The First Legendary Demonic Scholar

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: A New Enemy

Shen Yuan stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him.

Bang Fo sat behind his long wooden desk exactly as he had that very first day, a scroll unrolled before him, green hair falling neatly over one shoulder as he read. He didn’t look up immediately, letting the silence stretch just long enough to remind Shen Yuan precisely whose time mattered more in this room.

"Sit," Bang Fo said finally, gesturing toward the modest chair positioned before his desk.

Shen Yuan obeyed without hesitation, settling into the seat with the same practiced deference he’d worn every day of the past month.

Bang Fo’s emerald eyes finally lifted from the scroll, studying him for a long moment before he began to speak, voice carrying an unusual note of something almost like approval. "Your work this month has been... exceptional. Every ledger transcribed without error."

"Every task completed ahead of schedule. In three years of overseeing servants in this estate, I don’t believe I’ve had one perform quite as reliably as you."

"You might has surpassed the best servant I have among all of my estates."

"This one is honored to hear it, Senior Brother," Shen Yuan said, keeping his tone carefully humble. ’He has more than one place.’

"Don’t be modest. I already told you once I dislike modesty." Bang Fo set the scroll aside, folding his hands together atop the desk, his gaze sharpening slightly as he continued.

"Which is why I’ve decided to offer you something most servants in this estate would kill for, quite literally."

Shen Yuan said nothing, even at the most baited comment.

"Stay," Bang Fo said simply. "Not for another month. Permanently."

"Become my personal attendant, under my direct command, indefinitely."

"You’d have privileges far beyond what any ordinary servant enjoys here—better quarters, access to resources most outer sect disciples never see in their lifetimes, protection under my name should anyone dare threaten you."

He paused, letting the offer settle in the space between them.

"Most would consider this the opportunity of a lifetime."

Shen Yuan felt it before he fully processed the words—a cold, creeping unease sliding down his spine, instinct flaring sharp and immediate beneath his carefully composed exterior. It wasn’t fear, exactly. It was the same feeling that had once warned him, in another life, a heartbeat before a blade found its mark. The same sense that had kept him alive through countless closer calls than this one.

’Something about this is wrong.’

He couldn’t name it precisely—not the ambition Bang Fo’s poison research clearly demanded, not the secrets still buried in ledgers and redacted names, not even the memory of Lin Xia’s blade sliding free from her sleeve in the dark. Just an overwhelming, primal certainty that saying yes to this offer would end very differently than Bang Fo intended it to sound.

"Senior Brother honors me beyond what this servant deserves," Shen Yuan said carefully, bowing his head low. "But I must respectfully decline."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

Bang Fo’s expression didn’t shift dramatically—no flare of visible anger, no dramatic rise from his seat.

But something in the air thickened instantly, pressing down against Shen Yuan’s shoulders with a weight that hadn’t been there moments before, the same suffocating pressure he’d felt from the inner sect gate guards weeks ago, except somehow colder, more personal.

"Decline," Bang Fo repeated softly, as though tasting the word for the first time. "You understand what you’re refusing, don’t you? A position most disciples would sacrifice years of their lives to obtain."

"This one is deeply grateful," Shen Yuan said, voice steady despite the crushing pressure bearing down on him, "but circumstances beyond my control require me to return to the outer sect. I have obligations there I cannot abandon."

"Obligations." Bang Fo’s tone remained calm, almost gentle, which somehow made it more unsettling than open hostility would have been. "How curious, that a servant’s obligations would outweigh an offer like mine."

Silence stretched between them, thick and dangerous.

Then, as quickly as it had risen, the pressure receded, Bang Fo’s expression settling back into its usual unreadable calm, though something colder now lingered behind his emerald eyes.

"Very well," he said finally. "I won’t force loyalty from someone unwilling to give it freely. That would be counterproductive."

Shen Yuan allowed himself the faintest breath of relief, though he kept his expression carefully neutral.

"But know this." Bang Fo’s voice dropped, quiet and deliberate, each word carrying weight far beyond its volume. "You’ve seen things in this estate that most servants never live long enough to speak of."

"I’ve allowed it, because you served me well, and because dead servants tell fewer stories than disappeared ones. But should word of anything you’ve witnessed here find its way beyond these walls..."

He let the sentence hang, unfinished, though the implication settled into Shen Yuan’s chest with icy clarity.

"...you should watch your back very carefully, wherever you go."

Shen Yuan bowed low, betraying nothing. "This one understands. And this one is grateful for Senior Brother’s generosity this past month."

"Go, then," Bang Fo said, waving one hand dismissively, already reaching for his scroll once more. "Your service here is concluded."

Shen Yuan rose without another word, turning toward the door and stepping out of the study with measured, unhurried steps, refusing to let even the faintest urgency show in his stride until the heavy door clicked shut behind him.

Only once he’d crossed the courtyard, passed through the estate’s outer gates, and put considerable distance between himself and Bang Fo’s residence did he finally allow his shoulders to loosen, breath escaping him in a slow, controlled exhale.

〈Ding!〉

──────────────────

[New Mission Triggered: Survive]

[Complete your one-month term of service within Bang Fo’s estate and leave this place alive.]

[Mission Difficulty: Extreme.]

[Mission Completed]

[Reward Claimed: Profound Qi Condensation Pill (100% Purity)]

[New Threat Identified: Bang Fo — Core Formation Realm]

[Warning: Target has expressed direct hostile intent toward you.]

──────────────────

Shen Yuan’s steps didn’t falter, though his silver eyes flickered briefly toward the notification hovering at the edge of his vision, the words settling into his mind with quiet, sobering weight.

’Core Formation. After all he is an inner disciple. It does make sense.’

He continued walking, the towering black gates of the inner sect rising steadily into view ahead of him, the weight of an entire month’s secrets, dangers, and quiet victories trailing behind him like a shadow he couldn’t quite outrun.

’I survived for a whole month in that dangerous den. What do I get, one pill.’ His fingers curled faintly at his side, silver eyes hardening with quiet resolve as he stepped once more onto the path back toward the outer sect. ’And one very dangerous enemy added to the list.’