Attaining Immortality, Starting From Slaying Demons

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The golden glow spread, and the shimmering surface of the Yangchun River was dotted with a few dark-tipped boats.

Inside the Bamboo Courtyard.

Shen Yi sat on a stool, holding a cloth, carefully wiping a knife scabbard.

He was not adept at tending to the wounded, fortunately, the madman often got hurt, and the young widow had gained some experience on him.

At least he managed to stop the bleeding for Ma Tao and Li Xinhan and rebandaged them into "human shape".

When Li Mujin regained consciousness, she hurriedly fed them a few elixirs to temporarily stabilize their vitality.

She slowly walked out of the house.

With her ponytail loosened, stray hair slightly disheveling her pale cheeks, her breath seemed weak, clearly, she had overexerted herself in last night's struggle, incurring a significant deficit.

Li Mujin's demeanor had lost some of its charm, her originally moist lips were now somewhat cracked.

Gazing at the silhouette of Shen Yi's back, it gradually aligned with the figure in her mind from last night.

She tugged at the corner of her lips, her voice hoarse, "Where are the others?"

"They were just exhausted, not really injured, woke up earlier and went to the yamen to lead the horses."

Shen Yi put down the cloth and reattached his knife to his waist.

Li Mujin dragged a stool over to sit beside him, supported her chin with the palm of her hand, initially wanting to ask something but not knowing where to start, and so she just blankly stared at his profile.

When Shen Yi could no longer withstand the gaze and frowned at her with a roll of his eyes.

Li Mujin let out a laugh, her eyes filling with sentiment, "So it turns out you are truly adept at slaying demons."

Adept to the extent that she, a girl who grew up in Qingzhou, couldn't possibly imagine.

Although her view was blocked by the villagers kneeling on the ground, the River God's piercing scream still echoed in her ears; such a disgrace could only result from encountering life-threatening fear.

"I thought you were already dead."

The other chased after the black wind into the forest, unknown what kind of demon it was, but the River God's face full of expectation was completely captured by Li Mujin.

It was a look filled with both utter trust and yearning, brimming with confidence.

She didn't expect that it would be Shen Yi who came back in the end.

"Lucky you didn't think that way."

Li Mujin stood up, her smile receding, and bowed to the young man without any reservation.

If he had the same idea, the most prudent action after escaping would have been to rush back to the Demon-suppression Bureau to report.

Facing a demon far superior in cultivation, and in a situation where anyone would think there was no chance of victory, leaving under the guise of delivering a message would not have drawn too much blame even from the Demon-suppression Bureau.

"…"

Shen Yi was slightly surprised, not expecting her to suddenly turn serious.

He waved his hand, but before he could speak, his arm was tightly enveloped in a vast expanse of warmth and softness.

"Haha."

Li Mujin reverted to her previous nonchalant demeanor, hugging his arm and complaining, "You nearly scared me stiff! I couldn't even move my fingers, and had to maintain an appearance of calm. All that acting couldn't even intimidate the River God, it's infuriating."

After that, she twiddled her fingers, her voice earnest, "When you approached, I was a hair's breadth away from crying, but thank goodness for your good looks—I thought I had to maintain some image, and that's what kept me from letting the tears fall."

The touch felt oh so familiar, even more startling in some aspects than Sister Song's.

Shen Yi was speechless, pulling his arm back, "That's enough."

When the harpoon struck her, there was not even a hint of fear in her expression, just a touch of regret—it was all an act to scare off the ghosts.

Li Mujin placed a hand on her hip, her demeanor carefree as she patted her chest, "All's well that ends well, being alive is what matters, I'm lucky to be so."

The people of the Demon-suppression Bureau seemed to have a rather philosophical outlook on life.

Caught by her infectious smile, Shen Yi turned his head slightly, the barely discernible fierceness in his eyes fading just a little.

Perhaps it was from the moment he woke up in the Liu Family of Baiyun County.

He was still in the mindset of a gamer, and thus hadn't noticed the anomaly.

As he gradually shed the remnants of his former self and merged into this world.

Shen Yi inexplicably found that he had become accustomed to days stained with blood, to the extent where not seeing blood made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Violence was the tool that helped him survive in this tumultuous world.

