Queen of Ten Thousand Demons Insists on Marrying Me - Chapter 11

It was unclear if Mei Yuanhua had sent a message talisman to Xi Xiaoshuang, but the Head of the Enforcement Hall, who was renowned in Yao Xia Palace for her uncompromising integrity, had a rather unfriendly expression the moment she saw Tan Taijing.

After a night of trouble, Xi Xiaoshuang finally trusted them under the repeated guarantees of the two Lu sisters. She eventually agreed that they would first send Zhu Yujie home and then discuss the matter of Mei Yuanhua’s death.

Lu Xiaoxiao knocked on the door of Zhu Zhen’s house.

The door was bumped open with a clang from the inside, and Zhu Zhen and his wife stumbled out, dark circles under their eyes. Their eyes were red, and they staggered before collapsing in front of Zhu Yujie, hugging her tightly. After crying for a long time, they finally remembered to thank their saviors.

The couple turned to kowtow to the three, but Tan Taijing, who was standing in front, quickly stepped forward to stop them, stiffly saying, “It was merely an easy task; there’s no need to be so polite.”

Seeing her demeanor, Lu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but secretly chuckle. She cleared her throat and stepped forward: “That’s right, Tan Taijing is very capable. This small matter was solved by her in a flash. Moreover, as cultivators, punishing the wicked, eliminating evil, and slaying demons is our duty. If you continue to kneel, you’ll wipe away all our good fortune.”

Lu Wanbai also repeatedly agreed, and the couple finally stood up, feeling awkward and unsure what to do. Zhu Yujie, however, was clever, continuously hugging Tan Taijing’s leg and calling her “Jiejie (Older Sister).”

Tan Taijing turned and extended her palm toward Lu Xiaoxiao. Lu Xiaoxiao was confused: “What is it? I don’t have any more tanghulu.”

Tan Taijing: “Didn’t you still have some silver money?”

Lu Xiaoxiao shivered, stepping back two paces and retreating behind Lu Wanbai, vigilantly replying: “That was a small amount of silver I got from selling my family’s heirloom sword! It’s all my future startup fund.”

Tan Taijing’s movement didn’t change, but her eyes held a threat that only Lu Xiaoxiao understood, and she said, “I’m borrowing it from you.”

Lu Xiaoxiao thought to herself: I trust your ghost! Borrow, borrow, borrow—the food, drink, and lodging are all borrowed from me, and you still haven’t repaid me. Wealth cannot corrupt me, but power can only make me yield!

She reluctantly pulled out a banknote for nine hundred and fifty taels of silver from her chest, counting and pondering how much to hand over.

Unexpectedly, Lu Wanbai reached out and snatched the entire amount, giving it to Tan Taijing, saying, “Oh my! As cultivators, we should be pure and free from desire. All that silver is useless to you, Xiaoxiao.” Lu Xiaoxiao pointed at Lu Wanbai, too angry to speak, inwardly groaning: Senior Sister! How could you be fooled by this demoness too!

Tan Taijing smiled cunningly and gave all of it to the Zhu couple. The two had never seen so much money. They waved their hands and backed away, saying, “We wouldn’t dare, we wouldn’t dare. The Immortals already saved our daughter’s life. How can we take the Immortals’ silver again? This amount is enormous; we absolutely cannot accept it.”

Seeing that they wouldn’t accept the money, Tan Taijing tucked the money into Zhu Yujie’s hand: “We felt a connection with this little girl, so consider it a first-meeting gift. I hate delays and fussiness the most. If you refuse again, I’ll send her back to that monster’s hands.”

Only then did the couple accept it, expressing endless gratitude and watching the three leave with tears in their eyes.

Lu Xiaoxiao clutched her heart with one hand and pinched the bridge of her nose with the other, angrily saying, “Do you know how much money that is? They might not earn that much in half their lives! I’ve never seen anyone as generous as you!”

Tan Taijing smiled gently: “Well, now you have.” She continued to walk forward.

