To Get Married - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Anyone who has practiced magic is sensitive to spiritual energy. Lu Yudong had sensed that Ye Liujing was a bit different from others, but due to her lack of experience, she hadn’t connected it to spiritual power. Now, she had been seen through by Ye Liujing in a single glance.

This was the first time she had felt the aura of spiritual energy on a human. She should have felt curious or pleasantly surprised, but instead, the words “Exorcist” gave her a massive fright.

Seeing Yudong frozen, Ye Liujing waved a hand in front of her face and asked curiously, “Classmate? What’s wrong?”

“Ah…” Yudong snapped out of it, smiling awkwardly while shaking her head in a daze. “You… you’re an Exorcist?”

“I am,” Ye Liujing said. “Aren’t you?”

“I, I… I’m not.” Yudong blinked guiltily.

She was more than “not an Exorcist”—she was surrounded by demons! Finding out her roommate, someone she would be living with for a long time, was an Exorcist… would this bring trouble to Manzhu?

Yudong tried to hide her astonishment. She instinctively wanted to flee but didn’t know where to go, or how to leave without looking suspicious.

Ye Liujing, however, was clearly fascinated by her. She hopped in front of Yudong, her large eyes wide with curiosity. “You’re not an Exorcist? Then why do you know magic? Who did you learn it from?”

Yudong remained silent for a long while before shaking her head and fabricating a lie. “My Master has a bad temper. He doesn’t allow me to mention him to anyone.”

“Odd temper? Sounds like a true master.” A look of longing appeared in Ye Liujing’s eyes as she nudged Yudong with her elbow. “Hey, if you don’t hunt demons, what do you use magic for?”

“What for?” Yudong thought about it and replied, “Of… of course for… self-defense.”

“Do you have a stutter?” Ye Liujing asked casually.

Yudong shook her head. “I don’t.”

“Is your Master a stutterer then?” Ye Liujing followed up.

Yudong was momentarily speechless. After a pause, she replied, “Actually… he is.”

Ye Liujing was stunned. “No way? I was just joking.”

Yudong: “…”

After a brief silence, Ye Liujing sighed. “Self-defense makes sense. People like us are born seeing strange things. Since we can see them, we get harrassed by them as if we were ‘one of them.’ Learning some magic for protection is a good idea.”

She began walking toward the school cafeteria. Yudong followed, thinking quietly for a moment before asking cautiously, “What exactly do Exorcists do?”

“Hunt demons, what else?” Ye Liujing looked back at Yudong with a look that suggested she was talking to an idiot.

Yudong asked again, “Do you hunt every demon? I heard my Master mention the Demon Code of Conduct… as long as they follow the rules, they are protected…”

“Exactly. Any demon with a bit of cultivation knows the rules, just like humans follow the law,” Ye Liujing said with a sigh. “We live in peaceful times now. Business isn’t great for Exorcists. Occasionally running into a small troublemaking spirit is like using a golden staff to swat a mosquito—making a mountain out of a molehill.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “But it’s a good thing. If there were truly powerful demons to hunt, the city would be in total chaos.”

Yudong breathed a sigh of relief. “So, you don’t actually dislike demons?”

“Nothing to dislike. I’ve been to the Demon Management Bureau a few times and seen some demons. They don’t use magic in their daily lives and are no different from ordinary humans—very well-behaved.” Ye Liujing’s eyes sparkled. “I originally wanted to go to university in the capital, but I came here because my Master moved here the year before last. He’s my only relative, and since there was a good music conservatory here, I applied!”

“Why did your Master come here?”

“He’s a very powerful Exorcist. He said there’s a ‘Great Demon’ here, so he came to keep an eye on things.” Ye Liujing leaned in and whispered into Yudong’s ear, “Great Demons are much more dangerous than ordinary ones. Being well-behaved for a moment doesn’t mean they’ll be well-behaved forever. If they suddenly do something to break the balance, he has to stop it immediately to prevent the situation from escalating!”

Yudong froze. “What defines a ‘Great Demon’?”

“You’re a magic practitioner—how can you know so little?” Ye Liujing noticed they had reached the cafeteria. “Let’s get food first. I’ll find a corner and explain it to you slowly.”

Yudong nodded earnestly and followed Ye Liujing to browse the food stalls.

They quickly got their food and sat in a quiet corner to continue their conversation.

Ye Liujing explained that a demon generally takes five hundred years to cultivate a complete human form. Therefore, those under five hundred years who cannot fully transform are considered “Little Demons.”

Although demons have long lifespans, not every one of them lives that long. It’s similar to humans—some live to a hundred, while others might die at any moment for various reasons. Aside from natural disasters or human interference, demons can also be weak or prone to illness. Their lifespan is also linked to their original species—a flower or grass demon is naturally short-lived, while a turtle or a tree demon is born for longevity. However, since they have become sentient, they have methods to extend their lives—cultivation. The higher the cultivation, the longer the life.

If a demon lives for three thousand years, it becomes terrifying. After three thousand years, they enter the “Age of Heavenly Tribulation,” meaning their natural lifespan is over and the Heavens no longer permit their existence. To keep living, they must fight the Heavens, facing a tribulation every hundred years. If they survive, they live; if not, they die.

