The butterfly koi and the monk stared at each other.
With a loud “pa”, the fish tail whipped, and the butterfly koi leaped back in the river.
However, he found that no matter how he swam, he couldn’t escape the restriction within the monk’s palm.
‘…I walked right into the trap.’
That was Xin Hexue’s final thought.
………
Dusk fell, the setting sun melted into gold, and a light golden mist flowed across the surface of the river.
Farmers drove their old oxen home, and smoke curled up from the chimneys of countryside cottages.
Mountains and rivers layered one after another.
The monk was still a mortal being of flesh and blood, needing three meals and one sleep, so he settled down at a relay station along the official road.
Relay stations were equivalent to government-run inns in Dacheng, providing food and lodging for passing officials and couriers. They could also offer transportation tools, and were usually set up every thirty li.
Each station had one station master, a few station clerks, and several station hands responsible for odd jobs and labor.
Those qualified to use the station could enjoy all-in-one services for eating, lodging, and travel, but not all officials had the right to this privilege.
Seeing a monk in monk’s robes arrive, a station clerk stepped forward and asked, “Do you have a transmission token?”
Transmission tokens were certificates issued by the court. Only those holding such tokens were allowed to stay at the station.
The monk produced a bone-made tube and handed it to the station clerk.
The clerk eyed it suspiciously, opened it with a twist, and poured out its contents. Indeed, there was a Qinglong token, along with an official document bearing the government seal.
As the clerk was verifying the token, the butterfly koi also managed to glimpse at the contents marked on that document.
—Young Qing of the Taichu Temple, Du Zhi.
***Qing is a title for a high ranking official.
This credential held a high rank.
Having completed the inspection, the clerk glanced at the pointed monk hat Du Zhi held in his right hand with curiosity.
That hat was upside down, holding water inside, along with a white koi carp.
“This is…” the clerk tried to guess, “Is this a travel ingredient the master brought along himself? Should I have a station hand deliver it to the kitchen in the back?”
Xin Hexue couldn’t hear what the man was saying.
He only saw the clerk’s mouth opening and closing.
It was likely that Du zhi had cast a temporary auditory restriction on him just in time.
O.o？
K: [This is content the little “cat” fish shouldn’t hear.]
Xin Hexue: […]
He didn’t know what the clerk said, but he noticed that the system was secretly assigning him cat traits and fish traits.
After a while, the restriction was lifted.
He heard Du Zhi say, “No need.”
A station hand came over to lead Duzhi to his guest room.
Only after some time did the clerk suddenly slap his forehead and realize that monks don’t eat meat!
Then why was he carrying a fish?
………
“What is this?”
Xin Hexue leaned back against the bedrail of the canopy bed and crossed his legs. This caused his clothes to become a little disheveled, revealing the robe and pants underneath, along with a fair ankle.
On his right ankle were two circles of extremely thin jade bangles in a clear water green hue. Because there were two of them, they were stacked slightly. When he moved his ankle, they jingled with a crisp sound.
Xin Hexue frowned at the monk across from him and asked again, “What is this that you put on me?”
There was no emotion on Du Zhi’s face, neither sorrow nor joy. He just calmly replied, “A tracking bangle.”
It was something he had seized after eliminating a fox demon steeped in blood karma.
It had the function of tracking and locating.
But the item was just two bangles. They were a bit cumbersome, but sufficient.
Du Zhi had no understanding, and naturally didn’t know what these bangles were used for by the fox demon famous for their seduction.
Xin Hexue stared at him coldly. “You want to restrain me? Why? I haven’t killed anyone.”
Du Zhi’s black eyes were as dark as ink and as deep as a deathly still pool. “You are a demon.”
Xin Hexue was still probing his attitude and slowly refuted Duzhi, “Demons are also divided into good and bad. I have never committed slaughter, and besides, I am a fortune-bringing koi. I don’t harm people.”
“There are also blood koi who cultivate by feeding on human flesh and blood.” Du Zhi’s tone was calm as still water. “Besides, I saw you feeding on human essence that day.”
