Chapter 53

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Leaving Zhou’s Manor behind, Lu Liangsheng walked alone along the long street. At this hour, few pedestrians were around, though he could still faintly hear the songs of courtesans from the brothels.

Reaching a more secluded area, he used his cultivation technique to force the alcohol out of his body.

From time to time, brokers approached him from dark alleys, attempting to entice him to visit nearby brothels.

Lu Liangsheng, still somewhat inexperienced with such things, naturally declined politely and returned to his rented room at the Fortune and Prosperity Inn.

As he pushed the door open, a strong smell of alcohol filled the air. Sun Yingxian lay slumped over the table, a cup overturned beside him, with wine dripping slowly from the edge of the table.

“One more… this Daoist hasn’t lost yet…”

In his groggy mumbling, he turned his face toward the scholar, revealing that his left eye was bruised, and several red marks, like frog webbing, were stamped across his cheeks. Following his gaze, Lu Liangsheng looked over to the window.

“Master… did you two have a fight?”

The Toad Daoist stood atop the desk by the window, hands clasped behind his back, his robe fluttering in the breeze. He gazed at the cold moon peeking out from behind the night clouds.

“As if Master would stoop to his level.”

Nearby, the female ghost drifted quietly to Lu Liangsheng’s side, whispering: “Toad Master drank too much, went into a drunken frenzy, and beat Daoist Sun… he’s only just sobering up now…”

Lu Liangsheng: “…”

Looking at the Daoist with a bruised nose and swollen face, he sighed.

I told you not to let my master drink, didn’t I?! Last time at Landlord Chen’s estate, he suffered a lot. And now it’s come to blows.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, his gaze shifted back to the window. “Master… have your powers returned?”

“My powers have indeed returned somewhat.” The Toad Daoist replied, his gaze still on the moon. He turned his face slightly. “But injuries are injuries, and power is power. They are two different matters.”

Nie Honglian muttered softly under her breath: “Seems like he’s not quite sober yet.”

The Toad Daoist turned around, hopped onto the desk, and his frog-like webbed feet slapped against the surface with a “pah-pah” sound. He leaned in close to his disciple and sniffed: “You’ve been drinking too, huh? So, how was the food at Zhou’s Manor? Did you bring any back for your master?”

“Uh… I forgot,”

Lu Liangsheng replied, smiling sheepishly. “Master, it’s not that I intentionally forgot, but something happened at the Zhou Manor tonight, and I got caught up in it.”

He then recounted the whole event to the Toad Daoist, but after a while, the Toad Daoist, with his arms crossed and eyes half-closed, remained silent.

“Master?” Lu Liangsheng called out.

Hoo…

Hoo-hoo…

The Toad Daoist, still with his arms crossed, began to snore lightly, his head nodding back and forth. Hearing Lu Liangsheng call him, his half-closed eyes suddenly widened. “What you just said, your master… umm… say it again.”

Uh…

Lu Liangsheng nearly couldn’t resist the urge to pinch him out of frustration. Calming himself, he retold the whole story once more. This time, the Toad Daoist didn’t fall asleep. Rubbing his chin with his webbed fingers, he thought for a moment before speaking.

“With the level of cultivation I once had, such a thing wouldn’t even be worth a glance. But this entity isn’t a ghost… and it doesn’t taste good either.”

After pondering a bit, the Toad Daoist stood up, pacing back and forth on the desk with his hands behind his back.

“…This thing is not a ghost, not a living creature, nor is it an earthly fiend or foul Yin Qi. From what you described, the old woman seems more like a kind of spell technique. I remember something similar was recorded in [Southern Waters Collection of Lost Arts].”

“It was recorded?”

Lu Liangsheng frowned. He had spent three years memorizing that book’s contents and had nearly mastered it. As he sat down, tapping his finger on the bed’s edge, he carefully recalled the various spells mentioned in the text.

“Twenty miles to the west of Qishui, there was a practitioner skilled in strange arts, able to use objects to craft human forms, complete with shape and body, making them tangible and lifelike…”

[TL_Note: Qishui = Qi River]

This seemed somewhat akin to illusions.

Even if he’d found a related technique, it didn’t necessarily prove it was man-made. However, the Toad Daoist disagreed.

“Harming people without killing. There’s certainly something in the Zhou Manor they desire, but they have scruples. That’s why they resort to intimidation. If it were an earthly fiend or a supernatural being born from Yin Qi, it would have slaughtered the whole family by now.”

As he spoke, the Toad seemed to get excited. He ran over to his small chest, rummaging through it before pulling out a small black cloth, and tying it over his face.

“Let’s go. Your master will accompany you to Zhou’s Residence to see what strange thing lies on the ground.”

“Master, that black cloth…”

“Of course, it’s to cover my face. It’s already eye-catching enough for a scholar like you to be walking around with a toad. If someone sees a toad standing upright and running, what do you think will happen?!”

“That’s not what I meant… what I’m saying is, this black cloth, you took it last time and used it as a wrap…”

The Toad Daoist: “…”

In the room, Nie Honglian was rolling in the air, laughing so hard that she clutched her stomach. Once she composed herself, she floated over to the two of them. “Young Master, would you like me to follow you as well?”

