Chapter 24 : I Don’t Want to Erect a Gravestone for You Here

The sunlight filtered through the sophora tree leaves at the entrance of the alley, falling onto the ground in fine, golden specks.

The old woman was also lying in the rattan chair under the tree today, sunbathing.
A cattail leaf fan rested on her chest, gently swaying.
The black cat was curled up at her feet, yawning lazily.

The cry of the junk collector came from far and near outside the door.
The smoke from the cooking fires at the end of the alley formed a faint, cyan network in the sunlight.
A bicycle rolled over the blue bricks.
The old alley in the north of the city was always full of life like this.

Bai Ling unconsciously fiddled with a whole box of nail art sequins.
For some reason, the unique scent of cedarwood seemed to still linger in her nasal cavity, refusing to dissipate.

‘At least Xu Zhi didn’t recognize me…’

But what should have been a fortunate thing suddenly turned a little sour in Bai Ling’s heart.

‘She was afraid of being recognized by Xu Zhi, and also afraid that Xu Zhi wouldn’t recognize her.’

When you don’t even know which outcome you’re afraid of, life will always help you make a choice, and then you’ll start to think about what the other outcome would have been like…

“Hey! Snap out of it!“
Guan Qing’s hand waved in front of Bai Ling’s face, interrupting her thoughts.

“I told you to come and work to pay off your debt, and you’re slacking off here!“

“Ah, ah! Sorry!“
Bai Ling quickly came back to her senses and began to organize the nail art sequins in the box.
She had just finished her class meeting today and had nothing else to do, so she could just come to the beauty salon and work for Guan Qing for free.

Guan Qing lit a piece of agarwood, and the green smoke gradually drifted up to the wind chime above her head.

“Tonight is a full moon. Remember to control your demonic energy and don’t let it go rampant.“
Guan Qing extinguished the match and then turned to look at Bai Ling.
“What are you thinking about? So engrossed?“

“Nothing… it’s just…“
Bai Ling paused.
“I had a fight with that Resentful Demon last night. I feel like at that time, I wasn’t myself anymore.“

Thinking back to last night’s fight with that unknown Resentful Demon, the trick Guan Qing had taught her was indeed useful.
She could even evade demonic energy detection right under the nose of the Demon Suppression Division.

But she didn’t feel like herself.
She had become excited and belligerent, completely forgetting the cowardice and panic of her first battle.
She had acted like a seasoned veteran, and could even imitate the moves from the game that were impossible in reality, relying only on instinct.

Although this wasn’t actually what she was thinking about just now.

“Demonic energy agitation will cause abnormal hormone secretion. Demons are also living creatures, so of course their emotions will be affected by hormones.“
Guan Qing casually closed the matchbox in her hand.
“You’ll get used to it…“

“Wait! Didn’t I tell you to leave early last night?!“

Guan Qing seemed to have suddenly realized something.
She slapped the matchbox on the table in front of Bai Ling with a “thud.”
The poor matchbox had suffered an undeserved disaster, and its fireproof coating was cracked.

Bai Ling scratched her face awkwardly.
“I was just afraid it would go on a killing spree. There were so many people there…“

“That’s the Demon Suppression Division’s problem. What’s it got to do with you?!“
Guan Qing pinched Bai Ling’s little face.
“Did you run into the Demon Suppression Division?!“

“Mmm…“

“So what you were actually thinking about just now was also about the Demon Suppression Division?“

“Mmm…“

Bai Ling’s cheeks were pinched so hard they hurt, and she answered in a muffled voice.

“I told you to run when you see the Demon Suppression Division! Why didn’t you listen!“

Guan Qing angrily knocked her forehead with her old pipe, leaving a conspicuous red mark between her eyebrows.

“I’m fine, aren’t I…“

Bai Ling covered her forehead and argued with teary eyes.

“It seems that if I don’t make it clear to you, you’ll die at the hands of the Demon Suppression Division one day…“
Guan Qing sighed, the copper pipe of her old pipe knocking on the tabletop.
“Come with me.“

Guan Qing turned and walked towards the inner room, the heels of her high heels making a dull sound on the wooden floor.

Bai Ling followed her to a wooden door carved with sophora flowers.
The wooden door creaked open, and countless sophora flower petals drilled out from the door hinge, floating in the air and forming a pattern of the nine palaces and eight trigrams.

The space inside the shop suddenly began to change.
The wooden stairs receded layer by layer, and the wooden railings, carved with intricate patterns, crisscrossed, revealing a space far larger than this house.

Countless wooden doors carved with sophora flowers were arranged vertically and horizontally.
A noisy sound came from each door, a sound that was like both laughing and crying.

The wooden floor extended infinitely, seeming to have reached the end of the world.
And in front of Bai Ling, a huge memorial archway suddenly rose from the ground.
The beast patterns on the surface of the stone pillars of the archway suddenly rolled their eyes, and a white mist seeped out from the cracks in the blue bricks.

