Su Qing watched as the minor demons fled, letting out a soft chuckle.
These little creatures were truly far less courageous than those desperate outlaws; their spirits were surprisingly weak. She hadn't even struck a lethal blow yet!
"But this is interesting... for the demons in this place to be so arrogant is quite something!"
Su Qing felt a wave of confusion. If they were demons who had fully achieved human form, that would be one thing, but for creatures who weren't even half-human to dare appear so openly before people was rare indeed. Was the City God of this place a complete good-for-nothing?
As she watched the Rat Demons in the distance, she couldn't help but wonder just how useless the local City God must be. At the very least, if they couldn't handle the situation themselves, they should have reported it to the Heavenly Court.
If this were happening on the journey to the West, it wouldn't be so strange, as those situations were often permitted or orchestrated by the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Court. But this was not on that path.
"Hmm... come to think of it, is the City God of this place even still alive?" Su Qing mused curiously.
However, now was not the time for such reflections. Standing in the middle of the street dazing off would be a bit embarrassing. She waited until the Rat Demons had vanished into the distance before calmly sheathing her sword.
On the other side, Li Yichou saw that the confrontation had ended and walked over to Su Qing. "Seeing how angry you looked, Miss, I thought you were going to kill him right then and there!"
Su Qing shook her head. "I'm not so mad that I'd resort to killing someone in the middle of the street. I still have my reason..."
"Does that mean you have other plans, Miss?"
Li Yichou understood immediately. Su Qing hadn't killed them on the spot but had let them go because she had another objective. After all, Su Qing only said she wasn't crazy enough to kill in the street—she never said she intended to actually let them off the hook.
Su Qing smiled and nodded. "You know me well! I do indeed have other plans. Simply letting them go like that would be far too easy on them."
Li Yichou gave a helpless smile. After following Su Qing for so many years, it would be a bit shameful if she didn't at least understand that much.
"Then what is your plan, Miss?"
"Execution at a later date."
"So you do intend to kill them?" Li Yichou nodded. "Would you like me to do it? It's better if you don't kill people indiscriminately, Miss."
Hearing this, Su Qing shook her head and leaned in close to her ear. "Those things weren't human... you wouldn't be able to handle them."
Li Yichou was stunned and opened her mouth to ask more, but Su Qing patted her shoulder and said with a smile, "Alright, let's go! Let's find an inn to stay in first."
As she spoke, Su Qing glanced at the crowd by the roadside. Rather than being happy, the people seemed to fear Su Qing and her group even more than the demons. Su Qing wasn't surprised by this. They weren't like her; they were more afraid of the retaliation that would follow.
But Su Qing didn't care. They wouldn't be staying here for long, so there was no need to worry about whether these people feared her or not. Instead of wasting energy worrying about that, she needed to think about where they would sleep tonight.
Li Yichou, seeing Su Qing glance at the people on the street, assumed she didn't want to explain further because there were too many witnesses. She nodded and said, "Then let's find a place to stay first!"
Seeing how obedient Li Yichou was, Su Qing smiled. "Mhm, let's go!"
With that, Su Qing turned and climbed back into the carriage. Li Yichou followed suit, boarding the other carriage. Soon, with a shout from Hu Lin'er, the carriages set off, leaving the scene of the conflict behind.
Inside the carriage, Su Qing pondered the events of the town. Hu Lin'er's voice drifted in from outside. "Miss, are we leaving this place?"
"No, find an inn here to stay for the night. I still have unfinished business," Su Qing answered calmly.
Hu Lin'er nodded and fell silent. Once she grew quiet, Ao Yiyi, who was beside Su Qing, gently stroked the awakened Su Qingyu to help her go back to sleep. Then, she sent a Sound Transmission.
"Sister Su... I don't quite understand. They clearly feared and hated those people, so why were they even more afraid of us after you drove those demons away?"
"You recognized that they were demons?" Su Qing asked, slightly surprised.
Ao Yiyi nodded. "I peeked out earlier and thought they looked too strange, so I used a spell to take a look..."
"I see..."
"So, can you tell me why, Sister Su?"
Su Qing smiled and leaned against the carriage wall. "Don't find it strange... it's just human nature! I've realized that even though you've been with me for so long, I haven't shown you enough of the world."
Su Qing then explained exactly why those people weren't happy but were instead afraid of them.
"They are the ones who live here... their fear of those people likely runs very deep. So, rather than being happy, they are more worried about being associated with us and suffering the retaliation that comes after we leave."
Su Qing said flatly, "Does that make sense to you?"
"But..."
"I know what you want to say, but it's useless. They don't know our strength! They don't know if we can handle the power behind those few. To put it bluntly, our victory has nothing to do with them. They don't know who we are, how much power we have, or if we're even here to deal with those people for good. How can they feel at ease? Besides, even if they did know... who would believe it without a tangible demonstration?"
Su Qing shook her head. "This is the choice the vast majority of people make. So you shouldn't blame them... it's a very normal situation. I expected it long ago..."
Ao Yiyi sighed. "I never thought about it that way."
"It's fine, it's not your fault... you just haven't had much contact with these things," Su Qing said with a smile. "So, did you learn anything this time?"
"Perhaps... I think so..." Ao Yiyi said uncertainly.
Su Qing propped her head on her hand and shook it slightly. "In any case, you don't need to dwell on it too much."
Ao Yiyi nodded, but what she was actually thinking remained a mystery. Seeing that she had fallen into thought, Su Qing said nothing more. She simply sat to the side, looking out at the street. There wasn't much to see, but it was more interesting than staring blankly inside the carriage.
Before long, the group arrived at an inn. However, when they tried to book rooms, the shopkeeper hurriedly shook his head. "We... we have no vacancies left. Please, Miss, go... stay somewhere else!"
