Jinshu released her grip, turned around, and opened the door, stepping outside.
Chen Fuzhou touched the sleeve she had tightly grasped moments before; it still retained a trace of warmth. The girl’s ponytail cut a sharp silhouette against the fading twilight, and his heart tightened. He followed her out.
Finally seeing the sky, Jinshu let out a sigh of relief. She kicked a pebble on the ground, sending it flying through the air until it landed near the well in the courtyard.
“Meow—” A sharp cry echoed.
Jinshu exclaimed in surprise, “Ah!” She hadn’t expected a cat in this courtyard.
She hurried to the well, crouched down, and parted the thick grass. A tabby cat poked its head out, glaring at her resentfully.
Feeling guilty, Jinshu clasped her hands together and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here. It wasn’t intentional.”
The cat haughtily shook its head, ignoring her. It shifted its body, resting its head on a peach-colored pouch, comfortably narrowing its eyes and letting out a yawn.
Weren’t only men allowed to participate in the ritual? Why was there a pouch that clearly belonged to a woman?
Puzzled, Jinshu gently lifted the cat’s head. The cat opened its eyes and let out a dissatisfied meow. She apologized, “Sorry to disturb your sleep, but could I take a look at this?”
The cat snorted softly, leaped up nimbly, and trotted gracefully to the side. Jinshu picked up the pouch, dusting it off. The embroidery was crude but tightly stitched, depicting patterns of flowers and various animals.
Jinshu wondered whose work this was. Though the craftsmanship was lacking, it seemed crafted with care. How had it ended up here?
“Meow—” The tabby cat cried again. Jinshu looked over to see it lazily licking its paws by the well. When it noticed her gaze, it leisurely wagged its tail before hopping into her arms.
There were two wells in the courtyard, one on each side. Each was encircled by heavy stones and sealed with a sturdy wooden plank. Two talismans Jinshu had never seen before were affixed to the planks in a cross shape. The well openings were damp, and the talismans were covered in moss, making the inscriptions illegible. Curious, Jinshu reached out and poked one. The moist talisman immediately tore open. Afraid to meddle further, she withdrew her hand.
“What is this?” a young man’s voice suddenly asked from behind.
Startled, Jinshu stumbled and fell to the ground. “I don’t know.”
Chen Fuzhou changed the subject. “Senior Sister, it’s getting late. We should head back. Let’s take this with us too.”
Only then did Jinshu realize the sky had darkened completely. The moon hung high, slightly waning.
Inside the house, candlelight flickered.
“If that’s the case, then the demonic presence in Yanjian Village is likely a result of their own misdeeds. No wonder they’re unwilling to say anything,” Yan Lin sneered. “But if this is related to Hariti, we should inform the elders immediately.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Bu Quegan added, “I’ve already spoken to Yang Gui’s wife. I told her we need to examine A Bao’s health and unblock his meridians. Since the village chief’s child is around the same age, it’ll be more convenient to conduct the examination at the chief’s house. A Cui didn’t notice anything unusual and happily agreed.”
“Then tomorrow we’ll all stay in the house together to watch over the two children, so we can jointly resist when the demon arrives.”
With the arrangements now settled, everyone couldn’t help but feel tense, and time passed in this atmosphere.
The third day, noon.
Bu Quegan had already brought A Bao over, and the village chief had also brought his son—Yang You Qian.
Although Jinshu had already grown accustomed to the Yanjian Village-style naming conventions like “Great Wealth” and “Great Prosperity,” upon hearing such a straightforward name, he nearly spat out the water in his mouth.
Yang Dafu handed Yang You Qian to Yan Lin, nervously saying, “Taoist priest, I finally managed to have this son. You must take good care of him. If he’s gone, how will I ever face our Yang family ancestors?”
Yan Lin wore a mocking expression.
Yang Gui had also followed, standing timidly behind Yang Dafu. He was clearly terrified, his lips trembling as he repeatedly wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead. After Yang Dafu finished speaking, he stepped forward and pleaded, “Taoist priest, and my daughter too, I beg you, you must…”
Before Yang Gui could finish, Yang Dafu roughly pushed him aside, speaking disdainfully, “That worthless girl of yours is nowhere near as important as my son. She’s only here to take the misfortune for my son.”
Then, tucking his hands into his sleeves, he smiled apologetically to the group, “All of you Taoist priests just focus on watching over my son. He’s the hope for the next generation of our village.”
Yan Lin frowned tightly, speaking bluntly, “We will carefully watch over both children and will not favor one over the other.”
Chen Fuzhou also sneered, “If the village chief isn’t reassured, you can take your child back.”
Yang Dafu quickly waved his hands, wisely falling silent.
Li Xingdao, always meticulous in his work, once again inspected the formation array laid out around the house. After confirming it was correct, he gestured to the group.
This formation array was typically used to resist ordinary monster beasts, but fearing it might truly be Hariti, he made slight modifications, placing a set of small jade divine beast statues passed down from the Tianxuan Sect at each of the four formation eyes.
With the jade statues, the formation array was elevated to a higher level. While it might not be able to resist an evil deity, it could at least buy some time.
