Chapter 15 With a demon right in front of you, you're the little devil! We're practically the same size...
Watching the young Taoist priest run faster than the fastest steed in their army, Zi Jing scoffed disdainfully.
Xie Cheng and Lu Jinshi, who were standing behind him, exchanged a glance but said nothing. They stood with their hands at their sides, their eyes returning to him.
He said dismissively, "With such little courage, why bother being a Taoist priest?"
Having said that, he threw the reins behind him and strode into the temple.
Hearing the shouts from afar, Ah Hui and Lang Xi hurriedly came out of their respective rooms.
When Yu Nie ran into the courtyard, he was out of breath and leaned against a pillar, panting heavily.
"What happened?" Langxi asked.
“There is…there is a ghost outside the temple…a ghost…” Her chest heaved violently, her words were broken and intermittent, and she pointed outside the door.
Langxi and the others looked out in the direction she was pointing, but they didn't see any ghosts. Instead, they spotted a familiar figure approaching from a distance.
But Zi Jing swayed with each step, his crimson robes fluttering, and in the blink of an eye, he had crossed the threshold. With a slight smile, he looked directly at Yu Nie and said unhurriedly, "Young Taoist priest, you speak with great seriousness. I wonder where that ghost is now?"
"You didn't see it?" She was still in shock, probably because she was so frightened that she forgot her manners and even omitted the "Commander" greeting.
It makes sense, Zijing is only two years older than her, they're about the same age. These past few days they've been eating and chatting together, so much so that one often forgets that this exceptionally handsome and amiable young man is a proper official.
“I saw him.” He put his hands on his hips and said slowly, “I saw a little brat rush into the temple gate in a panic, and right now…” He smiled and narrowed his eyes, “Isn’t he talking to me right now?”
“Little devil? What little devil?” she blurted out, then realized her mistake and her eyebrows shot up: “You’re the little devil! We’re about the same age.”
"Junior Sister!" Lang Xi's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly grabbed her sleeve and said in a low voice, "This is Captain. You must not be rude."
"Junior Sister." She immediately dropped her fierce demeanor and walked to Lang Xi's side, muttering softly, "But it was clearly this wise and mighty captain who made fun of me first. How could a high-ranking official who receives a salary from the imperial court bully a commoner like me?"
Those round almond-shaped eyes still clearly held a hint of resentment, yet while she spoke with feigned grievance, she was unequivocal when it came to changing the form of address.
The first principle of survival is to avoid being stubborn. Speak human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts. Never stubbornly charge forward when you should bow your head. Only in this way can you save your life. Yu Nie understood this principle well.
Her words sounded like a young girl being coquettish, with no trace of her defiant attitude towards her superior.
With such an attitude, no one would dare to really argue with her.
But there was one exception.
Lu, the attendant, glared angrily at Yu Nie with his bull-like eyes. From their first meeting, he had disliked her, not to mention that she had dared to speak rudely and slander his master that afternoon.
Seeing her dare to be disrespectful to Zijing again, he was furious and shouted, "What an ignorant little Taoist nun! How dare you be so insolent to my Captain! I think there will be more people in Huaiyuan County jail."
Upon hearing this, Langxi and Ahui were both startled. They shielded Yu Nie behind them and comforted her, saying, "My junior sister was frightened just now, which is why she spoke like that. She didn't mean to disrespect the captain. We know that Attendant Lu is eager to protect his master, so please don't take it to heart."
"Hmph," said Lu Jinshi, "In my opinion, this little Taoist nun is clearly trying to cause trouble for the Captain!"
Even though he had cursed Lu Jinshi eight hundred times in his heart, on the surface, Yu Nie showed no less sincerity: "I'm innocent! How could I dare to cause trouble for the Captain? Even if I had ten times the courage, I would only say 'May the Captain be well' and would not dare to be disrespectful in front of the Captain."
She said cautiously, "And as for picking a fight... isn't Attendant Lu giving me too much credit?"
"You glib tongue! Even if I don't send you, little Taoist nun, to the county government today, I'll still teach you a lesson." Even though she spoke with utmost sincerity and venom, the attendant Lu was completely unmoved by her words and was about to step forward to pull her away.
Seeing this, Xie Cheng was about to speak up for Zi Jing, but when he turned his gaze to Zi Jing, he didn't dare to act rashly.
Unexpectedly, Lu Jinshi had just taken a step when he saw Zijing smile gently and glance back: "Step back."
His tone was clearly not harsh, yet everyone present felt an overwhelming sense of authority.
Unlike in the stories, where the servants would still say something after the master had spoken, as soon as he finished speaking, Yu Nie saw that Lu's attendant immediately fall silent, bow, and retreat.
Her gaze shifted to the young man, and when his gaze returned, there was no longer any oppressive aura. She chuckled and said, "I apologize for offending you, young Taoist priest. Attendant Lu has been with me for a long time and is a bit too eager to protect his master. He takes everything seriously, but he has no ill intentions. I hope you will not blame him."
His voice was clear and bright, like crystal, and it could make the gloom in people's hearts disappear without them even realizing it.
"How could that be? Attendant Lu is just loyal and devoted." Her words, besides showing that she truly wouldn't hold a grudge against Attendant Lu, also implied a consideration for the bigger picture. If she couldn't concoct that peacock blue later, she might have to ask Zijing to intercede with the county government on her behalf.
