"Hoo-hoo..."
It sounded like someone pulling on a battered old bellows, and also like the heavy panting of a giant beast.
Following the sound, a white figure could be seen drifting about the courtyard as usual. It was precisely her active time, yet behind the white shadow, two massive figures could dimly be seen crudely scaling the courtyard wall and entering.
They stood easily over a zhang tall, yet walked without a sound. When they reached the brightest spot of moonlight in the courtyard, their true appearances finally came into view—
Hollow cyan faces, disheveled red hair, full red beards curled up at the ends, blood-red maws, upturned tusks, and jagged, saw-like pointed teeth inside their mouths.
With inverted-triangle, muscular physiques, not a single spot on their bodies was smooth; instead, they were covered in lumps and bumps of knotty muscles like lumps of dough. Their hands reached near their knees, and a single palm was likely as large as the rush-leaf fans the neighborhood women used to fan themselves on summer nights. Their fingernails were long, curved, and sharp like hooks, and a single wave of their hands would likely impale a person and hoist them up.
Even the white shadow in the courtyard paused for a moment when they arrived.
This was definitely not human, nor demon nor ghost, neither god nor immortal—they were precisely two man-eating paper Yaksha!
"There are ghosts."
The Three Flower Cat's back was already arched, the fur on its spine standing on end. It stared at the Yaksha searching for something in the courtyard, then turned its head to whisper to Song You:
"Let's run away quickly."
"No need."
Song You had already seen through it—
There was no chilling wind, no fishy stench. Although the movements of this Yaksha were neither clumsy nor sluggish, they lacked agility; it was no true Yaksha.
This was a spell.
Observing them further, while their faces were ferocious and their physiques robust, something always felt slightly awkward and amiss.
If they weren't poorly drawn, they were improperly cut.
A paper Yaksha!
This was a spell passed down from the Buddhist school. Using paper to draw a Yaksha and cutting it out to cast the spell could bring it to life, making it obey human commands. Originally used to guard altars and temples, it was later carelessly leaked and learned by eccentric martial artists and wanderers of the pugilistic world, often used for murder and robbery.
Though paper Yakshas, their ferocity was no whit inferior to true Yakshas. If the caster had some attainment in this path, they might even surpass them—
Not only were they endowed with supernatural strength, but their hard parts could compare to solid stone, while their soft parts matched tree bark and trunks. Furthermore, they were utterly devoid of fear of death. Even with low intelligence, ordinary martial arts experts of the pugilistic world had to tread carefully upon encountering them.
Yet they had a fatal weakness.
Song You reached out and placed a hand on the Three Flower Cat's back, stroking it all the way from its spine to the tip of its tail, whispering for it not to panic. Only then did he turn, push the door open, and step outside.
Hearing the commotion, the two Yaksha instantly whipped their heads around, their eyes like copper bells, staring fixedly in his direction.
Whoosh!
With wide-open arms, the two Yaksha soared over a zhang high into the air with their massive bodies, leaping halfway across the courtyard as they both lunged toward him.
"Fire, rise."
The sound had barely faded—
With a pouf!
A raging fire ignited within the courtyard.
Big as oxen though they clearly were, beneath this blazing fire, the two Yaksha were like hollow, oil-painted paper things. They were instantly engulfed in flames, and after barely two or three moments, they were burned to a crisp, leaving only a few scraps of yellow paper fluttering down amidst black ash.
After all, being made of paper, their greatest fear was fire.
If ordinary people did not know this point and used swords and arrows, it would likely take a squad of soldiers to deal with them. If they were martial artists, it would still require some real skill. Yet once one recognized it as a paper Yaksha and knew of its fear of fire, even an ordinary adept who caught demons and drove away ghosts without the slightest bit of magical power could easily eliminate them.
All things in nature mutually generate and restrain one another; there is always a way to break a spell.
The subtlety within was beyond description.
In the blink of an eye, the fire extinguished. Night restored itself to its proper state—silent, quiet, and bathed in moonlight.
Song You raised his hand and spread his palm.
A corner of the final piece of yellow paper, trailing sparks, fluttered down right into his hand, and the embers extinguished along with it.
Song You withdrew his hand and turned around.
Three Flower Lady sat right behind him, sitting with utmost propriety, her tail wrapped around her little paws. Seeing him turn back toward the room, she hurriedly got up and followed.
Pouf.
The oil lamp lit itself automatically, casting flickering, hazy shadows across the room.
Song You pulled out a chair and sat down before the table.
The Three Flower Cat also jumped onto the table, staring straight at him.
"You're so amazing."
"Three Flower Lady flatters me."
Facing the oil lamp, Song You closely inspected this scrap of paper.
This Yaksha had been drawn and carved on a large sheet of yellow hemp paper—the kind also used for drawing talismans. By the moonlight, one could faintly see one of the Yaksha's eyes on this corner of paper. Up close, the fine vermillion lines and blood-dot symbols upon it were also visible.
This paper was indeed a rare and fine sort—
Thick and tough, its texture tinged with a faint red.
"Are Taoists all this amazing?"
"Not necessarily."
"Then why are you so amazing?"
"How could I protect Three Flower Lady if I weren't amazing?"
While casually replying, Song You fell into contemplation over the paper.
He had only recently arrived in Yidu City, spending his days doing nothing more than going out to listen to storytellers or cooking and cultivating at home; he had made no enemies with anyone. The only things he could say he had done were getting rid of the Fog Ghost on Jinyang Road and devising a plan for Constable Luo to capture that tunneling thief.
