Chapter 21 A painting appears in the rain, Qingyu beats someone…
A carriage at the side gate of the governor's mansion.
Qingyu knelt on the edge of the long couch, her red skirt flowing freely. The girl lay idly on the table, playing with black and white chess pieces.
Zhang Xuan sat opposite her. He moved a wooden stool to sit next to the bookshelf and teased Cai Cai with vegetable leaves.
Qingyu tilted her head, holding a black chess piece in her hand, "Caicai has eaten a lot today, so you should feed her less. Look how fat she's gotten."
That's no lie. These past few days, they've all been busy with their own things, and apart from Zhang Xuan, no one has been taking care of Cai Cai. Cai Cai has gotten quite plump from being fed by him, and her feathers have become longer and softer, making the whole chicken look glossy and smooth.
"Hook up."
Cai Cai called out, and Zhang Xuan stopped feeding her with a sigh. The boy looked annoyed; he was just too bored. "I won't feed her anymore once I'm better."
He looked at Qingyu again. He was bored because he couldn't get off the carriage, but why was Qingyu bored? It couldn't possibly be just to keep him company.
"Why didn't you go to the governor's mansion with Wen Chuan to find Qin Tianshu?"
Qingyu lazily lifted her eyelids. "I don't want to go."
What was she going to do? The governor's mansion wasn't fun, and besides, there were still people from the Demon Suppression Pavilion in the governor's mansion. Although no one should be able to tell that she was a demon, she still didn't like to walk in front of them so openly. It wasn't that she was afraid of them, but mainly because suppressing demons was considered bad luck.
Zhang Xuan said "Oh—" and continued teasing Cai Cai. Thinking about it carefully, it was quite good. In Shengjing, there were often cockfights, and he was teasing the chickens.
As the autumn wind blew by, looking out the carriage window, a long-awaited autumn rain finally began to fall. The raindrops pattered on the bluestone road, and the chilly wind blew into the carriage, making one feel somewhat uneasy for some reason.
Qingyu got up. She had left her window slightly ajar to let in some wind, but now that it was raining, she decided to close it.
"Boom—"
A sudden flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and a reddish glow appeared over a certain part of the governor's mansion.
Qingyu paused, and Zhang Xuan across from her seemed to sense something as well. He looked up and asked, "What's that?"
The blush appeared only briefly, and it seemed to be some kind of rune formation. Qingyu frowned; she felt that the thing was somewhat familiar.
Zhang Xuan also walked over, and when he looked again, all he could see was the continuous rain. He frowned, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes. "Is it that Shen Dongsheng's doing again? The painting is gone, what else does he want to do?"
Qingyu closed the window and the girl spoke softly, "He can't do anything."
The painting had long since become just an ordinary painting, and Shen Dongsheng's body was already at its limit; he could do nothing anymore.
Outside the car, the autumn wind howled, swirling up the rootless fallen leaves on the bluestone road. The rain grew heavier and heavier, with lines of raindrops pounding against the car windows, but inside the car it was warm and cozy.
Zhang Xuan returned to his daybed to meditate, while Qing Yu stood silently by the window, watching the chilly autumn rain.
"Ring ring ring—"
The wind chimes outside the carriage curtain rang, and Wen Chuan entered.
Qingyu turned around and asked, "You're back. Did you return the painting?"
Wen Chuan nodded, then glanced at Zhang Xuan, "We might need to go to the Demon Suppression Pavilion first."
Qingyu remained silent, but Zhang Xuan became pleased, "Has your medical cultivation reached a certain level?"
"Ring ring ring—"
Another wind chime rang out, and Qin Tianshu opened the car door halfway. He sat in the driver's seat by the door, intending to drive away. "Yes, we met people from the Demon Suppression Pavilion when we came out. They said that the medical cultivators have arrived at the Demon Suppression Pavilion. We'll go there now."
Wen Chuan sat on the long couch, silently tidying up the messy chess pieces on the table.
Qingyu: "You should have seen it just now, the formation in the air."
Wen Chuan: "Yes, the cultivators from the Demon Suppression Pavilion have already gone to the Four Seasons Academy."
Hearing their conversation, Qin Tianshu, who was at the car door, simply opened the entire car door. The sound of raindrops falling and wind chimes ringing filled the air, and the scholar's calm voice drifted in with the wind and rain.
"July 15th, Jiwei day, Wei hour, is the most Yin time recently. Shen Dongsheng is probably still thinking about summoning the dead."
Upon hearing this, Qingyu lowered her eyes. The girl gripped the window frame, her fingers tightening slightly until her knuckles turned white.
Qin Tianshu glanced at the girl, then turned away and sighed silently. Just as he was about to drive away, the side gate of the governor's mansion creaked open.
The tall cultivator was in front, and the short cultivator was behind. The two of them, wearing raincoats, worked together to carry out a corpse, which was covered with a white cloth.
Qin Tianshu ignored it, and after a moment of silence, he raised his whip and prepared to leave.
The carriage slowly passed in front of the two cultivators. Qingyu stood by the carriage window watching them, the girl frowning, until raindrops pounded hard on the white sheet covering the corpse. The two cultivators wearing raincoats swayed the stretcher, and an old, dark hand rolled out from the white sheet, covered with calluses and spots.
Qingyu's pupils constricted instantly, amidst the pouring rain and the words of the two Demon Suppression Pavilion cultivators.
"That old man was really unlucky; he lost his life just like that."
"Hey, who says otherwise? If we hadn't made mistakes before, we wouldn't have had to do this thankless job."
