The First Legendary Demonic Scholar

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Elder’s Interest

"Now, why would you lie about your birth place?" Jiang Heng looked over his shoulder with a faint smile but that smile felt anything but one.

"I apologize elder"

Jiang Heng merely chuckled again.

"You needn’t be so nervous." He continued walking toward the estate gates with his hands folded behind his back.

Shen Yuan silently followed.

His heartbeat, however, refused to slow.

Because for the first time since arriving in Bang Fo’s estate...

He had the distinct feeling that someone was looking straight through every lie he possessed.

"I believe this is not the first time we have met though." The elder spoke again.

"Indeed, I saw you at the Fallen Blossom Pavilion but I did not know I did not know who elder was at that time. Please forgive me for not being able to pay proper respects to you at that time."

Shen Yuan finally understood the might of an elder of The Hall of Secret Affairs.

From the information he had gathered while living in Bang Fo’s house, this man before him was the second in command of the great hall.

Second only to the right hand man of the Sect leader of the demonic sect.

To stand before him was in itself was a great honor for a servant like him let alone talk to him.

The only reason the man was talking to him was because ha caught his interest.

"You are just a child and you already know the value of information, which shows great promise." The man saw a weird look on Shen Yuan’s face and chuckled. "Us, elders might look young to you people but we have already lived for centuries so all the disciples are like children in our eyes."

"I just don’t like people to know about me more than I want them to." Even though he was not sure, Shen Yuan had a feeling that man before him could see through lies as easily as he did.

So he decided to play the safe bet and gave vague answers.

"Knowledge is one of the most fundamental powers one could have. It helps you stay alive." Seeing the amiable smile on his face Shen Yuan got a feeling that he was hinting at something.

"This is enough, I can leave on my own from here on." Once they were out of the house, the elder stepped forward with his back facing Shen Yuan. "You should return lest someone gets jealous."

"..."

Shen Yuan only blinked once and the man had disappeared from his sight like a ghost. He let out a strained sigh and shook his head.

"The sect is full of monsters like him. I should be more careful and vigilant." He turned around and left without even realizing that his words had drifted to the ears of the elder who had yet to left the area.

...

Shen Yuan turned around and made his way back toward Bang Fo’s residence.

The closer he got to the estate...

The heavier the atmosphere became.

By the time he stepped into the front courtyard, the servants had already resumed their duties.

The rhythmic grinding of herbs echoed beneath the pavilion.

The scratching of brushes against parchment drifted from one of the side rooms.

Everything appeared exactly the same.

Everything...

Except for Lin Xia.

She stood beneath the entrance of the main residence with both hands folded before her.

The moment her eyes landed on Shen Yuan...

A cold smile spread across her face.

It wasn’t the smile of someone greeting another servant.

It was the smile of someone who had finally found an opportunity.

"Shen Yuan."

Her voice rang through the quiet courtyard.

"Come with me."

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked toward Bang Fo’s study.

Shen Yuan silently followed behind her.

As they crossed the courtyard, he noticed the reactions of the other servants.

The young man grinding herbs slowed his hands for only a moment before lowering his head again.

Old Wu glanced toward him from within the poison garden.

The old servant’s expression remained indifferent...

Yet there was something buried deep inside his eyes.

Pity.

The servant copying documents briefly paused his brush before quietly sighing.

Even the servant carrying medicinal jars subtly shook his head.

No one said a word.

No one needed to.

’They think Lin Xia is about to bury me’, Shen Yuan thought, expression carefully blank as he followed a step behind her rigid, purposeful stride.

He’d expected as much himself, honestly.

A servant who’d been caught snooping near evidence of a murder, then handed an impossible workload as punishment—only for the workload to somehow finish on time despite every intention of breaking him.

Of course she’d want another attempt. Of course the entire household would assume today was the day Shen Yuan’s luck finally ran out.

Lin Xia led him into a small side chamber adjoining the main study, one Shen Yuan hadn’t been permitted into before. She gestured curtly toward a low desk already stacked with a fresh bundle of scrolls, bound tightly in twine.

"New assignment," she said, voice clipped. "Transcribe these before evening bell. No excuses."

Shen Yuan bowed his head slightly, accepting the stack without complaint, the same practiced deference he wore like a second skin. "Understood."

She turned to leave without another word, and for a moment, Shen Yuan almost believed that was the entirety of it—another petty attempt to grind him down through sheer volume of tedious work, nothing more.

He sat, untied the twine, and began reading through the first scroll to gauge the scope of the task.

His eyes stopped less than a paragraph in.

...three hundred low-grade spirit stones redirected from the Azure Vein Trading Company’s monthly tribute, routed through a secondary account under the name...

Shen Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly as he read further, his perfect memory absorbing every line with growing unease.

Ledgers.

They were Financial records.

Careful, methodical documentation of funds being siphoned from at least four different business fronts under the Hall of Secret Affairs’ jurisdiction—spirit stones, resources, even rare cultivation materials, all quietly rerouted away from their intended destinations and funneled toward an account marked only with a symbol Shen Yuan didn’t recognize, no name attached to it at all.

’Just what is she planning!’