Du Zhi didn’t react immediately.
He even thought Xin Hexue was still in the same form as in his dream, “No, your tail is injured…”
Before he finished speaking, Xin Hexue couldn’t stand it anymore and interrupted him impatiently, “That’s not an injury.”
“Not injured?” Du Zhi, who was originally clueless about human matters, was confused for a moment, “Then why are the scales missing?”
Xin Hexue’s brows slightly furrowed toward the center. While putting on his outer robe over his garment, he explained, “That spot was born without scales covering it. Master, you don’t understand the seven emotions and six desires, that’s one thing, but how could you not even know about yin and yang, the principle of reproduction of all things? Do you think all of us koi demons just popped out of the cracks in the stones at the bottom of the river?”
Du Zhi was speechless at what he said.
Then, he finally understood the meaning behind those words.
“So that’s how it is…” Du Zhi murmured, nodding to Xin Hexue, “I understand clearly and will remember well.”
…There was really no need to “remember well.
Xin Hexue didn’t know what to say to him.
Du Zhi asked again, “…So, you are female?”
He thought that any creature with that kind of reproductive cavity must be the “female” responsible for reproduction in the species.
Xin Hexue closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again and enunciated slowly, “Our clan does not distinguish male or female. Since I took the form of a man, then I am a man.”
Du Zhi pondered, and finally said, “I understand.”
Xin Hexue waved to him again, “Weren’t you going out to catch the drought demon? Come carry me.”
Afraid that Du Zhi would again ask like a robot why he needed to bring him, Xin Hexue took the initiative to speak, lowering his voice with a very gentle and harmless tone, “If you leave, what if something happens to me?”
Du Zhi clearly understood the cultivation level of the koi demon before him. Koi demons who focus on blessings and spiritual energy cultivation didn’t really have any power to resist other demons’ threats.
But the first person who came to his mind as possibly harmful to Xin Hexue was the poor scholar in the next room.
Just thinking that maybe after he left, Ren Ke might come over to propose that pleasurable thing like kissing with Xin Hexue made Du Zhi feel very uncomfortable.
So he followed the request and brought Xin Hexue with him.
Du Zhi walked to the edge of the bed and stopped. He was about to turn and crouch down to let Xin Hexue climb on his back when the other party suddenly remembered something, “Are you in a hurry?”
Du Zhi: “It’s okay before sunrise. Find the traces.”
His words were missing some parts, but Xin Hexue still understood the meaning.
There’s all night long, so there was no rush.
Xin Hexue pointed to a bronze mirror on the nearby wooden table. It hadn’t been polished for a long time, so it was no longer very clear, but it could still reflect his silhouette.
“My hair is not tied up yet, tie it for me first.”
He lowered his eyelashes, and a pair of cool hands handed Du Zhi the wooden comb and jade hairpin, then he just sat at the bedside waiting for Du Zhi’s service.
When he still had a full head of black hair, Xin Hexue didn’t like the daily ritual of combing hair. In his previous life in the palace, there was always someone to help comb it early every morning, and even the tying and tidying of complicated clothes were taken care of by someone else.
Originally, Xin Hexue was unfamiliar with such trivial matters. In addition, the previous world was a modern world, where he didn’t have to take care of long hair.
As a result, after coming here, he was even more unfamiliar with handling it.
Since he took human form, his black hair was always loosely tied up with a single jade hairpin.
There was no word like “messy beauty” in Xin Hexue’s dictionary for now. From his education, external grooming was very necessary. After all, it often symbolized the image of a planet or a dynasty. He tried to keep everything as neat and spotless as possible within his ability.
However, tying hair was something he really wasn’t good at.
Therefore, he wore a hat, not only to block the scorching sunlight but more so because his appearance was untidy.
A little cat must always be perfect, with soft, white, smooth and shiny fur.
K looked at the little cat as he slightly raised his chin. The lines of his face reflected in the mirror were smooth and graceful, and his eyes were scrutinizing the two-legged beast who was combing his hair.
It seemed the bald monk didn’t know how to tie hair either, but it was still somewhat better than what the little cat did on his own.
Barely satisfied, Xin Hexue lay on Du Zhi’s back, “Master, let’s go.”
Only then did he notice a bit of sweat on the monk’s forehead, as if tying his hair was even more difficult than exorcising demons.
Xin Hexue gently patted Du Zhi’s left cheek.
Out of the dream, the red mark on Du Zhi’s face had disappeared. Xin Hexue whispered, “Jia!”
…
When they went out, Ren Ke in the next room seemed to be dead asleep, completely unaware of the creaking sound of the wooden door opening and closing.
