Li Jiangying suspected he was mocking her as a thief, but she was in a position where she had to bow her head. Giving an awkward smile, she told the story of running into the real thief.
“…That’s how it happened, Young Master Tao. If you don’t believe me, I have no other way.”
“I believe you.” Tao Buluo slowly waved his fan. He seemed less like a Devil Cultivator and more like a rich young master dallying in the mortal world. He winked at Li Jiangying with a playful grin. “I’ve seen many people; I can still tell when someone is lying or not.”
With a wave of his hand, the Tao Clan members released Li Jiangying and Cui Yu. But then he reached out and took back the invitation. “However, this still needs to be returned to me.”
Li Jiangying looked at the invitation reluctantly and tried to struggle. “Young Master Tao, is this your only invitation?”
Tao Buluo shook his head. “Of course not. But I’m not short of money, so I won’t be selling it.”
Li Jiangying’s heart clenched in pain. They had finally scraped together enough to maybe buy the Yin Wood Water Essence Pill, only to lose their ticket at the door. Who could accept that?
Tao Buluo asked curiously, “What does Fellow Daoist want to buy? Why not tell me? Perhaps I can bid for it on your behalf.”
Yes, you’d bid for it, but you wouldn’t share it with me. Li Jiangying said sorrowfully, “The Yin Wood Water Essence Pill. Someone very important to me is injured and needs this medicine.”
Tao Buluo looked quite regretful. “I’m sorry. An elder in my family also needs this medicine.”
In the end, Li Jiangying could only watch helplessly as Tao Buluo and his entourage entered the auction. The three of them sat down against the wall outside the auction house, hugging their knees and contemplating life.
“I heard the Elder Tao suffered a severe backlash this time. There probably won’t be a single Yin Wood Water Essence Pill left over for you,” Li Xiangshui said coolly.
Li Jiangying hugged her knees tight, frowning and saying nothing.
Cui Yu, ever good-natured, sighed and chimed in, “Why such bad timing?”
“No, the timing is too perfect,” Li Jiangying murmured.
Li Jiangying was in a bad mood, so Li Xiangshui and Cui Yu stayed with her. They sat until the sun set, night fell, and stars dotted the sky. It wasn’t until late into the night that the auction finally ended.
Li Jiangying watched coldly and spotted Tao Buluo, who was among the last to leisurely walk out. She stood up, patted the numbness from her legs and the dust from her rear, and strode over to him.
“Young Master Tao, if I were to introduce you to a famous doctor, could you spare me one Yin Wood Water Essence Pill?” Li Jiangying asked directly.
Tao Buluo was somewhat surprised. “Eh, you’re still here? May I ask which famous doctor Fellow Daoist speaks of?”
“The Alchemist who created the Yin Wood Water Essence Pill, the Green Hand Devil Doctor, Gu Qinglin.”
Tao Buluo shook his head. “We sought her consultation years ago. Doctor Gu didn’t have any special method either. This isn’t a secret within my family. I won’t hide it from you—many of my elders suffer from being corroded by Fire Affliction, it’s just that this time it’s exceptionally severe.”
Even Gu Qinglin was helpless? Li Jiangying was puzzled and inadvertently voiced her doubt. “How could it be this serious?”
Tao Buluo smiled bitterly. “My Tao Clan rose to prominence through artifact refining. Our entire clan lives in Flame City, at the southernmost tip of the Devil Domain, beside Flame Mountain. Refining cannot be separated from fire. Over decades of exposure, the family elders have been invaded by Fire Affliction. The fire of Flame Mountain is truly too fierce; it’s different from ordinary fire and cannot be easily dispelled. Even I myself suffer from Fire Affliction.”
The Yin Wood Water Essence Pill was right here with this wealthy young master. If she let him go, who knew when Li Yueying’s injury could be healed.
“What if I could find a way to eliminate the Fire Affliction?” After the words left her mouth, Li Jiangying gritted her teeth and knocked on her own forehead. Why had she acted impulsively again?
“This is no joking matter,” Tao Buluo warned casually.
But Li Jiangying’s resolve hardened. “I do have a method, but I can’t guarantee the results.”
“Fellow Daoist, if I’m not mistaken, your cultivation level…” Tao Buluo expressed his doubt somewhat euphemistically.
Li Jiangying countered, “Success or failure, doesn’t the Young Master of the Tao Clan even have the courage to try? Since you can tell when others are lying, can you not now judge my confidence?”
The smile on Tao Buluo’s face vanished. He looked at her quietly, his gold-and-silver-thread-embroidered fan fluttering twice. Suddenly, his smile returned, and he said, “In that case, let’s give it a try. Please follow me.”
