Humans and Demons
Qiling Mountain, under the wet cliffs.
The Gu woman quietly opened her eyes; her hair had turned gray, and a hint of indifference flashed in her eyes.
Feeling her heart pounding with excitement, she murmured to herself, somewhat bewildered, "We...we have companions? Who are they?"
Far away in the Liuwu Forest, Shu Huixin's fingers twitched slightly, and the vines swiftly returned to her sleeve.
A series of light footsteps came from outside.
"Why are you so disobedient?" Shui Buyun gradually became irritable.
Ren Xiangxiang, leaning on her crutches, was covered in sweat as she walked. "I—"
"Is Xiangxiang awake?"
The door opened, and Shu Huixin slid out of her wheelchair, smiling wearily. "He's alright now, he's asleep."
"He—" Ren Xiangxiang subconsciously looked into the room. When she came to her senses, Shu Huixin had already walked away, with Shui Buyun following behind.
"Master!" Ren Xiangxiang suddenly ran after Shu Huixin upon seeing this.
"What?" Shu Huixin turned around.
Although her eyes were closed, Ren Xiangxiang could still feel Shu Huixin's gentle and caring gaze. However, her master seemed different from usual today.
She didn't ask many questions, as if she knew everything, and accepted this reality very calmly...
Ren Xiangxiang was startled by her own guess; her master...
"Master, you...I..."
"Do you want to ask him what exactly happened?" Shu Huixin changed the subject, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Ren Xiangxiang nodded sullenly, but before she could deny it, Shu Huixin continued, "His demonic power was suppressed by the Gu worms and he was marked, but there's no need to worry anymore, I've already removed them for him."
"Huh?" Ren Xiangxiang's eyes widened slowly, and she said incredulously, "But... but I clearly checked, why didn't I find any Gu worms?"
“Because you can’t see it,” Shu Huixin replied earnestly.
This time, not only Ren Xiangxiang, but even Shui Buyun was stunned.
Is there anything more absurd in the world than being mocked by a blind man for being unable to see?
Clearly, Shu Huixin realized this as well. After a moment of silence, she slowly wheeled herself to Ren Xiangxiang. "Xiangxiang, you've grown up. Your master has nothing more to teach you..."
"Master, what are you saying?" Ren Xiangxiang interrupted her, a sense of foreboding creeping over her.
“That’s right, your half-baked apprentice still needs to learn a lot from you, so he doesn’t go out and ruin your reputation,” Shui Buyun hurriedly added.
In the past, upon hearing these words, she would have inevitably argued with the other party, but today, she didn't care about anything and just kept nodding.
"Yes, yes, Master, please don't say that. There are still many things I don't understand, and I need your guidance. I..."
“Look at your apprentice, she can’t live without you.”
"Uncle Shui is right."
"Don't interrupt me!" Shu Huixin's face darkened.
The two immediately stood side by side, not daring to breathe.
Shu Huixin sighed silently, then pulled Xiangxiang closer again. "Some things are beyond our control, and some things are destined to be borne by someone. Xiangxiang, that person is not me, and it can never be me, but because you are my disciple, therefore..."
"It may be difficult, no, it really will be very difficult, but no one but you can do it. You can promise me that no matter what the future holds, you must keep going."
Ren Xiangxiang felt Shu Huixin's hand tightening, gripping her so tightly it hurt.
"I……"
"Xiangxiang, just consider it an apology from your master!"
After saying that, Shu Huixin let go of her and left without looking back.
"Master, Master..." Ren Xiangxiang took two steps to chase after him, but was glared at by Shui Buyun.
What did Master mean?
She's never been this serious before, what's going on?
“Perhaps I know what happened.” Fu Yi’s voice suddenly appeared behind Ren Xiangxiang. “This secret has tormented her for years. I found out by chance. I think you should know the whole story better than I do.”
Upon hearing this, Ren Xiangxiang suddenly turned around.
Back then, the demon-refining master Liao Wanchuan used a human as a vessel to refine a demon gu that could eliminate all demons in the world. Ren Xiangxiang already knew about this and knew that the demon gu was Liao Wanchuan's masterpiece. It was eventually buried in the Yanshi Ridge area.
What she didn't know was that among those people Liao Wanchuan took away back then, one of them was Shu Huixin.
"What? My master?" Ren Xiangxiang couldn't believe it.
Shu Huixin gazed thoughtfully in the direction of Qiling Mountain, seemingly lost in memories.
“You’re completely different from them, okay? They’re all a bunch of corpses controlled by demonic poisons, but you—”
Shui Buyun suddenly didn't know how to explain.
Shu Hui smiled and answered for him: "And I am the only one who has successfully controlled the demonic Gu, the only one who has succeeded."
“You, me—anyway, it’s not your fault, it’s all Liao Wanchuan’s fault. It’s all his fault. Besides, he’s dead and there’s not even ashes left. Why can’t you get over it?” Shui Buyun scratched her hair in frustration.
“But they all survived,” Shu Huixin murmured.
The memories drifted further and further away, crossing mountains and seas, and flew back to the small village outside Qiling Mountain.
Many people live there, and they have lived there for generations. Because there is a demon master guarding Qiling Mountain, there are very few demons around.
"Brother Rong, come quick, come help me!!" The little girl stood on tiptoe on a rock in the stream, swaying precariously, holding a few red fruits in her arms.
