Benefactor

Benefactor

"What did you see?" Li asked.

"...A cat." Xia Fan hesitated for several seconds before answering. He truly found it hard to connect the animal before him with an Evil Spirit that harmed people. "It's the culprit keeping the Tian Family awake at night?"

"Hmm..." Li revealed a thoughtful expression. "It's the cause, but not necessarily the culprit. The greatest difference between Liang and Mei is that Liang bears no obvious hostility toward living beings. The reason it appeared in the room was likely because it was following its habits from life." At this point, she looked at Xia Fan. "Go ask that old woman whether her family ever kept a Li Hua Cat."

Xia Fan turned and left the room, then quickly returned. "Old Madam Tian said they did keep a cat before, but it suddenly died of illness half a month ago. Her daughter-in-law cried over it for quite a while. You mean this cat could be—"

"It was the Tian Family's cat." Li crouched down and held the cat up in her hands. "But it is no longer a living creature. It is Xu Liang, an illusion formed from qi."

Xia Fan hesitated, then reached out to stroke the cat's head. Not only could he feel its fluffy fur, but there was warmth lingering beneath it. The latter even narrowed its eyes contentedly, looking no different from a real living creature.

"Does this count as coming back from the dead? Since Tian's Wife liked this cat, perhaps we could—"

"No!" Li's ears shot upright as she shouted, "Wake up! Dead means dead. The dead cannot come back to life. Don't confuse the two!"

Xia Fan was slightly taken aback. It was his first time seeing such a sharp expression on the Fox Demon's face.

"There is no method that can bring the dead back to life! Once someone dies, their consciousness ceases to exist. Even if qi remains, it is nothing but an empty shell. Take this Li Hua Cat—its movements merely repeat what it did in life. Even its touch and reactions are the same. As long as you and I close our eyes, it will return to its incorporeal state once again."

"Even if that woman loves this cat dearly, can she stay awake and watch it all day? Besides, every human body contains qi to some extent. Living with a Liang formed from qi for a long time will throw one's own qi into disorder. The result will be growing weaker by the day and having one's lifespan greatly shortened." Li shook her head. "Seeing how listless she is, half of it may be due to her own frailty, but the other half was likely caused by this Xu Liang. Sending Liang to her side would be no different from harming her!"

"Uh... I was only making a hypothetical," Xia Fan said, coughing twice. "You don't need to get so angry, do you?"

"Not even hypotheticals. It at least proves you entertained the thought, and confusing the boundary between life and death is an absolute forbidden zone for Fangshi!" The Fox Demon spoke in a tone that allowed no doubt. "My master once mentioned many similar cases—some Fangshi, while mastering qi, mistakenly believed they could reverse life and death. In the end, they strayed onto the wrong path, and not one came to a good end. That even included Feathered Garments of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Don't you think it's laughable? They show no concern while someone is alive, only to be consumed by regret after they die, even willing to defy the Heavenly Dao. I just don't want to see you become that ridiculous as well!"

She was... worried about me?

"All right, all right. I know I was wrong." Xia Fan yielded according to the principle of correcting mistakes once recognized. "Then how should we deal with this cat—no, this Xu Liang?"

"It is a projection of qi. Stronger qi can break its form and return it to Heaven and earth." Li held the cat up before him.

"I understand." Xia Fan nodded and picked up the wooden sword again.

"It's been resolved." After leaving the room, Xia Fan spoke to Old Madam Tian, who had been waiting eagerly outside the door.

"Little Daoist... what you said is true?" Delight appeared on her face.

"Yes. You can move back in without worry. I guarantee the sounds will not return."

"Um..." The young woman, who had been half-hiding behind the old lady all this time, timidly poked her head out. "Lord Daoist, may I ask... was there really a ghost in our home?"

"It was not a ghost, but the cat you two kept. It was likely reluctant to leave you, so its soul remained here after death." Xia Fan slowly delivered the explanation he had prepared beforehand. "Though it still missed its owners, life and death follow different roads. After speaking with it, I have put its mind at ease and sent it on its way. Rest assured, it should soon enter reincarnation again."

Of course, that was not the truth. According to Li, the qi of dead things no longer possessed consciousness, much less emotions such as reluctance or attachment. He simply felt that explaining it this way would be easier for ordinary people to accept.

Moreover, at the moment he drove his sword into the Li Hua Cat's body, he had truly felt the difference between dead things and living creatures. The wooden sword passed through the Xu Liang without meeting any resistance, while it showed no pain and continued to look as though it were acting cute, until it turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished without a trace.

"It was Ahua!" After hearing Xia Fan's account, Tian's Wife immediately covered her mouth, and tears came pouring down. "It... it was a stray cat my husband and I adopted together. It had been perfectly fine, but for some reason it suddenly fell ill and died... sob... You said it was reluctant to leave its owners? So it never blamed me... That's wonderful..."

As the woman began to sob, a faint flush unexpectedly returned to her formerly pale face.

"No wonder the little Daoist asked me about keeping cats." Old Madam Tian also relaxed and let out a long breath. "A famous master truly produces outstanding disciples. Little Daoist, you saved our whole family's lives!"

As she spoke, she knelt down again, sending Xia Fan into another fluster.

"Your great kindness and virtue will never be forgotten by the Tian Family!"

"Thank you, Lord Daoist. This humble woman owes you her life..."

"No need, no need. It was merely a small effort. And the money for that garment and window paper—"

"How could we let the little Daoist pay for that? If word got out, wouldn't the neighbors laugh at us! If you insist again, I'll kneel here and refuse to get up!"

Faced with this situation, Xia Fan could only let it go.

He could tell that although the Tian Family's words were sometimes poorly chosen, or deliberately solemn, their gratitude came from the bottom of their hearts, without the slightest falsehood.

Even before bidding him farewell, the old lady did not forget to forcibly stuff a basket of eggs into his arms. She escorted him all the way to the inn entrance, giving him no chance to refuse.

Just as they were about to part, Xia Fan asked a question that had long troubled him.

"Why didn't you seek the Bureau of Military Affairs?"

That was right. Although Fenghua County was no major county, it still had a county office and relay station. Those official institutions could report news of Evil Spirits to the Bureau of Military Affairs in larger cities or prefectures. For such abnormal phenomena, the local Bureau of Military Affairs ought to have been responsible for handling them.

"You jest, little Daoist." The old lady covered her mouth. "Inviting officials over costs money. If they do nothing, that's one thing, but once they act, it costs dozens of taels of silver. How could we possibly afford that?"

"Dozens of taels?" Xia Fan asked in surprise. "Regardless of how dangerous the Evil Spirit is?"

"That's the base price. If it's dangerous, of course there'll be extra charges." The old lady looked as if he were making a fuss over nothing. "If you can't scrape the money together, then you're in trouble. The officials don't care what your circumstances are—they've even barged into homes to search them. Oh dear, why am I saying all this... In any case, it's fortunate that kindhearted people like Daoist Zhao and little Daoist such as yourself exist. That's how we common folk can live in peace."