Hearing the word âdemon slayer,â the host family this time finally started to hesitate.
After a long while, an aged voice still rejected them, âJust leave.â
Su Su was very disappointed and was about to leave when a young and tender girlâs voice said, âGrandpa1, let them in. Iâve seen that this sister is amazing.â
The wooden door in front of them was slowly opened. There were two elders and a little girl that looked at Su Su and Tantai Jin with uneasy and apprehensive expressions on their faces.
The little girl in front of them turned out to be the one Su Su had met at dusk. The old woman waved at Su Su, âCome on in.â
After they entered, she quickly closed the door. The little girl hid behind the elders, tugging at her grandpaâs sleeve, only revealing a pair of eyes to observe Tantai Jin who was on the horse.
Because Tantai Jin was seriously injured, the two elderly people helped Su Su to arrange him in an empty room. The houses in the village were simple and crude, and the only place to sleep on was a heated brick bed.
The room had nothing but a wooden table and two wooden stools. Luckily, people in the mountains were short of everything but firewood, and as the girl walked in with a red-hot charcoal pot, the room soon became warm and the bitter winter cold was dispelled.
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com
Fw Fw kdpkpvle sd tkhkdt bla vbl pkzhla, âWsa wp, kvâp qsavwdyvl vs byhl y rzynl vs pvyu. Rvâp ps nsze swvpkel, yde kq ol ekedâv qkde y rzynl vs pvyu, Râx yqayke olâe byhl clld pknj vsxsaaso. Yu casvbla kp plakswpzu kdfwale, Râx yqayke olâzz byhl vs vaswczl usw qsa y qlo eyup, ps taydexy, fwpv vyjl kv.â
After pushing back and forth several times, the elderly woman finally accepted the silver.
The old woman brought hot water and a clean cloth over, and Su Su hurriedly thanked her. The little girl kept leaning on the doorway to watch, hesitating to say something, but was pulled away by the old woman.
Su Su knew that there was something odd in the village, but since it was already so late at night, she didnât hurry to ask. Even if she managed to obtain information, she couldnât do anything about it right now. The current main priority was to treat Tantai Jinâs gruesome wounds.
She soaked the cloth in the hot water and wiped away the blood stains on his face. Tantai Jinâs dark pupils were faintly looking at her. When the girlâs fingers brushed his cheek, he had the urge to turn his head away, but he painfully held it back.
Her fingertips were extremely soft. Unlike the pain in his body, the places she touched brought an odd sensation.
If his hands and legs were still intact, he would have already coldly slapped away her hands. Unfortunately, he couldnât do anything now.
Su Su tended to his wrists and ankles next as she wiped away the blood and bandaged his wounds with clean strips of cloth. She had learned swordsmanship, so she could see that the person who had done this had made the cuts at a tricky angle, to not only cripple Tantai Jinâs hands and feet, but also deliberately cause him extreme pain. Knowing that he might be feeling a pain worse than death, she went a little gentler.
Tantai Jin tightly pursed his lips.
The dim candlelight shone on the young girlâs lowered head, casting a small fan-like shadow on her eyelids as she earnestly said, âWe donât have any medicine, so you have to bear with it for now. After dawn, Iâll go up the mountain to help you find medicine.â
âIf you really want to help me, catch that little girl.â Tantai Jin replied.
Su Su suspiciously asked, âWhat do you want to catch her for?â
Tantai Jin curled his lips and looked at her, his smile revealing a hint of ridicule, âWhat do you think?â
Seeing his sinister smile, Su Su understood that he actually wanted that childâs eye. Tantai Jin also understood that he had to change his eye as soon as possible. He looked down on the elderly coupleâs eyes, so he preferred a young and healthy eye.
Su Su said, âDonât even think about it! These people took us in and you actually have such an idea!â
Tantai Jin replied, âUnless a man looks out for himself, Heaven and Earth will destroy him3.â
Su Su knew that he had an extreme character and didnât bother to reason with him. She pinched his face and said, âStop your malicious thoughts. If you really dare to do so, Iâll let you know how to write the word regret.â
Tantai Jin coldly looked at her and his eyes seemed to pierce through every bone in her body.
Su Su loosened her hand, âI know what the Xuanbing Needle is. It wonât threaten your life for now, we still have time.â
He closed his eyes, clearly not believing Su Suâs words.
She didnât need Tantai Jin to trust her either. Anyway, in his current state, it would be difficult for him to harm people. There was only one heatable brick bed in the room and it was given to Tantai Jin, so Su Su could only sit on the chair. She was exhausted after traveling so quickly for several days. She wrapped herself up in a quilt and fell asleep while leaning on the table.
