standoff
It was late at night, and everyone in the village was asleep; all was quiet.
Lin Yun placed his hand on the tree trunk, trying to re-establish contact with it. Seeing that there was still no response, he hardened his heart, drew a knife from his sleeve, and held it to his neck.
She did not do this in an attempt to die.
"If you don't appear soon, your host will be reincarnated." With that, the knife plunged even deeper, and blood flowed down the blade onto the ground.
Blood droplets fell into the spring mud, and the entire peach tree suddenly glowed with golden light. Lin Yun's neck wound was also sealed with peach gum.
"Little madwoman." The tree full of blossoms trembled, and the falling petals condensed into graceful human figures.
Lin Yun staggered and grabbed the tree trunk for support, his palm touching the surging spiritual energy fluctuations beneath the bark.
A sudden night breeze swept up fallen petals, creating a crimson barrier around them that blocked any prying eyes.
Tao Yao circled around Lin Yunwang, looking her over. "She stinks. I wonder which old codger's spiritual power she's been tainted by." Her long, floor-length hair wrapped around Lin Yunwang's ankle and tied it tightly in a friendly manner.
"Is he still alive or where?" the girl asked anxiously.
"Oh, who are you talking about?"
Seeing her displeasure, Tao Yao stopped joking and said seriously, "I can only confirm that he is still alive. A few days ago, he borrowed a lot of power from my clone."
Now, she's probably half a human being turning into a demon, but that person won't let her say that.
Lin Yun listened to what she said and felt relieved.
Why was I suddenly unable to connect with you before?
"Hey, you two were the ones begging to form a contract with me back then. I'm the master, don't question me," Tao Yao said arrogantly, hands on her hips.
“You were almost dead back then… Never mind, it was my fault, Sister Taoyao, please forgive me this time.” Lin Yunwang didn’t want to argue any further, and coaxed her softly.
“Weren’t you going to the Jingyin Sect to seek medicine? I was afraid those monsters would notice something, so I cut off contact with you.” Tao Yao pondered for a while, but decided to tell the whole story. “After that, I lent too much spiritual power to someone and felt extremely tired, so I simply fell into a deep sleep.”
The sound of the drum came from afar, causing ripples to spread across the barrier. Lin Yun knew that time was running out, and every second Tao Yao remained visible increased the risk of being discovered.
"Goodbye. Oh, and don't let those brats steal my flowers again." Her indignant voice reached Lin Yunwang's ears, but her figure disappeared.
The petals that were originally suspended in mid-air fell down one after another, like a dream.
Lin Yun recalled his first encounter with Tao Yao and thought to himself that it was a tragic fate.
That happened a long time ago. The village chief brought a peach tree from somewhere and planted it in the center of the village. Everyone in the village was assigned to water it regularly. On the day she and Ah Sheng were to water it, a woman appeared lying under the peach tree, looking like she was on the verge of death.
The two wanted to go find someone, but they couldn't move their bodies no matter what they did. Unable to do anything, they begged her to hold on a little longer and not die.
That's how contracts are formed.
Touching the peach tree allows you to talk to her. At first, she only gave simple responses, making her a great confidante for the young Lin Yunwang.
But later, perhaps because she annoyed Tao Yao, or perhaps because they became more familiar with each other, she no longer hid her spoiled nature and often acted like a monster, pointing fingers and bossing people around.
However, Tao Yao was not a person who had a strong urge to confide in others. Lin Yunwang knew nothing about her past and never inquired about it.
She returned to her room, where she could probably sleep for another two hours.
The nightmare was vague; she felt as if someone was gripping her heart, squeezing out her living space, making even breathing extremely difficult.
She tried to run away and hide, but to no avail.
The only responses she received were cries, shouts, pleas for mercy, and the sounds of clashing swords.
The dream she hadn't had in a long time swept over her again, almost overwhelming her.
When she transmigrated, she was just an infant, trapped in a space along with the system. After regaining her freedom, she tried to view this world as a quest similar to one in an online game. However, the realism was too strong, too undeniably so.
In a few years, she will have lived in this world for much longer than in her original world. Her original memories will fade with the completely different life she leads, and eventually, she will forget them all.
She had almost accepted that she would live in this world until she died.
This time, no one could help her escape the dream; she had to save herself.
If one day she is no longer afraid of all of this, then dawn will break.
Morning light streamed through the library's window, casting Lin Yunwang's shadow onto the tattered pages of "The Demon-Slaying Record." Her fingertips brushed against the worm-eaten pages; this book was less a history of the demon race and more a collection of unofficial histories by Qiming, the current number one cultivator in the world.
"It's all nonsense about what cloud-patterned brocade boots to wear when slaying demons; there's not even a record of what kind of magic the Demon Lord used." Her neck was pressed against the cool blue brick, and her smile turned into a sigh in her throat.
These past few days she's been shuttling between Shixi Village and the library, but with little success. The yellowed books are either riddled with wormholes or filled with stories that portray demons as monstrous creatures with blue faces and fangs. On the other hand, the anecdotes about the Enlightened Immortal, whether true or false, have been copied meticulously.
How much does Sang Zhao know about the demon race?
The thought had barely formed in her mind when Lin Yun felt the communication talisman in her sleeve faintly warming. She turned and picked up the tattered scroll of "The Demon-Slaying Record," heading towards the direction of the first volume.
Passing by the former site of the post station, the ruins that were scattered with charred wood and broken tiles just the day before were now as smooth as newly cut Xuan paper. The spring breeze swept across the bare ground, as if the post station had never existed.
The first episode features the best inn in Shuofeng City, located in the best part of the city. However, being on the outskirts and lacking resources, it can hardly be described as luxurious.
