"Okay, I'll give it to you. It’s all yours!" Lin Yujing said quickly, her entire demeanor shifting to one of excitement. She continued eagerly:

"It doesn’t matter who kills Zhao Shuanghe. I just want him dead. The sooner, the better—the more miserable, the better!"

Clearly, there was deep-seated hatred between Lin Yujing and the county magistrate.

Chen Zhou had no intention of prying into her personal affairs, so he simply said, "Can I take a look at your heirloom now?"

"Of course." Now that they had formed a temporary alliance, Lin Yujing was no longer as cold. She placed the book onto the stone table in front of him.

"Even within the entire Guanghan Prefecture, my 'Purple Yang Tempering Technique' ranks among the best," she added with a hint of pride.

It was actually kind of cute.

"That incredible? Looks like I came to the right place, then. Jingwu Hall really lives up to its reputation."

Chen Zhou was satisfied. He opened the book excitedly—only to frown moments later.

What… is this?

The characters were Chinese, yet somehow, when put together, they made no sense to him.

And this book—it was nearly as thick as a dictionary! Chen Zhou sighed internally. He hadn’t liked reading in his past life, and that habit hadn’t changed in this one.

But it didn’t matter—"The Record of Merits" would do the work for him.

Too lazy to read carefully, he simply skimmed through it, imprinting it into the "Record of Merits" for later use.

Seeing Chen Zhou flip through the book so quickly, Lin Yujing didn’t think much of it. She assumed he was merely scanning it to confirm its authenticity.

After struggling through half of the book, Chen Zhou rubbed his temples and looked up—only to find Lin Yujing’s sharp eyes fixed on him.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked curiously. "Are you worried I won’t follow through on killing Zhao Shuanghe?"

"Relax. We’ll act tomorrow afternoon—assuming you’re not afraid of dying."

Lin Yujing immediately shook her head. "That’s not it. It’s just… this breathing method is extremely difficult to learn. It’s impossible to grasp in such a short time. If you don’t understand something, you can ask me—"

Then, she suddenly realized something. "Wait… did you just say tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah, what’s wrong?" Chen Zhou responded nonchalantly.

"That’s way too soon!" Lin Yujing’s brows furrowed deeply.

"Too soon? Didn’t you just say the sooner he dies, the better?"

"Yes, but this is too fast! Acting now would be extremely dangerous!" Lin Yujing sat down beside Chen Zhou, speaking anxiously:

"You might not know the full details about Zhao Shuanghe, so let me explain."

"Aside from County Lieutenant Xiao, Zhao Shuanghe’s most powerful subordinate is the Black Tiger Gang. Their leader has reached the peak of the second realm—far stronger than Xiao."

"And Zhao Shuanghe himself is no ordinary official. While he presents himself as just another bureaucrat, I know for a fact that he’s actually a third-realm martial artist—the strongest in this entire county."

"Not only that, but according to my investigation… Zhao Shuanghe may be colluding with demons."

"Demons?"

Chen Zhou was genuinely surprised. He had assumed that no supernatural creatures existed in this world.

After all, in the fifteen years of memories he possessed, he had never encountered or even heard of such things.

Then again, his experience had been limited. He had never even traveled outside of Changqing County.

However… a third-realm warrior, a powerful gang leader, and a possible demon ally? If all these good deeds points were stacked together…

"Huh…" Chen Zhou took a deep breath. "I see. In that case, we should adjust the timing."

Lin Yujing sighed in relief. "I’m glad you’re being reasonable."

But before she could finish exhaling, Chen Zhou added, "Let’s move it up to tomorrow morning instead."

Lin Yujing: "???"

"What?! Why is it getting even earlier?!" she exclaimed, her voice rising in disbelief.

"Isn’t this what you wanted? Faster revenge? I’m only trying to help. My intentions are good."

"No, this is too reckless!" Lin Yujing shook her head frantically. "Killing an imperial official is no joke. We need a solid plan!"

Chen Zhou not wanting to act initially had made her think that, no matter how bold he was, he still had limits.

Now, she realized—Chen Zhou’s courage had no limits.

Only her imagination did.

"There’s no time to waste," Chen Zhou replied, shaking his head. "If we delay, things might change."

Lin Yujing was stunned. She had assumed he was just being reckless, but now she realized he was actually being strategic. He wasn’t just bold—he was calculating.

Chen Zhou always thought carefully before making a move. Having lived two lives, he had acquired some wisdom.

And right now, his wisdom was telling him to use his overwhelming power and simply get it done.

Of course, this was contingent on mastering the breathing technique first. With that in mind, Chen Zhou flipped through the book even faster.

Lin Yujing watched him for a moment before speaking again. "I understand your reasoning, but I still think it’s too dangerous…"

"Please, just be quiet." Chen Zhou sighed, waving a hand dismissively to cut her off.

"Just sit here and wait. You’ll see soon enough whether it’s dangerous or not!"