Chapter 59: Sometimes, It’s Less Troublesome Not To Worry.
Early next morning, the group set out again. Bian Zhonghua, with Qi Ci’s consent, led the group towards the Lu Family’s Village first.
After all, Bian Zhonghua was a Demon Slayer, and he couldn’t sit idly when meeting with evil monsters on the way.
Even though the majority of the population in the Lu Family Village were part of the Lu family, there were several other families in the village who stayed there after making a lot of money as tea merchants.
When the group walked on the streets of the village, they could see the depressing atmosphere surrounding the place. The doors of every house were closed, and there were very few people on the streets. Everything looked cold and dead.
Bian Zhonghua, who was used to situations like this, ordered the two Secret Servants to protect the group. Then, he walked to a random house and knocked on the door.
The door was opened by an old woman. Through a small gap, half of her wrinkled face was revealed. The old woman was very cautious, so when she saw Bian Zhonghua, she didn’t speak.
Bian Zhonghua smiled amiably and said: “Aunty, may I ask which family around here has been affected by demonic forces?”
The old woman was silent for a long time, but then she pointed to the East: “Walk East along the street, and you’ll see several large houses. The families there have been cursed.”
As soon as she said that, the old woman closed the door.
Bian Zhonghua rubbed his chin: “This monster’s appetite is indeed quite big….”
After murmuring that, Bian Zhonghua walked back to the group and led them towards East. But he didn’t need to go that far away since he was able to see a big Residence with red tiles and brick colored walls. There were also two majestic stone lions squatting at the door, but the closed door was covered with yellow paper charms. Under the plaque, it hung an octagonal divinatory trigram copper mirror1. It looked quite strange.
Bian Zhonghua hit his fist and said with certainty: “Yes, here it is.”
Then, he walked forward to knock on the door.
However, he had to knock hard on the door until his hands became sore. At that point, someone finally came to open the door, and it just so happened to be a burly servant. As soon as he opened the door, he roared angrily: “What are you knocking for? Get lost!”
Bian Zhonghua wasn’t offended by this. Instead, he asked bluntly: “Excuse me, who in this family has been affected by a demon?”
“It’s none of your business! Why do you care?!” The servant scolded Bian Zhonghua angrily and then slammed the door shut.
When the two Secret Servants saw that Bian Zhonghua had found an obstacle, they gripped the hilt of the swords on their waist and frowned with the intention of going forward.
However, Bian Zhonghua waved his hand at the two of them: “It doesn’t matter. There’s someone in the family who was cursed by that demon, which means that the family must be immersed in bitterness and depression. Moreover, it isn’t easy to mention a man’s pregnancy, so it’s normal to have a bad attitude towards an outsider that came to inquire about it. You should always understand the sadness of ordinary people when you travel to perform tasks in the future.”
The two Secret Servants were immediately convinced by Bian Zhonghua’s reasonable attitude and clasped their fists in unison to show their understanding.
As soon as Bian Zhonghua raised his head, he saw that Qi Ci was looking at him. Without the slightest hesitation, Bian Zhonghua smiled brightly as he said: “What is it? Does His Highness have any instructions?”
Qi Ci, panicked, averted his gaze and said vaguely: “No.”
However, Qi Ci couldn’t help but squeeze up the hand hidden in his sleeve.
Bian Zhonghua raised his eyebrows, walked to one of the Secret Servants, and said to him: “Lend me your token. Mine was given to someone.”
""
As he said this, Bian Zhonghua glanced at Qi Ci with a big smile on his face.
Qi Ci felt his ears growing inexplicably hot. After coughing, he said: “You don’t need to borrow a token, I have yours with me.”
Then, Qi Ci took out the token from his pocket and threw it to Bian Zhonghua.
Bian Zhonghua caught it firmly, feeling slightly surprised: “Has His Highness been carrying this token close to him all this time?”
Qi Ci: “….”
This time, not only were his ears blushed red, but his cheeks were also burning up.
Bian Zhonghua didn’t tease him anymore. Looking like he was in a good mood, Bian Zhonghua went back to the door with the token in his hand.
Then, Bian Zhonghua clenched his fist and beat the door again. This time, with a big smile on his face.
