This Sort of Thing Should Have Been Mentioned First

"Were those bloodstains on your clothes left when you slew the Strange Monkey outside the city, young sir?"

"Indeed."

"You'd better wash them soon. The longer you wait, the harder they'll be to get out."

"I was planning to wash them after I ate."

"Then you'll have to wait a little longer!" The man furrowed his brow and said gravely, "Besides, there are women at this inn who can help with the laundry. Why not ask them?"

Just then, the inn's waiter brought out a dish. Hearing this, he immediately sensed a chance for business and nodded repeatedly.

"My old mother does laundry for the guests here. She's been washing clothes all her life. Even the dirtiest garments come out clean, and she won't damage them!"

"What are you waiting for, then?" Before Lin Jue could say a word, the man spoke first. He reached into his robe, pulled out some money, and slapped it on the table. "Hurry up and take the young sir's clothes to be washed!"

"Right away!"

"Hey, wait..."

The waiter moved so quickly he practically ran over. Before Lin Jue could stop him, he grabbed the copper coins with one hand and picked up the clothes Lin Jue had left on the bench with the other, then hurried to the back.

Lin Jue frowned in confusion and looked at the man.

The man merely cupped his hands toward him, speaking with great courtesy.

"The waiter has a point. Laundry doesn't cost much. If you aren't skilled at scrubbing and ruin your clothes, that'll cost far more. This sort of thing is best left to the women. These hands of yours are meant for Subduing Demons and Exterminating Devils, protecting the people."

Lin Jue nevertheless began to feel that something was off.

He had heard of this sort of thing from the village elders—

A wandering martial artist who had just protected the people from harm arrived at a tavern and met someone who admired his bold spirit. As it happened, that person was generous and hearty too, so he treated the martial artist to a jug of wine and invited him to drink.

That was understandable.

But would someone who admired a martial artist's bold spirit not only send over food and wine, but even pay to have his clothes washed?

Lin Jue turned his head again and studied the man closely.

This time, he noticed a trace of worry between the man's brows, and a hint of weariness on his face.

"I see..."

Lin Jue fell silent and set down his chopsticks.

"You have something to ask of me."

Those words made the man freeze.

"Well..."

He was momentarily lost in thought, then stopped trying to hide it. In a flurry, he rose and took two steps toward Lin Jue, bowing deeply.

"I'm Wei Yuanzhong. To be frank, strange things have been happening at home for the past month. My family and I keep getting beaten awake in our sleep for no reason. We reported it to the authorities and even asked people to investigate. They said Demonic Ghosts were at work. We've tried all sorts of remedies, but none have helped much. People nearby say we should invite someone bold and full of vigor to stay at our home for one night. That might scare the Demonic Ghosts away."

"Beaten for no reason?"

Lin Jue found it both strange and frightening.

"Exactly!"

The man called Wei Yuanzhong immediately lifted his clothes to show Lin Jue.

His body was covered in crisscrossing scars, each about the width of a finger, or a little thicker. Some were purple, some red, and some black. They didn't look as though they'd all been inflicted in a single day. Against the expanse of his pale, fleshy body, they stood out with a startling, sinister clarity.

"These were all inflicted by that thing, for no reason at all. Now my whole family is too afraid to stay at home! My elder brother is the same; he's been living in a teahouse all day."

"Tell me more."

Lin Jue let him continue.

"There isn't much more to tell, because we don't know what's going on either." Wei Yuanzhong sat back down with a helpless sigh. "My old father died this year, and we took care of the funeral. There's gossip in the street that we were unfilial and angered him, or that we enraged the gods and spirits because of it. But we didn't neglect any of the proper rites. At most, we had some trouble dividing the family property, but it wasn't anything serious. Besides, nothing strange happened when Father died. This only began two months later, which proves it wasn't because we were unfilial and had nothing to do with that."

Lin Jue only gave a quiet "Mm," not daring to say more.

Who would come up to someone out of the blue, say nothing about what they wanted, treat him to food and wine under some other pretext, and then ask him for this kind of help?

Besides, he wasn't really a Daoist who could exorcise demons.

"It started at the end of last month. We were sleeping soundly at home when, all of a sudden, we were beaten. It hurt terribly, and we could faintly hear some kind of sound. At first, we thought a thief had broken in. But when we got up and lit a lamp, there was no one there, and all the doors and windows were shut tight. It kept happening after that, and we were terrified."

"It sounds a bit like the tales where Ghosts and Monsters try to take over someone's home, or where people offend them somehow and bring on a haunting."

"That's what everyone says."

"Do they only beat you?"

"Only beat us. But it wears you down all the same. Now we don't dare stay at home at all. We can only lodge outside, at inns. There are more than twenty of us in the family, and every day we're pouring out money."

"You said you've tried all sorts of remedies, but none helped much?"

"We tried all sorts of folk remedies. Some did nothing, and some helped, but not much."

"Such as?"

