Liu Zhuang Xian

The waiter peeked out from under the table and shushed him, but Lu Xiaochan acted as if nothing was wrong, drinking wine and eating braised beef. The young man beside him, who looked like a scholar, was also very calm.

At that moment, the door of the tavern suddenly made a loud noise, shaking everyone to the point of almost shrinking back.

It was the sound of a cleaver hitting the door.

“Ren Erniang… Ren Erniang…”

The voice was very low, as if squeezed out from some crack, barely alive yet filled with intense determination and murderous intent.

Everyone looked at Ren Erniang with accusing eyes, as if saying “It’s you who provoked the ‘madman’ Wang Dayong to come here.”

Besides Ren Erniang, another man crawled all the way and rushed under the innkeeper’s table.

“What are you doing here! This is my spot!” the innkeeper scolded in a low voice.

“Let me hide for a while!”

Lu Xiaochan turned his face and suddenly realized. “Ah! You’re Ren Erniang’s lover!”

“Nonsense! I’m not!” The man firmly denied.

The innkeeper and he started wrestling under the table.

“So Wang Dayong is here to find you and Ren Erniang! Get out of here!”

“That’s not true at all!”

As they pushed each other back and forth, it was the innkeeper who was pushed out and fell flat on his face.

At that moment, the tavern door was chopped open, and Wang Dayong’s cleaver poked through.

A female guest with a child was there, and when the child started screaming, she immediately covered his mouth.

Then came the sound of the wooden door splitting, and one of Wang Dayong’s legs stepped in.

Lu Xiaochan’s shoulders also trembled.

Shu Wuxi across from him stood up unhurriedly, as if nothing had happened, and sat down beside Lu Xiaochan.

His face was calm, even with a hint of serenity. He picked up the wine jug with one hand and poured a bowl of wine for Lu Xiaochan.

“After you’ve eaten and drunk what you want, we’ll go back to rest.”

“Still eating? Shouldn’t we run at a time like this?” Lu Xiaochan scratched his head.

“Why run? You didn’t use any vicious scheme to harm him, he’s not here for you,” Shu Wuxi replied.

“Huh?”

“The food is getting cold.”

Shu Wuxi rolled up his right sleeve with his left hand, picked up the tenderest slices of beef from the plate, and put them in Lu Xiaochan’s bowl.

With another “crash,” Wang Dayong had broken in.

Saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, falling to the ground.

He had barely reached the first table when his cleaver came down, splitting the solid wood table in half. The people hiding underneath scrambled out.

“Where is Ren Erniang—where is she—”

Wang Dayong let out a whimpering sound, turned his head blankly, then walked forward step by step.

The guests behind him immediately crawled out and rushed out through the wrecked tavern door.

Wang Dayong staggered, but he gripped his cleaver tightly.

Lu Xiaochan couldn’t see, but he smelled the odor coming from Wang Dayong.

That smell was rotten and nauseating, somewhat similar to the scent of the evil spirit “Yichang” that had bitten him before, but even more unpleasant than “Yichang.”

“I don’t want to eat anymore…” Lu Xiaochan said softly.

“Then let’s return to the inn to rest.”

Shu Wuxi’s arm wrapped around Lu Xiaochan’s back, and with a slight upward motion of his fingers in the air, the window beside Lu Xiaochan opened.

The night wind instantly rushed in, dispersing the stale air in the tavern.

Shu Wuxi stepped out of the window. With his tall figure, he turned and landed easily, then said, “Xiaochan.”

Although climbing out of a window was very inconvenient for a blind person, Lu Xiaochan inexplicably trusted Shu Wuxi.

He leaned on the windowsill and was about to tumble down when he found himself sitting on a bamboo branch extended by Shu Wuxi.

“Come down,” Shu Wuxi said softly.

Lu Xiaochan jumped lightly and found his feet were only inches from the ground.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Xiaochan grasped the bamboo branch Shu Wuxi handed him, and the two left the tavern.

As they walked, Lu Xiaochan couldn’t help turning back. “Those people won’t… won’t get hurt, will they?”

“They… what are they to us?” Shu Wuxi asked calmly.

“I’m worried about the waiter. We shouldn’t forget the kindness of even a single meal. Not to mention, he gave me more than just one meal.”

“He has already climbed out through the window,” Shu Wuxi replied.

“Oh.” Lu Xiaochan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

From afar, Lu Xiaochan could hear the sound of Wang Dayong’s frenzied chopping.

Seeing the waiter escape through the window, Ren Erniang also stood up and ran towards the window.

But before she could take two steps, Wang Dayong caught up, bringing his cleaver down, nearly hitting her shoulder.

Ren Erniang fell to the ground, turned around, and saw Wang Dayong already standing in front of her.

The cleaver in his hand glinted coldly. His face was ashen, his expression fierce, his lifeless eyes bulging like copper bells, as if they were about to burst.

Ren Erniang retreated while crying, her face covered in tears and mucus.

“Dayong! Dayong, listen to me, it wasn’t me who poisoned you! It was him! Hu Tu coveted my beauty! He’s been after me all along! When I refused him, he put drugs in the soup I cooked for you!”