‘Feeding on human essence?’
Xin Hexue didn’t know what he had done before, but according to the script, he should’ve just been released back into the river.
How could he have fed on human essence?
Xin Hexue calmly confronted Du Zhi. “You’re talking nonsense and slandering me. When have I ever fed on human essence?”
Since this monk had seen him before, he should be able to pry some clues out of him about the poor scholar.
Xin Hexue observed Du Zhi.
Du Zhi: “That day I saw you lip to lip with a scholar. The mouth is one of the seven orifices. Wasn’t that you feeding on essence through a vital point?”
Though it was phrased as a question, Du Zhi’s tone was firm.
Clearly, he was deeply convinced of the conclusion he had drawn.
The koi demon sitting on the bed laughed out loud.
As if what he said was an outrageously funny joke.
The young man laughed so hard that he wiped at the tears forming at the corners of his eyes, and where his fingertip passed, a faint flush of red appeared.
Du Zhi had seen that color before…when the other party was feeding on human essence at Huifu Temple, he had let out a soft hum, and the corners of his eyes were tinged with that same delicate red.
[Du Zhi love value +1]
Xin Hexue was slightly surprised. After hearing the love value notification, his previous desire to escape was temporarily shelved.
He thought of something and his eyes flickered. He curled his finger at Du Zhi, “Come here.”
Du Zhi: “What for?”
Since the koi demon’s cultivation level posed no threat to him, he moved forward as instructed.
A snow-white hand rested on the crimson kasaya.
Xin Hexue’s eyes were indifferent, but the corners of his lips lifted in a faint curve. He smiled and asked, “Didn’t Master Du Zhi say I was feeding on human essence?”
Du Zhi lowered his head, meeting a pair of warm, soft lips.
Perhaps the young man’s body temperature was low by nature, the touch was gentle and slightly cool, extremely light and soft.
Du Zhi caught a cold fragrance, like green sandalwood in snow.
They parted after a brief touch.
[Du Zhi love value +2]
Xin Hexue asked softly, “Well? Did you lose any essence?”
“No essence lost.” Du Zhi frowned tightly. “That’s because my mouth orifice was closed. There’s no way to confirm you weren’t harming people that day.”
‘Why so hard-headed?’
Xin Hexue really wanted to know how this stubborn monk was raised. He didn’t understand a thing about the ways of the world.
Xin Hexue said coldly, “If that’s the case, then open your mouth.”
Du Zhi heard the tone in his voice. It seemed the koi demon had been angered, and there was a trace of coldness in his words.
But when their lips touched again, the tongue inside the mouth was soft, wet, and warm.
It tangled with his tongue.
Then slowly and slickly pulled away.
As they parted, the tip of the red tongue drew out an extremely fine silver thread.
Du Zhi’s mind was shaken, as if a wooden mallet had struck a Buddhist bell, and the crisp sound rang out and reverberated.
It took him a long time to come back to his senses.
Xin Hexue asked, “Well? Do you believe me now?”
Du Zhi’s gaze was heavy. He still didn’t understand. “If it doesn’t feed on human essence, then what is the meaning of this act? What purpose does it serve?”
“You’re so stupid. You don’t even understand that?” Xin Hexue leaned against the side of the canopy bed. Seeing that Du Zhi really didn’t understand these things, he just went along with it, “Though humans and demons walk different paths, neither can escape the seven emotions and six desires. We demons just like to amuse ourselves this way.”
Xin Hexue countered, “Didn’t you feel happy just now?”
Du Zhi sank into deep thought. After a while, he answered Xin Hexue honestly, “Happy.”
Xin Hexue said faintly, “A monk truly does not speak false words.”
Du Zhi heard this, but he could not hear the sarcasm in Xin Hexue’s words, and nodded earnestly, “Mm.”
[Du Zhi love value +5]
His expression was calm, and he didn’t even know that he had broken a precept.
