Liu Taizhen placed her hand on the painting, sensing it for a moment before withdrawing and saying, “Wu Zhen, did you feel it?”
Wu Zhen nodded. “I did. This thing is ominous, yet too ‘clean.’ Even though there’s a hint of strange demonic energy, it’s very faint.” She turned to Ling Xiao and his wife. “How did you capture this?”
Zhu Ying, the butcher’s wife with a more robust build than most women, explained, “We saw these things riding black clouds towards the imperial palace, so we intercepted them. At first, we thought they were evil spirits, but there was no ghostly aura. My husband detected an ink scent on them and guessed they might be ink ghosts. So, we used a talisman scroll to capture them.”
Ling Xiao nodded and added, “That’s right. After being confined in the scroll, they turned into this painting of malevolent ghosts. But after careful examination over the past two days, we don’t think they’re ink ghosts. That’s why we brought it to the Yan Tower for your opinion.”
Wu Zhen’s attention was drawn not to the nature of these beings, but to something else. “They were heading towards the imperial palace?”
“Yes. Does Cat Gentleman find something amiss?”
Wu Zhen inexplicably thought of the little princess’s white tea plant. Although the plant hadn’t said anything, its condition indicated it had been through a fierce battle. Wu Zhen had been wondering what could have entered the palace without raising an alarm, as even her visit hadn’t detected any lingering ominous aura nearby.
She suddenly rolled up the scroll. “Let me borrow this for a while. I’m going to find Mei Si to see if it’s his work.” Mei Si always brought his new paintings for her appraisal, and after seeing so many, Wu Zhen was almost certain this was his work. So how had Mei Si managed to create something imbued with such demonic energy?
Meanwhile, the Mei Si that Wu Zhen was thinking about was currently in the Demon Market. However, this ‘Mei Si’ was no longer the same person. His body had been possessed by a demon spirit, and his soul was temporarily unconscious, pushed into a corner of his body.
The demon spirit occupying Mei Si’s body was hiding from someone – the man who had captured him split him into two parts and confined him in specially crafted brush and paper. That man appeared to be an ordinary, sickly person, but his methods were bizarre. The spirit had been living peacefully in Yangzhou before being forcibly brought here in that state and compelled to lend his power to a human. It was utterly frustrating.
The spirit had never been to Chang’an before and was unfamiliar with the place. However, he could sense the overwhelming demonic aura and the gathering of non-human entities. Hiding here, he figured that man wouldn’t be able to find him for a while. After laying low for some time and weathering the storm, he planned to leave and return to Yangzhou.
Having made up his mind, the demon spirit searched the Demon Market for a suitable place to recuperate. Much of his energy had been depleted by the young man’s painting, and he had burned the paper and brush that confined him, indirectly freeing himself but also injuring his essence. He needed to recover properly.
After looking around, the spirit chose a building in the Demon Market shaped like a spreading-winged wild goose – the Yan Tower. This newcomer to the Demon Market was completely unaware of the local rules, let alone that the Yan Tower housed two untouchable figures of the Demon Market. He only noticed that the Yan Tower’s location was ideal for his recovery, so he infiltrated without hesitation.
Inside the Yan Tower, Wu Zhen had left, and Ling Xiao and his wife had gone home, leaving only Liu Taizhen. As the offspring of a human and a demon, her body had certain deficiencies. She needed to spend time in water periodically because her mother was a water-loving snake demon. For Liu Taizhen, being in the water was also more comfortable.
In the main hall of the Yan Tower, there was a huge pool with perpetually warm water, shrouded in mist. Liu Taizhen would occasionally transform into her original form to soak in this pool. This time was no different – she changed into a snake and sank quietly to the bottom of the pool.
The Yan Tower was always quiet. Suddenly, Liu Taizhen sensed an unfamiliar presence invading the tower. This was her territory, and even though the intruder was cautious, she detected them immediately. Liu Taizhen didn’t rush out but remained in the pool, waiting for the intruder to approach. It had been a long time since any demon dared to sneak into the Yan Tower. This one must either be extremely bold or incredibly foolish.
The infiltrating spirit, finding the tower seemingly empty, was overjoyed. With no one around, things would be much easier for him. The tower was lavishly decorated, with a misty pool in the center. A long bridge spanned the pool, leading to a platform at the back, with two spiral staircases on either side.
Currently occupying an ordinary human body and severely weakened, the spirit’s senses were dulled. He walked onto the suspended bridge, completely unaware of the pair of emerald eyes watching him from beneath the water.
Is that Mei Si? Liu Taizhen swam slowly at the bottom of the pool, observing the person walking on the bridge. She had seen Mei Si before – she was familiar with all the young people who often played with Wu Zhen. Those energetic youths would always come over to exchange insults with her group of girls, and after numerous noisy encounters, she naturally recognized them.
