Chapter 48: Ordinary Days

Yin Wuxiang, one of the split avatars, had just been hiding in a pigsty like a mouse avoiding a cat, not daring to show his face. Seeing that the Sect Master had left, he finally came out and poured himself a bowl of wine to calm his nerves. Pulling a long, miserable face, he muttered, "The Sect Master's glance alone ruined a century of my cultivation! Oh, I almost forgot!" Seemingly recalling something, he ran over to the patch of earth where his avatar had melted, dug into the soil, and unearthed a golden spiritual pearl. He laughed heartily and said, "Good thing the toad's spiritual pearl is still here. If I consume it, I can recover some of my strength."

Seeing a glob of pig dung sitting right on top of Yin Wuxiang's head, Yu Datou flashed a mischievous grin and remarked, "Even if Protector Yin walked straight out of a pigsty and ate a spiritual pearl to boost his cultivation, that pig dung still completely ruins your aura."

Faced with the mocking joke, Yin Wuxiang retorted, "You big-headed ghost, spare me your sarcastic remarks! I was punished for everyone's sake. Not only did none of you plead for me, but now you're here making fun of me!"

Yu Datou filled a bowl of wine, presented it to Yin Wuxiang with both hands, and said, "Brother, I was just joking. You've had it hard, Brother, let me toast you."

Without touching the wine, Yin Wuxiang merely replied indifferently, "Farewell, everyone. I must go digest my spiritual pearl."

Having eaten his fill of roasted meat, Xiao Bugui returned home hand in hand with Hu Jiao, acting much like an affectionate younger brother and older sister.

Coming home was fine, but opening the door gave them quite a fright: Hao Meili was sitting right by the table, drinking tea. As it turned out, after Xiao Bugui and Yin Wuxiang left the garden, Yu Shuang received treatment from Hua Lan, who smeared various botanical juices all over his body. Because of the sores on his head, his hair had been shaved off entirely, making him look like a contaminated, grotesque monster. The medical tent in the garden was also extremely crude, little more than a ventilated shed. Fearing mosquito bites during sleep, it was surrounded by gauze netting, which prompted Hua Lan to arrange for Hao Meili to stay in Hu Jiao's room. Hua Lan's reasoning was simple: "Hu Jiao is the only woman in the Demonic Cult."

Seeing the two of them, Hao Meili stood up, smiled, and said, "I had nowhere else to stay, and Doctor Hua Lan sent me here. I'm sorry for the intrusion." She then warmly greeted Xiao Bugui: "Brother Xiao, are you staying here too? But there's only one bed, isn't there?"

Xiao Bugui explained, "I'll sleep on the floor, and Sister Hu will sleep on the bed."

Looking rather jealous, Hao Meili spoke in a sarcastic, biting tone, "We humans only live together after becoming husband and wife. You demons really are so casual."

Hu Jiao despised Hao Meili; after all, rivals in love naturally look at each other with intense hostility. "I only have one bed, Eldest Miss Hao. Perhaps you should look for lodging elsewhere."

Hao Meili still possessed the pampered temper of a privileged young lady who had never suffered a grievance in her life. Angered, she snapped, "If I leave, I leave! I couldn't care less about staying here anyway."

Blocking the doorway, Xiao Bugui struck Hao Meili's acupoints as she prepared to storm off in anger, leaving her completely immobilized. He then picked her up, placed her gently onto Hu Jiao's bed, and said to Hu Jiao, "I'm leaving. I'll go keep Yu Datou company on his boat for some night fishing. You two rest here. Share the bed evenly, and no fighting."

Without hesitation, Xiao Bugui closed the door and left. Hu Jiao angrily stamped her foot and said to the immobilized Hao Meili on the bed, "Humans and demons walk different paths! Eldest Miss Hao, I must ask you not to pester us anymore from now on!"

Though unable to move her body, Hao Meili could still speak freely. "In a few days, once Senior Brother Yu recovers from his poison and injuries, I'll be leaving anyway. Rest assured, humans and demons belong to different worlds, and I have no intention of competing with you."

