Side Story 1: The Demon-Catching Adventure of the Deer Fairy (Part 1)
"Fairy Deer, you must help us get to the bottom of this!"
"Yes, Fairy Deer, everyone in the city admires you the most. My dog is a good watchdog!"
The small courtyard that Shen Qiexing had taken over was immediately surrounded and packed with people. Lu Yixin shrank back and forth behind the wooden table until she was pressed against the wall with nowhere left to retreat. Finally, she slammed her hand on the table, pounded her chest, and said firmly, "Fellow villagers, rest assured, your affairs are my affairs, your difficulties are my difficulties. I have heard your voices, and I, Lu Yixin, will go through fire and water to catch that dog-stealing demon!"
Hearing her resolute promise, the crowd was immediately moved to tears, and slowly dispersed, expressing their deepest gratitude.
"You're going to be busy again, Deer Fairy!"
The noise outside finally subsided, and Shen Qiexing walked out of the courtyard with a plate of pastries in his hand. He fed Lu Yixin a piece while teasing her.
"Oh dear," Lu Yixin laughed, her words muffled, "You shouldn't call me that anymore, Brother Qiexing."
Her original intention was to quietly accompany the gods and stay in the mortal world for a while, but she never expected that demons would be rampant in the mortal world and sometimes cause harm to the people. She couldn't bear to see it, so she often went out to catch demons.
Once, while chasing a flower fairy, she chased it all the way into a residential area. The flower fairy was light and agile, and Lu Yixin finally captured it after a lot of effort, but unfortunately, the people around her saw it.
Since then, her little courtyard has been almost worn out by visitors. All the visitors are common people who have asked her to catch demons. She didn't want to reveal her true identity, so she just made up the name of a fairy. Who would have thought that the name would spread so quickly that now everyone in the city knows that there is a fairy in the south of the city who can catch demons. She has made a name for herself.
After all, the demons in his hands are all real.
A month ago, an old nanny from the palace suddenly approached her, saying that something had gone missing from the palace.
This thing is important in some ways, but not in others.
It was a black dog.
But it wasn't just any black dog; it was Cedar, the king's beloved pet that had been with him since he was a cub. Cedar was its name.
This dog is fourteen years old this year, very old, just waiting for the day it will pass away. The first thing the king does every day is to go to the side hall to visit it. As long as it still has a breath left, the king will be at ease all day. A few days ago, the king went to the side hall as usual in the morning, but he did not find Xuesong.
He was furious and severely punished the two servants responsible for taking care of Xuesong. He then fell seriously ill and never recovered. Several imperial physicians were consulted, but none of them could cure him. They all said that the king's illness was a mental one and needed a cure for the mind.
The medicine for their heart was cedar, but they searched almost the entire palace from top to bottom and couldn't find even a single hair of cedar.
Just as everyone in the palace was filled with anxiety, the old nanny suddenly remembered the folk legend of the Deer Fairy and, with a "nothing to lose" mentality, went to find Lu Yixin.
When Lu Yixin first heard the news, she felt a sense of absurdity, but then she perked up and began to think about where to start.
During the month she was pondering this, people kept coming to her to help find lost items. Without exception, they all had lost their dogs, mostly black dogs, and all of them had disappeared overnight.
It was only then that Lu Yixin realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Brother Qiexing, in your opinion, was this dog theft committed by a human or a demon?"
Lu Yixin swallowed the pastry in her mouth and asked seriously.
Although Shen Qiexing didn't want to get involved in anything other than their relationship, Lu Yixin was very interested, so he had to think it over and said, "It must have been done by a demon."
"If it were an ordinary family, what would they need so many dogs for? Would they stew them and eat them? Even if they were craving them, they wouldn't dare to steal dogs from the palace. Besides, the dogs disappeared without a trace, which is not something an ordinary person could do. Some people stay up all night watching their dogs, and the dogs are still gone the next day."
"But why would a demon want a dog..." Lu Yi pondered.
"Let's stew it and eat it," Shen Qiexing answered without hesitation.
Well, it seems he only thought about it once.
Lu Yixin gave him a reproachful look, which he happened to catch. Shen Qiexing hugged her from behind, smelled the fragrance in her hair, and said with a smile, "Isn't the old nanny going to send over all of Xuesong's belongings tomorrow? I'll help you check them to see if we can find any clues, how about that?"
"Hmph," Lu Yixin bit his chin and muttered, "That's more like it."
—
The cedar's things had arrived, but Lu Yixin was almost speechless with astonishment. These things were far too precious! She picked up a glass dog bowl, then looked at the little clothes made of Suzhou embroidery, and clicked her tongue in admiration.
"It seems this king truly loves cedar trees," she couldn't help but remark.
He must feel really guilty for losing his beloved pet.
The two spent almost the entire day examining each item, and finally found a clue on a bone made of the most inconspicuous knot.