At this moment, Hu Tu was crouching under the table, shaking like a sieve!

He was so furious, he had never seen such a shameless woman!

He wanted to tear this woman’s mouth apart, but he was afraid any movement would attract Wang Dayong.

The innkeeper now understood that Ren Erniang had conspired with her lover to poison Wang Dayong, and Wang Dayong had come for revenge!

No wonder Wang Dayong hadn’t been seen setting up his stall today!

Wait, he’s already foaming at the mouth, how does he still have the strength to come seeking revenge with a cleaver?

The innkeeper lowered his head. The faint moonlight coming through the window cast a large shadow on the ground.

That shadow was like a monster with gnashing teeth and waving claws, slowly spreading towards Hu Tu and Ren Erniang.

And the source of that shadow was Wang Dayong.

The innkeeper suddenly came to his senses and ran out of the tavern.

As he ran wildly, he shouted for help. “Someone come quickly! Where is the Immortal Lord? Where is the Immortal Lord? Wang Dayong has been possessed by an evil spirit! Wang Dayong has been possessed by an evil spirit!”

The innkeeper ran to the house of Chen, the richest man in town.

Yesterday, the old master of the Chen family had passed away, and the Immortal Lord was at the Chen mansion praying for the old master Chen.

The innkeeper pounded on the Chen family’s gate. “Immortal Lord, save us! Immortal Lord, save us!”

Before long, the Chen family’s gate opened, and the innkeeper rushed in without hesitation. In his view, only the place where the Immortal Lord was present was the safest.

At this point, Lu Xiaochan had already been brought back to the inn by Shu Wuxi.

Lu Xiaochan sat down on the edge of the bed but didn’t take off his shoes and socks.

“What’s wrong?” Shu Wuxi asked.

“You say… how did Wang Dayong end up like this?”

“He was possessed by an evil spirit.”

“What evil spirit? What’s its name? What does it feed on?” Lu Xiaochan opened his eyes wide, extremely curious.

“If I tell you, will you go to sleep obediently?”

“Mm.” Lu Xiaochan nodded.

“It feeds on hatred and anger, it’s a kind of evil spirit full of murderous desire, named ‘Chongyuan’.”

“And then?” Lu Xiaochan still looked up, seeming to want to continue listening to the story.

“Wang Dayong was foaming at the mouth, he must have been poisoned. At the moment between life and death, when hatred and anger are at their peak, it attracted ‘Chongyuan’ to enter his body. ‘Chongyuan’ consumed his last breath and occupied his body.”

Lu Xiaochan was still looking at Shu Wuxi, waiting for him to tell how to subdue ‘Chongyuan’.

But Shu Wuxi said. “I’m done talking, aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Huh? That’s it? Then how do you subdue it? Wouldn’t dissolving this evil spirit increase your cultivation? Aren’t you going to subdue it?”

“Such a low-level evil spirit, it’s a waste of effort.”

Shu Wuxi raised his bamboo branch, lightly tapping Lu Xiaochan’s shoulder, but not applying force, just indicating he should sleep.

Lu Xiaochan asked again. “If I sleep on the bed, where will you sleep?”

“I’ll watch you sleep.”

Lu Xiaochan lay down, pulled up the blanket to cover himself, but kept his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.

“Why aren’t you closing your eyes?”

“I can’t see anyway, there’s no difference whether I close my eyes or not.”

At this moment, there was a commotion of gongs and drums outside, and the previously extinguished lights all lit up.

“The Immortal Lord is going to exorcise the evil!”

“The Immortal Lord has arrived!”

“Let’s go cheer for the Immortal Lord!”

Lu Xiaochan suddenly sat up. At that moment, he had a feeling that Shu Wuxi was looking down at him, and very close, because for an instant he could almost feel Shu Wuxi’s warmth on the tip of his nose, but then the other person moved away.

“Why did you get up?”

“I want to go see the Immortal Lord exorcise the evil!”

Lu Xiaochan excitedly threw off the blanket, his toes swinging around on the ground looking for his shoes.

“Go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to! I’ve always felt that Immortal Lord… was a fraud! Now that Wang Dayong has been possessed by an evil spirit, I definitely want to go see the commotion, to see how capable this Immortal Lord really is!”

Before Lu Xiaochan could stand up, Shu Wuxi pushed him back down with the bamboo branch.

“Sleep.”

His voice deepened a bit.

Lu Xiaochan knew he was no match for him. He was used to being free, and this was the first time someone had controlled him like this. He felt a bit annoyed.

“I want to go.”

“Sleep, we’re setting off tomorrow.”

“Let me take a look! If I miss this chance, there won’t be another!”

The bamboo branch pressing on him still didn’t move.

“…Are you my father? Let me go take a look…” Lu Xiaochan raised both hands in a plea.

The bamboo branch still didn’t move.

Lu Xiaochan was quiet for a moment, then started fussing again.

“Brother Wuxi, I want to go see the Immortal Lord exorcise the evil, take me there, take me there! Brother Wuxi!”

Every time he called out “Brother Wuxi,” the bamboo branch pressing on him would become lighter.

So he kept calling out non-stop.