Chapter 19 : Rainy Night

Because of Ji Yu’s health, they traveled very slowly on the way back.

Most of the time, Ji Yu would be in the carriage, dozing off to recuperate. She was rarely awake, and whenever she was, she would diligently practice the Ji family’s martial arts, keeping herself quite busy.

Whenever she did this, Jiang Shiqiu would look disapproving.

“My wife, you are not well yet. You should rest properly and not push yourself too hard.”

Ji Yu put down her book and looked at him, saying softly, “I’m not pushing myself too hard. I just read a little in my spare time. Besides, my talent isn’t great. If I don’t work harder, I’m afraid I’ll be worse than trash.”

As she spoke, her expression was calm and free of any resentment.

It seemed she accepted her lack of talent with composure, neither blaming fate for its unfairness nor feeling ashamed of her shortcomings, nor resigning herself to idleness.

Jiang Shiqiu’s eyes darkened slightly, and he smiled, saying, “Nonsense. My wife is certainly not a failure. If you were, then there would be no talent in this world.”

Ji Yu was momentarily speechless, then chuckled.

She realized that he often said things that were hard for her to handle, as if in his eyes, there was nothing wrong with her.

Was he a bit narcissistic?

Even so, Ji Yu couldn’t shut him up.

She had heard such remarks often on the journey. If she didn’t know her own situation, his sweet words might have disoriented her and caused her to lose her sense of self.

Eventually, Ji Yu became tired of reading, closed her book, and rested her eyes against the carriage wall.

Although her eyes were closed, her senses were heightened, and she could keenly feel the intense gaze from across the carriage, which never wavered, maintaining a constant, pressing presence, whether she was asleep or awake.

Initially, she felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable, but over time, she became more at ease with it.

—

In the evening, they arrived at a small village.

This section of the road is quite remote and is still some distance away from the next town. It was getting dark and a rainstorm was about to come, so we could only find a place to rest for the night in the village.

The village had only a dozen or so households, and the villagers clearly lived in poor conditions. Every house was a crude mud hut, and many kept chickens and ducks inside, making the environment far from ideal.

For the rural villagers who relied on farming, livestock was their most valuable asset, often considered more important than their own lives. It was common for them to live and eat with their animals.

However, for Hongxiao, it was difficult to endure.

In the end, Hongxiao approached the village head and offered him some silver to secure two rooms for them.

The village head’s home was the only one in the village that was somewhat decent. At least they did not keep livestock inside the house but in the backyard instead.

Despite this, Hongxiao carefully cleaned the rooms, scented them, and moved the bedding from the carriage to the beds before allowing Ji Yu to rest.

“Miss, the conditions aren’t great, please bear with it,” Hongxiao said with concern.

Ji Yu sat on a simple, stained four-legged stool, holding a cup of hot tea, and replied softly, “Sister Hongxiao, it’s actually quite good. At least it keeps out the wind and rain.”

Although her health was delicate, she didn’t mind the living conditions too much.

However, it was clear that everyone around her felt she was being put at a disadvantage.

At that moment, Jiang Shiqiu entered with a food box.

As he opened the door, a cold draft swept in, along with the sound of rain pattering outside.

It had started raining after dark, and the downpour was quite heavy, causing the temperature to drop rapidly.

Ji Yu sneezed, covering her nose and huddling into her clothes.

Jiang Shiqiu hurriedly closed the door, placed the food box on the table, and felt her forehead, discovering she had a slight fever.

“You’re a bit hot,” he said, frowning.

Ji Yu touched her forehead, well aware of her own condition, and said, “It might be because of the strong wind today. I must have caught a chill.”

Jiang Shiqiu looked puzzled. “A chill?”

Obviously, this new commander of the Imperial City Demon Division, does not quite understand why mortals get sick.

Hearing this, Hongxiao became anxious. “There’s medicine in the carriage. I’ll go prepare some.”

As Hongxiao went out, Jiang Shiqiu took out the food from the box.

He had used the village head’s kitchen to prepare this meal, It was hot and steaming, and the aroma of food filled the house.

The room was lit by a candle, and by its light, Ji Yu was surprised to see the three dishes and a soup on the table.

“You made all this?” she asked with a smile.

Jiang Shiqiu served her a bowl of chicken soup. “Since I’ve worked so hard, you should eat more,” he said. The chicken was a wild one he had caught while entering the village, and he made the soup to help her recover.

However, Ji Yu was unwell and had little appetite. After a few sips of the soup, she put down her chopsticks.

Jiang Shiqiu originally intended to persuade her to eat more, but seeing her lack of energy, flushed cheeks, and dazed eyes, he felt an inexplicable, unfamiliar sensation rising in his chest.

It was a dull, indescribable discomfort.

After Hongxiao prepared the medicine and Ji Yu had taken it, she was too exhausted to stay awake and lay down on the bed.

Seeing the man watching over her by the bedside, she squinted slightly and said softly, “Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”

Jiang Shiqiu held her hand. Despite her warm cheeks, her hand was still cold, without a trace of warmth.

