The Young Girl's Chronicles of Demon-Slaying

Chapter 43: Disturbance

Hearing Lin Yuqin’s question, Song Jianqiu blinked her big eyes and quickly came up with an excuse, saying, “I thought I heard some noise outside just now, so I got up, got dressed, and was about to go take a look.” “You heard it too?” Song’s parents had actually gotten up to check things out because they’d heard the noise outside as well. While Lin Yuqin was questioning Song Jianqiu, Song Wencheng had gone to turn on the light in the small living room, walked around inside to make sure none of his treasures were missing, and only then came up behind Lin Yuqin to ask. “Mm-hmm!” Song Jianqiu nodded while stealing a glance at the open space by the doorway. It was completely clean—not even a trace of blood remained. Surprised, she could only wonder if the bronze pi xiu had drunk up all the blood from that bite. But at the same time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although everything that had just happened in the room had been extremely harrowing and had caused quite a commotion, the entire sequence—from the moment Wang Yiting opened the door and was suppressed by the Buddha’s light, to the bronze pi xiu biting down on his arm—was merely a long story to tell; in reality, it had taken less than a minute. Furthermore, Wang Yiting had been subdued by the Buddhist light the moment he entered. Although he had fought back, he was fortunately countered by the unexpected appearance of the bronze pi xiu. Since there was no intense struggle throughout the entire incident, there was naturally no damage to the room—otherwise, Song Jianqiu really wouldn’t have known how to explain it. “Could there have been a car accident outside?” Lin Yuqin turned to ask Song Wencheng. Clearly, both of them had been woken by Wang Yiting’s blood-curdling scream, while the beastly roar emitted by the bronze pi xiu earlier had only been faintly heard in their daze. Upon hearing this, Song Wencheng looked somewhat puzzled: “But why does that scream sound like it came from right outside the door?” “To me, it sounded like it came from outside!” At that moment, Song Jianqiu prompted him, saying, “Maybe Dad misheard it?” “Maybe,” Song Wencheng mused for a moment before saying, “I’ll go down and take a look. Hengheng, you shouldn’t go.” “Okay!” Song Jianqiu nodded. “I’ll go down with your dad to check it out. You stay in your room, okay?” Lin Yuqin added. “Okay!” Song Jianqiu could only nod again in agreement. “Oh, right!” Just as they were about to leave, Lin Yuqin suddenly spoke up, pointing at the floor and saying, “Your keychain fell on the floor.” Song Jianqiu had actually already noticed the bronze pi xiu keychain lying on the floor. When Lin Yuqin mentioned it, she walked over and picked it up. But by the time she looked up toward the doorway again, Lin Yuqin had already left. Song Jianqiu didn’t think much of it; she simply slipped the ring onto her finger, held up the bronze pi xiu, and examined it closely. She had thought it was just an ordinary keychain, but she never expected it to save her at such a critical moment—which left her quite astonished. Clearly, the traveling merchant who sold her the keychain wasn’t an ordinary person either. Judging by the various straw dolls and talismans hanging on his stall, could he possibly be a Taoist practitioner? As she pondered this, she recalled the crystal cord she’d used to tie up the goldfish she’d obtained in her dream—the merchant had called it a “Five-Colored Jade Silkworm Cord.” Could that be another Taoist artifact as well? She picked up the crystal cord hanging around her neck and examined it closely, but no matter how she looked at it, it seemed perfectly ordinary—she couldn’t see anything unusual about it, so she had to let the matter drop. She hadn’t been waiting in the room for long when Song Wencheng and Lin Yuqin returned to the second floor. Judging by their expressions, they clearly hadn’t noticed any horrific car accident outside—after all, Song Jianqiu had made that up, so naturally, there wasn’t one. As they passed by Song Jianqiu’s room, Lin Yuqin gave her another round of reminders, and Song Wencheng also cautioned her not to go check things out alone if she heard any strange noises, but to tell Mom and Dad instead, and so on. After all that, the two could only return to their own room, their minds filled with doubts. After watching Mr. and Mrs. Song return to their room, Song Jianqiu closed her door, but she didn’t immediately undress and go to bed. Instead, she walked to the window and looked out. Her concern was the osmanthus tree in the corner of the courtyard. In fact, when Wang Yiting had entered the courtyard, she had still been fast asleep. If it hadn’t been for the osmanthus tree’s branches and leaves rustling—which had instinctively jolted her awake—she would likely have been caught completely off guard by Wang Yiting’s nighttime attack. Although she was ill-prepared this time—she had misjudged the power of the Buddha’s light against humans—Wang Yiting, while suppressed to some extent, was still able to move. Later, during a sudden lunge, Wang Yiting saw through her feigned strength. If the bronze pi xiu hadn’t appeared at the critical moment to stop Wang Yiting, the outcome of the situation would have been anyone’s guess. In summary, if it hadn’t been for the warning from the osmanthus tree tonight, the situation likely wouldn’t have ended so simply, so she felt a sense of gratitude for that. After all, she had witnessed with her own eyes the ghost infant possessing that osmanthus tree back then, so she had always remained on guard against it. But judging by tonight’s events, perhaps she could finally let her guard down. Her gaze drifted toward the corner of the front yard, and in the dim Yue Guang, she saw the osmanthus tree standing there, safe and sound. After Wang Yiting was suppressed by the Buddha’s light, causing him to lose his power, the binding spell he had cast on the osmanthus tree lost its effect, restoring the tree’s freedom. Sensing Song Jianqiu’s gaze, it shook its branches, causing the leaves to rustle—as if responding to her concern. Seeing that the osmanthus tree was unharmed, she felt relieved. She withdrew her gaze from the ground and looked up into the moonlit night surrounding them. The night was hazy, and Wang Yiting—who had transformed into a black mist—had long since vanished, filling Song Jianqiu’s heart with deep concern. This encounter had been far too sudden. Wang Yiting’s downfall lay in failing to identify his enemy, which was why he’d been overwhelmed by the Buddha’s light the moment they met and lost all his power. As for herself, her mistake lay in her limited repertoire of techniques and her insufficient understanding of the power of the Buddhist prayer beads. She knew only that the Buddhist light was the nemesis of ghostly beings, but failed to realize that, when used against humans, its effect was far less potent than she had imagined. If it hadn’t been for the appearance of the bronze pi xiu, she still shuddered at the thought of what might have happened. Furthermore, although she emerged victorious from this face-to-face confrontation—biting through Wang Yiting’s left arm and forcing him to flee in panic—she had simultaneously revealed her presence and allowed him to understand her capabilities. If she had killed Wang Yiting, it would have been for the best—eliminating a major threat—but now she’d let him escape, giving him the chance to seek revenge in the future. As the saying goes: You can’t guard against thieves forever. Now that he knows exactly who his enemy is, he certainly won’t be so careless in the future. Still, Wang Yiting’s injuries this time were quite severe; he should be out of commission for a while, right? She had to make the most of this time to figure out exactly what kind of power she possessed. The next time she faced Wang Yiting, she couldn’t let things go the way they did today! With that thought, Song Jianqiu clenched her fists, a sense of urgency welling up inside her. (End of Chapter)