“You saw how evil this Chen Gui was just now,” the beggar said while he and Shen Tanqi dragged the fainted old doctor into the back room, hiding him inside a cupboard.
As they worked, they chatted away. “Chen Gui is mentioned in ancient texts as a wicked spirit appearing before the rooster crows at the hour of Chen. Think about it; this thing isn’t afraid of roosters or even the break of dawn. It’s got to be seriously messed up.”
Roosters crowing at dawn can ward off evil spirits anywhere, but Chen Gui showed up around seven or eight in the morning, when it’s already bright outside. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem bothered by that.
Shen Tanqi, who hated ghost stories, shivered, feeling goosebumps on his skin. “So, how do we deal with this Chen Gui?”
The beggar pulled out a tattered ancient book from his pocket, placing it on the table. Licking his finger, he turned the pages. “You’ve got to understand how Chen Gui harms people before figuring out how to deal with it.”
Flipping to a specific page, the beggar’s finger paused, pointing to a passage. “Chen Gui was once a patient afflicted with a contagious disease. Having fallen ill in the middle of the night, he roamed the city seeking medical help, knocking on doors, but everyone turned him away.”
As a result, filled with resentment, every time he knocked on a door and got refused, he would break into the house, slaughtering the entire family, young and old alike.
“No one wanted to help this person with the contagious disease, so he went on a killing spree, slaughtering forty-nine households covered in blood. Until the hour of Chen, he broke into a butcher’s house. The butcher refused him, saying his child was sleeping. When he tried to massacre the whole family, little did he know the butcher was incredibly strong. He grabbed his neck and strangled him to death on the spot.”
“He died at the hour of Chen, after a whole night of killing, filled with resentment and bloodlust. He immediately turned into a vengeful spirit, knocking on the doors of households every night, asking if they could help.”
Speaking of this, Shen Tanqi recalled that Chen Gui did seem to ask such a question earlier. Puzzled, he asked, “But we clearly didn’t answer him. Why would the innkeeper turn into Chen Gui?”
The beggar calmly turned another page, explaining, “This is precisely the vile part of these supernatural beings.”
Pointing to a particular line, he slowly read, “If you answer him with ‘I won’t help you,’ Chen Gui will break in immediately, killing everyone in the house. If you answer with ‘I can help you,’ but the help isn’t satisfactory, Chen Gui, dissatisfied, will kill you directly. If you keep silent, someone inside the house will turn into the next Chen Gui and devour everyone else.”
Hearing this, Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn,” and angrily said, “So twisted! Can’t help, won’t help – is he just messing around?”
This messed-up thing is the epitome of a revenge society!
The beggar wholeheartedly agreed, “That’s how these supernatural beings are. They might not be as powerful as daemons, but they’re much more troublesome and disgusting.”
These supernatural beings don’t belong to the daemon clan; they are something that surpasses the three realms, following their own set of rules, mostly related to the cause of their death. For example, Chen Gui must knock on doors to kill, water ghosts must drag people into the water to drown, and hanging ghosts must manipulate minds to make people have thoughts of suicide.
On the other hand, daemons are born as daemonic creatures with nearly terrifying physical constitutions. They can recover from any damage as long as they have a breath left. Daemons progress in their daemonic cultivation rapidly, reaching a point where their strength is both heaven-defying and anger-inducing. However, due to their constitution, daemons are destined not to ascend to immortality from birth.
Thinking about daemons, the beggar slowly raised his head, looking at Yu Ce with a smile, and said, “But with your man here and the little help from this humble monk, everything should be much simpler, I presume.”
Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce raised their heads simultaneously.
For a brief yet seemingly endless moment, the air seemed to solidify.
“He’s not my man,” Shen Tanqi hurriedly refuted the beggar’s words. Turning to Yu Ce, who was giving him a meaningful look, he quickly explained, “I didn’t say that; he made it up himself!”
Too eager to defend himself, his cheeks and ears flushed red. It was a rare sight for Shen Tanqi. Yu Ce pursed his lips, and his gaze darkened slightly.
After a while, Yu Ce turned his head, continuing to draw a formation with cinnabar. Occasionally, he would step back to observe the overall size of the formations, murmuring softly, “He’s not wrong.”
Shen Tanqi: ?
What are you doing, drawing still life sketches?
Wait, something’s off. What does he mean by ‘not wrong’?
These two seemed to be in harmony no matter how you looked at it. The beggar sighed inwardly at the misfortune of being a monk. He took his golden alms bowl from the door, tucked it into his robes, and said, “Regardless of whether he’s your man or not, it seems someone deliberately released the Chen Gui this time. You better investigate and root out the source of the trouble.”
He came specifically for this purpose—to subdue Chen Gui. As for the demon clan, that was for Yu Ce to handle.
