STOTTD |Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty/Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Everything happened too fast. Before A Zhou (A Zhou) had even reacted, she saw the hamster demon open its huge mouth!

At this critical moment, a black shadow leaped up from behind the hamster demon and landed on its shoulder.

In the next instant, he raised the broken blade, the blade facing inward, and fiercely stabbed it toward the hamster demon’s heart!

All they heard was a “pu chi” sound, the blade completely sank in, and bright red blood splashed out.

Her cheek suddenly felt warm, and the smell of blood rushed up to her nose. A Zhou (A Zhou) lowered her head, just about to rub the bloodstain on her face onto the hamster demon’s white fur, when she heard it let out a wild roar!

This sound was extremely sharp, extremely resentful!

With a sudden whirlwind of dizziness, she was treated by the hamster demon as a weapon and smashed straight toward Shen Jibai, who was riding on its shoulder and neck!

The distance between the two people shrank rapidly. Shen Jibai’s hand was still holding the hilt of the blade and had not yet been able to pull back, and it seemed he also had no time to dodge.

“Shaoqing!”

“Shaoqing, move away quickly!”

If the two of them really collided, at most Shen Jibai would suffer some external injuries, or be smashed down to the ground, but A Zhou (A Zhou) would be guaranteed to end up with a split head and bleeding all over, and might even lose her life.

At this critical moment, she suddenly calmed down, and as if struck by sudden inspiration, she thought of the mysterious arts secret manual that the old Taoist who taught her trickery had left behind, “record of oddities (Guaidan Zhi)”.

A hand-copied book passed down for a thousand years, recording the weaknesses of hundreds of ghosts, spirits, and demons, as well as the methods to subdue them.

The very first page of the book was a record about the hamster demon: this demon understood human qi, was kind, and gluttonous. When encountering it, there was no need to drive it to extinction. Binding it with the body-binding spell and warning it would do.

The body-binding spell!

She had once seen the old Taoist use it!

Seeing that the distance between the two of them was only one finger apart, A Zhou (A Zhou) immediately formed a hand seal and shouted loudly, “Bind!”

As soon as the words fell, layers of luminous vines wrapped around the hamster demon’s body, binding it from head to toe, leaving it unable to move. The swinging motion also came to an abrupt stop.

Everything just happened to make it in time, and yet it seemed as if it was too late.

A Zhou (A Zhou) looked at the forehead of that person, who was right in front of her, and felt warmth on her lips. Her front teeth, following inertia, knocked against the inside of her lip, hurting so much that her breath tightened, and a faint smell of blood immediately spread through her mouth.

It really was a bloody disaster.

Perhaps because it was too unexpected, or perhaps because she was very resistant, the person who had been kissed was stiff all over, her skin taut, even his breathing had stopped, and he actually did not move at all after that.

The yamen runner said, “Why did Shen Jibai Shaoqing stop moving too? Was he also frozen by the spell?”

This mishap was way too outrageous!

A Zhou (A Zhou) thought to herself, could it be because this was the first time using the spell, and her proficiency wasn’t enough?

But on second thought, this body-binding spell was a curse used against demons and evil beings, it was ineffective against humans!

At this moment, the stone-like, stiff person slightly lifted his eyelids, and her dark, heavy gaze swept over from the corner of his eye, with undisguised disgust in the bottom of his eyes.

A Zhou (A Zhou): “……”

As if anyone was willing to kiss him.

Shen Jibai merely glanced once before withdrawing his gaze, the speed so fast it was as if he was unwilling to look at her. His body leaned back to create distance, and he pulled out the broken blade, saying coldly, “Go back. Don’t let anyone come near here.”

The yamen runners who had rushed over to provide support immediately retreated and once again lined up into a human wall across the street.

And their superior had bloodstains on his forehead that had formed the mark of a kiss. If one did not look carefully, it would seem like some beauty’s lip rouge had been left there. It looked rather flirtatious, as if he were a cold-faced handsome man who had “passed through a sea of flowers without a single leaf touching his body”.

It was just that his expression was terribly foul, extremely unpleasant.

Shen Jibai raised the broken blade and forcefully slashed at the hamster demon’s right limb. In the movement of hand up, blade down, A Zhou (A Zhou) felt the force binding her body disappear, and with nothing under her feet, she fell backward onto the ground, landing on her butt so hard it hurt.

