Chapter Forty-One: Human and Demon

The four of us quickly arrived at the gates of Luoyang City. The guards had posted portraits of a man and a woman on either side of the gate. Afraid that they might be bounty notices for me and Brother Luo Xi, I covered my face and discreetly peeked from the crowd. The people in the drawings looked very odd, though. The woman had a nose like a scallion, and the man's tongue nearly extended off the paper. It was clear they were not me and Brother Luo Xi, so I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my sleeve.

A guard scrutinized me for a moment, then angrily spoke to another guard. The second guard's face turned ashen, and he pointed at me, shouting, "Mosquito demon, it's the mosquito demon! Capture her quickly!"

Mosquito demon? In these times, even a mosquito can become a demon? It struck me as quite odd. How many summer days must it have dodged countless swats to survive this long? Such a rare demon deserved a good look.

I turned to scan the crowd around me, but they all backed away, forming a square around me as if observing an exotic creature. Four guards, jostling among themselves, finally stepped forward, their legs trembling as they pointed their spears at me.

So, I'm the mosquito demon?

"Who… who drew me like this?!" I stammered, pointing at myself and then at the grotesque portrait on the wall. "Does anyone's mosquito have a mouth like a club? Besides, I, I…" I was so angry I couldn't find the words. It must have taken great effort for anyone to recognize me from such a crude drawing.

"Qingyue!" Brother Luo Xi's voice called out from the sea of people. The crowd scattered like frightened ghosts, leaving a large open space.

It was like a drop of water falling into an ant colony, instantly dividing it into black and white.

"The mosquito demon and the snake demon are both here! Take them to Daoist Lingyun to be exorcised!" someone started shouting.

A woman joined in, "Yes, only Daoist Lingyun can deal with these demons."

"But why is that snake demon carrying a girl on his back?" someone suddenly pointed out.

"Maybe she's a fellow demon. They must be coming to Luoyang to drain blood and replenish the energy of the demon on the snake demon's back."

"Right, if they get into the city and regain their strength, we'll have another demon among us." The conversation was getting more and more absurd.

The crowd roared in agreement.

In ancient times, it was said that calling a deer a horse was possible. Today, I witnessed calling a human a demon. The lines between right and wrong, black and white, could indeed be manipulated by these vile people.

No, they simply didn't know what they were doing. How could normal people mistake such crude drawings for me? Faced with such absurdity, I couldn't lose my composure. Could they be under some kind of spell?

Looking closely, I noticed a faint purple light flickering in their eyes.

Removing the spell on them should solve the problem.

With this in mind, I cast a spell of clarity and purification towards the crowd. They first looked confused, then started causing a commotion again.

"These demons have transformed into humans to deceive us! Don't believe them!" someone shouted, though the purple light in his eyes was gone, indicating the spell had been lifted.

"Right! They are demons. Changing back into human form to disguise themselves is easy for them. They are trying to confuse us and gain our trust to enter the city and harm people!" another person said, also without the purple light in his eyes.

I had been too naive. Even lifting the spell wouldn't help. It wasn't just their eyes that were blinded; it was their hearts. As long as their hearts remained veiled, we couldn't escape this pre-dug pit named humanity.

"Everyone, I vouch for these two. They have nothing to do with the incident in Luoyang. Both are disciples of the Qiongyun Sect and are definitely not demons," the Immortal suddenly appeared by my side.

"Who is he? Why is he defending these demons?"

"He seems to be the top disciple of the Qiongyun Sect. Should we believe him or not?"

The crowd grew restless again.

"Please, everyone, remain calm. Let us not misunderstand the immortals," came a clear, melodious voice. A graceful figure, adorned with cloud-like attire and jade ornaments, glided towards us. Her face was veiled with a mist-like fabric, making her features hard to discern. The crowd fell silent and respectfully turned their attention to her.

With a captivating, gentle smile, she said, "This is all a misunderstanding. Qingyue and Luo Xi are disciples of Qiongyun Sect, not demons. This gentleman here is my senior brother, Que Han." She turned to face the Immortal and performed the Qiongyun Sect's salute. "Earlier, vile demons used deceptive magic to mislead Daoist Lingyun. Fortunately, my brother is well-versed in celestial arts and has dispelled the demonic spell, revealing the truth. Daoist Lingyun did not wish for a grave mistake to occur and entrusted me to explain this to everyone."

It was Linglu.

Hearing her familiar voice and seeing her mannerisms again gave me chills.

"Oh, so we almost wronged good people," someone suddenly said.

"Yes, it's a good thing Fairy Linglu informed us in time."

The crowd's attitude shifted again, now filled with apologies. One of the leading guards clasped his fists towards Linglu, saying, "We are grateful for Fairy Linglu's timely clarification. Otherwise, we, mere mortals, might have committed a grave mistake. We don't know how to thank you."

Linglu shook her head slightly and replied, "There's no need for thanks. Eliminating demons in Luoyang is the duty of the Qiongyun Sect. Though I am but a frail woman, I must still do my part."

"Fairy Linglu's righteousness is truly admirable," the guard continued.

Unable to listen to more of these flattering words, I slipped over to Brother Luo Xi, pointed towards the city gate, and waved at the Immortal. Brother Luo Xi and I started walking towards the gate, with the Immortal following, his expression unreadable.

Please don't notice us, please don't notice us, I kept praying silently.

Linglu suddenly called out from behind, "Senior Brother, are you heading into Luoyang to find lodging? I've already prepared three rooms for you at the Zuilin Inn. Let me take you there." She was unable to leave her current company and didn't follow us.

Fortunately, this trouble came with a solution.

I breathed a sigh of relief, seized the moment, and led the two of them into the city. We wound through seven or eight streets before finding a new inn. Seeing that the place was clean and the food looked good, we decided to stay.