The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 23

Not a trace of panic could be seen on Bai Zhi. She even boldly tugged at her own face, her fingertips sliding lightly down the side of it. “You can tell?”
After saying it, she laughed herself. “That makes sense. There is always someone beyond someone. But after using it for so many years, you are still the first person to see through it.”
Guesswork showed in Yin Wu’s eyes. She pointed lightly at several places. “There is a not-quite-perfect seam here.”
Then she bent a finger to half cover her mouth and asked in a lowered voice, “Can you tell me who did it?”
Bai Zhi did not speak. Only after a long while did she show a smile. “Are you not curious why?”
Yin Wu thought for several seconds before carefully asking, “May I know?”
Her hand hid behind her back, her finger seals moving quickly to form a barrier. Yin Wu shrugged. “I am all ears.”
The look in Bai Zhi’s eyes changed several times before finally settling into appreciation. “You really are a good person.”
“A good person.” Yin Wu’s voice was so light it almost could not be caught as it brushed past Bai Zhi’s ear. “Otherwise, why would I let you sit here?”
Bai Zhi looked around and said nothing else. She only clapped her hands, her expression carrying pride that was easy to notice. “In the past, I was a beggar, a blacksmith, a stool for people to step on. I did rough work and slept in stables, treated worse than a horse. I was beaten and cursed every day. Whenever those masters were even a little unhappy, they took it out on me.”
She turned her head and gestured over her face. “Back then, my face was ruined. More than half my face was scarred. Rotten skin and flesh turned outward. I looked like a monster. I had to wear a veil whenever I went out.”
“But then, one day…” Bai Zhi’s gaze seemed to drift far away. “Someone came to me and asked whether I wanted to change my fate. I only needed to do one thing: find myself a face. Then my wish at the time could be fulfilled.”
Her speaking speed slowed quite a bit. “I felt as if I had met an immortal from the sky who had come to save me. But where was I supposed to find a face? One night, I suddenly thought of a place. We had a mass grave there. Many of the bodies had been dumped.
“That night, I ran into the pile of dead people and searched back and forth. My whole body was covered in disgusting blood and filth. But I did not care. More than half the night passed before I found a beautiful face that satisfied me. My heart was soft then, so I cried while peeling it off. My hands shook so badly. Finally, a complete face was pressed onto me. That night, the moon was very bright. So bright I will never forget it in this life.”
Bai Zhi laughed low. Her gaze toward Yin Wu scattered. “Probably no one except that person knew this was something from a dead body. I used it for years. Even now, I no longer know what I originally looked like. But I have never regretted it.”
Yin Wu met her eyes. She leaned forward slightly, as if asking and threatening at the same time. “You are not afraid?”
“Afraid of what? I endured all the bitterness and exhaustion. If there is retribution, then I will take it. I only get to live this one life.” Bai Zhi seemed startled by her and shrank her shoulders, but soon returned to normal. She smiled naturally. “No one has ever let me talk about it. Just treat it as a little story. It is not exactly respectable.”
Yin Wu straightened her clothes. She was not frightened at all. With a casual wave of her hand, she removed the barrier. Half rising, she looked down at Bai Zhi. “Then count it as the payment you gave us for that favor. The story was not bad. Tell it in more detail next time.”
She stood and stretched, then hopped over to Li Lingjiang, eyes full of smiles. “The warmth and coldness of the human world really are interesting.”
Bai Zhi still wanted to say something, but Wen Si suddenly called for her to come over. She rolled her eyes and helplessly walked over. Yin Wu thought for a moment, then quickly followed. Hooking an arm around Bai Zhi’s shoulder, she said softly, “Be careful of this river. It is strange. Whatever you hear or see, do not go over.”
After saying that, she let go and innocently jogged back to Li Lingjiang’s side. She sat down at once, bent at the waist, and stared.
Li Lingjiang gave her some of her attention. “You feel some affinity with her?”
Yin Wu chuckled twice and shook her head. “It is all right. She knows how to leave herself a way out. She talks about making friends, but she still carries her first purpose very solidly. She also told me a little of her ill-fated past, yet even so, she kept seventy percent in her stomach. Her attitude changes with the person. That does make her rather likable.”
“Seeing how curious you were, were you also being false?” Li Lingjiang’s voice was not heavy.
Yin Wu pouted. Unhappy, she leaned back. “I am not stupid. I only found her a reason in advance. I followed her wish and listened to her speak. Is that not a good thing? Besides, she said I was a good person! I even warned her just now.”
