Chess game
Escape was inevitable.
Yan Dan knew she didn't want to go from a wild, grass-grown demon to a wild, domesticated one. However, the first thing she needed to do to escape was to remove the restrictions on her hands; otherwise, escaping one tiger's mouth only to fall into another would be far too costly.
Yan Dan, facing the oil lamp, slowly rolled up her sleeves and reached out to touch the restriction on her wrist. Unlike the previous two times, the restriction didn't repel her fingers; instead, she felt it firmly. Yan Dan calmed herself and thought for a moment, guessing that it was because she possessed no demonic magic and was no different from an ordinary person, and restrictions were naturally useless against ordinary people. This meant that this time she could remove it herself without any external force.
Yan Dan reached out and tried to pull it off, but the restriction was too tight. Unless she cut off her hand, there was no way to remove it. Although there was an ancient story of a brave man cutting off his wrist after being stung by a scorpion, she still wanted to be a demon with intact limbs. She touched the corner of the table, slammed the restriction against the edge twice, and looked at it against the oil lamp—there wasn't even a crack. Clearly, the restriction was very sturdy.
She then squatted down and rubbed the seal against the ground. After rubbing for a while, a puddle of white dust appeared on the ground. Touching the seal again, she noticed that the originally rounded area was indeed somewhat flattened. Yan Dan fiddled with it for a while, then decided that grinding a hole in it was the most feasible method. Even the ancients could grind an iron pestle into a needle; surely grinding open a seal shouldn't be too difficult for her?
She pushed open the door, intending to go to the kitchen to find a whetstone, but saw Tang Zhou standing in the doorway, arms crossed, watching her knowingly. Yan Dan jumped back abruptly, smiling, and said, "Senior brother, what brings you here?"
Tang Zhou leaned against the door and smiled slightly: "I originally came to ask you if there was anything missing in the guest room, but when I got to the door I heard something being smashed." He glanced at her wrist: "But it doesn't seem to be broken?"
Yan Dan timidly grabbed him, shook him a couple of times, and whispered, "Please let me go. I promise I will never do anything bad again and will do good. Every Buddha's birthday, I will go to burn incense and donate money; I will also set up a longevity tablet for you and burn three sticks of incense morning and evening."
"You choose one: with restrictions in place or to be refined into a pill."
Yan Dan gave him a deep look, pouting, "Tang Zhou, you ungrateful wretch! I saved your life twice."
Tang Zhou straightened up and slowly said, "If I release your restraints, you won't even have time to escape, will you?"
Isn't that obvious? If she doesn't run away, does she expect him to come and catch her again?
"Since you've already said I'm an ungrateful person, how could I possibly let you go?"
"Tang Zhou, I was wrong, I was really wrong! I didn't say anything just now. Even if you heard something, you would forget it immediately. You've been away from home for so long, you must miss home, right? I really want to go home now. My Dan Shu is waiting for me to tell him (ghost) stories, Zi Yan is still looking forward to me, and Zi Lin's cultivation will fall behind without my encouragement..."
Tang Zhou's lips twitched slightly: "It sounds like all the monsters in your house are male?" He slowly pulled his sleeve out of her hand: "I don't see any discomfort in you being a mortal, so you can continue like this from now on."
Yan Dan was deeply shocked. After a while, she raised her hand to rub her eyes and muttered to herself, "Speaking of which, after being a mortal for so many days, have I aged?" Thinking of this, she felt her internal injuries worsen.
Tang Zhou took a few steps back, and when he heard silence behind him, he turned around curiously. He saw Yan Dan standing there motionless with her head down, when suddenly a single, glistening tear fell from her eye, spreading a pale color on the ground. He couldn't help but sigh, turned around and walked to her side. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder: "Go to sleep early, it's getting late."
Yan Dan turned her head and glanced at him, then turned her head away and ignored him.
Tang Zhou slowly reached out and gently wiped the corner of her eye, saying in a kind voice, "You must be tired today, go to sleep."
