Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

After school.

Chen Lingyun was sitting in the back seat of the car with an unusually somber expression, devoid of any smile.

The female driver, looking at her through the rearview mirror and seeing her pensive look, couldn't help but speak up:

"Miss, did something happen at school…?"

Chen Lingyun lifted her head and reinstated her standard, perfect, impeccable smile of etiquette:

"It's nothing, Sister Liu."

"I just encountered some interesting things."

"Oh," the driver asked casually, "are they interesting people, or interesting events?"

"Are you planning to report to father?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile.

"That depends on what it is," the driver replied. "If it's not important, of course, I wouldn't bother him."

"I see," Chen Lingyun mused.

The annoying face of Yan Yu sprung to mind, and on a whim, she lifted her head again, already wearing a radiant smile:

"It's probably not anything important, Sister Liu."

"I just might have met someone I like."

The steering wheel jerked suddenly as the startled driver quickly steadied it and then tried to calm herself, stuttering out:

"Uh… Miss, you are joking, right?"

"I wish I were joking." Chen Lingyun's smile became even more radiant, her eyes sparkling with joy.

As if a child had seen their favorite toy.

————————

Yan Yu returned to his rented room, and Zhao Yuanzhen hurriedly welcomed him.

"Someone actually knocked on the door today," she said eagerly. "They were here to collect some kind of… 'sobbing fee'?"

"You didn't open the door, did you?" Yan Yu asked indifferently, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Zhao Yuanzhen replied with a flattering smile. "I just prepared the Curved Curse, ready to kill her on the spot if she forced her way in."

"But she knocked for a while and left after getting no response."

"Hmm." Yan Yu's gaze swept over the living room, confirming, "What do you usually do at home?"

"Uh…" Zhao Yuanzhen thought, you're supposed to be clairvoyant, so why are you asking me?

Oh, I get it. You're feigning ignorance, testing my honesty, you sly little thief!

She silently took note of this transgression:

"...Today, the thief Yan Yu deliberately provoked and questioned me. I shall temporarily note this grudge, and should the day come when I gain the upper hand, I will make him a slave or a maid, treating him harshly and humiliating him to settle this score!"

"In the morning, I meditated and practiced breathing to restore my True Yuan," Zhao Yuanzhen harbored resentment in her heart, but outwardly she was honest. "In the afternoon, I watched a bit of that… television."

This enchantress has even learned to watch television? Yan Yu was inwardly on guard.

They say the TV was left behind by the previous tenant, and the landlord was too lazy to remove it, not expecting that it would now become a channel for the enchantress to gather information about the outside world.

The more this enchantress knows, the harder it is to deceive and control... I mean, the harder it is to guide her towards goodness, which is detrimental to her growth.

But if I remove the TV now, it would seem overly deliberate. A powerful student of divination, actually afraid of her watching TV? It really would damage my dignity.

Well, let her watch, then. I'll maintain the façade of "having everything under control," allowing her to continue her suspicion and paranoia.

"So what have you been watching?" Yan Yu sat down on the couch, casually inquiring.

"I watched a folk play, what's it called... 'The Wife's Lies,'" Zhao Yuanzhen said with a forced laugh, "Although it depicts the trivial affairs of mortal housewives, the plot twists and turns are unexpected and quite interesting."

Yan Yu was stunned for a while before realizing that the so-called "folk play" the enchantress was referring to was actually a soap opera targeted at housewives.

This was very odd. Given the Demonic Sect Enchantress's usual ferociousness, even if she watched TV shows, she should prefer those with bloody and horrifying themes... Oh, such shows wouldn't pass the censorship, so never mind.

In any case, soap operas had little informative content and were only good for passing time, so there wasn't much to worry about.

"Yan Yu, did our respected teacher give any instructions today?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked.

"Nothing special," Yan Yu waved his hand, "The master is busy and hasn't contacted me."

"Is that so." Zhao Yuanzhen was full of suspicion, wondering if it was really no contact or if the content was not meant for her knowledge.

Yan Yu noticed her stiff smile and knew that the enchantress must be getting suspicious again, and he spoke leisurely:

"Even if there were instructions, with your recovery still incomplete, how much could you really help him? Don't forget, you can't even leave this door without being discovered. If you go out, you'll be found, then Mei Yingxue will show up at the door, her Flying Sword will slash twice, and a great beauty will meet her demise, poof!"

"To know it's impossible yet still willing to attempt, shows the sincerity in my heart," Zhao Yuanzhen responded without embarrassment, expressing her loyalty seriously, "Though my abilities have greatly diminished, if our respected teacher commands, I wouldn't hesitate to face Mei Yingxue or even brave the mountains of swords and seas of flames. What is this body to me!"

"That flattery is just too fake," Yan Yu said disdainfully, "If Mei Yingxue stood at the door with her sword, you'd probably have jumped out the window by now, forget about waiting for any orders from our teacher..."

Before he finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.

Yan Yu quickly stood up, looking at the door, then turned to look at Zhao Yuanzhen.

He saw the enchantress also staring wide-eyed, like a startled bird looking toward the door, her hands on the window sill, one foot stepping onto the windowsill.

Yan Yu quickly shook his head, then pointed under the bed, indicating "roll under the bed."

Zhao Yuanzhen immediately rolled to the ground, tumbling under the bed. Yan Yu opened the door from the inside to see two uniformed officers standing outside, saying:

"Checking for temporary residence permits... Are you the only person living in this room?"

"Yes," Yan Yu said, nodding and stepping aside so the officers could see the entire room from outside the door.

The doors to the bathroom and kitchen were open, showing clearly that there was no one inside.

The only places in the room where someone could hide were under the bed and in the large wardrobe, but checking temporary residence permits doesn't involve searching wardrobes or looking under beds; that would be too deliberate.

The two uniformed officers exchanged glances. The instructions they received indicated that "the criminal is extremely vicious and would kill the residents hiding them," so their actual task was to pretend to check the residence permits while mainly inspecting each dwelling in the area to ensure no one had died silently at home.

As for searching the wardrobes, it could easily cause disputes with residents, so unless there were direct witness reports or leads pointing to it, it wasn't possible to search every household like that.

"Student ID... You're a high school senior? Living alone?"

"Yes," Yan Yu nodded, "I'm preparing for the college entrance exams."

"Oh," said the uniformed officer, nodding in understanding.

Being a high school senior was a strong buff; no one dared to disturb a senior's studying, or else the parents would have their say.

After confirming once again that there was no issue with the student ID, the two officers turned and left.

Yan Yu closed the door again, feeling no tension in his heart.

To be honest, even if the officers had come in and directly searched under the bed, as long as Zhao Yuanzhen spent some residual True Yuan to perform the Invisibility Technique, they wouldn't have seen anything odd.

Nevertheless, this inspection was rather lax, nowhere near as intense as the widespread searches from my previous life.

On reflection, if Zhao Yuanzhen had chosen to find a place nearby to hide and commit murders as in the original timeline, the seriousness would've escalated several levels once the bodies appeared, warranting a thorough search.

Fortunately, I had arrived in time to subdue the enchantress and bring her home for education, not only saving several innocents who would have died in vain but also saving valuable manpower for community security.

Sigh, I just love to silently contribute to society, without leaving my name or seeking any reward—even if the enchantress is fierce, for the nation and for the people, I go all out!

Yan Yu turned around with a sense of accomplishment, only to see Zhao Yuanzhen rolling out from under the bed, her robes, face, and arms all covered with dust.

"Go wash it off," he said with a tender, doting smile, speaking softly, "If you leave even a speck of dust on you, you're sleeping in the bathroom tonight."