The Young Girl's Chronicles of Demon-Slaying

Chapter 40: Evil Thoughts (Part 2)

“What’s wrong?” On the way back to Li Qingshu’s house next door, Liu Zhao noticed that the only female member of his team seemed a bit distracted, so he asked with concern. “Nothing!” Li Qingshu snapped back to reality, shook her head, and said. After Song Jianqiu left, the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed to her. How could such a cute and pretty young girl say something so odd to warn her? Li Qingshu considered herself an atheist. If an ordinary person had said something like that, she probably would have just laughed it off and not taken it seriously. But for some reason, Song Jianqiu’s words made her feel both skeptical and concerned. She knew it shouldn’t be taken seriously, yet her intuition told her it was better to believe it at least a little. Caught in this internal struggle, her mind naturally wandered. After giving it some thought, she decided to tell Liu Zhao what Song Jianqiu had just said. As the captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit, Liu Zhao was in his thirties, had been a police officer for over a decade, and was calm, seasoned, experienced, and well-traveled. After listening to Li Qingshu’s account, he didn’t immediately tell her not to worry or dismiss it as a child’s ramblings. Instead, he furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment before saying, “I think that since that little girl went out of her way to warn you like that—whether it’s true or not—you’d better be careful.” “I agree,” Li Qingshu nodded. Since she couldn’t decide whether to believe it or not, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to err on the side of caution. “Let’s go! Let’s check out your house,” Liu Zhao said with a smile. “Okay!” Li Qingshu nodded cheerfully, opened the courtyard gate, and led Liu Zhao inside. Meanwhile, after seeing Liu Zhao and Li Qingshu off, Song Wencheng and Song Jianqiu returned to the house. Song Wencheng continued to entertain Wang Yiting, chatting with him casually. Having determined that there was no danger to the Song family, Wang Yiting was in no hurry to leave. Instead, just as he had done before, he joined Song Wencheng in examining and appreciating antique calligraphy and paintings. Lin Yuqin didn’t stay in the living room; she didn’t care for Wang Yiting either, so she simply decided out of sight, out of mind and went upstairs. After Song Jianqiu followed Song Wencheng back to the living room, she merely glanced around before also heading upstairs to her own room. This room, which had originally served as a guest room, had now officially become her private quarters. While the furnishings hadn’t undergone a complete overhaul, they had undergone significant changes. First, quite a bit of furniture had been added—such as bookshelves, wardrobes, and a desk—and the walls, which had previously been rather plain, were now adorned with paintings and decorative items. Lin Yuqin had decorated Song Jianqiu’s room entirely with a young girl’s room in mind, buying a large number of stuffed animals of various sizes. The walls, desk, and bookshelves were nearly filled to the brim with them, leaving Song Jianqiu, upon first seeing the scene, with a look of exasperation on her face, unsure how to react. Had she been home from school at the time, she would have definitely vetoed this arrangement. But since it was already a done deal—and the stuffed dolls couldn’t be returned, nor could they be thrown away without wasting them—she had no choice but to let them stay in the room. After returning to her room, she flopped onto the bed. She stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, then got up and walked over to the bookshelf near the window. The bookshelf wasn’t very large, but since she’d only recently bought it, there weren’t many books on it. Aside from *The Diamond Sutra*—a gift from Lin Yuqin’s student, Lin Dian—and a few extracurricular books, there were only a few other sutras that Song Jianqiu had bought herself at a bookstore. *The Great Wisdom Perfection of Wisdom Heart Sutra*—commonly known as *The Heart Sutra* or *The Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sutra*—as well as *The Earth Store Sutra* and *The Surangama Sutra*, among others, were all found at a nearby bookstore. all purchased with the allowance Song Wencheng had given her—one hundred yuan a week. It had only been ten days so far; spending two hundred yuan on these books meant she had just about used it all up. Of course, that wasn’t the point. The key was that with the allowance as a cover, as long as she didn’t go overboard when spending her own money, it wouldn’t arouse suspicion. From the neatly arranged stack of sutras, she pulled out the *Heart Sutra*. She had been studying Buddhist scriptures recently and felt that her connection to her prayer beads had grown somewhat closer, but she was still just a little short of being able to control them at will. But what exactly was she missing? She couldn’t quite put it into words—only a vague, hazy sensation told her she was still missing a certain condition and an opportunity. Once that condition was met or that opportunity arose, she would be able to fully control the prayer beads. Until then, all she could do was bury herself in the study of Buddhist scriptures. That said, if she could grasp the meaning behind these Buddhist scriptures, reading them wasn’t tiring at all—in fact, it was quite interesting, like reading countless little stories. The dialogues between the characters in the texts often revealed certain life lessons; she didn’t know if they were absolute truths, but they were certainly thought-provoking. After reading for a while, it felt like it was time for school before she knew it. Song Jianqiu placed a bookmark on the page she’d been reading, then slung her backpack over her shoulder and went downstairs. In the living room downstairs, she didn’t see Song Wencheng or Wang Yiting—the former must have gone to work, and the latter had probably left with him. “Mom! I’m off to school!” “Be careful on your way!” Although the adoption paperwork was still being processed and hadn’t been officially finalized yet, Song Jianqiu felt as though she had already become part of this family—just like any normal teenager, going to and from school every day and living a simple, quiet life. Perhaps as time went on and these days continued, one day she would forget that she had once been called “Fang Heng”? Once she stepped out the door, she quickly blended in with the crowd of kids her age heading to school on the street. Before she knew it, it was late at night. In the dead of night, a shadowy figure appeared on the street near the Song family’s compound wall. By the dim light of the streetlamps, one could make out that this furtive figure was none other than Wang Yiting, who had been plotting something earlier that day. After arriving near the Song family’s street, he didn’t rush to approach. He was still somewhat worried that it might be a trap set to lure him into a snare. So, once he reached the vicinity, he darted into a narrow alley, hid in a shadowy spot, and peered toward the Song family’s residence. This was the same spot where he’d been hiding earlier that day—the very place where Li Qingshu had spotted him and mistaken him for a thief. But now, in the dead of night, with the cover of darkness, he naturally had no reason to worry about being discovered. The streets inside the residential complex were quiet, and the streetlights on one side cast only a dim glow, illuminating only a small area. Wang Yiting patiently waited while constantly fending off mosquitoes. It wasn’t until past two in the morning, after confirming there was still no movement at the Song residence, that he emerged from his hiding spot. He made his way to the outer wall of the Song family’s compound, glanced around cautiously, and then pulled out a talisman. (End of Chapter)