The Tao Clan started with artifact refining and was very, extremely, and exceedingly wealthy. They owned more than one luxurious estate in Flying Swallow Capital. Tao Buluo led the two of them (Li Xiangshui, fearing recognition, had slipped away) to one of the residences and summoned a person.
Sitting in a chair, he leisurely sipped tea as he explained: “This man used to be an assistant in our Artifact Refining Workshop. His cultivation isn’t high, but over time, he developed Fire Affliction within him. I reassigned him to other tasks to prevent the affliction from ruining his cultivation base.”
Li Jiangying’s immediate task was to dissolve the Fire Affliction inside this man right before Tao Buluo’s eyes.
Success hinged on this moment. Calming her heart, Li Jiangying grasped the acupoints on both his wrists and solemnly instructed, “Please circulate your energy normally, but absolutely do not resist me.”
Receiving his consent, Li Jiangying focused and began drawing in the Devil Qi from his body. Compared to the other four elements, she had a much stronger affinity for Fire Element.
In this exercise, she didn’t follow the standard mental cultivation method. Instead, she kept a tactic in mind, causing the Devil Qi entering her body to bypass her Dantian and forge a separate path to form a cycle.
This way, after the opponent’s Devil Qi was drawn into her body, the Fire Element Devil Qi would be firmly controlled by Li Jiangying’s body, while his own cultivated Devil Qi could be channeled back under her control.
Because it bypassed the Dantian, this Qi wouldn’t be stored and naturally wouldn’t be consumed. Normally, absorbing on one end and releasing on the other would be pointless work; absorbing without releasing would cause the meridians to burst. However, returning the excess Devil Qi and only retaining a small amount of Fire Affliction was something her meridians could withstand.
Since this was her first attempt, Li Jiangying was exceptionally cautious. The process took a full half-hour.
Wiping the hot sweat from her forehead, she sighed inwardly. This Fire Affliction was truly extraordinary. The moment it entered her body, it became restless, always trying to rush toward her Dantian. Feeling how difficult the Fire Affliction was to control, Li Jiangying simply let her Dantian absorb it completely.
Strangely, a long-lost warm sensation bloomed inside her Dantian. For a moment, Li Jiangying thought she was about to be able to control the demon core, but after a short while, her Dantian returned to its lifeless state.
Li Jiangying had originally been fifty percent confident. After the trial, she was now eighty percent sure. She nodded to Tao Buluo. “Young Master Tao may examine him now.”
Tao Buluo immediately summoned someone to inspect the man thoroughly. The more they checked, the brighter his eyes grew. Finally, he shot to his feet. “Marvelous! Marvelous! How was this done? The Fire Affliction inside the servant’s body has completely vanished!”
Li Jiangying smiled. “May I keep it a secret?”
“Not saying is fine too.” Tao Buluo tossed his fan aside, walked up to her, extended his arm, and pushed up his sleeve. “Try it on me as well!”
This trial took another half-hour. Although Li Jiangying grew more proficient, Tao Buluo’s personal cultivation was much higher than the servant’s. When it was over, Tao Buluo felt the comfort in his body and grew excited. He paced back and forth in the living room before clapping his hands. “I’ll take you to see the Elder!”
Seeing his reaction, Li Jiangying knew the fish had taken the bait and could no longer escape. The medicine was as good as in hand. Once it was, Li Yueying would be mostly recovered.
She waved her hand. “It’s too late tonight. I have something urgent to attend to first. If it’s acceptable, I’ll return tomorrow.”
Tao Buluo instantly whipped out another brocade and fragrant-wood fan and fanned himself furiously. He laughed. “Very well, very well. No rush, no rush. In that case, we’ll meet again tomorrow, Fellow Daoist. By the way, Fellow Daoist, how should I address you?”
Thinking of her name only now? Truly…
Li Jiangying thought for a moment. The Tao Clan was wealthy and powerful, and they knew Gu Qinglin. Her identity as ‘Li Jiangying’ had already been blown with Gu Qinglin. The image of the little madwoman calling out “Yingying” in her coquettish voice flashed through her mind. Li Jiangying smiled. “Call me Ying Suanli. Just a name, anything will do.”
Tao Buluo nodded thoughtfully. “Alright then, Daoist Ying. I’ll send people to escort you back right away.”
By the time Li Jiangying and Cui Yu returned to the Gu Residence, it was already the wee hours of the morning. Li Xiangshui had long since withdrawn into her room to cultivate. After entering, Li Jiangying immediately went to find the snake demon. This was the ‘urgent matter’ she’d mentioned to Tao Buluo.