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But I can't let myself become its puppet.

Shen Yi took a deep breath, his mind became much clearer, and then he looked outside the courtyard.

The young widow approached with some old clothes she had borrowed, her demeanor full of reverence, "Officer, would you like to change into some clothes? I couldn't find any new ones, but these are all very clean."

The madman followed her, his head buried, devoid of the foolishness he showed yesterday.

The cautious glance he gave Shen Yi was filled with gratitude and fear.

Those clear eyes of the other seemed to see through everything and, when sharp, could easily intimidate the demonic beasts.

"Try to bear with it and don't change."

Li Mujin shook his head, believing that for a Colonel, returning with this attire and achievements would help Shen Yi establish a firm footing in the Demon-suppression Bureau faster.

"Ah, that's true."

The young widow took out a small wooden rod measure, asking tentatively, "Then, may I measure your shoulder width for you?"

Li Mujin seemed to realize something and didn't refuse this time; he took the measure and pulled Shen Yi to his feet.

"What's this for?" Shen Yi was puzzled.

"Maybe it's to make you new clothes, to be sent to Qingzhou as a thank you," Li Mujin guessed.

Li Mujin carefully took measurements on him with the short rod, even including the sword he wore at his waist.

He reported the measurements to the widow and waved her away, "Go ahead."

"Thank you, Officer."

The young widow, who was very brash just yesterday, today could hardly even look directly at Shen Yi.

But it was not a fear that was purely genuine.

Shen Yi found this expression somewhat familiar but couldn't pinpoint where he had seen it before.

The widow, along with the madman, stepped outside again and bumped into a man. The man dropped a bundle of fish meat tied with grass rope and ran toward the next house.

"He... he's almost run through all the families in the village."

The young widow picked up the fish meat with some helplessness.

The man who was forced by Shen Yi yesterday to consume the flesh of the River God was desperately trying to have everyone taste this delicacy. It seemed that only by doing so could he wash away the guilt in his heart.

And only by swallowing this fish meat could they tear apart the lies they told themselves.

If it was a demon, naturally it couldn't be raising three hundred children in the river.

Sunken Jiang is Sunken Jiang; the children will not come riding on the waves again, nor will they take one to enjoy the blessings in the River God's cave.

Once the pretense for such a clear fact is gone, it inevitably makes people feel ashamed to cover their faces.

"In years of great famine, people exchanged their children for food."

"It's done solely out of necessity."

"Now that we can live by our own labors, we must make a clean break. Those who eat humans are ultimately demons; we make use of them when needed, and when not, they are to be consumed."

"This is the way ordinary people survive."

"The Demon-suppression Marshal need not catch fish or till the land to feed himself, as they live on the flesh of the commoners. Not only are they unable to offer grain to fill their own bellies, but they also take away another share from these people's mouths. Standing too high to begin with, if one is too critical, it may seem a bit cold."

Li Mujin placed his hand on Shen Yi's shoulder, his bright eyes twinkling, and said with a cheeky smile, "Officer Shen, please be magnanimous and spare them this once, will you?"

It was someone with an agenda who intentionally branded this great sacrifice into the fishermen's minds over and over again, as if it were an ancestral wisdom that must not be defied.

Yesterday, in an instant, the lives of more than a dozen people, including the village chief, were taken.

To tell the truth, such ruthless methods indeed shocked Li Mujin, yet he also felt a sense of relief! The other party had done something that they, the Qingzhou youths, dared not do, and did it neatly and decisively.

But to add more killing would change the taste.

"They didn't think of sparing you yesterday," Shen Yi raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Are these clothes worn for nothing?" Li Mujin curled his lip and tugged at the sleeve with cloud patterns, "Those who acted certainly deserve to die, but as for the others, without their daily toil, where would our salary and rations come from... Hey, don't pull at my hands, why are you acting like a young lady, can't touch at all."

"Go stand over there," Shen Yi patted his shoulder, saying casually.

I have not committed any wrongdoing since waking up, only striving to preserve myself.

Yet to this woman, it's as if I am a relentless killer.