Seeking an Audience

In the fine rain, Zhou Yao sat with her eyes closed inside an ox cart leaving Peach Blossom Alley, serene and gentle. But deep in her mind, a mysterious voice was chattering away to itself.

"To think the Chess Sage was a Tree Demon! How strange!"

"Du Chenglin has been famous for years. He's not just the Chess Sage; he lives in Capital City, too. How did he escape the eyes of human Daoists? He must have his own methods!"

"Even if he has methods, ordinary Daoists are one thing, but what about Liu Zhan and Yu Qianzhi?"

"And that's not even counting the Dragon Aura's suppression."

"There must be some tacit understanding between them. Could he be a traitor to the demons?"

At first, the mysterious voice had been aloof, but once they grew familiar, its true nature came out. Fortunately, Zhou Yao could bear it. Even so, she nearly laughed at the words "traitor to the demons."

The mysterious voice kept prattling. "When we left just now, he may have sensed my presence. But it doesn't matter much."

Then it murmured, "He probably noticed that burst of demonic aura just now, too. Strange. That aura feels like someone I used to know."

"So familiar. I feel close to it, yet I despise it. Could it be..."

Zhou Yao's long lashes trembled slightly. Hearing all this only added a few more jolts of astonishment to her heart and let her learn secrets ordinary people could never know. It brought her no other benefit.

But a Tree Demon?

Suppressing the urge to look back, Zhou Yao quietly tightened her grip on her handkerchief. If the mysterious voice judged Du Chenglin that way, then although he was a Tree Demon, he probably would not do anything to Ye Buhui, would he?