evil spirits
"What?" Qi Yuan slammed her hand on the table and stood up, eager for an answer. The wooden table in Li Mei's house wobbled after being slammed, as if it might fall apart at any moment.
Li Mei frowned and thought, "If I remember correctly, a monk once went to the front of the courtyard. He never stepped inside and never heard any sound."
"A monk? With compassion for all living beings, he would surely save people if he heard cries. Why didn't the evil creature let the monk hear it? Could it be that this thing is exceptionally intelligent and can even detect a person's character?" Mu Qinghuai asked unexpectedly.
Qi Yuan felt it was absurd: "This is beyond my comprehension. Is there really such a powerful evil entity? It can even see through the nature of the newcomer."
"Not necessarily. The person who hears the crying must be kind-hearted, otherwise they wouldn't have entered the courtyard to save someone. But the monk couldn't hear it, so there must be a second condition." Mu Qinghuai calmed down.
“Monks are kind but not reckless, compassionate but not impulsive. Perhaps the key lies in their recklessness.” Qi Yuan and Mu Qinghuai were of the same mind, and they looked at each other, both seeing affirmation in each other’s eyes.
She continued, "Impulsive people will only re-enter the courtyard without hesitation after being hit by the second sound, and they are easily led astray."
Mu Qinghuai asked, "If someone with high internal strength goes, they can easily see through it. Is it possible that there isn't a single powerful cultivator willing to exorcise evil?"
"The Zhu family uses the guise of charity and compassion, but when something really happens, not a single one of those powerful elders or the family head is willing to step forward! They don't care about the victims either! What's the difference between them and rats in the gutter who wear a noble veneer and pretend to be saints?" Li Mei said indignantly, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"The head of the family is no better. To prevent this matter from spreading and damaging the Zhu family's reputation, he spent money to silence the visitors and forbade any members of the Zhu family to speak of it. He ordered all the mountains and that small courtyard to be sealed off to prevent future troubles, but what about ordinary people like us? We have no firewood to burn, no herbs to gather, and only a few of us have land. When we really have no money, we go up the mountain to pick some mushrooms and wild vegetables to fill our stomachs." After saying all this, Li Mei slumped into her chair.
Qi Yuan and Mu Qinghuai remained silent for a long time.
Qi Yuan thought Mu Qinghuai was saddened by the great changes in his hometown, and she didn't know how to comfort the two members of the Zhu family.
She said, "Zhu Fu...it's alright, we will improve everything, and the lives of ordinary people will get better. Don't worry, Miss Li, these hard times will soon be over."
"Hmm... okay." Mu Qinghuai was taken aback for a moment, then replied.
Li Mei opened her mouth in surprise: "This young master is actually a member of the Zhu family." She turned to Qi Yuan, "I am so grateful for your help! As long as my mother can recover and my fellow villagers can live a better life, I am willing to assist you both without hesitation!" Her voice was a little choked up.
"Bang! Bang!" The door to the innermost room was violently slammed open, and the woman's voice was sharp and piercing.
Li Mei said, "Excuse me, please wait a moment!" She hurriedly ran to the door and lay down on the ground, pressing herself tightly against the crack in the door.
"Mom! Are you hungry? I'll bring you some food right now!" Li Mei shouted.
The woman must not have understood, because the banging on the door didn't stop.
Li Mei was used to this situation. She silently carried a plate of food to the door. To prevent the woman from rushing out, she quickly unlocked the door, crawled inside, and immediately locked the door again.
Qi Yuan had no idea what was happening inside. The room was quiet except for the rustling sounds of conversation. After a while, Li Mei came out of the room with an empty plate in her hand.
"I'm sorry, Mother does this when she's hungry or needs to use the restroom. Please excuse me." Li Mei lowered her head and put down the bowl and chopsticks.
"It's alright." Qi Yuan was deeply moved, thinking how this little girl had to shoulder so many household chores all by herself.
*
"I want to go on the training! My master has already agreed, so why can't I go? Aren't there many disciples in the sect who are younger than me who are also participating in the training?" Xie Juxing said angrily as he stood up, his eyes revealing an unreadable meaning.
Madam Ling coldly rebuked, "I think you just want to play around! This isn't a training camp where no one will protect you or pamper you! With your cultivation level? Ha, you're just rushing to your death."
She raised an eyebrow and said disdainfully, "Aren't your eldest sister and second senior brother both young and promising? Of Yun Xingjun's five disciples, you are the most useless. I don't like that fourth disciple, but at least he is more promising than you!"
"I..." Xie Juxing hesitated, raising his eyebrows almost imperceptibly.
"Do you think you can face Yun Xingjun like this? You are the only daughter of the Xie family and a direct disciple of the Silver Bamboo Sect. Others would envy you, yet you are still incredibly stupid. I wouldn't even feel comfortable entrusting the Xie family's business to you in the future." Madam Ling shook her head.
"I just want to go out and make my own way in the world. Who cares about this Lingguang Pavilion! Anyone who wants to be my personal disciple can be one. It was Yunxingjun who chose me, not me!" Xie Juxing took a few steps back and shouted loudly, but his eyes were gleaming.
"Since you're not satisfied with me anyway, then let's find someone else to inherit the Xie family business!" Xie Juxing ran off without looking back, his lips unconsciously curving upwards.
