Chapter 4: The Beginning of the Demon Hunt—Part 1

Back at the East courtyard, Yusang noticed the old lady sitting alone by the window, staring blankly outside. She wiped the teapot’s surface and realized it was still warm, indicating the tea had just been refilled.

“Old Madam, who was the sister that helped me just now?” Yusang speculated that perhaps one of the other maids in the household had come to refill the hot water for her.

She thought to thank them if she encountered them later.

“She came, she returned…” The old madam murmured twice, then looked up at Yusang as if suddenly awakened, and corrected herself.

“Do you think I’m so old that I can’t even refill my own tea?”

Yusang knew the old Madam was getting irritated again, so she quickly bowed her head in silence and quietly cast a muting spell on herself, allowing the old Madam to rant without hearing a single word.

By the time the old madam finished her tirade, the sky had turned completely dark. After eating some pastries, the old madam washed up and went to bed early.

As Yusang left the old madam’s room, she noticed a graceful woman dressed in white standing in the courtyard.

She had fair skin and a beautiful appearance; it was Huayi.

“Girl, why would you, a fine demon, come to serve an old lady?”

“You think I want to? I’m doing it for you all. There should be a demon in this household, and I need to capture her.”

“A demon? There’s more than one here.”

Huayi smiled at Yusang.

“You know?”

(T/N: I’ve explained before that ‘yao’ is a very broad term and different from the demon from western culture that is often associated with malevolent entities and followers of Satan. In chapter 1, I’ve translated the ‘bamboo yao’ as bamboo spirit, but in order not to be confused, I will translate all ‘yao’ into demon, including the female lead.. and please do read the translator’s extra notes if you want to know more..)

“Aren’t there a group of us in the back garden? I’m one of them too.”

“It’s not you all; it’s a demon that cultivates by sucking human essence. I’ve tracked it all the way to Yunsui City.”

“I was wondering why you suddenly came to Yunsui City. Turns out it’s to hunt demons. You really don’t keep me, your sister, in mind.”

“This matter is strange, and… I seem to have sensed something unusual.”

Hearing this, Huayi’s playful demeanor vanished, her eyebrows twitched, and she tentatively asked, “Is it those things?”

Yusang nodded, then shook her head, “I’m not entirely sure yet, but the Soul-Guiding Lantern has appeared, which means everything has begun. I must get to the bottom of it.”

“If that’s the case, I should help too.”

“Don’t worry, if I need your help, I won’t hesitate.”

Yusang smiled and raised an eyebrow confidently.

After parting with Huayi, Yusang first took a turn around the servants’ quarters, letting everyone know she had returned.

Then, she quietly flew out the back window and landed on the rooftop.

From the servants’ quarters to the West courtyard where Madam Lu resided, Yusang carefully landed behind a tree. She saw the light inside the house casting a woman’s shadow on the window.

She walked quietly to the rock garden she had seen earlier, where the wind had been blowing out from the fake mountain. The cave in the fake mountain was still dark and bottomless.

Yusang picked up a stone from the ground and carefully placed it at the entrance of the cave, giving it a gentle push.

The stone rolled down the cave.

Yusang pressed her ear to the fake mountain, and after the sound of the stone rolling inside, it seemed to stop, followed by a rustling sound, as if something was moving inside.

Yusang was secretly pleased that her guess was correct; there was something hidden under the fake mountain. Just as she was about to lean in closer to look, a dark red snakehead suddenly shot out of the cave.

The snake’s head was as large as a bucket, with glaring green eyes and sharp fangs.

It looked as though it could easily swallow a person whole.

Yusang quickly stepped back, but the snakehead appeared too fast, and she was so startled that she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“Do not harm her.”

Just when Yusang thought the snakehead would attack again, a cold voice shouted from behind her. At the same time, a sword light flashed above her head, narrowly missing her, and struck the snakehead.

The giant snake was forcibly pushed back.

Still trembling with fear, Yusang looked up and saw the young man in white she had encountered outside the courtesan house.

He was standing behind her, holding a lantern in one hand and casting a spell with the other.

“What are you staring at? If you want to live, get behind me quickly.”

Before Yusang could react, Yan Qige had already spoken.

Yusang scrambled to her feet and hurriedly hid behind Yan Qige, saying, “Tao—”

Before she could finish saying “Taoist priest,”  she remembered that the demon at the courtesan house had lost its life just for calling him that.

She quickly corrected herself, “Young master, thank you, thank you.”

Yan Qige ignored her, throwing the lantern into the air, where it hung suspended.