The snake demon was incredibly clingy. Being apart for so long, who knew if she’d throw a fit and cause trouble again? Staying in someone else’s home, they might end up having to sell blood to pay for damages.
Li Jiangying first went to where Gu Qinglin refined medicine. Busy with her concoctions, Gu Qinglin answered distractedly, “No idea. She left a long time ago.”
Li Jiangying then rushed back to the courtyard where she rested. It was empty. She pushed open the door. Inside was a chaotic mess—the aftermath of the little madwoman’s tantrums and rolling around. Every time they tidied up, she’d mess it up again soon after, so Li Jiangying had simply stopped cleaning up.
A mess was just fine. What was wrong with a mess? A mess felt more like a home.
But the little madwoman was still nowhere to be seen inside.
Where had she gone?
Li Jiangying hurried out of the courtyard, softly calling Li Yueying’s name. The night was deep and still, with only the rustling of wind through the grass, trees, and leaves, making her voice sound ethereal, like a sob.
“Yueying… A Yue…”
“Jiangying.” The skeleton flickered into view in a dark corner, keeping her distance. “Yueying is over there.” She pointed a direction.
Li Jiangying gave a hasty thanks and ran toward the place the white-boned finger had indicated. Shi Yanran stood behind her, watching her rush toward Li Yueying without looking back.
Again. It was always like this.
The Tomb Guardian touched her own empty chest. Her finger bones passed through her ribs. There was nothing there. Finally, the sound of the wind faded, and she vanished into the darkness.
The Gu Residence was terrifyingly large. Li Jiangying ran until she was gasping for breath and finally found Li Yueying.
Li Yueying was in a tree—the tallest and most ancient tree in the entire Gu Residence. No matter where you were on the estate, you could look up and see its dense canopy. It towered over ten meters high, blotting out the sky.
On this night, the snake demon sat on a high branch, hidden among the thick leaves. Her tail hung down, utterly motionless. Like a statue, she gazed obsessively at the southern sky.
That direction glowed a dark crimson—the color of fire interwoven with night.
Li Jiangying slowed her pace more and more. Finally, she stood not far from the tree, looking up at Li Yueying’s figure hidden among the branches and leaves. She called out to her:
“A Yue, come down.”
The voice traveled on the wind to the snake demon’s ears. Her body trembled, and she slowly turned her head. The moment her eyes registered Li Jiangying’s silhouette, a choked sob escaped her, and tears streamed down her face. She started down from the tree, nearly falling in her haste, tumbling clumsily to the ground. Scrambling on both hands and feet, covered in dust and dirt, she threw herself into the waiting, open arms.
“Alright, alright.” Staggered a step backward by the impact, Li Jiangying patted her back and comforted her softly. “I’m back. Don’t cry.”
“Jiangying.” Li Yueying sobbed, “I thought you had flown away… Jiangying, I’ll be very good. I don’t want to ascend anymore. Don’t abandon me…”
A strange look crossed Li Jiangying’s face. She pushed the snake demon’s head away from her neck and looked at her beautiful face, drenched with tears. She used her palm to wipe her tears, the cold liquid soaking her own palm.
“Don’t cry. You’re so beautiful—don’t cry so casually.”
Li Yueying’s sobs gradually subsided. “Jiangying…”
“Shh.” Li Jiangying gestured for her to be quiet. “Don’t call me Jiangying.”
“Are you angry?” Li Yueying shrunk into her embrace, her two arms curved against her chest, pitifully clutching the front of Li Jiangying’s robe. She asked nervously.
“No.” Li Jiangying’s mouth twitched into a slight smile. “It’s just… today, I don’t really want to hear you call me that.”
The snake demon obediently closed her mouth and snuggled into her embrace, slowly closing her eyes. Li Jiangying simply sat down on the ground, holding her.
What was so interesting about the southern sky? Was it because that was where the original had disappeared?
Li Jiangying looked up too. The stars in that part of the sky were tinged red by the reflected glow. After a long while, the enchanting creature in her arms began to breathe steadily. She had slowly fallen asleep. Li Jiangying looked down at her. Moonlight and starlight filtered through the tree’s branches and leaves, scattering faint, hazy dots of light onto her face.
What a beautiful snake demon. With such stunning features, a single smile could make countless people die for her. She should have been like the bewitching spirits in strange tales, toying with human hearts, free and unrestrained. Yet, in the eyes of such a gorgeous and powerful demon, Li Jiangying always saw adoration, dependence, and obsession.
Unable to resist, Li Jiangying reached out and stroked her face. In her dream, the demon murmured something and rubbed against her palm, revealing a peaceful sleeping face.
Face expressionless, Li Jiangying thought to herself: How unlucky. Truly, too unlucky.
