Chapter 49: Little Junior Sister ×2

The villagers closed the temple gate.

But the wooden door was long rotted, riddled with gaps.

“Several Daoists…”

The villagers inside the temple were terrified and helpless, their eyes shifting constantly between Lin Jue and the other two, and then between Qingxuan Daoist and his companion; ultimately, whether because they felt more familiar with Lin Jue after traveling together, or because they sensed from the earlier conversation that Lin Jue and his companion were more reliable tonight, their gazes settled on Lin Jue.

His junior sister held up a torch to light his way.

Two armored soldiers armed with bows looked imposing, their faces painted with vivid colors like the guardian deities flanking a temple god.

“Don’t be afraid,” Lin Jue reassured them. “We’re many here. Stay alert, nothing will happen. We only need to wait for my third master to return and slay the demon.” He added, “But we ask you to endure tonight—stay here in the temple. Don’t go home; you might meet disaster on the way.”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Time passed slowly; outside, there seemed to be no movement at all.

This seemed good—it at least meant Third Master hadn’t encountered danger—but also troubling, perhaps because Third Master hadn’t found them yet.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside.

“Someone’s coming?”

Lin Jue was about to ask if it was Third Master returning, but within the footsteps he heard a faint wailing cry.

“Oh my child…”

The villagers inside were startled; some recognized the voice.

Lin Jue picked up his firewood axe and walked to the temple door, gripping the staff tightly, his throat tight with tension.

His junior sister naturally held the torch to light his way.

They exchanged glances and saw that even his junior sister looked as if she were holding her breath, waiting to release it.

This girl was unexpectedly reliable.

Lin Jue thought this, then noticed Qingxuan Daoist also holding a wooden sword, standing nearby; their eyes met, and each found a crack in the door panel to peer outside.

Outside was dim and shadowy, lit only by moonlight, in which two figures stumbled toward them.

Lin Jue grew even more wary.

Only when they drew near did they realize it was a young girl and an old woman.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

The two knocked on the temple door.

“My child…”

The old woman knocked and cried out as she did so.

Lin Jue remained alert, but Qingxuan Daoist froze.

“How did you get here?”

His tone suggested he knew them.

Lin Jue glanced at Qingxuan Daoist in confusion.

“It seems to be Zhang Da’s mother and his younger sister,” Qingxuan Daoist said uncertainly. “When we arrived today, we first went to his house and met his mother and sister. Zhang Da had already left. They wanted us to stay at his home, but we came here instead.”

The villagers behind them, hearing the voice, hurried over.

“How did they get here?”

“There are demons outside!”

“Open the door quickly!”

The villagers spoke all at once.

“My child! Daoist! Qingxuan Daoist! Open the door! Has my son been hurt?” the old woman cried, her voice filled with grief. “I dreamed my son was eaten by the ghosts at the village’s edge!”

“Sister-in-law, why are you out here in the middle of the night?” someone cried. “It’s dangerous outside!”

“I’ve come to find my son! How is he? Where is he? Is he here?” The old woman’s words were incoherent, but her desperation moved everyone.

“Oh no…”

The villagers all looked to Lin Jue and Qingxuan Daoist.

Even Zhang Da, seated on a chair and just bandaged, recognized his mother’s voice and nearly rose in panic:

“Is my mother here?”

“Don’t panic,” Lin Jue pressed against the door panel, glanced at the villagers, then at Zhang Da, and called out to the Menwai , “What’s your son’s name?”

“Is my son inside? Is he inside? I heard his voice!”

“Madam, please first tell us your son’s name.”

“How is my son?”

“His name is Zhang Ling!” the young girl, overwhelmed, blurted out. “My elder brother’s surname is Zhang, given name Ling, courtesy name Shouchang!”

“Where does your elder brother serve?”

“My child…”

“My elder brother doesn’t serve anywhere! He’s training in the county!”

It was still the young girl who answered; the old woman was mentally confused and didn’t heed anyone, only calling out for her son.

