Don't let emotions hold you back; make the decision you believe is right.
He almost thought Shuyi had discovered him. She was so close to him and even touched him. He barely managed to suppress the urge to run away and thankfully she didn't find him.
The calligraphy and painting demon knew it couldn't stay here any longer and that the most important thing was to leave the city first. Originally, the calligraphy and painting demon wanted to sneak away with these collections, but Shen Zhizhou and Shu Yi saw it today. It was afraid that they would realize what was going on and come back to kill it, and then it would be unable to leave. So it could only find a way out on its own with tears in its eyes.
As the calligraphy and painting enthusiast was leaving the exhibition area, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. His heart jumped into his throat, and he dared not turn around, only muttering, "Who is it?"
"You've forgotten me so quickly? Dude, you've really hurt my feelings..."
The calligraphy and painting demon recognized Shen Zhizhou's voice, grabbed Shen Zhizhou's arm, pushed him against the wall, and hurriedly ran away. But after only a few steps, he saw Shu Yi in front of him carrying a jade ring on his shoulder and greeting him with a smile.
"Hey there, long time no see. Want to have a fight?"
What a nutcase! Who wants to fight this human and this demon? Besides, he can't possibly win. The painting demon has a clear understanding of his own fighting ability.
"I didn't do anything wrong, and I didn't cause what happened that day. If I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning!" Just as he finished speaking, a clap of thunder was heard outside.
Shen Zhizhou knew that the painting demon was not lying; he didn't have such great abilities, otherwise he wouldn't have risked his own safety to hide in such a place to survive.
"Then what do you know? Why don't you tell me? If it's different from what I know..." Shen Zhizhou tilted his head and smiled, his tone sinister and threatening, "I'll send you straight to the Western Paradise."
The calligraphy and painting demon knew that she had no choice but to tell the truth this time, so she had to honestly tell everything.
It turns out that the painting demon had encountered a strange black-robed demon 20 years ago. At that time, the black-robed demon wanted to use the painting demon's ability to know everything to help him make plans. The painting demon was timid and could only manage his own little world. He dared not get involved in the affairs between humans and demons. So he took advantage of the demon's weakness and ran away. He had been hiding outside ever since.
The reason why the tall, thin demon asked for roots to repair his true form was because his true form was damaged during his time of hiding. The painting demon has very high requirements for his living environment.
"Get to the point, stop with the nonsense," Shen Zhizhou interrupted the calligraphy and painting demon's complaints.
"To be honest, I don't know what that black-robed demon is, but he has strong magic power and must have cultivated for many years. I've told you everything I know, but I really don't know anything else."
"Isn't your superpower supposed to allow you to know everything in the world? How come you don't know?"
The painting and calligraphy demon slapped his thigh helplessly and explained, "It might have been possible before, but it's really not possible now. You know how fast human development is. We demons also need a specific environment to cultivate. Human expansion has already caused the deaths of many powerful demons. The demons that remain now are all weak and just trying to make a living. Otherwise, so many demons wouldn't be looking for you, wanting to work and survive in the human world."
After some thought, Shen Zhizhou reached an agreement with the Painting Demon: he would help him find the Black-Robed Demon, and in return, he would give him a different identity to avoid the Black-Robed Demon and live in the human world.
Seeing that the painting demon obediently flew into the gourd this time, Shen Zhizhou and Shuyi went home first.
Shen Zhizhou pasted a silencer on the gourd to ensure that the painting and calligraphy demon inside wouldn't hear his conversation, then put the gourd into a hidden compartment in the room before pulling Shuyi to the study.
He took out the sandalwood box he had found and placed it in front of Shuyi, saying, "I found this by accident after we communicated telepathically that night. This sandalwood box was my mother's dowry. I don't know why this box was hidden under a secret compartment in the study floor, but I have a feeling... I think it's related to my mother's death."
After taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to hide her weakness, then opened them again with a clear gaze, as if she had made up her mind, and said, "I suspect that Sister Ji... is involved in this matter."
Shu Yi stared at Shen Zhizhou in surprise, wondering how he had found out. Had she let it slip?
Shen Zhizhou gave a bitter smile and slowly said, "After my mother passed away, it was Sister Ji who raised me. To be honest, when I first had this thought, I tried countless times to convince myself that Sister Ji had no right or motive to do this. If she wanted to harm me, she would have had countless opportunities to do so when my child was still alive. At that time, my father was still recovering from his injuries and in a coma. It can be said that Sister Ji was the one who held our family together back then. I can't understand the reason behind this..."
Shen Zhizhou slumped down, covering his face. Even though he had made up his mind, he was still very sad when he actually said it. He just didn't understand why. If she hated him, then why did she raise him with all her heart? But if she loved him, didn't Sister Ji know that if things were exposed, they would inevitably become enemies?
Shuyi sat down next to Shen Zhizhou, gently hugged him, and let him lean against her. She patted Shen Zhizhou's back to comfort him as if soothing a heartbroken child, saying, "Perhaps there's a reason? Shen Zhizhou, the love is real. Anyone with eyes can see how much Sister Ji cares about you, but I want to say... don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. Make the decision you think is right."
A tear fell from Shen Zhizhou's eye in Shuyi's arms. The tear jumped out of his eye, slid down the beauty mark under his eye, and finally fell to the floor with a thud, as if saying a final goodbye to the companionship they had shared.
...
