106 old friends
If only Dr. Du were here too.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, the once fearful atmosphere of Liulijing changed, and the long-abandoned Zhenxie Division was once again revived as a thriving government office. However, the Zhenxie Division had been disbanded for a long time, and there was no one available to work there. Danpa came to the capital this time at the request of an old friend to pass on her experience and teach newcomers.
However, compared to teaching Huaizhou, she was much more perfunctory with the people of the Zhenxie Division. She would only go to the meeting when she remembered, and if she didn't remember, she would stay at home playing with the children.
In her words, people from the underworld can't get along with those with official positions. If she went there, no one would respect her, so why bother trying to win their favor?
Huai Zhou asked curiously, "Then, why did you come here, Sister?" Based on her superficial understanding of Sister Danpa, no one could force her to do anything.
Danpa: "These are all debts of gratitude... Zhouzhou, remember, money is easy to repay, but favors are hard to repay. Let's go say goodbye to them. Working in the government office isn't something you can just come and go as you please."
She led Huaizhou, the two of them strolling slowly down the street. By the time they reached the gate of the Zhenxie Division, the gate was almost closed, with only a crack remaining. The guard at the gate, upon seeing her, quickly reopened the gate and respectfully said, "My lord, you have been waiting for you for a long time. Please follow me."
Huai Zhou heard Danpa sigh almost imperceptibly, and his curiosity about this "old friend" grew even stronger. Who exactly was she? Who could command his elder sister?
Before long, she knew the answer.
Sitting in the hall was a middle-aged man dressed in a third-rank military robe. He had upright features and a straight back, exuding an air of steadfast integrity. The first time Huai Zhou saw him, he felt that this man resembled a "righteous and just official" from a traditional Chinese novel.
As she sized up the man, he was also sizing her up, his gaze filled with surprise. He asked Danpa, "Who is she...?" "Commander Lu, this is my newly accepted disciple. Today, my disciple and I are about to depart from Liuli Capital, so I brought her here to pay our respects to you. Huaizhou, come here and greet Lord Lu."
"Lord Lu." She clasped her hands in greeting, standing beside Danpa with neither servility nor arrogance. Although her clothes were simple, she possessed a composure beyond her years, reminding Lu Ping of an old friend.
Who would have thought that their parting at the Marquis's residence years ago would lead to decades of silence? Even after rising from a lowly constable to the commander of the Evil Suppression Division, he still couldn't repay that person's kindness.
Taking advantage of his dazed state, Danpa bowed again and said, "In that case, we shall take our leave. Lord Lu, take care."
Lu Ping came to his senses and realized that she was determined to leave, so he did not try to stop her and nodded as a farewell.
That person had very little connection with the world, and Honghua was one of them; he couldn't bear to disappoint her.
Even so, he didn't know if she would reappear.
Huai Zhou was brought around by Dan Pa, and before leaving, she kept looking back at the buildings inside the Zhenxie Division. Dan Pa noticed her and stopped to ask, "You really like it here?"
She shook her head, hesitated, and said, "It's beautiful here, but... the square layout is too cramped, it makes it hard to breathe."
Danpa was taken aback by her words, and then burst into laughter: "As expected of my good apprentice! You think the same way! No matter how much salary you have or how high your status is, you are just a caged beast or a caged bird. Since you have such skills, you should soar through the world and make great achievements!"
Huaizhou didn't understand why her older sister suddenly burst into laughter, but she felt that her words made a lot of sense and secretly kept them in mind.
Since you have such skills, you should soar through the world and make great strides.
Will she be able to do it in the future?
The two figures disappeared into the distance outside the Zhenxie Division as the setting sun cast its light. In a nearby alley, a guard asked the person in the sedan chair, "My lord, shall we go after those two, or go see Commander Lu?"
The man addressed as "Lord" remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Go in."
Another guard quickly ascended the steps and loudly announced to the assembled officials, "The Marquis of Jianchang has arrived—"
As soon as the words fell, everyone bowed in unison. Upon hearing this, Lu Ping also hurriedly came over to pay his respects: "This humble official greets Your Excellency."
Marquis Jianchang waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for further formalities. However, he did not act immediately, but instead looked back into the distance, gazing in the direction where Danpa and the others had left.
He actually felt that the girl from earlier resembled his senior sister somewhat. This resemblance wasn't in her facial features, but rather in an indescribable, enigmatic charm. For a fleeting moment, he almost thought his senior sister was right in front of him.
But a little thought reveals that it's impossible.
He's just making trouble for himself.
————
The saying goes, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles," but Danpa was more like someone who went wherever she wanted to play, teaching whatever came to mind. Huaizhou climbed Changbai Mountain with her, and because he couldn't resist picking snow lotus, he was chased for dozens of miles by his companion demon, finally escaping by falling headfirst into a lake. After coming out of the lake, they both caught a cold and spent a month recuperating in an unknown village at the foot of the mountain.
Their physical ailments were cured, but their wallets were in serious trouble. During their month-long recuperation, they ate over thirty chickens, turning themselves into weasels and sending away the God of Wealth in the process. Helpless, Danpa could only take her little apprentice and embark on a chivalrous (and swindling) journey.
Today I did a fortune telling for Miss Li about her marriage prospects, and it turned out she was a jinx to her husband. Turns out Miss Li already has a fiancé! The wedding is next month! As soon as I mentioned "jinx," her fiancé's family immediately backed out. Now, not only did I not earn a penny, but I was also chased by Miss Li's family with sticks. Huai Zhou never imagined that his first fight since leaving home wouldn't be against a demon, but against a human!
