Chapter 27: A Sinister Grove and a Dark Revelation

From a divine vantage point, Bai Jiujiu observed as Li Qibao, despite promising to find a secluded spot to dispatch Long Zhi, instead led the creature to a small grove.

The location, from its general direction, seemed akin to the small woods Bai Jiujiu had ventured into earlier that day. She distinctly recalled that particular forest brimming with verdant life, but the grove where Li Qibao now settled Long Zhi…was a forest of ominous, blood-red trees, where palpable resentment visibly surged towards the sky.

It was here, Bai Jiujiu surmised, that Long Zhi had absorbed a vast multitude of vengeful spirits.

“Little one, I’m sorry, I can’t bring you home with me. Please stay here and be good, I’ll come back later with some medicine for your wounds.”

Two hundred years prior, the relationship between humans and demons was far less amicable than in later eras. For Li Qibao to go this far was already commendable.

Seven days passed in this manner. During this time, Li Qibao brought Long Zhi food like steamed buns and vegetables daily, even feeding it precious elixirs she had been given.

Lin Zhaodi also visited once during this period, but merely observed from a distance before letting out a sigh and departing, her expression weary.

As Long Zhi’s wounds gradually healed, Li Qibao began to treat the creature as a trusted confidant, a friend with whom she could share anything.

She picked up a small twig and skillfully drew a tiny human and a small demon on the ground.

It was clear that the figures represented Long Zhi and Li Qibao.

“Long Zhi, were you also abandoned by your parents? Two months ago, my parents disliked that I was a girl. To reduce the number of registered citizens and thus pay less tax grain, they drugged me and threw me into the river.”

“Luckily, a long, blue snake demon rescued me. Her name is Xiao Qing. Do you know this demon? She said she came from the mountains in the east, just like you.”

“Sister Xiao Qing saved me and even brought me to the Door of Matched Pairs, allowing me to become a disciple and learn skills! She’s a very powerful and kind demon!”

“Our Queen is the strongest!”

“Little Long Zhi, on this one point, I won’t agree with you. Sister Xiao Qing is the most powerful demon, and she was the first one who treated me better than my mother, better than any human… ugh, the kindest demon to me!”

A sea snake demon named Xiao Qing…

This… could this be Qingqing, her second disciple!

Bai Jiujiu’s eyes widened, listening with a sense of disbelief as Li Qibao spoke of the snake demon.

All this time, Bai Jiujiu had five disciples, yet she had only ever recalled four of them.

Her second disciple, Qingqing, like Bai Jiujiu herself, was a snake. However, Qingqing was special: she was a sea snake demon who had traveled from the ocean, up a river, to Cloud Ascent Mountain.

Eight thousand years ago, she had an argument with the Crow Tengu, Jiu Chongtian, over territory. Accidentally, she knocked over the roasted chicken wings Bai Jiujiu had been preparing, having only just transmigrated three hundred years prior.

She was then hung upside down and spanked for three days and three nights. Finally, as compensation, she was forced to sign an unequal treaty and was taken in as a disciple by Bai Jiujiu, alongside Jiu Chongtian.

Alas, only a thousand years passed. Just as Bai Jiujiu had taken in her third disciple, the ethereal Moon Rabbit, Qingqing accidentally fell off a cliff and had been missing, her fate unknown, ever since.

Though Bai Jiujiu had confirmed that Qingqing was still alive, she carried a deep-seated regret for not having protected her disciple properly.

Now, having learned of Qingqing’s whereabouts through Li Qibao’s words, Bai Jiujiu felt that this journey had been entirely worthwhile.

“Today is the last day. I promised them I’d stay home for seven days as a lucky charm to change the feng shui. Once the seven days are up, they’ll give me my citizen’s registry, and then I can truly become a disciple of the Door of Matched Pairs!”

Li Qibao pursed her lips, finally making a decision. She hugged Long Zhi close, covering its body with her clothes, and hurried back to her home.

She dodged her father, who was sneaking into the cellar. Although she wondered what he was up to again, Li Qibao didn’t dwell on it and went to the back door of her house.

“Mom and Dad cooked so many delicious dishes to send me off. They even killed the old sow, it’s like New Year’s! You hide outside the window, and later I’ll see if I can toss you a pig’s trotter to eat.”

Li Qibao placed Long Zhi beneath the window, blessed it to stay hidden and not be discovered, then happily returned inside her home.

From a distance, she could already smell the delicious pork. Her mother’s cooking was her absolute favorite.

Even her elder brother and father were unusually kind to her, sincerely apologizing for having abandoned her in the past.

Long Zhi obediently huddled beneath the window, listening to the joyful sounds from inside the house, feeling incredibly happy.

This was the kindest human it had ever met, apart from its Queen.

Since descending the mountain, Long Zhi had encountered all sorts of humans, but without exception, they had shown it hostility as a demon. Only Li Qibao was different.

Upon returning to the mountain, it resolved to properly introduce Li Qibao to its Queen.

Its Queen had always yearned to meet humans, and she would surely adore a good person like Li Qibao.

Unbeknownst to Long Zhi, the laughter inside the house suddenly ceased. Only hushed, rustling sounds could be heard, as if something had shattered on the floor.

“Old man, is what you said true?”

“Don’t worry, your father has asked around. As long as you dip a steamed bun in the blood from the spiritual root and eat it, you can also become an immortal cultivator…”

“No, you’re lying to me! You said you only wanted our daughter to stay by my side!”

*Smack*

“You useless hag who couldn’t even bear a second son in half a year, get out of the way! Otherwise, I’ll cut you open too!”

The words emanating from the room exceeded Long Zhi’s processing capacity, leaving it bewildered by their incomprehensible meaning.

On Cloud Ascent Mountain, Bai Jiujiu had protected it too well. While it had experienced abandonment in its youth and been hunted by both humans and demons since descending the mountain, those threats had always been overt.

It was abandoned because it was too weak, but Li Qibao was a genius, destined for great strength in the future. In Long Zhi’s mind, as long as one was powerful, they would never be abandoned.

Thump! Thump!

Swish swish~

“Hahahahaha~ Hahahahaha~”

The sinister laughter, accompanied by the sounds of a chopping knife, reached Long Zhi’s ears, causing it to tremble uncontrollably.

Bai Jiujiu’s face was cold. Although the information she received was identical to Long Zhi’s, she had already roughly guessed what this family intended to do to Li Qibao.

Approximately two hours later, the back door suddenly opened. Long Zhi instinctively curled up, hiding itself from view.

It was Li Qibao’s mother. She carried a burlap sack on her back, and the contents smelled eerily familiar, dripping blood little by little.

Long Zhi crept forward, following the woman to the very grove where Li Qibao had settled it.

The woman looked left and right, then finally opened the sack on her back, tossing a disemboweled skeleton onto the ground. Another round head rolled in the moonlight, coming to rest on the drawing Li Qibao had made for Long Zhi.

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