The wickedly shameless pair felt no guilt whatsoever. Shen Qiyuan even took out Zhou Tingchuan’s portion and placed it aside, beckoning to Ruyi: “Eat together.”

Ruyi sat down cheerfully: “How did you know I haven’t eaten either?”

“It’s just past midday. You must have come as soon as the dishes were ready.” He shook his head with a gentle smile.

When this person wasn’t stern-faced, he was truly too handsome. It was as if he was still that first meeting when they were teenagers—delicate features and gentle tear mole.

Ruyi cupped her face and looked at him. Her gaze wandered casually and caught sight of the case file on his desk.

“This case…” she began meaningfully, “My Lord doesn’t want to investigate it?”

“I’m somewhat overwhelmed.” Shen Qiyuan said while picking up food with his chopsticks. “It might be transferred to others in the Ministry of Justice.”

“Don’t do that,” she said. “Investigate it—perhaps there’ll be some surprises.”

Hearing the hint in her tone, Shen Qiyuan put down his chopsticks: “You know inside information?”

The person before him adjusted the magpie hairpin on her head, saying lazily: “What inside information could I know? I just find it strange. How could twenty cattle all be stolen in one night without leaving any traces?”

Unless it was the work of demons.

Turning sideways, Shen Qiyuan half-closed his eyes: “Ruyi, don’t lie to me.”

Given their understanding of each other, neither could hide anything from the other.

He leaned closer, sniffing lightly by her ear: “You left the city.”

A faint wine fragrance mixed with a trace of Huai sugar’s sweetness.

Ruyi also sniffed her clothes, saying amusedly, “How could your divine consciousness take the form of a dragon carp? It should be a dog instead.”

She waved her hand to close the doors and windows, then leaned back helplessly in her chair: “Fine, I confess.”

That day, Fuman had pulled her upstairs and said many things about her childhood, her deceased husband, and her state of mind when Zhao Yanning was in danger. She spoke haltingly, crying and laughing, but Ruyi had taken it all to heart.

She knew Fuman had resolved her inner turmoil, no longer obsessed with dying for her deceased husband, and no longer avoiding her feelings for Zhao Yanning.

However, Fuman still felt disappointed in Great Qian’s emperor and justice and fairness in this world. There was already enough evidence proving that Duke An’s concubine daughter was killed by Liu Yinuo, even though the death location wasn’t Duke An’s manor, yet the emperor still refused to give Duke An’s manor justice.

“Since she said all that, I naturally had to take some action.” As she spoke, she spread her hands rather roguishly. “I’m a demon, after all. It’s not excessive for demons to kill people, right? Moreover, Liu Yinuo deserved it.”

Shen Qiyuan frowned: “You killed him?”

“I originally planned to kill him.” Ruyi sighed. “But I accidentally overheard some information, so I decided to spare his life for now. I just brought him back to Lin’an and settled him at the Meeting Immortals Wine House.”

An ordinary mortal, transported overnight from Huai Zhou back to Lin’an thousands of li away—what would his reaction be when he woke up?

Shen Qiyuan got up and headed outside.

“Hey, hey, at least eat a few more bites.” Ruyi quickly followed.

The Meeting Immortals Wine House wasn’t open for business today. He went upstairs from the back courtyard and could hear hysterical wailing from afar: “Spare me, please spare me!”

Quickening his pace, Shen Qiyuan pushed open the door.

Liu Yinuo was disheveled, wrapped in bedding. Upon seeing someone arrive, he screamed and lunged forward: “Help! I don’t want to be eaten by demons! I don’t want to be eaten by demons!”

Shen Qiyuan held his shoulders, glancing back somewhat guiltily: “What demons?”

“There are, there are—demons that eat twenty cattle!” Liu Yinuo’s eyes were vacant. “I already fulfilled my promise and took him to find twenty cattle, but he still transported me back to Lin’an. Does he still want to eat me?”

His gaze gradually focused. Seeing Shen Qiyuan’s face clearly, he hastily knelt: “Lord Shen, Lord Shen, I’m guilty! I killed Duke An’s concubine daughter. Please arrest me and throw me in prison—send twenty people to watch me, alright?”

“Please, Lord Shen!”

Shen Qiyuan helped him up with difficulty: “People in unstable emotional states cannot testify in court. Rest and recover first.”

“How can I rest? He’s going to eat me!” Liu Yinuo clutched his head frantically. “He’s a very powerful demon. I should have known from the day he helped me move the corpse. How could anyone move such a heavy body into Duke An’s manor courtyard in the blink of an eye? Those walls were so high, with many servants guarding around—it was impossible.”

His eyes stirring, Shen Qiyuan pressed him and asked: “What did that demon look like?”

“Black clothes, wearing a silver snake crown on his head.” Liu Yinuo gestured, then became somewhat hysterical again as he spoke. “In a flash, I saw he had nine heads.”

“Nine heads?” Ruyi followed into the room, saying amusedly: “You weren’t scared out of your wits and seeing things, were you?”

“No, it was nine—swaying back and forth like they had no bones.” His tongue went numb. Liu Yinuo jumped back onto the bed and covered himself with bedding again. “I don’t want to die, Father, save me, I don’t want to die!”

Ruyi looked at his comical appearance and turned to say something to Shen Qiyuan, but saw he was somewhat dazed and lost in thought.

“My Lord?” She tugged at his sleeve.

Shen Qiyuan came back to his senses, but his expression was unprecedentedly serious: “I’ll set up a protective formation for him. Come with me.”

“Me?” Ruyi said in confusion, “Shouldn’t you bring Yanning for investigations?”

“I need you,” he said earnestly.

Who could resist such a stunning beauty saying such words? Ruyi nodded without thinking and followed him out to get in the carriage.

“Go to the twenty households that lost cattle—visit each one,” he instructed the attendants.

The carriage ran quickly and soon arrived at the first household.

This household had the fewest traces. The empty cattle pen contained nothing, only a faint fishy smell.

“The cattle theft happened half a month ago.” The farmer looked dejected. “What sin did I commit?”

Ruyi looked around once, then turned to take out a silver ingot for the farmer: “Go buy another ox.”

Suddenly receiving this windfall, the farmer looked at her in astonishment, not daring to accept it for a long while.

“Take it,” Shen Qiyuan said. “Just have all your family members stay at the Zongzheng villa for a few days. Leave this place to our Ministry of Justice—we might catch the cattle thief.”

“Ah… ah! Thank you, benevolent lord!” The farmer was moved to tears, quickly taking the silver and going inside to inform his wife and children, then packing to relocate.

“Any leads?” Shen Qiyuan asked her.

Ruyi shook her head: “With these few traces, I can only tell it was a relatively large demon whose feeding method was swallowing whole without chewing.”

But most demons ate this way, so it was impossible to determine exactly what kind of demon did it.