Chapter Sixty-Two: A Tang Dynasty Princess?

Back in the dormitory beneath the Demon Suppression Tower, He Chang’an felt as if he were floating on air. If he weren’t worried about Lord Zheng recording a little video, he might have hummed a tune or two.

“Birds on the branches always come in pairs, husband and wife returning home together…”

“Five hundred taels of silver—enough to visit Miss Jinse five or six times. Who needs a wife, anyway?”

That old fox Zhang Yichao had really shown some loyalty. After catching that eunuch Attendant Xing Yuzhai, he’d tossed over a storage pouch without a second thought, clearly delighted.

Seven or eight bottles of elixirs, several stacks of talismans scrawled in chicken scratch, a few Confucian treasures, a well-crafted blade…

Of course, the most valuable item was the pouch itself.

It looked utterly unremarkable, but its interior could hold an entire room’s worth of belongings. Crafted from the hide, flesh, and sinew of a Taotie beast, it was a spatial artifact.

In the Tang Dynasty, only people of considerable means could afford such a thing.

“If only it came with a few hundred spirit stones or blood jades—those are the real currency in the cultivation world…”

He Chang’an was relishing his good fortune when Yu Youwei walked in, her steps slow, her expression cold and silent as she fixed her gaze on him.

“Chief Yu, is there something you need?” He Chang’an hurried over, bowed, and cupped his fists.

He truly liked and respected his curvaceous, shapely superior, with an inexplicable warmth in his heart—a little like missing his late mother, or never having had an elder sister to look after him.

Not that it was because of her ample bosom…

“Do you know Li Yishan?” Yu Youwei sat at the stone table, lost in thought for a moment before abruptly asking.

“Uh, I know him, but we’re not close,” He Chang’an answered readily.

The old man’s reputation wasn’t great—creditors everywhere. He Chang’an had only just gotten an advance on a year’s salary and worried that Yu Youwei might be here to collect on a debt in a roundabout way.

“Not close, really?” Yu Youwei looked a little disappointed.

She sat on the stone stool, gazing absently out the door. The dozen or so scars crisscrossing her face lent her a wildness, a kind of unique beauty.

He Chang’an didn’t dare make a sound.

Best to keep his mouth shut until he figured out what was going on. People say illness enters by the mouth, disaster by the tongue.

Yu Youwei tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and suddenly gave a bitter smile. “Never mind. You’re going to see him—help me deliver something.”

She took out a small bundle, tossed it to He Chang’an, then left. “He’s probably out of money again. Tell him… forget it. Just tell him you’re lending it to him. And tell him to spend sparingly.”

What was this? Yu Youwei supporting Li Yishan?

An old fox like him, daring to tangle with such a wild woman…

He Chang’an was left bewildered, the little bundle of silver in his hand, quite at a loss for words.

He pictured Li Yishan’s unruly white hair and glanced at the wild, sixth-rank martial officer, a dark-ranked demon slayer. It gave him the peculiar impression of a pear blossom pressing down a begonia tree.

“Chief Yu, this silver…” He weighed it—just under fifty taels in total.

“Just give it to him. Say… actually, just say you’re lending it to him.” Yu Youwei turned to leave, a barely perceptible blush on her face.

“Chief Yu, where do I find him?” He Chang’an asked dumbly.

“At Luo Daqi’s,” she called back over her shoulder.

…

Li Yishan looked a mess, still in those shabby scholar’s robes, but gone was his former haughtiness. His eyes were bloodshot as he paced anxiously, muttering “Heaven and Earth, Difficulty and Progress, Innocence and Returning Maiden…” while his wild white hair stuck out in every direction.

Luo Daqi sat nearby, deeply troubled and silent.

As He Chang’an poked his head through the door, Luo Daqi didn’t move, but Li Yishan rushed over, grabbed He Chang’an’s arm, and barked, “You rascal! Still hiding from me?”

He Chang’an gave a wry smile. “Brother Yishan, I’m strapped for cash myself. Honestly, I have nothing.”

He wondered, this old man’s got connections—even the Demon Slayers can find me.