Out on the pond, a small boat drifted across the starry river where Yu Datou sat alone. Inside the boat's canopy sat a brazier holding an iron pot, inside of which crabs were steaming, accompanied by a flask of wine. At that moment, rather than looking like a demon, he seemed more like a poet pouring forth effortless verse, chanting softly: "Drunk on wine, I forget the sky is mirrored in the water; a boat full of clear dreams presses down upon the Milky Way!"

Transforming into a bird, Xiao Bugui fluttered down beside him and resumed human form. The sudden appearance of a person startled Yu Datou, who jerked upright from his reclining position and scolded, "What the hell are you doing not sleeping in the middle of the night? Are you trying to scare me to death?"

Xiao Bugui replied, "I had nowhere else to go, so I came to find you."

"Did you make Hu Jiao angry?" Yu Datou asked. "She's a good person, and she rarely loses her temper."

"Eldest Miss Hao is staying at her place now, so I was left with no place to sleep," Xiao Bugui explained.

Yu Datou warned, "I've always looked upon Hu Jiao as my own elder sister. Don't you dare fail her, or don't blame me for being unmerciful."

"Just like you, I also regard Hu Jiao as an elder sister," Xiao Bugui said.

"Hu Jiao and I are first cousins on our mother's side. Her mother is my own aunt," Yu Datou retorted. "What kind of fabricated kinship are you claiming?"

Xiao Bugui replied, "You two are relatives, but I honestly couldn't tell at all."

Yu Datou explained, "Even though we are close kin, we fish-demon relatives don't visit each other very often. Hu Jiao and I both work for the Demonic Cult, which is why we grew close." He then revealed a comical reason: "I can't help it—every time my mother gives birth, she has hundreds of babies. If they all went visiting relatives for a meal, they'd eat those relatives straight into poverty."

"You probably don't even know all those hundreds of brothers and sisters, do you?" Xiao Bugui asked.

"I recognize a few dozen, have good relations with a few, and practically never visit the rest. I live on Demon Mountain, while they're all back in our hometown."

"Where is your hometown?" Xiao Bugui inquired.

"Southern Great Marsh," Yu Datou answered. "I haven't asked you yet—you can transform at will, which I find quite strange. What on earth are you anyway?"

"I am not just 'any old thing,'" Xiao Bugui said. "I'm a rabbit demon."

Yu Datou challenged him to prove it: "I don't believe it. Drop your pants and let me see if you have a tail."

"Believe it if you want, but dropping my pants is out of the question," Xiao Bugui refused.

Handing him a cup, Yu Datou urged, "Stop being so uptight. Sit down and join me for wine and crabs."

Standing on ceremony no longer, Xiao Bugui accepted the cup, and they filled each other's drinks.

After a few cups of wine, Yu Datou said, "Stop trying to fool me. If you aren't interested in my cousin, why insist on staying at her place? You could easily turn into a bird and sleep in a bird's nest, or turn into a gecko and hole up in a crack in the wall."

"Transforming consumes my spiritual energy," Xiao Bugui countered. "If I had to change my shape every single night just to sleep, I'd literally die of exhaustion."

Yu Datou laughed. "You certainly have thick skin. This is the first time I've ever seen someone make hitting on a woman sound like such an involuntary chore."

With the night air swarming with mosquitoes, getting bitten was inevitable. Xiao Bugui kept swatting at them with his sleeves, scratching his itchy arms and hands. Noticing that Yu Datou remained completely undisturbed amidst the swarm of insects, he asked, "There are so many mosquitoes here; how come they aren't biting you?"

Opening his shirt to reveal a chest covered entirely in scales, Yu Datou laughed heartily and said, "See this? My whole body is covered in scales. Mosquitoes can't pierce my armor."

To escape the biting insects, Xiao Bugui simply transformed into a small bird, perched on the bow of the boat, and said in human speech, "I might as well just turn into a bird and spend the night right here on your boat."

Kindly, Yu Datou offered a warning: "If you do that, you'd better stay away from the edge of the bow, lest some giant fish in the water leaps up and swallows you whole."