Normally, a small town wouldn't be very large, and its commercial development would be quite limited.
However, Qianlü Town was located at a transportation hub and served as a junction town, making it relatively prosperous.
Yan Shouyi wandered around the town with an umbrella and found a Sha County Delicacies.
The Sha County Delicacies was run by a middle-aged woman, who was currently busy dealing with two greasy men who had deliberately exposed their bellies.
"I heard your husband died early and you've been a widow for years. It's not easy raising children alone. Don't you want to consider coming with us?"
"My brother and I will definitely not treat you badly. What's so good about this broken town? Come with us, and we'll show you a life of luxury!"
The middle-aged woman didn't want to provoke these two greasy men and kept her head down, wrapping wontons. However, the anxiety visible in her brows showed that she hadn't yet figured out how to deal with these unwelcome guests.
Yan Shouyi walked into the shop, not bothering to inquire about what was happening. He stepped forward and kicked one of the men in the buttocks.
"Ouch!"
The man crashed into the table, his knees in pain. He turned around furiously and stared at Yan Shouyi, "Who are you?"
"Judging by your accent, you're not from around here. If you're just passing through, do your bones itch if you don't pick a fight?" Yan Shouyi picked up a bottle of cooking wine from the stove and weighed it in his hand.
The other man lunged forward, "What the hell is it to you?!"
*Bang!*
Yan Shouyi didn't hold back and brought the cooking wine bottle down directly on the man's head.
The cooking wine bottle shattered instantly, and the man was hit until his head bled. However, Yan Shouyi didn't stop. He grabbed the man and slammed him against the wall, holding half of the broken glass bottle against his face, and said coldly:
"You want to fight? Shall we have a go?"
Both men were stunned. They had traveled far and wide and had always been arrogant, but they knew who they could and couldn't afford to offend.
How could this young man, who looked honest and kind with his bushy eyebrows and bright eyes, be so ruthless when it came to fighting?
*Gulp!*
The man pinned against the wall swallowed hard and said weakly, "I, I was wrong. We'll leave now!"
"Did I say you could leave?" Yan Shouyi said coldly. "Shouldn't you compensate the proprietress for emotional distress?"
The men nodded repeatedly, reaching for their wallets. "Of course, of course... How much is appropriate? Is a thousand yuan enough?"
Yan Shouyi poked the man's face with the wine bottle, causing several scratches. The man grimaced in pain.
He said word by word, "Ten thousand yuan. For every thousand less, I'll break an arm. After breaking an arm, I'll break a leg. If that's still not enough, I'll castrate you."
The two men had a total of four arms and four legs, plus two family heirlooms. If they were willing, they wouldn't have to pay a single cent.
However, these two men clearly lacked such courage. They quickly took out all the cash they had, made up ten thousand yuan, and threw it on the table.
"Scram!"
Yan Shouyi released his grip, and the two men immediately scurried away in disgrace.
Watching them flee in a panic, Yan Shouyi's lips curved slightly: Sometimes, being controlled by inner demons was quite good, at least it saved a lot of trouble.
The proprietress was also terrified. Seeing the money on the table, she dared not touch it. Instead, she said to Yan Shouyi:
"Th-thank you. You can take this money... I dare not accept it..."
"This is your compensation for emotional distress, take it," Yan Shouyi said calmly as he sat down. "As payment, I need to make a phone call."
The proprietress still didn't touch the money. She wiped her hands with her apron and took out an old-fashioned mobile phone from her pocket.
Yan Shouyi shook his head. "I don't mean this."
"Then... what do you mean?" the proprietress asked, confused.
"All mortals must die," Yan Shouyi blurted out unexpectedly.
The proprietress blinked in surprise, then seemed to understand. A spark of intelligence flashed in her formerly ignorant eyes.
She said "Wait a moment," and turned to go into the storage room. After a moment, she returned with a special encrypted phone and respectfully handed it to Yan Shouyi.
"Qianlü Town, Shijiu, greetings, sir!" the proprietress asked in a low voice. "May I ask what kind of person you are?"
Yan Shouyi took the encrypted phone and said faintly, "You will know later. Don't ask too many questions now."
Before leaving, he had asked Weng Qianxiang to give him a slight disguise, making it difficult for those unfamiliar with him to recognize him.
However, this did not mean Yan Shouyi could act with impunity. He had many distinctive features, and he was in a sensitive period. Major sects would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go.
He took the phone and dialed the number of the Folk Research Association himself, contacting Wang Jíwǎng.
After a full day, Wang Jíwǎng finally received Yan Shouyi's call. He let out a sigh of relief on the other end:
"Old Yan, where are you? Is everything going smoothly so far?"
Yan Shouyi replied, "I'm in Qianlü Town, Huizhou. The highway is temporarily closed, which has delayed my travel. I might arrive in Jinling half a day later than originally planned."
Wang Jíwǎng: "Okay, I'll pass this message to Uncle Gou and Xiao Long."
"Also, I encountered a chang gui in the mountains last night. The specific location is... find an opportunity to contact the Xinghuo Gang and ask if they can send someone to handle it, so as to prevent future trouble there."
"No problem," Wang Jíwǎng cautioned, "Be sure to hide your identity."
"Don't worry."
After ending the call, Yan Shouyi crushed the phone in his hand into pieces and threw it into the trash can.
This move astonished the proprietress.
The proprietress was not a descendant of a folk sect, but she was a former foreign mercenary with formidable skills. Later, she had provoked someone she couldn't afford to offend, her husband was killed, and her son became a vegetative state. It was He Xiping who helped resolve the trouble and paid all of her son's medical expenses, which made the proprietress utterly loyal to the Folk Research Association.
Yan Shouyi got up silently and walked to the door, then suddenly stopped:
"Keep the money on the table. If those two scoundrels come to bother you again, find a way to kill them."
The proprietress hesitated and shook her head, "I've retired from the martial world. I won't kill anyone anymore."
"...Understood."
Yan Shouyi didn't take it to heart. In fact, he didn't need to worry about the proprietress at all. If she truly couldn't stand it, she would have countless ways to kill those two scums.
Her not acting now was simply because she didn't want to.
However, his conversation with the proprietress had unintentionally revealed that he was once again being consumed by his inner demons.
Stepping out of Sha County Delicacies, Yan Shouyi's brow furrowed.
He realized that since leaving Rongcheng, the violent aura on him had become increasingly apparent.
If it continued at this pace, by the time he reached Changbai Mountain, his inner demons might be out of control, and he would be completely corrupted...
However, Yan Shouyi dismissed this thought after a brief consideration.
He had to admit, doing things after being corrupted was truly damn easy!
Let's keep getting corrupted, anyway, the bastards from the major sects have already called me "demon," "god of death," and "devil" repeatedly!