Chapter 63 - 57: Please Have Some Self-Respect
The girl was running frantically.
Her chest heaved, the fabric of her dress rising and falling with a rapid, youthful rhythm.
"Your friend was captured by a demon in her dream?"
Jiang Mu raised his hand and felt Chu Lingzhu’s smooth forehead. "You don’t have a fever. Step aside, I’m busy."
He had to find Ling Ye to prevent them from leaving the city.
’After all, the girl basically guilt-tripped me. I have to help at least a little.’
’The emotions they showed last night couldn’t be faked. Plus, what Qiu Yuexin mentioned about three years ago perfectly aligns with the timeline Ran Qingshan described.’
’It pretty much proved that girl wasn’t lying.’
"No, I’m not making this up!"
Chu Lingzhu grabbed him, stomping her foot in frustration.
"My friend suddenly fell into a coma this morning! No matter what we do, we can’t wake her up. That demon from her dreams must have taken her!"
"Please believe me! She’s cried to me more than once before, saying a demon was hunting her in her dreams. I went to other Demon Slayer Envoys, but none of them believed me. You killed that fish demon, so you must be powerful..."
Seeing that the girl’s expression wasn’t feigned, Jiang Mu was inwardly surprised.
’A demon that can hunt people in their dreams?’
’That’s certainly rare.’
’Could she have been poisoned with some kind of hallucinogenic evil drug?’
Jiang Mu thought for a moment and said, "Lead the way."
Chu Lingzhu’s face lit up with joy, and she quickly tugged his sleeve, pulling him outside.
...
On the way, Jiang Mu learned the general situation from Chu Lingzhu.
The girl’s name was Lan Rou’Er. Her family had fallen on hard times, and her parents died young, so she had been living with her aunt since she was a child.
Even though they were relatives, life under someone else’s roof was not easy.
She lived her days humbly and cautiously.
Only her cousin, Han Yushu, looked out for her to some extent.
But even that was only because she was good friends with Chu Lingzhu, and Han Yushu wanted to use the connection to score points with his goddess.
"Miss Chu, you’re finally here."
The two had just arrived at the entrance of Han Mansion when a slender maid in a pink dress tearfully rushed up to them. "Miss... she’s not going to make it. The master has invited a great monk who is performing an exorcism in the courtyard..."
"An exorcism? Are those street charlatans any use?"
Chu Lingzhu’s expression soured. She grabbed Jiang Mu and rushed into the courtyard.
In the courtyard, a simple ritual altar had been set up.
Four Monks, holding wooden fish and bronze bells, surrounded a young, unconscious girl lying on a straw mat, chanting sutras.
The one lying there was none other than Lan Rou’Er.
Standing nearby were Han Yushu and a middle-aged couple.
"Lingzhu!"
Han Yushu’s eyes lit up when he saw Chu Lingzhu.
However, when his gaze swept over to Jiang Mu trailing behind her, his face instantly darkened.
"What are you doing here!?"
The last time they met, Jiang Mu had kicked him at Yanchun Tower. Han Yushu had been so furious that he went to the Demon-slaying Bureau to report him, but his complaint had vanished without a trace.
When he mentioned it to his parents at home, his father heard that the man was from the Demon-slaying Bureau and simply waved his hand, saying, "Forget it."
Then his mother scolded him, berating him for not knowing what’s important.
With new and old grudges combined, seeing Jiang Mu arrive uninvited, he naturally wore an unpleasant expression.
Jiang Mu ignored the man-child and walked to the straw mat, bending down to take a closer look.
"Who are you?!"
An old Monk wearing a kasaya, who seemed to be in charge, took a step forward and barked, "This is a sacred ritual! Uninvolved persons, back away at once! Do not disrespect the Buddhist Dharma!"
Jiang Mu couldn’t be bothered with nonsense. He directly flashed his Hall Master’s Token from the Demon-slaying Bureau.
The old Monk immediately put his palms together, bowed, and offered an apologetic smile.
"Amitabha Buddha... So you are a lord from the Demon-slaying Bureau. This humble monk was disrespectful."
The couple also walked over.
The man was in his early forties with a square face. He was the Patriarch of the Han family, Han Chenghu.
The woman beside him looked to be in her thirties. She was very well-maintained, and her eyes held the alluring charm of a mature woman.
Her gaze swept over Jiang Mu, her expression cold.
Han Chenghu glanced at the Token, his brow furrowing slightly. "This lord has come here because...?"
Jiang Mu said flatly, "I received a report that a Demon is causing trouble here. I came to have a look."
"A Demon?"
Han Chenghu glanced at Chu Lingzhu, his expression displeased.
"My lord, you misunderstand. My niece just came into contact with something unclean. The master is performing a ritual to expel the evil, and she’ll be fine soon."