Surely it couldn't be that some eccentric and peculiar adept had heard a Xuanmen practitioner lived here and thus specifically came to visit and test him in this manner?
At that moment, Three Flower Lady's delicate, milky voice sounded again:
"Where did that ghost come from?"
Song You felt no annoyance, answering patiently:
"I don't know yet."
"Why did they come to attack us?"
"I don't know yet."
"I don't know yet..."
The Three Flower Cat stared right at him, repeating his words.
"In any case..."
Courtesy demands reciprocity.
Song You put away this piece of paper.
Since others had already come to visit, both in reason and in sentiment, he ought to return the favor with a visit of his own.
Early the next morning.
Song You acted as though he had already forgotten the events of last night, leisurely chopping some pickled vegetables and boiling himself a bowl of Pickled Vegetable Noodles.
This counted as a luxurious breakfast in this day and age, thanks entirely to the twenty taels he had taken in a few days ago.
As for Three Flower Lady, she ate the mice she caught.
After boiling the noodles and setting them aside, Song You fetched a broom and swept away the paper ash left behind from last night, which had already been scattered by the wind.
It was moments like this that brought a twinge of regret: though Three Flower Lady had gained sentience, her cultivation was still insufficient to take human form. If she had transformed—even into just a little child—she could have been coaxed into doing odd jobs like sweeping the floor and lighting fires, leaving him with some leisure time.
Once the cleanup was finished, it was time to eat.
The Pickled Vegetable Noodles were prepared in the style of a big-pot noodle dish from his old home in his past life, the broth thickened slightly with a starch slurry so that it appeared a bit rich. All the flavor remained in the soup, clinging fully to the noodles along with that rich broth, making them utterly flavorful.
Sour, hot, appetizing, and warming to the body, a single bite down first thing in the morning brought a wonderful comfort all the way from the back of his throat to the pit of his stomach.
When he finished, he didn't even wash the bowl, simply sitting idly in the courtyard, listening to the city come back to life, watching the Three Flower Cat chase falling leaves on the ground, letting plum leaves drift down onto himself while the warm morning sunlight pierced through the plum branches and landed on his body.
He peeled an orange to serve as post-meal fruit.
Such a mood and such a day—an idle minor immortal.
Only Three Flower Lady disliked the scent of oranges and dreaded the oils that squirted out when peeling them. Having previously paced around his feet, she instantly retreated far away, staring at him from a distance with a look of extreme confusion and incomprehension.
Song You didn't mind, feeding them to himself slice by slice.
Both sour and sweet, and full of moisture.
It even made him squint his eyes.
It wasn't until he finished the orange that he remembered he had to take out that corner of paper from last night once more. He looked at it again and again against the daylight, then let out a long sigh.
"I leave the house in your care, Three Flower Lady."
Hearing this, the Three Flower Cat's pupils narrowed intently:
"Where are you going?"
"To find someone."
"Find who?"
"The people who harmed us last night."
"Three Flower Lady will go with you."
"Very well."
"Wash your hands first."
"Very well."
Man and cat went out together.
After inspecting the outside of the house and seeing that the spot where last night's two Yaksha had scaled the wall into the courtyard was left in a complete mess by their hooked claws, he couldn't help feeling a bit troubled. According to the lease agreement, he would either have to compensate the landlord or repair it for them before moving out.
He then searched around and finally discovered a red ink mark on the exterior wall of the eastern courtyard, right at the lowest spot hugging the ground, its magical power not yet fully dissipated.
Indeed—
Those Yakshas possessed low intelligence; being close was fine, but how could they find their way from afar? If they were to harm someone, a mark had to be made in advance.
The other party must have visited yesterday or the day before.
Song You took a look, then turned and walked away.
It was time to pay that paper shop a visit and ask around.
Song You had a hunch—
He would get his answers very soon.
At the same time, Constable Luo had just stepped out for work.
He hadn't walked more than a few steps down the alley when, passing by the small courtyard where Song You lived, he suddenly halted his steps and turned his head to look.
He saw several vertical claw marks near the top of the wall, three fingers wide and one to two feet long, resembling the ravages of a fierce beast, all concentrated on the upper section of the wall. Furthermore, many tiles on the eaves above had fallen off, leaving a gap, with eighty percent of the tiles on the ground smashed to pieces.
"This..."
Constable Luo couldn't help bending down to pick up a piece, examining it closely before his eyes.
The tiles were already very shattered, only as large as a fingernail, and most of the tiles on the ground were like that, as if something had crushed them over.
Had something scaled the wall from here?
And scaled it without the slightest regard for technique.
Constable Luo thought instantly to himself.
Yet if that were truly the case, then whatever scaled this wall was definitely not human. Not only was it not human, but it was likely a rather large creature with claws sharp as knives.
Constable Luo frowned, secretly alarmed.
With such a monster about, I wonder if the scholar is well?
He then hurried over to the courtyard gate, began knocking, and called out the scholar's name, but received no response.
He wanted to break the door down, yet didn't dare to; he felt he should force his way in, yet felt he shouldn't. For a moment, even a decisive man like him couldn't make up his mind.
It wasn't until he heard from a passing neighborhood resident that the scholar had gone out about the span of an incense stick ago—perhaps to buy groceries—that Constable Luo finally let out a breath of relief. He waited at the door for about the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense, and realizing he was going to be late for work, he left.
Today is the Lantern Festival, and I'm going to my sister's house for dinner. Taking a leave of absence for a single update, no update tonight, bowing respectfully. Also wishing everyone a happy Lantern Festival.
Before you continue