As evening approached, having tied up the four scoundrels and tossed them into the prefectural office, Shen Shu hurriedly led Pei Zizhuo to find a place to stay and rest.
Xiao Tao’s courtyard was situated in the southern part of the city. As the two of them stepped across a ground littered with fallen autumn leaves and before they even reached the courtyard wall, an overpowering sword qi burst through the door with a sharp clang.
Shen Shu flicked his foot and just managed to evade the fierce sword blade when a stern shout rang out from inside: “Evil creature! Surrender at once!”
The only entity within the courtyard who could possibly pass for an evil creature was Xiao Tao. Shen Shu clicked his tongue slightly, thinking that trouble had most likely broken out inside. Tossing back the parting words, “I’ll go help,” he skimmed across the ground without touching it, raising a gust of wind as he sped away.
Inside the courtyard, a fierce battle was already underway. Pool water splashed everywhere, boulders and rockeries were shattered to pieces, a deafening roar echoed through the air, and dust filled the sky. A grey-robed youth wielding a long sword was pressing the attack step by step, leaving Xiao Tao cowering and dodging defensively, unable to even utter a plea for mercy.
Judging from the youth’s posture, sword techniques, formidable sword power, and decisive strikes, he surely hailed from a prominent sect. Yet why would he spare the time to come here and subdue a demon? Shen Shu hurried to fly down, flicking his sleeve to sweep away several sword blades closing in on Xiao Tao as he tried to defuse the situation: “Little brother, wait a moment! Is there some sort of misunderstanding?”
“Bah! Who is your brother?” Without stopping for even a second, the youth whirled his sword into blossoming silver patterns that churned the courtyard into a hazy cloud of dust. He shouted loudly, “You’re helping a peach demon, which means you’re in cahoots! And now you want to pull some delaying tactic? Do you take me for a three-year-old child?”
Shen Shu was left speechless.
This person was utterly unreasonable; compared to him, Pei Zizhuo seemed almost amiable and approachable.
Seeing that the youth was channeling his spiritual power once again, acting with the reckless abandon of an inexperienced hothead, Shen Shu feared that meeting force with force might injure him. He could only shield Xiao Tao as he retreated, repeatedly urging, “Demons have good and evil too; how can you lump them all together? Stop for a moment, and for heaven’s sake, don’t act on impulse and fall into the trap of villains.”
“I think you’re the villain! Don’t run! Let’s fight!”
Shen Shu was speechless. Trying to reason with him was no different from playing the lute to a cow.
Seeing that Shen Shu was timid and hesitant to strike, the youth grew even more unbridled. His sword strikes became increasingly fierce, leaving his opponent no room to catch a breath. The sword light was chaotic and dense as a heavenly net, and Xiao Tao, panicking and losing her footing, was on the verge of being struck by the gleaming blade. Shen Shu instantly swept his hand outward to block the murderous intent. The sword qi grazed his palm, leaving a gash that tore open the flesh that had not yet fully healed, looking shockingly raw and bloody.
Pulling back his hand and knowing that dodging endlessly was not a solution, he had to capture the youth first. He had yet to make a move when a sudden, miserable cry rang out from a distance, followed by the youth’s furious roar: “How is there another one? Let go of me!”
“So noisy, shut up.” Pei Zizhuo’s familiar, chilling voice echoed right on cue from across the yard, sounding unexpectedly comforting at the moment.
Shielding Xiao Tao, Shen Shu brushed away the dust and stepped closer. He saw a handsome young man in purple robes lying on the ground, tightly bound by a hemp rope. At that moment, the youth’s face was flushed with anger, and his eyes blazed with fury: “You insidious scoundrels, what kind of despicable sorcery is this? If you have the guts, let’s have a one-on-one duel!”
An ordinary hemp rope could certainly never bind a cultivator. Pei Zizhuo had just channeled a stream of spiritual power into it when he heard the youth’s tirade. Narrowing his eyes, Pei Zizhuo lowered his gaze to look down at him and said, “Lacking in skill yourself yet boasting so wildly. All your training must have gone straight to your tongue.”
The dust gradually settled, and the youth finally managed to get a clear look at them: one bore a cold, hostile gaze radiating a soaring, baleful aura, while the other appeared completely harmless, refined, and ethereal. Both were cultivators, but by no means did they look like partners from the same path.
Failing to make sense of the situation, the youth glared and swept his gaze back and forth between the two of them. When his eyes landed on Shen Shu, he lingered for a moment longer before turning his head away, his face flushing slightly as he muttered, “I am eliminating demons! Since you are both cultivators, you ought to help me instead of colluding with monsters.”
Shen Shu was slightly startled. Stepping forward, he said, “Extirpating evil down to the root is indeed correct, but one must still distinguish between good and evil. All living things possess spirit; how can a cultivator fail to understand such a principle?”
Looking utterly wronged, the youth hastened to retort, “It’s not like I have nothing better to do! There is a major demon right here! If you don’t believe me, won’t you believe the reflection of the Spirit-Detecting Jade?”
