The First Legendary Demonic Scholar

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Furious Lin Xia

Bang Fo immediately stepped forward and cupped his fists.

"Master."

The respectful greeting surprised nearly every servant present.

To them, Bang Fo was already someone they would never dare offend. Seeing a man like him lower his head before another was enough to make the courtyard fall even quieter.

They too lowered themselves far lower than Bang Fo did.

The handsome elder merely smiled.

"There is no need for formalities."

His voice was gentle, almost pleasant to listen to, carrying none of the pressure one would expect from someone capable of making Bang Fo act this way.

"Walk with me."

Bang Fo nodded.

"This way, Master."

Without another word, the two headed deeper into the estate, disappearing toward one of the private reception halls normally reserved for important guests.

The servants remained standing exactly where they were until the pair had vanished around the corner.

Only then did they slowly return to work.

Shen Yuan picked up a wooden bucket and continued sweeping the courtyard as though nothing had happened.

His eyes, however, quietly followed the direction the two had disappeared.

Out of the corner of his vision...

He noticed someone else doing exactly the same thing.

Lin Xia.

She was supposed to be organizing several bamboo scrolls beneath one of the covered corridors, yet every few moments her eyes drifted toward the closed reception hall.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Almost as though she wanted to know what was happening inside.

Or...

What was being said.

Interesting.

Shen Yuan lowered his head, pretending to scrub a stain from the stone path.

If Lin Xia truly had murdered that servant...

Then what exactly was she worried about?

His thoughts couldn’t help wandering somewhere else.

Bang Fo had reacted far too calmly after the murder.

No investigation.

No questions.

He had simply destroyed the body.

Then there was Lin Xia.

If the qi signature extracted from the blood truly belonged to her...

Did Bang Fo already know?

...

Or perhaps...

He knew exactly what she had done...

...and simply chose to ignore it.

After all...

Shen Yuan had eyes.

Even without deliberately paying attention, it wasn’t difficult to notice how differently Bang Fo treated Lin Xia compared to the other servants.

She entered places no servant should.

She carried documents personally.

She spoke to him without trembling.

Some servants whispered about it whenever they thought no one else could hear.

Others wisely kept their mouths shut.

Could they actually be...

Sleeping together?

It certainly explained why she enjoyed privileges nobody else possessed.

It also explained why Bang Fo might overlook something as insignificant as one dead servant.

Shen Yuan almost sighed.

His thoughts were interrupted as the reception hall doors slowly opened.

Bang Fo stepped outside first.

Behind him walked the elegant elder with the calm smile that hadn’t faded even once since entering the estate.

The two exchanged a few quiet words before Bang Fo cupped his fists.

"Master, allow this disciple to escort you personally."

The elder smiled and lightly waved a hand.

"There is no need."

"You should focus on what we discussed."

Bang Fo hesitated.

"...Very well."

He turned toward the nearby servants.

"Lin Xia."

She immediately put down the scroll she had been holding and hurried over.

"This servant is here."

"You will escort Master—"

Before Bang Fo could finish...

The elder shook his head.

"No."

Both Bang Fo and Lin Xia paused.

Jiang Heng looked toward the bamboo scrolls piled neatly on the stone table.

"I noticed she has been organizing those records since I arrived."

"They appear important."

"It would be a shame to delay that work simply for my sake."

Lin Xia immediately bowed.

"This servant can finish them later."

Jiang Heng chuckled.

"Work first."

"I can find someone else."

His pale gray eyes slowly wandered across the courtyard.

Lin Xia did not like that. Her eyes turned cold as she looked around, glaring at other servants, daring them to accept the task.

One servant was trimming bushes.

Another carried buckets of water.

Several others hurried across the courtyard transporting supplies.

Finally...

His gaze settled on a young servant wiping down a row of wooden tables beneath a pavilion.

Shen Yuan.

He paused for half a second.

Cleaning tables?

That wasn’t even part of his assigned duties.

Shen Yuan continued wiping the table in complete silence.

Inside, however, he couldn’t help shaking his head.

Lin Xia really was relentless.

Sweeping.

Carrying water.

Cleaning guest halls.

Now tables.

At this rate she’d probably ask him to polish roof tiles next.

What a demonic sect.

"You."

Jiang Heng smiled.

"Young man."

Bang Fo glanced over before nodding.

"You."

Shen Yuan immediately set the cloth aside before bowing respectfully.

"Yes, Elder."

"You will escort Elder Jiang to the front gate."

"This servant obeys."

Jiang Heng’s smile deepened ever so slightly.

"Come."

The two slowly walked toward the estate entrance.

For several minutes...

Neither spoke.

Only the sound of footsteps echoed softly along the stone path.

Eventually...

Jiang Heng broke the silence.

"What is your name?"

"Shen Yuan."

"A pleasant name."

The elder nodded thoughtfully before asking another question.

"And where are you from?"

Shen Yuan answered almost immediately.

"This servant comes from Willow Creek Village."

It wasn’t his real birthplace.

Rather...

It was a village he vaguely remembered existing somewhere several hundred li away.

Far enough that almost nobody would bother verifying it.

Or so he thought.

Jiang Heng suddenly laughed.

A warm...

Gentle laugh.

"You lie rather naturally."

Shen Yuan’s footsteps stopped for the briefest moment.

His heart skipped.

"...Pardon?"

Jiang Heng continued walking as though discussing today’s weather.

"Willow Creek Village was abandoned nearly eighteen years ago after a flood redirected the entire river."

"There hasn’t been anyone living there since."

"..."

Silence.

For one terrifying instant...

Shen Yuan genuinely felt as though someone had chopped his neck clean off.

Cold sweat instantly formed across his back.

How?

Out of every village in the empire...

How had he accidentally chosen one that no longer existed?

Was this old monster testing him?

Or...

Had he simply been unbelievably unlucky?

Shen Yuan forced himself to remain calm. His expression didn’t change in the slightest.

"This servant..."

"...must have remembered the name incorrectly."

"Oh?" Jiang Heng looked at him with amused eyes. "Is that so?"

There wasn’t the slightest accusation in his tone.

Nor any hostility.

"Do you know that the sect has records on every servant, dead or alive."

"The elders who have Brough them know where they come from."