“No, you stay in the room and keep an eye on the place… and look after Old Sun as well.”

Holding back his laughter, Lu Liangsheng made the arrangements, then took the Toad Daoist and left the inn. It was now deep into the night, and the night watchman was passing through the foggy streets, banging a wooden clapper and a gong.

Dong dong…

“The sky is dry and the air is flammable, be careful of fires. If you need to relieve yourself, don’t draw circles on the bed…”

As the mist swayed, a shadow flashed past him a few yards ahead. Rubbing his eyes, he found the surroundings quiet, with not a soul in sight. He quickened his pace, the sound of the clapper growing more urgent.

“May the heavens protect me… protect me… please don’t let me encounter any ghosts or monsters.”

Passing a section of the courtyard wall, Lu Liangsheng, with his face concealed, had the Toad Daoist perched on his shoulder, moving quickly along the wall. A black dog lying in the side yard shook its ears, bared its teeth, and let out a low growl as it saw a figure descending over the courtyard wall.

Lu Liangsheng strode over, and with a sweep of his robe, the black dog whimpered and retreated into its nest.

As he passed the entrance to the side hall, two stout women stood guard there, but both were dozing off. Lu Liangsheng made a spell gesture and, in an instant, passed through the closed door. However, the Toad Daoist crashed into the door, tumbling to the ground, and rubbing his head as he got back up.

“Unfilial disciple… if you’re going to use wall-passing techniques, you should tell me sooner!”

Inside, Lu Liangsheng opened the door, and he heard the murmuring of the women behind him. The scholar turned sideways and waved his sleeve over the slumbering stout woman, who opened her eyes briefly before closing them again, her head drooping as she fell back into a deep sleep.

The Toad Daoist, grumbling as he entered, gradually quieted down as he followed Lu Liangsheng into the Young Lady Zhou’s boudoir, standing still for a moment.

“This place feels a bit different.”

Lu Liangsheng glanced at the sleeping figure behind the curtain and lowered his voice: “What do you sense, Master?”

“I’m not sure yet…” The Toad Daoist could feel something amiss, but in his current state, he couldn’t pinpoint what it was right away.

After looking around for a bit, he hopped onto the bed and burrowed into the Young Lady Zhou’s curtain, suddenly speaking up.

“Liangsheng, come here and turn this girl onto her side.”

As Lu Liangsheng approached the bed, he could vaguely make out the girl’s features. He extended his hand and hesitated. “Master, there are differences between men and women.”

“Pedantic! Others would gladly take the chance!”

The Toad Daoist went over and lifted the blanket off the girl. Noticing Zhou Rong showing signs of waking, she murmured softly. Before she could open her eyes, a light smack echoed as a red webbed mark appeared on the side of her fair face.

Her head tilted and she fainted again.

“Master, you…”

“I’m just making her sleep more soundly.” The Toad Daoist said, pulling back the curtain. “Now hurry up and help!”

Reluctantly, Lu Liangsheng sighed, moved closer to the bed, turned Zhou Rong onto her side, and then looked back at his master.

“What do we do next?”

The Toad Daoist approached and stood by the pillow, examining the girl’s head for a moment. He made a gesture with his webbed hand, shaking it up and down.

“Infuse your cultivation energy into her, then shake her vigorously. There’s something in her head.”

Furrowing his brows, Lu Liangsheng followed his master’s instructions. As his cultivation energy entered the young lady’s head, he shook his hand up and down vigorously.

Something in her head… Earlier, Elder Zhou mentioned she had a splitting headache. Could it be that someone had infected her with a parasite?

“Chirp chirp… chirp chirp…”

Suddenly, a sound arose from the shaking hand, faint as a mosquito’s buzz. When Lu Liangsheng looked down, he saw tiny legs dangling beneath Zhou Rong’s ear, kicking and wiggling as if trying to crawl back in.

“Just as your master suspected.”

The Toad Daoist reached out with his webbed hand, grabbed the exposed little legs, and gently pulled, bringing out the creature and laying it in his palm. It was no bigger than a pea.

With arms, a handsome face, a long robe, cloth shoes, and even a hair bun, it looked just like a miniature person.

Lu Liangsheng had never seen such a tiny being. He watched as it stood defiantly between the Toad’s webbed fingers, chattering away, seemingly scolding the master and disciple.

“It seems to have some intelligence.”

He reached out a fingertip to poke it, but the little person flew out of the Toad Daoist’s grip as if struck by a chariot. Lu Liangsheng tried to catch it, fearing it might fall and hurt itself.

In an instant, a long, scarlet tongue shot out and wrapped around the flying little person, then… it was dragged into the mouth.

The master and disciple looked at each other.

A burp broke the silence.

The curtain fluttered, and the lamp’s light illuminated their faces. The Toad Daoist rubbed his white belly.

“…I feel a bit guilty, but it was truly a reflex.”

“Master, do you think I believe you?… Ugh, forget it…”

Lu Liangsheng held his forehead, realizing this time he had been laboring in vain.