Yan Dan walked to the door and slammed it shut, shutting him out. Then she turned to look at the white dust that had been rubbed against the floor and muttered to herself, "It all got into my eyes, it hurts so much..."
The real truth is this—
Yan Dan squatted on the ground, smoothing out some of the restriction on her wrist. While she was smoothing, some white dust got into her eyes, but she couldn't care less. She immediately ran out to find a whetstone, only to see Tang Zhou at the door. She immediately jumped back and stepped on the pile of white dust to prevent Tang Zhou from seeing it, but the white dust still drifted into her eyes.
She rubbed her eyes, which became slightly moist, and the slight pain and itching she had felt earlier disappeared.
As for the unintentional success of her efforts, the willow tree growing into a sycamore tree, it was Heaven seeing her current suffering and finally coming to her rescue. Yan Dan looked at herself in the mirror for a long time before concluding, "I do look a little older, but probably not quite six months old... But Tang Zhou seems very afraid of seeing me cry? Hmm, looks like I don't need to find a whetstone anymore, I'll find an onion instead..."
(Someone arranging flowers:)
Cook: Young master, this Miss Yan is very strange. She came looking for something in the middle of the night...
Tang Zhou: I guess they're hungry.
Cook: She searched for a long time and took away two onions.
Tang Zhou: ...
)
The next morning, Yan Dan appeared before everyone with slightly red eyes and unsteady steps. She really didn't know that onions would be so effective. She peeled two slices and didn't feel anything at all, thinking that it wasn't working. But after a while, her eyes started to sting, and she couldn't help but rub them with her hands, which backfired.
Yan Dan was listlessly drinking her porridge when suddenly a plate of steamed buns appeared in front of her. Tang Zhou said softly, "Don't just drink porridge, eat something else." She looked up at him, then continued drinking her porridge listlessly.
"None of these are to your liking? What would you like to eat? I'll have the chef make it." He asked softly again.
Yan Dan finally understood what Bai Ling had said to Yuan Dan: men's common flaws—being fickle, spineless, and shameless. But she really had no appetite right now, and her mouth still tasted like pungent onions, so she shook her head, silently finished the white porridge in her bowl, and said softly, "Uncle Tang, Aunt Tang, please enjoy your meal."
Mrs. Tang looked at her son and frowned: "Did you bully her? This child looks like she's been crying all night."
Tang Zhou pushed back his chair, turned around and chased after her, gently taking her wrist: "I was out of my mind last night, and there were some things I shouldn't have said. I'm sorry."
Yan Dan couldn't help but let out an "Ah," looking at him with a complicated expression, and said carefully, "Actually, you've said even worse things and done even more heinous things before..." So, if what happened last night could make her cry all night, she would have been furious to death long ago.
Tang Zhou was greatly embarrassed: "Is that so?"
Yan turned around dejectedly and left.
Tang Zhou stood there and thought it over. Just then, he saw Xiao Cui walking over and said, "I have something to ask you." Xiao Cui stopped and smiled slightly, "Young Master, please ask. I will tell you everything I can."
"If you met someone for the first time and he injured your companion, how would you feel?"
Xiao Cui asked, "Was my companion badly injured? Did he cough up blood? Did he almost die?" Tang Zhou nodded with each question she asked, and she immediately said angrily, "Send this man to the authorities, give him fifty lashes first, break his legs, and preferably break all the bones in his body!"
"After that, this person captured you and locked you in a dark, sunless place, without giving you anything to eat. Two..."
"He starved for two days in the dark?! Does this person have no humanity at all?" Xiao Cui was filled with righteous indignation. "Young Master, you don't need to say anything more. This kind of wicked person, worse than a pig or a dog, will surely be struck by lightning!"
Tang Zhou said slowly, "Alright, you can go and get back to work."
On the third day, Yan Dan finally escaped the poison of the onions. Upon seeing Tang Zhou, she asked, "Aren't we supposed to go back to our sect? Why don't we do it today?" Once Tang Zhou arrived at their master's place, he probably wouldn't have as much time to watch over her. Even just wearing off a piece of the restriction on her hand would be good. To her surprise, Tang Zhou, who always argued with her, didn't say a word. He immediately packed a few changes of clothes, had a carriage prepared, and in less than half an hour, they were already at the foot of Lingjue Mountain.
