Water Reflects Peach Blossoms

"You're crazy!" Nanzhi said angrily, "You and Xiaozhuo will definitely fight when you meet! Are you hurt?!"

Zhu Yan was in a trance for a moment, unable to believe what he heard.

His Adam's apple rolled, and he asked in a suppressed voice, "Why aren't you worried about Zhuo Yichen?"

Nanzhi explained clearly, "You left me a note this morning, and Xiao Zhuo was fine when I came out of the Monster Hunting Division that evening. Plus, Xiao Zhuo's attitude towards me looking for you was a little strange, so he must have seen you before I went to the Monster Hunting Division. And if you really hurt Xiao Zhuo, why would you tell me you were there?"

"Because... I am an extremely evil demon."

"You're talking nonsense again!" Nanzhi stomped on Zhu Yan's foot in dissatisfaction. "My father always told me that what you see isn't necessarily what you hear, and you should trust your own judgment."

"A person's character and whether he has his own reasons for doing what he does should be judged by your understanding of him. You should discover the deepest pain in his heart, heal him, comfort him, and trust him."

"If you do something evil, you should be punished accordingly. But if you are forced or helpless, you will hurt others as well as yourself."

Nanzhi looked up, meeting Zhu Yan's incredulous eyes, and told him earnestly, "The Zhu Yan I know is a kind demon. He would give extra money to struggling vendors when he went out to buy groceries, would help a child who fell on the street, would fight for justice, would smile at the mundane world, and even took great care of an orphan like me. I don't believe you would go on a killing spree for no reason."

"Will you tell me?"

"Why did you massacre the Demon Catchers?"

……

Nanzhi sat on the steps by the river, looking at the reflection of the bright moon in the water, with Zhu Yan beside her.

Zhu Yan just told her the reason why he slaughtered the Demon Catching Bureau.

Zhu Yan was the vessel chosen by the evil spirit between heaven and earth. Eight years ago, Zhu Yan lost control under the influence of the evil spirit and killed many people. When he woke up, he saw his hands covered in blood, and he could not wash off the blood no matter how hard he tried.

The night is as cold as water, but what is probably colder than the night is Zhu Yan's heart.

Seeing his bony hands placed on his knees, Nanzhi moved closer to him and sat very close to him.

"It's not your fault," she said, her gentle voice dispelling the chill of the night.

Zhu Yan looked at her with painful and numb eyes.

She had a pretty face under the moonlight, and her beautiful eyes were filled with understanding and tenderness.

"It's the fault of resentment. Whether it's Xiao Zhuo or you, you're both victims of resentment." Nanzhi looked at Zhu Yan. "It's precisely because of your pain and the deep harm caused by resentment that we must find a way to eliminate resentment, so that you can stop suffering and the people of the world will no longer be harmed by resentment."

Zhu Yan's fingers on his knees moved slightly: "We?"

"Yes." Nanzhi nodded and said firmly, "Now that I know about this, there's absolutely no reason for me to let you face it alone. You and I, let's find a way to solve this together."

There is a solution.

Before he went to the Demon Hunting Bureau, he had already thought of a way to deal with the hostility.

But looking at Nanzhi in front of him, Zhu Yan once again felt an extremely strong desire to live.

He wanted to live, wanted to live with Nanzhi. He had not seen enough of the wilderness and the human world, nor had he seen enough of Nanzhi.

A gentle smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and Zhu Yan nodded: "Okay, let's work together to find a way to eliminate the hostility."

This problem was solved, and Nanzhi thought of another: "Why did you go to the Demon Hunting Bureau?"

Zhu Yan replied, "The Bai Ze Ling has disappeared, and the Great Wilderness and the human world are in danger. I want to help the Bai Ze Goddess find the Bai Ze Ling."

"Sister Wen Xiao?" Nanzhi said happily: "With the help of a great demon like you, Sister Wen Xiao will definitely be able to successfully retrieve Bai Ze Ling!"

"Do you know Wen Xiao?" Zhu Yan asked curiously.

Nanzhi nodded. "I've met Sister Wen Xiao a few times before when I went to the Monster Hunting Division to play with Xiao Zhuo. She's very kind and gentle, and she even explained the habits of monsters to me."

Speaking of this, Zhu Yan agreed: "Wen Xiao has compassion for monsters, and she truly lives up to her status as the Goddess of Bai Ze."

At the same time, he approached Nanzhi and praised her quietly and quickly, "Nanzhi is also very gentle. Even a great demon like me has warmed my heart."

Nanzhi sat a little further away from him.

Zhu Yan was puzzled: "Why are you so far away from me?"

"Weren't you burned by Nuan?" Nanzhi looked back at him with a sly smile: "I'll stay away from you to avoid getting burned."

"No way." Zhu Yan moved closer to Nanzhi, sat beside her, looked at the moonlight in the water, and smiled happily: "I just want to express that my heart is warmer than being warmed."

Nanzhi understood: "So, the note you left me this morning was about going to the Monster Hunting Division to join forces with Xiao Zhuo, Sister Wen Xiao and the others to retrieve the Bai Ze Ling?"

"It's also an excuse to rebuild the Monster Hunting Division." Zhu Yan said, "If I don't show up and impress the Prime Minister by asking Bai Zeling, I'm afraid the Chongwu Camp will find an excuse to attack the Monster Hunting Division."

"Chongwu Camp..." When Nanzhi heard the name of Chongwu Camp, a hint of anger appeared in his eyes.

Noticing something was wrong with Nanzhi, Zhu Yan asked, "What's wrong?"

Nanzhi hugged her knees, feeling a little down. "My father was wrongfully imprisoned because he impeached the Chongwu Camp for being indiscriminate and killing too many demons."

"Although he was later rehabilitated, my father died unjustly in prison."

The powerful Chongwu Camp targeted Nanzhi's father as easily as crushing an ant.

Putting his outer robe on Nanzhi, Zhu Yan comforted her: "Don't be afraid, I am here and will never let what happened to your father happen again."

"Those who wronged your father will surely receive the retribution they deserve."

"I should go back." Zhu Yan said.

Nanzhi wondered: "Where to go back to?"

"Let's go back to the dungeon. Today I received the Monster Hunting Command badge from Wen Xiao. I believe the remaining members of the Monster Hunting Team will gather at the Monster Hunting Division tomorrow." He stood up and extended his hand to Nanzhi: "I'll take you home first."

Nanzhi handed his hand to Zhu Yan, stood up, and pulled his warm robe closer.

We were silent all the way home.

Zhu Yan returned to the Demon Hunting Bureau only after Nanzhi fell asleep.

……

Early the next morning.

Nanzhi got up early and made an important decision.

When she arrived at the Demon Hunting Bureau, she happened to see Zhen Mei and Wu Yan coming out of the Demon Hunting Bureau with a group of people.

"Miss Shen." Wu Yan stopped and smiled at Nanzhi, "What are you doing here?"

Nanzhi's face turned cold, and she didn't give him any face at all: "What's it to you?"

"My proposal still stands." Wu Yan said arrogantly, "If you are willing, you can get rid of your current hardship and live a good life in the palace."

After Nanzhi's father passed away, Wu Yan once found her and wanted to introduce Nanzhi to King Xiang. With Nanzhi's beauty, she would definitely become a concubine. From then on, the two of them supported each other. He would be her backing, and she would do her best to promote him if King Xiang took a fancy to him.

Nanzhi clenched her fists and retorted without hesitation: "Just because you're a lapdog, do you think everyone is the same as you?"

"You!" Wu Yan was furious.

Just as he was about to show Nanzhi how powerful he was, he saw Zhu Yan appear out of nowhere behind Nanzhi.