Chapter Two (continued)

Masterlist of post and character list

“Oh,” Wen Xiao said, remembering. “Why did you go to the dungeon alone to see Zhao Yuanzhou?” She looked at his tense lips and realized he didn’t know how to put his thoughts into words. She teased him to hopefully provoke a smile. “Ah, I know. You and Zhao Yuanzhou have a problem.”

He lifted his eyes to her sly grin and couldn’t help but laugh. “He and I have a secret.” He pointed at his head. “You, you’re the one with a problem.”

Thump! Something fell to the floor.

Zhuo Yichen snatched up his sword, on alert. He looked around to see that an unripe peach had fallen to the ground in the garden. Amid the luxuriantly growing plants, Zhao Yuanzhou sat sprawled on a tree branch eating a peach.

Wen Xiao huffed a laugh at him. “Just like a monkey.”

Zhao Yuanzhou immediately threw aside the peach and nimbly leapt down from the tree. “Even though your Demon Hunting Bureau looks destitute, it’s really quite large. Handling business in the front while living in the back, providing full board. Saves me the trouble of looking for another place to stay.”

Zhuo Yichen’s inclined his head. “How was he released?” he asked Wen Xiao.

Zhao Yuanzhou stepped forward, forcing himself between the two of them and linking his arms with theirs. “We’ve formed a team, haven’t we? I was afraid you two would leave me behind so I’m coming with you.”

Wen Xiao withdrew her arm and chuckled in the demon’s face. “You actually want to cling to my apron strings? Aren’t you embarassed?”

Zhao Yuanzhou took the opportunity to grab onto Zhuo Yichen’s arm tightly with both hands. “Mr. Zhuo is so eager to solve this case, and my help will save everyone so much time, and yet, that’s not enough? How many more people do you need?”

Zhuo Yichen took several deep breaths, resisting the impulse to draw his sword. He shook off Zhao Yuanzhou’s grasp even as he answered him. “Two more…” He cast him a sidelong glance, unwilling to look at him directly. “And they happen to be two types of people I’m the worst at dealing with.”

“Which two types?” Zhao Yuanzhou inquired.

“A woman, and a little kid.”

Zhao Yuanzhou intentionally leaned over to put his face in front of Zhuo Yichen’s. He was all smiles. “Sure enough, ‘women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with.’ Leave it to me.”

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A wooden dummy stood at the center of Tiandu’s open martial arts training field. No walls or tiles, no roof and door; a house of only beams and pillars. High and low, in and out, dozens of long strips of cloth hung from the wooden beams, each with a pot of wine fastened at the end. At this moment, the dangling wine pots swayed to-and-fro in the empty house.

Within the house was a special jar of wine in a red porcelain jar. Opposite it stood a woman of ample heroic spirit dressed head to toe in dark clothes. She wore her sleeves tight to her arms, fitting for the bold warrior she was with a longbow in her grasp. Between her and her target—the red-jarred wine—dangled the dozens of wine pots hanging on narrow cloths.

All around, her fellow martial artists filled the training space, talking amongst themselves and excited to watch the fun. They knew Pei Sijing and her skill with a bow. They called out praise for her archery, but most were there to see her make a fool of herself. One man stepped forward to give her a silk blindfold. Originally, she had to shoot through the dozens of hanging jars to hit the target, and now she had to do it blindfolded. The crowd’s voices lowered at once, turning into marveling murmurs in Pei Sijing’s ears.

No matter their marveling, Pei Sijing’s face showed no unnecessary feeling. She raised the bow and drew back on the string. She held her breath and listened carefully. With her eyes closed, her sense of hearing magnified. Even the shifting wind seemed to become more distinct. Only…it was too quiet.

Pei Sijing yanked the blindfold from her eyes to discover the crowd around her had collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, deep in sleep. Then, to her surprise, a pretty young woman walked from behind the pillars. Pei Sijing immediately pulled back the bowstring and took aim at her.

“Who are you? What did you do to them?” Pei Sijing spoke with a boldness that was rare in women.

“Ms. Pei, I’m Wen Xiao from the Demon Hunting Bureau. Interested in a chatting a bit?” Wen Xiao asked with a gentle smile, looking harmless.

“No.” A stone-faced Pei Sijing turned to her. “Wake them up right now, or don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Wen Xiao continued, “A month ago, an evil spirit slaughtered a village at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. You received orders to wipe out the evil monster and performed a great service deserving of a reward. Yet, because of this case, you suffered greatly and lost your military post.”

Pei Sijing’s eyes narrowed slightly with some annoyance. “You investigated me?”

“As a matter of fact, I know it was because Ms. Pei voluntarily resigned from her post, not because she was punished.”

Wen Xiao’s words took Pei Sijing by surprise. Her resignation was known only to high-ranking Chongwu Camp officers and no one else. Yet, before her eyes stood a woman she’d never met and still she knew. How did she get this information?

“You’ve been unable to let go because you killed with your own hand…Was it really a demon? Don’t you want to know?”

Pei Sijing spoke bluntly. “I investigated and found nothing. I didn’t resign my post just to be dragged back into this.”

“We can help you.”

Pei Sijing immediately caught the important word. “‘We?’”

Suddenly, as if pushed by a mysterious force, all the wine jars behind Pei Sijing began to sway back and forth. She turned to see a handsome man dressed in black standing beside the red porcelain jar.

Zhao Yuanzhou pointed at himself with a smile. “Us,” he said. “But mainly me. She’s unreliable.”

Wen Xiao really didn’t feel like bothering with this monkey.

Pei Sijing laughed grimly. “I couldn’t find anything. What makes you think you can?”

Zhou Yuanzhou lifted pinched fingers to his lips and whispered a single word: “Break.” Every dangling jar exploded in a spray of wine. Sunlight caught in the crystalline mist, glittering across Zhao Yuanzhou’s face in a way that made him even more bewitching. A red shine flickered in his eyes, and though there was no wind, his hair flowed around him like seaweed in a stream.

“Because I’m a demon. I know things that humans don’t.”

Pei Sijing’s heart trembled and she raised her bow even higher, string pulled taut.

In the flash of an eye, Zhao Yuanzhou stood at her ear. “I know about the situation with your little brother,” he said lowly.

Pei Sijing fought to restrain her chaotic breathing, pupils dilating at the speed with which Zhao Yuanzhou moved. He took the opportunity of her panic to force the token into her hand. Frowning, she looked down to see the token in her palm, three characters across its surface reading, “Demon Hunting Bureau.” She stood there for a long while, motionless, with that token in her palm.

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Idioms that appear in this section:

枝繁叶茂 (zhīfányèmào) – (of plants) to grow luxuriantly; (fig., of a family or business, etc.) to prosper, to flourish

包吃包住 (bāochībāozhù) – to provide full board

英姿飒爽 (yīngzī-sàshuǎng) – valiant and heroic in bearing; bold and brave; to carry oneself tall; valiant and formidable-looking

直言不讳 (zhíyán-bùhuì) – speak without reservations; not mince words; call a spade a spade

一无所有(yīwúsuǒhuò) – to gain nothing; to end up empty handed.

不由分说 (bùyóu-fēnshuō) – allow no explanation, without so much as a ‘by your leave,’ without listening to somebody’s protests