"Brother Qiexing, come and see!"
Lu Yixin picked up the bone, which was only the size of one of her fingers, and placed it in her palm. "I can faintly sense a dangerous aura here, but it's too faint, and I'm not sure."
Although Shen Qiexing had not yet reassembled his magical power, he still recognized the true form of this aura at a glance.
"Where did this weasel spirit come from?"
This is probably a kind of talent.
"Weasel?" Lu Yixin was confused. "But in my mind, don't weasels eat poultry or rats?"
“This weasel spirit didn’t necessarily steal so many dogs just to eat them,” Shen Qiexing stroked his chin, pondering for a moment. “You just said that most of the dogs that have gone missing these days are black dogs?”
“Yes, even other breeds of dogs are mostly dark-colored; white dogs are rare.” Lu Yixin nodded.
“It seems our top priority is to lure out this weasel spirit,” Shen Qiexing mused. “If only we could borrow a black dog.”
But nowadays, everyone who owns a dog is on high alert; who would be willing to take the risk of lending their dog out...?
"Should we have Baozhu send one over?" Shen Qiexing yawned lazily. "She's omnipotent."
“She might not be able to make it recently,” Lu Yixin said, her eyes crinkling with laughter as she remembered something. “She and An Ziyi have gone on their honeymoon.”
Shen Qiexing only returned to Tianpin Sea every few months, rarely paying attention to the people and things there. So by the time he realized that something was wrong with the two, it was already too late.
"Come on, Ziyi, let's kiss!" Baozhu proudly put her arm around An Ziyi's shoulder and laughed arrogantly at Shen Qiexing.
“Baozhu, don’t be rude,” An Ziyi said calmly, but his eyes never left her.
Shen Qiexing raised an eyebrow, a chill running down his spine. "When did you two get together?"
"They've been together for a long time. The God really doesn't care about us servants at all!"
She kissed An Ziyi on the cheek in front of Shen Qiexing and said to him, "So what?"
Shen Qiexing, who was originally going to come back and stay for a week, ran away the next day.
"I don't care," he thought, pinching Lu Yixin's cheek and snorting coldly, "She has to come here right now."
"What a shrewd swindler..." Lu Yixin chuckled to herself, resting her chin on her hand, silently lighting a candle for Baozhu in her heart.
An hour later, Baozhu and the other person appeared outside the courtyard on time. The resentment around them was so heavy that even the mosquitoes that passed by had to give way.
"Your Majesty, the black dog you requested has arrived."
Baozhu gritted her teeth as she spoke slowly and deliberately, handing the puppy in her arms to Lu Yixin and whispering in her ear, "The God has such a terrible temper, I really don't know how you, Miss Lu, can put up with him."
"Oh, you'll get used to it."
Lu Yixin stroked the puppy's fur gently, listening to its whimpering, and a feeling of pity welled up in her heart.
She will do her best to protect it.
—
That night.
The puppy was placed in the woodshed in the backyard, where a roast chicken and water were provided for it, but as darkness descended, the puppy still barked in fear.
This is a pure black dog, without a single stray hair on its body. I guess that weasel spirit will be here soon.
Lu Yixin and Shen Qiexing sat on the branches of an oak tree in the backyard, looking down with concern.
Her heart was pounding, and Shen Qiexing subtly tilted his head, placing his palm over hers.
Yes, calm down. Lu Yixin held his hand back. She had already cast two spells on the puppy: one to track its movements and the other to save its life.
The two waited until their legs were numb before the weasel spirit finally climbed in late at night.
Lu Yixin stopped dozing off and, under the dim moonlight, stared intently at the weasel that was half a person tall.
Unlike ordinary weasels, this one, which had become a spirit, had a coat of pale, withered yellow fur that resembled weeds. It cautiously looked around and even slowly walked toward the tree where the two were sitting.
Lu Yixin held her breath, afraid of being discovered. Fortunately, the weasel was not very intelligent and only circled the tree once before leaving. It seemed to be sure that it had eliminated all dangers and ran towards the woodshed with complete peace of mind.
The door to the woodshed was left open for it. The puppy was loosely tied with a rope, which could be easily untied. Ignoring the puppy's terrified cries, the weasel spirit bit through the rope, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, and jumped over the wall, then swaggered away.
"Let's go, let's catch up!" Shen Qiexing and Lu Yixin exchanged a glance and said softly.
He had no magical power left, but fortunately, his martial arts skills remained, and he was quite skilled, so he didn't fall behind Lu Yixin for a while.
The weasel spirit ran very fast with the puppy. The only light source around them was the moonlight, and Lu Yixin was having a hard time keeping up. Shen Qiexing took the initiative to lead the way for her.
After chasing for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the weasel spirit finally stopped, sniffed around, and finally scurried into an inconspicuous hole.
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