The woman was gone.

Shen Yi tossed the iron token to Meng Xiuwen.

A man's greatest virtue was knowing his own limits. Taking this token might make things easier for him, sure, but a Demon-Slaying Officer was in charge of a whole prefecture. Hand that to a newcomer who didn't know the first thing, and anyone with half a brain could see how badly it would go.

“Hey! Don't.”

Meng Xiuwen flicked his sleeve and sent the iron token right back. “You think this is kids playing house? That woman may look young, and she may seem pretty casual about it, but she's a titled general of the Demon-Slaying Office.”

At the word “titled,” a distinctly sour note crept into his voice, but he didn't joke about it, either. “Relax. If she dared put you in the Demon-Slaying Officer's seat, it's because she's got my number. She knows I'll do my best to help.”

“I'll be counting on you from now on, Lord Shen.”

Meng Xiuwen cupped his hands. Clearly he had only been sulking at Ye Lan earlier. With her gone, the Demon-Slaying Officer's post didn't actually matter much to him.

With that, he ambled back to his room.

“Lord Shen.”

Ye Jing nodded lightly to Shen Yi too, then took out a storage pouch and handed it to him.

“Hm?”

Shen Yi took the pouch and looked inside. A small, crystal-clear net lay quietly within.

“Boss Meng knew all along he couldn't bluff his way out of this one.”

Ye Jing explained quietly. “In his words… your Daoist Lord's getting punished anyway. You want me to hand things over too?”

“This belonged to Founding Patriarch Qingmei. It counts as a nine-kalpa treasure, and it can hold the water of a great river. Now that you're the Demon-Slaying Officer, it wouldn't be a bad thing to keep for your own protection.”

At that, Shen Yi didn't stand on ceremony. He tucked the storage pouch away. “Thank Boss Meng for me.”

The Demon-Slaying Office often clashed with the Three Teachings. Just how powerful the Three Teachings' methods were, he'd seen…