Chapter 19-Part 5

Lin Chengyou, holding back his anger, looked at Teng Yuyi.

He had originally intended to force her to return the harmful insect, but since Qi Zhi had caused such a commotion, he had no choice but to lift the spell.

“Forget it; hand over the item.”

Qi Zhi said, “Senior Brother, this has nothing to do with the Young master. This was my own idea.”

“Shut up!”

Teng Yuyi glared at Lin Chengyou.

At this point, she really didn’t want to rely on him to lift the spell, but if she didn’t, all of Qi Zhi’s efforts would be in vain.

So she took out the jade sword from her chest and said, “How could you blame your junior brother? If you weren’t so heartless, he wouldn’t have resorted to such a desperate measure.”

Lin Chengyou stared at Teng Yuyi but still accepted her sword.

He raised two fingers and slid them along the blade, causing a faint glow to appear.

The previously dull sword began to shine brilliantly once again.

Teng Yuyi took back the jade sword, her joy at recovering it momentarily making her forget her resentment toward him.

Lin Chengyou observed her expression and said, “Actually, when you saved Qi Zhi earlier, I had already decided to lift the spell. But first, you refused to return the itching insects, and then, even in a life-or-death situation, you didn’t forget about the jade sword. I got curious and decided to tease you.”

Teng Yuyi’s heart skipped a beat.

Ever since she woke up, she had been careful not to let anyone notice anything unusual and never mentioned the sword’s origin.

Lin Chengyou’s words seemed to have a hidden meaning—could he be suspecting something?

She replied nonchalantly, “This was a keepsake left to me by my mother. I treasure it because I miss her. As daozhang used to control the wind and rain, you probably don’t understand what it means to ‘cherish’ something. I doubt you’d understand even if I tried to explain it.”

Lin Chengyou smirked.

“Young master, you’re quite eloquent. You deceived Qingyun Temple into giving you so many itching insects without reason, and I only gave you a minor punishment, yet you still feel wronged?”

Teng Yuyi seized the opportunity to bow and smile, saying, “The events of that day were entirely my fault; I must have been out of my mind. I’ve been reflecting on my actions at home over the past few days and deeply regret what I did. I’ve come tonight to apologize to you, Daozhang. Regarding the itching insects I obtained that day, I carelessly lost a few of them, but the remaining ones can be returned to you intact. I hope, in light of my sincere repentance, that you will forgive me this time.”

Lin Chengyou deliberately looked at her hands.

“Where are the insects?”

“I was in such a rush today that I forgot to bring them, but I assure you, I will return the remaining ones to your temple tomorrow.”

Lin Chengyou mocked her lightly: “The few ‘lost’ itching insects have probably already been used up by you. I don’t care what evil deeds you intended to do with them, but you’d better not involve Qingyun Temple, or I won’t let you off.”

Teng Yuyi scoffed inwardly but maintained a serious expression.

“I never do bad things.”

Lin Chengyou looked down at her.

“You said you wanted to apologize to me, but you think just a few light words will suffice?”

“How could that be? I am truly sincere in my apology to your temple.”

Though she said this, she made no move to act.

Lin Chengyou smiled meaningfully.

“You don’t think I’ll make you pay for your actions?”

Teng Yuyi calculated in her mind.

She had gotten two bags of itching insects for free, and tonight, the spell on the jade sword had been lifted.

All in all, she hadn’t lost anything.

But Lin Chengyou, having been tricked into giving up the insects for no reason, must be displeased.

This person was arrogant and overbearing; if she didn’t appease him tonight, he’d surely cause her trouble later.

She still had to move around in Chang’an, and offending Lin Chengyou would do her no good.

Apologizing was a small price to pay, especially since she had no intention of crossing paths with him again after leaving the Caifeng Tower.

She smiled sweetly at Lin Chengyou, silently thanking Master Qingxu for the itching insects, and was about to bow to him as if he were an old man when a muffled sound suddenly came from beneath the offering table.

Lin Chengyou turned and walked away.

