Tingyang Prefecture. Yongan City.

Slightly weathered city walls with patches of green moss between the stones. Nothing like the imposing gravity of Qingzhou city, but the streets carried their own comfortable life.

A carriage moved through the varied crowds at an unhurried pace, pulled to a stop in front of the most substantial compound in the city’s center.

The Deng family had presided over Yongan City for several hundred years. No one had ever dared trouble them.

The compound housed the city’s only Condensate Realm practitioner, whose protection kept demons away from the entire city. The family’s standing was absolute.

Which made it unusual that the young master of the Deng family was waiting at the gate — and showing no impatience whatsoever.

The explanation stood beside him.

“Miss Lin — I’ve arranged the Chaoyang courtyard for your uncle. The welcoming banquet is being prepared. Is there anything else I should see to in advance?”

Deng Mingxu smiled with practiced warmth.

Lin Rou ducked her head slightly, a little flustered. “Young Master Deng, really, there’s no need for all this. My uncle and I sharing a courtyard is perfectly fine.”

At the faint rose in those pale cheeks, Deng Mingxu felt something quicken. And hearing what she’d said, he nodded with what he hoped was subtle insight.

An uncle, she says. Almost certainly a family guard — sent along because someone back home couldn’t stop worrying about her.

When the carriage drew up and the first figure stepped out, he took in the honest, unremarkable face, the rough cloth clothing, and felt more certain.

He moved forward with genuine warmth.

“Deng Mingxu, sir. Good to meet you.”

Jiang Chengyun clasped his hands carelessly. “Don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”

“You’re too kind.” The smile stiffened slightly. Then more sound came from inside the carriage, and he turned quickly.

“Oh — another uncle, is there—”

The second figure that stepped down wore dark robes and held himself well, giving a courteous nod.

“This — this is also an uncle?”

Deng Mingxu’s mouth opened slightly. He stared at the striking features, then looked back at Lin Rou with something approaching bewilderment. “He’s also — in the same courtyard?”

Lin Rou was clearly somewhat caught off guard by this turn herself.

Jiang Chengyun had already walked through the gate in long strides. “That’s our — my nephew. Somebody get the hot water going. The road was trying to shake us to pieces.”

Deng Mingxu caught the slight stumble in the phrasing, processed it, and immediately revised his understanding with a gracious expression as he led them inside.

He showed them to their rooms personally, gave instructions to two servants for the water, and said with a smile: “I’ve prepared some drinks for this evening. I hope you’ll honor me with your company.”

Jiang Chengyun nodded. Deng Mingxu felt a surge of quiet delight.

The Deng family was Yongan City’s most prominent house — that much was true. But it rested entirely on the founding ancestor, who had stumbled into extraordinary fortune and broken through to the Condensate Realm by chance. The ancestor was now very old, and the family’s decline was all but certain. Keeping the family’s current transcendent standing was almost out of the question.

And then this girl from a great Yushan Prefecture family had crossed his path.

However carefully Lin Rou concealed it, the quality of her bearing had been visible to him from the first moment. He’d put considerable effort into getting close enough to speak to her. She was clearly sheltered from the world, her feelings understated — he’d barely signaled his interest before she’d gone slightly panicked and apparently summoned the future elder brother to come look him over.

Thinking back to the dark-robed young man’s appearance, Deng Mingxu felt distinctly at a disadvantage, and cringed at his own startled expression just now.

“I’ll leave you to catch up. Excuse me.”

He bowed and retreated, already planning a change of clothes. He couldn’t let the future brother-in-law outclass him too obviously.

Once Deng Mingxu was out of the courtyard—

Lin Rou quietly rolled her eyes, went inside, and sat down.

As the other two came in and she pushed the door closed, she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Big brother Jiang, you owe me one. Remember that for later.”

“Or now.”

Jiang Chengyun produced a mid-stage Jade Liquid demon’s qi trace and tossed it across. Lin Rou caught it with a grin, took out a small copper bell, and tucked it inside.

He looked at Shen Yi. “When you ask favors of other people — if you feel repaying them is too complicated, this works as well.”

“New person?” Lin Rou looked over curiously.

Teaching someone something this basic — what were they doing in Yongan City?

“Yes.” Shen Yi nodded, not missing anything that was being shown to him. “What comes next?”

“What do you think — getting the Deng family’s foolish young master on the hook took real work. We use the old ancestor as bait and catch demons.” Lin Rou stretched.

Jiang Chengyun worked his wrist and found a chair. “If this follows the same pattern as last time, they won’t leave this city’s Condensate Realm practitioner alone — otherwise there’d be no reason to choose Yongan. To make sure word doesn’t leak and the Condensate practitioner doesn’t flee, I had her come ahead to lay the groundwork.”

“The demons want him. He’ll do anything to survive. That makes him useful.”

Shen Yi listened in silence, storing all of it.

Decisive was right. Once you moved outside the city, the court’s methods were exactly that.

Telling the Deng ancestor in advance, letting him prepare — the casualties would likely be far lower. But the whole situation would become unpredictable.

To ensure the credit was secured, this ancestor was going to die in Yongan City whether he wanted to or not.

That was the difference between demon-hunters and the Division.

“How many demon-hunters came to the city?” Jiang Chengyun looked sideways.

“About thirty, roughly. Mostly hoping to pick something up on the fringes.” Lin Rou propped her chin in her hand, counting on the other hand’s fingers. “One found a way to save a wealthy young man’s life and is now thick as brothers. One’s delivering vegetables to a great family’s kitchen. Another disguised herself as a courtesan and went after Deng Mingxu — I took that from her.” A small laugh. “Playing charming is fine, but what great-family young master can resist a sheltered, genuine girl?”

In a few sentences, every notable power in Yongan City had been hooked onto someone’s line.

The most desirable of all was the Deng family.

But getting near that particular prize required Condensate Realm cultivation, at minimum.

Jiang Chengyun came to the answer quickly. “Xiao Qiangwei?”

“She came back to Qingzhou. If she looks for trouble with me about it, big brother Jiang, you’re backing me up.” Lin Rou blinked with exaggerated helplessness, then let the topic go and looked at the young man beside her.

She turned the qi trace she’d just received around one finger.

“Hey, little brother — once this is finished, want to come help me kill a demon?”

“We’ll see.”

Shen Yi adjusted his qi, noncommittal, looking elsewhere.

Compared to a mid-stage Jade Liquid demon, he was considerably more interested in the tiger demons about to arrive in Yongan City.

“Oh, pretty cool.” A flicker of surprise from Lin Rou.

“I’d advise against provoking him.” Jiang Chengyun closed his eyes to rest. The demon he was planning to take — Shen Yi lacked the ability to compete for it. But this young woman’s target, if she actually brought him along, might not stay hers for long.

(End of Chapter)