37. Departure

◎Above the Void Refinement stage, one becomes a deity◎

At 11:45 PM, when most of the guests in the inn were fast asleep, strange noises came from one of the floors.

Before Du Zhijin could finish speaking, Ying Jianhua swept him out of the door with incredible speed.

The door closed behind her, the bolt dangling precariously, as if hinting at their relationship.

Undeterred, she relentlessly knocked, but Ying Jianhua's resolve didn't soften; instead, it attracted the attention of the patrolling men.

Hearing the commotion coming from the "Tian" room, the waiter immediately grabbed a stick and went to "catch the thief." Little did he know that this "thief" was not the real thief, and instead, he got a taste of something fresh and exciting.

With nothing to do late at night, he picked his teeth while muttering to himself. What a mess! Originally, the woman was wealthy and the man handsome; they seemed like a match made in heaven. At first, their relationship was truly good, and they were always seen together. Unfortunately, "Little Red" appeared out of nowhere, and from then on, the couple turned into a bitter feud, with a love triangle constantly playing out!

The waiter, having watched the performance downstairs for several days, was moved by the scene and couldn't help but recite a line:

Old friends change easily, yet people say that old friends are fickle.

What are you doing there?

The man was startled, realizing that his friend had blurted out his true feelings! What should he do now?

One of the three stood right in front of him, his face grim, and he carried two swords. The waiter's heart leaped into his throat, and he hurriedly said it was nothing. The woman glanced at him, then silently returned to the closed door, though a thick aura of menace still lingered around her.

Even the biggest gossip needs to be eaten alive. The waiter didn't dare to act rashly and decided to slip away as soon as the woman wasn't looking. But he had only taken one step when he heard a "creak" and the door opened.

...Since he was already here, he stopped and quietly listened. First, he heard a heavy thud, then he heard the young man coldly utter a few words: "Change your clothes."

His teeth ached from listening to it.

Oh my, she's already brought other people back, and you're still worried about whether you have any clothes to change into. No wonder you're the oldest one, I admire you.

After expressing his admiration, he heard the woman say, "Amo, I didn't mean to. Even if you wouldn't let me in, you should at least let Xingyue stay with you."

The man sighed and shook his head.

Look at this! They've even brought up the child! If only they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have done it in the first place. One accident involving a little girl has ruined the whole family!

Lost in his own internal monologue, the man failed to notice the fleeting hint of reluctance in his lover's eyes. But he ultimately refused: "No, unless you wash it once, no, twice."

He suspected that Xingyue also smelled of something.

Upon hearing this, Xingyue trembled uncontrollably in Du Zhijin's hands, wishing she could speak in human language to defend herself.

It's not dirty! It doesn't smell!

Its violent reaction naturally caught Ying Jianhua's attention, but he still refused to budge, turning his head away from Xingyue: "We'll talk about it tomorrow morning, I'm going to sleep now."

The door closed again, and Du Zhijin knew that tonight was over. Dejected, he carried his bundle back to his room.

She should have just been honest. She shouldn't have followed Huo Bai's example.

Seeing that the two had gone back inside, the waiter prepared to leave as well. But just like in the plays, things took a series of unexpected turns!

Because after her husband left, Xiao Hong came!

Xiao Hong didn't knock, but stood at the girl's door and said something. The door opened! Xiao Hong went in! The door closed!

The man who witnessed everything felt his heart pounding in his chest, filled with both fear and regret.

What she feared was that her life would be in danger if the woman found out; what she regretted was that her lover had given his heart to the wrong person and misjudged him.

Alas, alas, alas! Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Du Zhijin had no idea that the waiter, whom she had only met once, had such a rich inner world. After welcoming Jiangwei in, she busied herself looking for tea cakes.

Where did Amo put it...?

Seeing her pacing around the room, Jiangwei quickly said, "It's my fault for disturbing you so late at night. I'll just stay for a bit and then I'll be leaving. You don't need to entertain me, my benefactor."

Du Zhijin shook his head and insisted, "Amo said that guests are guests and should not be neglected."

Jiangwei's smile vanished instantly.

He is... a guest.

