Seven Songs(Yin Deng Jue/Secret Of Leading The Light) - Chapter 24
Chapter 24: The Eight-Trigram Soul Sacrifice Plate—Part 1
After leaving Bai Zhi, Yu Sang returned to Huliu Town as the sun set behind the mountains. The streets were eerily quiet, with not a soul in sight.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the strange stillness around her—until she bumped into what felt like a wall of flesh.
Startled, she quickly snapped out of her daze and stepped back, apologizing repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
But upon recognizing the person in front of her as Yan Qige, she let out a relieved sigh, her tone listless as she rolled her eyes.
“Oh, it’s you. What are you doing standing here at this hour?”
Yan Qige didn’t answer.
He simply looked at her, his gaze cool and indifferent.
One hand was clasped behind his back, the other holding a lantern, exuding an air of elegance.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have flowers growing on my face?” Yu Sang muttered irritably when she noticed him watching her silently.
Still, Yan Qige remained silent, his eyes clear yet unfathomably deep, like an endless well.
Yusang began to feel her cheeks heat up involuntarily.
She awkwardly waved her hand, saying, “Alright, alright, you win. I don’t feel like bickering with you. Stand here if you like.”
With that, she flusteredly walked around Yan Qige, avoiding his gaze, and headed down the street.
After taking about a dozen steps, she heard footsteps following her. Unable to resist, she stopped and turned to look back.
Yan Qige was still standing there, watching her.
Under the radiant moonlight, his white robes glowed, and the lantern in his hand cast a warm light, making him look like a figure stepped straight out of a painting.
“You’re not planning to stand there staring at me all night, are you?”
Yusang pointed at his feet, feeling her face grow even hotter under his unwavering gaze.
Just as Yusang was at a loss for words, Yan Qige finally moved, strolling toward her with his usual leisurely demeanor.
Holding his lantern, he walked straight past her without saying a word.
Yusang stood there, puzzled by his behavior.
Fortunately, after walking a short distance ahead, Yan Qige finally broke his silence.
His voice was cold and detached, but at least he spoke: “Aren’t you going to follow?”
“Oh…”
Yusang drawled, clearly reluctant, but her feet betrayed her as she quickly jogged to catch up.
The two walked quietly down the street for a while.
After some internal grumbling, Yusang couldn’t hold it in any longer and cautiously asked, “Were you looking for me on purpose?”
“What do you think?”
“I’m asking you. Why do you always make me guess? If I have to guess, why would I even ask?”
“Then don’t ask.”
“You… you… you really are impossible! Always trying to make me mad!”
“Mortals rarely die of anger. As for you, a demon, if you ever get so mad that you die, it just means you lack resilience.”
“Yan Qige!” Yusang shouted through gritted teeth, stopping in her tracks to glare at him.
Yan Qige took a few more steps before noticing that she had stopped following him.
Guessing she might actually be upset this time, he paused and turned around slowly.
“I may be a demon, but I’m not an idiot, nor am I made of stone. If you truly detest me so much, just say the word, and I’ll leave. It’s not like I can’t live without you, and I won’t shamelessly cling to you,” Yusang snapped, venting all her pent-up frustrations from the past two days.
Even as she unleashed her anger, Yan Qige remained calm, as though her outburst had nothing to do with him.
He waited for her to finish before blinking leisurely and saying, “I know you’ve had a rough couple of days. Seeing you bottling it all up, you looked just like a bullied little wife too scared to speak up. Feeling better now?”
Yusang was stunned.
She hadn’t expected Yan Qige to say something like that.
Realizing he had deliberately provoked her to let her vent, her initial anger dissipated, replaced by a faint, sweet warmth in her heart.
“Let’s go.”
Yan Qige extended the hand that had been clasped behind his back, a rare trace of a smile on his lips.
Though faint, it was a notable departure from his usual demeanor.
The shift was so sudden that Yusang felt the situation had turned too quickly.
While she wasn’t upset anymore, she thought giving in so easily might make her seem too easy to appease.
So she turned her face away, puffed out her cheeks, and looked up at the moon, clasping her hands behind her back in an attempt to mimic Yan Qige’s calm demeanor.
Seeing this, Yan Qige sighed and softened his tone.
“Alright, I came out specifically to find you. Satisfied now?”
Hearing this, Yusang couldn’t hide her joy.
She turned to look at Yan Qige and said, “Really? You said it yourself!”
But as soon as Yusang smiled, Yan Qige reverted to his usual indifferent demeanor.
He turned and continued walking as if the person who had just admitted to seeking her out wasn’t him at all.
Not that Yusang minded—she wasn’t one to hold grudges.
Delighted by his earlier words, she quickly caught up and said with pride, “I must be really important to you, huh? You can’t do without me. I’m a top-notch demon who can both fight and cook! Not only can I catch demons for you, but I can also save people. And most importantly, I can swim! Without me, you’d lose such a valuable helper—”
“And yet, every time we catch a demon, you take their demon cores and cook them into your own supplements.”
“Mutual benefit! No waste! Besides, you just put those demon cores in a box—you don’t even use them for cultivation.”
“Funny you bring that up. Speaking of my box of demon cores, I noticed about ten were missing recently. Any idea where they went?”
“Uh… um… maybe… maybe they dissolved? Or maybe they fell out when you opened the box?” Yusang stammered, avoiding eye contact as she made excuses.
Both of them knew full well that Yusang had secretly eaten those demon cores while Yan Qige wasn’t around.
But Yan Qige didn’t expose her.
He simply glanced at her with amused eyes.
“Oh, I see. Dissolved or misplaced. I won’t press the matter, then.”
Hearing this, Yusang felt as though she’d won the lottery.
To avoid any chance of him changing his mind, she quickly stepped in front of him, holding out her hand.
“You said it yourself. Let’s seal it with a handshake—no matter what happens, you can’t hold me accountable for eating those demon cores!”
Yan Qige, always independent and resolute, had never made promises to anyone, let alone sealed one with a handshake.
Yet, seeing Yusang’s beaming face, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.
Almost instinctively, he raised his hand and lightly tapped her palm.
“Ha! Got you! Now I can eat all the demon cores in that box without worrying, and you can’t go back on your word. Otherwise, you’d be breaking your promise!” Yusang exclaimed gleefully, thrilled by her clever wordplay.
Only then did Yan Qige realize she’d just tricked him into granting her a free pass for her sneaky behavior.
While such a stunt would normally earn anyone else a severe scolding—or worse—from him, Yan Qige wasn’t angry at all.
In fact, watching her smug expression, he found himself oddly entertained.
“It’s late. Let’s head back,” Yan Qige said, continuing forward with his lantern.
Yusang followed happily.