“I’m busy catching demons right now. When I have time, you can bow to me all you want—I can handle it.”

With that, he quickly walked over to the offering table and disappeared after bending down.

Jue Sheng hurried after him.

“Young master, quickly.”

Teng Yuyi drew her sword, but Lin Chengyou’s voice came from inside.

“Stop. Young master, I’ve already lifted the spell. You’ve achieved your goal, so you can return to your mansion now.”

“Return to the mansion?”

Teng Yuyi glanced at Qi Zhi, who was still standing nearby. “Little Taoist Qi Zhi is injured. Don’t you need me to stay and help guard the formation?”

Lin Chengyou’s voice echoed from a distance, “This place is dangerous. Just because you know how to use magic tools doesn’t mean you can guard the formation. Besides, I don’t make a habit of having women help guard formations. Go wherever you need to go, just don’t follow me.”

In the blink of an eye, Lin Chengyou and Jue Sheng disappeared, leaving Qi Zhi gazing anxiously at the offering table inside the hall.

Teng Yuyi inspected Qi Zhi’s right hand once more and noticed that his broken little finger had become severely swollen and bruised.

“This wound needs to be treated quickly, or it will leave a lasting problem. It must hurt a lot, right? Let me take you to see a physician.”

Qi Zhi shook his head worriedly.

“Lady Teng, I can’t leave. This formation has stood here for nearly a hundred years, so whatever it’s suppressing must be something extraordinary. Now that we’re short one person to guard the formation, I’m worried my senior brothers might be in danger. But don’t worry, Young Master—my senior brother gave me some medicine, so it doesn’t hurt much anymore.”

He wiped his eyes with his other hand and mumbled, “Senior Brother must be really angry; he didn’t even look at me when he left.”

Teng Yuyi was amazed at how stubborn the boy was.

Earlier, he had been willing to break his own finger to help her lift the spell, and now, despite his injury, he refused to leave his post.

“Your senior brother’s anger is his business. You can’t hold a sword or perform hand seals properly with that injury, so staying here is pointless. Why not take this chance to go out and get your wound treated? There’s a clinic nearby; it won’t take much time at all.”

Qi Zhi shook his head stubbornly.

“Even with one injured finger, I can still keep an eye on the formation’s core.”

Teng Yuyi gave him a sidelong glance.

“Have you considered that your senior brother might have deliberately not assigned you a task because he wanted you to take this opportunity to go treat your wound?”

Qi Zhi’s face lit up.

“You’re right, that does sound like something Senior Brother would do. He may be harsh with his words, but he’s always been kind to me and Jue Sheng.”

Kind? Teng Yuyi snorted inwardly.

She had only said that to convince Qi Zhi to leave for treatment, but now he was praising Lin Chengyou.

If this person was considered kind, then there were no evil people in the world.

Encouraged, Qi Zhi became more talkative.

“Senior Brother must think he can handle the demons on his own, but our master once said that the formation’s core should never be left unattended, so I absolutely can’t leave.”

E Ji, hugging her shoulders, edged closer to them.

“Although this place usually feels heavy with yin energy, it’s never been so cold as to feel like an ice cave. Young master, Daozhang, I’m terribly frightened. When will we return to the front building?”

Before she finished speaking, the curtains on the offering table suddenly lifted without any wind, and the dim, eerie light cast a sinister shadow over the golden boy statue.

Teng Yuyi looked around cautiously and suddenly heard Huo Qiu scolding someone. When she turned her head, she saw that E Ji was clinging to her back.

Teng Yuyi asked in surprise, “E Ji, what are you doing?”

E Ji shivered.

“I don’t know why, but it feels icy cold all around, and the only warm place in the room is near you, Young Master.”

Qi Zhi patted his head. “Young master’s sword can ward off evil spirits, so it’s no wonder Madam E feels warmth near you. But even with such a magic tool, it can only protect you alone. This shows just how wicked the thing below us is. Senior Brother was right; this place is extremely dangerous, and you need to leave quickly.”