"Speaking of which, who exactly is this old man?"
"An old cook, delivering goods to the governor's mansion, he's getting on in years, who knew he'd get involved with that madman, sigh! The old man lives on South Street, let's take him back, the sooner the better, sigh!"
The rain was pouring down, and the carriage was moving very slowly. The girl in red was expressionless, her body trembling for a moment, then calming down in an instant.
Zhang Xuan and Wen Chuan both noticed that something was wrong with her, and they both looked at her.
Qingyu turned away silently. The girl walked to the car door and picked up the umbrella that Wen Chuan had just placed aside.
She looked at Wen Chuan, who had no expression but a reassuring look in his eyes. He spoke softly, "Go."
She hasn't been sleeping well for the past two days.
Qingyu picked up her umbrella, got out of the car, and turned to look at Qin Tianshu.
The girl in red held an umbrella, her voice gradually fading into the heavy rain.
"You guys go to the Demon Suppression Pavilion first. I have other things to do, I'll be there shortly."
The scholar in blue glanced at her and said, "Alright."
Qingyu forced a smile as she watched the carriage depart, then turned and left.
On the bluestone street, a young girl held an umbrella handle in her delicate hand, raindrops flowing down the umbrella ribs, her scarlet dress fluttering in the cold wind.
She stopped the two monks who were transporting the corpse.
"Boom—"
A white lightning bolt streaked across the dim sky, illuminating the terrifyingly calm expression on the girl's face beneath the umbrella.
"How did he die?"
The tall monk swallowed hard; raindrops slid down his straw hat, blurring his vision.
The short cultivator shuddered; he seemed to recognize Qing Yu.
He quickly gave his old friend a response, then suppressed the inexplicable fear in his heart and spoke as calmly and quickly as possible.
"The eldest son of the governor's mansion has gone mad. He has been studying the art of the unorthodox since he was a child. Just now he set up some kind of formation, which is said to be able to summon the dead. However, the formation failed halfway through. Logically speaking, it shouldn't have hurt anyone. But who knew that the old man was old and came to the governor's mansion to deliver goods today. He just happened to encounter that spiritual energy and couldn't hold on, so he collapsed."
The tall cultivator paused for a moment, then added in a low voice amidst the wind and rain.
"The old man... he's just unlucky."
After saying that, the tall man looked at the short man with some surprise, wondering why he was so afraid of this woman. The short man glared at the tall man with hatred. This big, silly tall man had forgotten that they had been unable to get out of bed for the past two days due to headaches!
Under the rain on the street, the girl in red chuckled softly when she heard the tall monk's words. She walked forward gently, her shoes, socks, and clothes soaked by the rain.
"That's good. The spiritual energy entering the body happens in an instant, so you didn't suffer much when you passed away."
As Qingyu spoke softly, she lifted the old man's dark hand and gently placed it under the white cloth. Finally, she gently wiped the white cloth over the old man.
She looked up at the two trembling cultivators and spoke calmly and coldly.
"His home is in the inn at the very end of South Street Alley. The woman at the counter is his wife. She's an elderly lady, so please be careful what you say."
She paused, turned around gently, and raindrops fell heavily on the umbrella, making a pitter-patter sound. The girl in red turned her head, and a cold and oppressive voice came from behind her.
"You must safely send the person back."
The short monk watched the girl leave, and the tall monk finally reacted and asked him what happened. The short monk glanced at him helplessly, but his mind was filled with thoughts of the bag of expensive Haoweiji pastries on the haystack after they woke up that day.
Suddenly, he chuckled, "Old Gao, that madman is finally finished."
...
The governor's mansion, the Four Seasons Courtyard.
The courtyard was so large that Shen Dongsheng, who had lived there alone for so many years, still felt lonely.
The young man stood on the high steps, which he had specially built. The painting floated helplessly in the center. The torrential rain lashed at him and also soaked the gentle eyes of his mother on the painting.
Shen Dongsheng thought, how could this be? The formation was about to open. Even if he couldn't revive his mother, he could still die under the formation. How could it not work?
He looked helplessly at the painting, at the empty space below the steps.
Just now, his father, a group of cultivators from the Demon Suppression Pavilion, stood there watching him suffer a crushing defeat, and then left with disdain.
It was ridiculous; he was soaking wet and just stood there watching.
Watching his lifelong obsession vanish just like that.
The young man's vision was blurry, and he vaguely saw a girl in red carrying an umbrella approaching.
Shen Dongsheng thought he was seeing things. He opened his eyes wide and recognized Qingyu. The young man smiled and said, "It's you."
To his surprise, Qingyu didn't say anything. She climbed the steps one by one, bent down to pick up the scroll, and then walked towards him step by step without saying a word.
Shen Dongsheng was somewhat puzzled. Was he hallucinating? Or was no one actually coming?
Just as he was thinking this, the girl gently moved the umbrella back, revealing a bright but calm face.
Large raindrops fell in torrents, and Shen Dongsheng felt a surge of joy for some reason. He was just about to speak to the girl in front of him—
"Bang—Pfft—"
Qingyu, with extreme speed and force, kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him crashing down the steps.
Shen Dongsheng was instantly sent flying to the ground, several meters away. Amidst the pattering rain, there was a loud "thud" as the man fell to the ground, turning his head to the side and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
He braved the relentless downpour, struggling to open his eyes and look at the girl in red on the high platform.
Through the blur, he could only see the girl's aloof, indifferent, and even somewhat disdainful gaze.
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