Xin Hexue, on Du Zhi’s back, looked up at the moon.
It was close to the fifteenth day of this month; the moon was increasingly bright and clear, tending toward fullness.
It hadn’t rained for many months, and the night should have been hot and dry with flying sand and stones.
But now there was a cold wind blowing intermittently, making one feel chills all over for no reason.
However, Du Zhi was still unaffected. The connection between his neck and shoulder seemed warmer. Xin Hexue leaned closer, quietly sticking to him. His black hair brushed against Du Zhi’s jaw, causing Du Zhi to slightly turn his gaze.
Xin Hexue followed the direction of Du Zhi’s averted gaze. The moonlight was blurry and unclear, but he could still see a sneaky human figure on the forked road ahead. “That is…”
Xin Hexue was a demon, and his eyesight was different from mortals’, so he could recognize that it was a face he had seen in the daytime.
Du Zhi said calmly, “Li Erhu.”
They followed Li Erhu from a short distance behind, keeping a suitable distance so as not to be discovered.
Li Erhu didn’t know why, but he felt the wind was unusually cold tonight. He rubbed his arms up and down to keep warm.
It was all because of that tall monk and the one wearing the hat during the day…
He didn’t even dare show his true face, wearing a hat and veil all day. Who knows what kind of ugly monster he really looked like.
When Li Erhu thought of the young man who had helped Ren Ke confront him during the day, although he didn’t dare to show his true face, his voice was clear and pleasant…
The hands that were exposed looked soft and warm, like jade bathed in sunlight.
His lustful thoughts rose again, but they disappeared when he thought of the powerful monk.
Li Erhu originally planned to go all out and secretly burn down Ren Ke’s house at night. After all, it was a dark and windy night; no one would find out. Moreover, Ren Ke was originally an outsider who had relocated here, without any relatives around.
Even if he died, no one would bother to seek justice for him.
Just as Li Erhu reached this side, he noticed that both bedrooms in Ren Ke’s house were lit with candles and thought those two people he saw during the day must be staying here.
Li Erhu feared the strength of that tall monk and planned to wait until the two left tomorrow before coming back to act.
While thinking this over, Li Erhu turned back the way he came.
But after walking so far, why did it feel like he was stuck in a maze?
Li Erhu remembered this was already the third time passing this bamboo forest at this fork in the road.
Surely, he wouldn’t forget the way back to his own home!
A cold wind blew by, and the chill crept up like an ulcer attached to the bone, moving all the way from his feet up into his marrow and making Li Erhu sweat coldly and shiver.
Behind the bamboo forest, a beauty with light makeup came up to him, her steps light and her waist as slender as a willow.
Li Erhu was stunned, too dazed to care about anything, not even noticing how eerie the timing and scene of the beauty’s appearance were.
The woman smiled sweetly, “Li Lang, it’s dark and windy tonight… Could you escort me home? My house is not far up the hillside.”
Li Erhu’s lust flared, “You know me?”
The woman’s willow-shaped brows curved, “Who in Lijiazhuang doesn’t know your reputation?”
Li Erhu didn’t feel strange and even straightened his back arrogantly, “Then let’s go? Sister, I’ll escort you home.”
The woman’s face was a pale blue-white under the moonlight leaking through the bamboo leaves. Li Erhu didn’t notice at all, as if his mind was blinded, and he accompanied her home.
They walked all the way to a small bamboo-fenced cottage. Li Erhu rubbed his pant leg, “Sister, won’t you invite me in for a cup of tea?”
The woman walked ahead and had already unlocked the wooden door, “Of course, Li Lang, come in quickly…”
Her voice echoed inside the house, vague and eerie to the point of fear.
Li Erhu suddenly woke up as if from a big dream and felt something was wrong, but when the woman turned her head, she revealed a face Li Erhu would never forget in this life.
“Xiaofeng…!” Li Erhu was horrified, “Little Sister Xiaofeng…!”
He was so scared his legs went weak, and he fell to the ground. Using his hands to support himself, he desperately tried to back away, but his legs had no strength, and he couldn’t even run away.
“I didn’t mean to harm you that night by pushing you into the water!” Facing death, Li Erhu finally apologized, “I was wrong, Little Sister Xiaofeng! Please spare me…”
Before he finished speaking, the pale beauty opened her blood-red mouth wide. The last thing Li Erhu saw before he died was the pitch-black cavity inside.
In the blink of an eye, he fell into the stomach of a being neither human nor ghost.
The woman brushed off the dust at the door and resumed her walk with light steps and slender waist.
