Chapter 715: Extra Chapter 4

(3)

At the turn of summer and autumn in the tenth year of Zhiyuan, at the village below the mountain, called Liu Family Village...

About a hundred households lived there, backed by the mountains covered in vegetation. On the branch of a large tree, a calico cat sat properly, gazing at the village below.

Another branch held Yan An, also facing the village, using the height to observe.

Meanwhile, in the village, the “expert” summoned from the immortal mountain to exorcise demons had just arrived. When the “expert” announced themselves, the villagers realized that the revered figure they had respectfully invited down from Yin-Yang Mountain was only a twelve-year-old girl.

Although she was just a child Daoist, her expression was serious, meticulous, and disciplined. Coming from Hidden Dragon Temple on Yin-Yang Mountain, the villagers considered her a real immortal. Some elders recalled seeing the mountain’s little immortal descend to exorcise demons in their youth, and it had always been effective. So, while the villagers were nervous, they dared not disrespect her.

In this era of chaos, with warlords and bandits everywhere, life was already difficult. And with demons and monsters harming people, it became all the harder to find any way to survive. They hoped the little immortal could exorcise the demons and restore peace to the village.

For a while, the villagers answered every question and tried to meet all her requests. Naturally, they tested her cautiously, and her answer was that this was her first time coming down the mountain to exorcise demons. Hearing this, their anxiety increased.

Up on the mountainside tree, the calico cat had a sore neck from keeping it raised as its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the scene below. It saw people moving, but heard no sound from them.

Lady Calico withdrew her gaze and tilted her head upward. “Yan An, you learned the ‘Shunfeng'er[1]’ technique. Can you hear what’s being said down there?”

“Of course I can.” Yan An lowered his head and met her gaze.

“What are they saying?”

“Just some miscellaneous talk.”

“What kind of miscellaneous talk?”

“All sorts of nonsense. It’s hard for me to repeat.”

“What kind of messy stuff?”

“They’re asking about the demon and choosing a location in the village. All according to what you taught. Earlier, Master said we could choose spells to learn, but you didn’t learn this yourself, otherwise you could hear it now.”

“Eavesdropping spells aren’t worth learning. Besides, your ears are already sharp,” said the calico cat. “Naturally, I will learn even stronger spells.”

“...”

“Fly down; don’t stay up there.”

“Why?”

“It’s tiring to talk to you while looking up.”

“

Flap flap flap

...” Yan An flew down, landing on the same branch but several chi away, at the very tip of it.

“Why are you standing so far away?”

“...”

“After all these years, why are you still so timid?”

“...After all these years, have you broken the habit of wanting to swipe at birds when you see them?”

“Mmm? I was just swatting at it.”

“...”

Yan An turned his head and continued looking forward.

At the edge of the village was an open space. The twelve-year-old girl walked among the villagers, directing them to carry numerous stones from the mountain and riverside, arranging them in specific positions according to a certain pattern.

It was the hot season, and everyone had been busy from afternoon until dusk before finishing.

The sun receded low in the sky, evening came early to the village, insects and birds fluttered in the night air, and as darkness fell, tiny fireflies appeared, dotting the landscape.

The girl reached into her pouch and took out a small homemade disc and several tiny triangular flags. One by one, she tossed them with precision into designated spots, some hidden in the grass, others easily planted into the soil, each emitting a faint spiritual glow before dimming again.

Once all discs and flags were placed, the lights flared briefly in unison, forming a subtle, mystical aura that rippled through the area before fading, leaving the scene calm.

“Little Jiang Han has learned diligence and caution from you, Lady Calico, so nothing will go wrong.”

“Yes!”

“Lady Calico, you might as well head back.”

“And you?”

“I’ll stay here.”

“You might as well go back.”

“And you?”

“I’ll stay here.”

“...”

“...”

The cat and the bird exchanged a glance and remained silent, then they continued watching. The formation was complete, waiting only for nightfall.

Meanwhile, the girl did not neglect herself. While there was still light, she borrowed firewood from villagers’ homes, sat by the edge of the open space, set up a pot, and calmly cooked herself a stew of preserved field rat meat with seasonings so rich they would astonish any villager. She even prepared a dipping sauce.

The cat and Yan An exchanged another glance.

When night fell and movement stirred in the mountains, she had already packed up everything and was sitting among the stones, pretending to be an ordinary, playful girl who hadn’t returned home.

Deep into the night, a demonic wind approached the mountain. Yet the demon seemed to sense something unusual. The wind lingered outside the village, reluctant to come closer.

Meanwhile, the girl remained unhurried, sleeping soundly among the stones. She was truly asleep, and deeply so.

Meanwhile, the calico cat and Yan An on the mountainside kept vigilant with their eyes wide. The demonic wind circled outside the stones and even through the village. By dawn, the cat and Yan An had grown drowsy, and the little girl began murmuring in her sleep. The demon could no longer contain itself and suddenly lunged into the stone pile.

