Si Teng (Rattan) – CH 079

Chapter 79

Although Yan Furui felt Si Teng’s departure was a bit sudden, on second thought, it made sense. Not only that it made sense, but he also felt a huge sense of relief.

Miss Si Teng was a monster. Now that her business was done and they no longer needed her, of course she had to leave. She even remembered to say goodbye in a dream before leaving. How humane! One really couldn’t expect anything more from a monster.

Furthermore, leaving like this meant that Miss Si Teng had forgiven his master, Qiu Shan, and would no longer trouble Yan Furui. This was truly the perfect ending, except for that kid Wafang…

Yan Furui was half-joyed, half-sad. Thinking of Wafang’s sudden death at the hands of Red Umbrella, his eyes nearly blurred. Then he thought of Si Teng’s words. Actually, it would be better for him to return to Qingcheng Mountain. After all, he was unfamiliar with Hangzhou…

Suddenly, he heard Qin Fang ask him, “Where do you think Si Teng will go?”

Why was it still Si Teng, Si Teng? Miss Si Teng… It was all said and done. Even though he hadn’t read much, he knew that “止” meant “end”…

Qin Fang didn’t wait for his reply and continued, “Given Si Teng’s personality, it’s unlikely she’d just ignore Bai Ying. Do you think she didn’t look anymore because she thought she couldn’t find her, or because she already knew where Bai Ying was…?”

Yan Furui interrupted him, “Hey, hey, Qin Fang, that’s enough. Miss Si Teng and Miss Bai Ying are both monsters, monsters!”

He deliberately emphasized the word “monster.” Who knew Qin Fang was… Qin Fang glanced at him and suddenly blurted out, “Then I’m the descendant of a monster.”

Yan Furui was speechless. After a moment, he looked at Qin Fang curiously. “So what do you want? Are you still trying to get involved in monster affairs? That’s really strange. Who would give up their peaceful life to get involved in monster affairs?”

Qin Fang whispered, “I don’t think this matter is over.”

Yan Furui was furious. Why was Qin Fang’s mind a little muddled? “Of course it’s not over. Miss Si Teng might even duel with Miss Bai Ying, but I… We’re done here, and you can’t help, so why are you getting involved? Someone’s been told it’s over, yet he insists on meddling in other people’s business. What’s his mentality? Either he’s mentally ill, or…”

His eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at Qin Fang in disbelief. “Qin Fang, you’re not that kind of person, are you? Huh? You’re not thinking that, are you?”

Qin Fang angrily. “Which kind of person?”

Yan Furui’s mouth dropped open, thinking, “No, no, no, she’s a demon. Besides, there’s a generation gap and an age gap, right? But I heard on TV that there’s a kind of… maternal bond. Qin Fang’s must be… an ancestral bond…”

His expression was oddly moody, but Qin Fang paid no attention. He simply recalled the events of the previous night.

At the beginning, Si Teng had said she’d find Bai Ying immediately, and she went looking for her herself. After he told her about the car accident, she immediately said there was no need to look for her and wanted to return to the inn. Then, before dawn, she left…

In a flash, Qin Fang suddenly realized what was happening and blurted out, “I understand!”

Yan Furui was still absorbed in how to “tactfully” persuade Qin Fang that there was no happy ending for humans and demons. He initially considered using the example of the Legend of the White Snake, but then he remembered that on TV, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian’s son, Xu Shilin, even achieved top honors in the imperial examination. Wasn’t that a disguised encouragement for Qin Fang? No, no, no…

Just as he was thinking “No,” he was startled by Qin Fang’s sudden “I know.” He looked up blankly. “Huh?”

Qin Fang was a little excited: “If Si Teng had already made up her mind not to merge with Bai Ying, she would have had no reason to give Bai Ying half of her demonic power. Since she gave it to her, it means she had to give it to her. Do you remember that you said at the time that if you wanted to give it to someone else, don’t give it to Bai Ying; give it to anyone else? I guess she can’t give it to others, nor can she throw it away casually. Bai Ying is a carrier, and only monsters of the same kind as her can accept her demonic power.”

Yan Furui was confused and continued to wonder. “Huh?”

“Si Teng had to do five things, but the order of the last two was wrong. She should actually… They should have merged first and then taken the demonic power, but she did the opposite. Because Red Umbrella’s demonic power was full demonic power, her half-demon demonic bones couldn’t withstand it. There were only two ways to resolve this situation: merge with Bai Ying to form a full demonic skeleton, or split the two halves.

“At that time, Si Teng no longer wanted to merge with Bai Ying, but splitting up also had its risks. Considering Bai Ying’s personality and intelligence, Si Teng would have tried to subdue her immediately. But somehow, Bai Ying emerged from the lake before Si Teng. So, when Si Teng boarded the boat, she told us to find Bai Ying immediately.”

Yan Furui finally understood. He wanted to express his opinion, but he didn’t know how, so he could only listen in stunned silence.