Nearing the inn, and having calmed down, Lu Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered and turned to ask Lu Wanbai, “Oh, right, Senior Sister, were you okay last night?”

Lu Wanbai: “I was fine. But I didn’t expect that demon to be quite cunning, sending the boy and girl to two separate locations. If those minor demons at the Mountain God Temple hadn’t blocked me with a formation, and then I went to take the boy home, I would have come over to help you much sooner.”

Lu Xiaoxiao was puzzled: “Didn’t you go to investigate during the day? I remember you said you didn’t see anything unusual.”

Tan Taijing said flatly, “Mei Yuanhua was the one who investigated the Mountain God Temple.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaoxiao was struck by a wave of lingering fear. Although she had felt that Mei Yuanhua’s actions over the past two days were somewhat strange, she had only attributed it to his own fussy personality. She never expected it was due to his true identity.

If Tan Taijing hadn’t noticed, the three of us… Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t dare to think any further.

Lu Wanbai said angrily: “Fortunately, Fellow Daoist Tan Tai forewarned me, allowing me to be on guard against him and preventing him from having a chance to strike me. Who would have thought that Mei Yuanhua was a demon?”

Although Lu Wanbai had known clearly in her heart at the time, she was too straightforward to put on a good act. As she and Mei Yuanhua walked toward the Mountain God Temple, she kept a distance of several chi (feet). Mei Yuanhua would have to be an idiot not to realize what was going on.

All the way until Lu Wanbai broke the formation, eliminated the minor demons, and sent the boy home, Mei Yuanhua never found a chance to strike. He could only bid farewell to Lu Wanbai, claiming he feared Tan Taijing was in danger and was rushing to support her. Lu Wanbai was anxious, but she couldn’t carry a child into a fight. Even rushing as fast as she could, she was still a step late. Along the way, she ran into Xi Xiaoshuang, who was also looking for Tan Taijing.

The three exchanged information, but still couldn’t understand why Xi Xiaoshuang had come or why she was so wary of Tan Taijing. They could only return to the inn with clouds of doubt hanging over their heads.

In Yao Xia Palace, everyone said that Xi Xiaoshuang was an impartial and cold-faced person who judged everything based only on right and wrong.

The group, filled with questions, knocked on Xi Xiaoshuang’s door. A dispassionate voice from inside said, “Enter.”

Pushing the door open, they saw Xi Xiaoshuang sitting emotionlessly at the table, sipping a pot of Longjing tea. After the three bowed their respects, she got straight to the point: “You can tell me now, why exactly did Mei Yuanhua die?”

Lu Xiaoxiao replied without hesitation: “Mei Yuanhua was killed by us because he was a demon spy lurking in Yao Xia Palace and tried to launch a sneak attack on us.”

Xi Xiaoshuang carefully played with the teacup in her hand, calmly saying: “But I did not detect any Demonic Qi on him. How did you sense that he carried Demonic Qi?”

Lu Xiaoxiao added: “When he died that day, a wisp of black smoke rushed out of his body. Perhaps the lack of Demonic Qi was due to him being possessed by a demon.”

“Is there any evidence?”

Tan Taijing said: “Lu Xiaoxiao and I both saw it.”

Hearing Tan Taijing’s voice, Xi Xiaoshuang quickly glanced up at her: “Knowing that the Ao-Qin was committing evil here, why did you not report it to Yao Xia Palace?”

Lu Xiaoxiao retorted angrily: “It’s not like we couldn’t kill the Ao-Qin. There was no need, so naturally, we didn’t report it. Furthermore, we came out this time to compete for the position of Deputy Head of the Enforcement Hall. If we reported it to the Palace, what would happen to the mission?”

Xi Xiaoshuang ignored Lu Xiaoxiao, her eyes fixed on Tan Taijing, and spoke to herself: “Mei Yuanhua sent a message talisman to me the day before yesterday, claiming that Tan Taijing is a demon lurking within Yao Xia Palace, competing for the Deputy Head position to gain access to the Demon-Locking Pagoda. He claimed that the Ao-Qin in Zhujia Town was summoned by Tan Taijing to stage a show.”

