Chapter 23#

The Peerless Great Demon: the Ba Snake#

The voice outside the door was as crisp and lovely as an oriole’s song, making one couldn’t help but wonder what kind of peerless beauty had arrived. As a gust of fragrant wind swept in, the young woman who entered had an oval face, willow-leaf brows, almond eyes, and cherry lips. Her smile bloomed like flowers, and her melodious voice flowed like jade. Such beauty silenced the entire room. The servants attending nearby, even though it wasn’t their first time seeing Princess Linyang, couldn’t help but be entranced for a moment.

Lu Heng, who had transmigrated, ought to have been struck breathless. After all, he had never seen such a beauty in modern society. But his reaction was remarkably calm — he somehow felt he had seen an even more exquisite beauty before. He sneaked a glance at Shikong, and, as expected, Shikong’s expression remained as placid as ever, as if the beauty before him were no different from the clouds in the sky or the grass by the roadside.

Seeing Shikong’s expression, Princess Linyang bit her lip in slight vexation, then softened her voice: “Master Shikong, it has been three years since we parted. I trust you have been well.”

Shikong pressed his palms together and nodded slightly: “Benefactor, this humble monk has come on sect orders to resolve the demon fox’s calamity. Please recount the full sequence of events for this humble monk.”

A newly arrived servant nearly popped his eyes out. It was his first time seeing Princess Linyang speak to anyone with such warmth. And the other party responded coldly — yet the Princess wasn’t angry at all. Instead, obediently, she began recounting what had happened that night.

The incident had occurred seven days prior. Princess Linyang woke to find her personal maid dead on the couch in the outer chamber. Her clothes were dishevelled, her once plump skin shriveled like that of an eighty-year-old crone, yet her face bore an expression of satisfaction. Princess Linyang screamed in horror and fainted on the spot. When the servants and maids who rushed over later were handling the maid’s corpse, they discovered a note on the body that read: “All the suffering endured shall be repaid in full.”

From that night onward, someone from the household died gruesomely every single night. Prince Gong knew matters were dire and hastily reported the incident to the Sound of Brahman Temple. Upon learning that a demon fox had escaped, everyone in Prince Gong’s manor felt their lives were in danger. They immediately barred the gates to all visitors, and the entire estate was shrouded in an atmosphere of foreboding.

It wasn’t until today that the entire manor finally welcomed its saviours. Lu Heng and Shikong took up residence in Prince Gong’s manor to track down the demon fox.

Life in the manor was no different from their days in the mountains — they remained wholly devoted to their cultivation.

Except for Princess Linyang.

Even someone as typically oblivious as Lu Heng had noticed that Princess Linyang treated Shikong differently. Take this day, for example: Shikong was meditating beneath a tree, while Lu Heng idly bothered the koi in the pond from the nearby pavilion.

“Master Shikong.”

Smelling that familiar fragrant breeze, Lu Heng knew Princess Linyang had graced them with her presence once more. He watched as she wore a cloud-satin skirt embroidered with gold thread and butterflies among flowers, her face brimming with smiles, carrying a three-tiered food box in her hands, each step as graceful as a lotus blossom.

Unfortunately, Shikong was blind to romance. The beauty had walked right up to him, and he still sat there with his eyes closed in meditation.

“Master Shikong, these vegetarian dishes were prepared with my own hands. Please, have a taste.” Princess Linjiang — no, Princess Linyang — was not angered. Her tone remained gentle.

“Thank you, benefactor. This humble monk practises inedia and has no need for food.” Shikong was unmoved.

Princess Linyang stomped her foot in frustration, flinging the food box into the arms of the maid behind her. The unprepared maid stumbled under the weight, nearly falling to the ground. Seeing this only stoked Princess Linyang’s fury further. She cursed: “If you dare damage my food box, watch your skin!”

Lu Heng watched the spectacle with relish — truly, the falling flower has affection while the flowing water is heartless. He gloated with a certain perverse amusement, only to see Shikong suddenly open his eyes and look directly at him. Guilt flared in Lu Heng’s chest, and he toppled backward in shock, toppling toward the pond. Not yet accustomed to his role as a cultivator, Lu Heng couldn’t react in time. He merely thought, I can swim anyway — at worst I’ll just change clothes.

Princess Linyang was about to say something more when the scene before her blurred, and the handsome monk had vanished from his spot. Then she saw Shikong appear inside the pavilion, holding that detestable child by the collar.

Princess Linyang despised children, especially this one in particular. She had never seen Shikong so close to another person. He had always seemed to sit upon a lofty divine altar, looking down upon all the myriad faces of mortals. But now Shikong had a trace of helplessness between his brows as he murmured something to that child. He seemed almost alive — no longer the detached figure perched above the clouds.

“Why are you always so reckless?” Shikong set Lu Heng down and cast a cleansing spell on the child’s wet hem.

Lu Heng gave an embarrassed grin and made a placating gesture.

“With your temperament, you still need to cultivate in quiet in the mountains. Tomorrow we will take our leave of Prince Gong—” Shikong was cut off mid-sentence.

“Master, the demon fox hasn’t been caught yet. If you leave, who will protect the people of this manor? You must know that demon fox has completely lost its reason!” Princess Linyang had just stepped into the pavilion when she heard this thunderbolt of news. Her voice, no matter how she tried, could no longer remain gentle.

