Xiao Yai’s outburst reminded Teng Yu’yi that to gain good fortune, she needed to actively participate in capturing the demon.
She glanced at Lin Chengyou. He remained silent, clearly deep in thought, the lamplight dancing across his jet-black eyes, making them shimmer.
She picked up the brush and quickly wrote several pages, then set down the brush and pushed the first note before him.
Lin Chengyou lowered his gaze and saw the question: “How does the Young Master plan to deal with the corpse demon?”
He lazily set down his teacup. “What suggestions does Lady Teng have?”
Teng Yu’yi pushed forward the second note: “I have a good method to deal with the corpse demon.”
A smile flickered in Lin Chengyou’s eyes as he leaned back. “I’m all ears.”
Teng Yu’yi pushed the third prepared note before his eyes: “Daoist Jiantian said the corpse demon appears lifelike and fresh, with abilities far surpassing other demons. Even if it brushes past people in a crowd, talismans might not self-ignite in warning. Once it hides, we might not find it even if we dig three feet deep. So although Young Master and the Daoists want to subdue it quickly, you can only wait for it to show itself again. But this is too passive. Since we know the corpse demon is interested in me, why not use me as bait to actively draw it out?”
The room fell silent for a moment before Wu Dao cried out, “Lady Teng, while the method is sound, using a person as bait to catch demons goes against righteous principles.”
Teng Yu’yi smiled inwardly. Whether righteous or evil, what mattered was having someone willing to do it. Lin Chengyou was unorthodox – as long as they could catch the demon, he wouldn’t care if the method was proper or not. She bet he would agree.
Unexpectedly, Lin Chengyou shook his head with a smile. “No, this method won’t work.”
Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi secretly sighed in relief. The corpse demon was cunning and treacherous – using Lady Teng as bait would be far too dangerous.
Teng Yu’yi froze. Eh? Could it be that Lin Chengyou had principles?
She hurriedly wrote: “But this is the fastest way. The corpse demon is fierce by nature. Having failed once tonight, it won’t give up easily. I guess it will come looking for me again soon. Why not wait in ambush and set up formations around me to deal with the corpse demon? We might be able to subdue it in one go.”
Lin Chengyou seemed to have anticipated what she would write and didn’t take the paper. He said seriously, “Lady Teng, the reason this corpse demon differs from ordinary demons is that she was already clever and scheming when alive, and after death became even more adept at reading people’s hearts. If we set up formations around you in advance, she would sense them as soon as she approaches. So if we want to use you as bait, we can’t set up formations beforehand. But without Daoist protection around you, have you considered how dangerous that would be?”
Du Tinglan’s face turned pale hearing this. She anxiously grabbed Teng Yu’yi’s hand. “Yu’yi, don’t make rash suggestions. Let Young Master and the others figure something out. You stay properly at home – sister will stay with you always.”
Teng Yu’yi met Du Tinglan’s anxious gaze and suddenly felt a pang in her heart. Sister, how could I not know this method is dangerous? But I don’t want to die. I want to live well. Only by facing death can one truly live. Besides this approach, there’s no other way to gain merit from slaying the corpse demon.
Tonight’s encounter had made her fully realize her situation. Having just escaped the tree demon, now came the corpse demon. Since the corpse demon was determined to entangle with her, why not fight for survival?
She released Du Tinglan’s hand and quickly wrote three characters: “I am willing.”
Lin Chengyou took the note but didn’t speak immediately. These words didn’t seem like something Teng Yu’yi would say. The method was too rash. Even though he had briefly considered it himself, he had immediately dismissed the thought. Given Teng Yu’yi’s shrewd nature, how could she willingly rush to the front knowing it was so risky?
Could she be confused by the fright of encountering the corpse demon?
He raised the glass lamp, using its light to illuminate Teng Yu’yi’s face inch by inch. Though her complexion was poor, her eyes were clear and her lips like spring cherry blossoms – she didn’t look confused at all.
Jue Sheng and the others were startled.
Teng Yu’yi turned her head away from Lin Chengyou’s lamp, knowing he wouldn’t be easily fooled. Sure enough, he had started suspecting whether she was in her right mind.
She turned her face and wrote: “I’ve thought it through. Even if I hide behind you all, the corpse demon won’t let me go. Rather than waiting passively for death, better to take initiative. I don’t want to live in constant fear. Whatever method it takes, as long as we can eliminate the corpse demon quickly, I’m willing to fully cooperate with Young Master and the five Daoists.”