Lin Jue exhaled slightly in relief.

The villagers understood his meaning; one clever one asked, “What was your late father’s name?”

“Is my son still alive…”

“My grandfather died before I was born; I can’t remember, but I think Mother said his name was Zhang Hua…” The girl grew more anxious as her mother’s cries grew more frantic.

“That’s right.”

The villager who asked said.

Only then did they relax.

So they opened the door panel.

The door panel was long rotted; even if a demon had truly come to intrude, it wouldn’t have stopped anything—indeed, the largest gaps were wide enough for that strange bird today to have slipped through.

The old woman, supported by the girl, stumbled in, crying as she walked.

As she crossed the threshold, the girl saw the three figures by the door and froze in shock; the old woman, unable to see clearly, could only make out the glow of the torch, so she paused, squinting toward them.

Then she looked into the temple interior.

Zhang Da had already risen, leaning on the chair; the old woman clearly saw her son and, with the girl’s help, stumbled toward him.

“My child! You’re alive! Alive is good! I told you not to go, but you didn’t listen—your mother dreamed you were eaten by ghosts…”

“Mother…”

The mother and son’s mutual concern was deeply touching.

“How did you get here?” Qingxuan Daoist asked.

“Today, when Brother went out, Mother became very anxious, especially since he didn’t return. I finally got her to sleep, but she suddenly woke up screaming that she dreamed Brother was eaten by ghosts. Just then—I, I couldn’t hold my tongue—I said I thought I heard a cry like Brother’s. Mother heard that, saw Brother still hadn’t returned, and insisted on coming here to find the two Daoists,” the girl spoke clearly. “I told her there were demons on the road, but she wasn’t afraid. I couldn’t stop her, so I had to support her.”

Everyone listened, their emotions complex.

Some marveled at the bond between mother and child—how a son’s injury could be sensed by his mother in a dream. Others marveled at the depth of their love: even demons on the road, enough to frighten most people, could not stop her.

Lin Jue’s eyes flickered.

He couldn’t help but suspect: the evil spirit dared not enter the temple, yet resented Zhang Da, so it had haunted the mother in a dream, waking her, and now used this maternal love to lure Zhang Da away.

He glanced at Qingxuan Daoist.

It seemed he thought the same.

Meanwhile, the mother and son beside them had already clasped hands.

“Child, are you well?”

“I’m fine…”

“You’re hurt and you say you’re fine! How bad is it? How did you get hurt?”

“Just a minor wound.”

“Oh no, so much blood!” Zhang’s mother was terrified again, heartbroken, tears streaming. “Is this bandage enough? Come home with me, I’ll clean the wound, and tomorrow we’ll call a physician.”

Lin Jue immediately grew wary.

“Madam, stay here tonight! The demon has already marked Zhang Da—you cannot leave!”

“How can that be? He’ll bleed to death here!”

“Mother, listen to the young Daoist.”

“Such a little Daoist! What does he know?”

“Mother, I won’t go back.”

“If you won’t go back, I’ll go home and bring you the wound ointment,” Zhang’s mother said.

“Madam, if demons truly lurk outside, they mean to kill Zhang Da. If you leave alone without him, they may strike you, to lure Zhang Da out.”

“Oh no…”

Everyone fell into a stalemate.

Lin Jue lowered his gaze—

His little fox sat obediently beside him, but tilted its head, staring intently at the old woman, as if deeply puzzled.

“Mother, stop being stubborn!” the young girl cried, tears streaming—whether from concern for her brother or fear of the demons, she couldn’t hold back. “Just listen to the Daoists!”

When multiple people speak, it’s natural to turn toward the speaker, especially when the girl wept like a rain-drenched pear blossom; almost everyone instinctively turned to look at her.

But no one saw the old woman raise her hand.

Her palm instantly transformed into a sharp bird’s claw.

“My child…”

The bird’s talons glinted with cold light, striking unexpectedly at Zhang Da’s throat.

