Chapter 12: A Chaotic Dance of Demons, Part 5

Shi Xianyu held her tail tightly, diligently keeping watch through the entire night.

She couldn’t recall when her phone had turned off, only that the sky above her gradually grew brighter, the stars fading away. Slowly, sunlight pierced through the dark green foliage, and the damp, chilly air turned warm and gentle…

With the coming of dawn, the world was revitalized.

Her nerves, taut all night, finally relaxed. Overcome by fatigue, she fell asleep hugging her tail.

It was really just a brief doze, less than half an hour. When she awoke again, only the big-horned ram remained by her side.

Not far away, Shen Xiao was already up, crouched at the edge of a bush, studying the spider silk left behind the night before, his brows tightly furrowed.

He heard a sound and turned to see that Shi Xianyu had woken up. A gentle smile appeared on his face. “Little Fish, thank you for your hard work last night.”

“It was nothing. You two had it much harder,” Shi Xianyu replied sincerely. After all, if the monster returned, only Shen Xiao and Lin Yuan could stand at the front lines.

“Little Fish, what made you think the monster was afraid of light last night?” Shen Xiao asked.

Shi Xianyu blinked. “Ah… I just wanted to give it a try. Most nocturnal creatures dislike light, don’t they? But I didn’t expect it to flee altogether.”

She’d thought at most the light would hinder the spider’s movements, but the creature had fled outright—her success was as much luck as intention.

“Come have a look,” Shen Xiao said, pointing at his feet. “This is the web it spun last night. After being exposed to sunlight, it’s already dissolved.”

Shi Xianyu walked over and saw a sticky patch of black sludge on the ground, slightly startled. “This is the web from yesterday? It turned into this…”

“There are still some strands over there untouched by sunlight. They remain white,” Shen Xiao said, frowning. “It seems this spider demon is truly afraid of light. If we can find its nest during the day, we could destroy it completely and rid ourselves of future trouble.”

Shi Xianyu nodded in agreement, though she knew that in such a vast forest, finding the nest would be no easy feat.

As they were speaking, the rustle of leaves in the forest’s depths drew their gaze upwards. Lin Yuan leapt nimbly from branch to branch, arriving before them in the blink of an eye, not even out of breath as he uttered a single word—

“Nothing.”

Shi Xianyu: “???”

Shen Xiao explained, “I sent Lin Yuan to scout the area, see if he could find the spider demon’s nest. Looks like he didn’t find anything.”

He looked toward the shadowy forest, sighing in concern. “If we can’t find it, then so be it. Let’s get on our way and leave this place as soon as possible.”

Lin Yuan raised his hand, pointing ahead, and said two more words:

“Village ahead.”

“You mean, there’s a village up ahead?” Shen Daozhang frowned, his expression growing grave. “If the village is this close to where the spider demon appeared, that’s worrisome. We must warn the villagers.”

Having traveled far and wide, Shen Xiao could not bear to see innocents suffer. He was determined to visit the village at once.

Shi Xianyu and Lin Yuan naturally had no objections. The three of them quickly gathered their belongings and set off again.

Shen Daozhang led the way, backpack and sword on his back, Lin Yuan following empty-handed, Shi Xianyu riding the ram at the rear.

Her black cloak, having been wrapped in webs, was no longer wearable. Lin Yuan now wore Shen Xiao’s spare Taoist robe, a cross-collared, wide-sleeved garment trimmed in slate blue at the collar and cuffs.

When he’d worn the cloak, his aura had been somber and brooding. Now, in this fresh set of clothes, he looked much more youthful and clean, like a proud and refined young Taoist.

Except for the two furry leopard ears on his head, which attracted attention, and the fact that one could not look downward—

He wore no shoes. Beneath the elegant, pale-blue robe, his strong black beastly feet stepped forward in turn. Whenever they passed through soft, wet earth, he left behind distinct paw prints—large, blooming rosettes unique to big cats.

Shi Xianyu walked along, watching as she went.

She thought: How beautiful.

The more she watched, the more the paw prints before her eyes overlapped, her mind growing muddled… She quickly shook her head to clear it.

She’d stayed up the whole night. Now, sitting atop the swaying ram, it was impossible not to grow drowsy.

Perhaps it would be better to walk for a while—to clear her head.

Silently, Shi Xianyu dismounted.

Shen Xiao and Lin Yuan heard the movement and glanced back, somewhat puzzled but not questioning her, and continued ahead.

Shi Xianyu walked behind them for a short while, soon panting with exertion.

It hadn’t been obvious while riding, but walking on foot revealed the men’s astonishing pace. They took long strides, moving quickly. Every dozen steps, she had to break into a jog just to keep up.

Shi Xianyu gave up and obediently climbed back onto her ram.

…

Lin Yuan stopped abruptly.

Shen Xiao halted as well and asked, “What is it?”

Lin Yuan glanced back at Shi Xianyu and said, “She’s sleeping.”