Lin Chengyou’s lips twitched slightly. An improvement – this reason seemed more sufficient, but something still felt off. Rather than avoiding disaster, Teng Yu’yi seemed to be deliberately creating opportunities for close contact with the corpse demon. With just a divine sword? That was too presumptuous. The opponent was a corpse demon – ordinary young ladies would faint just from seeing such an evil being, let alone confronting it.
He watched her carefully for a moment. Meeting his gaze, Teng Yu’yi knew she hadn’t dispelled his doubts, so she wrote again: “My willingness to act as bait isn’t just because this method is most effective, but also because Young Master just promised to protect me. With Young Master’s excellent demon-slaying abilities, if you failed to catch the corpse demon and let your bait get harmed, well…”
She let out a long sigh and stopped writing.
The Daoists’ gazes flickered as they all turned to look at Lin Chengyou. With things put this way, if Lin Chengyou didn’t agree, it would be like admitting he wasn’t confident he could protect Teng Yu’yi.
Lin Chengyou laughed inwardly. Now this sounded more like something Teng Yu’yi would say.
He raised his hands and clapped lightly, nodding. “Lady Teng’s plan is perfect – even I can’t say ‘no’ to such arrangements.”
Teng Yu’yi bowed slightly in modesty, indicating she didn’t deserve such praise.
After some thought, Lin Chengyou stood up and paced with his hands behind his back. “It’s not that we can’t think of other methods, but the corpse demon and the golden-robed gentleman’s whereabouts are unpredictable. Luring them out won’t be easy, and the longer we delay, the more likely things are to go wrong. Especially in places beyond our supervision – civilians will inevitably suffer. After much consideration, using someone as bait is the best way to draw them out. Since Lady Teng is willing, the five Daoists and I should plan early, but I must warn Lady Teng – we’re dealing with the corpse demon and the golden-robed gentleman. Even with thorough preparation, situations neither you nor I can anticipate might arise. You must be aware of this.”
Teng Yu’yi nodded solemnly, then wrote: “To facilitate timely communication, I hope Young Master can find a way to deal with my voice problem. Otherwise, I won’t be able to speak when the corpse demon comes, which will be quite inconvenient.”
How could Lin Chengyou let her know his plans for dealing with the corpse demon? His smile remained unchanged: “My apologies, but this is non-negotiable.”
Teng Yu’yi’s smile grew sweeter, but her eyes shot cold arrows: “Lin Chengyou, you’re going too far.”
Lin Chengyou coughed and waved for the elderly servant from before to enter. “Prepare the horses. Lady Teng and Lady Du are in danger – I must escort them back to their residence.”
Teng Yu’yi’s anger flared. With this dismissal, it seemed there was no hope of Lin Chengyou curing the poison tonight.
Hearing this, Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi eagerly waited nearby. “Lady Teng, Lady Du, shall we depart?”
Wu Dao stretched lazily. “Haven’t stayed up this late in a while – must apply some beauty cream before bed.”
Jiantian turned his head while yawning and caught sight of Teng Yu’yi and Du Tinglan beside him. Something suddenly occurred to him, and he quickly took out a small porcelain jar from his sleeve. “You two have a connection with our Dongming Temple. This is our temple’s beauty cream – you can’t tell our real age, can you? Hehe, it’s all thanks to this cream! Two beautiful young ladies like yourselves need to take care of your looks even more. Why not take a jar to try? I can settle the account at the Teng residence later.”
Du Tinglan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she politely declined. “Thank you for your kindness, Daoist, but that won’t be necessary. My sister and I are still young – we don’t need this yet.”
Teng Yu’yi ignored this, occasionally glancing outside the hall, her mind on the Nanzhao prince Gu Xian. She wondered if he had awoken yet. As the crown prince of Nanzhao, he might be able to help her discreetly inquire about Wu Yingying and possibly resolve the questions that had entangled her for two lifetimes. After waiting a while, she realized it wouldn’t happen tonight. That was fine – the Wang mansion had too many eyes anyway, making it inconvenient to act. Better to find another opportunity another day.
As everyone left the hall, the two fake maids who had entered the mansion with Teng Yu’yi were already waiting outside. Commander Chang had earlier informed Teng Yu’yi about her two maids’ situation. When the corpse demon caused havoc, many servants by the shore encountered ghost walls, wandering in circles unable to leave the grove. The two fake maids were no exception, but having taken the charm soup, they were now fine.
Teng Yu’yi sent the fake maids to the Du residence to inform them that Du Tinglan would stay at the Teng residence tonight, while she and Du Tinglan boarded the ox cart.
