Chapter 20.2 Cinnabar

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In just two days, they entered the first month of the year.

The first month of the Great Xia Empire was still covered with silver ice and snow. Su Su began to secretly look for demon slayers and Taoist priests.

That yellow-clad fox had some cultivation. A demon that had escaped from the crack of the Abyss of Desolation couldn’t be handled by normal demon slayers.

Because the bounty was set very high, many demon slayers and Taoist priests continuously came to the residence.

However, every time Su Su took a look she was very disappointed. These people were no different from the Taoist priest who came to the residence before and performed a dance to the great deity ¹ Also known as Shaman Dance, it’s performed by shamans (sorcerers or witches) who pray to gods, sacrificing, dispelling evils, and curing diseases. It is called Tiaodashen by common people. This form of dance was popular among northern Chinese tribes such as Mongolians, Manchus, and Ewenkis, a result of primitive hunting, fishing, and totem worshipping activities. , they didn’t have any other skills besides being glib talkers.

Sometimes there were one or two good ones, but they were nowhere comparable to the fox demon.

Su Su was very anxious as she didn’t know how long Ye Chufeng would last. Coincidentally, she met him today at dusk. His lips were pale, and when he saw Su Su, he just gave her a polite nod and intended to leave.

The man in front of her had a refined temperament and seemed restrained, as if he wasn’t the person that had been together with the fox demon.

Su Su did not directly persuade him, instead, she said, “Second Brother, the residence hasn’t been peaceful recently, so grandmother intends to go to Linyuan Temple to ask for a safety amulet. Eldest Brother is with father at the military camp, Third Brother is recovering from his injuries, and Fourth Brother is still young, so grandmother has asked you to lead the troops to accompany her.”

Ye Chufeng froze, inwardly surprised. It was only because, in the Ye Family he had no presence, and no matter if anything was good or bad, it had nothing to do with him.

Why had Old Madam Ye thought of him this time?

Thinking of the young woman from the courtyard, Ye Chufeng felt extremely troubled. That delicate young woman would throw tantrums if he arrived even a little bit late. It was hard to say how many days it would take to follow grandmother to the Taoist temple.

Su Su didn’t actually lie, Old Madam Ye was indeed worried about the appearance of demonic creatures in the world. Ye Xiao was brave on the battlefield, but even the most extraordinarily courageous mortal couldn’t withstand the power of demons, so she planned to go to the Taoist temple to ask for a safety amulet. 

Su Su had simply implored the Old Madam to include Ye Chufeng with the people that would accompany her. Since the Old Madam had already given an order, Ye Chufeng had no choice but to go.

Even if things can only be delayed by a day, that’s still another day , Su Su thought to herself, at least until she was able to find a reliable demon slayer. Otherwise, it’ll be over if she can’t find a countermeasure before Ye Chufeng’s lifespan is fully drained.

Once the Old Madam and Ye Chufeng left, Su Su remembered the butterfly that had guided the way in the nightmare devil’s dreamland.

Xiao Lin must know a reliable demon slayer. Her eyes lit up and she wrote a letter to Xiao Lin.

“Chun Tao, send this letter to King Xuan’s residence.”

Chun Tao was extremely troubled, “Miss, do you still like His Highness King Xuan……”

“What are you talking about, this time it’s about serious business.”

“But Miss, when King Xuan was still living in the palace, you used to send fragrant handkerchiefs, pastries, and letters, but all of them were rejected by His Highness King Xuan. Before this, His Highness also said that anything Miss has delivered to him will be burned.”

“…….” Su Su didn’t expect that she had such a dark history.

“If so, pass this letter to Eldest Sister and say it’s a letter from home.”

As long as Ye Bing Shang saw it, Xiao Lin should know about it too. He was the legitimate royal prince of Great Xia, so he would surely pay attention to the matter of demons causing evil.

This time Chun Tao accepted the letter and earnestly nodded. “Rest assured, Miss. This maidservant will surely deliver it.”

