CH 7.2

When Lou Muge saw these people cowering and huddling together rather pathetically, he stopped in his tracks instead of moving forward as he originally intended. 

Once he stopped, Wen Changchu and Ning Shaosi naturally followed, and the crowd immediately put their guards up.

Lou Muge lazily stretched and commented, “Alas —— it’s been a long time since the last time I ate someone.”

Everyone’s eyes almost popped out, and they fell into heated discussions. They even backed away swiftly, as far away from him as possible.

Lou Muge was delighted and waved at the crowd: “Chang Anning, come here. I have something to ask you.”

Chang Anning was relatively straightforward. He ate a sumptuous meal with Lou Muge at noon, so his hostility towards him was almost gone now. He stepped out from the crowd and asked, “Can I have dinner after you’re done asking?”

“Yes,” Lou Muge answered without hesitation.

Chang Anning was also gratified, so he approached him: “Ask away.”

Lou Muge led him forward, lowered his voice and asked, “Has anything strange happened on the land where you buried the dead.”

“Yes, many strange things,” Chang Anning said, “Children in Shan’an never go there to play. It is said that Yin Qi is heavy there. I grew up listening to those strange stories.”

“Just say the most recent period.”

“In the middle of April this year, there was indeed a matter quite frightening,” Chang Anning thought for a moment and said, “Aunt Li once died in the middle of April.”

Lou Muge did not move: “The Tao brothers’ family?”

“Yes, Aunt Li had a naughty and unruly son. More than ten years ago, he ran away from Shan’an Village and never returned, so Aunt Li has been living alone. In mid-April this year, Aunt Li died at home, and it was only the next day that she was found. The village doctor said she died suddenly and without cause, so the Village Chief found two people to roll her in a layer of silk cloth for burial,” Chang Anning narrated.

“But the night after the burial, Aunt Li came back. She was all dirty and was accompanied by a pair of twins, saying they were her grandchildren.”

“Did the Tao brothers find her themselves?” Once Lou Muge heard this, he thought there was something wrong with this Aunt Li and the twin brothers.

“I don’t know. Aunt Li did not say how they came. In any case, she recognized the two children. The villagers were afraid to get in contact with them too much, but there is nothing strange about Aunt Li, and she acted as usual.”

Aunt Li’s death and resurrection in April and the start of the strange disease in July weren’t long apart. Moreover, Tao Ming was the first to be afflicted with that strange disease. Shan’an people should have been suspicious, but Aunt Li and the two brothers were living in  perfectly good condition in the city.

“Don’t you suspect those two brothers?” Wen Changchu uttered the question boggling Lou Muge, “This happened to you obviously after the two brothers arrived.”

“But the people living around Aunt Li weren’t infected with this strange disease.  Besides, Tao Ming is the only one who was afflicted and survived. The villagers want to find out how to stop the strange disease in him,” Chang Anning said.

When Lou Muge heard that, he realized that the Shan’an people weren’t totally devoid of suspicions against the Tao brothers. They looked at it from another perspective instead; that Tao Ming was also their only hope.

The headstone that oozed blood; Aunt Li who came back from the dead; Shan’an City without a trace of demonic aura; and the maddeningly strange disease; all these inexplicable clues went round and round in Lou Muge’s head, but he couldn’t string them together.

He wasn’t the kind of person who would sit down and think patiently. Thus, after contemplating for a moment without grasping a clue, he became irritated and said, filled with annoyance, “This little shitty city is fraught with too many things.”

“This matter is not urgent. As long as someone is haunted again, it will definitely give the game away,” Ning Shaosi said steadily, without a trace of juvenile spirit on his face. Even his childish eyes also radiated rationality.

When Lou Muge turned his head and met his eyes, his heart suddenly sank.

He had always been quick tempered and never learned the word “steady”. He did whatever he wanted in the period after he became the Demon Venerable, and rarely bothered to think.

But his disciple, Ning Shaosi, who was always full of solemnity when pouring him footwash, would often tell him this, in a serious manner, “This matter is not urgent.”