Upon hearing this, Yu Ce responded casually, “Got it.” Pausing for a moment, he lifted his eyelids and asked, “Are you a monk from the Golden Light Temple?”
Judging from the golden alms bowl, one could infer that this person was a holy monk from the Golden Light Temple. Legend has it that the steamed buns of the holy monk represent the virtuous almsgiving of all beings and can transform into a golden alms bowl used to ward off evil spirits.
The beggar sat cross-legged on the ground. Indeed, the golden alms bowl turned back into a large white steamed bun. Taking a bite, he pointed the bun at Shen Tanqi and chuckled, “Smart, smarter than your partner.”
Shen Tanqi: ?
Yu Ce, deep in thought, replied seriously, “Not entirely. He was quite clever when he deceived me.”
Shen Tanqi: ?
You two have really connected on a deeper level.
And when did he deceive Yu Ce? Could it be that this guy is still bothered by the fact that he spoke ill of him through the voice transmission silver token?
Rubbing his forehead in distress, Shen Tanqi felt strangely relieved despite their conversation being derailed, which messed with his train of thought.
The Chen Gui and the demon clan didn’t seem as terrifying anymore.
With the male lead and the beggar here, this place was probably the safest for Shen Tanqi.
But what about outside?
What were Taro Ball and Xiao Qingyu experiencing now?
Listening to Taro Ball, it seemed they had encountered the Chen Gui, but Shen Tanqi didn’t know how they managed to evade it.
He walked gently to Goldfish’s side, placing the back of his hand on the sleeping little one’s forehead. It had cooled down significantly, indicating that the medicine prescribed by the doctor was effective for the dragon clan.
Shen Tanqi’s gaze shifted down to the voice transmitting silver token. He tentatively reached out and traced a line on it before cautiously speaking, “Taro Ball?”
There was a deathly silence on the other end of the silver token, and as he waited, Shen Tanqi’s anxiety increased.
After a long while, a trembling voice came through the silver token from Xiao Qingyu.
“Senior Brother, we’re fine.”
Hearing this, Shen Tanqi wiped the cold sweat from his face and asked, “Have you encountered Chen Gui?”
Xiao Qingyu softly hummed in acknowledgment, looking at Taro Ball who was still practicing beside him. The child’s brows were furrowed, seemingly going through some kind of bottleneck.
He withdrew his gaze and said, “Just now, Chen Gui passed by the house we were in and killed everyone in the neighboring house. Fortunately, we managed to hide quickly and weren’t discovered. Taro Ball seems to be breaking through his cultivation. He just said he’s currently in the advanced stage of the Nascent Soul realm, only one small realm away from the Divine Transformation realm. If he can’t break through, he won’t be able to ensure our safety. So, I need to guard him for a while until he breaks through.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Tanqi fell silent for a moment, carefully choosing his words.
“The Nascent Soul realm, advanced stage?”
“Yes, didn’t you know? We encountered many ambushes by demons on our way here. Taro Ball dealt with all of them. Otherwise, Senior Brother, you wouldn’t see me here.”
Hearing about the demon ambushes, Shen Tanqi thought of his relatively smooth journey and realized there was someone else carrying the burden for him.
He touched the small golden elixir in his lower abdomen and cleared his throat.
Indeed… the male lead’s child.
He had thought Taro Ball had no cultivation like Goldfish. Yet, Taro Ball was not only cultivating but also one entire major realm higher than him. Soon, he might even surpass him by two realms.
Genius begets genius, truly following the plot of novels.
“Senior Brother.”
Yu Ce reached out and took the silver token from his hand, whispering, “Don’t worry about Erdan. He can take care of himself.”
Shen Tanqi nodded at his words, turning off the silver token, and whispered, “Even so, Taro Ball is just a three-year-old child. You shouldn’t treat him like an adult.”
In Shen Tanqi’s eyes, a child was a child, no matter how strong their martial arts were. A three-year-old’s mental maturity could never be compared to that of an adult.
Just like before, despite Taro Ball’s cultivation in the Nascent Soul realm, he still wanted to eat pastries and couldn’t resist humming along with Goldfish’s singing.
If one treated Taro Ball as an adult, wouldn’t that be a kind of irresponsibility towards Taro Ball?
“Childhood should be the most beautiful time in a person’s life. Like Goldfish, Taro Ball needs care, needs tenderness, needs to be a carefree little bird.”
Shen Tanqi came up with this clumsy description and felt a bit embarrassed after saying it. He coughed lightly, chuckling, “A little bird, it’s very free, very happy, without any worries. You should understand what I mean. Well… I was just talking nonsense.”
As the words fell, Yu Ce suddenly looked up at Shen Tanqi, his eyelashes trembling slightly.