Looking up, she saw two people approaching.
Xin Hexue scanned the courtyard and stepped forward to ask, “Miss, may the two of us stay here tonight?”
They looked like travelers passing by at night and had accidentally come to this remote place. With no other houses around, they came up to ask if they could stay.
The woman first stared at Xin Hexue for a long time, then glanced warily at the tall monk following him.
She led them inside and took Xin Hexue to the first room on the left, “Please, young master.”
‘Smells good…’
‘What a fragrant smell…’
‘It will definitely be a satisfying meal…’
But seeing how fragrant it was, she would chew slowly and savor it.
The woman’s gaze stuck to Xin Hexue at all times.
Du Zhi silently stepped forward to block her, then entered the bedroom with Xin Hexue and was about to close the door when the woman hurriedly held it open, her face unintentionally revealing a ferocious expression. She gritted her teeth and said, “This honorable monk, there are still guest rooms inside…”
Du Zhi: “No need. I’ll share a room with him.”
The woman’s scheme failed, and her eyes almost burst with rage.
Du Zhi seemed not to notice her change in expression and calmly closed the door.
…
“If you had told me earlier that I’d have to spend another night here, I wouldn’t have tied up my hair.”
Xin Hexue complained softly as he leaned lazily on the bed. The jade hairpin was already removed, and his smooth black hair flowed down like a waterfall.
Du Zhi lowered his head and explained, “Only by doing this can we find the grave of this drought demon at sunrise tomorrow.”
Xin Hexue waved his hand, and Du Zhi already understood his meaning and obediently stepped forward, “What’s wrong?”
Xin Hexue asked back, “Don’t you feel it’s very cold in this room?”
If it were normal weather changes, it wouldn’t affect a koi demon.
But now with demons and evil spirits causing trouble, the chilling wind blew constantly, and coldness seeped out from the four corners of the house, making Xin Hexue feel uncomfortable.
The bedroom was empty and desolate. There was nothing on the bed except the wooden boards, the mattress and the pillow. Not even a quilt.
Xin Hexue patted the spot beside him, “Come up.”
Du Zhi obediently sat down where Xin Hexue patted without a word of objection.
Xin Hexue gave commands.
“Take off your kasaya.”
“Lie down.”
Du Zhi’s kasaya was usually cleaned and kept tidy. Apart from the smell of soapberry, the only remaining scent was the fragrance of agarwood, which was not disturbing.
Xin Hexue treated it as a quilt. After tucking in all four corners for himself, he said, “Hold me.”
Du Zhi did as he was told, and loosely hugged the person who was sleeping on the bed beside him, then remained still like wood.
Xin Hexue found a comfortable position for himself.
Like a little cat curling up its tail, he curled up lightly and snugly.
The steady warmth from the monk’s body actually helped dissipate a lot of the coldness clinging to Xin Hexue’s limbs.
He was sleepy, and his eyes were glazed with a layer of watery light, “Wake me when it’s sunrise.”
Du Zhi: “Mm.”
Xin Hexue fell asleep quickly, and the only sound in the room was his light breathing.
Moonlight shone through the uncovered window, falling on the ground like a layer of frost.
The moon, which was half covered by dark clouds, was completely revealed, and its shape was close to a full moon.
Du Zhi’s sword-like eyebrows furrowed, his face turning ugly as if he was struggling to suppress some pain. Cold sweat even appeared on his forehead, and his chest squeezed out a dull grunt.
His black pupils flashed a faint bloody glow.
As if coming from a distant place, a hoarse voice said sinisterly: “Bald donkey, you have such a lucky fate.”
“Oh? Not quite.” The owner of the voice noticed that the young man sleeping was no ordinary person. Interest was piqued, and the tone rose at the end, “Is this the companion you specially found for me?”
“Let me see… indeed in the prime age for reproduction.”
Du Zhi said coldly, “Shut up.”
He closed his eyes and chanted sutras in his heart. When he reopened his eyes later in the night, the blood-red color in them had disappeared.
…
When Ren Ke woke early in the morning, he realized something was wrong and went out to search under the pale dawn light.
To his surprise, Ren Ke met the monk and the young man on a barren hillside, and not far away on the other side was a solitary grave.
The morning glow filled the sky, and the rising sun appeared in the east.
The red kasaya was bright, draped over the young man who slept peacefully in the lap of the meditating monk.
On the fiery red kasaya was a jade-like face that was as white as snow.
Ren Ke stepped forward, and was about to call out “Master”.
But Du Zhi had already noticed him and only made a shushing gesture.
