Chapter 118

Chapter 118

Chapter 118: Learning the Formation

When Cheng Yaoniang and her mother left the room, the courtyard was filled with layers of insect sounds, reminiscent of springtime. When they returned, the yard had become very quiet.

Only the continuous voice of Madam Cheng came through: “Even with a stomach ache, you stayed inside too long. Don’t you know what time it is? The two heroes are waiting for us. They originally had nothing to do with this, but out of kindness, they stayed behind. We’ve made them wait this long?”

Cheng Yaoniang: “Ah, Mother—”

Madam Cheng sighed: “And now you think I talk too much, right?”

Cheng Yaoniang pressed her lips together and said nothing.

She was a little annoyed, but not because of her mother’s words—it was the things she had just memorized.

Back in the room, she had worried that the two wandering heroes might be displeased with her long absence, but they hadn’t said a word. They simply glanced at her calmly and then looked away.

Cheng Yaoniang immediately said: “Mother, I’m so tired. Let’s just sleep.”

Madam Cheng didn’t seem fully in agreement, but Master Cheng said: “Sleep! I think the only time you give me peace of mind is when you’re asleep.”

Cheng Yaoniang: “……” She looked at her father somewhat unhappily, lightly “hmph”-ed, and returned to the bedside.

In this situation, there was no hope of lying down comfortably. Previously, she had rested by propping a pillow upright at the head of the bed and leaning her body against it.

Closing her eyes now, Cheng Yaoniang actually felt no fatigue at all. She only pretended to be asleep, while her mind kept repeating the instructions that “Song Lang” had given her.

“…It’s just a simple little formation,” he said. “See, first draw a circle on the outermost layer with this red sand, then the inner patterns. If you could remember such complicated embroidery patterns before, surely these won’t be a problem now, right?”

Cheng Yaoniang thought: “Right! No problem. If I can remember this, I can solve Song Lang’s worries.”

Thinking this, she estimated the time was just about right and suddenly opened her eyes.

She pretended to have “just woken up.” She didn’t speak immediately but was “surprised” to find something in her sleeve. Feeling around, she finally pulled out a palm-sized oiled-paper package.

Cheng Yaoniang’s eyes widened: “This is—Father, Mother, look! This is something Song Lang gave me!”

At this, the other four present all looked over.

Cheng Yaoniang gathered her courage and continued with the lines she had prepared: “I dreamed of Song Lang again… sob sob, he said that if he couldn’t be saved, the evil spirit would trace the path he used to ‘enter dreams’ to find me. By then, I’d probably have no escape. Song Lang can’t bear it—though he may not survive himself, he still makes time to help me.”

The other four present: “……”

Cheng Yaoniang: “……” Why is there no reaction?She was confused and anxious. But having spoken this far, she naturally had to continue.

The girl clenched her fingers into her palm, using the motion to give herself courage. Then she opened her mouth again and continued: “He taught me a formation, saying it could ward off the evil spirit for a while. He told me to draw it properly, and then I could hide inside it…”

Bai Zhengliu watched him with keen interest.

Cheng Yaoniang steeled herself: “I learned it in a dream. See, like this.”

She opened the oiled-paper package, revealing a pile of fine red powder.

The girl pinched some between her fingers, and a small cluster of red sand appeared at her fingertips.

Seeing this, Master Cheng and Madam Cheng, who had not spoken for a long time, finally reacted. But their gaze was not on their daughter—they looked at Bai and Mei instead, anxiety flashing across their faces.

Only when Bai and Mei nodded slightly to indicate, “That red sand is indeed harmless,” did the couple’s minds settle a little.

Yet their hearts ached even more.

How could their own child fail to distinguish right from wrong so badly?

The couple was troubled, while Cheng Yaoniang remained focused on drawing the formation. Indeed, as the red sand gathered into a circle, Bai and Mei noticed a flow of “energy” within it.

It wasn’t spiritual energy, nor was it yin energy. If he had to describe it, Bai Zhengliu thought of flowing water, air… and the murderous aura that had erupted from his blade when he struck down the Twenty-Eight Generals.

Now he truly found it interesting. When the girl finished indicating the formation, she hesitated to look up, and saw Bai Zhengliu squatting beside her, lightly touching the red sand on the ground.

—No reaction.

He lowered his eyes, rubbing the red sand with his fingers, lips moving as if softly chanting something. Gradually, a little spiritual energy emerged, causing the red sand to float and sway…

The swordsman shook his head slightly, put his hand down, and spoke to Cheng Yaoniang: “If this really works against the evil spirit, Mei and I can leave Jingzhou City without worry and go find your ‘Song Lang.’”

At this, the three members of the Cheng family held their breath. Two with worry, one with hope.

Meanwhile, Mei Yinghan subtly raised an eyebrow, thoughtfully watching the remnants of red sand at Bai Zhengliu’s fingertips, saying nothing.