At this moment, no spell could be cast in time.

The only thing that could act in time was a chopping knife.

“Swish…”

A chopping knife slashed at the “Mother Zhang’s” talons, forcing them to veer off and rake across Zhang Da’s face.

No one had time to react; they all turned their heads toward Mother Zhang and were stunned.

Even Zhang Da, who trained in martial arts, had no suspicion of his own mother—now bearing three bloody scratches across his face from “his own mother.”

“Puff…”

A soft sound beside him erupted into black smoke.

Everyone turned again and saw the “little girl” had transformed into a large bird wreathed in black smoke, its eyes glowing with eerie green light, flapping its wings and flying out.

“Puff…”

Another soft sound.

Zhang’s old mother also transformed into the same large bird, flapping her wings with difficulty as she rose and flew out.

“Don’t let them escape!”

“Good sirs! Shoot the birds!”

The crowd finally reacted, each unleashing their own skills.

As the wooden sword thrust forward, the chopping knife swung down again, scraping the strange bird’s body and tearing away strands of black smoke.

The junior sister spat forth yang energy, startling the birds into frantic evasion.

The rushing flames drove them toward the ceiling.

Arrows pierced through the flames, either thudding into the rafters or shattering tiles with clattering sounds, shooting into the night sky.

Hoes and shoulder poles flailed wildly in the air.

A little fox leapt up to knee-height, stretching its claws from a yard away, trying to grasp the birds.

In an instant, the ancestral hall became a chaos.

Panic was not all bad—it left no time for thought or fear, only blood surging upward, as if gathering strength with the crowd’s numbers. Anger did the same, boiling amid countless curses; even ordinary villagers, facing this shape-shifting, cunning demon, forgot all caution, shouting and striking upward with all their might.

Yet the strange birds moved swiftly, and with flight, they evaded many attacks.

One of the strange birds found an opening and darted out of the ancestral hall.

The bird that Lin Jue had slashed became clumsy, struck by several arrows grazing its body and scorched by flames, nearly unable to fly, and settled on the rafters, using them for cover.

“My son…”

“You urinated on my head, cursed me, and ruined my cultivation—I will never forgive you, even in death…”

A hoarse woman’s voice echoed above.

Lin Jue pretended not to hear, already blocking the gap near the door.

The two archers continued their heavy steps to the wall of the ancestral hall, seeking angles, nocking arrows, drawing bows, and aiming at the large bird on the rafters.

“Shhh…”

An arrow shot forth.

But the large bird suddenly exploded into smoke, nearly obscuring the entire ancestral hall—stench thick and foul, extinguishing torches into dimness, plunging the hall into gloom.

“Wind…”

“Poom…”

Wind and fire intertwined within the hall, dispersing the black smoke.

The torches flared back to life.

The good news: the large bird was gone from the rafters. The bad news: two junior sisters now stood in the hall, both staring blankly at Lin Jue.

“Where did the strange bird go?”

“Who? Who are you?”

“Who are you?”

“Senior brother, what’s going on?”

The two junior sisters wore identical robes, had identical pale, delicate faces, identical solemn and vacant expressions, and identical lively eyes.

“….”

Lin Jue frowned, sighed, and said: “You’ve chosen the wrong person.”

Both junior sisters remained silent.

Indeed—that was true—

Whether by this junior sister’s temperament or her wit, she would never say at this moment, “Senior brother, I’m real,” or “Senior brother, kill her.”

“Junior sister, exhale a stream of pure yang energy.”

“Senior brother, I’ve already exhaled all my yang energy.”

“Senior brother, I’ve already exhaled all my yang energy.”

Two voices spoke simultaneously, identical in tone.

“Huh?”

Lin Jue was momentarily surprised.

Then he opened his mouth and inhaled, exhaling two streams of pure yang energy onto each junior sister.

Yet neither reacted.

That was somewhat interesting.

But still, merely a final struggle.