Xin Hexue left the canopy bed.His mouth felt dry after arguing with this monk, so he went to the side table and poured himself a cup of tea to quench his thirst.
With this large stride, the two thin jade bangles around his ankles clinked together, making a ding-ding sound, clear and crisp like shattered ice hitting stone. Yet somehow, the sound carried a faint, inexplicable ambiguity with an undercurrent of something deeper.
‘Tracking bangles?’
Xin Hexue keenly sensed something was off and frowned. He sat on the bamboo chair and took a shallow sip of tea. “Since you already know I wasn’t hurting anyone before, can you let me go now?”
Du Zhi’s eyes followed him like a shadow.
“No,” Du Zhi replied, his tone flat as water, stating a fact. “A demon is still a demon in the end.”
Xin Hexue didn’t truly want to leave. After all, this person in front of him was a target. In the later parts of the script, he would be the key figure who would suppress him under the An Ning Tower. Of course, Xin Hexue wanted to earn enough love value points from him as early as possible.
It was just that this man’s unyielding, oil-salt-doesn’t-enter attitude…
Xin Hexue half-closed his eyes, lifted his right foot and swung it. The bangles at his ankle jingled again with a crisp ding-ding.
He decided to take a step back. “If you won’t let me go, then at least take off these bangles. Master Du Zhi, with your deep cultivation, are you really afraid that even with the vast world, I could escape and you wouldn’t be able to catch me?”
Du Zhi was entirely unfazed by his provocation, and seemed not to notice the impatience in Xin Hexue’s eyes. He said, “They cannot be removed.”
He didn’t know what the koi demon was planning, but the other party had left a red string that allowed mortals to sense his location. Although Du Zhi had cleverly transferred the red string onto himself, the red string only allowed one-way sensing of position. In other words, the koi demon could track him, but he couldn’t track back.
So he could only use a fishing tactic…luring the other party over first and then capturing him.
The result was just like now: the capture was successful.
But to prevent him from escaping again, Du Zhi had to use the tracking bangles to bind the koi demon’s ankles.
“You stinky monk, why is it impossible to reason with you?”
Xin Hexue’s lips pressed down in displeasure.
He drained the teacup. Perhaps because this post station served officials, the quality of the tea leaves was decent. Still, compared to the imperial tribute tea from his past life in the palace, it was lacking.
While the two were arguing, Du Zhi was always watching him.
He saw that after Xin Hexue drank the tea, a moist sheen lingered on his lips.
The young man’s skin was too white, and his lips were a very light shade, making him seem delicate and frail like a willow in the wind.
He certainly didn’t look like an evil demon who would commit heinous crimes.
He looked more like a frail and precious young master of the mortal realm. Even those thin lips that had just touched his were extremely soft. The tongue too…
However, in the eyes of the masters from Taichu Temple, a demon was still a demon, regardless of good or bad.
The duty of Taichu Temple was to prevent evil demons and spirits from running rampant in the Dacheng.
But Du Zhi couldn’t accept Xin Hexue’s argument. After a moment of silence, he seriously refuted, “I’m not a stinky monk. Practitioners cleanse daily to ensure bodily cleanliness.”
Xin Hexue choked slightly, “…I was just scolding you.”
Du Zhi still didn’t understand. “Why scold me?”
What he did aligned with the righteousness in his heart. As far as he knew, only the extremely vicious and the shameless would be scolded and cursed by others.
Xin Hexue stopped talking to him.
He spoke through his inner voice: [Transfer to a human operator.]
K: [Here.]
Xin Hexue: [Gege, he’s even dumber than you.]
After scolding Du Zhi, he turned around and had to say something to K too.
K: […]
For some reason, K felt like this little cat was baring its fangs and claws because he had been provoked by the boyfriend outside and was coming home to vent his anger on the cowardly, useless husband.
To have a peaceful life, of course K chose to suffer in silence.
K: [Sorry, I’ll upgrade the program module as soon as possible.]
Xin Hexue smiled: [Come on, Gege^^]
It was hard to say it wasn’t full of mockery.
………
The station servants responsible for chores came to deliver hot water.
There was a black wooden screen in the guest room separating the inner area, where there was a bath barrel. They carried in buckets one after another, filling the bath with hot water.
Then they asked the guest if he could begin bathing, and after getting approval, they withdrew.
