Chapter 8: Where Did You Hide?

“Cock-a-doodle-doo——”

Ying Taipo’s rooster fluffed its feathers and let out a loud crow that woke the entire Qihetai town.

The yin soldiers in the jar were shaken, their blood-red pupils dimming as they tried to shrink deeper into the shadow at the bottom of the jar, avoiding the growing yang energy of heaven and earth.

The maid left the yin soldier outside, of course, at a cost.

The rooster’s crow had already damaged the yin soldier’s cultivation.

Some noise stirred in the courtyard; the maid forced the yin soldier to peek halfway out, and it immediately saw Xu Yuan—the maid’s anger flared up instantly!

That scoundrel Xu Yuan was just climbing out of the Holy Lady’s palanquin!

This bastard slept in her palanquin last night!

What filth are you, to dare defile the Holy Lady’s palanquin!

The maid had searched the place several times last night, yet never once considered the palanquin. Normally, such lowly creatures would treat the guest’s belongings with reverence and fear, keeping as far away as possible, terrified of accidentally touching or damaging something they could never afford to replace.

How could this boy be so brazen?

But after her fury, the maid felt a new doubt: Did this boy sleep in the Holy Lady’s palanquin merely to desecrate it—or did he… see something?

After much hesitation, she dared not tell the Holy Lady that due to my negligence, that boy slept in your palanquin last night.

I’ll go check the palanquin first. If that boy did anything filthy or left behind any filth… I’ll clean it up myself, so it won’t disgust my Holy Lady.

…

Xu Yuan returned to his room before Erliang woke up, pretending he had just gotten up, washed his face, and prepared to get to work.

This night’s time was crucial.

Because of the mysterious Fa Xiu and Dan Xiu who appeared yesterday, Xu Yuan suspected he had been watched.

But who was watching him? And how much did they know?

Xu Yuan didn’t care.

Xu Yuan had already planned to leave Qihetai town today and return home!

My stepmother said I could go home as soon as I ate the June insect. Why should I waste my time playing mind games with you people in this dump?

But a ninth-rate Ming Xiu like me wouldn’t help my family much, so Xu Yuan didn’t leave directly yesterday.

Once he gained the Dan Xiu’s ability, Xu Yuan could go home.

But after eating the last gold ingot yesterday, Xu Yuan was bloated—the gold ingot weighed heavily and uncomfortably in his belly, and he spent the entire night refining it completely, merging it into his previous pill.

After washing his face, Xu Yuan casually poured out the water.

The water splashed on the ground with a “splash,” and Zheng Rongkui shouted from over there: “Wasting like this? Fine! You’re in charge of hauling water today—go now! There’s not even enough water for breakfast!”

The kitchen’s water vat was still half full.

But Zheng Rongkui had this habit—he couldn’t stand waste.

Xu Yuan grumbled as he picked up the two buckets, muttering complaints. Zheng Rongkui roared behind him: “What did you say? Speak up!”

“Nothing, nothing!” Xu Yuan hurriedly grabbed the buckets and bolted out the door.

Once he left, he had no intention of returning.

Say goodbye to Qiao Master? Qiao Master and Accountant Liu were already suspicious of him—leaving now would be like hanging a sign that read “I’m guilty!”

Qiao Master would never let you go.

As for whether Qiao Master might someday go to the county seat and ask about the June insect at his home—deal with that later.

First, get past this immediate crisis.

That basin of water spilled, and more than half of it soaked into a broken jar in the corner.

The maid’s yin soldier was hidden at the bottom of the jar.

The maid was monitoring the back courtyard through the yin soldier, her senses linked; she felt as if water had been dumped over her head and face.

She cursed under her breath, thinking her luck had been terrible lately.

She didn’t even consider whether Xu Yuan had done it accidentally or on purpose.

Last night, before midnight, Xu Yuan, bloated and unable to sleep, huddled in the palanquin and watched outside:

Two strange creatures flew overhead—human heads with eagle bodies, yet only one face had flesh! From the back of the skull to the entire body, nothing but white bone remained!

The flesh on the face kept writhing backward, trying to regrow over the body, but every bit that sprouted was immediately absorbed by the bone.

It looked as if the creature were… a white skeletal bird, with a human face ripped from someone else and pasted onto its own!

Five more evil spirits crouched on the wall, peering into the courtyard—their true forms were giant turtle shells over a zhang long, having killed countless people and sucked their souls inside; their limbs, heads, and necks were all piled with these stolen souls.

And one towering entity walked past the town’s road—Xu Yuan could see its upper body from the courtyard: it was a ruined statue, battered by wind and rain for countless years.

Most of its paint had peeled off; its body was broken and incomplete, revealing straw and wooden frames inside.

These strange beings all had “fates.”

The fiercer the “fate,” the redder the blood.

And their “fates” were bizarrely shaped, as if hiding some pattern—Xu Yuan hadn’t figured it out yet.

Then he saw a yin soldier sneak into the back courtyard.

Though the yin soldier had long been dead, it still had a “fate.”

A thin, gray-black line, with a nearly invisible thread extending upward, connecting to a room in the front courtyard—the yin soldier’s master was there.

Thus, the one watching him was most likely the new guest in the front courtyard.

When morning came, after the gold ingot was fully digested, Xu Yuan was hungry again!

He was hungry for the yin soldier, swallowing saliva several times in secret.

The Dan Xiu’s “internal fire” suppressed yin soldiers.

But Xu Yuan silently suppressed his hunger.

…

In the southern corner of town was an old well; Xu Yuan drew water and carried it back, observing all along the way.

Turning into a narrow alley, with no one ahead or behind, he set the buckets and pole down at Ying Taipo’s gate, then hurried toward the southwest.

A little while later, Ying Taipo slowly opened her door, saw the buckets and pole at her threshold, and sighed to herself: “This boy won’t be coming back. Who’ll carry water for this old woman now?”

Ying Taipo had trouble walking, and Xu Yuan carried water for her every day.

She called out to the courtyard: “Hua Hua, come here.”

The rooster strutted out with dignity, skillfully picked up one bucket in its beak, and carried it to the kitchen.

Shiping County lay forty li southwest of the town; walking along the main road took four or five hours.

Xu Yuan’s heart was already racing home.

…

Zheng Rongkui wouldn’t wait for Xu Yuan to return with the water before cooking.

He had barely finished when Erliang came in with a tray: “Uncle, I’ll take it.”

This was Erliang’s third time delivering food; the Holy Lady glanced at him and gently lifted her veil.

Erliang’s breath caught!

He had never seen such a beautiful woman before; previously, he’d only seen her figure, and in his mind he’d imagined her face as a celestial beauty.

But now that he saw her, he realized his imagination had been pathetically inadequate.

The Holy Lady ate her breakfast with refined grace, while Erliang stared at her unblinkingly—he should have left after delivering the food, but his feet were rooted in place; the Holy Lady made no move to shoo him away.

“Do you share a room with that Xu Yuan?” the Holy Lady suddenly asked.

(End of Chapter)