After the sound of her breathing evened out, Tantai Jin opened his eyes and turned his head to the side to look at her.
The candle flame flickered, the young lady was slightly pouting her lips, and she slept restlessly.
*****
Su Su woke up early in the morning and her whole body was aching. Her neck was almost broken after sleeping on her stomach all night.
Tantai Jin was awake. His intact eye was looking out the window as he thought about something.
Not long after, the old woman came in bringing two bowls of rice porridge.
The rice porridge was very watery and there were no side dishes. Su Su smiled and thanked her. The old woman nodded and awkwardly went out again. Not wanting to mistreat herself, Su Su went to feed Tantai Jin only after she had finished her own portion.
With anything related to surviving, Tantai Jin was very cooperative, and when Su Su fed him, he opened his mouth.
The two of them were obviously from noble backgrounds, but currently neither one of them minded the bowl of porridge that was so watery that the grains of rice could barely be seen. Su Su took the bowls out to wash, and when she came back, she found the little girl from yesterday standing at the door.
Tantai Jin was also awake and looking at the little girl.
Remembering his words from yesterday, Su Su hurriedly blocked the little girl behind her back and asked her, âWhat can I do for you?â
The little girl bit her lip, âAre you really a demon slayer?â
Su Su nodded. Although she wasnât exactly one, she was a lot better than many other demon slayers in the mortal world.
The little girl said, âThen can you help me save my sister?â
âWhat happened to your sister?â Su Su asked.
âThereâs a young master in this town, but one day his temperament greatly changed. Every once in a while, heâll come to the village and snatch a young woman. My sister was captured.â As she spoke, her tears fell, âI miss my sister so much. People in the village say that the young master has turned into a demon and killed my sister.â
Su Su hurriedly helped her wipe her tears, âSince you guys took me in, I promise you that Iâll help you find out about your sister.â
âReally?â
âYes.â
The old woman walked in and worriedly asked, âLady, can you really help us?â
Su Su said, âGrandma, can you tell me the specific situation?â
The elderly woman began to explain, âNot far from here is Zhaoguang4Â Town and the richest man in that town is Landlord Wang. In the past, Landlord Wangâs son was kind and charitable. However, one year ago, his temperament greatly changed and he said he wanted to take a concubine. At first, the girls in the village were very happy, but who would have known that he would take a concubine every two months.â
âThe women who were married off never came back, and even their relatives couldnât find them. The villagers felt that something was strange and went to make a scene. In the end, the people who created a disturbance were found dead at the entrance of the village the next day.â
âEver since then, no one is willing to âmarryâ Young Master Wang anymore. He also said that if the woman he takes a liking to doesnât want to marry him, the next day, their whole family will die. Some people werenât willing to do as he said and the next day, they really died.â
âTwo months ago, he took a liking to my granddaughter, Xiao You. She got onto the bridal sedan chair for us and Xiao Ling.â The old womanâs eyes were filled with tears, âIf lady can really help us find Xiao You, Iâll5Â kneel down to you.â
Su Su hurriedly helped her up, âIâll try my best.â
A human turned into a demon? Other than possession, Su Su couldnât think of any other cause. A demon that could possess a humanâs physical body was definitely not easy to deal with.
The old woman continued, âThe villagers said that Young Master Wang has turned into a demon. Today, when the time comes, Iâm afraid heâll come to the village to snatch a bride again. So thatâs why last night, when you guys were knocking on doors, the villagers didnât want to take you guys in.â
Su Su looked back at Tantai Jin only to see that he also looked thoughtful.
The moment his eyes met with Su Suâs gaze, he suddenly revealed a smile and said to the old woman, âDonât worry, my sister will surely help you guys. After all, didnât Young Master Wang need a bride? Who else is more suitable to marry instead of the villagers?â
Su Su gritted her teeth and smiled, âThatâs right, thatâs right. Even if I canât, my brother can. Heâs more beautiful than a woman when heâs dressed up.â
*******************************************
The author has something to say:
You guys are really quite defensive, only allowing Su Su to bully Tantai Jin but not the cannon fodder, hahaha.
The male leadâs surname is pronounced as tan tai, it was written in the summary.
Edited by: Gaze
Translatorâs Note: Hello readers!!! Just wanna update you that thereâll be no double chapter update this month as my translating speed has slowed down *shame on me welp* kinda busy with uni and CNY/LNY is coming soon so yep please forgive me. Hopefully I can make up by giving a triple chap update in February if I translate fast enough. Thatâs all I wanna say. To those who celebrate CNY or LNY, Happy CNY or LNY to you in advance!!! May you have a prosperous year ahead!!! Stay healthy & stay safe!!! ~\(â§â˝âŚ)/~