As a result, less than half an hour later, the high monk called the station servants again to change out the hot water.
The station servants were a bit puzzled.
Do high monks always bathe twice a night?
When they entered again to change the water, Xin Hexue, who had already finished bathing, lazily hid behind the bed curtains and avoided their eyes, so the servants didn’t discover the truth.
Du Zhi had just lifted the fine cotton bed curtains after bathing when he was stopped.
Xin Hexue leaned against a brocade pillow, his thin nightwear loose, exposing a portion of snow-white collarbone below his neck.
He ordered Du Zhi, “Go sleep somewhere else.”
Du Zhi had a personal transmission token, so naturally the post station provided him with a single-person guest room. It had only one canopy bed, which Xin Hexue had already occupied, so Du Zhi had no place to sleep.
Du Zhi calmly explained the situation to the koi demon, thinking it was only because the koi demon had never stayed in a human inn before that he would make such a request.
The young man on the bed curved his lips into a smile. “What does that have to do with me? Anyway, go sleep somewhere else. If you sleep with me, what if you crush my tail in the middle of the night?”
After saying this, as if to prove his concern was justified, the young man casually lifted the brocade quilt without any concern.
Only then did Du Zhi see that beneath the quilt and on top of the bedding, there was a smooth, beautifully curved white-scaled fish tail. With jade-like bones and an icy elegance, its color like snow and frost gave off a chill even in summer.
In this form, the daytime’s water green jade bangles were delicately bound around the very end of the fish tail, right where the fin narrowed and gathered.
Du Zhi said calmly, “I can remain lying flat the entire night without moving a muscle.”
He was trying to ease Xin Hexue’s concern.
Xin Hexue patted the quilt with his fishtail, not giving an inch. “No. I sleep poorly. If I roll over in the night, the Master’s copper tendons and iron bones will bump my tail.”
Du Zhi lowered his head: “…”
He had no choice but to step out.
He sat upright on the nanmu couch on the other side. His face, however, showed no displeasure at all, still as calm as a pool of water.
Xin Hexue suddenly said, “Let me ask you, from whom did you take the red string on your body?”
Du Zhi paused for a moment, not understanding why Xin Hexue asked such a question. Suddenly, he recalled the koi demon race’s habit of losing their memories every seven days and said, “I won’t tell you.”
Xin Hexue: “Why not?”
Du Zhi: “To prevent you from harming others.”
As expected, Xin Hexue wasn’t angered. He untied the fine gauze curtain from the wooden hook. Separated by the bed curtain and a bit of distance, his voice sounded softer than during the day. “Master Du Zhi, remember to blow out the candle. It’s too bright and I can’t sleep well.”
Du Zhi: “…”
The flame of the candle on the table flickered and quietly went out.
The guest room returned to darkness.
………
They had to continue their journey the next day.
The station servant brought breakfast to the room and then retreated once more.
The breakfast provided by the post station included noodle soup, sesame porridge, and clear-oil flat cakes, along with a basket of steamed buns. Not knowing how much the high monk ate, each item was provided in the fullest portion.
Du Zhi had sat in meditation on the couch the whole night.
But as a cultivator, he was different from ordinary mortals. Even if he stayed awake for several days and nights in a row, it wouldn’t affect him. When necessary, he could simply rest briefly to recover.
Many times, choosing to sleep through the night was merely to strictly follow the human rhythm of working by day and resting at night.
Du Zhi sat at the square table and asked Xin Hexue, who had just finished washing up, “Do you want to eat?”
Xin Hexue came over, and Du Zhi handed him the porcelain spoon.
Xin Hexue just had a taste of the noodle soup and sesame porridge. The flavor was very plain, not rich or smooth, and the cooking skills could only be called average. It didn’t suit his taste.
He took a few sips, then put the spoon down.
After all, demons could sustain themselves on the essence of the sun and the moon. Once they attained a certain level of spiritual power and cultivation, even in human form, they wouldn’t feel hunger without eating grains.
Du Zhi smoothly picked up the spoon Xin Hexue had put down and continued eating.
When he looked up, he saw Xin Hexue propping his face sideways with a hand, staring at him, and calmly asked, “What?”
Though the station servant didn’t know there were actually two people in the guest room and only brought one porcelain spoon and a pair of wooden chopsticks, Du Zhi had just taken the spoon and kept using it so naturally…
What kind of monk was this, exactly?