He unconsciously tightened his grip on the book, as if he could feel the presence of the note even through the thickness of the pages: "Actually, I came because..." "I remembered, the tea cake is with him. Wait for me to knock on the door."

The words "Young Master Amo" were still stuck in Du Zhijin's throat when he couldn't wait to walk towards the door, feeling happy that he had found another excuse.

Jiangwei instinctively cried out, "Don't go!"

She paused, turning back to look at him with a puzzled expression.

He bit his lip, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, feeling more panicked than ever before in his life.

How should she put it? Should she say that Young Master Amo isn't actually what she thinks, that he's a hypocrite who's two-faced and would threaten her when she's not around...?

But would she believe me if I told her? People say that foxes grieve when the rabbit dies, and that foxes have cronies; foxes are always despicable. Would anyone be willing to believe a demon like him?

He dared not gamble. So once again, he avoided the main issue and lowered his head.

Jiangwei, Jiangwei, you are truly useless. You said you would repay a debt of gratitude but chose to hide it out of fear... You would have been better off dying in that dark room and not being rescued by her.

His silence lasted so long that Du Zhijin walked up to him and offered him a handkerchief: "Wipe your hands."

He looked up abruptly, only to realize that tears had unknowingly welled up in his eyes, with a drop or two even falling to her feet. He instinctively apologized, "Ah! I'm sorry, I don't know why..."

That's terrible! My benefactor will definitely think I did it on purpose, deliberately using tears to gain sympathy...

Tears fell silently, forming a shallow pond at her feet, and Jiangwei's despair reached its peak.

He'll be abandoned if things continue like this. He doesn't want to be told, "Isn't it painful to be on a full moon night?"

Tears froze at the corners of her eyes, and Jiangwei was stunned.

Du Zhijin closed the window, blocking out the moonlight, and looked at him intently: "Moonlight will enhance the power within a demon, so the stronger the demon, the more it yearns for a full moon night, and the opposite will cause it pain. This is because the beastly nature and the desire to become human are struggling and tug-of-war with each other, but in the end, the beastly nature will prevail."

"If you feel unwell, stay here for a while. Will the aura of a cultivator make you feel more at ease?" she asked.

With tears in her eyes, Jiangwei shamefully confessed.

He was captivated by her scent and her gentleness. She knew he was a weak monster whom even the moonlight refused to shine upon, a monster who had no chance to struggle, yet she still chose to cover him up with a fragile lie.

She saved him once again; he shouldn't hide it.

After making up his mind, he refused her invitation for the first time, even though he didn't really want to: "...Thank you, but I...I'm much better now."

Du Zhijin did not expose him. After Jiangwei left, she was surprised to find that his book was left with her. Since it was too late, she thought she would return it the next day and placed it on the table.

All was quiet, the moon was bright and the wind was gentle. But somehow the window had been blown open by the wind, and a ray of moonlight shone in.

The books on the table were blown around, and a piece of paper fluttered and drifted out the window, landing on the water reflecting the moonlight, where it gradually sank.

The next day, Du Zhijin returned the book. Jiangwei saw that she looked normal and had already made up her mind.

She flipped through the book and found the note was no longer there, so she had seen it?

He saw it but didn't say a word. Sure enough... he was the one meddling.

Jiangwei looked outside and saw the two of them huddled together talking, sniffing each other, their intimacy unmatched.

His last glimmer of hope was extinguished, he thought bitterly.

Let's do as Young Master Amo suggests and part ways in Huzhou.

Ultimately, their paths diverged and they met with no common ground.

Meanwhile, the two, who were very close, were—

"I've washed the clothes clean! I even washed Xingyue's clothes twice."

"Hmph, that's more like it. But won't the Awakening Moon rust if it gets wet?"

"Why do you only care about Xingyue? Amo, you're so biased."

"You're saying I'm biased again? I think you're the one whose brain is rusty!"

————

This place is quite far from Huzhou; if one were to fly on a sword, it would take approximately two days and two nights. Since there are only two swords for the three of them, how to distribute them becomes a problem.

Du Zhijin: "Xiao Hong has no experience in flying swords, how about I fight him?"

Without even thinking, Ying Jianhua flatly rejected the idea: "No way."

