Chapter 127: The Daoist

"Since Taoist Master Yin says ten hours, then we shall wait ten hours. I only wonder, what day and time is it now?" Cui Ya asked, feeling a sense of relief upon hearing the duration.

She did not fear the wait; she only feared that Master Yin might refuse. Her question served to rescue the Taoist from his awkwardness, allowing him to ignore the inquiries of the pretty young girl beside her.

"Midnight has just passed. It is now the twenty-fifth day of the ninth lunar month," Master Yin said, casting a glance at the sky and waving his horsetail whisk with a slow, deliberate motion.

Fan Xuanyue tilted her head, observing the Taoist who kept waving his whisk. His robes were free of dust, and there were no mosquitoes bothering them in the night air, so why did this priest keep waving that thing? Moreover, this whisk was different from others she had seen; although the handle was carved from the branch of a bodhi tree, it was adorned with intricate reliefs, inlaid with gold and jade—a display of extreme extravagance. Were all Taoists in the Southern Wilderness Province this wealthy?

Master Yin caught the girl behind Cui Ya observing him. He straightened his back and gave his whisk another flourish, determined to project an image of transcendent grace. Fan Xuanyue frowned, thinking to herself, *Is he ever going to stop?* She turned her gaze toward the moonlight over Mount Wufeng instead. The moonlight was far more pleasant than the priest.

Cui Ya, unaware of the thoughts crossing the minds of the others, was busy calculating. If midnight had just passed, it was the twenty-fifth. Before midnight, had it not been the twenty-fourth, the very day she had departed? But it had been night when she left the inn—how could it still be night here?

"How long did it take you to escort me from Yangjing Town to Fufeng Temple?" Cui Ya turned to ask Fan Xuanyue, who was still admiring the mountain moon, her tone filled with irrepressible surprise.

"It took a little while. About as long as it takes my gourd to refine a Soul-Returning Pill—perhaps an hour and a half," Fan Xuanyue said, rubbing her nose with a look of slight embarrassment.

For Fan Xuanyue, a fifty-mile journey was a distance she could usually cover in a few heartbeats, but having just finished a mission for the Demon Suppression Division, she had been feeling rather lazy. Along the way, she had leisurely enjoyed the night scenery of Nanxi County, incidentally disposing of a few blind mountain spirits, wild phantoms, and a handful of monsters she couldn't even name.

"Fifty miles took an hour and a half? This girl’s actual strength is likely nothing to boast about," the voice of the red-robed priest echoed again in Master Yin’s mind.

Master Yin’s eyes deepened, his pupils shimmering with an eerie light.

"Thank you," Cui Ya said, bowing deeply to Fan Xuanyue, her tone heavy with sincerity. If she had been forced to travel that fifty-mile stretch on her own, it would have taken her at least half a day, assuming she encountered no trouble along the way.

Fan Xuanyue sensed the gratitude contained in those two short words. She found it strange—she had been slow, yet this woman seemed even more grateful.

"No need for thanks. Besides, I wouldn't have caught that thing so easily without you acting as bait," Fan Xuanyue said, waving her hands dismissively. She yawned and looked at Cui Ya. "If you don't have anything else to do, I'll be going now."

Before Cui Ya could answer, the red-robed priest beside Master Yin suddenly spoke up: "Kind soul, the night is late. Why not rest in our quarters for the night and have some temple fare tomorrow morning before you depart?"

"You Taoists only eat vegetarian food; what could possibly be tasty about that?" Fan Xuanyue glanced at the red-robed priest. He was wearing formal vestments used for ceremonies, unlike the simple daily robes of the other priest.

"If the kind soul desires meat and wine, our refectory can provide them," the red-robed priest added quickly.

Fan Xuanyue looked at him with curiosity. "Most Taoist sects forbid wine, meat, and pungent vegetables. Is this temple part of the Zhengqing lineage?"

The red-robed priest was struck dumb; he had no idea what the current Taoist sects were like.

"The temple fare at Fufeng Temple is quite good," Cui Ya said, casting a sideways glance at the red-robed priest. If she wasn't mistaken, this was Master Lu of Fufeng Temple. Master Lu usually spent his time in the grottoes of Mount Wufeng, rarely appearing at the temple. Although she didn't know why he wanted to keep this young girl here, staying on good terms with Fufeng Temple was never a bad idea. While the girl appeared to have a formidable background, she was not from the Southern Wilderness, whereas the nearby Fufeng Temple could provide tangible help to her mistress.

"Alright then. Not for the sake of you priests, but for the sake of this new sister I've met, I suppose staying the night won't hurt," Fan Xuanyue said, wrapping her arm around Cui Ya’s neck and pressing her cheek against hers with a giggle.

Cui Ya startled and quickly pulled away from Fan Xuanyue’s soft embrace, stepping back with hesitation. "We haven't even known each other for a full day; such intimacy is improper..."

"I like you at first sight, and that's enough! Brother Zhao always says that meeting a kindred spirit in this world is a blessing cultivated over a thousand lifetimes!" Fan Xuanyue pouted, hands on her hips, feeling indignant. She couldn't explain why she felt such a strange, immediate affinity for this woman.

"May I ask, where is this Brother Zhao you speak of?" Master Yin, hearing yet another person mentioned, felt his eyelid twitch. He pressed the eager Master Lu aside and asked with a kindly smile.

"In Central He Province? Or maybe Western Wilds Province, or Northern Nether Province? Perhaps Cloud Sea Province—though there have been many disturbances and turbulent tides there lately." Fan Xuanyue frowned; she honestly didn't know where Brother Zhao might be. After all, as a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Heterodoxy, he didn't sit in the capital like the ministers of the Six Ministries. Whenever a demonic disturbance occurred in the twelve provinces that the Demon Capture Division or the Demon Suppression Division couldn't handle, he was the one who went.

"He wouldn't suddenly appear in the Southern Wilderness, would he?" Master Yin asked gently.

Fan Xuanyue shook her head and chuckled. "He won't appear in the Southern Wilderness. The King of the Southern Wilderness once visited the capital and told the Emperor that he has his own ways of handling the demons here, and no need for the Ministry of Heterodoxy to intervene."

Upon hearing this, Master Yin’s eyelid twitched again. His kindly voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Are you... with the Imperial Court?"

Fan Xuanyue’s almond eyes lit up, and she gave a small, deliberate cough.

Cui Ya, seeing this posture, guessed what Fan Xuanyue was about to do. She stepped back again, leaving plenty of room.

"I am a Demon Suppressor of the Demon Suppression Division! By the Emperor’s decree, I capture the demons of all provinces to restore a clear and bright sky to the twelve provinces!" Fan Xuanyue declared, her voice resonant and full of spirit.

"The two of you should rest well. I have just remembered some urgent matters to attend to within the temple," Master Yin said, his mouth twitching. He surreptitiously grabbed Master Lu and turned, scurrying away down the long corridor with surprising speed, their hurried, tiny footsteps audible beneath their wide robes.