Lin Chengyou found their ox cart too slow. He raised his whip and galloped into the night, then pulled his reins to stop by the roadside after a while, patiently waiting.
In this stop-and-go manner, it took a full half hour to reach the Teng residence. Steward Cheng had received the news and, worried, waited at the gate. Unexpectedly seeing Lin Chengyou, he hurried forward and bowed.
Lin Chengyou smiled and nodded, dismounting and tossing his horsewhip to the servant behind him. He turned to Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi, saying, “While staying outside these days, remember your manners. Don’t forget you’re Master’s disciples’ children – don’t bring shame to Qingyun Temple.”
“We’ll carefully heed Brother’s guidance,” Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi stood straight.
At this time, Teng Yu’yi and Du Tinglan were getting down from the cart. Lin Chengyou glanced at Steward Cheng beside Teng Yu’yi and said to Jue Sheng, “Tell Lady Teng I have some exorcism matters to discuss with her privately.”
Not understanding the underlying meaning, Jue Sheng eagerly went to relay the message: “Lady Teng, Brother says he needs to tell you something about exorcism.”
A strange look flashed across Steward Cheng’s face. Teng Yu’yi turned to look before following Jue Sheng to Lin Chengyou’s side.
Lin Chengyou took something from his waist and handed it to her. “Tie this around your wrist. It will warn you immediately if anything is amiss.”
Teng Yu’yi took it and looked – it was a string of small golden bells, each only as big as a pinky nail, round and plump like grapes.
She shook her wrist, but the bells remained silent. She tried shaking again but was stopped by Lin Chengyou: “Enough, they won’t ring even if you shake your hand off.”
Teng Yu’yi wondered curiously why he gave her this thing – how could mute bells give any warning?
“When the bells ring, the magical device in my possession will also resonate. If the bells would ring from casual shaking, how could I ever sleep? They only warn of demonic energy – they won’t ring normally, understand? Remember not to let them leave your person. I’ll be outside the residence. As soon as the corpse demon enters the inner courtyard, I’ll know immediately.”
Teng Yu’yi was both surprised and delighted. She had worried and fumed the whole way back, cursing Lin Chengyou while wishing Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi could stay in the same room with her.
With this item, there was no need for such awkward arrangements. She quickly bowed to Lin Chengyou and smiled as she tied the bells to her wrist.
Thank you, Young Master. I absolutely won’t let them leave my person.
Lin Chengyou glanced at her before walking to his horse and mounting.
Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi curiously followed: “Brother, you gave the Mystic Sound Bells to Lady Teng?”
They had seen the bells at their brother’s waist that afternoon and guessed he had plans for them. But the corpse demon seemed to have three targets besides Lady Teng – there was also Juan’er Li and Ge Jin from Caifen Tower. There was only one string of Mystic Sound Bells, and they wondered who their brother would give them to.
They didn’t know Lady Teng had lost her voice. They only knew that Caifen Tower currently had many temple elders stationed there, but Lady Ge Jin had first been disfigured, then kidnapped by demons. Having suffered such trials, her movements were inevitably less free than others, so they asked: “Brother, were you planning to give the Mystic Sound Bells to Lady Ge Jin?”
“Her?” Lin Chengyou’s expression was strange.
“Then… Juan’er Li?”
Lin Chengyou clicked his tongue. “Though I rarely use the Mystic Sound Bells, they’re still my items. Even if I were to give them away, how could I give them to mere prostitutes?”
So Brother had decided to give them to Lady Teng from the start. This was good – the bells’ sound could pierce through any barrier set by evil spirits. When in danger, there was no need to worry about shouting until one’s voice gave out.
Lin Chengyou looked back, seeing Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi watching him curiously, and sneered, “I haven’t given them to Teng Yu’yi – just letting her keep them for a few days. She may be cunning, but at least she won’t have any unsavory ideas. I’ll take them back after we subdue the corpse demon.”
Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi nodded but felt something wasn’t quite right. The Mystic Sound Bells were indeed Daoist artifacts, but Brother had worn them since childhood. Giving them to Lady Teng to wear on her wrist was like what they’d heard in Buddhist teachings – what was it called again?
They racked their brains but couldn’t remember the term, and couldn’t help asking: “Brother, why would you rather give Lady Teng the Mystic Sound Bells than cure her poison?”
