Demon King's Repayment - chapter 12

When the sycamore leaves in the yard turned yellow again, Yu Niang’s sickness seemed to be getting worse. She stopped teaching Yuan Xiang and could hardly get up from the bed.

Yuan Xiang went into the room to see her, only to see her face pale and her eyes blank. If it weren’t for the occasional breath of warmth, she would look like a person who had already died.

Shifu Yu Yao stopped going out during this period. Most of the time, he sat on the edge of the bed, holding his wife’s pale and weak hand and silently looking at her on the bed.

Since getting acquainted, Shifu had been very casual and indulging, even with a bit of innocence that was rarely seen in adults. It was the first time Yuan Xiang saw him look so sad.

On a particularly good day, Yuan Xiang stood under the sycamore tree and asked the demon lying on the branch, “Shi Shiran, do you know what kind of illness Shiniang got?”

There was a sneer from the canopy as his elegant white feathers fell gently, “What’s wrong with her? Her lifespan is up, she can’t continue living.”

Shi Shiran’s handsome face came out of the branches and leaves, “Xiao Xiang’er, do you know that humans’ short lifespan in demons’ eyes are no different from a dying mayfly? Many of us demons are willing to sign a contract with humans not because they are powerful, but because in our long years we get too bored.”

He stretched out his white wings and scratched the tip of Yuan Xiang’s nose gently, “I think I just took a few naps. How come you have become taller? If I sleep in winter and wake up, will you change into white-haired old woman and decay into the mud.”

“Shi Shiran, she’s still a child, don’t scare her,” Yu Yao’s voice came from under the porch.

“Huh, doesn’t she have to know it sooner or later?” Shi Shiran retracted his wings somewhat boringly.

Yu Yao walked out slowly from the shadow of the eaves. The noon sun was very bright, hitting the mottled shade on his gentle face. He reached out his hand to touch Yuan Xiang’s head and said with a smile as usual, “You indeed got a lot taller.”

“Shifu, Shi Shiran, he just said…”

“Xiang’er, what my teaching pays attention to is Taoism and nature.” Yu Yao squatted down in front of her, staring into her eyes earnestly, “Dao begets One (nothingness; or reason of being), One begets Two (yin and yang), Two begets Three (Heaven, Earth and Men), Three begets all things in this world. You can’t get rid of nature. Life and death in the world should be natural and one shouldn’t be overly attached.”

Yu Yao’s teaching to Yuan Xiang had always been very casual. It didn’t matter if she didn’t understand, he just most often talked about it. He seldom said such mysterious doctrine, but Yuan Xiang didn’t quite understand it.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand it now. It’s just that I didn’t want you to come into contact with the demons in the mountains, but now that I think about it, how could you be forced to do things and restrain yourself? I just hope that when you grow up, you could have a different perspective on life.”

Yuan Xiang looked at Shifu’s eyes so closely for the first time and realized that his eyes seemed a little different from ordinary people. They were clear and deep, as if there was an abyss inside and there was a sea, carrying thousands of worlds.

Maybe because of it Yuan Xiang dreamed of the sea when she took a nap. She had a long dream where she listened to the sound of waves.

The afternoon sun came in through the paper windows and the courtyard was silent.

Yuan Xiang woke up, rubbed her eyes and walked into the yard. But something was different from usual.

It wasn’t quite right. It was too quiet.

In addition to Shi Shiran and Xiqu, Shifu also had many apostles, large and small. Even when Shifu was away, from the eaves of the courtyard, the floor, the shade of the walls, the trees and the flowers, she could always hear those little sounds of twitter.

But at the moment, everything seemed to disappear suddenly. It was so quiet that she couldn’t hear a bug.

“Shi Shiran? Xiqu?” There was no noise and the leaves in the courtyard stood motionless on the treetops.

“Shifu? Where did everyone go?” Yuan Xiang shouted with her hands folded.

Sitting on the side of the stone table under the sycamore tree was a slender figure. The person was wearing a flimsy skirt with her hair tied high behind her head, looking up at the clouds on the horizon.

Hearing the shouting, the person turned her face. Her complexion was ruddy and she was beautiful like a jade. It was Yu Niang who had been sick for a long time.

“Shiniang, why did you get out?” Yuan Xiang grabbed her hand in surprise and joy, “Are you okay?”

Yun Niang nodded and reached out to touch Yuan Xiang’s cheek. Her palms were soft and warm, not as cold as usual,

“That’s great, Shifu, does he know? By the way, what about Shifu? Why can’t I see him anywhere?”

Yun Niang smiled lightly and didn’t answer her question. Instead, she stood up holding Yuan Xiang’s hand and walked out of the courtyard with her.

“Your Shifu has some work to do. He went out and it will take some time before he comes back,” she smiled when she said that.

Yuan Xiang didn’t expect the so-called time to be two or three days, but of course, it might be months or years.

The villagers in the market were very surprised to see Lady Yun going out.

“Oh, lady, are you fine?”

“Sir must be so happy.”

“What kind of fruit do you want to buy? It’s not right to make you carry it. Let my kid carry it back for you.”

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1 KO-FI= 1 EXTRA CHAPTER