“Benefactor, there is no need to worry. This humble monk will set up a protective formation here. Once that demon fox appears, the formation will protect the manor until I arrive.” With that, before Princess Linyang could say anything more, Shikong took Lu Heng by the hand and left the pavilion.

That night. Moonlight flowed like water. After a full day of clamour, Prince Gong’s manor sank into slumber. Yet on the rooftop of a wing in the western courtyard, a white-robed monk sat cross-legged. He sat there holding black sandalwood prayer beads, his features cold and clear. Even the moonlight around him seemed to dim by several shades.

And on the monk’s shoulder coiled a small snake with a green head and black body. Upon closer inspection, faint golden light wisped around the snake’s scales, lending it the appearance of a divine creature. This man and snake were none other than Shikong and Lu Heng. There was a reason for this rather peculiar way of coexisting.

For Lu Heng, who hadn’t been in human form for long, cultivating in his original form was far more natural. As for why he coiled on Shikong’s shoulder — that was a story that began with an incident one day.

It had been the night of the full moon, the fifteenth. The energy within the moonlight was several times greater than on ordinary nights. The inexperienced Lu Heng absorbed too much lunar essence, and his demonic power spiralled out of control, nearly causing his body to explode and kill him. When he regained consciousness, he found his fangs sunk deep into Shikong’s finger.

Lu Heng assumed he had bitten Shikong in his berserk state and was so racked with guilt he nearly smashed his head against the ground in apology. Shikong, reading his thoughts, explained that he had deliberately placed his finger into Lu Heng’s mouth — his blood had the ability to purge inner demons.

From that day forward, whenever Lu Heng cultivated, Shikong placed him on his shoulder. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would chant sutras to clear Lu Heng’s inner demons.

Shikong suddenly opened his eyes: “There is something amiss in the manor.”

Lu Heng raised himself upright, flicked his forked tongue to taste the air, then looked at Shikong in confusion: “What’s amiss?”

“Death aura.” Shikong set Lu Heng down, slipped off his prayer beads, and carefully encircled the snake with them. “Stay here and cultivate. If there is any danger, these prayer beads will keep you safe.”

“I want to go see too,” Lu Heng said.

“I have heard that some demons who follow evil paths can increase their cultivation by devouring the demon cores of their own kind. That demon fox has a thousand years of cultivation.” Shikong said. “Your cultivation is insufficient — it would be better to stay away.”

Following the faint death aura, Shikong arrived at Princess Linyang’s small courtyard. He saw the servants strewn about in disarray across the grounds. Upon inspection, he found that all had ceased breathing.

The further inward he went, the heavier the demonic aura became, until he reached the outside of Princess Linyang’s chamber. A mortal woman valued her private quarters greatly. Shikong had intended to notify Prince Gong and wait for him to arrive, but discovered the entire courtyard had been ensnared in an illusion formation — only by finding the formation’s core could it be broken.

At that moment, a scream pierced the air from inside the chamber — Princess Linyang’s voice. Without a moment’s hesitation, Shikong pushed the door open and entered. The maid in the outer room, just like the people in the courtyard, had already drawn her last breath. Shikong passed into the inner room and found Princess Linyang collapsed on the bed, her life or death unknown.

Shikong stepped forward to check on her condition. But then Princess Linyang’s cherry lips parted, and from within she exhaled a plume of crimson smoke. Shikong retreated swiftly, sweeping his sleeve to disperse most of the smoke, though a wisp inevitably slipped past and entered his lungs.

This smoke was potent indeed. Shikong immediately felt his head spin. Without a second thought, he sat down cross-legged on the spot, circulating his energy to force the bizarre smoke from his body. The smoke was peculiar — Shikong’s spiritual energy circulated without hindrance. He merely felt his blood and qi churn ceaselessly, and everything around him seemed veiled in a thin haze, blurring the line between dream and reality. His mood lifted with an uncontrollable joy, as if he were experiencing something wonderfully beautiful.

Princess Linyang, seeing Shikong in such a state, turned over and sat up, then approached with a swaying, delicate gait: “Master Shikong, this humble one has harboured feelings for you for a long, long time.”

A floral huadian adorned Princess Linyang’s brow, her hair was swept up in a hanging-cloud chignon, and a gossamer outer robe draped loosely over her frame, her luminous white skin appearing and disappearing in the candlelight beneath. With such a beauty, combined with the effects of that strange smoke — there was likely no one in this world whose heart would not be swayed.

But Shikong was not among those people. He held his hands in a mudra of the flower, resting them upon his knees, eyes cast down as he continued circulating his energy, not deigning to speak with Princess Linyang.

Seeing Shikong remain so cold even now, Princess Linyang felt a surge of resentment in her heart, yet she was also captivated by this untouchable manner of his — like the bright moon at the edge of the sky. Had Shikong not been this way, she would not have spent three years pining for him.

Princess Linyang took a step forward. Gritting her teeth, she let her outer robe fall, revealing a thin inner garment beneath. As she moved to remove it further, she found she could not move. Princess Linyang had some understanding of cultivation matters and immediately realised she had been struck by an immobilisation spell.

Flushed with humiliation and fury, she spat: “You wretched monk — so unappreciative! The day will come when you beg me!”

No sooner had the words left her lips than Princess Linyang realised she could no longer even make a sound.