In an instant, spiritual light erupted.

“

Buzz

!”

The moment the old demon stepped in, the spiritual formation activated, an invisible force trapping it.

Before it could panic, huge stones flew into motion, colliding from all directions—left, right, front, back. Each stone carried the weight of a small mountain, capable of breaking limbs or splattering blood on impact.

The demon tried to escape but could not, and it tried to dodge but there was no way out. Meanwhile, the girl remained asleep in the center, waking only briefly to rub her eyes with the back of her hand before squinting at the demon under the moonlight.

“

Roar

!” The old demon immediately realized it had fallen into her trap. It let out a roar, and charged toward her, desperate to seize the only way to break free. But as it stepped forward, the wind howled, and a massive stone smashed toward it with irresistible force.

“

Pff

!”

The old demon instantly spewed blood. Before it could react, another stone hurtled toward it.

“

Whoosh...

”

The wind shrieked sharply.

Out of the corner of her eye, the girl had already stood up, appearing dazed, scratching her head as she looked at the moon. Then she walked out calmly among the flying stones, seemingly knowing the pattern perfectly, stepping through without fear.

The demon tried to follow but was struck back by the flying stones after a single step.

Once the girl emerged from the stone formation, she turned and formed a hand seal.

“

Buzz

!”

Spiritual light surged from the ground. Tiny flags burst from the soil, glowing and rising into the air. The mystical energy of heaven and earth converged, forming a killing intent.

Yet another formation was formed.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“

Swish

!”

The old demon instantly turned into a spray of blood.

“She doesn’t even fight demons directly, doesn’t need combat spells!” said the calico cat, glancing at Yan An. “She must have learned from you!”

“Lady Calico... that’s not entirely right,” Yan An replied softly. “Little Jiang Han loves formations because of the rabbit trap you taught her. She was influenced by you, Lady Calico.”

“No, she learned from you!”

“She learned from you...”

At that moment, the little girl in the distant village turned her head and faintly looked in their direction. About half an hour later, the girl had reached the foot of the tree and looked up at them.

“Lady Calico and Daoist Elder Yan’an, you guys are watching over me because they’re worried about my safety, right?”

“...”

“...”

The cat and Yan An exchanged a glance.

“That’s nonsense! You’re so capable, how could I worry about your safety?” The cat tried to recall, “You know that I’m a cat who loves to watch exciting things. This is your first time going down the mountain to exorcise demons, and I wanted to follow along to see the action.”

“Lady Calico is right,” Yan An said. “Although we understand spells and can exorcise demons, we don’t know much about formations. We were curious to see how you would use formations to exorcise. And indeed, your approach is completely different from ours.”

“...”

The cat and the bird exchanged another glance.

Below, little Jiang Han looked up at them, suspicion flashing in her eyes.

What Lady Calico said wasn’t entirely reliable, but she had never been a lying cat. Plus, Daoist Elder Yan An’s words were highly trustworthy.

“Since it’s almost autumn and the grains this year ripened early, the villagers at the foot of the mountain have mostly harvested them. Many have saved some for us. And since we are heading down the mountain anyway, we came to check,” Yan An added, looking down at the baskets on the ground.

“Oh, that’s why.” Little Jiang Han finally stopped questioning and nodded.

Looking down, there were indeed three baskets and three sickles.

“Flap, flap, flap...”

Yan An flew down, taking human form.

“

Poof...

”

The calico cat suddenly burst into a puff of smoke, turned into a gust of wind that drifted down, and then took on human form.

“The Daoist priest said we need to finish cutting the grain at the foot of the mountain before returning,” she explained.

“And what about Master?”

“He’s lying on the mountain doing nothing.”

“That lazy Daoist!” little Jiang Han frowned. “He does nothing every day and only knows how to boss us around!”

“Let him do as he pleases! Let him!”

“Master has important matters of his own.”

“You...”

“...”

As they spoke, the three of them hoisted the baskets onto their backs and walked along the mountain village path.

The eastern sky was already brightening.

“Lady Calico.”

“What

meow

?”

“I think I’m almost as tall as you now.”

“Shut up!”

1. 顺风耳 (shùnfēng'ěr) literally means “Downwind Ear” or “Ear that hears with the wind.” It’s a figure from Chinese folklore and mythology, often appearing alongside 千里眼 (Qiānlǐyǎn, “Thousand-Mile Eye”). The two are attendants of the sea goddess 妈祖 (Mazu). 顺风耳 has the supernatural ability to hear sounds from great distances, as if the wind carries them straight to his ears. In a broader, figurative sense, the term is sometimes used to describe someone with exceptionally sharp hearing, or someone who always seems to know what’s going on (like having “ears everywhere”). ☜