At this point, we must give them face and a way out, no matter what.
Moreover, after spending the past few days with them, she observed that although Zijing and the others came from military backgrounds, they possessed the demeanor of Confucian generals and were also grateful for kindness.
Yesterday at noon, the water in the kitchen was all carried back from the spring in the back mountain by the dignified captain, and he also chopped firewood in the yard, doing a pretty decent job.
These days, officials who are willing to bend down and do things for ordinary people are even rarer than phoenix feathers, let alone do manual labor.
It was just a minor incident, and it's all in the past now.
Langxi and Yu Nie were about to get ready for bed when the latter took a step when she suddenly remembered that she had just thrown her lantern outside the pass and was about to go and retrieve it.
But then she remembered those strange black boots from earlier, and a chill ran down her spine. She wanted to pull Ah Hui along with her.
She had just reached for Ah Hui's sleeve when she hesitated, thinking it wouldn't be too late to pick it up when it got light.
Anyway, they're in the middle of nowhere, so no one will steal it.
As she pondered this, she followed the person in front of her and descended the steps.
After walking a few steps, she inadvertently noticed the boots on the feet of the person who was a step ahead of her. The more she looked at them, the more familiar they seemed, until they overlapped with the "ghost boots" she had just seen.
Yu Nie jumped back a step, pointed at his shoes, and belatedly exclaimed in shock, "So that ghost from just now was you?!"
Zi Jing stopped and turned around, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He spoke with a double entendre: "'The evil spirit' is right in front of you, and you only just noticed it, little Taoist priest." His eyes and brows were full of warmth: "With such eyesight, can you, little Taoist priest, still pass your sect's examination and be promoted to a higher rank?"
The examination of the register is equivalent to the grading system in Taoism. The Zhengyi sect reveres the "Taishang Sanwu Zhengyi Mengwei Baolu", which is divided into twenty-four ranks. Advancing to each rank is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Currently, her corresponding rank is Supreme Three-Five Evil-Repelling Talisman, and she has held this position for three years.
If you ask why the name of the ordination has not been changed for three years, the reason is obvious: the ordination process is truly more difficult than climbing to heaven.
It was no less challenging than her college entrance exam back then.
He hit the nail on the head with a single sentence, and Yu Nie realized how hurtful his words were.
She chuckled twice, "I didn't know you were so knowledgeable about these trivial matters of our Daoist sect." Then, mimicking his hand-behind-his-back posture, she said, "It's getting late, I'll stop here and go to sleep."
Watching her leave, Zijing gave a slight smirk, stretched, and casually went inside.
Xie Cheng followed behind him, and Lu Jinshi also went into the room and stayed for a while.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, by the light of the candles and moonlight under the eaves, Yu Nie finished tidying up and was about to close the window when she saw that the thin, dark-faced attendant Lu had left again.
These past few days, he hadn't been staying at the Taoist temple, but instead resting with the Qianzhou Iron Cavalry stationed outside the city.
Outside the window, all was quiet, except for the occasional distant bird calls from the back mountain. The brackets and eaves of the Taoist temple outlined the moonlight, which was like water, into shapes, such as undulating mountains or white cranes spreading their wings as if about to take flight, casting irregular illusions on the blue brick ground.
The candle was blown out, and the room was immediately filled with a cool, soft light. Unable to fall asleep, Yu Nie lay on his back in bed, carefully reviewing the experiments he had done in the past, trying to recall anything else that contained blue pigment.
The silvery moonlight on the ground shifted again and again, moving from the footstool to the table.
She suddenly sat up, grabbed the to-do list from beside her pillow, and began to read it intently.
She tossed and turned on the couch, still clueless, so she slipped on her cloud-patterned shoes and paced back and forth on the square brick floor. The room was cramped, and she reached the wall after only a few pacing. Frustrated, she grabbed her outer robe from the rack, put it on, and pushed open the door to step into the courtyard.
By the end of the month, the night wind had lost its biting chill, and the air outside was not cold to the bone, but rather carried a slight warmth as it brushed against my cheeks.
Yu Nie looked up and saw that the crescent moon, which had been hanging in the middle of the bed, had now moved to the eastern roof ridge.
The edge of the moon was tinged with a fluorescent glow, much like a porcelain ewer with a peacock blue glaze.
Thinking of this, Yu Nie sighed inwardly, wondering if he had gone mad, for he could think of peacock blue just by looking at the moon.
She stayed in the courtyard for a while, thinking it over and over, and concluded that continuing like this would be of no use, and even if she thought about it all night, it might not have any good results.
Being too tense won't be effective; it's better to get a good night's sleep and look at it again tomorrow morning.
She got up and dusted off the hem of her clothes, intending to go back to her room.
In the darkness, as she turned around, she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flashing past on the opposite rooftop.
She thought she was seeing things, but before she could turn around to take a closer look, the roof tiles made a soft, almost inaudible sound, and five or six men in black leaped down, their long knives flashing with a terrifying cold light.
She turned and ran inside, shouting, "Thief! Thief!"
Inside the alchemy room, the young man lay down fully clothed, his shoes still on. In the darkness, the young man casually opened his eyes, and upon hearing her call, a look of displeasure flashed across his brow.
Knowing that a villain had broken in, he still rested his head on his arms and remained motionless. As he watched the approaching cold blade, he smiled.
A note from the author:
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Xiao Yu Nie: I am capable of both bending and stretching.
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