“When I first met Si Teng, she was practically a skeleton wrapped in human skin. But after human blood was dripped in and the spikes were removed, she immediately reverted to human form—because Bai Ying had only bled her out, leaving her body intact. But Bai Ying couldn’t do that. She was killed by Qiu Shan, burned to the bone. The infusion of demonic power could only bring her back to life, but to live in the human world, she needs human skin! Yan Furui, Bai Ying seems to be trying to put on clothes, to enter a human body.”

Yan Furui’s face paled. “So, when she attacked you on the boat…”

Qin Fang nodded. “She had just come back to life and was terrified. Regardless of gender, she needed a skin to wrap her demonic bones in a human body. At that time, there was no one else nearby, except our boat and…”

Yan Furui felt a chill in his heart. “And that car that happened to be driving by and then got into an accident.”

The two men exchanged glances and fell silent.

After hearing about the car accident, Si Teng, uncharacteristically, demanded, “No need to look.” Was it because she’d guessed it, too?

******

Qin Fang spent the entire morning finally getting through to the person treating the injured from last night’s accident. The person’s response was, “I heard the car was badly damaged, but thankfully, no one was hurt. An adult and a small child were given simple bandages and released.”

Luckily, no one was hurt? The car was wrecked like a pile of scrap metal. When he left, he heard the little girl moan, but the woman driving the car remained silent. Even the rescuers said the woman’s injuries were worse. And yet, “just a simple bandage and released”?

Near dusk, Qin Fang finally got the family’s address and phone number, but out of caution, he didn’t call. As they drove off, Yan Furui sighed, “Qin Fang, let’s not go. If Miss Si Teng is there, she can always handle it. But if Miss Si Teng isn’t…”

If Si Teng wasn’t there, a head-on encounter with Bai Ying would be truly disastrous. She was inside that woman’s body. Yan Furui couldn’t even imagine that scenario.

Qin Fang felt mixed emotions, unable to articulate his motives. He consoled himself, “I just wanted to take a look, find out where Si Teng was, and know that my suspicions were correct.”

***

The household’s surname was Wan. They were well-off and lived in a fairly upscale neighborhood. Qin Fang drove up, and the security guard at the gate let him in without questioning him. The car stopped outside. As he opened the door and got out, Qin Fang suddenly hesitated: Would Si Teng be angry if he ran into her?

As he hesitated, someone called out from behind, “Mr. Qin?”

It was a well-mannered, middle-aged man carrying a large bag. He looked familiar, but Qin Fang couldn’t place it for a moment. Seeing Qin Fang’s confusion, the man reminded him, “We met last night. My wife had a car accident, and I want to thank Mr. Qin for calling the police right away.”

It turned out to be Mr. Wan, whom Qin Fang had met the previous night. They had only just met, but the situation was so chaotic that Qin Fang didn’t quite recognize him. It was a strange coincidence that they ran into each other.

Qin Fang quickly explained that he was visiting a friend but then asked, seemingly knowingly, “Are your wife and daughter okay?”

As he spoke, he casually glanced at the paper bag Mr. Wan was carrying. The gold-embossed logo on it marked the name of the well-known local brand, “Silk Rhythm.” Silk? Silk? Cheongsam?

Mr. Wan adjusted his glasses, a mixture of joy and worry. “Luckily, no one’s hurt. The car is a total loss. I don’t know if the insurance will cover it, but those are just personal possessions. As long as no one’s hurt, I’m glad.”

Was he really okay? Qin Fang’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively glanced upstairs. “So… they’ve both been discharged?”

Mr. Wan nodded, his concern barely concealed. “Yes, but with something this serious, I imagine there’s always some psychological repercussions… My wife’s been holding our daughter and watching TV since we got home. She doesn’t usually watch much… But it’s good to watch. Maybe she’s still nervous, and watching some entertainment can help soothe her nerves…”

At this point, something suddenly occurred to him. “Mr. Qin, if you’re free, would you like to come up and sit for a while?”

Before Qin Fang could say anything, he saw Yan Furui winking and puffing his cheeks. He paused for a moment, amused, before finding an excuse to decline Mr. Wan’s offer. As Mr. Wan entered, Yan Furui breathed a sigh of relief and grumbled, “Why are you hesitating? Of course you can’t go up there. It’s too dangerous. That’s Bai Ying.”

While watching TV, Mr. Wan bought bags of silk products, exactly like Si Teng before. Qin Fang suddenly thought, “If Bai Ying is harmful, shouldn’t I warn Mr. Wan that it’s dangerous for him and his daughter up there?”

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and looked down at Mr. Wan’s number. Yan Furui shouted at him, “Why are you reminding me? You’re saying that his wife is actually a monster? Will people believe you…”

He trailed off mid-sentence. Qin Fang looked up at him curiously. Qin Fang glanced over and noticed Yan Furui squinting his eyes and puffing out his cheeks again, tilting his head to the side and covering his face with his hands. He stared at him for a moment, truly puzzled. “Are you sick?”

Yan Furui was so anxious that he turned his head this way and that, unable to hide, and suddenly shouted behind Qin Fang, “I didn’t ask to come here. Qin Fang dragged me here!”