When they returned to the village, dawn was neither fully here nor gone. The clouds were covered with a thick layer of dark blue-gray. The torches held by villagers became lanterns scattered across the hills, swaying before their eyes, while the sea behind returned to its silent appearance.
The old village chief held Su Yun, alternately hitting and scolding him. His face, wrinkled with age, still showed unrecovered shock, his voice trembling with the aftermath of disaster: “What were you doing?! Running around alone like that?”
Su Yun howled twice. His clothes were soaked by sea waves and stained with mud from hiding in the forest. Recalling the earth-shaking commotion when the two fought earlier, concealment was impossible.
He simply closed his eyes and made up a story: “I couldn’t sleep at night, worried about my wall of winter jasmine. I wanted to sneak up and look, but just as I reached the flower stand, I fainted. When I woke up, I was by the sea and saw this young lady from the Sacred Lands fighting a—” He made an exaggerated gesture: “That big of a demon. Finally, she defeated the monster and came back.”
With his words, all the villagers’ gazes converged on Xue Yu.
The old village chief composed himself, wiped the moisture from his eyes, stepped forward, and bowed formally to Xue Yu: “Thank you, Young Immortal, for saving him. Our family only has Little Six left as our sole heir. If something happened to him, I truly—” He couldn’t continue.
Xue Yu was experiencing this kind of high praise for the first time. She avoided the old village chief’s bow: “It’s my duty, as it should be.”
When the group returned to the village, day had fully broken. A group of women clustered at the village entrance, looking left and right. The one in the center had eyes swollen like walnuts, almost unable to breathe. Seeing her, the old village chief angrily tugged Su Yun’s ear: “Hurry and see your mother!”
Su Yun rushed to the woman, explaining with words and gestures.
“Miss.” In the chaos, Chao Nian nearly rolled and crawled over, examining Xue Yu from top to bottom. Seeing no signs of injury, he said: “You fought Nine Phoenix?”
Nine Phoenix’s aura had almost judicial suppression over demons like Liang Yan and Qing Luo. Liang Yan was better off, but Qing Luo’s ears were still standing upright, pressed low under her hat brim. Hearing this, they all looked at her.
Xue Yu said: “Mm.”
Chao Nian immediately gasped, muttering quietly: “So she is here. Maybe we shouldn’t bother with this mission. We can’t complete it anyway with such leadership. We risk danger traveling back and forth, while they obstruct us one by one without a single truth.”
“Miss.” Chao Nian lowered his voice to remind her: “You still have injuries.”
Su You’s row of thick lashes trembled, looking toward Xue Yu.
“It’s nothing.” Xue Yu said dismissively: “I have some leads.”
“Chao Nian, walk around the village more these two days. Watch the village chief and several managers. Don’t make decisions on your own about any discoveries—notify me promptly.” She looked toward Qing Luo and Liang Yan, pointing to a small town not far away: “You two go guard at the inn where we met that day. Don’t do anything else—just drink tea daily and ask the elderly guests and innkeepers what wealthy young masters might have come to this village ten years ago, and what strange incidents occurred.”
All three responded in unison.
“Su You.” Xue Yu glanced at the slender youth: “Come with me.”
In Xue Yu’s stone house, she stood before the half-open window, watching the old village chief who had just experienced great joy and sorrow. Before entering his house, he suspiciously examined the wall of winter jasmine, then, after a moment, called several people to uproot all the vines.
During this, Su Yun stood on one foot by the wall, arms crossed, watching with an expression wanting to jump up and stop them, yet ultimately hesitating.
Only after Su Yun snorted coldly and strode back into the house did this farce end.
Xue Yu withdrew her gaze, casually pulled over a chair to sit. Her shoulders gradually relaxed, and the fatigue hidden beneath her cold exterior began to show. She told Su You the answers obtained from Nine Phoenix, then asked: “What do you think of this matter?”
Su You looked at her crystal-like long fingers resting on the chair’s edge, contemplated briefly, then said: “The answer is mostly hidden with Chen Huainan.”