Li Xingdao, still somewhat uneasy, instructed Yang Dafu, “A jade statue has been placed at each of the four corners outside the house. With these, the formation array’s power is greatly enhanced, capable of resisting many unusual monster beasts. Tonight, you must ensure no one approaches these jade statues.”
Yang Dafu’s eyes shifted, and he quickly agreed.
The group carried the two children back into the house. Yang You Qian, in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by strangers, immediately cried out in fear. Yan Lin could only pick up the swaddling clothes and hum softly to soothe him.
Jinshu leaned over to look and saw that Yang You Qian’s little face was dark and wrinkled, almost like an old man’s—a stark contrast to the fair and adorable Yang Bao. However, his swaddling cloth was luxurious, embroidered with intricate, auspicious patterns. In contrast, Yang Bao’s swaddling cloth was patched together from different fabric scraps, rough to the touch and even slightly prickly. Yet she neither cried nor fussed, lying obediently in her swaddling clothes, her large eyes innocently observing her surroundings.
Jinshu couldn’t help but sigh, joking, “Yang Bao truly seems like a phoenix born in a sparrow’s nest.”
Chen Fuzhou smiled and continued, “Then what is Yang You Qian? A phoenix mistakenly thrown into a carp’s nest?”
Everyone couldn’t help but laugh, except for Yang You Qian in the swaddling clothes, who seemed to understand and cried even louder.
Time passed quickly amid everyone’s worry and tension. Almost in the blink of an eye, night enveloped Yanjian Village. A full moon hung frozen in the sky, its white light gently spreading around like clusters of frost flowers.
The higher the moon rose, the more anxious everyone became.
Bu Quegan paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, sighing incessantly.
Jinshu, feeling dizzy from his movement, couldn’t help but say, “Senior Brother, can’t you just sit quietly here?”
Bu Quegan put on an exaggerated expression and raised his voice, “You don’t know how lucky you are. All of you are sword cultivators with nothing to fear, but I’m different. I’m just a poor, defenseless alchemy cultivator. When the demon comes, the first to be captured will be Brother You Qian and Sister Baobao, and the second will be me! I’ve walked countless roads, crossed countless bridges, and encountered countless demons. Over the years, I’ve been cowardly, and cowardly, and cowardly, and cowardly again, always cowardly…”
“Senior Brother, stop being cowardly for now. Your top priority is to sit down and shut up, so you don’t ruin our morale. If the demon hears how cowardly you are at the door, it might think we’re easy targets and just break in and capture us all.” Jinshu made a stop gesture.
Bu Quegan said pitifully, “Are we really that hard to deal with?”
Yan Lin couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“When we face the demon later, you’ll understand what it means to ignore the advice of your elders and suffer the consequences. As a non-combatant alchemy cultivator, it’s not that I never had dreams, but after some effort, I finally, finally tasted the sweetness of giving up, and since then, I’ve lived a sweet and blissful life!” Bu Quegan blinked his teary eyes at Jinshu. “Little Junior Sister, I look forward to you joining me—”
Jinshu shuddered from the cheesiness and turned her face away. Bu Quegan then turned to wink at his junior brothers, until Yan Lin, seeing Li Xingdao’s expressionless face twitching, laughed so hard his shoulders shook. He turned Bu Quegan’s face aside, saving the poor junior brothers and sisters.
Half the night had passed, and everyone in the room was starting to feel drowsy.
Jinshu yawned, “Is it coming or not? Could it be too scared of our strength to show up?”
Yan Lin was also tired. “It’s already this late. Could it really not come?”
Bu Quegan said confidently, “Maybe it’s trapped outside by the formation array. Probably nothing will happen tonight.”
“But I still feel uneasy in my heart.”
Everyone looked uneasy, except for Li Xingdao, who sat by the table holding his heavy sword, frowning deeply and staring intently at the two children on the bed who had already fallen asleep.
Jinshu’s stomach growled, and she blushed with embarrassment.
Bu Quegan smiled at her and said, “It’s fine, Junior Sister. It’s only natural.”
Jinshu felt even more embarrassed. Just then, someone beside her nudged her with an elbow and handed over a piece of pastry wrapped in a handkerchief.
“Senior Sister, have some, it’s flower cake, very sweet.” Chen Fuzhou chuckled softly, pressing it into Jinshu’s hand without allowing refusal.
Jinshu pursed her lips, thinking that the demon couldn’t possibly be so coincidentally timed to arrive just as she was eating, so she unceremoniously picked up the pastry and popped it into her mouth.
“Someone’s here!” Li Xingdao stood up, shouting sharply. The heavy sword in his arms was trembling slightly, emitting a low hum.
Everyone stood up in alarm. Jinshu, with half a piece of cake still in her mouth, choked in fright and hurriedly grabbed a teacup from the table to wash it down with a few gulps of tea.
Amid Jinshu’s coughing, a series of knocks echoed in everyone’s ears.
“Knock, knock, knock.” The wooden door shook rhythmically, leaving everyone exchanging uneasy glances, their hairs standing on end.