When he heard this statement, Lou Muge’s heart felt scalded, Warmth poured in his chest and dispelled most of his irritation. He narrowed his eyes and said, “There is indeed no hurry. Where’s the source of the water you drink ? I will go and see tomorrow.”

“The Crouching Dragon[1] Spring in the east of the city. We have been drinking water from there for generations,” Chang Anning answered, “There is no problem with the water. The Water Goddess is there to guard us.”

Lou Muge did not believe in the Water Goddess. He nodded perfunctorily and shoved the basket he was carrying into Chang Anning’s hand: “This is a reward for you.”

“Just this?” Chang Anning was utterly disappointed. He looked at the cold buns in the basket and reluctantly said, “We also have this at home.”

Lou Muge patted the basket and gave it a thumbs up: “These buns are definitely different from yours. I’ve tasted it.”

“But…”

“Boss told you to take it, so take it. What nonsense are you spouting?!” Wen Changchu grimaced and slapped the basket into his arms. “Leave this instant!”

Chang Anning wasn’t as afraid as before, but he carried the basket away, looking greatly wronged.

Lou Muge gave Wen Changchu a look of approval, and walked towards Aunt Li’s house. Ning Shaosi also carried the dim lantern and followed Lou Muge step by step, looking like he would go to Aunt Li’s house with him.

“Why are you following me?” Lou Muge stopped and asked him.

“I have nowhere to go,” Ning Shaosi stared at him. Although he still looked very calm, a pitiful look was seemingly peeking at the tips of his eyes, as if his eyes would redden the moment Lou Muge tells him to leave. 

Lou Muge couldn’t stand this the most. He held his tongue and continued to walk silently. On the other hand, Wen Changchu fanned the flames on one the sideline, “This kid may have an appealing face, but he has no good intentions at first glance.”

Lou Muge studied Ning Shaosi when he heard his words, but he really couldn’t find a trace of ‘appeal’ on his face, so he said to Wen Changchu, “Chew whatever unnecessary argument you have and keep it to yourself, ah.”

Wen Changchu straightened his chest honestly.

Lou Muge smiled at the sight. He was in a very relaxed state at the moment, a feeling that had been absent for many years. After dragging himself back from the gates of hell, his sharp temper seemed to have worn bald and returned to the way it was a long, long time ago.

This was good. Although Lou Muge didn’t like his present self that much, he also knew that he could hide himself this way and avoid the tips of thousands upon thousands of swords pointed at his head.

He beamed while walking. When they arrived at Aunt Li’s house, Tao Ming was squatting in the courtyard and had washed off his makeup with water. When he heard movements, he wiped the water on his face and asked, “Did Young Master Lou bring some friends?”

Lou Muge glanced at the water in his basin, and could not help but shiver. He muttered in response, thinking to himself that mortals were also sometimes strong.

“Thank you Young Master Lou for today’s affairs.” Tao Ming wiped his face with the cloth towel next to him and stood up slowly, the dim light softening his countenance.

Although he couldn’t open a pair of beautiful eyes like Tao Zhai, his gentle temperament also made people like him. Lou Muge accepted his thanks, and after blurting out whatever came to his head, he then brought Ning Shaosi into the house.

Under the severe cold, the house was much warmer than outside, but the bed mattress was thin. Lou Muge did not even dare to take off his cotton clothes, so he could only sleep with them on. Wen Changchu once again turned into a wolf cub and lay beside the bed.

Lou Muge had experienced taking care of children. He covered them with a quilt and whispered to Ning Shaosi tenderly, “Go to sleep quickly. You’ll soon get warm after you fall asleep.”

He forgot that he was the only one who was afraid of the cold in the room.

Translator Notes: Hey, hey, I’m gonna be taking this over from Bzbee. She’s too busy nowadays, so I’ll be helping with it. The chapters will be broken into parts, since they’re just too long, and no exact release dates for now. Once I finish IHWL, perhaps I will be able to translate more, and faster. Enjoy (ง •̀ω•́)ง✧