Shen Xiao tilted his head slightly to look at Shi Xianyu, who lay slumped on the ram’s back, unmoving. A smile touched his lips. “Little Fish is exhausted. She watched over us all night—she deserves a good rest. Let her sleep. We’ll stick to the smoother paths to avoid disturbing her.”

He turned to continue, but Lin Yuan suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

Shen Xiao looked back in confusion. “What is it now?”

Lin Yuan frowned, searching his sparse vocabulary for a while before saying, “She’ll fall.”

Shen Xiao: “……”

He looked back at Shi Xianyu again.

She was sprawled atop the ram, her arms hanging down, her cheek pressed to the animal’s neck. Apparently the short, fuzzy wool wasn’t comfortable, as she frowned in her sleep and her mouth pouted with discontent.

Without saddle or reins, a person on a ram’s slippery back could indeed easily fall off.

Shen Xiao considered for a moment. “Why don’t you hold her steady?”

Lin Yuan was puzzled. “Why?”

“I need to lead the way,” Shen Xiao explained patiently. “Besides, if you walk in front and the villagers see you, you might frighten them.”

An irrefutable argument.

Lin Yuan could only agree.

He went to the ram, looked at the girl on its back, then at the ram’s blank expression, and took hold of one horn, attempting to guide it forward.

The ram, docile as ever, had stood still once Shi Xianyu fell asleep. Now, with its horn gently pulled, it obediently followed, but after just a few steps, the girl began to slip off.

Lin Yuan was troubled. He wanted to steady her but was afraid to wake her. Yet if he didn’t, she would surely fall.

She was neither a strong demon beast nor a cultivator with robust inner power; if she fell, she would be badly bruised.

He had seen her hand scratched bloody by wild grass—her skin so pale and delicate that even a blade of grass could cut her. If he held her, would he accidentally break her? Caring for such a fragile human was truly troublesome.

He regretted it then—he should have insisted that Shen Xiao do it.

As he fretted, the image of her hugging his tail last night surfaced in his mind.

She had been so obedient then…

Lin Yuan cast an uneasy glance at Shi Xianyu, then extended his long, black leopard tail, gently looping it around her waist—this way, if she started to fall, he could react at once.

Shi Xianyu’s sleep was restless. She reflexively grabbed the furry thing at her waist, pulling it to her cheek and nuzzling it, mumbling, “So much fur…”

Lin Yuan: “……”

She seemed quite content, eyes closed as she kneaded the tail, fluffing the fur until it stood on end! It made him suddenly want to transform back into his beast form!

She had been so well-behaved last time, but now she was so bold, clutching his tail and kneading it! Who knew what dreams she was having!

He endured it silently, relieved that Shi Xianyu soon stopped kneading and, her touch growing gentle, simply stroked the tail in her sleep.

He sighed in quiet relief…

Then, gripping the ram’s horn, he continued on.

…

The trees thinned, bushes grew lower, and sunlight poured over the grasslands, where wildflowers bloomed among the shifting shades of green.

They seemed to have reached the forest’s edge; beyond it, the village could not be far.

Ahead, Shen Xiao stopped and glanced back at Lin Yuan, a faint, inexplicable smile on his lips.

Lin Yuan was suspicious.

But Shen Xiao said nothing and continued walking.

Lin Yuan also moved forward, guiding the ram, but before long, Shen Xiao glanced back again, his smile deepening.

At last, Lin Yuan frowned and asked, “What is it?”

Shen Xiao, barely suppressing a laugh, said, “Are you purring?”

Lin Yuan looked utterly bewildered. “What?”

Shen Xiao, seeing his confusion, couldn’t help but smile more broadly. He teased, “Try to keep your purring down, or you’ll wake her.”

He glanced at the black tail in Shi Xianyu’s hand, then turned and strode onward.

Lin Yuan: “……”

Was he purring? Perhaps, without realizing…

The soft palm stroking his tail felt so comfortable, he could hardly help himself… No, he had to restrain himself. He must not purr—what would people think if they heard!

…

Shen Xiao, striding swiftly ahead, soon heard the purring resume behind him and couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.

These two… He wondered if his own path of cultivation, having met these two, was some divine trial. After all, in a group of three, there is always one too many.

…

By midday, they finally emerged from the vast forest.

Outside the woods ran a river, and following its course for a while, they could see smoke rising from distant cottages. Before long, they encountered villagers—fishermen, women fetching water, children cutting grass.

The locals stared in disbelief at the sight of three travelers emerging from the forest.

Soon, someone ran to the village to spread the word that three wandering cultivators had come out of the woods.

Before they reached the village, Shen Xiao and his companions saw a throng of villagers, led by the chief, coming to greet them.

“May I ask, esteemed sirs, do you have the power to subdue demons and exorcise evil?” a young man in plain clothes stepped forward, saluting Shen Xiao with both hands, his expression earnest.