned for several days without any news. Their elderly mother had sent a fellow villager to inquire about the situation, but the fellow villager, who was going that way, never returned.

The man suspected that something had happened on the road, so he went to the yamen (government office) to report the incident.

The county government didn't bother the Jingye Division immediately, since not everything is related to gods and ghosts. If there are no obvious signs of evil spirits, the county government usually handles it first.

So the county government also sent two skilled men to investigate Guyue Village.

They went on this expedition, but never returned.

The county constable then went around asking if anyone had passed through Guyue Village recently. After much inquiry, he learned that the last time someone had been to Guyue Village and returned was ten days ago.

He claimed that there were no problems in the village.

Although Guyue Village is in the countryside, it is only thirty or forty miles away from Xingsha City, which is not far, and there are no bandits along the way.

In the Xingsha City area, there are very few mountain bandits, but many river pirates. Most of these river pirates are concentrated in the north, where there is a port and many merchants pass through. The river pirates mainly rob wealthy families.

Killing the poor and common people is not only unprofitable, but also damages one's reputation, making it a losing proposition.

Therefore, pirates rarely operate in the south. They are extremely rare, though not nonexistent. As a result, the people in the southern city are poorer, but still relatively safe.

The county government sent out constables to investigate, hoping to eliminate some desperate river pirates who were robbing civilians. These petty thieves were easy for the constables, who were skilled in martial arts, to handle.

Even if the problem can't be solved, it shouldn't be so serious that people can't come back.

Now that the county government realized they couldn't handle it, they quickly went to the Jingye Division.

When you come to the Jingye Division, whether you're dealing with demons and monsters or ordinary villains, there's always a way.

Chen Huaiyuan came to see Xiao Se to ask about the personnel arrangements for this case.

As is customary, unranked constables do not leave the city to carry out missions alone, but now the Jingye Division only has four ranked constables. Chen Huaiyuan himself does not have strong combat power and can only be used as an assistant.

Shang Chang'er had just joined the Jingye Division and didn't have much experience. He wanted to arrange for Niu Er to take Shang Chang'er out with him, but Xiao Se had previously assigned Shang Chang'er to investigate the rumors about the Demon Emperor's Secret Realm.

Chen Huaiyuan then came to ask for instructions, to see what Xiao Se's plans were.

Upon hearing Chen Huaiyuan's report on the case, Xiao Se immediately became vigilant.

Those who can seal off an entire village of demons are certainly not simple characters. Even if two ninth-rank demons couldn't handle it, the risk would be very high.

Xiao Se pondered that this matter still needed to be handled by her.

But she's in a precarious situation lately. Her father's assassination attempt failed this time, and he might be planning another one. This case could be a trap.

Xiao Se then thought again. This case has been going on for so long, and he had just experienced an assassination attempt yesterday. He hadn't shown his cultivation level before, so to say that he had set a trap for her so far in advance was probably giving himself too much credit.

It's probably just a coincidence.

“I will personally take charge of this case. Just bring Shang Chang’er and Niu Er. I will leave this place to you. I trust you to handle things.”

Chen Huaiyuan: "..."

I'm so reliable, isn't it all because you guys forced me to be?

He originally thought that he came to the Jingye Division to gain experience and accumulate some martial arts knowledge, but who knew that after only a few days in the Jingye Division, he was assigned to take charge of the entire Jingye Division.

Shouldn't there be some basic rules for promotions?

What's most infuriating is that my salary hasn't increased at all; I'm basically working for these people for free!

Chen Huaiyuan brought three horses to Xiao Se: one good one and two obviously inferior ones.

The good horse was Guan Buping's Feidu, because the entire Jingye Division couldn't even muster three horses right now. The loss of several horses during the previous trip to Qinghe Village was too great, and they had only managed to replenish two so far.

There was no other way but to let Guan Buping use his private horse for public purposes, since it wasn't the first time Feidu had been ridden by someone else.

The three of them quickly headed towards Guyue Village, and arrived outside the village in just half an hour.

From afar, Xiao Se could see smoke rising from chimneys. It was breakfast time, and the smoke rising from the village meant that people were eating.

Instead of rushing into the village, Xiao Se paused to listen for a while. There were sounds of children crying and tables and chairs being dragged around, all of which sounded very ordinary and nothing unusual.

Xiao Se said, "At first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. What do you think?"

Niu Er thought for a moment and said, "I can't see anything either, but Brother Guan once said that the more normal a case seems, the more dangerous it is."

This is because it is no small matter to be handled by the Jingye Division. Since something has already happened and it seems normal, this in itself is abnormal.

Therefore, the more peaceful and tranquil the surface appears, the greater the danger, because investigators may not see the danger and are prone to complacency.

Conversely, if you clearly see something is wrong and become wary, it's not so dangerous.

This was Shang Chang'er's first time handling a case as an official, and she felt both excited and thrilled. At this moment, she also wanted to show her abilities, so she volunteered, "Why don't you wait here, and I'll go ahead and scout the way?"

"No need."

Xiao Se was heavily influenced by Lin Yi's "no separation" mentality, and he was particularly averse to being separated from his teammates, especially in situations like this.

Given the unclear situation inside, it would be pointless for Shang Chang'er to go in and give herself away. If the enemy were to capture Shang Chang'er and use her to threaten her, it would be a real problem.

"We don't need to go in, let's wait for them to come out."

As he spoke, Xiao Se slapped the surrounding grass and trees with his palm, sweeping them to the village entrance, and then set them ablaze with a fire talisman.

Thick smoke billowed and flames lit up the cave.

In broad daylight, the firelight might not be very noticeable, but such a large plume of smoke is still easily visible.

Upon seeing this unusual situation, the villagers naturally came out to investigate.

If they don't come out, the strangeness behind it will be exposed.

"Wonderful!"

Shang Chang'er couldn't help but praise her, feeling that she had learned something new.

The kitten hiding in Xiao Se's arms poked its head out, twitched its nose, and then whispered a few words in Xiao Se's ear.

She was telling Xiao Se that the village was eerie and haunted by the presence of many dead souls.