“Sister, it is all my fault this time. If I hadn't heard that Constable Zhang and the others were going up the mountain to hunt the tiger and followed them out of curiosity...
“If I hadn't been so willful, I wouldn't have caused you so much worry, and I wouldn't have been injured so badly.”
Nan Yi's apology was incredibly sincere, with no sign of anything amiss.
It was as if on that day, he really had just been curious and followed Zhang Long up the mountain.
Nan Yi's room was much simpler than the one shared by the two sisters.
Aside from a bed and a table with a lame leg, there was only a single window facing the shady side of the house.
If anyone came in, there was hardly enough room to move around.
As he spoke, Nan Yi was lying face down on the bed, covered by a cotton quilt, with two books lying haphazardly by his hand.
These books were not proper schoolwork; they looked like biographies and miscellaneous stories, likely brought to him by Nan Ye to help pass the time.
Nan Zhi had always felt that Nan Yi, this NPC, was a bit strange.
Whether it was his surprised expression when they first met or his subsequent attempts to test her and push her away with his words, it all felt odd.
If Nan Yi had discovered something and was intentionally testing her, that would be one thing.
But he hadn't exposed her to the Nan couple, and his favorability toward her was the highest among all the NPCs.
This was very strange.
Nan Zhi set down the medicine bowl and gave a noncommittal smile.
“Is that so? You have always been steady, Nan Yi. Why did you insist on going into the mountains this time and causing everyone such worry?
“If I hadn't arrived in time, wouldn't you have ended up like Zhou Dalang—food for a tiger, turned into a chang ghost to be driven by another, never to be free for all eternity?”
“I truly know I was wrong. I was reckless this time.
“I thought that with Constable Zhang's martial arts, capturing a tiger would be easy.
“I hoped to have a reason to show my face more before the Registrar, so I could get a more relaxed job. Then, in my spare time, I could help Father sell meat.”
Nan Yi gave a bitter smile and tried to push himself up to take the medicine bowl, but he accidentally touched his wound. With a hiss of pain, he slumped back down.
“Who knew that instead of killing a tiger, I would almost be devoured by a demon tiger? I even had to be carried down the mountain while unconscious by Constable Zhang.
“Oh, it is truly embarrassing.”
Nan Yi took the medicine bowl and gulped down the pitch black herbal medicine in one go. Then, with a bitter face, he said dejectedly:
“Sister, please do not laugh at me. Besides, even if I became a chang ghost, I would never harm others like Zhou Dalang did.”
Nan Zhi arched an eyebrow and asked seemingly casually:
“You were unconscious at the time; how could you know all this? I heard from Constable Zhang that you had a disagreement with Zhou Dalang. He was being disrespectful and shouting for the Wang family to come and wreck our butcher shop.
“You couldn't take it and punched him, saying his face looked treacherous and he wouldn't live through the night. Nan Yi, do you actually know how to read faces?”
She had already questioned Zhang Long and pieced together what had happened that night, which was why she asked.
“It is not that I can read faces. I just heard others talking and remembered a bit of it.
“There is always a blind old man sitting in front of our butcher shop, telling fortunes and predicting luck or disaster. He always uses the same few lines.
“After hearing it so much, I learned them. That Zhou Dalang was a filthy man, always talking nonsense and full of lust.
“This time, he was lured to his death by a chang ghost and even dared to help harm people. It is truly shameful.”
Nan Yi muttered a few words, then suddenly remembered something, a look of worry appearing on his face.
“Sister, Zhou Dalang's maternal uncle is Master Wang. He won't hold a grudge against our family, will he?”
Nan Zhi shook her head and stood up to leave.
“Zhou Dalang left the group alone, was deluded by a chang ghost, and let his lust get the better of him. He took off his official uniform and saber and was eaten naked by a tiger. Then he turned around and helped the demon harm people.
“If I were Master Wang, I would be too busy trying to hide such a disgrace to come looking for trouble with us.
“Fine, just focus on recovering. I have my own ways of handling these matters.”
Nan Yi nodded obediently and went back to reading while lying down. Not a single flaw could be seen on his youthful face.
