The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 30

“Phew, I’m finally full!” In the simple hut, with four or five people watching, Jiang Yilan didn’t mind, eating her meal ravenously and then contentedly wiping her mouth.

Looking at Yuan Ruo beside her, it was a good thing the host was sensible. When inviting them into the house, he gave her another bowl of rice, and she was almost finished eating it now.

“The two of you, what about the monster?” Seeing that the two of them were almost done eating, the male host of the house, an older man, hurriedly asked.

Yuan Ruo put down her bowl and chopsticks: “You said earlier that the evil deeds mostly happen at night?”

The middle-aged man nodded: “Yes, it only comes out to cause trouble at night!”

“If a demon hasn’t reached a certain level of cultivation or hasn’t gained sentience, even if it has already formed a spirit, it will maintain its original habits!” Yuan Ruo mused: “I guess it was formed from something that likes the shade and dislikes the sun!”

“Likes the shade and dislikes the sun?” Jiang Yilan spoke up: “Could it be a fierce beast that moves at night?”

“It couldn’t be a fierce beast!” The middle-aged man immediately denied this idea: “When fierce beasts harm people, it’s usually to eat meat, but those harmed by this thing have all had their blood drained.”

Yuan Ruo looked at the middle-aged man: “Are you sure?”

“How can I not be sure?” The middle-aged man’s face was filled with sorrow: “That thing has been appearing for over a month, almost every night. It was only later, when the Wu family’s old man discovered it was afraid of burning eucalyptus trees, that fewer people died!”

Jiang Yilan asked Yuan Ruo: “What do you say about that?”

Yuan Ruo shook her head: “I can’t make a conclusion yet!”

The middle-aged man grew anxious upon hearing this: “Didn’t you say you could get rid of demons? Don’t tell me you’re just scamming us for a bowl of rice?”

“Don’t worry,” Yuan Ruo soothed the older man: “I said I can’t make a conclusion yet because I’m not sure what kind of thing it is. But don’t worry, since my husband and I have eaten your meal, we certainly won’t ignore this.”

With Yuan Ruo’s words, the middle-aged man finally calmed down: “Then… what do you plan to do? If you can truly get rid of that monster, the people in our village will gather whatever silver you need!”

“We have our own money, we don’t need yours!” Jiang Yilan lightly patted the table twice, signaling for the older man to stop talking, then asked Yuan Ruo: “What are your thoughts?”

“My thought is that we first need to figure out what kind of thing it is!” Yuan Ruo said: “If we can pinpoint its usual resting place in one fell swoop, that would be even better!”

“That’s all nonsense!” Jiang Yilan said: “How do we find it? Do you have a plan?”

“Look!” Yuan Ruo pointed her chin towards the outside.

Jiang Yilan looked: “Those eucalyptus trees?”

“Yes!” Yuan Ruo said: “If that thing is truly afraid of burning eucalyptus trees, then we can gather all the nearby villagers together and protect them by burning eucalyptus. The two of us will stay here, and it should come!”

“Hmm!” Jiang Yilan nodded: “That’s a plan!”

“You’re going to stay here?” The older man was shocked: “If that monster comes, won’t you…?”

“Don’t worry!” Jiang Yilan looked at Yuan Ruo: “My husband is very powerful, he can take on any monster!”

“This…” Since they had just met, it was impossible for the older man to be too concerned about the lives of these two. Moreover, since they were the ones who offered to stay, he agreed: “Then please be careful!”

“Don’t worry, we won’t steal anything from your house!” Jiang Yilan said with a grin: “By the way, get rid of all the burning things, otherwise that thing won’t come!”

Simple peasants are easily swayed when their interests are involved. When the man’s family went to tell the nearby villagers that someone could get rid of the demon but that everyone had to gather in one place to hide, there was almost no opposition, and the plan was carried out.

As night fell, all the villagers had gathered, and only Yuan Ruo and Jiang Yilan remained in the man’s house, sitting idly and waiting.

“Ha… ah!” In the middle of the night, Jiang Yilan stretched, letting out a big yawn.

“Tired?” Yuan Ruo, who was standing guard at the door, asked Jiang Yilan.

“Yeah!” Jiang Yilan moved her neck: “Why isn’t that thing here yet?”

Yuan Ruo was also puzzled. The demon was supposed to come every night, and tonight there was no one around except them, and they hadn’t burned any eucalyptus leaves: “I don’t know why it isn’t coming!”

Jiang Yilan stroked her chin in deep thought: “Maybe the smell of those eucalyptus trees hasn’t dissipated yet?”

“Hard to say!” Since the demon wasn’t coming, Yuan Ruo couldn’t do anything either: “If you’re tired, you can go to sleep first!”

“I won’t sleep, I’d leave you here alone if I did!” Jiang Yilan covered her mouth and continued to yawn: “That wouldn’t be very loyal of me!”

Yuan Ruo smiled faintly upon hearing this and didn’t say anything more, continuing to stand guard.

“The monster’s here, the monster’s here!” While there was no activity here, in the other area where the villagers had gathered, there were screams and cries.

“This is bad!” Yuan Ruo quickly drew her sword and rushed over, with Jiang Yilan following closely behind. When the two of them arrived, they saw a monstrous creature, human-like in shape but crawling on the ground with a long tail protruding behind it, lurking outside the circle of firelight, as if looking for an opportunity to rush into the crowd.

“It’s so ugly, what is that thing?” Jiang Yilan exclaimed in disgust.

“It’s a scorpion that has formed a spirit!” Upon seeing its true form, Yuan Ruo immediately recognized its origin and, without hesitation, performed a spell, drew her sword, and lunged.

In the past, people who saw it would be terrified, as if seeing a ghost. Seeing a human dare to charge at it, the scorpion demon was enraged and immediately swept its tail at her.

“Yuan Ruo!” Amidst Jiang Yilan’s shouts, Yuan Ruo was already in battle with the scorpion. While dodging the long tail, she swung her sword, hoping to sever it. To her surprise, the tail was as hard as tempered steel, only making a “clang” sound without suffering any damage.

Yuan Ruo frowned, immediately thinking of Qiu Yue’s corpse demon-gull-centipede. She wondered if this was another one of someone’s evil creations.

With this thought, Yuan Ruo’s desire to eliminate it grew stronger. After several exchanges, she found a few opportunities to chop and stab at it. However, she was unable to harm it in the slightest.

“Yilan!” Dragging this out was not an option, so Yuan Ruo called out to Jiang Yilan. Jiang Yilan, who had been watching from the side, understood her meaning. She took out a packet of medicinal powder, leaped up, and scattered it towards the scorpion.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss…” The scorpion, with the powder on its body, let out a series of hisses. However, just as Yuan Ruo was about to thrust her sword again, it turned and fled with incredible speed, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

“Chase it!” Jiang Yilan was even quicker than Yuan Ruo. Before Yuan Ruo could react, she was already in pursuit, so Yuan Ruo didn’t have time to think and followed after her.

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