As if offended, she turned her back a little. Seeing that Li Lingjiang did not move, she waited a few seconds and silently turned back again. Before long, she drooped and lowered her head, nodding down from time to time. “But I am sincere toward Demon Lord.”
Li Lingjiang sensed something strange and finally moved. “I did not say anything. Why are you crying?”
Yin Wu sniffed. She wiped her tears and pressed down her tone. “I am afraid you will not want me anymore.”
The young immortal was different from just now. Li Lingjiang fixed her gaze on her. Yin Wu’s behavior was not the same as when she was with Li Lingjiang. She had revealed a side with fangs.
Li Lingjiang only hoped Yin Wu’s cultivation could keep up in the future, so she would not be bullied.
“Having you alone is enough. What would I need anyone else for?” Li Lingjiang took a handkerchief from her sleeve and lightly placed it in Yin Wu’s hand. “You looked calm and carefree just now. Now you are crying like this.”
Yin Wu curled her fingers around the handkerchief, tasting the meaning in Li Lingjiang’s words. She felt Li Lingjiang meant that she alone was enough to handle the rest of Li Lingjiang’s remaining time. That counted as a good thing. It was more trust than before.
Seeing Yin Wu only clutch the handkerchief without doing anything else, Li Lingjiang asked, “What is it?”
The young immortal lowered her head. She spread the handkerchief open, carefully folded it, and placed it inside her sleeve. She sniffed. Her voice was very small, yet fully justified. “I cannot bear to use it.”
At the same time, not very far from them, Bai Zhi had been taken aside by Wen Si. He was direct. “Why did you go looking for them?”
Bai Zhi twirled her hair around her finger. Her eyes were a little cold, but her tone was soft and sweet. “Naturally, to make friends with them and borrow some connection.”
Wen Si’s gaze sharpened. He did not blame her. “It looked like you got along well.”
“Naturally. I suppose I added a little strength to our Immortal-Entering Sect.” A trace of mockery appeared at Bai Zhi’s lips.
Wen Si laughed softly. He lowered his eyes, then asked in a low voice, “What did Li Jiang say to you?”
Bai Zhi tilted her head and smiled. “Want to know?”
She rubbed her fingertips together and held out her hand, her eyes full of teasing. “Pay up. We may be fellow sect disciples, but accounts should still be settled clearly.”
Wen Si: “…”
Bai Zhi happily accepted the silver and weighed it in her hand. She repeated Yin Wu’s words once and, without waiting for Wen Si to react, strode away.
Everyone knew Bai Zhi’s background. As soon as they saw her, they avoided her as if avoiding a fierce beast. Every movement of her conversation with Li Lingjiang and Yin Wu had entered their eyes, stirring both curiosity and disgust.
Bai Zhi did not care at all about the vicious words and gazes falling into her ears. She walked through the path specially opened for her as if nothing had happened. Words like “brothel,” “dirty,” and “low” came with the thin wind, unable to disturb even a strand of her hair.
She played with the bits of silver. Just as she reached her own remote spot and had not yet sat down, a shadow covered her vision. She lifted her eyes and saw the old fraud who usually took a few copper coins to tell fortunes.
Bai Zhi gave another disdainful sneer, her tone dropping. “What do you want?”
After thinking for a moment, she remembered his name. “Tang Wusuo.”
Tang Wusuo was tall and large. He was still shaking the copper coins in his hand, calculation filling his eyes. “I wanted to ask whether that Li person is easy to get along with.”
Bai Zhi clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. “What, trying to steal my patron? Let me advise you. Do not provoke them.”
“Listen to yourself. How is that provoking? I calculated it and felt I have fate with them today.”
Bai Zhi laughed. She did not believe him. “You? Everything you calculate gives the same omen, and you still talk about fate. You have fate with swindling people, maybe.”
Tang Wusuo grew unhappy. “How can you talk like that? I came respectfully to ask you. What kind of tone is that?”
“This kind.” Bai Zhi could not even be bothered to give him a proper look. “Stop making trouble.”
Tang Wusuo angrily pointed at her twice in the air. He spat. “Low thing. I think you will not live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.”
Bai Zhi had heard words like this too many times. She glanced at him and did not take it to heart.
Tang Wusuo thought it over and still gathered the courage to go over. When passing Ling Xin and the others, he bent his waist and smiled ingratiatingly.