Before she had time to rub it, she heard a “thump” and a pair of black official boots also landed in front of her.

And that bloodstained broken blade was already pointed straight at her!

A Zhou (A Zhou): “?”

She immediately widened her eyes, so shocked that even her butt no longer hurt!

What did this mean?

Crossing the river and then tearing down the bridge?

Was there any mistake, how was this any different from using someone and then denying them once the pants were pulled up?

“Just what does Lingyun Jun mean? Could this be a new way to humiliate Shen Jibai?”

A Zhou (A Zhou) raised her eyes and looked at him blankly.

The light and shadows of midsummer spilled through the gaps between the leaves, falling in mottled patches over his body. That cold and handsome face was hidden in the half-lit, half-shadowed light, revealing a bit of unpredictable anger.

That dark gaze pressed down from above, carrying the aura and oppression of someone in a superior position, making her heart tremble.

What on earth was going on?

A Zhou (A Zhou)’s heart was already hanging in her throat. She thought, how had things in the blink of an eye turned into the point of drawing blades against each other?

The cicadas crying in the treetops were so frightened that they fell silent, and the surroundings became extremely quiet, with no wind and no clouds.

A Zhou (A Zhou) moved her lips and tried to explain, “……Just now that was an accident, it was not Shen Jibai Shaoqing’s original intention, Shen Jibai Shaoqing need not take it to heart.”

“An accident?”

Those phoenix eyes, sharper than a cold blade, were filled with thick anger. His voice was also icy to the extreme. “The Fox King can seal it alone, yet would be captured by a mouse demon? Does he take everyone present for fools?”

“I’ve lost my memory, so naturally I don’t remember how to use the spell. Why won’t Shen Jibai Shaoqing believe me?” A Zhou (A Zhou) used both hands and feet to scoot backward, trying to get farther away from the blade that was still dripping blood.

But as soon as she moved back one foot, the other side advanced one zhang!

“Don’t remember how to cast a spell? Then what was it that restrained the hamster demon!”

As he spoke, he pushed the blade even closer. “Zhou Xin, do you insist on only showing your true skill when your life is hanging by a thread? Just what do you take the lives of Dali Temple for?”

After a few sentences, the blade was already hanging above A Zhou (A Zhou)’s nose bridge, with only the distance of two fingers between it and her eyes, which were widened round from terror!

A Zhou (A Zhou) opened her mouth, but then felt there was no way to argue herself out of it.

Messy footsteps came one after another, and the belated sword-bearing guards did not know about the accident that had just happened, yet they were not the least bit surprised by the tense atmosphere.

As if the relationship between the two of them had originally been at loggerheads.

The yamen runner leading the way quickly came over and stopped behind Shen Jibai, saying in a low voice, “Shaoqing, the tavern’s rear courtyard has already been sorted out.”

Shen Jibai stared at A Zhou (A Zhou) without shifting his eyes. Hearing this, he did not even cast a glance over, and his voice was not as cold as before, but it was still distant.

“How are the injuries of Dali Temple?”

The yamen runner glanced over, seeming to be reluctant to say much because of the status of ‘Lingyun Jun’, and could only timidly say, “Just external injuries, not serious. The injured Dali Temple has already been sent for treatment.”

Shen Jibai gave an “mn”.

He still held that broken blade, with no intention of putting it down at all, as if he were waiting for her to state her position.

A Zhou (A Zhou) took a deep breath and forcibly steadied her mind. “Shen Jibai Shaoqing, I am not the kind of person who treats lives like grass and weeds,”

“Not?”

Before she could finish, Shen Jibai interrupted her words. As if he had heard some huge joke, he let out a scoff. “Has Lingyun Jun already forgotten whose life you used to force me to make a move and compete?”

The sword-bearing guards who had hidden themselves three zhang away, that is, Dali Temple Shen Jibai had mentioned, all revealed expressions of “so that’s how it is”.

They were not under the jurisdiction of Dali Temple, so naturally they were not as wary of Shen Jibai as the yamen runners were. Once these words came out, they immediately began whispering among themselves:

“I was wondering why Shen Jibai Shaoqing suddenly fought with Lingyun Jun. Clearly, no matter how Lingyun Jun provoked him before, he had no reaction…”

“Whose life was used to force Shen Jibai Shaoqing to make a move… Could it be the aunt’s family that Shaoqing was depending on for support?”