Yan Dan glanced at the steep and narrow mountain path before her. Neither a horse-drawn carriage nor a donkey could make it up; it seemed the only option was to walk. Tang Zhou pointed in another direction: "Go that way."
This is a gravel path buried under weeds, probably made by people who came up the mountain before.
"Senior brother, even if you want to punish me, you don't have to choose this time, do you? What if I run out of strength halfway through? Wouldn't that just cause you more trouble?" Yan Dan pouted slightly.
"Of all the paths up the mountain, this one is the easiest. The other one is only half paved; you have to crawl the rest." Tang Zhou stepped onto the gravel path, used his sword to push aside the grass in front of him, and took the lead.
Seeing that he kept tapping the ground with his sword, Yan Dan thought of how many herb gatherers would first use a cane to scout out snakes and insects, and asked, "Are there snakes here?"
"There are always birds, beasts, insects, and snakes in the mountains, what's so strange about that?"
Yan Dan nodded: "Then you still have wild game and snake meat to eat."
Tang Zhou remained silent.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, the sun was not yet at its zenith; by the time they arrived at the Taoist temple on the mountain, the sun was already setting.
Yan Dan gazed at the white walls and black tiles before her, contrasting beautifully with the surrounding green trees. A gentle evening breeze blew, the evening bell tolled softly, and clouds swirled around the cliff—it truly possessed an ethereal quality. Just as she was about to step into the Taoist temple, she suddenly heard a clucking sound. A large, brightly colored rooster struggled and flew over her head. Before she could retreat, a figure pounced on her, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, pinning the rooster to the ground, then grabbing it by the neck and lifting it up, brandishing a sword to the sky. A flash of light, and the rooster's head landed with a whoosh at Yan Dan's feet, its eyes wide open, still staring at her with unrepentant rage.
The woman holding the chicken's neck in one hand and a cleaver in the other was a woman with honey-colored skin and large, round, black eyes. She slightly raised the cleaver towards Tang Zhou and said arrogantly, "Senior brother, how do you see my Sand-Treading Style?"
Yan Dan immediately exclaimed, "A heroine among women!"
Tang Zhou glanced at her sideways.
The other person seemed to appreciate his talent, so he handed the cleaver to his other hand, then grabbed her hand with his free hand and shook it vigorously a few times: "You have a good eye. How about I teach you this move?"
Yan Dan said regretfully, "I have never practiced martial arts."
"It's okay, I'll teach you from the beginning, starting with the basics, and I guarantee you'll learn it!"
Tang Zhou said coolly, "Junior sister, she's just got this kind of bone structure. If she wants to start from the basics, I'm afraid we'll have to completely break her down." Yan Dan looked at him dejectedly. She had recovered so quickly. She should have known better than to say she was coming here. It was a real mistake.
"My name is Qin Qi, what's your name?" The woman with honey-colored skin shook her hand again.
“Yan Dan. I am…” She turned to look at Tang Zhou, who immediately understood and continued, “She is my distant cousin.”
"As expected of my cousin, this is no fun..." Yan Dan pouted slightly and mumbled a reply. Then Tang Zhou asked, "Is Master inside?"
Qin Qi immediately showed a disdainful look: "He's currently pestering Young Master Liu to play chess."
Yan Dan wondered to herself, why would she show such an expression? Isn't there a saying among mortals that "a teacher for a day is a father for life"? Did she remember it wrong, or has she completely fallen behind the changes in mortal customs?
Tang Zhou said in a tone that left no room for negotiation, "They're sure to lose badly again."
Hey, isn't this disrespectful to our master?
Qin Qi curled her lip, looking disdainful: "This time, the old man came up with a plan. He chose the place under the waterfall. Look, it's right there on that rock. He even said that if the chess pieces are washed away by the water, the game can't be replayed. Is this what you call playing chess? It's more like cheating, so hypocritical."
