By the time Yue Jingming returned to the Li residence, Xie Jin was still holding Li Yi tightly while Lan Shi stood beside them, nearly crying herself senseless.
Outside the room, Li Si had been waiting anxiously. The moment he saw Yue Jingming, he hurried forward demanding an explanation, but Yue Jingming ignored him and walked straight inside.
The moment Li Yi saw him, she nearly went mad. “Where is Xi-lang? What did you do to Xi-lang?! Give Xi-lang back to me!”
“He escaped,” Yue Jingming said.
Li Yi immediately relaxed. She collapsed onto the floor and murmured, “As long as he escaped… as long as he escaped.”
Lan Shi hurriedly supported her and sobbed. “Yi’er, what exactly is wrong with you?”
“Who is Xi-lang?” Li Si demanded, his face turning black when he heard his daughter repeatedly calling another man’s name.
Lan Shi gathered her daughter into her arms and could not help crying again. “My good daughter, if something has happened, tell your father and mother. Don’t keep behaving like this. Mother is begging you!”
Li Yi merely smiled foolishly, then began crying again, appearing completely deranged.
Xie Jin looked toward Yue Jingming. “Daoist Master Su, what exactly is going on?”
Lan Shi and Li Si also turned toward him.
Yue Jingming picked up the shattered wooden box from the foot of the bed. Black, filthy water seeped from inside, mixed with rotten aquatic weeds. He said, “Before the New Year, Miss Li nearly fell into the water while traveling to worship at a temple and accidentally attracted a water demon. Miss Li has a fortunate fate and abundant vital essence, so the water demon bewitched her. Ordinarily, it cultivated through this wooden box filled with river mud and stagnant water. The waterways within this estate connect to the inner river, allowing it to come and go freely.”
Lan Shi, Li Si, and the others exchanged stunned looks. Xie Jin asked, “Then why did my cousin become so gravely ill?”
“You were trying to arrange a husband who would marry into the Li household. Naturally, the water demon refused to accept that.” Yue Jingming paused. “Miss Li’s grave illness was merely an illusion created by demonic arts. In reality, she had only lost some vital essence. But if this continued for long enough, her health would truly deteriorate.”
Li Yi lifted her tear-streaked face. “Father, Mother, please let Xi-lang and me be together! He may be a demon, but he has never deliberately harmed anyone. Before the New Year, I nearly drowned, and he was the one who saved me! Xi-lang is my lifesaver. I was the one who sought him out… Mother, I don’t want to marry anyone else. I want to be with Xi-lang! Otherwise, just let me die!”
“You’re human. How can you consort with a demon?!” Li Si raised his hand to slap her, only for a horsetail whisk to block him midway.
Yue Jingming said, “Humans and demons walk different paths. Miss Li, your mind has not yet fully cleared. Once you recover completely, you will understand how absurd this is.”
Li Yi dropped to her knees before him. “Daoist Master Su, please spare him. I beg you!”
Yue Jingming stepped aside to avoid receiving her kneeling bow. “He is not dead. He will certainly return for you.”
A spark of light immediately appeared in Li Yi’s eyes.
Yue Jingming sighed inwardly, then looked toward Li Si. “A water demon was already causing trouble in your household, yet you altered the screen wall into a Nine-Pearl Jiaogui Image. If the water demon possesses that image, the consequences would be disastrous.”
Li Si turned deathly pale. “Th-that’s impossible. I did everything according to Daoist Master Yue’s instructions!”
Yue Jingming fell silent for a moment. “What exactly did he say?”
“Daoist Master Yue said there was baleful qi within the estate aimed directly toward my daughter’s quarters. He said we needed to use a Nine-Pearl Jiaogui to suppress baleful qi with baleful qi. He also told us to erect another Jiaogui image in each of the other three directions to protect the residence.”
Yue Jingming’s face chilled. “If you truly did that, after seven times seven, forty-nine days, every person in this household would become that water demon’s puppet. This method is sinister and vicious and could never have come from anyone of Zushan. That man has probably been colluding with the water demon from the beginning. Where is he now?”
