It’s common knowledge that demons are rooted in malicious thoughts and take on animal forms as vessels.
Some things of lower rank are not inherently strong.
They love to pile their bodies up so swollen and distorted that they are hard to look at, and this is common.
But when something is inherently strong enough to stir clouds and rain, to overturn the heavens and the earth, how can the fiercest beasts in the world, like wolves and tigers, contain them?
They would never choose such a body for themselves.
What they meticulously shape for themselves are often the bodies of colossal ancient beasts.
As early as a thousand years ago, there were records of monsters in the form of nightmares, nine-headed birds, bixi, and xī monsters sweeping across the heavens and earth, taking countless lives.
Wherever they passed, blood coagulated into dark red in the land, and murderous energy surged like a tangible force, reaching the skies.
Su Lingxi never expected that they could transform into human form.
She organized her thoughts and looked at Sang Chu, speaking in a calm, orderly manner:
“The ability to take human form means that, whenever they want, they can easily blend into human crowds, avoiding the Demon Suppression Bureau’s checks and tracking, and when necessary, they can shed their skin like a golden cicada and hide in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to act.
Our human forces are limited, and we can’t check everyone one by one. But in the dark, they can secretly plot one bloody massacre after another.
These beings’ nature will never change. Wherever they go, disaster will follow.”
Su Lingxi paused, withdrew her hand, and spoke with clear concern:
“I don’t know if they will unite. If they do, the situation will be difficult to control. It would be too passive.”
“Don’t worry.”
Sang Chu nodded and said gently, “Someone can track and lock onto them one by one.”
Su Lingxi’s heart relaxed slightly, but soon she realized something and closed her lips, murmuring a low voice:
“Ye Zhuxu.”
Sang Chu nodded at her.
Before coming here, what she had imagined was one thing, but now the reality was another.
The situation was better than expected, with someone able to track the most troublesome ones.
However, retrieving the demon beads was more difficult than imagined because it meant they had to get them from Ye Zhuxu’s hands.
Su Lingxi couldn’t help but lower her eyes and rubbed the corners of her eyes, as though to laugh at the bitter irony of this inevitable and frustrating coincidence.
After a moment of silence, the man who had been standing behind Sang Chu scratched his hair and rubbed his chin, taking a half step forward, looking like he wanted to speak but hesitated.
Su Lingxi glanced at him, thinking back to what had happened half an hour ago.
She picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and opened a new bamboo scroll, quietly sitting down at her desk.
Yu Lin’an had no idea what she was writing.
After a while, he saw her hand over the scroll to him, and when he took it and looked at it, he was stunned.
“At the stroke of the Dog Hour in Chang’an, the street drums will be struck, and the curfew will last until dawn.
The East and West markets will be closed, although some alleyways will remain open. The merchants from Hu will have very fine wine in their hands, and the women of Sogdiana will dance in their inns with silver pots, performing Hu style dances. The music from the people of Kucha will sound beautiful and will last all night.”
Su Lingxi pointed to the bamboo scroll and slightly lifted her chin:
“These inns sometimes need a secret code, and I’ve written it down. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask Xiliu.”
Yu Lin’an’s mouth dropped open. Su Lingxi’s handwriting was still as fluid as ever, but the damned thing was, he could actually understand every word.
Originally, he had wanted to meet the senior, but when Su Lingxi said her second sentence, Tian Jiang had already retracted his foot.
By the time she finished speaking, he was standing back behind Sang Chu.
Sang Chu frowned after listening, then asked:
“Where are you going?”
He looked at Yu Lin’an, who was looking rather fancy, and added, “Don’t bring Xiaoxiao.”
Yu Lin’an quickly rolled up the bamboo scroll and didn’t know whether to hold it or not, so he clenched his fist for a while, then said that he wasn’t going.
Really, he wasn’t going.
Even if he went, he wouldn’t bring Xiaoxiao.
He wasn’t that inconsiderate. In the end, he realized something was off and looked at Su Lingxi, who seemed to know exactly what she was doing:
“Do you now like drinking?”
Su Lingxi gave a half-smile and tilted her head:
“I also like to watch dance, listen to music, and enjoy the performances.”
“My memory’s getting worse. I forgot what leisure activities are popular in Floating Jade.”
She lightly tapped her finger on her brow, not sure if it was intentional:
“But Chang’an is prosperous, famous for its delights, and I’m sure it won’t disappoint, you should try it.”
Sang Chu politely said it was fine, but Yu Lin’an turned his head and didn’t want to say anything.
“The commanding officer will inform me before the big demon takes action. The Demon Suppression Bureau and the Jinwu Guards should try to evacuate the crowd as much as possible, and…”
Su Lingxi’s words were interrupted by an inner servant who came in. It was a hot day, and the servant was sweating from running back and forth from the South Courtyard to the North Courtyard.
The servant stood to the side and, seeing Su Lingxi glance at her, seemed to have been waiting for this moment, gathering the courage to step forward and whisper, “My lord… two young men have been sent again.”
Su Lingxi frowned immediately.
What was Xue Huai up to this time?
The servant dared not speak further and moved closer to Xiliu to deliver the rest of the message.
But everyone in the room had extraordinary cultivation, and if they wanted to listen, even the sound of a mosquito buzzing could be heard clearly.
Let alone this, especially the phrases “The lord especially likes them” and “They’ve already been sent back to the manor,” which echoed in their minds, making it hard to ignore.
Everyone fell silent.
Su Lingxi’s expression remained calm as she said her goodbyes to the two commanders and the Floating Jade team, then left.
As she stepped out the door, Xiliu immediately had the servant dealt with.
Sang Chu wasn’t interested in prying into others’ private affairs and remained silent, maintaining his decorum.
Tian Jiang, who didn’t care for Sang Chu’s seemingly pure persona, exchanged glances with Yu Lin’an, hoping he would understand what he meant.
From what they were hearing, it seemed that Su Lingxi was living quite well—an imperial tutor with great power, enjoying music, performances, and the company of handsome young men.
How could her older sister not be living like this too? Maybe she even had several children by now.
Yu Lin’an didn’t want to speak.
Of course, he couldn’t say anything bad about Su Lingxi.
But had she really forgotten everything?
Wasn’t it her fault?
Just then, as if on cue, a light door creak interrupted his thoughts, and it felt like the sound hit his forehead.
The sound came from behind, from the interrogation room that had been separated just two days ago.
Turning his head, he saw Ye Zhuxu leaning against the doorframe, with an expanse of deep, boundless darkness behind him, the blackness thick and viscous like water, as if strands of hair could be gathered and lifted.
His eyes were also a deep, pitch-black color, and for a moment, they remained still before slowly shifting, scanning the place where Su Lingxi had been, then slowly moving toward the window.
He had been standing there for an unknown amount of time.
Straightening up, he nudged the door completely open and calmly walked out.
For a moment, Yu Lin’an felt a chill down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
He could only frantically touch his neck to ease the suffocating coldness.
He hadn’t heard anything, had he?
When the interrogation room door closed and the formation was set, they could still hear people talking outside, but this wasn’t a joke.
… Was he really that strong?