Su Su was bored to death so she simply drew talismans. There would be many things that she would encounter in the future, so it was good to be prepared. Last time in the nightmare devil’s dreamland, thanks to that talisman paper, Su Su was reminded of the importance of having the power to protect herself

The amount of cinnabar and talisman papers that the butler had brought weren’t much, so Su Su didn’t dare to waste them. After setting up the formation for invoking spirits, she dipped the brush in cinnabar and started to draw talismans.

Without having enough spiritual power, she failed, again and again. The cinnabar fell off and the talisman paper burned itself up.

But she wasn’t discouraged and didn’t let the failures get to her, repeating the action of drawing talismans instead.

Noticing someone’s gaze on her, Su Su turned back and saw Tantai Jin. Behind him was the heavy pure white snow. The young man’s expression was gloomy, and she didn’t know how long he’d been standing there.

Su Su had rarely seen him these past two days, and didn’t know what bad things he had been doing.

She also had her own things that kept her busy, such as the fox demon, and searching for a method to contact the Tortoise Deity who was guarding the Abyss of Desolation. Once he appeared, Su Su could smell the faint scent of blood in the air.

Although she wasn’t too happy about it, she also knew that it was hard to stop him.

After some consideration, Su Su simply said, “Do you want to learn how to draw talismans?”

At these words, Tantai Jin frowned. Su Su started to count in her heart. As expected, on the count of five, he walked over.

The time in the dreamland had allowed Su Su to understand him more. He had no compassion and feelings, but he liked power and bloodshed.

He would look up and earnestly ask Lan An many questions. The little devil from that time could even be called humble.

After that, Lan An didn’t want him anymore, and she didn’t know where he had learned to disguise himself and show weakness.

Both of them sat opposite each other, and Su Su said, “Watch properly!”

She dipped the brush into the cinnabar, and each stroke landed extremely smoothly on the talisman paper. Since it was a simple talisman, it was completed very fast this time. The cinnabar slightly glowed and the talisman paper did not burn up.

“Do you want to try?”

Tantai Jin took over the brush. He was extremely intelligent, even if he had just seen it once upside down, the strokes were done precisely down to the finest point. However, the cinnabar didn’t glow but instead changed to a black luster.

The talisman started to burn in front of him, and the ashes scattered into the air. He put down the brush and pursed his lips, his eyes looking colder.

Su Su froze, she realized that immortals and devils were different by nature. His power had originated from darkness, so using immortal spells naturally wasn’t possible. Even if what she taught him wasn’t an offensive talisman. This might be the reason behind his stubborn desire for power.

Su Su thought for a moment then placed the talisman she had just drawn on his palm.

“It’s difficult to draw talismans for the first time. But you can still use them. Do you want to try?”

Tantai Jin looked at the talisman in his palm, then at the smiling young girl in front of him.

“Okay.”

She taught him the incantation.

Tantai Jin silently recited it once in his heart, while his eyes unblinkingly stared at Su Su in front of him. He had seen the power of her talisman paper. If the Thunderbolt Talisman struck a person, they would lose their life.

Didn’t she know he wasn’t a good guy?

The knowledge he just learned made him feel a cold loathing for everything in this world. He was almost full of viciousness as he used the talisman.

However, the talisman in his palm didn’t turn into a purple thunderbolt.

A warm light dispersed, and the talisman turned into a beautiful picture scroll of snow on mountain tops, white-feathered birds, waterfalls and falling leaves, sunlight and winding vines……

Rabbits timidly gathered around him, and the groundhogs poked their heads out curiously. A stream flowed over his hands, washing away the smell of blood. He saw elders and children enjoying the cool air under the trees, blue skies and white clouds and the vast human world.

He froze.

Outside the illusion, the young girl looked at him with a smile in her bright eyes.

There was a dot of cinnabar on the arch of her eyebrows. His pitch-black pupils stared at her, and his fingers curled tight. At his movement, the picture scroll shattered in an instant.

Edited by: Gaze