He held her hand in his and suddenly said,”It turns out that raising a person is so troublesome…”

Hearing this, Ji Yu couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, taking care of someone is indeed quite troublesome, especially a sick person… You’ve really worked hard taking care of me all this way.”

Jiang Shiqiu didn’t like hearing this. “You are my wife. We are married, so taking care of you is only natural!”

Ji Yu fell silent for a moment. “What if I weren’t your wife?”

“No ifs!” Jiang Shiqiu saidcalmly, his gaze deep and heavy, “We have a marriage contract and are already married. Once married, you are always my wife!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

Ji Yu closed her eyes. As the medicine began to take effect, her mind became drowsy, and she found it somewhat amusing.

A demon wanting to take care of a mortal, especially one whose life is nearing its end? If this were to be known, people would probably not believe it.

Perhaps because she was sick, Ji Yu’s sleep was restless, frequently interrupted by the sound of rain outside.

The rain grew louder, as if the sky had developed a huge hole, and torrents of rain were pouring down, threatening to drown the entire world in a flood.

Ji Yu dreamt that the rain had already seeped into the house, with black rainwater creeping up to the bedside. The damp rainwater climbed the bedpost, spreading towards her.

A pale hand reached out from the water, grasping towards the person lying on the bed…

“!!!!”

Ji Yu jolted awake, her vision dim and her eyes wide and disoriented.

“Ji Yu? What’s wrong?” Jiang Shiqiu’s deep and magnetic voice broke the silence of the rainy night, dispelling the cold and darkness of the night and bringing some clarity to her dazed eyes.

Ji Yu turned her head to see the man standing by the bedside.

The rain continued outside, and although the sound was loud, it was not the terrifying storm from her dream, and the rainwater had not seeped into the house.

Ji Yu’s gaze shifted from the tightly closed doors and windows to the man at the bedside. She said, “I just had a dream. In the dream, the rain was so heavy that it flooded the house…”

Jiang Shiqiu laughed, “It was just a dream. Dreams don’t count for much.”

Ji Yu looked at him in silence. Can the dreams of a demon hunter master really be just mere dreams?

She then asked, “How is it outside?”

Jiang Shiqiu felt her forehead and noticed that her temperature had come down, “It’s nothing much. Just some water ghost causing trouble…”

Before he could finish, he saw her staring at him and became alert, “Wife, you’re still sick.”

Over the past few days, the couple had spent a lot of time together and had come to understand each other’s personalities.

Jiang Shiqiu finally realized that demon hunters, committed to their mission of hunting demons, would never turn a blind eye to any demonic disturbance, regardless of their own condition or any reward.

Ji Yu propped herself up slightly and said, “If we don’t do anything, villagers might drown tonight. I…”

Before she could finish, a hand pressed her back down onto the bed, and then the blankets were tightly wrapped around her, bundling her up like a rice dumpling.

Jiang Shiqiu looked displeased, his once handsome face now marked by a stern expression.

“Alright, you stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

After carefully tucking her in to make sure she wouldn’t get cold, he leaned down and kissed her, then, with a cold face and an aura of intimidation, he left.

Ji Yu: …

Watching him leave, Ji Yu didn’t immediately try to free herself from the tightly bound blankets. After a moment of silence, she couldn’t help but smile.

She understood his temperament, he was stubborn and disinclined to concern himself with trivial matters. Apart from her, he seldom cared about anything, and few things in this world could move him.

Just like hunting demons and monsters, what does it have to do with him, a demon?

However, as a demon hunter raised by the Ji family’s teachings, she couldn’t ignore the suffering of the people. Whenever demons caused trouble and harmed the people, she could not stand by idly.

Yet whenever she was about to take action, he would be very displeased and would deal with things himself first. Ji Yu observed this and increasingly felt that this demon was not so bad after all, he seemed to be quite a good husband. 

Knowing Jiang Shiqiu would take action, Ji Yu didn’t resist further and quietly lay in bed, waiting for him to return.

However, she soon sensed something was wrong.

Ji Yu propped herself up slightly, looking towards the door, where water was seeping in through the crack, winding its way towards the bed as if it had a life of its own.

This scene overlapped with the one from her dream.

Ji Yu observed calmly, her fingers lightly brushing the golden beads tied to her wrist.

The winding water stopped half a yard in front of the bed.

The water was wriggling on the ground, as if it was exploring something.

Eventually, the water began to ripple, and then a green-faced water ghost, reeking of a fishy and slimy odor, emerged from the water.

Ji Yu’s gaze sharpened, and a yellow talisman appeared in her hand, which she quickly threw at the water ghost.

The water ghost, struck by the yellow talisman, let out a wail, covering the area hit by the talisman. It shrieked, “Ji clan girl, the curse is irreversible, you will—”

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open from the outside.

Jiang Shiqiu strode in, and countless black threads pierced through the water ghost’s wounded body. With another loud bang, the water ghost let out a shriek and vanished into green smoke, leaving a damp, wet water plants on the floor. The water plants quickly dried up.