Looking over, he saw Yin Wu just about to take Li Lingjiang’s wrist. Tang Wusuo had not controlled his movement well. While he was stunned, he felt a gaze gather on him like something solid. Nervously, he swallowed and raised his head with a flattering smile. But “Li Jiang,” who had always looked harmless, now had eyes that could stir up a storm.
Only a moment later, that look was restrained. It appeared for only a few breaths, like an illusion.
Tang Wusuo felt as if he had committed some terrible crime. His heart kept drumming. He licked his lips and laughed dryly. “I am Tang Wusuo. I know a few little tricks. Would you two like me to read an omen?”
Yin Wu turned her head away and regretfully looked at her empty hand. She had finally noticed something unusual with Li Lingjiang and had been about to grab her wrist, but one annoying person after another kept coming over. The brief warmth had vanished cleanly.
In a flat tone, she said, “A fortune-teller? You people could open a mixed shop. There are all kinds of odd professions here. And all of you love picking us.”
Tang Wusuo smiled in apology. He stopped there, neither fully stiff nor relaxed, not knowing what to do.
Li Lingjiang covered her hand again. Her gaze stayed on Tang Wusuo for several seconds. As if compromising, she allowed him to come over. “Since you are already here, and it is goodwill, read one.”
“Ah, good.” Tang Wusuo immediately stepped forward and began arranging his set of moves, so dazzling it made the eyes blur.
Yin Wu watched with interest too. The more she watched, the more wrong it felt. She called for him to stop and frowned. “Stop calculating. After all this time, you still cannot produce anything impressive. Give me the copper coins. You can interpret them.”
Tang Wusuo stopped awkwardly. After hesitating for a few seconds, he took out three new coins from his sleeve and even remembered to wipe them on his clothes. He offered them up. “They are clean.”
The young immortal casually accepted them. Before the cold touch could warm in her palm, the coins fell from the air to the ground. In only a moment, there was only the dull sound of them landing. Several round copper coins finally stopped between Li Lingjiang and her.
With one glance, Tang Wusuo broke out in a cold sweat. It was not that he had no real skill. He simply knew what people liked to hear. Who would have thought Yin Wu would throw out a life-and-death omen at once?
He weighed his words, wiping the sweat from his head, and spoke not very smoothly. “This omen cannot be called good. Commonly called the yin-yang omen, it means someone lives and someone dies. Life and death have fate. The omen says heaven’s will cannot be violated or reversed. Recently, beware and see whether in your family… no, whether around you, someone has an inauspicious…”
“Enough.” Li Lingjiang calmly interrupted him. Her tone was not loud, but its dignity could not be ignored.
She lowered her eyes to look at the omen and hooked her lips into a faint, unclear smile. “You interpreted it well.”
Li Lingjiang casually tossed him a piece of silver. “The ending is fixed. Whatever the omen is, it is all about the same to me. You do not need to interpret further. Take it and go back. I suddenly do not want to see people.”
Tang Wusuo saw that he was being driven back before he had even stayed long. Though he had earned some money, it was still humiliating. He would probably be pointed at behind his back. But he did not dare stay longer. After awkwardly saying a few polite words, he tucked his neck in and left.
“What are you looking at?” Li Lingjiang turned her head and asked Yin Wu.
The young immortal looked gloomy. “I do not like this omen.”
She picked the coins up again. Once someone entered the immortal register, they had a god’s protection and carried luck.
Yin Wu took the coins back into her hand. Secretly adding magic, she threw them down again. It was the same as before.
She pressed her lips together and said nothing. The life-and-death omen divided two sides. One could not see across until the Yellow Springs.
Her omen would not be wrong.
Li Lingjiang did not take it to heart. She withdrew her gaze again, letting it rest somewhere unfocused. Softly, she said, “No matter how it is read, it is the same.”
Yin Wu suddenly stopped speaking. She bent and picked up the copper coins. With a slight movement of two fingers, they turned to nothingness in her hand. The sky over No-Return Mountain was about to darken. The surrounding lights that could not be lit seemed to silently accept the dead end. Wind rose, carrying frost that did not belong to it, and gently lifted Li Lingjiang’s hair. It fluttered in an uncertain direction. In that instant of silence, even Yin Wu’s breathing was swallowed.
The dead souls also slowed the breathing of the living.
She only spoke, a murmured whisper to herself, wild and unrestrained. “How could that be? I still do not allow it.”
Even if the Yellow Springs and white bones were ten thousand miles apart, Li Lingjiang had to live.
When the time to return came, no one was allowed to hear Lingjiang’s voice. Who would understand she was already a soul beneath the parasol tree?
She was the one who ruled.