“…But,” Bai Zhengliu spoke with some frustration, “where are we supposed to find the ‘evil spirit’? We can’t exactly ask the young lady to close her eyes and dream again, gambling on whether the evil spirit will show up here like last night.”

Cheng Yaoniang: “……”

She knew it was impossible. But with Song Lang in mortal danger, her heart burned with anxiety—could she just say, “Then we wait”?The girl bit her lower lip, thinking for a long while, until a spark of inspiration lit up in her mind.

“Didn’t you say before that when the evil spirit came, it tainted your jade token? The residue left on it isn’t the evil spirit’s aura?” Cheng Yaoniang said. “Where is that token now? If we use it to test, wouldn’t that settle things?”

Bai Zhengliu: “Oh?” He raised a hand and clapped slowly toward the girl’s direction. His movements were calm and deliberate, which made her heart both anxious and excited. “Right! I completely forgot about that. But the young lady of the Cheng family is perceptive—let’s do it that way.”

Cheng Yaoniang exhaled a long breath.

“By the way,” Bai Zhengliu asked, “you said earlier, where exactly is Song Lang now?”

Cheng Yaoniang immediately answered: “Southeast! You head out from the east of the city, follow the main road, and ride fast. After a few days, you’ll meet Song Lang.”

Bai Zhengliu: “But he’s hiding everywhere…”

Cheng Yaoniang: “He’ll be able to find you—like this! You take fireworks and set them off once every night to signal Song Lang. I’ve also told him to prepare fireworks on his side.”

Bai Zhengliu smiled: “That works perfectly.”

…

The Cheng couple hadn’t expected that Bai and Mei actually intended to leave.

Hearing this, the worry and anxiety on their faces was impossible to hide. Their daughter tried to persuade them, saying, “Didn’t I say that with the formation, our family will be safe?” But it was useless—they could only watch helplessly as their parents continued speaking to the two martial travelers, each word a plea.

“If you two leave, and that evil thing comes again, our whole family will be powerless.”

“Yes, two heroes!”

Cheng Yaoniang listened and couldn’t help but sigh.

They had come this far, and her parents still didn’t believe her?

She felt both upset and aggrieved. What was even harder to believe was that the two martial travelers, saying the same thing, caused a real change in attitude.

Bai Zhengliu: “Haven’t we tried it before? When the jade token touched the formation, it turned to dust immediately. This shows the formation really works—you can be at ease.”

Mei Yinghan: “We thought about it too. If the matter really is ‘the evil spirit kills Song Lang, Cheng Yaoniang’s soul will also be affected,’ then we must go. This journey will certainly be dangerous, so both of us need to go…”

Bai Zhengliu: “Besides the red-sand formation Song Lang gave, there are the spiritual stones we left. Though they weren’t made into a token, these fragments serve the same purpose. Do you remember? The day the evil spirit came to disturb, it paid a huge price just to take Yaoniang away. Now, if it comes again, I want to see if it can pay the same price.”

Master Cheng and Madam Cheng: “……”By this point, what else could they do?

They could only look at their daughter with a mix of frustration and helplessness, resigning themselves to the fact that the two martial travelers would be leaving for several days.

They wholeheartedly hoped the travelers would soon slay the “evil spirit” and return home. Yet they did not know that at the same time, their daughter’s heart was also filled with anticipation—but for something entirely different from what they hoped.

“Little insects, little insects, sing quickly,” Cheng Yaoniang thought. “Once you sing, I’ll know Song Lang has come to find me.”

This was the custom between her and Song Lang in her dreams. Whenever she entered a dream, she would open her eyes again in the room. At that moment, once she heard the chirping outside, Cheng Yaoniang knew it was her lover coming to see her.

“When I see Song Lang,” she held her chin, lost in her infatuation, “I will tell him that the two martial travelers are already on their way to find him! Song Lang is already very capable, that’s why he’s been able to escape the evil spirit for so long. The two martial travelers… well, though they act all showy, they really do have some skill. With the three of them together, they’ll definitely be able to slay the evil spirit.

“When that happens, won’t Song Lang come back with the martial travelers? Ah, that’s right—he came to Jingzhou City to propose to me.”

Cheng Yaoniang’s heartbeat suddenly quickened. The rush of youthful emotion brought joy, tinged with shyness, and she exclaimed, “Mother, when Song Lang comes to our home to propose…”

Master Cheng and Madam Cheng: “……” They silently decided that from now on, if any opera troupe came to perform at their home, they would make time beforehand to review the scripts themselves, ensuring nothing inside could make their daughter think of her own situation before letting anyone in.

As for now.

The couple touched the remaining spiritual stones and let out a long sigh together.

At the same time, outside the Cheng residence.

Bai Zhengliu opened his palm, revealing an oiled paper package slightly smaller than Cheng Yaoniang’s.

Opening it, inside was a cluster of red sand.

Author’s note:

Second update~