At these words, Lu Xiaoxiao’s heart sank: How did Mei Yuanhua know all this? She immediately felt a little guilty and turned to glance at Tan Taijing, who remained completely calm.

But Lu Wanbai could not hold back, righteously stating: “That is simply baseless nonsense! If that were true, wouldn’t Xiaoxiao and I, having traveled thousands of miles to Yao Xia Palace after our sect was wiped out by demons, be helping a demon spy? Hall Head, you must think twice before speaking!”

Lu Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly: What Xi Xiaoshuang said is sadly true. Lu Wanbai might be sold off one day and still help count the money for the one who sold her.

Xi Xiaoshuang remained unmoved: “Miss Lu, I am simply conducting a routine inquiry.”

Tan Taijing said: “Hall Head Xi, are you simply condemning me based on these words? Just because Mei Yuanhua got his false accusations in first? Then couldn’t I also say that the Demon Clan has been lurking in Yao Xia Palace with ulterior motives, and the entire purpose of him staying close to us was to frame me? After all, I am one of the top disciples in cultivation in Yao Xia Palace.”

“That is not the case. Mei Yuanhua said that his ancestral Sub-Meridian Compass had already identified the Demonic Qi on your body, though it was intermittent. That is why he volunteered to stay by your side, solely to gather evidence. Originally, I did not believe him, but his letter stated that you had discovered his purpose and might move against him during the mission. And when I arrived yesterday, I saw him stabbed to death by your sword. How can I not be suspicious?”

Tan Taijing could not help but smile bitterly: “Brilliant, brilliant! This demon truly went to great lengths. He spread rumors in advance that I would kill him during the mission, then feigned an attack on me when he saw you, and after I killed him, he escaped Mei Yuanhua’s body.”

Lu Wanbai couldn’t tolerate it and loudly declared: “The truth of the matter can be easily verified. According to the possessed Mei Yuanhua, he approached Tan Taijing because of the Demonic Qi on her body. Xiaoxiao, take out the Sub-Meridian Compass and let Hall Head Xi see the truth.”

Tan Taijing was momentarily stunned by these words. The Sub-Meridian Compass could indeed detect her Demonic Qi. After she smashed it up, it had behaved much better, but since Mei Yuanhua was dead, she couldn’t guarantee that the compass would remain compliant if someone else used it, and if it wasn’t currently in their possession.

For a moment, both Tan Taijing and Lu Xiaoxiao were speechless toward Lu Wanbai.

“It’s lost…”

Lu Wanbai was furious: “Lu Xiaoxiao, how can you lose one thing after another? You are constantly absent-minded! You lost the divine weapon of the Profound Heaven Sword Sect, and now you’ve lost the magical artifact that could prove Fellow Daoist Tan Tai’s innocence!”

Lu Xiaoxiao weakly said: “We were escaping a fight yesterday and didn’t have time. It disappeared when I wasn’t looking…”

Lu Wanbai pointed at Lu Xiaoxiao: “Why don’t you lose money?! I think you are obsessed with money! You shouldn’t be cultivating; you should just be selling tanghulu! What is Fellow Daoist Tan Tai going to do now!!!”

Even a mud figure has a bit of fire. Lu Wanbai was usually soft-spoken and doted on Lu Xiaoxiao the most. She never expected her to get so angry over an injustice.

Lu Xiaoxiao’s inner thought was: “Boo hoo hoo… If I hadn’t lost it, Fellow Daoist Tan Tai would have been finished!!” But she dared not show it, so she could only stand there timidly, head lowered.

Xi Xiaoshuang: “Since this is the case, let’s return to the Palace, and the Palace Head will conduct an examination. It’s believed that only a handful of people in this world have cultivation superior to the Palace Head’s. It will be most fair for Her to examine whether you possess Demonic Qi.”

Tan Taijing: “I agree!”

Lu Wanbai: “I also agree!”

Lu Xiaoxiao: “Ah? Well then, I agree too!!!”