Li Si looked first at his daughter, who had now fully regained consciousness and looked normal again, then at Yue Jingming’s upright and awe-inspiring bearing. Every trace of doubt vanished from his heart. “In the guest room of the western wing.”
But when Yue Jingming and the others reached the western wing, the guest room had already been abandoned.
“That man looked like some kind of demon himself, and his behavior was frivolous and debauched. He really was an unorthodox Daoist!” Li Si raged. “I even gave him a chest of gold and banknotes, only to discover that he intended to kill my entire family! I will demand an explanation from Zushan!”
“To tell you the truth, I am a disciple of the Zushan Sect,” Yue Jingming said. “This man has impersonated a Zushan disciple while committing evil. I will capture him and restore my sect’s good name.”
Li Si’s expression changed, then immediately brightened with delight. He bowed respectfully. “So that is how it is. Daoist Master, please forgive my earlier poor hospitality.”
Because Li Yi had regained consciousness and the water demon had not been slain, Yue Jingming judged that the creature would eventually return. He therefore laid a demon-catching formation inside the Li estate. Having witnessed his abilities, Li Si and the others repeatedly urged him to remain in the residence, but Yue Jingming refused.
“The water demon is badly injured and will not return immediately. Besides, if I remain here, it certainly will not dare appear.” Seeing how frightened they were, Yue Jingming patiently explained, “The moment the formation is triggered, I can arrive within moments. There is no need for any of you to worry.”
Only then did Li Si and the others stop insisting.
Xie Jin escorted Yue Jingming back to the inn, thanking him profusely the entire way. They were close in age and found conversation easy. Xie Jin asked him many questions about the Zushan Sect, all of which Yue Jingming patiently answered.
Xie Jin said, “The Zushan Sect has always been upright and honorable, and Daoist Master Su Ji is highly respected. As his eldest disciple, Daoist Master Yue Jingming could never behave like that wicked Daoist. Daoist Master Su, I spoke rather disrespectfully about Daoist Master Yue before. Please do not hold it against me.”
“You did not know the truth. It does not matter,” Yue Jingming said.
Xie Jin said indignantly, “That wicked Daoist has damaged Daoist Master Yue’s reputation and stained the good name of the Zushan Sect. He truly is hateful. If he continues committing evil under Daoist Master Yue’s name…”
“Rest assured, Young Master Xie. I will eliminate this man,” Yue Jingming said calmly.
Xie Jin froze, then nodded. “True. His methods are so vicious. Who knows how many people he might hurt.”
Xie Jin stopped outside Yue Jingming’s room. “Daoist Master Su has worked hard today. Please rest well.”
Yue Jingming nodded slightly and pushed open the door.
Xie Jin caught sight of someone lying on the couch inside, but the door closed again almost immediately. He felt puzzled, but then remembered that Daoist Master Su possessed extraordinary abilities and assumed the person must be one of his acquaintances. He thought no more of it and left.
Xiao Chunhe lay on the couch with his arms and legs tightly bound by rope. A talisman was pasted squarely in the center of his forehead, leaving him unable to move. He could only roll his eyes around to inspect the room, completely unable to understand how he had ended up in this situation.
He had gotten drunk and wandered through the streets, happened to run into that idiot demon Fu Xi just as he was about to be caught, and had no choice but to interfere. Then, taking advantage of being three parts drunk, he had even grabbed the Daoist’s waist…
How had that ended with him tied up?
And tied so tightly!
Someone pushed open the door. Xiao Chunhe rolled his eyes toward the sound and saw that it was indeed the Daoist. The man was handsome and clean-cut, with an otherworldly temperament. His dark-blue Daoist robes gave him the air of an immortal. Every part of his body was wrapped up properly, leaving only a small section of his neck exposed, which made Xiao Chunhe’s heart itch.
“My good fellow Daoist, we meet again.” The moment Xiao Chunhe saw him, seven-tenths of his anger at being tied up disappeared. He smiled. “I drank too much earlier. It was all a misunderstanding. Would you mind untying me?”