Shen Zhizhou arrived at Ji Yao's old lair and saw that the cave still had photos of them going to the amusement park together and taking pictures in front of the carousel, as well as their school certificates and paintings that they thought had been thrown away. All of these were well preserved by Ji Yao in photo frames and hung on the wall.
Ji Yao looked much more haggard than before. Even with a thick layer of makeup on her face, she still couldn't hide her tired appearance.
Shen Zhizhou looked at Ji Yao and felt a moment of disorientation. He remembered that Ji Yao loved beauty the most and would never let her unattractive side appear in front of others. Now she looked so haggard... was it because of him?
Ji Yao stubbed out her cigarette, walked over, and patted Shen Zhizhou's head, sighing, "How did you grow up so much all of a sudden? I can hardly keep up with you anymore..."
"But Sister Ji will always be so beautiful in my eyes."
"Sister Ji is getting old, she's not like you young people anymore. How have you been lately...?"
Ji Yao kept blinking, trying hard not to let the tears in her eyes fall. Looking at the child in front of her, whom she had practically raised since he was a child, Ji Yao felt extremely bitter.
Shen Zhizhou didn't ask Ji Yao why she hadn't appeared for so long, nor did he ask if Ji Yao knew that he had been taken away for investigation. He only asked, "Sister Ji, when are you coming home? I really want to eat your cooking."
Upon hearing this, Ji Yao couldn't help but shed tears. Like many mothers who miss their children, she hugged Shen Zhizhou tightly and said, "Let's go back now and cook your favorite dishes."
Carrying a large bag of groceries home, Ji Yao saw Shu Yi standing by the door taking the groceries from her hands. She nodded without saying anything as a greeting, tied on her apron, took the groceries, and told Shen Zhizhou and Shu Yi to play for a while before they could eat.
Sitting at the dinner table, everyone tacitly avoided asking about what had happened before. Ji Yao kept putting food into Shen Zhizhou's bowl and also put a piece of food in Shu Yi's bowl.
"Eat more, you've lost weight lately."
Shuyi stuffed the food Ji Yao had picked up into her mouth with a big bite: "Thank you, Sister Ji."
"It has to be Sister Ji's cooking. I've lost weight lately, so I need to eat more." Shen Zhizhou smiled and picked up a large mouthful of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth.
"You silly child, eat more if you like it. I'll make you some more tomorrow." Ji Yao added some soup to Shen Zhizhou and Shuyi's bowls to help them soothe their throats.
After dinner, watching Shen Zhizhou and Shuyi sweetly washing dishes in the kitchen, Ji Yao couldn't help but smile. In fact, Ji Yao had long wondered what kind of girl Shen Zhizhou would marry if he were to fall in love and get married in the future, and now she had seen it for herself.
A girl with the same qualities as her mother, Wenyi.
Recalling some past events, Ji Yao's smile faded slightly. In fact, she didn't dislike Wen Yi; in fact, she could even say she admired her to some extent.
A woman who could live life like a poem no matter what circumstances she faced. It's a good thing she died young.
When Ji Yao delivered fruit to Shen Zhizhou, she heard the commotion inside the house, and her gaze darkened.
"Tell me everything you know!"
Listening to Shen Zhizhou's threatening words and another trembling voice inside the room, Ji Yao closed her eyes and listened until the end, then turned and left before Shen Zhizhou opened the door.
That night, Shen Zhizhou and Ji Yao were both silent in their respective rooms. Shen Zhizhou sat in front of the French windows, looking at the magnolias outside, and chatted softly with Shu Yi beside him.
"After this magnolia tree stopped blooming, I would always sit under it and wait. Back then, Sister Ji would often come to comfort me. You don't know, Sister Ji used to just repeat the same two sentences over and over again. I can still recite them by heart: 'Don't be sad, the flowers will bloom again. If they don't bloom this year, they might bloom next year.' And 'I think a tree doesn't necessarily have to bloom. Sometimes, not dying is also a kind of scenery.' Isn't that funny..."
"Sister Ji couldn't cook at all before. Her cooking was terrible, and she didn't know how to use the stove. She almost set the house on fire, but I managed to put it out. Later, Sister Ji took a cooking class for me. At first, I was really a guinea pig for a long time..."
"Now that the flowers are blooming, can we finally live a good life?"
Shen Zhizhou turned his head to look at Shu Yi, who wiped away the tears from the corner of his eye: "Do people with beauty marks under their eyes cry more often than others? Why don't you get them removed?"
Listening to Shu Yi's nonsensical attempt to ease the atmosphere, Shen Zhizhou raised his hand and ruffled Shu Yi's hair, then curled his lip in refusal, saying, "That won't do. My pretty face can't be damaged in any way."
At this moment, Ji Yao, who had been sitting silently in the room, got up, opened the hidden compartment, and began to swallow the boxes of tonics that Shen Ran had given her. Several times she felt like vomiting from the pressure, but Ji Yao still gritted her teeth and forced them down.
Her eyes were lifeless; she mechanically opened the boxes scattered on the floor and swallowed them, tears streaming down her face involuntarily.
The large room was dark, and the whole room was like a small coffin, burying Ji Yao's emotions, which were like a torrent.
She remembered someone telling her that sacrificing minor details for the sake of the monsters' future was forgivable.
But can it really be forgiven?
Now, even Ji Yao doesn't know, and is also questioning... right and wrong.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com