Yun Qishen

"Hey! What are you saying here!" Mo Langqin followed the scholar's voice to an abandoned mountain god temple at the foot of the mountain on the outskirts of the city. After hearing the story of the love token made by the moon bone, his nerves immediately tightened.

Upon entering the ruined temple, the first thing Mo Langqin saw was not the scholar, but a series of translucent white spirits. These spirits were arranged neatly, sitting in mid-air, their gazes all focused on the scholar at the front.

Among the spirits were several faces that Mo Langqin recognized, including Aunt Pei, the old woodcutter, and his grandson...

"These spirits are all from the city! What do you want to do by bringing these spirits here!" Mo Langqin dodged the spirits and took three steps forward in two. He drew a long sword from his storage ring and swiftly thrust it towards the scholar's throat.

The scholar slightly shifted his body, deftly dodging the sword's edge. At the same time, he swiftly unfolded the landscape-painted fan in his hand, drawing a circular shield that instantly pushed Mo Langqin away when he approached again.

"Young friend, haven't you gone back to rest yet?" The scholar smiled at Mo Langqin, his fox-like eyes still narrowed.

Mo Langqin steadied himself and assumed an attacking stance. "You're not simple! Just who are you!"

The scholar gently waved his landscape-painted fan in front of his chest. "Didn't I tell you, young friend, that I'm just a storyteller? Didn't you find the story you just heard interesting?"

Mo Langqin frowned, staring at the scholar's nonchalant expression as he roared, "You clearly investigated my affairs, are you still pretending!"

"What are you saying, young friend?" The scholar feigned a troubled expression, the bells jingling at his waist. "We've only met by chance; when have I ever investigated you?"

"Otherwise, how would you know—"

"What do you know? Is it the story of the moon bone that the scholar just told you about betrothing lovers?" The scholar couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Haha, young friend, you've really misunderstood me. Betrothing lovers with moon bones is not a rare thing among the gods in the upper realm, that is, the celestial realm."

Not to mention hand bones, they could even devour the entire skeleton, flesh, and internal organs of the other's deity to prove their love, even so..."

The scholar paused, his narrow eyes fixed on Mo Langqin's throat. Sensing the scholar's gaze, Mo Langqin instinctively covered his throat. In the blink of an eye, the scholar was already close, the handle of his landscape-painted fan gently poking Mo Langqin's chest.

"Even gods are untrustworthy. What good is proving their love to each other? They can still fall in love with other gods or other things. If gods are like this, how persistent and lasting can your love with the ghostly spirits be?"

Mo Langqin swung his longsword the instant the scholar finished speaking, but this time he still missed the scholar.

The sound of bells flashed behind Mo Langqin. The scholar once again covered his mouth and nose with his landscape-painted fan and said, "I have already reminded you, young friend. Go and do what you should do."

The cold, sharp light of the sword grazed Mo Langqin's back but still missed the scholar. The scholar chuckled softly and vanished once more with the night breeze through the mountains.

As the scholar disappeared, the white spirits sitting in front of the ruined temple also turned into clusters of white fireflies. They rose into the sky and drifted into the city, returning to their original bodies.

After all the souls had safely left the ruined temple, Mo Langqin set off for the spot where the scholar had just stood. There were still some incense ash and a faint fragrance left there.

He squatted down, rubbed some incense ash between his fingers, and then brought it to his nose and gently smelled it.

There's no mistake about this fragrance; it's the Soul-Capturing Incense! It's exactly the same as the one Mo Li brought back before!
Who exactly is this scholar...?

Just as Mo Langqin was about to investigate further clues about the scholar in the surrounding area, a sharp and bright voice came from the entrance of the abandoned temple.

"Mo Langqin!" It was a white figure rushing over, panting.

"Bai Ying, what brings you here?" Mo Langqin was somewhat surprised by Bai Ying's appearance, but at the same time, he wasn't entirely surprised.

Bai Ying hurriedly ran to Mo Langqin's side and grabbed his sleeve, "I was very worried about you because you didn't come back so late."

Didn't I say I wanted to be alone for a while?

"But I'm so worried about you!" Bai Ying hugged Mo Langqin's arm even tighter, leaning her whole body against him. "Mo Langqin, I promise I won't pressure you like I did during the day. Please don't leave me alone, okay? I don't want to be alone..."

"I didn't mean to abandon you, nor did I intend to." Mo Langqin straightened Bai Ying and put the longsword back into his storage ring. "I just ran into some things that delayed me, so I'm sorry for making you worry."

Bai Ying slightly raised her head to look at Mo Langqin's face, "What happened? Did someone from the Mo family come?"

After Bai Ying finished speaking, he looked around and indeed saw some traces of a fight.

“It wasn’t them.” Mo Langqin took Bai Ying’s hand and walked out of the ruined temple. “Let’s go back first.”

Bai Ying let Mo Langqin pull her along, and as she followed, she asked, "Are you hiding something from me?"

Upon hearing this question, Mo Langqin quickly stopped and turned to look at Bai Ying seriously, "I didn't hide anything from you..."

But Bai Ying suddenly shouted, "Do you think I'm a burden to you?! Or do you not trust me?! You don't love me, right?! How can a human be in love with a ghost beast?! To put it bluntly, your feelings aren't—"

"Bai Ying!" Mo Langqin shouted anxiously, "You haven't dragged me down! I won't abandon you! I believe in you! I love you! My love for you contains no guilt towards anyone else! How else do you want me to express myself?!"

"Then why did you hide what happened to you from me..."

Mo Langqin took a deep breath, adjusted his tone, and tried to calm himself down as he said, "Bai Ying, I trust you completely, so please trust me this once, okay?"

Bai Ying raised her hand and cupped Mo Langqin's face. "I don't distrust you, Mo Langqin! I'm just scared, just worried about our future..."

At this moment, the mysterious, incessant chatter still echoed in Bai Ying's ears: "[We must keep him under control! Don't let him touch anyone! They'll take Mo Langqin away! He belongs only to me! Only to me!]"

Of course, Mo Langqin couldn't hear such words.

Mo Langqin placed his hand over Bai Ying's, looking at her as he said, "Bai Ying, I know. Feelings are something you become more cautious about the more you like someone. You're worried, and I'm worried about our future. I'm not childish when it comes to you! I'll think things through! And I'll take responsibility!"
The passage of time means nothing to demons, but I'm still just an ordinary demon slayer, still just a human. Time will allow me to grow, so please wait for me, okay?

"I'm sorry..." Bai Ying lowered her head in shame. She had just said she wouldn't force Mo Langqin, but in the blink of an eye, she couldn't control herself. She didn't know why she had been so moody lately.

Now it was Mo Langqin's turn to cup Bai Ying's head. He looked at Bai Ying with a smile, "Bai Ying, don't look like that. You look better when you smile." (End of Chapter)