Chapter Eighteen: I Don’t Dare to Think…
Bai Xuci woke early, sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, waiting to be summoned.
Asan, rested after a night’s sleep, emerged from the ground, brushing off the dirt and patted Bai Xuci’s shoulder.
“Don’t wait. The Venerable Lord rarely summons anyone, especially in the morning. Wait with me during dusk,” he said earnestly.
Bai Xuci hadn’t slept, thinking about Lin Da Niang’s family. He hadn’t been back in a long time; he wondered if Nannan still remembered him. The cute human child. He’d wished the demon lord wouldn’t summon him, but that wish was short-lived.
“…” He leaned his chin on his hand, idly drawing on the stone table, occasionally picking up leaves and placing them on Asan. The leaves immediately grew back.
“It’s fine, I’ll just sit here for a while,” Bai Xuci yawned, sleepy-eyed. Sleep deprivation was bad; he was so tired! He patted the table, gesturing for Asan to sit on a nearby stool. Maybe he’d nap. He didn’t know if the demon lord needed him. His eyelids grew heavy; he slowly closed his eyes.
“Bang!” His ears popped out, covering his eyes.
Asan’s mouth opened. He had fallen asleep already? He didn’t need to say anything.
Bai Xuci slept soundly, shifting his arm and breathing softly. But—
He smelled soil and felt suffocated. He frowned.
“Wake up, wake up! Xiaobai?” An urgent voice.
Bai Xuci, struggling to breathe, opened his eyes to see Asan shaking him vigorously. His soul was almost shaken out. Dirt and leaves were all over his face.
“…” He brushed away the leaves. “What’s wrong?”
Asan looked grim, gesturing behind him. Bai Xuci, letting Asan hold his clothes, lazily pushed aside branches and looked.
A man with a high ponytail and black clothes was smirking at him. Bai Xuci squinted, rubbed his eyes, and looked again.
“!” It was the monkey.
“Little demon, you seem to be doing well,” Xuan Li looked around the courtyard, surprised. He thought the rabbit wouldn’t last long, but it had settled in. Lucky.
“Xuan Li?” Bai Xuci said, puzzled. He hadn’t expected to see him again; he’d been supposed to be taken for questioning.
Asan breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn’t caused trouble. Maybe he could make a connection!
“What do you want?” Bai Xuci asked, resting his head on the table again, yawning and continuing to relax. He didn’t expect anything good from Xuan Li. Last time, he’d been supposed to be taken for questioning.
“Not welcoming? How can I report to the Venerable Lord?” Xuan Li said lazily, picking a branch. The injured tree spirit was displeased. It moved away to find another place to root.
Bai Xuci perked up. “The Venerable Lord sent you?” Perfect! He had things to tell the demon lord.
Xuan Li dropped the branch, looking surprised. This rabbit seemed happy…
Walking behind Xuan Li, Bai Xuci mentally rehearsed what to say. Besides the situation at the foot of the mountain, he wanted to go down the mountain. He didn’t know how Lin Da Niang’s family was doing. And what was his “illness”? He’d thought he was dying, but… He looked at his fingers, confused. He felt fine!
Xuan Li glanced back, thinking, Throwing this rabbit into the cultivator world… it would be devoured, leaving no bones.
“Go,” Xuan Li said, stopping at the grand hall entrance, urging him forward.
Bai Xuci hesitated.
Xuan Li: “???”
“Just go in like this?” Bai Xuci whispered. He’d seen attendants before, mostly half-human, half-demon. The soapberry demon worked by the pool. The squirrel demon worked at banquets and needed nuts. What would he, a rabbit, do?
Xuan Li, arms crossed, frowned.
“You’re quite good-looking,” he said.
Bai Xuci was puzzled. Why the sudden comment on his appearance?
“Why so slow?”
“…”
Xuan Li, seeing the rabbit freeze, pushed him inside.
“How else do you enter? You walk in!” His voice was lazy.
Seeing the rabbit go, he muttered, “With this appearance, an empty spirit body… even as a vase in the human world, it would be valuable…”
The hall was dark. Bai Xuci adjusted his sleeves. There were no attendants. Why was he here?
“Venerable Lord?” he called softly, tiptoeing to look.
“Mm.”
A sudden reply startled him. He turned, bowing hastily.
“Greetings, Venerable Lord.”
Fan Yue looked at his no-longer-swollen forehead, then withdrew his gaze.
“Get up.”
Bai Xuci tried to get up but tripped over his long robe. He pulled it, and—
“Rip—”
Fan Yue paused, turning back.
“…” Bai Xuci, oblivious to the look, was fixing his robe. He balled up the torn robe and put it in his sleeve, then cast a spell, getting a new one. New clothes, acquired!
Fan Yue quickly looked away when Bai Xuci looked up. He returned to his seat. The footsteps were audible… He knew basic spells, not too stupid.
“Venerable Lord.”
Golden eyes looked over, expecting his words.
“Did you summon me for something?”
“…” Silence. Bai Xuci was confused. Had he said something wrong? Shouldn’t he be told what he needed to do?
“What did you agree to yesterday?”
Bai Xuci remembered clearly: “To serve in the side hall.”
“Right.”
“That’s it?” Fan Yue’s tone rose slightly. Bai Xuci still didn’t know what to do.
Fan Yue thought, then said, “Just stand here.”
Bai Xuci was stunned. Just stand here? He took a deep breath, slowly moving to stand beside a pillar. Silence. What to do? Should he ask? But Fan Yue didn’t seem inclined to speak.
“What do you want to ask?” Fan Yue’s gaze shifted, surprised by the rabbit’s internal monologue.
Bai Xuci was startled. “Venerable Lord, what did Fu Lin tell you?”
“Am I sick?” His voice was low, slightly rising, still questioning. He hadn’t heard clearly and hadn’t had a chance to ask later.
“What do you think?” Fan Yue leaned forward, intrigued.
Bai Xuci met the golden eyes, slightly apprehensive.
“I… I don’t dare to think…”
Fan Yue frowned, not hearing him. “What?”
Bai Xuci straightened, answering seriously, “I think I might be sick.” Otherwise, why did Fu Lin look so “sympathetic”?
Fan Yue seemed amused.
“Sick,” he analyzed. “That’s close enough.” His eyes glanced over.
Bai Xuci lifted his head, eyes wide. He was really sick.
“Venerable Lord, can I be cured?” he asked seriously.
Fan Yue’s gaze shifted, drawn to the rabbit’s ears, which had popped out again. Still unable to control them? He looked away calmly back at the little demon.
“Weren’t you eager to die before?” he asked casually.
“That was… that was…” Bai Xuci hung his head. “I felt really strange, dizzy, unable to use my magical power. I panicked, and Fu Lin’s reaction didn’t help.”
“You’re an empty spirit body.” He didn’t hide it, curious about the reaction.
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