Lin Chengyou mounted his horse. “We need to keep some cards up our sleeve. The corpse demon is too difficult to deal with. In my view, don’t expect to subdue it in one or two attempts. Since the corpse demon views Teng Yu’yi as prey, it has likely thoroughly understood her situation. The prey suddenly became unable to speak – even the corpse demon probably didn’t anticipate this… This might be a breakthrough point in dealing with it. Forget it, I can’t explain it clearly to you. Just know that I have my reasons. Oh, and keep your mouths shut. The corpse demon is most skilled at reading people’s hearts. If Teng Yu’yi knows beforehand, this strategy won’t work.”
The two nodded seriously.
Meanwhile, Teng Yu’yi approached the cart and handed a written note to Steward Cheng: These two are young Daoists from Qingyun Temple. They will be staying at the residence these days. One is called Daoist Jue Sheng, and the other is Daoist Qi Zhi. Both Daoists are my honored guests – treat them well and don’t be negligent.
Following Teng Yu’yi’s gesture, Steward Cheng looked aside and indeed saw two round little Daoist boys.
Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi said in unison: “This humble Daoist pays respects.”
Steward Cheng had heard of Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi’s names but had never met them. Though surprised, he still stepped forward and bowed respectfully: “Welcome, honored Daoists. This humble one is surnamed Cheng, the steward of the Teng residence. I pay my respects to the two Daoists. Please don’t hesitate to instruct me if you need anything.”
After speaking, he quickly had people arrange accommodations while leading Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi into the residence.
Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi said to Lin Chengyou: “Brother, we’ll go in then.”
***
Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi were settled in Pine Wave Court, and Teng Yu’yi personally went to check on them.
When she entered the room, Qi Zhi was busy unpacking while Jue Sheng sat on the bed swinging his legs.
“Lady Teng.” Jue Sheng jumped down from the bed. “Why haven’t you gone to sleep yet?”
Having been “mute” for half a day, Teng Yu’yi had already thought of a way to communicate. As soon as she returned to her chambers, she had Chun Rong prepare a small, convenient tray filled with millet grains, with a silver chopstick beside it.
Teng Yu’yi took up the silver chopstick and wrote in the millet: Came to see if you need anything else.
Qi Zhi said cheerfully: “What else could we need? Steward Cheng knew we would need to chant sutras morning and evening, so he even prepared items for storing the scriptures. He also asked about our dietary restrictions and showed us a long list of vegetarian dishes.”
Jue Sheng scratched his head and said: “But we’re only staying a few days – there’s no need for such grand preparations. Lady Teng is being too considerate; we feel quite embarrassed.”
Teng Yu’yi looked around, seeing everything was neat and proper, before setting her mind at ease: You are my honored guests. Such thoroughness is only proper. Whatever you want to eat, just tell me, or tell Steward Cheng – he’s an old servant of the household and quite attentive.
Jue Sheng said: “Lady Teng, did you tell Steward Cheng about Qi Zhi’s injured finger? Earlier he called a physician to change Qi Zhi’s bandage – gave us quite a start.”
Teng Yu’yi nodded and asked Qi Zhi: Is your finger better? Starting tomorrow, the physician will come regularly to check on you.
Qi Zhi smiled, showing two round dimples, and held out his hand to Teng Yu’yi: “Look, Lady Teng, it’s much better already.”
He hesitated for a moment: “You’re not angry that Brother wouldn’t cure your poison tonight, are you?”
Angry? What use would anger be?
Teng Yu’yi smiled and wrote: Not angry. I’m not angry at all.
Rather than being angry, better to find a way to cure the poison quickly.
Qi Zhi and Jue Sheng exchanged glances, really wanting to tell Lady Teng that Brother wasn’t refusing to cure the poison intentionally, but Brother had said they couldn’t say this now. So they swallowed their words and said awkwardly: “Lady Teng, Brother actually isn’t bad-hearted.”
Jue Sheng nodded vigorously: “Princess Azhi has been studying in the palace this past year. Whenever she wanted to eat or play something, she would act coquettishly with Brother. Sometimes when things are too difficult to find, Brother would refuse on the surface but end up finding ways to get them for Princess Azhi anyway. And there’s the Second Young Master, four years younger than Brother – he’s always liked following Brother around. When the Second Young Master was young and learning polo and horsemanship, it was all personally taught by Brother.”
Qi Zhi added: “Lady Teng, though Brother often scolds me and Jue Sheng, he’s never forgotten our birthdays, not once. And he always buys us lots of gifts.”
Teng Yu’yi raised her hand to stop them. If she hadn’t remembered she was “mute,” hearing their blind praise might have made her mistakenly think Lin Chengyou was some kind of benevolent gentleman.