“You haven’t seen the demon market yet, have you? Why don’t I take you there today?” With these words, Wu Zhen brought Mei Zhuyu to the demon market. As they approached the East Ward gate, Mei Zhuyu hesitated slightly, “If I enter the demon market, will there be any trouble?” From what he knew, entering Chang’an’s demon market wasn’t that easy.
Wu Zhen was unconcerned, waving her hand, “It’s fine, nothing will happen with me bringing you.”
Just before entering the market, Wu Zhen suddenly had a mischievous thought. She turned to look at her husband and smiled, “Husband, you usually conceal your spiritual energy to appear ordinary, but this is the demon market. I’m afraid some ignorant minor demons might disrespect you. Why don’t you stop hiding it and openly display your power?”
Mei Zhuyu frowned, “That seems inappropriate. What if it causes chaos…” After all, his spiritual energy came from orthodox Daoist lineage, different from demons.
Wu Zhen just wanted to scare the demons for fun and wouldn’t be dissuaded. She stepped forward, took Mei Zhuyu’s arm, and shook it gently, looking at him with bright eyes. Soon, the ‘inappropriate’ became ‘appropriate’.
The East Market demon market had twelve guardian demon generals. Usually, they transformed into twelve-zhang-tall golden bodies, standing guard on both sides of the gate. They would only intervene if a powerful intruder entered. For weaker intruders, these great lords wouldn’t even bother to open their eyes, as the demons inside the market could easily subdue them.
In recent years, Chang’an’s demon market has become increasingly peaceful, with no major incidents for a long time. These demon generals had slept for so long without opening their eyes that grass had grown on their golden bodies. On this day, they sensed a pure spiritual power entering, conflicting with the demon market’s aura. This energy quickly awakened the demon generals, who all opened their eyes simultaneously. One general with eyes as large as copper bells, just waking up and not yet seeing clearly who had arrived, shouted angrily, “What reckless creature dares to cause trouble in the demon market!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a female voice laughed, “What are you yelling about? Your voice is so loud, it’s deafening.”
The giant demon general looked down and saw the troublesome little Cat Master at his feet, looking up at him with a smile. Seeing her smiling face, the demon general felt a headache coming on, involuntarily recalling the days when the little Cat Master tormented them to the point of wanting to hide underground.
Looking again at the source of the pure spiritual energy that had awakened him and the other demon generals, he saw it was the man whose hand the little Cat Master was holding.
The guardian demon generals looked at each other, the small trees growing on their heads swaying like weeds as they turned. After a moment of silence, one demon general hesitantly asked, “Cat Master, may I ask who this is beside you…”
Wu Zhen had been waiting for them to ask. She confidently stepped back with Mei Zhuyu, as if showcasing him to let them get a good look, then said, “This is my husband. I got married a while ago. Look, I brought him for everyone to see.”
How could anyone dare to marry the Cat Master? Aren’t they afraid of being tormented to death? All the demon generals widened their eyes simultaneously. Then, noticing Mei Zhuyu’s profound spiritual energy, they suddenly understood. With such cultivation, no wonder he dared to marry the Cat Master. It was truly a case of great skill breeding great courage.
Leading her husband past the intense gazes of the demon generals and entering the market, they immediately caused another wave of commotion and chaos.
On this day, the demons living in the market felt the approaching aura of a Daoist priest and were startled, thinking a priest had invaded the market. They turned in astonishment, only to become even more shocked.
Some demons knew that the Cat Master had married, but very few knew who her husband was. So, seeing the Cat Master intimately holding a man’s hand with such a gentle expression, how could they not be surprised?
Discovering that the Daoist priest with the terrifying aura was brought by the Cat Master, the demons’ fear lessened slightly, but their curiosity increased.
Life had been peaceful, and the demons were bored. Now that something interesting was happening, whether they were eating in restaurants or playing at home, they all rushed out. They lined both sides of the street, peered down from shop windows, and crowded on second-floor balconies to watch the excitement. In an instant, the market was filled with curious demons.
Mei Zhuyu had indeed encountered many demons before. Due to his special constitution, many evil demons had wanted to eat him since childhood. The fact that he was still alive meant he had killed quite a few covetous demons. However, even he had never seen so many demons at once.
He saw weasel demons in short shirts with sweat towels around their necks, peering out curiously; rabbit demons wearing hairpins and jewelry, dressed in embroidered flower dresses; mountain rat demons wearing straw hats and carrying large sacks of goods onto carts; flower demons with blooming vines around their waists, shyly peeking from behind trees… and so on. If not for certain inhuman features, they looked no different from the ordinary people seen in the East and West Wards.
Wu Zhen felt no shame for causing such a stir among the demons. On the contrary, she walked excitedly down the center of the street, loudly introducing her husband to everyone around. Waves of gasps and exclamations followed, then a buzz of discussions. The couple was the center of attention.
Mei Zhuyu felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by so many demons of various kinds. He raised his eyes to meet their gazes. Instantly, the areas he looked at fell silent. The demons were intimidated by his spiritual energy, freezing in place. As Mei Zhuyu’s gaze swept around, the surrounding area grew quieter.
He remained silent, while Wu Zhen, looking at the dumbfounded demons and then at her husband beside her, smiled even more brightly.
