Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Tick, tick.

The dripping sound is subtle and clear.

Hey.

The sound of the pieces falling was as crisp as jade breaking.

The two players were silent, as if they were holding their breath. On the chessboard, black and white pieces were intertwined, like a dragon and a snake entangled.

After a long time, a clear male voice broke the silence: "Brother Chunfeng, you lost."

Li Chunfeng gently put the white piece in his hand back into the chess box and smiled: "Brother Tiangang's chess skills have improved."

It turned out that the person playing against him was Yuan Tiangang, the number one fortune teller in the Tang Dynasty and the current Huoshan Order.

"Your mind is not at peace." Yuan Tiangang said as he picked up the black pieces and put them back into the chess box. Each time he picked up a piece, he would carefully wipe it three times with a piece of snow-white silk before putting it back into the box.

Seeing this, Li Chunfeng smiled helplessly, picked up the white piece again, wiped it, put it back in the chess box, and wiped the white pieces one by one in the same way: "I received an invitation from the county lady of the Duke of Yun, inviting me to Hua'e Zhenghui Tower to taste the newly brewed green plum wine."

Yuan Tiangang took the wet towel from the servant Fengji and wiped his hands carefully: "Brother Chunfeng has been selected, congratulations."

A few days ago, the Princess of Xiangyang held a flower-viewing banquet, which invited many talented people and noble ladies from Chang'an. Everyone thought it was just an ordinary entertainment, but Li Chunfeng knew that it was a blind date banquet held by the Princess of Xiangyang for her old friend, Lady Guichuan County, who had just divorced. For sorcerers at his and Yuan Tiangang's level, unless there were colleagues who deliberately concealed it, the secret would be revealed as soon as they thought about it. The Princess of Xiangyang's purpose could not be hidden from his eyes.

After all, he was still young, and had great ambitions to realize, but he had no plans to get married. Moreover, he was not willing to suppress his ambitions and get close to the noble lady, as his social status was different. However, the princess had sent him an invitation, and he had no choice but to go. He thought that he would just make up the numbers, but he did not expect that the one who was chosen was a low-ranking general like him.

He pondered and said, "Although Lady Guichuan was married to a wrong husband, the relationship is harmonious. Duke Yun loves his daughter very much and has asked His Majesty to confer her the title of Lady of the Third Rank as a consolation. In addition, she is extremely beautiful and looks as young as a twenty-year-old. I am really terrified that such a beautiful woman would favor me."

Yuan Tiangang handed the handkerchief back to Fengji: "Can I tell you your fortune?" It is difficult for a fortune teller to tell his own fortune. If Li Chunfeng really wants to know whether he and the Lady of Guichuan County have a marriage, he doesn't mind telling it for him.

Li Chunfeng shook his head: "I can't afford the divination fee for Brother Tiangang's lesson, so let's just go with the flow."

Yuan Tiangang hummed, and did not insist, leaning on the table in deep thought. The waiter Fengji was making tea, and the sound of boiling water stirred the fragrance in the room. In the silence, Li Chunfeng changed the subject: "However, the face of the Lady of Guichuan County is quite interesting."

Yuan Tiangang raised his eyelids.

"Looking at her face, it seems that she should only live last month. But not only is she still alive today, she is also very healthy." Li Chunfeng seemed to be thinking about something, looking very confused.

"Zombies?" Yuan Tiangang sat up straight.

"He has a ruddy complexion and is full of energy. He is indeed a living person." Li Chunfeng denied his guess.

"Possession?" Yuan Tiangang immediately proposed another possibility.

"The soul and the body are in perfect harmony, and there is no apparent repulsion between them." Li Chunfeng denied again.

Yuan Tiangang's eyes flashed with fanaticism: "Borrow your life?"

Li Chunfeng shook his head: "My experience is limited, so I can't tell."

With his right hand constantly twisting an inky turtle shell, Yuan Tiangang looked very struggling. After a moment, he said with difficulty: "Brother Chunfeng..."

"Hmm?" Li Chunfeng waited quietly for further instructions.

"Can you take me with you?" Yuan Tiangang's expression was as painful as an ant trying to lift a boulder.

Li Chunfeng was very surprised and said with a smile: "The invitation said that you can invite your own guests, but I thought Brother Tiangang was a person who didn't like to go out, so I didn't take the initiative to invite him. I didn't expect that Brother Tiangang would speak first, which is my fault."

As he spoke, he just put the last chess piece back into the chess box and closed the lid.

"Snap", it fits perfectly.

In Jingye Temple, the sound of Buddhist chants resounds through the sky.

Xuanzang was sitting among the monks reciting sutras when he suddenly felt his eyelids twitching. Despite his concentration, he could not help but let out some irritability. As expected, when he finished reciting the sutras and went out, he saw A Niang's personal maid Ming Xin waiting there, waving at him with a smile, as if she was afraid that he could not see her.

The young monk Bian Ji followed beside him and saw the same thing. He said "Amitabha" and said solemnly like a little adult, "Once you enter Buddhism, you should not get too involved with the secular world. Master Xuanzang should be alert."

Mingxin Fang came over and heard what he said. He raised his head and gave him a slap on the bald head: "You are a little devil. You think we, the laymen, disturb the peace of you monks. Yesterday, my wife asked me to bring cakes to your temple. Why don't you eat them? Don't think I don't know that you are the one running in the front!"

Bianji's life story was similar to Xuanzang's. He was also an abandoned baby. He was thrown at the gate of Jingye Temple less than two months after he was born. He was raised by the abbot of Jingye Temple. Because he was born smart and had a high level of understanding of Buddhism, even though he was a little eccentric and arrogant, he was still loved by all the monks in the temple. At this time, he was just preaching out of habit, but he was treated so violently by this female donor. Even the abbot had never treated him like this since he was a child. He couldn't help but touch the red mark on his bald head with grievance, pursed his lips, and tears rolled around for a few times, and he stopped talking.

Seeing this, Xuanzang's mouth twitched, and he tried his best to suppress the urge to laugh out loud, and asked seriously, "What is the purpose of your return, lady donor?"

The two of them walked to a secluded place, and Ming Xinfang said, "Master Sun, the young lady will host a banquet at Hua'e Zhenghui Tower tomorrow. Please go over there to accompany her. The Xiangfu will send a car to pick you up then."

Xuanzang said in embarrassment: "Why did my mother let me accompany the guests? Actually, what Bian Ji said is right. I have entered the Buddhist sect and have long been out of touch with the secular world. It is better for me to avoid getting involved in social interactions."

Mingxin said, "Miss, you didn't want to disturb Young Master Sun's peace, but this time it was the old lady who specifically asked Young Master Sun to go. In my opinion, it's better for Young Master Sun to go. Young Master Sun might be able to avoid other guests, but Young Master Sun must personally check out this guest."

The more Xuanzang listened, the more confused he became: "What kind of guest needs my humble inspection?"

Ming Xin didn't know what he was thinking of. He lowered his head and smiled slightly, and said softly: "This guest is very likely to be the young lady's future husband."

Even if one has already entered Buddhism, he has to attend the review of the candidate for the future stepfather. Xuanzang suddenly said solemnly: "That little monk may need to sacrifice his life to accompany you." After a pause, he couldn't help asking, "What's his name?"

Even brighter than the slightly blue and clear sky was Mingxin's eyes that suddenly sparkled at this moment. The girl smiled with her lips pursed, twirling the silk ribbon around her waist, and said softly, "Li Chunfeng from the Qizhou Li family."