Either he was truly harmless and she was overthinking it...
Or he was deeply scheming and absolutely could not be kept around.
Nan Zhi lowered her eyes secretly.
Regardless of his background, as long as he was harmless to her, Nan Zhi didn't mind ignoring this slight sense of wrongness.
If he ever truly intended to harm her, it would just be a matter of one blade stroke.
Oh, right. The slaughtering knife was completely broken; she needed to find a way to get new equipment.
Nan Zhi closed the door cheerfully.
...
...
The White Tiger Demon Core had been extracted, so the flesh and blood were no longer of much use.
Wealthy families in the city wanted to buy the tiger skin and bones for a high price, but Nan Zhi politely refused.
In any case, these things wouldn't rot or smell in her storage, and they might come in handy later.
Nan Dazhuang had been quite sad for several days because the ancestral slaughtering knife was destroyed.
So, Nan Zhi spent some silver to have a brand new set of tools forged for him.
Ancestral slaughtering knife = very useful.
Buying knives for Nan Dazhuang = in a few more decades, she would be able to happily harvest another weapon that increased attack power.
Just like harvesting wheat, she would harvest one crop after another, generation after generation without end.
How wonderful.
Nan Dazhuang had no idea what his daughter was plotting.
The man, built like a black tower, grinned foolishly and showed the slaughtering knives to everyone he met, saying they were a gift from his daughter.
——He completely ignored the subtle looks from the passersby.
What kind of normal person gives their parents slaughtering knives as a gift?
Could this be the eccentricity of a cultivator?
They didn't understand, but they were greatly impressed.
Ever since Nan Zhi returned home after killing the demon tiger, the number of people visiting had doubled overnight.
Nan Zhi patiently received each one.
Unfortunately, it was either someone losing a hoe and suspecting a demon had taken it, or someone's water jar being broken and guessing a female ghost was hiding inside.
It was as if Dingyuan had become a gathering place for demons overnight, but instead of harming people, the demons were particularly fond of playing pranks.
“Auntie Niu, I suspect the hoe you lost has nothing to do with demons. Go home and look carefully; it is probably just lying around somewhere.”
Nan Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she sent off two more paranoid neighbors who felt something was wrong with their homes.
“Uncle Zhang, about that water jar of yours—just the other day, I saw your naughty grandson betting someone he could break it with a stone. Why don't you go back and ask him?”
“Really? As expected of the Nan family's eldest daughter! You truly have the ability to... divine the cause instantly.
“That little brat! How dare he use the water jar as a toy? Just wait until I get home and give him a good thrashing with a bamboo switch!
“That little thief, that debt-collecting ghost, what the hell was he thinking?!”
The man in the short jacket flared up in anger, rolled up his sleeves, and stomped back home.
Nan Zhi: ...
What does that have to do with magic?
And why is your cursing so fluent? Is this a specialty of the Song Dynasty?
Just as she was about to close the courtyard gate, she heard a muffled chuckle from outside.
Nan Zhi looked toward the sound and saw a young man and woman standing at the entrance of the distillery, looking at her with smiles.
These two were exceptionally good looking. They wore identical purple robes, heart-protecting mirrors on their chests, and official boots featuring Black Tortoise patterns, drawing the attention of everyone passing by.
The man was elegant, his long hair tied up in a crown with the strands slightly curling, and a fan tucked into his waist.
His eyes were a rare deep brown, giving him the air of a gentle, refined gentleman.
The woman's lips were like vermilion, with a red mole between her brows. Her face was Guanyin like, and her sideburns were neat, with a lock of long hair hanging down on either side of her chest.
She also wore a heart-protecting mirror, and her hand holding the sword was steady.
Though her expression was cold and aloof, like an ice mountain snow lotus, there was warmth in her gaze. She looked truly heroic and impressive.
【???: Level 26】
【???: Level 28】
Whoa.
Two more cultivators with cultivation levels comparable to her own.
Nan Zhi's mind raced, and she instantly guessed their origins. She cupped her hands in a greeting.
“I am short-sighted, but might you two be demon suppressors from the Demon Suppression Division?”
Rate on N.U.