The two eventually escaped overnight by hiding in a slaughterhouse transporting pigs. After calming the frightened pigs, Huaizhou no longer cared about cleanliness and sat down cross-legged on the ground, almost fainting.
After regaining some energy, accompanied by the grunts of the big and little pigs, she couldn't help but ask Danpa, "Sister, why did you say that Miss Li is a jinx to her husband? You can't even read faces!"
“Ah, that’s not quite right.” Danpa leaned lazily against the carriage wall. Although her hair was disheveled and her clothes were rumpled, her eyes were bright. “What I call ‘leaving after the deed is done, concealing my merit and fame.’ Do you know what kind of person Miss Li’s fiancé is? He’s addicted to all vices: drinking, gambling, whoring, and prostitution. If Miss Li marries him, she’ll live a life where she can only cry out to heaven and earth in vain. If you were in his shoes, what would you do?”
Huaizhou didn't know.
As the saying goes, "marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers," and "a woman should obey her husband after marriage." If it weren't for Danpa's words about "bringing bad luck to her husband," and if Miss Li had really married her fiancé, even if she faced a den of wolves and tigers and a life of hardship, who would care? Even if they did care, how could they save her?
Seeing that her question had stumped her, Danpa couldn't help but smile again. She pulled Huaizhou into her arms, gave her a good squeeze, and exclaimed, "I've really struck gold! Silly sister, how many places have you been to and how many people have you met? Why be bound by one idea? There are not only humans in this world, but also demons and cultivators. You'll be suffocated if you only focus on this small human territory! Besides, there are many kinds of humans. There are not only those like Miss Li's hometown who are all old-fashioned, but also women who are in charge and hold up the sky!"
"Really?" Huai Zhou looked at her suspiciously, and indeed did not continue to wallow in the sadness brought on by his powerlessness. Danpa blinked and said mysteriously, "You'll know when you see it for yourself."
Having learned from Miss Li's experience, Danpa dared not try to make money through clever tricks again, and honestly accepted the challenge to exorcise demons. Although she looked down on some of the practices of the Demon Suppression Division, Danpa had to admit that they were indeed working for the benefit of the people. For example, each town would set up a "Demon List," which detailed the types of demons and the bounty amounts. In the past, only wealthy families who had suffered from demon attacks would issue such lists. If the demons didn't harm them but only devoured a few ordinary people, then even if the demons wiped out an entire village, no one would care.
After the government intervened, such calamities have not occurred again in recent years, and the world can be described as peaceful. The area in front of the "List of Demons" was packed with people. Danpa managed to squeeze in, but Huaizhou did not, so she simply found a quiet place to sit and wait.
Where there are people, there are bound to be gossips and legends. These people then began to talk about the origin of the "Hanging Demon List," speaking eloquently and endlessly. Huai Zhou listened for a while and realized that it was proposed by Zhao Zhonggan, the current Marquis of Jianchang, and silently praised him in his heart.
Soon, Danpa emerged from the crowd with a thick stack of papers. Seeing this, she was quite surprised and asked, "Sister, you took down so many notices all by yourself?"
"How can it be mine alone? It's clearly shared between you and me."
Looking at her gleaming teeth, Huai Zhou suddenly felt an urge to run away.
This older sister is so unreliable!
As it turned out, Huai Zhou's premonition was correct. Of the twelve bounty orders, apart from the first Danpa who made a move to set an example, she handed over the remaining eleven demons to Huai Zhou, euphemistically calling it training.
“You’ll never grow up if you always stay under your older sister’s wing. Zhouzhou, you should learn to stand on your own.”
Before Huaizhou could speak, the black bear demon roared and charged at her. Danpa casually broke off a pine branch and tossed it to her. Huaizhou gripped the branch, took a deep breath, and stepped forward to meet the attack.
It wasn't until the moment of actual combat that Huai Zhou realized he wasn't afraid.
I'm not afraid of bloodshed, I'm not afraid of getting hurt, and I'm not afraid of what will happen if I lose.
The soft, easily broken pine branch became indestructible in her hands, piercing the black bear spirit's demon core like a sword. Blood splattered on her face, yet she seemed unfazed, her expression as indifferent as a snow-capped mountain, her eyes shining with an astonishing light.
Danpa watched the whole thing from a distance and sighed inwardly.
Back then, Sister Mu said that her talent was higher than hers, but now Huai Zhou's talent is far superior to hers... It can be seen that new talents emerge in every generation.
After killing the black bear demon, the two found the monster's lair and rescued many half-dead pheasants, rabbits, and foxes.
Among them was a little fox with unusual red fur, which was being held by Huaizhou and kept making weak "whimpering" sounds, looking quite pitiful.
She stroked the red fox's trembling body and gently comforted it, "It's alright...it's all alright now...you're free."
Upon hearing this, she suddenly froze.
How strange...did I say that myself?
Unable to leave before sunset, they decided to spend the night in the Black Bear Spirit's cave. Worried about other monsters on the mountain, they took turns keeping watch: Huaizhou kept watch for the first half of the night, and Danpa for the second half.
After both humans and demons had fallen asleep, she leaned against a pine tree, with the red fox peacefully asleep in her arms.
All was silent, the moon was like frost and snow, and tonight the clear moonlight was boundless, and the mountains fell silent.
She stretched out one hand, as if to cup the bright moon in her hands, and thought.
If Dr. Du were here, that would be wonderful.
[Author's Note]
The summary already includes information on Dr. Ying, Dr. Mo, Dr. Du (wow)...
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