Sunlight streamed through the eaves into the inn's lobby, where Sang Zhao leaned against a vermilion pillar. The breeze ruffled the hem of his crimson robes, and he had changed back into his light purple disciple's robes.
"Miss Lin."
Upon seeing Lin Yunwang, Sang Zhao took a few steps forward, nodded slightly to her, his gaze sweeping over the jade pendant at the girl's waist. A smile suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he gestured for her to speak, "There are too many people here, let's go to the private room upstairs to talk."
Lin Yun followed and stepped onto the wooden stairs, the aged sandalwood steps creaking softly under his feet. As he pushed open the door, the aroma of ambergris mixed with the scent of pre-rain tea wafted towards him.
A young man in brocade robes sat upright beside the carved octagonal table. Silver lines and subtle patterns meandered and intertwined on the moon-white brocade, as if there were flowing light within them. His slender fingers rested on the edge of the teacup, as if he was about to drink tea.
"This is the Young Master Chang I mentioned earlier."
The man in brocade chuckled upon hearing this, a few very faint smile lines appearing at the corners of his eyes. He also possessed a unique, subtle fragrance.
This person is extraordinary.
"My name is Chang Zhixiao, and I've come here from Jiangnan for travel." He pronounced his words with the unique charm of Jiangnan's misty rain. "May I ask your name, young lady?"
Lin Yunwang clearly remembered that Sang Zhao had told her before that Young Master Chang was from the capital. But she did not show any doubt. She simply curtsied without making a sound and said in a deep voice, "His surname is Lin, his given name is Yunwang, and he is just a country bumpkin."
Xiao Zhichang poured tea from the teapot. A noticeable old scar on his hand brushed against the teapot. Lin Yunwang observed the roughness of the teapot without revealing his expression. It was so different from his fine clothes and jade crown.
The person opposite her was also looking at her.
The bottom of the celadon cup touched the table, making a very soft "click" sound.
"Miss Lin's jade pendant," Xiao Zhichang said, pushing his teacup towards her, "has a very unique design; I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."
Lin Yun lowered his eyes and sipped his tea, letting the steam obscure his features. "You flatter me, it's just a popular style among the common people."
Since Sang Zhao didn't elaborate, we can't reveal our secrets to this Young Master Chang.
Amidst the laughter and chatter of the three, the incense sticks burning in the room were finished. Xiao Zhichang spoke the most, keeping the atmosphere lively. He talked about everything under the sun, recounting his travels and the sights and sounds he had heard, as well as his uncle who was plotting to seize the family fortune.
He got so into his speech that Lin Yunwang and Sang Zhao couldn't get a word in edgewise and mostly just chimed in.
The last wisp of smoke in the incense burner dissipated into a thin thread, and the beads on Xiao Zhichang's wrist jingled softly as he poured tea.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and a servant stood outside, saying softly, "Young master."
"Young master," the servant called again from outside the door, his voice as taut as a taut zither string.
"It seems to be urgent business." Xiao Zhichang clasped his hands in a fist and took his leave. "I am truly ashamed that I have not been able to fulfill my duties as host and guest today."
"Young Master Chang, you flatter me. If you have something to attend to, please go ahead and do your work." Lin and Sang also stood up to return the greeting.
After Xiao Zhichang left the room, his footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer be heard. Only then did Lin Yunwang breathe a sigh of relief and suddenly slump back into his chair.
"So tired." She rubbed the back of her neck and complained, having to maintain her composure for an hour. Talking to this Young Master Chang always required listening and thinking a lot, which left her physically and mentally exhausted.
Sang Zhao traced the rim of the teacup with his fingertips. "Junior Sister Yunwang, what are your thoughts on Young Master Chang's words and actions?"
When Sang Zhao saw the jade pendant at Yunwang's waist that represented the Jingyin Sect, he repeatedly uttered these four words in his heart.
Seeing that Sang Zhao already knew the significance of the jade pendant, Lin Yun smiled and said, "In my humble opinion, Junior Sister, he is a talkative person, somewhat like a storyteller in a teahouse, telling stories in a dazzling and eloquent way." His words seemed to be both true and false, making him hard to understand.
“Really?” Sang Zhao neither confirmed nor denied. “By the way, he helped find the homing pigeon. I checked it and there was nothing unusual about it. It was just a very ordinary homing pigeon.”
He recalled the scene when he was injured and Xiao Zhichang kept pestering him for forgiveness, and it gave him a terrible headache. He had clearly said that he didn't care, but Xiao Zhichang insisted on doing him a favor to ease his guilt. Helpless, Sang Zhao had no choice but to tell the story of the carrier pigeons incompletely, and to his surprise, Xiao Zhichang found all the carrier pigeons at the post station.
Thinking of this, Sang Zhao pressed his throbbing temples.
Turning his head, Lin Yun held a portrait in front of him.
“This is what the doctor looks like,” she said, placing the painting on the table. “I asked my friend to paint it a few days ago.” She had been wanting to introduce the two of them, but hadn’t found a good opportunity.
"Or perhaps it was a disguise."
"So, I'm going to try my luck, like a blind cat trying to catch a dead mouse." She had come up with an idea. Although the probability of things going as she expected was very small, how would she know the outcome if she didn't try?
According to Sang Zhao, the Jingyin Sect sent people to check the barrier of the Demon Realm, but there was no sign of it loosening. It seems that investigating in the direction of the Demon Clan is also not feasible.
So, this person is their only lead at the moment.
Sang Zhao leaned against the window and nodded slightly. "Go ahead and do it. I support you."
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced out the window and saw Xiao Zhichang board a carriage. The carriage curtain fluttered in the wind, revealing the lower half of her face, which resembled that of a slender woman.
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