“The problem now is we can’t contact Chen Huainan.” Xue Yu’s glazed, clear water-like eyes fell on his flawless face, asking seriously: “If it were you, what would you do?”
If she had asked this question ten days ago, Su You would certainly have put on a completely innocent, righteous face, saying words he scorned to please her and handle her probing.
He was very clever and knew how to use that cleverness.
But she now sat before him, frost and snow still on her face. After ten-plus days of travel, for these people who didn’t value their own lives, she’d not only been refused entry several times but also fought Nine Phoenix.
He didn’t care whether this mission could pass, nor whether those profit-obsessed people could survive.
But Chao Nian said she still had injuries.
That hand that pulled him from the array was cold as ice.
After a long while, just when Xue Yu thought he wouldn’t answer, he suddenly raised his eyes, speaking softly and slowly: “If it were me.”
“I would force my way in.”
Xue Yu raised her chin with some surprise, as if not expecting such an answer. After a moment, she slowly stood: “First, let’s ask Su Yun.”
Su Yun had caused great trouble and was currently under house arrest by the old village chief. When he heard that Xue Yu and Su You wanted to enter and ask questions, he hesitated. Only after Su You casually spoke a few nonsense words about great demons targeting Su Yun did the old village chief hurriedly invite them in.
As if expecting Xue Yu and others would come, Su Yun wasn’t surprised. He sat by the window, propping his cheek, facing the empty wooden frame on that wall, sighing wistfully: “Good thing I sent it away in time.”
“Since you like these things, why can’t your grandfather tolerate them?” Xue Yu followed his gaze and asked.
“He has a psychological illness—can’t stand any demons or monsters.” Su Yun felt nothing needed avoiding, shrugging and adding a lengthy explanation: “Don’t you also know my father died early? Our family only has me as the sole heir. My father was killed by a demon.”
“Right in front of my grandfather, swallowed whole by a black panther demon. Since then, he’s been traumatized—can’t hear about such things, can’t see such things.”
Xue Yu carefully observed his expression, finding his face completely frank, her expression involuntarily stirring: “You also know about this, yet why dare you contact great demons like Nine Phoenix?”
“I’m an ordinary person. I don’t know if Nine Phoenix is a great demon or what kind of demon she is, but the demons I’ve contacted have all been good to me.” Su Yun seemed to fall into some memory: “My mother isn’t healthy and needs constant medicine. Grandfather is elderly—fishing at sea doesn’t earn much money. Most of my mother’s medicine I gather from mountains and forests.”
“Once I went to the eastern hills for medicine. It had just rained that day—the path was slippery. I wasn’t careful and fell, hitting my head on a rock. When I woke up, I was leaning against a peach blossom tree with a smiling man sitting on it.”
“Seeing me awake, the man gave me the peach blossom lantern in his hand, telling me to follow the lantern’s direction, and I could get home.” Su Yun smiled with curved eyes, showing some youthful spirited air: “Actually, I knew he was a demon then.”
“I often went to find him afterward, gathering many things as thank-you gifts. He never appeared again. Later, probably annoyed by my pestering, after we became familiar, he’d say a few words and take me to meet his other friends.” Su Yun rotated his wrist: “Very strange—I truly wasn’t afraid at all, just found it novel.”
“I heard your grandfather say this sea was formerly called Nine Phoenix Sea. Has Nine Phoenix dwelt here for over ten years?” After quietly listening, Xue Yu asked about her concerns.
Su Yun shook his head: “Not exactly. But Nine Phoenix did come here over ten years ago. This sea got its name because of some ancestor of hers. She often comes to look around. This time she came half a year ago.”
Looking into his eyes, Xue Yu asked again: “Do you know that great demon making deals with Nine Phoenix?”
“Don’t know it, but I’ve heard of it.” This straightforward youth rarely hesitated before scratching his head: “If you want to know, I can tell you, but we must agree beforehand—I only heard about it, don’t know if it’s true.”
“No matter. Speak.”
“Such things often happen in the village, making everyone panic. I’ve asked Tao Zhi more than once. He only said that the demon has no bad intentions and won’t harm innocent people. The reason for this behavior is that someone owes a debt that must be repaid.”