Jing Tao had already finished her morning lessons. She was in the kitchen now.
Suddenly, she felt a cool breeze brush past her back.
She turned around and saw an amiable old man standing behind her, brass rings tied into his beard.
"Master!"
Seeing the old man, Jing Tao broke into a genuinely delighted smile.
"Since you're here, Master, why not stay for breakfast?"
The old man waved a hand.
"It's a funny coincidence. That boy had the same idea as you—he's already invited me to breakfast."
It was certainly unexpected.
Jing Tao looked at her master.
That sort of thing did fit his temperament.
Jing Tao asked seriously:
"What do you think of Xu Yi, Master?"
The old man pondered for a moment.
"I followed him from a distance and watched him all night, but I couldn't figure him out."
Jing Tao felt a little disappointed, but didn't show it.
The old man stroked the brass rings in his beard.
"So I went and spoke to him directly just now."
Jing Tao looked at him expectantly.
"Well?"
The old man answered succinctly:
"Last night, he showed no mercy when he struck. That tells me he's a ruthless sort who has little reverence for life."
"He gave me char siu to eat. That tells me he has kindness in his heart."
"He resisted that Demon Incense. That tells me he isn't a demon."
Jing Tao's heart gave a sudden leap.
A demon.
The demon her master meant was the same kind of demon as those among the demons, monsters, ghosts, spirits, and immortals of the Hundred Night Miasma.
In the Hundred Night Miasma, demons, ghosts, monsters, spirits, and immortals were relatively common. Each was different, and they had their own good and bad sides. They weren't necessarily all bad.
Only demons were purely evil. They were exceedingly rare, and whenever one appeared, disaster was sure to follow.
Over the past few years, Puxi City had seen three major cases break out—
the "48-Chain Murder Case," the "Skull Chisel Case," and the "Human Flesh Candle Case."
The public had been told that these cases were the work of evil people.
In truth, demons had been behind them all.
As the most vicious, cunning, powerful, and uncanny beings in the Hundred Night Miasma, demons were the targets every Night Roaming God hunted.
Hearing her master confirm that Xu Yi wasn't a demon, Jing Tao felt a little more at ease.
If Xu Yi wasn't a demon, then he could still become a good ally to her.
The old man looked at Jing Tao and spoke slowly:
"I taught him a way to train his spirituality. If he can kindle it successfully and cultivate even a little divinity, I'll seek out a Night Roaming God's legacy for him."
Jing Tao asked quietly:
"What if he can't?"
The old man replied:
"With spirituality that strong, if he can't become a Night Roaming God, sooner or later he'll turn into part of the Hundred Night Miasma.
Then I'll have no choice but to kill him."
He spoke of killing as casually as if it were nothing, without so much as a change in expression. In his youth, he must have been every bit as ruthless as Xu Yi.
Jing Tao suddenly didn't know what to do.
The old man looked at Jing Tao and sighed.
"Don't think that being alone, with no one to help you, puts you at a disadvantage—that you must find a companion to get anything done."
Jing Tao felt deeply uneasy.
She sighed.
"Nothing gets past you, Master."
The old man pondered.
"Xu Yi is a righteous man. You can become friends with him, like brother and sister.
But there's no need to become husband and wife."
"Your father sent you to a girls' school because he wanted you to become a lady of noble standing, so you could use your status to find a well-to-do husband and never have to struggle to make ends meet again."
"Your father wasn't the sort to fawn on the powerful, nor was he someone who'd forget his friends for profit."
"It's just that this is the way of the world.
If you can't marry into a noble family, you can only marry a commoner who never knows what tomorrow will bring, and spend every day struggling to get by.
The older you get, the rougher life becomes. Before you're even thirty, wrinkles will cover your face, labor will bend your back, and chemicals at the textile mill will ruin your hands.
And just like that, you'll grow old, unnoticed and unremarkable...
That isn't what your father wanted to see."
There was a note of sorrow in the old man's voice.
"Nor is it what I want to see."
"In this world, even a hero can be brought to his knees by a single coin. Without money, you can't do anything.
Even some high-ranking Night Roaming Gods, whose unusual spirituality makes them unsuited for business, have to run themselves ragged just to make a living.
Money really is more frightening than demons."
The two fell silent for a long while. The only sound echoing through the kitchen was the steamer lid being pushed up by the rising steam, its white noise making the early morning feel even quieter.
"Once you're in this world, you don't get to choose your fate."
After speaking softly, the old man put aside his unnecessary emotions.
"Anyway, while he's alive, just get along with him."
Jing Tao said she understood.
She also told him about Ji Xiao's "return from the dead."
The old man was greatly surprised. He followed Jing Tao down to the cellar.
He circled Ji Xiao three times, his brow furrowing deeper with each turn.
"She's just a low-level little spirit...
She may be a fox spirit, but her spirituality is so weak she can't even become a household spirit.
How could she have returned from the dead?"
Ji Xiao asked in surprise:
"What do you mean, returned from the dead? I've never died!"
The old man had heard about Ji Xiao from Jing Tao, so he didn't bother speaking to her. He left the cellar with Jing Tao and shut the cellar door. Only after they'd gone some distance away did he speak to her.
"Something's fishy here.
This little fox spirit hasn't told a single truth. I doubt we'll be able to get anything out of her.
She originally became a spirit at the Neon Grand Ballroom on Songding Gate Street in the Twenty-Third Shop District, so the problem must lie with the ballroom.
Don't rush. Let me investigate first."
Jing Tao said she understood.
Meanwhile, Xu Yi had gone to Peacekeeping Hall and settled accounts with Duan Hu. Once he'd confirmed that everything was taken care of, he headed to the Jing Family residence at Number 2, 38th Shop District.
It was nearly seven in the morning. The main street of the 38th Shop District had already seen the day's first wave of commuters—the textile mills, which employed the most workers, mostly started at seven in the morning and ran until seven or nine at night.
If it got any later, Jing Tao would have to leave for school too.
Xu Yi entered through the gate and saw Jing Tao. The strange fragrance he'd noticed earlier returned.
Fragrance—Jing Tao had a strange scent about her. This was the closest Xu Yi had ever been to her. The scent was growing stronger, and at last Xu Yi could make out that part of it was the rich fragrance of osmanthus.
The strange thing was, mixed in with that rich osmanthus scent were wisps of gardenia's delicate fragrance!
The scent that drifted past his nose was rich one moment and faint the next, and mixed in with both fragrances was the faintest hint of something like grass jelly.
The instant he caught that hint of grass jelly, Xu Yi's mind became clear and empty, as if every wish he'd ever had had been fulfilled. From then on, he would know neither joy nor sorrow, and have nothing to worry about.
At the scent, even his wrist stopped hurting...
Huh?
Xu Yi stared at his left hand, dazed.
It seemed...
It really did hurt less...
Xu Yi lingered in that fragrance, lost in it for a while. Only when Jing Tao called out to him did he come back to his senses.
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