“Who wants your money? Come on, you’re coming with me.” Li Yishan dragged He Chang’an along, ignoring Luo Daqi’s look of disapproval.

“I’m on duty—I can’t leave,” He Chang’an protested urgently. “Lord Zheng gave me this assignment, I wouldn’t dare…”

“I’ve already cleared it with Lord Zheng. You’re borrowed for a few days,” Li Yishan said offhandedly.

He Chang’an struggled, but Luo Daqi finally spoke. “Go with him—help him with a case. Lord Zheng’s approved it.”

“But I…” He Chang’an was at a loss.

It was dangerous out there—the Night God Cult had tried to assassinate him two or three times already. Wasn’t it more comfortable to stay hidden beneath the Demon Suppression Tower, sipping wine and soaking up all that free yin energy?

Damn it, where’s the justice?

Following this old trickster—what case could there possibly be? Had he found out about the five hundred taels I got in advance?

“Oh, someone asked me to deliver something to you.” He Chang’an took out Yu Youwei’s silver and handed it over.

“What’s this?” Li Yishan opened the pouch to find several dozen taels of silver fragments. His expression changed abruptly. “I can’t accept this!”

“Let’s go!”

The old man gripped He Chang’an and hurried out of the Demon Slayers’ office, clutching the silver but not giving it back.

…

Li Yishan knew Chang’an City like the back of his hand. They vaulted walls and ducked through alleys, encountering almost no one, and soon reached Taiping Lane.

Several hundred paces from a dilapidated courtyard, the two finally stopped.

“Brother Yishan, what’s this case about?” He Chang’an asked, thoroughly baffled.

Following Li Yishan always made him feel like he was being sold off.

“We’re rescuing someone.” Li Yishan calculated on his fingers, his manner grave. “A little nun has been kidnapped.”

Why does a scholar always drag a Buddhist nun around with him…

He Chang’an shot Li Yishan a look of disdain and asked irritably, “There are so many experts in the Demon Slayers—why do you always single me out?”

“You have the Spirit Eye Technique—and the anti-tracking technique, too,” Li Yishan retorted. “Besides, don’t take a good deed for granted.”

“So what?” He Chang’an snapped. “Do you know that damned Night God Cult has tried to assassinate me two or three times?”

“The Night God Cult is nothing. Trust me, in this city, there’s nothing I can’t handle,” Li Yishan said distractedly, eyes on the abandoned house.

What happened to a scholar’s dignity…

He Chang’an couldn’t even be bothered to complain. This old man could boast without a script—he just wanted to kick him a few times to vent his frustration.

But he worried the old man’s bony behind would hurt his foot.

“What, you don’t believe me? Go ask around—when have I ever exaggerated?” Li Yishan boasted. “Is Lord Zheng impressive? Is Daoist Li Qinglian formidable? I’ve tricked both out of their silver, and they don’t even dare protest…”

“From now on, stick with me, He Chang’an. I’ll see you eat and drink well. Even a night at the music house listening to Miss Jinse play the zither—it’ll all be free!”

“All the girls in Chang’an are eager to win me over. If this scholar weren’t so thin-skinned and unwilling to live off women, I’d have been living the good life ages ago.”

…

He Chang’an silently edged away.

As the saying goes, sometimes it’s better to remember someone fondly than to see them again in person.

After his days of “mooching” under the Demon Suppression Tower, He Chang’an had actually missed these scholars a bit. Sure, they loved to boast and bicker, but at least they looked better than monsters or ghosts.

But now, seeing them again…

A disgrace to the scholarly name, truly a disgrace!

“He Chang’an, let me be serious for a moment,” Li Yishan finally stopped bragging, adopting a formal tone. “Once we rescue the little nun, I’ll play matchmaker and have her marry you.”

“Boy, she’s a princess of the Tang Dynasty, you know.”

———

PS: This is a budding new book that needs just a little sunshine and rain to thrive. As a humble author, I ask all readers—please don’t just leave it to grow in your library. If you like what I write, add it to your favorites, and if you have any recommendation or monthly votes… well, you know what to do. Hehe.