Madam Ling pointed at Xie Juxing's retreating figure and roared, "Xie Juxing, if you have the guts, don't come back once you leave Lingguang Pavilion! Servants, seize her!"
She was furious, frantically grabbing her hair, pulling off the gold hairpin from her head and throwing it to the ground, her hair a complete mess.
The servants tried their best to chase after him, but they were just ordinary people after all. Once they were outside, Xie Juxing used his lightness skill to leap away and leave them in the dust.
Madam Ling believed that her pampered daughter would be unable to bear it and run back the next day.
She never imagined that the next time she would see this daughter would be six months later.
*
"Miss Li, when the weather clears up, we'll have to trouble you to take us to that little courtyard again," Qi Yuan said gratefully.
Li Mei nodded: "It's what I should do."
Mu Qinghuai suddenly said, "But we need to pretend before we go in. Neither of us are reckless, and it will be a lot of trouble if we can't hear the crying."
"Then what should we do? We can't change someone's temperament." Qi Yuan hadn't considered this point before, and calmed down.
"Since it can see through people's hearts, it would be easy for it to judge whether we are demons or immortals. If we pretend to be evil and heretical, it will know that we are of the same kind, so there is no need for it to hide us," Mu Qinghuai said calmly.
Qi Yuan glanced at him with slight surprise, then turned to Li Mei and said, "We will come to find you when the time comes. Miss Li, it's getting late, we should go now. Thank you for your information."
Mu Qinghuai also stood up: "Thank you."
"How could that be! It is my greatest honor to be able to help you both!" Li Mei said, flattered.
She watched the two figures leave for a long time, only snapping out of her daze when she heard the sound of the door being slammed shut.
"Shall we go to Ouyang's inn?" Mu Qinghuai asked considerately.
"No, thank you. I don't want to keep bothering people. Let's find an inn nearby. I reckon it'll rain tomorrow, and I don't know when the sun will come out." Qi Yuan looked around.
"I'll do whatever you say." Mu Qinghuai stood firmly to her left, his body always intentionally or unintentionally brushing against Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan assumed it was an accident and frowned.
"This place is quite quiet and clean." Qi Yuan walked into the inn and found a chair to sit down.
Mu Qinghuai sat down opposite her without saying a word.
"Waiter," Qi Yuan called out.
"Would you like some late-night snacks, or perhaps a room?" the waiter asked warmly.
"Two rooms, not sure how long I'll stay, payment will be settled daily. As for late-night snacks... let me see the menu, thank you." Qi Yuan said seriously.
"Look, sir! Our inn offers a variety of dishes including Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles, Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), Osmanthus Cake, Glutinous Rice Chicken, Donkey Rolls, Green Rice Dumplings, Minced Meat Noodles, Pork Dumplings, Dongpo Pork, and Spicy Chicken Head..." the waiter introduced enthusiastically.
"Stop reading, I'm not blind." Qi Yuan's head was throbbing from the reading.
"Okay, sir. Please let me know if you need anything."
Qi Yuan looked away from the menu and turned to Mu Qinghuai, asking, "Is there anything you'd like to eat?" She then handed the menu to Mu Qinghuai, letting him order first.
"I prefer vegetarian and sweet foods. I'd like candied longan, vegetarian dishes, and osmanthus cake," Mu Qinghuai said with a smile.
Qi Yuan took the menu with a slight surprise. She hadn't expected that his tastes were so similar to hers, as he had ordered all the dishes she liked.
She added two more main dishes, yellow rice and glutinous rice balls, and told the waiter to serve them.
"All the dishes are served. Please enjoy your meal." A moment later, the waiter put down the last plate and left.
The two ate in silence, neither of them saying a word.
"It's delicious."
"This fish is too bland. We should add more salt."
"What do you think of the osmanthus cake...?" For some reason, Mu Qinghuai's tone was somewhat disappointed.
“My favorite food is osmanthus cake… When my father and I were young, we would cry when we were wronged in the sect. We stopped crying when we grew up, but we would still feel sad. But ever since Juxing brought me osmanthus cake, I have found that eating sweet things makes me feel much better.”
Qi Yuan talked endlessly about food, as if she had returned to the few wonderful days she had spent in the sect, with a lingering nostalgia in her eyes.
Logically speaking, while she might not be extremely taciturn, she wouldn't go on and on about her own stories either; no one would want to hear such irrelevant words.
Mu Qinghuai's laughter broke the silence. He chuckled and said, "I like it too. If I had known you before, I would never have made you cry or feel bad."
Qi Yuan was stunned.
If it were someone else, they would definitely make fun of her, saying things like "I never thought Fairy Qi would cry" or "I really can't imagine what Senior Sister would look like when she cries." What Mu Qinghuai meant was... would he protect her?
She felt a bitter taste in her mouth: That was Master's order; no one could protect him.
But no one has ever said these words to her.
As the eldest disciple, she was always someone else's support and pillar. But Qi Yuan was only seventeen, and she was truly exhausted.
Although her junior brothers and sisters respected her, they were even more afraid of her and dared not approach her.
The first person to say he would protect her was this boy she had only known for a short time.
Strangely, she felt a sense of security for no apparent reason.
Perhaps this person really is a trustworthy companion for her...?
Qi Yuan's tone sounded calm, but it actually carried a hint of emotion: "...Thank you."
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