Yan Dan interjected, "Where is the waterfall?"
Qin Qi readily agreed, "I'll take you there."
Beneath the magnificent sunset, the fine, misty fog was tinged with a pale red, and a gentle breeze would cause it to dampen the face. A jade ribbon of water cascaded down the rocks, like a silver dragon landing, pouring into the icy, clear pool. Along the pool's edge, lotus blossoms grew in abundance, their leaves still slightly curled, their colors vibrant.
Two men were playing chess on a stone table amidst the misty waters. The older one appeared to be quite old, with thinning gray hair and sharp, clear eyes, much like a young man. Yan Dan sat at the stone table and muttered, "Your master looks a lot like our clan leader..." Both had shiny bald heads, which made them seem very approachable.
Qin Qi asked curiously, "How is it similar?"
Yan Dan opened her mouth but before she could speak, Tang Zhou interrupted her with a cough. Yan Dan silently shut her mouth and turned to look at the two people playing chess in the misty air.
Liu Weiyang's hair and clothes were soaked, clinging tightly to his body. His long, strong fingers picked up a chess piece and pressed it onto a flat stone. His press seemed effortless, yet the piece embedded itself deeply into the stone. The waterfall roared down, striking the two men. Liu Weiyang's face paled slightly, but his eyes remained as calm as ever, his move swift and steady.
Suddenly, a long howl startled Yan Dan, and she nearly dropped the teapot. Then, in a flash, a figure was right in front of her, snatching the teapot from her hand like a whirlwind and taking two large gulps straight from the spout.
Tang Zhou stood up and said, "Master."
Yan Dan glanced at him and finally felt relieved. It turned out that she hadn't fallen behind the customs of the mortal world. At least in front of her master, she still believed that a teacher for a day is a father for life.
Qin Qi immediately grabbed an outer robe and draped it over her master: "Master, did you win this time?"
The Taoist priest remained silent, slamming his palm on the stone table. The entire surface vibrated, and a teacup shattered on the floor with a crash. Yan Dan tensed, especially when that sharp gaze swept over her, a nameless fear gripping her. She remembered what Tang Zhou had said: his master had a wife and children before becoming a monk, but upon returning from a long journey, he found them devoured by a demon, reduced to mere skeletons. She was a demon, a flower spirit, and she had no desire to become a skeleton demon…
Fortunately, the gaze quickly shifted away, and the Taoist priest left without looking back. Yan Dan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and slowly raised her head. She saw Liu Weiyang walking out from a misty haze, his robe half-open, water droplets constantly sliding down his forehead and across his high, straight nose. Yan Dan had only glanced at him twice when Tang Zhou suddenly turned her face away. Tang Zhou looked at her and said slowly, "You've forgotten again, girls shouldn't look directly at others like that."
Yan Dan whispered, "I suddenly realized that the saw-mouth gourd doesn't seem so bad after all..."
Liu Weiyang raised an eyebrow and looked at her with that faint, unsettling gaze: "A saw-mouthed gourd?"
Yan Dan froze, not expecting that this young master Liu, though seemingly wooden, possessed such keen senses. She turned her head and said with certainty, "You must have misheard."
Liu Weiyang did not refute, put on his outer robe and strode away.
Qin Qi patted her forehead and said, "It's almost time for dinner, I'll go and bring out the food." With that, she quickly walked away.
Yan Dan watched the two figures disappear before turning to Tang Zhou: "Will your master discover that I am a demon?"
Tang Zhou sighed: "You don't have any demonic aura on you to begin with, so your master won't notice."
"What if he still finds out?"
“If it really comes to that,” he reached out and patted her head, “you’ll be fine.”
Yan Dan frowned: "You patted my head again!"
Tang Zhou looked thoughtfully at his hand: "Because when I slapped it down, it felt very natural..."
Yan Dan glared at him for a long time, then held back. With the fish and meat on the cutting board and under the cleaver, what couldn't she tolerate? Even if this mortal, who was less than a fraction of her age, petted her head like a kitten or puppy, it wouldn't be a big deal.
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