Never mess with a man who has been hurt in love.
Shen Zhizhou was practically clinging to life as he walked to the back. When he reached his destination, he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, too exhausted to even lift a finger.
Seeing this, Shuyi had no choice but to let Shen Zhizhou rest in an empty space first, while she followed the tall, thin monster inside. As soon as they opened the door, they saw that the interior was decorated very elegantly, with carefully cultivated lucky bamboo growing luxuriantly, and a gentle breeze blowing through the gauze curtains printed with ancient poems, giving it a very scholarly and refined feel.
Further inside, there was a demon dressed in ancient style, wearing a long robe, squinting and nestled in a rocking chair, tapping his feet and singing a tune, looking quite carefree. The tall, thin demon walked over and nudged the carefree demon sitting in the rocking chair: "Stop being so smug, I have something to tell you."
The monster opened its eyes and took off its headphones, seemingly still lost in its reverie. It turned its head and caught sight of Shuyi standing behind the gauze curtain, its eyes widening instantly. Shuyi looked at the monster, who had propped itself up on the rocking chair, and waved to it with a smile.
Hello, do you remember me?
The monster in the long robe suddenly sprang up and tried to escape, but Shuyi immediately flipped over and grabbed him, preventing him from leaving. The tall, thin monster was so startled by the sudden outburst that he stood there for a while before remembering to break up the fight.
"Hey, what are you doing? You're all friends. This old man has never harmed anyone!" The tall, thin demon, seeing the two demons fighting fiercely, grabbed their hands and feet with his vines.
"Really? How would you know to use gold and silver treasures to lure people out if you've never harmed anyone? If you ask me, you've harmed more than just one or two people."
The tall, thin monster stared in shock at the monster in the long robe. Good heavens, he had only thought this monster was a fake, but he never expected it to be the real deal.
He actually dared to eat people? Then... wasn't he just aiding and abetting evil all along?
Upon realizing this, the tall, thin demon immediately distanced himself from the demon in the long robe, raising his hands to prove, "Miss Shuyi, I don't know anything about this! I really don't know anything! I've only met him a few times, we're not close at all!"
To prove that he was firmly on the side of justice, the tall, thin demon withdrew his vines and released his hands, which were trembling with rage. Seeing the tall, thin demon turn against him, the demon in the long robe raised his head with a touch of pride and explained, "I only absorbed a little of their life force, not much. They'll be fine after a nap. Besides, I even gave them treasure!"
"The treasures you gave me are all cultural relics. In addition to the crime of inciting others to commit crimes, you are also guilty of theft and instigating others to buy and sell cultural relics. You will be punished for multiple crimes. Come with me." Shen Zhizhou appeared behind Shu Yi at some point and swaggered in.
"Why am I locked up when we're all cultural relics? I'm a cultural relic too! I'm famous, too! Why should I be locked up like this?" The long-robed monster was very indignant.
Shen Zhizhou raised an eyebrow and smiled without explaining. He simply held up the subdued magical artifact and said to the long-robed monster, "Save your words for the trial."
The long-robed monster roared and broke free of the vines binding it, transforming into a wisp of black smoke that rushed towards Shen Zhizhou. Shen Zhizhou pulled out a lotus-patterned copper coin peach wood sword from behind him and stabbed at the black smoke. Shu Yi immediately took off the jade ring and threw it at the black smoke. The jade ring transformed into binding chains, firmly binding the black smoke.
As the black smoke fell to the ground, Shen Zhizhou raised his peach wood sword, ready to stab the black smoke. Suddenly, the black smoke exhaled a wisp of mist that pulled him into the painting. Seeing Shen Zhizhou being pulled into the painting, Shu followed without thinking, leaving the tall, thin monster outside helplessly guarding the scene.
The houses in the painting are lined up one after another. Pedestrians dressed in ancient clothes curiously look at Shen Zhizhou and Shuyi, who are dressed in strange clothes. The guards patrolling the street come over to check Shen Zhizhou and Shuyi's household registration. Shen Zhizhou simply spread his hands and acted like a rogue: "No."