Because of this, thousand-year-old demons are rare. Those over two thousand years are called Great Demons. Those over three thousand years have all other demons bowing to them; they are essentially Demon Gods.

Yudong had never known this. Hearing Ye Liujing explain it, she realized the demons she was closest to were incredibly powerful.

“Among the demons registered with the Bureau across the country, there are fewer than ten Great Demons, and zero Demon Gods,” Ye Liujing said, suddenly lowering her voice. “You have no idea, but Yuanchuan must have amazing feng shui—there are no less than three Great Demons living here.”

Yudong swallowed hard. “And… do you Exorcists think they are well-behaved?”

“Uh…” Ye Liujing paused and then nodded. “They actually are very well-behaved.”

“If they’ve been well-behaved for so many years, why keep watching them?” Yudong asked.

Ye Liujing fell into thought for a few seconds before looking up and talking nonsense with a straight face: “It’s about prevention! What if… what if they stop being good! Three Great Demons… if they truly caused a riot, their destructive power would be like a nuclear bomb!”

Yudong couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s impossible, right?”

Of the three Great Demons Ye Liujing mentioned, none of them seemed capable of causing trouble.

Yan Zhaomu was introverted and silent. He looked hard to get along with at first, but anyone who knew him knew his heart was soft. Sometimes, even if Mu Chenshan wouldn’t budge, Zhaomu would give in. Like with the Zhang Ziyun situation—if Zhaomu hadn’t nodded, Mu Chenshan wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

As for Mu Chenshan, her “Uncle” was all bark and no bite. He was lazy and feared trouble. Despite his narcissism and sharp tongue, he was too scared to even jaywalk. How could he cause a riot?

And Manzhu… Yudong had never met anyone more gentle. She must be the kindest demon in existence. Why else would everyone at the bar respect her so much? They were truly the most harmless demons in the world.

Ye Liujing didn’t know what Yudong was thinking. She just shrugged. “It’s best if it’s impossible. My Master says that we licensed Exorcists get paid whether we have demons to hunt or not. It’s better if they stay quiet so we can just slack off until we die.”

She carefully picked the cilantro out of her bowl. “Honestly, I hope I just spend my life catching minor spirits. If a Great Demon ever decides to start something, I hope it’s after I’m dead. Once I’m gone, none of it is my business.”

“You’re quite open-minded,” Yudong noted.

“I’m just afraid of pain. I got injured on my back once while hunting a demon as a kid. That scar will never go away, though luckily clothes hide it.” Ye Liujing looked Yudong over. “I see you have scars on your arms and legs. Was that from a demon?”

Yudong shook her head quickly. “A car accident. I was in a bad accident… my parents both… they both passed away in that crash.”

“I’m so sorry!” Ye Liujing said, her eyes full of apology.

“It’s okay. It happened a long time ago.” Yudong smiled faintly and lowered her head to eat.

After dinner, Yudong followed Ye Liujing to a large supermarket to buy dorm supplies, bread, milk, and sunscreen for military training. Every girl cares about beauty; even Yudong, who was usually indifferent to such things, felt tempted seeing Ye Liujing pick out sunscreen.

“Does this really work?”

“Whether it works or not, you have to try. Once you get tanned, it takes forever to get your skin back,” Ye Liujing said. “I heard there are so many handsome guys at the music conservatory. If I fall for a classmate or a senior and get rejected because I’m too dark, wouldn’t that be a huge loss?”

Yudong: “…”

“Classmate, you’re so pretty, you need to learn to protect your skin,” Ye Liujing said, waving the bottle. “I’m buying mine first; you decide for yourself.”

Yudong hesitated for a second then quickly grabbed the same bottle and followed her. After finally feeling like she wasn’t so ugly compared to Manzhu, she certainly didn’t want to return to Manzhu’s side looking burnt and dark after military training.

Back in the dorm, Yudong climbed onto her bed and carefully composed a text to Manzhu.

—Sister, I met an Exorcist at school today. She’s my roommate. We talked for a bit, and I think she’s a nice person who won’t hurt good demons. Can I be friends with her?

At the Not An Old Friend bar, Manzhu had just finished her dinner and was preparing to end her break when she received the message.

After a short silence, she walked around the bar and found Mu Chenshan chatting with guests. She dragged him into a corner and thrust the phone in his face.

Mu Chenshan squinted at the screen. “An Exorcist?”

“How should I reply?” Manzhu asked, frowning.

“Just say yes.”

Manzhu said, “This is an Exorcist. Yudong was raised by us demons.”

Mu Chenshan replied, “Big sister, what century is this? You’re a registered demon now. As long as you stay quiet and don’t cause trouble, no one can touch you. Don’t be so prejudiced against a college freshman. Exorcists these days can tell good from evil.”

Manzhu muttered unhappily, “If they can tell good from evil, why did they travel thousands of miles into the mountains to hunt me back then?”

Mu Chenshan waved it off. “This is Yuanchuan, not Zhongjiang. They’re so far apart, they couldn’t possibly be the same group.”

He made a fair point, and Manzhu fell into deep thought.