The Spirit-Detecting Jade was a primordial fetal jade from the divine mountains, shaped like amber, crystal-clear and bright. It contained a humanoid jade embryo formed from the essence of heaven and earth, capable of breaking evil barriers and drawing out demonic malice. It was a holy-grade magical artifact, exceedingly rare in the world, specifically used by cultivators to probe for evil entities.
Despite the youth’s tender age, his cultivation had already reached the Golden Core stage, and traveling out of the mountains with such a sacred artifact meant he was certainly no ordinary practitioner. Pei Zizhuo glanced briefly at the sword hanging at the youth’s waist: the hilt was inlaid with a massive red agate, and the center of the blade was pierced by a crimson line, clearly bearing the authentic inheritance of the Cangyang Sect in the cultivation world.
Apart from its impeccably righteous demon-subduing manuals, the Cangyang Sect was most famous for its young master, Zhan Tianwang, a natural holder of the metal spiritual root who had formed his golden core before turning eighteen, making him a rare prodigy in the cultivation world. However, it was said that this prodigy was not particularly favored, loved to stir up trouble the most, and was the most criticized figure in the sect, famously known as a total sucker for misfortune.
Now, it seemed the rumors were not unfounded.
Struggling to flip himself over, Zhan Tianwang pursed his lips toward Pei Zizhuo and said, “I have the Spirit-Detecting Jade right at my waist. If you don’t believe me, take it out and look for yourself.”
Having lived in seclusion for a long time, Shen Shu was unfamiliar with the affairs of the Divine Continent. Doubting nothing, he half-squatted down to untie the cosmos bag at Zhan Tianwang’s waist.
Before his fingers even brushed the belt, he was pulled up by the wrist by Pei Zizhuo.
Pei Zizhuo’s gaze swept indifferently across the wound on Shen Shu’s palm before shifting back to Zhan Tianwang: “You have hands and feet, untie it yourself.”
The hemp rope binding Zhan Tianwang snapped and loosened in an instant. Unwilling to waste a single moment, he scrambled to his feet and stepped back repeatedly. As he untied his cosmos bag, he snorted, “Do you think I keep hidden tricks up my sleeve like you? Cowards.”
Hearing this, Shen Shu finally understood what Pei Zizhuo had meant earlier. He raised his eyes to glance at this cold-faced Buddha; the man’s mouth was always full of harsh, sarcastic remarks, yet whenever trouble struck, he always stepped in to help. Just how awkward was this person’s personality?
Before he could ponder further, Zhan Tianwang in the distance had already summoned the Spirit-Detecting Jade, suspending it high in the very center of the courtyard.
Upon seeing this, Shen Shu could not help feeling astonished. He had spent half a day in Baling County and walked quite a distance through the alleys; the place could hardly be called a geomantic treasure trove, but it certainly looked peaceful and auspicious. How could it conceal a major demon? The Spirit-Detecting Jade could not be wrong, which meant that the undercurrents surging here could only point to one possibility.
He turned around, looked at Xiao Tao standing in the shadows, and asked with a solemn expression, “Xiao Tao, how much do you know about the affairs of Baling County?”
With such a major demon dwelling right beside her without attracting the notice of cultivators, she must have employed exceptional methods. Outsiders might not know, but how could Xiao Tao, who had resided in Baling County for a long time, be unaware?
The spiritual energy in Baling County was far from abundant; a peach demon like Xiao Tao could only attain enlightenment through seclusion. Yet she had chosen to do the opposite, entering the mortal world to open an inn, and she did not even feed on human vital essence, which offered no benefit whatsoever to her cultivation. Why would she do such a thing?
Xiao Tao tightly clenched her sleeve, lowered her head, and murmured, “You all should leave quickly.”
“What?” The wind carried away Xiao Tao’s low whisper, leaving Shen Shu unable to catch it clearly.
“Leave quickly. This is not something you can handle.” As Xiao Tao spoke, she gradually stepped out from the darkness. The moonlight fell upon her fair face, yet it appeared pale with a bluish tint, making her look quite eerie. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I have already seen many cultivators fall at the hands of the Matchmaking Cult Master. He is most adept at bewitching people’s minds and is impossible to guard against. You’d better not provoke his bad side and leave quickly.”
“What a bold tone for a little demon! You don’t even draft your lies beforehand. If many cultivators had really fallen, various sects would have already come to overturn Baling County, and you wouldn’t need to be here sounding the alarm.” Zhan Tianwang strode forward two steps, looking aggressive and overbearing. “Are you in cahoots with the evil entity?”
Scolded into lowering her head, Xiao Tao looked wronged with tears welling up in her eyes, not daring to speak further.
