Chapter 9 Si Feng

"Chu Xuanji!"

A loud shout came from behind, and Xuanji suddenly snapped back to reality and turned around, only to see Yu Sifeng and Zhong Minyan, each holding a pile of things, with dozens of people carrying sacks behind them.

"Ah, have you... already bought everything?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Zhong Minyan walked over, frowning as he looked at the honey on the ground and the unusable torches and pots, "What on earth were you doing?" His voice was weak with indignation. My God, if I had known this kid couldn't do anything right! I should have never depended on her!

Xuanji spread her hands and sighed, "It's not my fault." She said it boldly.

"You still talk!" he exploded.

"Then I'll go buy some new ones right now." After she spoke, she turned to leave but was stopped by Yu Sifeng.

"This is...?" he asked, looking at the giant glass tank, his eyes flickering behind the mask. After a moment, he reached out and gently touched the tank's surface, but it felt as if he touched something prickly, and he quickly withdrew his hand.

Xuanji said, "They said it's a demon... a demon with a fish tail."

Hearing this, Zhong Minyan also turned to look and saw the creature in the tank flick its tail and swim away. He jumped back several steps, then exclaimed with exaggeration, "It really is a demon! With a fish tail!"

Yu Sifeng slowly shook his head and after a long while, said softly, "It's not a demon... This is Merfolk, from the South Sea."

Xuanji gasped, "I know about Merfolk. It is said they are skilled at weaving and embroidery, and on the nights of the full moon, they sing songs that bewitch anyone who hears them. Moreover, their tears turn into pearls when they cry."

She recounted these treasures knowledgeably, and just as she finished, the sound of a gong started ahead, and someone was shouting something, drawing the crowd toward that direction.

Xuanji, jostled sideways and on the verge of falling, suddenly felt someone grab her arm. She looked up to see Yu Sifeng standing in front of her, holding her arm, but his eyes were still fixed on the glass tank, seemingly lost in thought.

The person hitting the gong began to speak, "Fellow villagers, we owe our thanks to our county lord's heroic and mighty efforts, who gathered heroes from all around and fought bitterly for a month to finally capture the man-eating demon of the mountains! Now, a Mage is sealing this Evil Spirit in a glass tank with a Magic Artifact, soon to be sent to the capital. If you want to see or smash it, you'd better hurry!"

At these words, the crowd became enraged. The demon of Lutai Mountain had tormented the local people, who detested it intensely. Upon hearing that the demon was captured, no one cared whether it was true or not; people were already picking up stones to throw at the tank. The Merfolk inside dodged back and forth in the water, looking pitiful.

"Eh? Weren't the demon-causing trouble the Heavenly Dog and Gu Diao, not the Merfolk?" Xuanji was confused as she watched the Merfolk hit by a large stone, reddening the water, unsure where it was wounded. She felt quite sympathetic.

"He's just a scapegoat," said Yu Sifeng coldly, "The demon terrorized the area, but the government couldn't explain this to the higher authorities, so they just found a Merfolk to fill the role as a temporary solution to pacify their superiors."

What about the real demon then? Just post an announcement that the demon is gone, and people feel safe to go to the mountains, only to be eaten?" Zhong Minyan found it unbelievable too. They lived in Shouyang Mountain their whole lives with cultivation as their lifelong aim, barely understanding any secular laws or human sentiments.

Yu Sifeng replied indifferently, "Distant water cannot extinguish nearby fire. Now, they can only manage to deflect the blame from their superiors. As for people dying later, that will be another strategy."

Zhong Minyan shook his head, gazing at the bloody blur within the tank where the Merfolk had hidden, his heart filled with sorrow, and he sighed, "I hope the demon hunt tonight goes well, at least... to clear his name."

"With me here, it will definitely go smoothly," Yu Sifeng declared arrogantly, earning a snort from Zhong Minyan.

Xuanji gazed at him admiringly with sparkling eyes, "You're so amazing, knowing so much!"

Yu Sifeng coughed, unable to see through his mask whether he was blushing or not.

"I merely, often, travel outdoors, see much, that's all," he said as he hoisted the bag of salt he was carrying, "Let's go, we'll first resupply the honey and torches, then head back to the tavern."

After he finished speaking, his sleeves trembled slightly, and pinched between two fingers was a light red pill. While nobody was paying attention, he used his finger strength to flick it into the glass tank. Whether it could live until tomorrow depended on the Merfolk's fate now.

He silently turned and walked away.