The white mist spread out from the archway, making it impossible to see the world on the other side.
Only dim lights and the noisy voices of people could be heard from the thin mist.

Bai Ling followed Guan Qing and stepped into the thin mist.
The moment they passed through the thin mist, a strong demonic energy, mixed with the scent of sophora flowers, rushed towards her.

The demonic energy under her skin began to surge uncontrollably.
Her heart rate gradually decreased, and newborn scales, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, crawled up her skin, freely expanding and breathing in the demonic energy.

In an instant, Bai Ling had transformed into her snake demon form.

The thin mist dissipated, and everything in front of her became clear.
It was clearly noon now, but the rather ancient-style street in front of them was shrouded in night.

The fox demon boss selling sugar paintings saw them and put away his three tails.
The maltose simmering in the copper pot rippled with an indigo blue.

The bamboo-boned lantern hanging in the corner of the small stall swayed.
The candlelight flickered in the glass shade, casting a dim light source that paved this street with a strange warmth.

A few short figures ran past their feet, bringing with them a string of silver-bell-like laughter unique to small children.

Bai Ling suddenly felt a small thing bump into her calf.
She looked down and saw a small raccoon cat.
The ball of fur shook its reddish-brown ears and looked up, its nose covered and its eyes teary.
It looked like a small child who had accidentally fallen while running and playing.

“This is…“

Bai Ling turned to look at Guan Qing beside her.
At this moment, a few cyan feathers had appeared by her ears, and beautiful tail feathers grew from under her moon-white cheongsam, sweeping the ground.

“This is the demon market of Lin’an.“
A few wisps of green smoke came from Guan Qing’s old pipe.

She took out a handful of candies from somewhere and handed them to the small raccoon cat who was crying with its nose in its hands.
The small raccoon cat hugged the candies and burst into a smile.
A cunning light, like a small child’s, flashed in its eyes.
In the blink of an eye, it had followed its friends and run into the darkness between the small stalls.

“On the night of the full moon, all Ancient Demons will come to the demon market.“

Guan Qing turned to look at Bai Ling, the corners of her mouth curving into a charming arc.

“Why?“

Bai Ling looked at the huge lunar disk and asked in a daze.

“The strength of a demon’s demonic energy is related to the moon.“
Guan Qing’s tail feathers swept across the blue-brick-paved ground.
“On the night of the full moon, a demon’s demonic energy will become uncontrollably agitated, similar to the effect of the lunar tide.“

“Ancient Demons who can’t control their demonic energy will come here to hide temporarily, so as not to be detected by the Demon Suppression Division.“

“What about the Resentful Demons? Won’t they come here?“

“Resentful Demons are different from Ancient Demons. If Ancient Demons are born from heaven and earth, then Resentful Demons are born from humans.“
Guan Qing led Bai Ling through the narrow path between the stalls, rubbing shoulders with the passing Ancient Demons.
“That kind of demon only has resentment and aggression left. They can’t communicate and can’t be managed, but in the end, they are still our own kind.“

“Demons have always been a marginalized group hidden under human society. It’s fine if we can coexist peacefully, but there will always be Resentful Demons born to provoke conflicts between humans and demons.“
Guan Qing nodded to a cat demon vendor on the side of the road as a greeting.
“It’s better to leave those guys to the Demon Suppression Division, but in their eyes, there’s no difference between Ancient Demons and Resentful Demons.“

“As long as it’s a demon, they’ll make a move.“

The two passed by a stall.
The wolf demon vendor shook his wolf ears and threw an apple to Bai Ling.

“Take it. He’s greeting you.“

Bai Ling held the apple and awkwardly nodded her thanks to the wolf demon vendor.
A simple and honest smile that shouldn’t have appeared on a wolf’s face, appeared.

The two passed through the bustling market area and crossed the small bridge over the river.
The moonlight left a white-jade-like color on the marble railing.

The gurgling stream and the bustling noise faded away.
The pavilions and towers were gradually left behind them.

“We’re here.“
Guan Qing said faintly.

The moonlight left a layer of frost on the blue-stone-paved road.
At the end of the road, a towering sophora tree stood with its back to the moon.
White sophora flower petals scattered in the wind in the lunar disk, covering the foot of the tree with petals.
Under the foot of the tree, endless tombstones stretched to the horizon.

“This is…“

Bai Ling was stunned by the scene in front of her.
She had never seen a place like this before.

‘Beautiful?’

‘Shocking?’

‘No, a more accurate adjective would be desolate.’

“A cemetery. My old friends are lying here.“

A trace of melancholy appeared in Guan Qing’s words.

“Is it the Demon Suppression Division?“

“From the establishment of the Demon Suppression Division in the Tang Dynasty until now, all those old friends are lying here.“

The moonlight fell on Guan Qing’s face, dyeing the cyan feathers behind her ears with a touch of moon-white.

“I don’t want there to be a day when I have to erect a Gravestone for you here.“