In late autumn, the fruits in the forest are ripe and delicious, and the children from the village come here to pick fruits and catch fish and shrimp.
"Why did you run over there!" The boy dropped what he was holding, jumped into the water, and scooped up the little girl.
The little girl laughed so hard that the fruit fell into the water. In her haste to get the fruit, the boy slipped, and the two of them fell down.
Fortunately, the boy reacted quickly and grabbed the girl, only letting her feet get a little wet.
"You're not feeling well, I told you not to go into the water. Just play by yourself on the shore. I'll give you all the fish and shrimp I caught and the fruit I picked!" The boy was shivering from the cold, but he still didn't seem to care. After settling the little girl in, he ran off to collect the shrimp traps.
"Brother Rong, your clothes are all wet. You'll catch a cold like this. Come on up here. I don't want it anymore! I don't want it anymore!" The little girl was anxiously spinning around on the shore.
The boy turned around and smiled, revealing his teeth. "It's nothing."
The setting sun shone on his dark skin, outlining his sharply defined profile, making him indescribably handsome.
The little girl hugged her knees, propped her head up, and stared blankly at the boy busy in the water.
The boy, noticing this, turned around. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
As she spoke, her face flushed with embarrassment.
The little girl looked to be only eight or nine years old. She carefully examined the boy for a while, and said while recalling, "Brother Rong, I heard Father tell Mother that you should take me in from now on. I'm wondering, how are you going to take me in? Take me in... I'm not a monster, and you're not a demon master!"
The boy slipped and almost fell again. His face turned as red as a ripe apple in autumn, and he stammered, "When...when did your father say that?"
The little girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, "It seems like it was the day before yesterday, Brother Rong, you still haven't answered my question? How are you going to collect it—"
"Be careful!" the boy quickly interrupted her. "You can't say that to anyone else, understand? I mean, anyone but me."
"Why?" The little girl tilted her head, her big, dark eyes brighter than the stars in the night sky.
"Because...because..." The boy's face was so red it felt like it was about to explode. After holding it in for a while, he whispered, "Because I will be good to you for the rest of my life, you have to believe me."
The little girl giggled, and nodding happily, whether she understood or not.
Upon hearing this, the boy seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Their village was located at the confluence of two rivers, nestled against Qiling Mountain. Although Qiling Mountain was a demon mountain, it also had powerful demon masters, so the demons in the vicinity dared not act recklessly.
The bright moon hung in the sky, and snowflakes began to fall heavily. Inside the house, a fire burned in the stove. The tall, burly man added more firewood to the flames, saying as he warmed himself, "We'll have a mild winter this year, hehe..."
"Let's use it sparingly," the woman said with a gentle smile, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) sewing clothes, with only a few stitches left to finish.
"Mommy, what a pretty little floral jacket! Is it mine? Cough cough cough..." The little girl crawled out of her warm bed and started coughing after only saying a few words.
"Hurry up and go inside!" the man urged.
The woman quickly tucked her back into bed, saying, "It's cold outside. Here's your little floral jacket. How about you wear it for the New Year?"
"Okay!" The little girl nestled against the woman's lap.
Suddenly, a cacophony of crying and shouting erupted outside, a chaotic and disorderly scene.
The couple immediately became alert.
"What's going on? Why is it so noisy in the middle of the night?"
"I'll go out and take a look." Without saying a word, the man put on a coat and went outside.
The woman was worried. "Hey...you, you have to be careful!"
"It's alright, you and Xiaoxin stay home and don't come out!" the man instructed, carrying his wood-chopping knife. Just as he pushed open the door, someone rushed in.
Immediately afterwards, a whoosh of flames shot into the sky outside.
"Help! Fire! Ahhhhhh!"
"No, no—"
"Uncle, Uncle, run!"
The boy buried his face in the man's arms, covered in blood and filled with terror, "It's a demon!"
"Hahahaha—"
A pack of ferocious demons charged down from the mountain, killing anyone they saw and setting the village ablaze.
In an instant, everyone ran desperately to get out, but there were already hordes of demons waiting outside, rushing to pounce on the fleeing ordinary people.
"Hahahaha..."
"No! Help! Help!"
The man grabbed the boy and rushed back, shouting, "Run! Run!"
Before the little girl could figure out what was happening, a monster with a blue face and fangs suddenly rushed in front of her and pierced through the man's back with a claw.
Blood splattered on the boy's face. Trembling all over, the boy didn't know where the courage came from, but he picked up the machete and slashed off the monster's claw.
The demon let out a strange cry, but at that moment the man suddenly pounced on it and hugged it tightly.
"Hurry up and go!"
The terrified boy immediately carried the little girl on his back, and only then did the little girl come to her senses.
"No, Father, Mother, no—"
"Be careful, Rong Ku, you two run!" The woman shoved the two of them away and then grabbed the torch from the stove and stabbed it into the monster's eye socket.
"Awooooo—"
call!
The fire suddenly burst up, blocking their view. The little girl struggled to go back, crying as she lunged forward.
"No—Father, Mother—"
The raging fire became her final world. The thick smoke choked her so much that she couldn't even cry. All she could hear was the boy's slightly trembling voice.
"Don't be afraid, little one, I'm here, don't be afraid..."
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