****

By the time they returned to the tavern, the sky had already darkened, casting a reddish glow that lit everyone's faces with a flame-like hue.

Chu Yinghong, seeing Xuanji's wet hair and dripping sleeves, couldn't help but wonder, "You child, did you go to the river to buy honey? How did you end up like this?"

Xuanji shook her head, "I was on the street when I saw a..."

Before she could finish, Yu Sifeng interrupted: "She, walking, not watching, got splashed, head first, by someone's, dishwater."

Not true! Xuanji stared at him in astonishment; he was lying!

Yu Sifeng casually stated, "She was like, soulless. Even walking, was daydreaming."

Xuanji blinked her eyes, hesitating whether to refute or not, but her head was vigorously rubbed by Chu Yinghong, who sighed with a smile, "You child, at least focus on other things. Quickly dry your hair; we are going to find an inn and change clothes before we leave."

Xuanji was stunned for a long time, finally managing a hesitant "oh," deciding not to expose Yu Sifeng's lie.

As they were about to leave, Yu Sifeng came up to her, saying softly, "Don't, talk to them, about, Merfolk, matters."

"Why?" Xuanji was very curious.

He whispered, "These adults, they do not like, outsiders. We can't, save him then."

"Ah? Are you saying you plan to save him?"

He nodded, "I, have my ways. You just, watch."

Xuanji giggled, imitating his stuttering emphasis, she said, "Alright, alright, got it!"

She had barely finished speaking when he rapped her forehead hard with his knuckles, causing her so much pain she couldn't speak for a while. Yet he smiled softly, his sleeve fluttering slightly as he turned and followed the adults out of the restaurant.

Xuanji suddenly realized that this boy wasn't as annoying as she had initially thought, and couldn't help but catch up to ask, "Si Feng, how old are you?"

He was taken aback, his emphasis changing as he asked, "What... what did you, call me, just now?!"

She smiled slightly, "Si Feng, isn't your name Yu Sifeng? I didn't get it wrong."

That's not the issue! He was speechless. It took him a while to say, "What... what do you, need to know that, for?"

"Aren't we companions? Can't I ask?"

He was silent for a while before saying, "Then, you, go first."

She readily responded, "My name is Chu Xuanji, and I am eleven years old this year."

"Just a little kid," he scoffed.

"You're a little kid too," she laughed, "You're not an adult."

He snorted, "Who says? I'm, thirteen, I've been an adult, for a while now."

Just thirteen, what's there to be proud of? She didn't tell him that the eldest apprentice brother was already eighteen, and even Zhong Minyan was a year older than him!

"Si Feng, why do you always wear a mask on your face? Isn't it stifling?" Xuanji reached out wanting to touch the fearsome face, but he coldly pushed her hand away.

"It's none of, your business, don't touch."

Xuanji retracted her hand somewhat awkwardly; honestly, being rejected so bluntly did put her in an awkward position.

He probably felt that his words were harsh, pausing a moment before saying, "This mask, nobody can, touch it. It cannot be, casually, taken off." He thought for a moment and then added, "It is, a rule of, Lize Palace."

Xuanji shrugged, "I haven't even seen what you look like. It would be so awkward if we ran into each other on the road and you recognized me but I didn't recognize you."

He didn't speak for a long time, his ears slowly turning red. After a while, he said softly, "Knowing you is, enough for me."

What did that mean? Xuanji didn't understand at all.

Zhong Minyan had been quietly listening to their conversation and suddenly turned around to ask, "I heard that people from Lize Palace can take off their masks when they turn eighteen, but they still need to wear them on major occasions. Is that right?"

Yu Sifeng said coldly, "It seems you, know quite a lot. These are, the rules of, my sect. I don't want, to discuss it, more."

Zhong Minyan, feeling slightly disgusted by his haughty attitude despite having admired his extensive knowledge during their journey, thought the man's character and temper were extremely poor, almost as if he wanted to turn his nose up to the sky.

Listening to his superior tone while chatting with Xuanji had already annoyed him. Xuanji didn't care, but he did! How could he let someone from Lize Palace get one over on Shaoyang Sect!

"I'm not interested anyway!" he bluntly retorted and turned his head away, dropping the conversation.

Stunned by this retort, Yu Sifeng stiffened his neck and remained silent, playing mute.

Xuanji helplessly looked at one and then the other, wanting to say something but not knowing what, so she silently slipped to Chu Yinghong's side to listen to the adults discussing the arrangements for demon hunting that evening.