In Yu Ce’s heart, Shen Tanqi’s figure suddenly grew taller.
Since the children were born, he knew Taro Ball was different from Goldfish. Taro Ball was precocious, meticulous in his thoughts, and occasionally even disliked Goldfish’s childish behavior. However, he had never thought about taking more care of Taro Ball, and that was his negligence.
Growing up in the dragon clan, he had never heard such remarks like Shen Tanqi’s.
He only knew that the strong naturally had to shoulder more responsibilities, just like he himself adhered to this principle. A smart younger brother had to take care of his weaker older brother.
But he had never thought about turning Taro Ball into a carefree… little bird?
Leaving aside whether a little bird was truly carefree, what Senior Brother said was still true. Taro Ball needed care, tenderness, and a happy childhood just like anyone else.
He would remember this lesson.
Although Senior Brother’s cultivation was not high, he always seemed to say something thought-provoking. Perhaps Senior Brother’s spiritual realm was unfathomable.
After contemplating for a while, Yu Ce took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, saying,
“Senior Brother, he’s called Erdan, not Taro Ball.”
Shen Tanqi: …
After pondering for so long, is this the conclusion you’ve come up with?
Why are you so persistent about this nickname, stubborn straight guy?
Shen Tanqi couldn’t be bothered with Yu Ce. He cradled the little one and whispered softly, then turned to chat with the beggar, “Now that the Chen Gui has left, it shouldn’t come back, right?”
The beggar shook his head, scrutinizing the array on the wall and rubbing his chin, “I don’t know. This city will soon become a dead city. As you just saw, if you don’t answer Chen Gui’s questions, someone will soon turn into a Chen Gui. Soon, the whole city will be left with only us and Chen Gui.”
Shen Tanqi found it hard to imagine that scene. Everything was lively and peaceful when they entered the city just a night ago.
In just one night, it would turn into a dead city.
He closed his eyes, sighed lightly, and whispered, “Is there any way to save them?”
The beggar smiled, “I knew you would say that. I heard that the biggest family here is your Shen family. It wouldn’t be good if you didn’t save your own family.”
After finishing his nonsense, the beggar shifted his gaze back to the array drawn by Yu Ce, suppressing his laughter, “This Hidden Dragon Array drawn by your man, I’ve never seen it before. Could it be the Concealment Array from the Canglong Valley?”
Yu Ce glanced at him, openly admitting, “Yes.”
The dragon clan is weak for a long time, especially during infancy, which is very vulnerable to attacks from other races. To avoid danger, they often return to the Canglong valley.
This array is the Hidden Dragon Array, which can make the entire Canglong Valley disappear from the world as if evaporating.
In other words, in the eyes of the Chen Gui outside, their small medical hall is just a desolate open space, and no one can find it.
Upon hearing this, Shen Tanqi breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, “If that’s the case, as long as we draw this array all over the city, the Chen Gui won’t be able to find houses. Without the rules to help them kill, they will be like aimless flies, unable to grow infinitely. We can take the opportunity to gather the Chen Gui in one place and eliminate them.”
The beggar’s eyes lit up, “So that’s it!”
Shen Tanqi: …
So, you didn’t think of that at all.
He then heard the beggar continue, “However, the Chen Gui has disappeared from the world for a hundred years. Its sudden reappearance this time is definitely manipulated by the demonic clan. I specialize in dealing with evil creatures, but I’m not very knowledgeable about demon slaying. Fortunately, you two are here in Shuoxia City, otherwise…”
The beggar looked outside, his eyes filled with vigilance and caution, “Otherwise, there will be corpses covering ten miles around today, with bodies scattered everywhere.”
Shen Tanqi recalled the description of the disaster in Shuoxia City in the original book, and couldn’t help but shudder. It seems like he came to the right place this time.
He quietly nudged the system, lowering his voice, “In the original book, how was the issue of Chen Gui at night resolved?”
The system searched the original book content and said in a solemn tone, “It only mentions a junior disciple who barely escaped from Shuoxia City saying that it was an old monk who cut off flesh and blood to attract and gather all the Chen Gui together. Then the monk attained enlightenment and eliminated Chen Gui. It is said that by the end, the monk had nothing but bare bones from his chest down, and even the golden body was only half-formed. As for the demon clan, there is no mention of them. They probably fled after the plan failed.”
Shen Tanqi was suddenly stunned, looking at the old beggar not far away. He could now be sure that the old monk mentioned in the book was the unremarkable beggar in front of him..
In a few words, the book summarized the achievements of his entire life.
It felt like a piece of his heart had been cut out, leaving an empty void. At this moment, Shen Tanqi seemed unable to treat everything here as just a world in a book.
Perhaps he could do something.
In this world that didn’t belong to him, he could do a lot, couldn’t he?
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