Du Zhijin: "Then, you'll play one against him?"

Jiangwei said weakly, "Young Master Amo doesn't have any cultivation, does he? If he encounters wind or rain, wouldn't he...?"

"That makes sense. Amo is afraid of heights, what are we going to do?" She frowned, even having the absurd idea of ​​shouting "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin" to borrow a sword. Fortunately, Huo Bai appeared in time to solve the problem and incidentally saved some unknown sword cultivator.

She not only brought a spacious carriage, but also a lot of homemade sausages and meat sauce for them to eat on the road.

Du Zhijin's eyes lit up. The pickled cowpeas Aunt Huang had given them were almost gone; this was a good way to replenish them.

She was very happy, but Ying Jianhua was not.

After what happened last night, Huo Bai has completely become the "dog friend" in his heart, and is very unpopular.

Feeling his murderous gaze, Huo Bai felt a chill run down her spine. Not daring to exchange any more pleasantries, she slipped a letter to him and left. As she passed Ying Jianhua, she smiled at him, trying to ease the awkwardness, but was ignored.

She touched her nose, feeling sorry for Du Zhijin.

It's a pity that Miss Mu didn't meet him sooner; she ended up with a jealous man. One should choose a husband based on his virtue! Beauty alone isn't enough!

Hey, thank goodness she didn't run into that guy from last night, or they could have argued for three days and three nights.

While they couldn't fly on swords, they could drive a chariot, a skill shared by one human and one demon.

Jiangwei: "Our tribe occasionally trades with other places, so I'm responsible for driving the vehicle..."

The painting should read: "I rode in the Zhao family's oxcart."

He actually learned it specifically so that he could get away unscathed after taking revenge, but of course, he wouldn't tell her the truth.

Du Zhijin didn't suspect anything, and the three of them discussed that they would take turns driving during the day and she would keep watch at night: "The roads are mostly deserted places, so I feel more at ease keeping watch."

Ying Jianhua nodded. Jiangwei wanted to say that he could also keep watch at night, but then he realized that he didn't even know how to fly on a sword, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

Du Zhijin noticed his dejection and suddenly had an idea.

In order, Ying Jianhua drove first, then Jiangwei. So, while the two were in the carriage, Du Zhijin took out a scroll of martial arts manual.

She also gave this manual to Honghua, wondering how the little girl was doing with it. If there hadn't been a huge fire that night, she should have gone back to check on her.

"This is... You've never learned how to cultivate, have you?"

Jiangwei nodded, feeling ashamed of her ignorance.

There are probably very few demons in the world who have gone to such lengths. Du Zhijin laughed when he heard this: "It may not be a bad thing."

"If you learn this, I'm afraid the first thing we'll do when we meet will be to draw our swords."

He was taken aback, but then he understood the meaning behind her words.

If he were to learn this skill, he would inevitably become like other fox demons, bewitching people and draining their life force. She, on the other hand, is a cultivator; they are naturally on opposite sides, destined to be enemies to the death.

At this moment, he felt incredibly fortunate, fortunate for his past cowardice and timidity, otherwise he would have missed even this one and only glimmer of tenderness.

Du Zhijin used the most basic cultivation method, which contained only the most basic concepts. Apart from the section on the differentiation of spiritual energy that she taught Honghua to read, there was also a section on the differentiation of realms: "Those who refine Qi initially seek the Dao and live for several hundred years. Those who build a foundation have a stable spiritual foundation and utilize the five elements. Those who achieve the Golden Core have inner peace and gradually glimpse longevity. Those who cultivate the Nascent Soul have a body like a newborn human and merge with heaven and earth. Those who cultivate emptiness transcend emptiness and reality and can move the Dao and shake the laws."

As a demon, Jiangwei naturally felt aversion to these things, yet she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Benefactor, what realm are you in?"

Du Zhijin smiled and asked in return, "What do you think?"

Jiangwei hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "I don't understand, but you are so powerful, benefactor, you must be a Void cultivator."

She was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "You're right, practicing the Void Realm has always been my goal."

Because above the level of refining emptiness, one becomes a deity.

[Author's Note]

A little less today, six thousand tomorrow (flag)