Tingyang City. The Demon Suppression General’s residence.

The gate guards recognized familiar faces and let their cool expressions ease into something warmer.

“Yang-ge, why are you back already?”

“Move, move.” Yang Gui waved them off — no room for carelessness — pulled the carriage to a proper stop and stood to one side to wait.

Each person who came down from the carriage made the guards’ expressions a shade more serious.

Despite the two Daoist priests being unusually cheerful — lacking any of the composed senior image — both were recognized immediately.

Baiyu Monastery’s Elder Chunyang and Elder Qingjing. If General You had been in the compound, they’d have warranted a personal welcome.

Then Xiao Qiangwei and the young man from before.

What puzzled everyone was why two renowned elders seemed to regard the young man with this kind of deference.

“Prepare a few rooms. Have someone deliver this letter to the Division compound in Qingzhou, and send word to General You — the Solar-Splitting Bow has been recovered.”

Xiao Qiangwei cut through the unspoken curiosity. The letter was about Yan Xingkong. What happened to Pingsha Valley from here would depend on Grandmother Aqian’s mood.

The guards moved promptly once it was official business.

About a cup of tea’s worth of time later, someone led Shen Yi to a side courtyard.

“Anything you need, just let us know.” The guard couldn’t quite identify who this person was, but the attitude of those other three had made itself clear enough.

“Thank you.” Shen Yi went in.

When the footsteps faded, he shut the door, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked inward at the Heavenly Demon external pill in the qi sea.

The fight against the peacock demons had been entirely carried by the Solar-Splitting Bow, so the cultivation reserves inside were unchanged.

Three demon cores remained in the silver bell: the used-down tiger core from before, and two peacock cores.

To make sure the Solar-Fusion Furnace could contain more — he chose the tiger core first as a cautious test. With so little remaining cultivation in it, there was little risk.

The external pill’s domineering consuming force emerged again as he brought it out.

He felt something like appreciation watching it.

The conventional way required the demon core to be refined into a medicinal pill first, then cultivated carefully with the pill’s support.

The Heavenly Demon external pill simply seized another demon’s cultivation outright. A method this aggressive having side effects was perfectly reasonable.

When the tiger core was spent, the reserves had reached sixty percent.

He put it back in the qi sea. The Solar-Fusion Furnace showed no reaction. He had what he needed to know.

He tried Kong Jing’s rough core next, putting it back in and feeling things after every ten percent.

When that core was spent too, the reserves sat at eighty-five percent.

The dark-red meridian network of the Furnace finally gave a faint tremor. Something like strain at the edges.

“That’s probably the ceiling.”

He steadied his breathing. One last fraction away from filling the external pill entirely — from truly possessing the cultivation of a Condensate Perfection demon.

With the ability to replenish using demon cores going forward.

All of this together — killing one mountain lord should be well within reach.

He took out the gold-colored qi trace from the bell, studied it for a moment, then looked south.

Knock knock.

A soft knock and the woman’s voice: “Can I come in?”

When he indicated yes, Xiao Qiangwei pushed the door open, wearing a fresh red jacket — the striking color somehow not out of place on her at all.

“We’re actually back for once — do you want to go into the city—”

She looked up with faint expectation, and saw the qi trace turning between the young man’s fingers. Something flickered in the fine-featured face.

Shen Yi declined. “Some other time. I’d like to rest tonight. I’m leaving Tingyang tomorrow.”

General You’s words were still with him. To protect yourself in a time of coming chaos — before he had strength that actually settled the mind, he had no other priorities.

“You’re going after the mountain lord?” Xiao Qiangwei genuinely couldn’t understand why he was always in motion.

From their first meeting to now, she’d never seen him stop for so much as a day. Either killing demons or in transit to kill the next one.

Qingzhou still had the General. Twelve Demon Suppression Generals. Gold-bell demon-hunters.

Whatever disaster came, it wasn’t going to land first on someone this young and this capable.

“I have a feeling it’s still thinking about me.” Shen Yi stood slowly.

He’d effectively ended the mountain lord’s line. Putting himself in the other position — he’d be lying in wait in the dark, waiting until the enemy was asleep, and putting a knife through the heart.

At that, Xiao Qiangwei’s expression shifted. Something apologetic.

“I — I wasn’t fully honest earlier. That qi trace was simply your payment. Actually killing the mountain lord — that genuinely isn’t possible.”

She seemed to be bracing for anger, watching him as she spoke. When his expression remained completely level, something settled in her chest slightly.

“It should have escaped to the demon territory outside Linjiang Prefecture by now.”

“Why not possible?” He looked at her calmly. He found something privately amusing about the situation — the same woman who had been thoroughly self-possessed in Yongan City was showing this tentative quality now.

As for going into demon territory — he’d already made peace with that prospect. Just as long as there was no core-nurturing demon lord. And even if there was — with the Unfettered Wind-Riding Art at Perfection, escape had some real chance.

“Because outside Linjiang Prefecture is the White Deer’s territory. The mountain lord said when it left that it was going there. The White Deer Demon Lord is its sworn brother — it won’t watch you kill it.”

Xiao Qiangwei’s serious expression had a thread of genuine unease in it.

“The White Deer is a true core-nurturing demon lord. It has been causing damage across Qingzhou for years and is still alive today. It isn’t something we can handle.”

She’d noticed the young man listening carefully, no sign of dismissing what she was saying — but the qi trace between his fingers hadn’t moved toward being put away.

“If I’m remembering right—” Shen Yi looked toward the door, curious, “—Linjiang Prefecture is that direction.”

He held the qi trace out. Xiao Qiangwei blinked, seemed to understand, and took it. She felt through it carefully.

Then something quietly embarrassed crossed her pale face.

“I’m an idiot. I actually believed a demon’s boasting.”

The qi trace pointed outside Tingyang Prefecture — toward the direction of Xitai Mountain itself.

“Not necessarily.” Shen Yi shook his head and stopped her. The mountain lord had lost its children and hadn’t gone to its sworn brother. Hadn’t come after him either. General You was being tied down by core-nurturing demon lords and wasn’t in the city.

So — what was it waiting for?

He didn’t particularly want to think through the logic of a demon’s mind. Whatever he couldn’t explain, he defaulted to: it was probably planning something against him.

In which case — moving first was obviously the right answer.

(End of Chapter)