"Whether there’s a Demon or not is for me to decide."
Jiang Mu put away his Token and said coolly, "First, carry her back to her room."
Han Chenghu’s lips moved as if to argue, but the woman beside him gently tugged his sleeve.
"Husband, since the lord is here, there’s no harm in letting him take a look. After all, the Demon-slaying Bureau are the professionals."
Madam Han’s voice was cold.
Han Chenghu hesitated for a moment but ultimately said nothing more. He waved for the servants to carry Lan Rou’Er into her chambers.
The Monks, silent as cicadas in winter, retreated to the side.
Jiang Mu followed them into the room.
The room was simply and elegantly furnished, quite tidy.
An orchid sat on a small table by the window.
He scanned the room but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Only then did he walk to the bed and lift Lan Rou’Er’s eyelid.
The girl’s pupils were somewhat unfocused, and her sclera were covered in a spiderweb of bloodshot veins.
’There’s no obvious leakage of demonic qi, but these symptoms...’
’A Nightmare?’
The word popped into Jiang Mu’s mind.
He suddenly recalled reading in the Demon-slaying Bureau’s archives about a special type of Demon called a "Nightmare."
They love to devour a person’s essence and Divine Soul in their dreams.
It is said that once a person is targeted by one, they fall into endless nightmares the moment they sleep, their spirit gradually withering until they die in their dreams.
’But the question is, how do I deal with this thing?’
’I have no experience with this.’
Jiang Mu’s brow furrowed. Suddenly, an idea struck him.
’Since it’s something on a spiritual level, I wonder if Demonic Qi will work?’
He gripped Lan Rou’Er’s cold wrist and tried to mobilize the Demonic Qi from his Demon Slot, infusing a trace of it into her body.
VMM!
The instant the Demonic Qi entered her body, Jiang Mu felt a wave of dizziness wash over his mind.
A massive black vortex seemed to appear before his eyes, pulling at his consciousness.
His heart clenched. He immediately pulled his hand back, severing the connection to the Demonic Qi.
’It really works!’
Jiang Mu was thrilled.
The Demonic Qi could actually act as a bridge, pulling his consciousness into Lan Rou’Er’s dreamscape.
"All of you, get out."
Jiang Mu turned his head and said to the others who had followed him in.
"No!"
Han Yushu was the first to jump out and object.
"An unmarried man and woman alone in a room, what would people say? Besides, Lord Jiang’s past reputation for romantic exploits... If word gets out, it will damage my cousin Rou’Er’s good name."
Chu Lingzhu shot Han Yushu a fierce glare. Just as she was about to offer to stay and watch, Madam Han spoke up coolly first.
"I will stay. Rou’Er is my niece, after all. It’s more appropriate for me to watch over her."
Jiang Mu mulled it over for a moment, then paid it no more mind.
Han Yushu wanted to say more, but a glare from his mother sent him sulking out of the room with the others.
The door closed.
The room instantly fell quiet.
Only the unconscious girl, Jiang Mu, and Madam Han remained.
Jiang Mu took out a Protective Talisman from his robes, handed it to Madam Han, and said with a serious expression:
"Madam Han, I am now going to slay the demon for your niece. Take this Talisman, stand guard by the bed, and watch her condition closely. If her breathing stops, slap the Talisman on her immediately, understand?"
"Mm."
Madam Han responded, but she did not reach out to take the Talisman.
Jiang Mu found this strange and turned to look at her.
He saw that the beautiful woman, who had been so dignified and cold just moments ago, was now staring at him intently, her eyes filled to the brim with a resentful, amorous longing.
Her smoldering gaze seemed to spin a silky web.
"?"
A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Jiang Mu’s heart.
The next instant, a fragrant scent washed over him.
The woman’s soft, warm body threw itself into his arms, and without another word, her red lips planted a firm peck on his cheek.
A voice, tinged with both flirtatious anger and resentment, whispered by his ear:
"You devil, taking so long to come see me. I thought you had forgotten all about me."
Jiang Mu was dumbfounded.
’Goddammit, Jiang Chen! Are you a fucking pile driver?’
’To think I’d manage to dig up one of his lovers even here.’
Right now, Jiang Mu felt like drawing his blade.
He gritted his teeth, cursed inwardly, and forcefully pushed the soft, fragrant woman out of his arms.
"Madam, please have some self-respect."
"Has it been that long? I’ve gone from being your Little Sweet to ’Madam’?"
Madam Han poked him in the chest reproachfully.
"You little heartbreaker, you’re so cruel. You even beat Aunty’s son."
"But, a beating is a beating. You’re my man, so my son is basically your son. It’s only right for a father to discipline his son."
"If you’re still not satisfied... you can take it out on Aunty tonight~"
"Aunty will let you beat her however you want~"