Bathed in the gentle glow of the moonstone, Qi Huan clearly made out the outline of the dark figure's face and hurriedly got up to throw herself into his embrace.
"Li Shuchen, I had a terrible nightmare. It was all blood, all those people..."
"It's alright, I'm here."
Li Shuchen gently patted her back with one hand while tightly holding her to his chest with the other, his lustrous eyes filled with tenderness.
The night was cool as water, the chill biting.
Gradually, Qi Huan began to feel a bit cold. She pulled away from Li Shuchen's embrace and wrapped herself up tightly in the blanket like a caterpillar.
"Ashu, I'm feeling much better now. It's late, you should go back to sleep too."
"I'll wait until you've fallen asleep before I leave."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Li Shuchen grasped her delicate hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Go to sleep, I'll watch over you."
"Okay!... Good night, Ashu."
Qi Huan snuggled up to his cheek, giving him a light goodnight kiss, then quickly lay back down, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
The light, fluttering kiss and the warm, smooth sensation in his palm set Li Shuchen's heart aflame. However, the little girl who had so recklessly stoked the fire was now sleeping soundly.
With a deep, pensive gaze, Li Shuchen suppressed the surging restlessness and carefully tucked the blanket around her before going to take another bath.
When he emerged from the bathtub and dressed, Yan Wu and Yan Jiu entered the courtyard.
In the dimly lit hall, Yan Jiu respectfully reported, "My lord, as you commanded, I have had the bodies disposed of. Based on their weapons, they appear to be assassins from the Lingzhou region."
"Their purpose?"
"Unknown at this time."
"Keep investigating." Li Shuchen's face was as cold as ice, his eyes filled with malice and cruelty.
Even the incompetent ones in the capital would not hire third-rate assassins from Lingzhou to kill a martial arts expert like him.
That could only mean one thing - these people were after Ahuan.
And there were only a few people Ahuan had managed to offend.
After a moment's thought, Li Shuchen ordered, "Keep an eye on the Rong family."
"Yes, my lord."
*
While Yan Jiu was investigating the mastermind, a rumor began to spread feverishly through the city of Mo County.
"Have you heard? The manager of Qi's Restaurant, Manager Qi, is a demon!"
"A demon? What do you mean?"
"It's true, she's a demon. Think about it, when have we ever had tomatoes in the winter?"
"Just yesterday, I had tomato and egg fried rice at Qi's Restaurant."
"Tsk, you're such a fool, Wang Er. What I mean is, aside from Qi's Restaurant, who else can sell tomatoes in the winter?"
As Wang Er scratched his head, puzzled, another old woman chimed in, "That's right, it's strange. Besides a demon, who else can produce tomatoes out of season?"
"Now that you mention it, I remember when Miss Qin caused a ruckus, Miss Qi said their dishes were trade secrets that she wouldn't reveal. Could it be that she's using demonic powers to conjure them up?"
The crowd discussed animatedly, gathered in groups of three or five outside Qi's Restaurant. Normally bustling with patrons at this time of day, the restaurant's hall was now eerily empty.
The crowd grew larger and larger, even including the usually gambling-addicted Dong Geqiu, who was excitedly sharing his theories with the others.
At this moment, Xu Mingda, the accountant and manager of Qi's Restaurant, stepped out and announced in a loud voice, "Please, do not be misled by those with ulterior motives. Our manager Qi is a living, breathing person, the only daughter of Doctor Qi Yue. How could she possibly be a demon?"
"How is that impossible?" Dong Geqiu stepped forward, shouting, "When did Manager Qi suddenly become so prosperous? It was about a month after Doctor Qi and his wife were mauled to death by a wild beast that she began to gradually come into the public eye and start running all these businesses.
If you ask me, I think the Qi couple's deaths were no accident. It's quite possible that this demonic Qi was the one who manipulated a beast to kill them, and then took over their daughter's body to harm people.
Everyone, don't be fooled by this demon! If you're not careful, she might be the next one to target you.
Let's go report this to the county magistrate! We must burn this demon at the stake!"
After his speech, Dong Geqiu gestured for the dozen or so people scattered through the crowd to start stirring them up to go to the county yamen.
In the distance, a middle-aged man sitting in a teahouse watched the swelling crowd march towards the county yamen, a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Putting down his teacup, he spoke in a hoarse voice to the manager behind him, "They've handled this nicely. Dong Geqiu and the others' old debts to me have now been wiped clean."
*
Outside the county yamen, by the large drum.
Dong Geqiu picked up the drumstick and struck the red-lacquered, white-skin yamen drum several times, summoning the crowd.
Once inside the yamen, the crowd filled the entire courtyard.
Soon, Qi Huan was summoned by the county magistrate, Chen. Li Shuchen followed closely behind her.
As they approached, the crowd parted to make way, eyeing them warily.
"Demonic woman, kneel and be executed at once!" Dong Geqiu shouted, about to spit on Qi Huan, but was quickly cowed by Li Shuchen's piercing gaze and swallowed it back.
He turned to Chen the county magistrate and pleaded, "Your Excellency, please investigate. This demonic woman can produce tomatoes even in the dead of winter - it's highly suspicious. Who knows, maybe she's the one responsible for the deaths of Doctor Qi and his wife. I request that you order her to be burned at the stake."
Standing beside him, Qi Huan straightened her back and said calmly, "Your Excellency, I also wish to file a report against this man for slandering my name and attempting to harm my life."
She glanced at Dong Geqiu and warned, "You have no proof that I am a demon, but I have witnesses here who saw you try to slander and attack me. We shall see how this plays out."
Taken aback by her confident retort, Dong Geqiu felt helpless. The words he had spoken were what others had instructed him to say. He hadn't expected Qi Huan to so boldly and righteously refute him in front of everyone.
Thinking about the sizable debt he owed, Dong Geqiu steeled his neck and shouted defiantly, "Who's afraid of who? You're nothing but a demon!"
Sensing the growing tension between the two, Chen the county magistrate slammed his gavel and scolded, "Stop arguing! Let's hear this one by one. Dong Geqiu, you say Miss Qi is a demon - where's the proof?"
"Your Excellency, everyone can testify that her restaurant has tomatoes even in the winter. But how can there be tomatoes in winter? She must be using demonic powers to conjure them!"
Hearing this, Chen the county magistrate eyed Qi Huan suspiciously from head to toe, thinking to himself, "A demon? Does she even have the figure of one?"
Noticing his lingering gaze, Li Shuchen protectively positioned Qi Huan behind him, glaring coldly at the magistrate.
Chen the county magistrate jolted, clearing his throat uncomfortably before addressing Qi Huan, "Miss Qi, how do you explain this?"
"The matter of the tomatoes is a trade secret of Qi's Restaurant. If I were to reveal it, everyone would copy us and I wouldn't be able to make a living anymore. I've already explained this when we opened our noodle shop. I hope everyone won't fall for the malicious slander of those with ulterior motives and jump to baseless conclusions.
Furthermore, if I truly possessed demonic powers, why would I bother going through the trouble of conjuring vegetables? Wouldn't I simply materialize gold and silver instead?"