“Huh? Madam Shen Jibai became a widow all of a sudden, which is already pitiful enough, and Dannu is only eight this year… How did Lingyun Jun even manage to threaten him?”

“Lingyun Jun has already beaten everyone in Eastern Capital, why still force Shaoqing to compete…”

“Exactly! The Sage even severely rebuked Shen Jibai Shaoqing for this, and I heard he almost got demoted…”

“So Lingyun Jun deliberately didn’t move to subdue the hamster demon?”

Seeing the direction of public opinion becoming more and more off-track, A Zhou (A Zhou) immediately retorted, “No!”

As soon as she spoke, Dali Temple, who had been whispering, immediately closed their mouths, and the surroundings once again fell into a dead silence.

But blocking the mouth did not block the heart. From everyone’s reactions, not a single person present believed her words.

The oppressive silence made A Zhou (A Zhou)’s scalp tingle.

She quietly curled her fingers, the tips of her fingers sinking deeply into the soil, and thought, since these two already had a grudge before, then why did he still invite Zhou Xin to come and catch demons? Wasn’t he afraid she would stand by and do nothing while people died?

The Clear Peace Temple was not only her.

Thinking of this, she raised her eyes and met Shen Jibai’s gaze. She did not know if it was because her look was too candid, but those phoenix eyes visibly froze for a moment.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized sincerely, “It was Shen Jibai Shaoqing who acted too rashly. In a situation where I had completely lost my memory, I still forced myself to come, causing injuries to both Dali Temple and Dali Temple.”

As soon as the words landed, everyone, including Shen Jibai, was stunned. It could be seen that with Zhou Xin’s temperament, she absolutely could not have done such a thing.

A Zhou (A Zhou) silently moved back a little, and seeing that the broken blade did not continue to pursue her closely, she took the opportunity to stand up. She gave a formal long salute to Shen Jibai, as well as the yamen runners and Dali Temple behind him, and solemnly said, “I, Zhou Xin, hereby apologize to all of you.”

Once this was done, everyone’s reactions went from stunned to even more stunned, and they even forgot to answer.

“Only…”

She changed her tone, withdrew her hands, stood upright, and met Shen Jibai’s gaze full of hostility with complete composure. “Under that kind of situation just now, the fact that I could randomly use a spell formula was already thanks to luck. If I had not remembered any spell formula just now, or if the spell formula I remembered could not resolve the immediate crisis, Shen Jibai Shaoqing, do you know what the situation would be like now?”

Hearing this, Shen Jibai slightly narrowed his eyes.

“As for that accident…”

She raised a hand and pointed toward the people leaning by the windows to watch the excitement in the taverns and shops on both sides of the street. “For this kind of thing to happen in a busy street, there will inevitably be rumors spreading about it in the future. Shen Jibai Shaoqing feels that his face has been damaged, but does that mean I would have any honor on my face?”

“Whether Shen Jibai Shaoqing believes it or not, I really have lost my past memories. Perhaps between you and me there were many conflicts, once reaching the point where water and fire could not be reconciled, but I do not have those memories now.”

“At present, in my eyes, Shen Jibai Shaoqing is my partner in catching demons, a colleague whose life is at stake. Tell me, how would I dare to humiliate you? And how would I use my own life as the price to humiliate you? What good would that do me?”

A Zhou (A Zhou)’s words were sincere, and she said everything in her heart in one breath.

For some reason, the more she spoke, the more astonished everyone’s expressions became. Even the yamen runner standing beside Shen Jibai was so shocked that his mouth could not close.

Shen Jibai’s expression also became inscrutable. The hostility in his eyes gradually faded, yet he still did not look away, and continued to stare at her intently with a scrutinizing gaze.

A Zhou (A Zhou) met his eyes calmly.

The two silently contended for a moment before he finally moved his gaze away, put the broken blade back into its scabbard, and took out a cotton handkerchief from his robe, no longer paying her any attention.

After wiping the bloodstains off his forehead, he tore the cotton handkerchief into pieces with undisguised disgust and threw them on the ground.

The tense atmosphere that had been locked in a stalemate gradually eased away without anyone noticing, and only then did someone begin to consider the hamster demon.

“Lingyun Jun, this demon has not yet returned to its original size. The demon-binding bag cannot subdue it. What should we do?”