However, as more and more onlooking demons gathered, Wu Zhen suddenly stopped, her smile fading. She scanned the surroundings and said in a stern voice, “I brought my husband here today to introduce him to everyone. Why do you all look unhappy?”
The resident demons of the market, seeing her expression, knew trouble was brewing. Immediately, an old man with a white beard chuckled, “No, no, of course we’re happy. Anyone the Cat Master values is our honored guest. This old one runs a shop with decent mountain delicacy soup. If the Cat Master has time, why not bring your husband to my humble shop for a pot?”
With this clever old He Shou Wu demon taking the lead, the other demons didn’t want to fall behind. Soon, both sides of the street were filled with warm greetings.
Some even more astute demons, seeing the Cat Master’s good attitude towards Mei Zhuyu, came up directly to offer gifts. A ginseng root as thick as a small arm was enthusiastically stuffed into Mei Zhuyu’s hand as if a simple farmer had casually handed him a carrot.
What followed was more chaos. After walking just five steps, Mei Zhuyu inexplicably found his hands full of various items. Later arrivals, seeing his hands full, started hanging things on his shoulders.
Unable to utter a single word of refusal, he was decorated like a tree with colorful silks. Mei Zhuyu discovered for the first time that demons could be so enthusiastic.
Of course, some demons disliked the Daoist priest and grumbled behind his back, “Why flatter him so much? It’s embarrassing for demons.”
But they didn’t dare speak loudly. If overheard, not only might the seemingly powerful Daoist priest get angry and take action, but if the Cat Master heard it and was displeased, she would torment them half to death.
Better not provoke them, better not provoke them.
Seeing her husband instantly covered and struggling to move, Wu Zhen chuckled and finally spoke up to stop it, “Whoever stuffed things at him, take them back. You’re all making my husband carry everything, isn’t he tired?”
The demons: “…” It seemed the Cat Master had fallen for a pretty face. No, looking at the Daoist priest’s face, he could hardly be called pretty. It was more like the Daoist priest had fallen for a pretty face.
Pulling Mei Zhuyu out of the crowd of demons, Wu Zhen led him into the Yan Tower. As soon as they entered, it became much quieter, with no more intense stares.
Wu Zhen’s deputy, Huzhu, was sitting upstairs, a crimson sleeve hanging down from the railing. Seeing the couple arrive, she smiled and said in a soft, coquettish voice, “Cat Master~ Why did you bring Mei Lang here~”
Her true form was a fox, and with such a posture and smile, she exuded natural charm, extremely alluring. Even without intentionally trying to seduce anyone, she was still captivating.
Mei Zhuyu and Wu Zhen looked towards her. Mei Zhuyu had seen her before and knew she was one of Wu Zhen’s deputies. At the same time, he recalled a rumor he had heard before – some said Wu Zhen preferred skilled courtesans to young men, especially the famous Miss Huzhu of Chang’an, often taking her out.
Huzhu’s body suddenly stiffened, her hair standing on end. Her heart skipped a beat as she faced Mei Lang’s piercing gaze. She was very confused about why Mei Lang was suddenly looking at her like this. She didn’t think she had offended him, had she? Remembering Master Mei’s fierce demeanor when slaying the plague god earlier, Huzhu unconsciously sat up straight and adopted a serious expression.
Only then did Mei Zhuyu withdraw his gaze.
Wu Zhen, seeing the exchange of looks between them, guessed why her husband had reacted this way and almost laughed out loud.
Coincidentally, the other deputy, Shen Gun, was also present today. He usually transformed into ordinary appearances like old men, children, or strong men, but today he had taken the form of a handsome young man. Wu Zhen went over to greet him familiarly, showing much affection. Shen Gun’s Wordless Book twitched at the corner of his mouth. Just as he was about to ask why the Cat Master was being so affectionate towards him today, he saw Master Mei behind Wu Zhen give him a couple of extra glances. That look…
Wordless Book immediately stood up, hugging his eating utensils as he walked out, muttering, “Today’s divination shows I have a calamity to face. I need to stay away from the Cat Master to resolve it. Wordless Book takes his leave first!”
Liu Taizhen was also there today, still writing her book upstairs. As Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu approached, Liu Taizhen didn’t even lift her head, speaking coldly, “You’ve stirred up such a commotion in the demon market. Are you happy now?”
Wu Zhen: “Very happy indeed.”
Liu Taizhen snorted, put down her pen, and looked up. When her eyes met Mei Zhuyu’s, both showed the same detachment and scrutiny. She took out a seal from her sleeve and tossed it to Wu Zhen, saying coldly, “Use it quickly and return it to me as soon as you’re done.”
Wu Zhen giggled, “As expected, Little Snake knows me well!” She had specifically brought her husband here to stamp this seal. With both the Cat Master’s and Snake Master’s seals, he would be able to freely enter and exit the demon market in the future.
Taking Mei Zhuyu’s hand, Wu Zhen stamped Liu Taizhen’s seal on the back of his hand. The golden seal mark flashed and disappeared. Wu Zhen tossed the seal back to Liu Taizhen, then took out another seal from her sleeve. After looking left and right and hesitating for a moment, she suddenly reached out to open Mei Zhuyu’s robe and stamped it below his collarbone, near his chest.
Liu Taizhen’s mouth twitched. She lowered her head to continue writing, while simultaneously speaking up to drive them away, unable to bear it any longer: “Get out, don’t be an eyesore here.”
Her eyes were practically blinded.