The other man ignored him, placed his horsetail whisk and sword on the table, then pasted several talismans over the door and windows. After finishing, he calmly washed his hands before finally walking to the couch.
“My apologies,” he said.
A long, clean hand removed the talisman from Xiao Chunhe’s forehead, then supported his shoulder and helped him sit up. A wide sleeve brushed past, leaving behind a cool fragrance of pine.
Xiao Chunhe rotated his stiff neck, lifted his eyelids, and smiled before speaking. “My good fellow Daoist, why not untie these ropes too?”
Yue Jingming looked down at him. “What is your relationship with that water demon?”
Xiao Chunhe leaned lazily against the backrest, looking bewildered. “What water demon?”
“The first time the water demon appeared, it carried your scent. Earlier in the alley, you deliberately interfered and helped it escape.”
The man leaning against the couch raised his brows in surprise, lowered his head, and sniffed himself. “What scent? I bathe every day. How could I smell?”
“A very strong fragrance,” Yue Jingming said. “Almost like demonic qi.”
Yet this man possessed no demon bones and was not a demon.
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes rolled. He suddenly straightened and hooked his bound arms around Yue Jingming’s neck, pressing his entire body against him. “Really? Then smell me properly.”
Caught completely off guard, Yue Jingming was pulled forward until his whole face was buried against Xiao Chunhe’s chest. His nose was instantly overwhelmed by fragrance. Immediately afterward, dizziness surged over him and his consciousness began rapidly blurring.
“Can you smell it now?” Xiao Chunhe’s voice drifted near and far. Warm lips brushed Yue Jingming’s ear, feather-light. “Would you like me to… take off my clothes so you can smell more carefully?”
The world spun. Yue Jingming found himself lying on his back on the couch, while Xiao Chunhe’s bound hands cushioned the back of his head as the man bent over him with a smile. “Still fragrant?”
Yue Jingming struggled to keep his eyes open. Xiao Chunhe’s long hair spilled down around him, his disordered collar brushing Yue Jingming’s face and revealing the seductive crimson mole at the center of his collarbones.
“My good Daoist, these ropes hurt terribly. Hurry and untie me.” Xiao Chunhe lightly nudged Yue Jingming’s nose with the tip of his own.
The thick fragrance washed across his face. Yue Jingming raised a hand and closed it around Xiao Chunhe’s ankle. Silently reciting an incantation, he caused the ropes tightly binding the man’s wrists and ankles to fall away.
“Thank you, Daoist Master.” Xiao Chunhe glanced at the red marks around his wrists and clicked his tongue inwardly. He lowered his head another fraction and deliberately brushed his fingers against Yue Jingming’s lips. “But you look so proper. I never expected you to have such unusual tastes.”
Yue Jingming caught his troublesome hand, his voice hoarse. “You… what sorcery did you use?”
“You Daoist, how can you falsely accuse an innocent man?” Xiao Chunhe pouted angrily. “I’m not playing with you anymore.”
Yue Jingming’s head throbbed beneath the fragrance surrounding him. He silently recited the Taixu Heart Method, struggling to remain clear-headed. Then Xiao Chunhe suddenly lowered his head and kissed his cheek.
Yue Jingming’s eyes flew open in shock.
Xiao Chunhe affectionately pinched the ear that had gone bright red. “My good fellow Daoist, the mortal world is terribly dangerous. Someone like you is the easiest to get into trouble. Fortunately, I’m kindhearted and couldn’t bear to harm you. Listen to me. In the future, don’t casually tie people up and bring them back with you.”
With that, he winked at Yue Jingming, tore away the talisman on the window, and jumped straight out from the second floor.
The intense fragrance lingered in the room for a long time. Yue Jingming circulated his true qi and required the time it took an incense stick to burn before he completely recovered and forced the overpowering fragrance from his body.
Powerful true qi surged outward, cleansing the room of every trace of the scent.
Yue Jingming picked up the torn talisman from the couch, his expression darkening.
That man was absolutely not of the orthodox path.
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