Immediately after the loud noise, the solid red-painted iron door suddenly fell to the ground, raising a choking cloud of dust in the air.
Everyone: “….”
Bian Zhonghua fanned the raised dust and turned his head to the two astonished Secret Servants: “Although it’s important to understand other people’s feelings, sometimes, it’s less troublesome not to worry about them.”
Naturally, someone screamed in shock inside the residence. As Bian Zhonghua walked in, he held up the token and said with a loud voice: “This is the Demon Slayer Bian Zhonghua. I’m here to exorcize demons and kill monsters. Who is the master of this family?”
The head of the family was a middle-aged man, surnamed Lu and named Ren. In his early years, he made his fortune by selling tea leaves, and he was also a well-known wealthy merchant in the village. He had a young son who was in his 20s, and even though he wasn’t promising, he could still inherit the family business. Unexpectedly, this son returned late one night from the red-light district and bumped into a demon. Afterwards, his stomach grew bigger and bigger, and the family invited people over who claimed to be able to get rid of demons. But, no matter what, his son’s belly never got smaller. Lu Ren sighed every day, so worried that even his hair turned white, while his wife cried every day, ashamed of this ominous matter happening in her house.
Therefore, when Lu Ren heard that a Demon Slayer had come, he almost burst into tears.
“Finally! Someone came! I really don’t know what to do!” Lu Ren, whose hair was already whitening, held Bian Zhonghua’s hand as he choked up with tears.
Bian Zhonghua comforted him for a while, saying that he was escorting the Prince back to the Capital when he suddenly heard the strange events happening in the village. After explaining everything, Bian Zhonghua revealed Qi Ci’s identity to Lu Ren.
Lu Ren immediately knelt to Qi Ci, and Qi Ci hurried to help him up: “There’s no need to be so polite.”
Bian Zhonghua said: “So, Master Lu, several rooms should be arranged for the Prince and my brothers to stay.”
Lu Ren hurriedly instructed his servants to vacate the widest and most comfortable room for Qi Ci and arranged accomodations for the others. After arranging the rooms, Bian Zhonghua asked the most important thing: “Master Lu, where’s your son now?”
Lu Ren let out a long sigh and said: “He’s in his room. He doesn’t want to go out, not only because he’s afraid of scaring people, but because he’s also afraid of something else happening to him.”
Bian Zhonghua asked again: “Then, were other people here also cursed like this?”
Lu Ren said: “Yes, the sons of several families in the neighborhood had bumped into this demon. This demon seems to prey on rich Gongzi.”
Bian Zhonghua nodded: “A man who’s been pampered from childhood can give birth to snakes with great power.”
“Sn-snakes? What snakes?” Lu Ren was at a loss for words at first, but then he suddenly understood what Bian Zhonghua meant, and his face paled all of a sudden.
Bian Zhonghua then asked: “Master Lu, let me ask you something. When did your son get pregnant?”
Lu Ren sighed: “Like women, it doesn’t show at first, and his habits were no different from the usual. However, three or four months later, his belly began to become obvious. He’s almost at full-term by now.”
“Master Lu, can you do me a favor?” Bian Zhonghua asked.
Lu Ren said: “Lord Bian, don’t hesitate to ask! As long as I can save my son, I’ll do anything no matter how difficult it may be!”
Bian Zhonghua smiled and said: “Then, I ask Master Lu to help me find all the men in the vicinity who are pregnant with the demon’s offspring and let them rest in the same room. From now on, I’ll guard over them with the other two Secret Servants accompanying me. Since it’ll be a full moon soon, the demon will surely come to collect his sons from these men’s bellies, so we might as well catch the turtle in a jar2.”
Lu Ren nodded and did as he was told in a hurry. Lu Ren already had a big reputation in the Lu Family’s Village, and with the identity of Bian Zhonghua as a Demon Slayer, he was able to convince the men cursed by the demon and their families.
However, things didn’t always work out so easily.
Oof sorry I’m late! Yesterday the weather in my country was way too hot, not kidding it was like 42º (107ºF), today is not better than yesterday but at least is not as suffocating
Ahhh I love it when BZH teases QC and QC tries really hard to be nonchalant but ends blushing a lot hahaha so cute (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)