"Take them away if you don't have them!" As the leader ordered the people to be taken away, Shen Zhizhou smiled mysteriously, grabbed Shuyi's hand, and started running.
"Are we really going to make it this way? If we're trapped in his space, we should find the original owner first before we can escape, right?" Shu Yi asked Shen Zhizhou anxiously as they ran.
Shen Zhizhou pulled Shu Yiguang into the crowd and saw someone holding a marriage contest in a boudoir. He immediately led Shu Yiguang upstairs, snatched the embroidered ball from the bride's hand, and said with a polite smile, "May I borrow your embroidered ball?"
Shen Zhizhou pulled a lighter and a talisman from his pocket. Looking at the crowd below and the terrified bride and her maid, he casually said to the sky, "If you don't show up soon, I'll burn this painting to the ground. This is your true form, isn't it? You'd better come out soon. It would be a shame to end up with a mangled body at your age."
Suddenly, the surrounding crowd opened their mouths blankly, like mindless puppets being manipulated, and said, "Ordinary flames can't kill me, so give up on that idea."
Their tone was quite smug about their actions in bringing people in, believing that trapping them would prevent them from causing any trouble. Little did they know, Shen Zhizhou was never someone to be trifled with.
"I know, that's why I specially used the rubbing passed down from my ancestors. The lighter and the Fiery Talisman are comparable to the Samadhi Fire, burning away all the filth in the world. Do you want to try it?"
"..."
Shen Zhizhou's tone was sincere, but his actions were undeniably provocative. Shu Yi looked down at the previously stunned eyes below, which had suddenly turned into expressions of undisguised contempt. She couldn't help but gain a deeper understanding of Shen Zhizhou's dog.
After a brief standoff, the long-robed monster finally gave in and appeared, asking, "If I go back with you, what will happen to me?"
Shen Zhizhou tossed the embroidered ball in his hand without answering. The long-robed demon waited anxiously for the final judgment. After playing for a while, Shen Zhizhou slowly spoke: "It depends on the crime. If no one is injured or killed as a result, the punishment will be determined based on the circumstances. But if you have a murder charge against you..."
Holding the embroidered ball, Shen Zhizhou propped himself up and said the remaining half of his sentence to the long-robed monster in a sinister tone: "Then the only option is to pay with your life."
The monster in the long robe trembled and cried out, "I am a law-abiding citizen! I am a law-abiding citizen! My lord, you must investigate thoroughly..."
“Good citizens wouldn’t lock people inside a painting.” Shen Zhizhou still had that good-natured, smiling face, but the monster in the long robe saw the threat in his smile.
The long-robed monster immediately released Shen Zhizhou and Shuyi, who obediently crawled into the magic artifact Shen Zhizhou had used to subdue the demon.
Seeing how cooperative the monster was, Shen Zhizhou patted him on the shoulder to express his gratitude for his cooperation. The tall, thin monster asked, puzzled, "Is there nothing more for me? If not, I'll leave..."
"Aren't you coming back with us the way we came?" Shu Yi asked, puzzled.
The tall, thin demon, feeling somewhat guilty, moved to the doorway and slipped away, leaving behind the words, "That's the path you humans take; we demons have other paths to take."
Shen Zhizhou then realized that this tall, thin monster was making a fool of him, choosing the sewers over the proper path.
Enraged, Shen Zhizhou shouted at the retreating figure of the tall, thin monster who had already fled, "You better not let me see you again, or I'll skin you alive and make soup!"
"Don't be angry, I'll treat you to red bean soup, okay?" Shu Yi mentally calculated the money she had on hand and decided that treating Shen Zhizhou to a bowl of red bean soup was the most worthwhile thing to do.
Shen Zhizhou refused, saying he wanted to eat hot pot. Shu Yi looked at Shen Zhizhou with a pained expression, thinking he was a spendthrift, but after thinking about what had happened recently, she agreed.