Su Qing turned to look at the deserted inn and said with a smile, "How strange. You're turning away business? This place is so quiet; it doesn't look like there's a soul here."
Hearing Su Qing say this, the shopkeeper broke out in a cold sweat. While he feared retaliation from those Rat Demons, he was equally afraid of the woman before him losing her temper. After all, he had heard that this woman was someone who nearly killed a person in the middle of the street. She was no less dangerous than the others.
"This... this..." the shopkeeper stammered, sweat pouring down his face. "It's not a matter of wanting business or not; it's a matter of whether I want to keep this shop or not!"
"You're worried that if you let us stay here, those people will come back to retaliate against you?" Su Qing chuckled and said bluntly, "What? Do you think we're easier to bully than they are?"
"No... how could I possibly think that?"
The shopkeeper shook his head frantically, terrified of provoking Su Qing. But letting her stay was equally terrifying. Caught between two difficult choices, paralyzed by fear on both sides, the shopkeeper was nearly at his wit's end. He only cursed his luck—why did Su Qing and her group have to pick his place?
"Heh, very well! I won't make things difficult for you... if you answer my questions, I won't blame you."
Su Qing knew it was unlikely they would find lodging today, so she decided to use this chance to gather information about the town. As for what the shopkeeper thought of her, it didn't matter. They were destined to meet only once. She might as well make use of him to understand the situation.
Hearing this, the shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded quickly, afraid that if he hesitated, Su Qing would change her mind. Although he didn't know what would happen if he truly angered this lady, she had dared to strike at that young master, so it wouldn't be surprising if she smashed his shop to pieces.
But the thought only made him more depressed. Why did she have to come to his place? If she hadn't, he wouldn't be in this predicament.
"Ask away, Miss! Whatever I know, I will tell you everything without reservation," the shopkeeper said.
Su Qing nodded and began asking about the Rat Demons. The shopkeeper indeed knew quite a bit about them, though he was hesitant in some areas, glancing around as if afraid the Rat Demons had spies nearby.
If Su Qing hadn't feigned impatience and even drawn her sword to leave a mark on his counter, getting the full story out of him would have been a struggle.
"So... you all knew those people weren't human?" Su Qing's brow furrowed after hearing the shopkeeper's words.
She had assumed these people didn't know they were demons, but it turned out they were all aware. However, if they knew they were demons, it wasn't hard to explain why they were so terrified.
"..." The shopkeeper nodded and whispered, "How could a human look like that? And every one of them looks so strange. Most importantly, someone once saw a bald, naked tail dragging behind that young master!"
Su Qing chuckled and nodded. "I see. No wonder you're all so afraid of them!"
"Heh... hehe..." The shopkeeper gave a bitter laugh and said, "I... I've told you everything I know, so... the sword..."
Su Qing smiled and moved the sword away from his shoulder. This shopkeeper was incredibly cowardly; without being pushed, he wouldn't have dared to speak, let alone tell the truth.
"Thank you, Miss, thank you." The shopkeeper wiped his cold sweat again, his heart pounding. He had truly been afraid that Su Qing would lose her mind and cut him down.
"Alright, don't be afraid. I'm no monster! If you faint, I won't be able to ask my next questions," Su Qing said with a smile. "Now, for the other matters..."
Shopkeeper: "..."
The shopkeeper was speechless. How were there more questions? Could she not just spare him?
He felt utterly helpless, but he could only force a smile onto his face.
"Miss, please, just ask."
Su Qing nodded and said, "I'm curious, where is the City God temple in this area?"
"The City God temple?" The shopkeeper was taken aback. "We... we don't have a City God temple here..."
"Not even in the county seat?"
"No..." The shopkeeper thought for a moment before saying, "Our City God temple was demolished after the new magistrate took office... since then, we haven't worshipped the City God here."
"A City God temple can just be demolished like that?"
"That... that has nothing to do with me! It was the magistrate's idea; I wasn't the one who tore it down."
Seeing Su Qing's expression change, the shopkeeper was scared out of his wits and said, "Five years ago, when the magistrate took office, he said it was the Emperor's wish for us to demolish the City God temples and replace them with shrines for a Black Water Bodhisattva. We're just commoners; how would we dare say anything? It's just a temple; if the government wants it gone, it's gone. We could only do as we were told."
"Heh..." Su Qing let out a cold laugh. "I see. No wonder this is happening..."
Su Qing had originally thought these demons were taking advantage of the war to cause trouble. She hadn't expected it to be a long-planned scheme.
Suddenly, Su Qing realized something was off. She thought: "Wait, I almost forgot. The rot of a nation doesn't happen in a year or two. Perhaps... heh, interesting. I'm suddenly curious to see just how deep the rot goes in the capital."
Su Qing's expression terrified the shopkeeper, who hurriedly said, "Miss, stay calm, please stay calm! This has nothing to do with me! Please don't cut me!"
Su Qing shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to cut you!"
Despite her words, the shopkeeper couldn't put his heart at ease. Su Qing looked a bit unhinged to him, and he didn't dare gamble with her.
"Fine. Tell me, where is this Black Water Bodhisattva temple?" Su Qing asked with a frown.
The shopkeeper swallowed hard, not daring to refuse. "It's right where the old City God temple used to be..."
"How would I know where the old City God temple was?" Su Qing raised an eyebrow, somewhat speechless. "Give me the exact location."
How could the shopkeeper dare to disobey? He hurriedly nodded and gave Su Qing the specific directions.
Then he asked, "So... Miss, is there anything else you wish to ask?"
The shopkeeper desperately hoped she wouldn't ask anything else. He was truly on the verge of a breakdown.
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