"For instance, people on the street say you can sprinkle black dog's blood and a virgin's urine on the ground, and then evil spirits won't dare enter. That did almost nothing. In fact, it only made the thing angrier, and it beat us even harder. Another remedy is to sprinkle flour on the ground at night, so you can tell where the thing came from and where it went. That was completely useless. Then there are talismans from temples. Those help a little, but only for a few days."

Wei Yuanzhong was frightened too. As he spoke, he took a sip of water.

"The most effective thing was a Martial Official Statue we brought from the City God Temple. After we brought it home, my nephew slept there for several nights in a row without being beaten by that thing. We even moved back in ourselves. But a few days later, the statue stopped working too, and the whole family got beaten again. That was the last thing we tried. If even the City God's Martial Official Statue was useless, I doubt anything else will work."

"I've never heard of such a thing..."

Lin Jue was already deeply intrigued by the story.

He had enjoyed listening to tales of the strange and supernatural back in his village, but hearing one now was different. It was as though he were seeing it with his own eyes and living through it himself, as if all those stories were gradually turning real.

The wonders of this world were continually unfolding before him.

"Alas, after all that trouble, we've come to understand that the local alchemists and sorcerers are all charlatans and frauds. None of them are any use."

"Then why did you come to me, Lord Wei?"

"We were desperate, so we grasped at any straw. Yesterday, we heard that a powerful Daoist had come to the area, and that he used Daoist magic to exterminate a fearsome Monster in the neighboring county. We don't know whether it's true or not. We've already sent the young men in our family to look for him, but judging by how things stand, they probably won't find him either." Wei Yuanzhong grew more and more troubled as he spoke. "Fortunately, my elder brother came by today and told me that two heroes had exterminated those monkey demons outside the city. People always say that bold, spirited men can suppress monsters too. So I came to find you, young sir, and ask you to visit my home and spend one night there. With your vigor and courage, perhaps you could drive that thing away."

He finished and looked at Lin Jue expectantly.

It sounded much like what Old Master Wang of Heng Village had wanted: using people to deal with demons.

Lin Jue was silent for a moment.

It was true that he was interested in this sort of thing, but he was interested in the stories. Wei Yuanzhong was asking him for help, and that was different.

Lin Jue lowered his eyes to the food on the table, the wine cup, and the chicken soup, falling into deep thought.

He weighed the matter carefully.

If he agreed, he wasn't really a Daoist with magic or cultivation, nor was he a peerless martial artist. There was no guarantee he could deal with that thing.

But if he refused...

He had set out in search of immortals and the Dao, and he had an Ancient Book that reacted to magic. To say he had no interest in monsters and ghosts would be untrue. At the very least, the Wang Family in Heng Village and the people at the roadside temple had shown him that magic used by monsters and ghosts could also stir a reaction from the Ancient Book, as long as a person could use it too.

Besides, he had drunk the soup and tasted the wine.

And he was indebted for the knife he had borrowed to vent his anger earlier that day.

His thoughts tangled into knots.

"Alas..."

Lin Jue couldn't help letting out a long sigh. "Brother, if you wanted to ask me for help, you could have come over, told me your name, and explained the situation plainly. Since I owe you for lending me the knife, I might well have agreed. Why go to all this trouble?"

"I truly had no choice..."

"I really thought someone admired me and had invited me to eat meat and drink wine."

"You see right through me, young sir! That was part of it too! Even if nothing had happened at home, I'd still have been glad to treat you to a pot of meat and a bowl of wine!"

"If everything you've told me is true, would you dare to stay at your home with me for one night, Lord Wei?"

"With you?"

Wei Yuanzhong couldn't help but stare.

"Would you dare?"

Lin Jue watched his expression closely.

The man looked a little afraid. His eyes darted about, but in the end he gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. "You're willing to step in and help my family. How could I not dare? At worst, I'll get beaten again!"

"Good!"

Seeing him act this way, Lin Jue believed him when he said the demon only beat people and didn't kill them.

It probably had some connection to them.

"For half a chicken and a cup of wine from you, Lord Wei, and for the kindness your elder brother showed by lending me his broad saber today, what's one night at your home? But I'll make this clear: I'm only agreeing to spend one night there. I have no skill at Subduing Demons and Exterminating Devils. At worst, I'll get beaten alongside you!"

Lin Jue truly meant it.

There was an easy, carefree decisiveness in his words.

"I wouldn't dare ask you to do such a thing for half a chicken and a cup of wine. Please go ahead first, young sir. Tomorrow, I'll be sure to thank you properly."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

"When shall we go?"

"Once I've finished eating!"

Only then did Lin Jue pick up his chopsticks again.

Now that they'd cleared things up and he'd agreed to the request, his heart felt much lighter. He settled into the meal with far greater ease.

He reached out and pulled a drumstick off the half chicken, then took a big bite. He could savor both the meat's fibers and its rich aroma. Then he shoveled in a large mouthful of rice. What a feast!

If he'd stayed in the village, he probably wouldn't have had many chances to live like this.

A quarter hour later, Lin Jue had eaten and drunk his fill. He tossed aside his chopsticks, went upstairs to get his Firewood Knife, and headed out.