There was no way around it; the little mouse was a good little mouse and was willing to use the money she had worked so hard to save to treat Shen Zhizhou to hot pot.
But in the end, they still went to the tea restaurant where Chen Ming worked to eat red bean soup. Shen Zhizhou claimed that he had mouth ulcers and couldn't eat spicy food, so he let Shu Yi have it. But Shu Yi knew that Shen Zhizhou didn't want to spend more money, so when ordering, she specially ordered curry fish balls and chocolate ice cream French toast, which Shen Zhizhou liked.
After serving the meal, she deliberately placed all the delicious food in front of Shen Zhizhou, and invited him to try it with a bright smile. As Shen Zhizhou dipped the crispy toast in ice cream and chocolate sauce, he thought, "This little rat is so greedy, yet she's willing to spend money to treat me to a meal today. Does that mean her feelings for me are special?"
Thinking of this, Shen Zhizhou sat up straight and probed indirectly, "Why are you treating me to food today? You wouldn't happen to be...?"
Shu Yi's eyes widened in surprise. Could Shen Zhizhou be a mind reader? How did he know everything? She could only stammer and say somewhat embarrassedly, "You guessed it! I do need your help. Zhizhi's concert is coming up soon... I'd like you to help me pick out a suitable outfit for the concert. This will be my first time attending a concert..."
Shen Zhizhou's expectant gaze dimmed instantly, and the smile on his lips faded. He withdrew his chopsticks, which were about to serve food to Shuyi, and after a long silence, he finally replied, "I see..."
Shuyi noticed Shen Zhizhou's sudden change in mood, but was still somewhat confused. She asked while biting her fork, "Did I say something wrong?"
Shen Zhizhou shook his head at Shu Yi's confused and innocent expression. When he tried to ease the awkwardness by serving Shu Yi some food, he paused after hearing Shu Yi's inner thoughts.
"Shen Zhizhou is so annoying, he's always so inexplicably difficult to get along with..."
Shen Zhizhou lowered his head, trying to hide his sadness and helplessness, and pushed the plate forward with feigned nonchalance: "I'm full, a little tired and want to go back. Have you finished eating?"
Seeing Shen Zhizhou's expression of refusal to communicate, Shu Yi sat down next to him, turned his head back to the side as he refused to communicate, and looked him straight in the eyes: "Why are you suddenly angry? Can you tell me?"
"I'm not angry, I'm just tired." Shen Zhizhou deliberately yawned, as if he were really sleepy.
Shu Yi stared at Shen Zhizhou, as if she had caught a naughty child lying, and said, "If you were sleepy, you wouldn't have come to eat with me. You would have gone straight home to sleep. You wouldn't have spoiled the fun if you came out. I know you very well, Shen Zhizhou..."
Shen Zhizhou awkwardly turned away, not wanting to talk to Shuyi. Shuyi thought carefully about whether there was anything in the conversation that made Shen Zhizhou unhappy. Then, a thought flashed through her mind and Shuyi explained again: "I didn't want to dress up separately because I'm attending Zhizhi's concert. I'm inviting you to participate in transforming my kindergarten outfit."
"So, Mr. Shen Zhizhou, would you be willing to work with me to create a different version of myself?"
Shen Zhizhou scratched his head smugly to indicate his acceptance, "Your taste is terrible, you really need my help."
Shu Yi smiled and patted Shen Zhizhou's head, thinking, "As expected of Huang Daxian who has passed the psychological counselor certificate exam, he has a whole repertoire of ways to coax people. Sure enough, this newly learned guide to guiding young children is very useful. I need to learn more of it next time."
The long-robed demon, who had overheard the entire argument from inside the magical artifact, could only silently mutter to himself, "Two idiots."
The next second, the magical artifact was shaken violently, and the long-robed monster was so dizzy that it vomited.
Shen Zhizhou, who was already unhappy because he heard the monster's inner thoughts, decided to unleash his anger after hearing the second voice of complaint and schadenfreude.
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