The Young Girl's Chronicles of Demon-Slaying

Chapter 39: Evil Thoughts (Part 1)

The small living room on the second floor looked exactly the same as before; nothing had changed. Once upstairs, Wang Yiting used his expertise as an insider to shake off Song Wencheng, instructing him to attend to Liu Zhao and Li Qingshu. As for himself, he strolled leisurely around the modest sitting room. First, he went to the spot where he’d hidden the ghost infant; the silk pouch was still hanging from the potted plant, but the ghost infant was long gone from inside, and he couldn’t help but shake his head slightly. He then turned toward the wooden shelf where the collection was displayed. He appeared to be admiring the items on the shelf, but in reality, he was discreetly observing his surroundings. However, no matter how closely he looked, he couldn’t detect anything amiss. Perhaps that Buddhist master had already left? It seemed that during the magical duel that night, he’d simply been unlucky—he’d happened to run into a Buddhist practitioner passing by, which was why he’d been humiliated. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have to wait for the Ghost Altar to be fully refined—he could strike immediately. Since the Buddhist master was no longer there, he might even come by tonight to test the waters. Having made up his mind, he put his thoughts aside, put on a smile, and joined Song Wencheng, Liu Zhao, and Li Qingshu as they listened to Song Wencheng explain how to identify antiques, occasionally chiming in with a few comments of his own. Song Wencheng’s collection was quite extensive, featuring calligraphy, paintings, porcelain, jade, coins, and more—a veritable smorgasbord. Wang Yiting had only sold two pieces of antique porcelain to Song Wencheng at a bargain price; the rest, naturally, were items Song Wencheng had collected himself. Most of them weren’t particularly valuable, but their sheer quantity made up for it; if he could get his hands on all of them, it would be a pretty decent haul. However, Wang Yiting had lost a ghost infant at the Song residence—one with which he had a close bond. Raising it had not only taken time but also a great deal of effort; how could money possibly make up for that? So he had made up his mind: tonight, in addition to packing up and taking all the items with him, he would also drain the vital energy from Song Wencheng and his wife—and even that bratty girl named Song Jianqiu. Yet even that, in his view, would not be enough to compensate for his loss. It must be understood that the three most precious aspects of a person are essence, energy, and spirit—where “essence” refers to vital blood, “energy” to vital qi, and “spirit” to spiritual consciousness. Extracting essence-blood requires special techniques, which he didn’t possess, and sealing spiritual awareness demands immense power—something he was even less capable of. In the end, only vital energy—which was related to his studies—could be extracted through dark arts. Therefore, to make up for his losses—aside from money—he had no choice but to rely on vital energy. Perhaps he shouldn’t let this family of three die so painlessly? Wang Yiting had a sudden change of heart, and a sinister thought took root in his mind. Although Lin Yuqin was in her forties, she had a great figure and was beautiful. As for that bratty girl, she was a bit young, but she was pretty and cute—her innocent, inexperienced look actually made her all the more tempting. It would be the perfect opportunity to get back at her for what happened today and teach her a lesson about who she shouldn’t mess with! With these thoughts in mind, he found himself looking forward to tonight, and his interest in the antiques displayed on the wooden rack waned considerably. To him, no matter how much he looked at them, these items were nothing special. After tonight, they’d all belong to him—he’d have plenty of time to appreciate them later, so there was no need to rush. On the other hand, the prospect of enjoying Lin Yuqin and Song Jianqiu had him feeling almost too eager to wait. Just as he was lost in fantasies about the delights of the evening, he suddenly saw Song Jianqiu coming up the stairs and heading this way. He stared at Song Jianqiu, his mind filled with lewd thoughts; hmm, she was a bit on the slender side, but she was pretty and cute, and her voice was quite pleasant—hearing her moan later would be a real treat! Song Jianqiu had come upstairs to call everyone to dinner. Before she spoke, she glanced at Wang Yiting. Seeing the lecherous look in his eyes and the greedy expression on his face, she couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine. This guy must be thinking about something inappropriate! She narrowed her big eyes slightly, her heart turning cold, but she didn’t feel it was appropriate to say anything. Instead, she simply called out, “Dad! Mom says it’s time to eat!” Hearing this, Song Wencheng called out to the three of them: “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go downstairs to eat!” So the group went downstairs and took their seats at the dining table, where chairs, bowls, and chopsticks had already been set out. Once they began eating, Song Wencheng took the lead by raising a glass of juice in place of wine to apologize to Song Jianqiu and Wang Yiting. He then asked Song Jianqiu to apologize to them as well. Song Jianqiu did so with a blank expression, while Wang Yiting, naturally unwilling to make a scene in front of a child, simply laughed and made a few lighthearted remarks. With that, today’s incident was considered completely put to rest. The atmosphere at the table was lively and harmonious. After the meal and a short rest, Liu Zhao and Li Qingshu were both ready to leave. Song Wencheng went out to see them off, and Song Jianqiu followed along. Although they’d only just met, Song Wencheng and Liu Zhao hit it off immediately. They stood at the doorway chatting casually, making plans to visit again in the future. Meanwhile, Song Jianqiu tugged at Li Qingshu’s sleeve, motioning for her to step back a bit, and walked over to the other side. “What’s wrong?” Li Qingshu asked, feeling a bit puzzled. “Sister Li, be careful of that Wang Yiting—he’s no good!” Song Jianqiu had come along to see them off precisely to find an opportunity to say this to Li Qingshu. She, too, realized that today’s incident wasn’t exactly a big deal, but it wasn’t trivial either. If the other party were broad-minded, they might have let it go after an apology and compensation. However, Wang Yiting was no good man. Although the misunderstanding between the two had been resolved through Song Wencheng’s mediation, it was only superficial; who knows if he still harbored a grudge and was plotting revenge. After all, with his underhanded methods, it would be a piece of cake for him to take down an unsuspecting ordinary person. Song Jianqiu wasn’t worried—she had her Buddhist prayer beads to protect her—but Li Qingshu might be in some trouble. Although she’d overheard them talking earlier and knew Li Qingshu had trained in martial arts and was quite skilled, she still couldn’t defend against Wang Yiting’s sneak attack. Still, this was all Song Jianqiu could do. She herself could only rely on her Buddhist prayer beads to protect Wuyou, and as for Li Qingshu, she could only give her a heads-up to stay on guard. As for whether this would be of any use, or how effective it might be, she had no way of knowing. Li Qingshu hadn’t expected that the girl had called her over just to say this. She was taken slightly aback, but then bent down and lowered her head, asking in a low voice, “Do you think there’s something off about Wang Yiting?” “Mm-hmm!” Song Jianqiu wasn’t afraid of making a big deal out of it; she could only do her best to put Li Qingshu on guard: “He’s very sinister. You must be extremely careful—don’t let Wang Yiting find out your birth chart or get his hands on any personal belongings.” Hearing this, Li Qingshu straightened up instinctively and looked at Song Jianqiu with a puzzled expression. Birth chart? Personal belongings? What on earth are those? Why should she be wary of Wang Yiting finding out about them? Could that guy actually be some kind of charlatan? Noticing Li Qingshu’s expression, Song Jianqiu realized her words would surely strike her as strange—perhaps even make her think she was joking—and that the impact of her earlier warning might be greatly diminished. Thinking this, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness. What could she do? She was at a loss, too! Under Li Qingshu’s puzzled gaze, she could only emphasize once more, “Sister Li, you have to trust me! You absolutely must pay attention to these things!” With that, without waiting for Li Qingshu to react, she turned and walked away. Li Qingshu had wanted to ask a few more questions, but seeing this, she could only swallow her words. (End of Chapter)