However, this Mei Si seemed off. Just a short while ago, Wu Zhen had left with a painting supposedly done by him, yet here he was suddenly appearing in the Yan Tower. How could an ordinary person enter the Demon Market, let alone the Yan Tower?
When the spirit reached the middle of the bridge, he finally sensed something amiss. But by then, it was too late to run. A giant snake suddenly emerged from the water, seizing him in its jaws and dragging him into the pool. Caught off guard, the spirit’s body convulsed as it entered the water, suddenly spewing large amounts of ink.
The spirit’s original form was a shape-shifting ink painting, and water was its greatest weakness. Liu Taizhen flicked her tail, wrapping around Mei Si’s body and tossing him, causing him to expel more ink. Seeing that was enough, Liu Taizhen brought her head close to Mei Si’s face, opening her blood-red maw and biting down on his neck. This bite drew no blood, but as Liu Taizhen’s snake head moved away, a twisted mass of black ink wrapped in a layer of purple smoke was forced out of Mei Si’s body.
Realizing the dire situation, the spirit tried to escape, but Liu Taizhen opened her mouth wide and swallowed it whole. A bulge appeared in the giant snake’s body, initially moving slightly, but soon settling down and gradually flattening out.
Liu Taizhen flicked her tail, tossing the black ink Mei Si had expelled out of the pool. She couldn’t allow such demonic ink to contaminate her bathing pool.
Mei Si struggled to regain consciousness. After the spirit left his body, his mind cleared, though he had no memory of being possessed. Waking up to find himself in water, he was startled and quickly grabbed onto a nearby stone.
The slippery stone was white and oddly patterned. As Mei Si looked at the ‘white stone’ he was clinging to, he slowly realized that it was very long and moving.
When Mei Si finally understood that he was in the water, hugging a giant snake, he remained oddly calm. He thought, “This must be a dream. Nothing else could explain what I’m seeing.” The white snake’s head was terrifyingly large, right in front of him, staring at him coldly. As Mei Si locked eyes with the great snake, the hair on his back suddenly stood on end. His instincts told him this was no dream.
Bravely, Mei Si reached out to touch the scales on the snake’s head, trying to verify his suspicion. Liu Taizhen, having her face touched, thought this Mei Si must have a death wish. She opened her snake mouth, intending to teach him a lesson, but before she could, his eyes rolled back, and he sank to the bottom of the pool.
Watching the bubbles rise to the surface, Liu Taizhen briefly thought of her friend Wu Zhen. Letting Mei Si die would be difficult to explain to her.
With no other choice, Liu Taizhen transformed back into her human form and swam down to pull Mei Si up. They broke the surface, and Liu Taizhen tossed Mei Si onto the poolside before staying in the water to fix her hair, which Mei Si had tangled in his confusion.
Mei Si regained consciousness, his eyes unfocused. If seeing the giant snake wasn’t a dream, then surely seeing Liu Taizhen naked must be. Otherwise, this scene was even more inexplicable than the snake!
Mei Si was on the verge of losing his mind. Why did he keep seeing things beyond his imagination every time he opened his eyes? He stared blankly at the half-submerged woman in the water – her fair, rounded shoulders, the long black hair clinging to her back, her cool, aloof profile – Wait! Why was it Liu Taizhen? His sister Wu Zhen’s arch-nemesis! Why was she here? More importantly, why was she naked?
Mei Si’s inner turmoil was reaching its breaking point. He had never encountered such a chaotic situation in his life. He began coughing uncontrollably. Liu Taizhen, noticing Mei Si was awake, was slightly surprised. For an ordinary person, he was regaining consciousness too quickly. Earlier, he had also recovered his senses rapidly after being possessed by the spirit.
However, it didn’t matter if he had seen her. This memory couldn’t be allowed to remain. With this thought, Liu Taizhen approached Mei Si with a cold expression.
Seeing Liu Taizhen turn towards him, giving him a clear view of her front, Mei Si trembled and backed away, clutching his chest with panicked eyes. “What are you going to do to me? Don’t come any closer! Stay away from me!”
Liu Taizhen thought: What’s going on? Are you a virtuous woman being harassed?
Momentarily speechless, Liu Taizhen stepped out of the pool barefoot. She reached out and grabbed Mei Si, forcefully pinning him to the ground.
Mei Si struggled hard but didn’t dare to touch her body. He could only claw at the floor, nearly in tears. “Let me go! I won’t betray Sister Wu Zhen and my brothers! We’re on opposing sides. Even if you force me, I won’t take your side!”
Liu Taizhen thought: Who knows what goes on in the minds of young people these days?
Ignoring Mei Si’s feeble struggles, she gripped his chin, forcing him to look into her eyes, and placed her hand on his forehead. A flash of white light emanated from her palm, and Mei Si finally went limp and unconscious.
Having erased his memory, Liu Taizhen left him lying by the pool and went to change her clothes.