He conjured a sword with his spell, leaped forward, and used his powerful sword energy to force the red-headed snake back into the fake mountain cave.

“Why did you let it go? That was a snake demon.”

Yusang asked, pointing to the cave as soon as the red-headed snake retreated.

Yan Qige acted as if he hadn’t heard her.

He stepped back, dispelled the sword, and caught the lantern as it fell from the air.

After dusting off his robe, he slowly turned his gaze to Yusang and raised his chin slightly, speaking in a low voice, “You are also a demon. Should I deal with you now too?”

“You…” Yusang was at a loss for words.

“Don’t think that just because you’ve hidden your demonic energy, I can’t see through it.”

“Hmph, identifying ghosts and demons is a basic skill for a Taoist priest. There’s no need to be so smug.” Yusang muttered under her breath.

Hearing this, Yan Qige’s expression changed, and his voice became sharper, his eyes flashing with anger.

“Who are you calling a Taoist priest?”

Indeed, this was Yan Qige’s sore spot.

Knowing the wisdom of not provoking someone stronger, Yusang quickly smiled and corrected herself, “No, no… The young master is not a Taoist priest. How could the young master be a Taoist priest?”

“You are truly a shameless demon.”

Yan Qige sneered.

Yu Sang bit her lip in frustration but forced a smile, “Then what must I do to be considered honorable?”

“At the very least, you should be furious and fight me to the death to defend your dignity.”

“And then?”

“Then I could justifiably defeat you without mercy.”

“You…” Yusang wanted to be angry, but knowing it wasn’t the right time, she swallowed her anger, turned on her heel, and headed toward Madam Lu’s house.

Yusang carefully approached Madam Lu’s bedroom, changing hiding spots several times before finally reaching the door.

She was about to crouch down and peek inside through the crack when suddenly, a black booted foot kicked the door open with a loud bang.

Yan Qige entered the room, lantern in hand, with an air of confidence.

He glanced at Yusang before stepping inside like a victorious top scholar.

Yusang coughed lightly and stood up, looking around to make sure no one had noticed, then pretended to be calm as she entered the room.

The room was empty.

Only a slightly thicker-than-usual white candle was burning on the pearwood round table.

On the table was a small human figure cut out of white paper.

The candlelight cast the shadow of the paper figure on the doors and windows, making it look like someone was sitting at the table.

Yan Qige approached the white candle and was about to touch the paper figure when Yusang suddenly shouted, “Don’t touch it!”

At the same time, a needle-thin silver thread shot out from the candle’s flame. Without thinking, Yusang quickly conjured a bamboo leaf between her fingers and flicked it toward the silver thread, knocking it down. As the bamboo leaf touched the silver thread, it disintegrated into powder, and the silver thread transformed into a strand of hair that fell to the ground.

—-TRANSLATOR EXTRA NOTES—

– 妖 (Yao) typically refers to animal spirits or spirits of objects, like a fox spirit or a tree spirit. These beings often work hard to become more intelligent and frequently take on human form.

– 魔 (Mo) is more abstract; it originates from Buddhism, but over time, people have used “Mo” for foreign supernatural entities, like “èmó” for “devil.”

“Mo” can also refer to a state of mind; someone with an obsession can be described as being possessed by “Mo.”.. like in most cultivation novels, a cultivator cannot advance because of the demon heart or inner demon..

– 鬼 (Gui) is mostly used for “ghosts”—spirits of once-living humans who usually have unfinished business.

– 怪 (Guai) refers to something truly out of the ordinary, such as a monster.

The usage of “Guai” is often interchangeable with “Yao,” but the key difference is that “Guai” usually refers to something that hasn’t died but has become a supernatural being, while “Yao” typically involves a spirit that has already died. However, there are many exceptions… such as animals or objects, such as a rock or fox, that turn into “Yao”.

The same can be said for “Mo” and “Gui.” Both originate from humans, but “Mo” refers to beings that never died, while “Gui” refers to those who have died.

If the words are combined, it will become:

1. Mogui (魔鬼) came from the Chinese translation of the English word ‘Devil’. So it is completely exotic vocabulary with the same meaning of ‘Devil’.

2. Yaoguai (妖怪) is the name for almost all the strange creatures; they could be dead bodies coming to life like zombies, or humanoid creatures come from animals in tales, or even the real creature on earth. 

3. Yaomo (妖魔) is the name for all the terrifying entities with great power or dark magic. So it always means that this creature is extremely evil and has strong power. This is probably a word that is almost similar to the ‘demon’ in western culture.

—–HUHU—-