This wasn’t an interrogation of a criminal. Seeing Zhan Tianwang’s arrogant and overbearing attitude, Shen Shu furrowed his brows. He stepped in front of Xiao Tao to shield her from Zhan Tianwang, and said in a gentle, soothing voice, “Xiao Tao, do not be afraid. I know you wanted to hide this matter to protect our safety. But subduing demons and vanquishing devils is the duty of a cultivator; even if that Matchmaking Cult Master were as formidable as the Four Ancient Fiends, I would still press forward. Besides…”
He glanced back at Pei Zizhuo and, pretending to lower his voice, whispered, “Look at this fellow with his nose turned up to the sky, he’s a cultivator at the Soul Formation stage. How many living Soul Formation masters are even left in the Divine Continent today?”
Xiao Tao raised her eyes and cast a timid glance at Shen Shu. Seeing that the light in Shen Shu’s eyes did not seem fake, she wept with a tremor in her voice, “Xiao Tao is willing to stake her life, begging the immortals to save people!”
The reason she had settled long-term in Baling County was because Prefect Li of this place had once saved her life.
Back when Xiao Tao had just transformed into a spirit, a severe drought struck the Shu region. Unable to withstand the scorching heat, she had fainted on the ground, and her feet had inadvertently reverted into tree roots, presenting a terrifying and monstrous appearance. Everyone claimed that she, a demonic entity, had brought the drought and demanded she be burned alive as a sacrifice to the heavens.
Li Guangzhi, who was serving as the county magistrate at the time, went against public opinion and sent her a ladle of clear water, releasing her back to the mountains and forests. Such kindness was worth repaying with her life.
Three years ago, she descended the mountain to Baling County, only to accidentally learn that Li Guangzhi had been framed and exiled to the far north, and his entire family of over a dozen people had already departed half a year prior. When she traced the matter to the far north, the Li family had been virtually devastated, leaving only a few solitary, helpless children.
She reburied the Li couple and brought the children back to Baling to raise them properly. Life had been going smoothly and peacefully, until the originally tranquil Baling County was suddenly visited by a Matchmaking Cult Master.
A matchmaking temple was established on Chan Mountain, enshrining the Matchmaking Cult Master’s own divine statue. Rumor had it that as long as one offered sincere incense before the statue, any desired romance could be successfully matched.
The temple had been erected for half a month, yet its threshold remained deserted. A crowd of onlookers would pass by to watch the commotion, but none ever thought of stepping inside to take a look. Only an old man who refused to believe in superstition went out of curiosity to pay his respects, and even voiced his wish aloud, a wish so utterly fantastical that he wanted to be reunited in marriage with his wife, who had passed away many years ago.
For such a wish to come true, either the old man would have to drop dead, or his wife would have to return from the dead, crawling out of her coffin skin and flesh intact.
The crowd broke into a chorus of derisive sighs. While mocking the old man for his delusional fantasy, they also quietly disparaged the Matchmaking Cult Master for being utterly devoid of visitors.
Yet who could have foreseen that three days later, a young maiden whose appearance closely resembled what the old man’s wife looked like in her youth suddenly collapsed from hunger at the city gate and was rescued by a tavern hand? When she woke up and saw the tavern hand, the very first words she spoke were, “You’ve grown this big already.”
Her second sentence was, “My old man must be missing me.”
With that, amidst the terrified gazes of the onlookers, she walked alone with practiced familiarity straight to the old man’s doorstep, her posture and movements along the way entirely resembling those of a married woman. She skillfully pushed open the door and, seeing that the old man had not yet returned, picked up a broom to sweep the courtyard on her own, incessantly complaining that over the years she had been gone, the old man was living more and more poorly, leaving the small courtyard looking desolate rather than neat and tidy as it was when she was around.
How spine-chilling was this scene? Everyone waited for the old man to return home, and sure enough, they were utterly shocked upon meeting. At first, they thought it was someone’s malicious prank, but when the young maiden confronted him, she was able to recount the old man’s temperament, habits, and every single major and minor event that had ever occurred in the household one by one, with a tone and physical demeanor identical to those of his deceased wife.
The old man also gradually shifted from terror to acceptance, and within half a day, this bizarre occurrence had spread across the entire Baling County.
From that day onward, the wooden threshold of the Matchmaking Temple was trampled flat by people coming to make wishes. Regardless of poverty or nobility, as long as one burned three sticks of sincere incense before the divine statue, any kind of romance could be forged.
Moreover, the Matchmaking Cult Master asked for no incense offerings or specific tributes; he only required that after individuals fulfilled their wishes, they return to the Matchmaking Temple to offer thanksgiving incense.
Xiao Tao also found this matter novel, but she always harbored an ominous premonition, until the day Prefect Li’s eldest daughter, Li Xiangxiang, also went to the Matchmaking Temple, only to claim upon her return that she had merely strolled around without burning any incense.
Yet early the next morning, Li Xiangxiang mysteriously vanished. Panicked, Xiao Tao rushed onto the street grabbing people to ask around, and begged the local neighbors, those familiar acquaintances who praised Li Xiangxiang daily for her cleverness and cuteness, to join in the search.
Then, a bone-chilling horror befell her: everyone looked at Xiao Tao with blank, uncomprehending expressions and told her with absolute certainty,
“There is no Prefect Li in Baling County, nor has anyone ever seen a young maiden named Li Xiangxiang.”