Xin Hexue frowned slightly, narrowed his eyes, and his long lashes brushed together, concealing a faint expression of disgust.
When he didn’t hear Xin Hexue speak again, Du Zhi lowered his head and resumed eating quickly.
He was tall and lean, with firm muscles. Though he was not the burly, big muscled type, he had a big appetite. He finished all the food on the table by himself.
After breakfast, Du Zhi said, “Pack up. We’ve got a tight schedule today.”
Xin Hexue asked, “You’re still not letting me go? Where are you taking me?”
Du Zhi never lied, so he answered honestly and directly: “First, to deal with the drought demon. Then all the way to the capital to send you into An Ning Pagoda.”
The An Ning Pagoda was the tallest Buddhist pagoda in Dacheng. Its top could reach into the clouds, and the tower stood to the north of the capital’s outskirts.
Functionally, it resembled a prison facility under the jurisdiction of Taichu Temple.
Xin Hexue’s expression became cold, and his tone carried a faint chill. “You’re going to imprison me?”
Du Zhi said calmly, “Any demons captured by the immortal masters of Taichu Temple, if not destroyed on the spot, must be escorted back to the capital and sent into An Ning Pagoda for salvation.”
‘Salvation?’
‘Cremation would be more fitting.’
Xin Hexue asked, “Who said that?”
Du Zhi: “My master.”
Xin Hexue: “How would I know who your master is?”
Du Zhi: “The Qing of Taichu Temple, the national monk, Liao Yi.”
He was the direct disciple of the national monk, currently the young qing of Taichu Temple, and the future successor.
Xin Hexue glanced at him calmly, his tone flat as he asked, “Then why didn’t you just kill me?”
The premise for being sent to An Ning Pagoda was that he couldn’t be destroyed on the spot, only temporarily subdued and escorted.
Du Zhi was stunned. In that brief moment of distraction, his hand was taken and placed on the young man’s neck. The skin was cool and smooth like jade, and he could feel the faint throb of a pulse.
The neck had a graceful and slender line. Its lack of color made it look even whiter, so delicate it seemed like the slightest pressure would shatter it.
Xin Hexue held the back of his hand, tilted his head slightly and pressed the side of his face against it. His eyelashes fluttered, and he asked softly, “Master, why don’t you want to kill me?”
Du Zhi was stumped by the question. He furrowed his brow in thought, then finally shook his head.
“It’s unacceptable.”
Xin Hexue: “Why is it unacceptable?”
Duozhi was at a loss again, and could only say, “You haven’t committed murder.”
Xin Hexue chuckled, catching the contradiction in Du Zhi’s words. “But your Taichu Temple doesn’t care if the demon is good or bad.”
He tapped his fingertip against Du Zhi’s chest, right over where his heart beat. “This is your answer?”
The heartbeat clearly skipped a beat.
Du Zhi lowered his eyes. He couldn’t come up with an answer, but he also couldn’t lie, so he fell silent.
In the end, he no longer argued with Xin Hexue over the matter. He seemed to have made up his mind and merely informed him, “Hurry. We have a long way to go today.”
Xin Hexue: “…”
‘A stinky monk who won’t budge no matter what.’
He said directly, “Carry me.”
Du Zhi looked puzzled.
Xin Hexue smiled faintly. “Master, don’t you know? When a koi transforms and comes ashore, every step feels like walking on sharp blades.”
Let him mix strange tales and fairy tales.
………
When the post station clerk saw the high monk come down, he quickly stepped forward to greet him. “Lord Young Qing, do you need a means of transport? The post station has horses and donkeys…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was dumbfounded to see the tall monk carrying someone on his back.
Yesterday…yesterday there hadn’t been anyone by the monk’s side, right?
Had he remembered wrong?
The clerk stood there dumbly, watching the monk walk out.
But the young man in the long robe on the monk’s back turned his head. His right hand held the wide brim of his veiled hat as the guaze fabric fluttered with the wind, revealing a smooth, snow-white jawline and pale pink lips.
The young man’s voice was lazy as he politely declined the clerk’s suggestion, “That won’t be necessary. There’s already a donkey.”
Xin Hexue turned back around and hooked his arms around Du Zhi’s neck.
‘A bald donkey was still a donkey.’
He deliberately said, “Jia!”
**Jia is like saying ‘giddyup’.
