No demons in all realms

Chapter 22 The Strange Girl

Su Yang gripped his cane tightly. Uncle Jin had always treated him like family, but wasn't he the same way?

"Now even Uncle Jin is gone."

Su Yang took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in his heart. Uncle Jin was right; he had to walk his own path. He was already used to it.

The next morning, Su Yang, leaning on his bamboo cane, continued walking south.

He didn't know where he was going, but as Uncle Jin had said, the road is made by walking, not by thinking. Just keep walking, and you'll get to where you're meant to be.

This sounded very mysterious, but Su Yang believed it.

After walking for half a day, Su Yang finally found his way into a town.

This town is bigger than the previous one. The streets are bustling with people, and vendors selling vegetables, meat, and cloth are all crammed together, with the sounds of bargaining rising and falling.

Su Yang walked through the crowd with his bamboo cane. Occasionally someone would bump his shoulder or step on his heel, but he didn't get angry. He would just step aside to let them pass and continue walking.

As he was walking, his righteous spirit suddenly surged; someone was watching him.

Su Yang didn't turn his head; it didn't matter whether he turned or not, since he couldn't see it anyway. He simply slowed his pace, using his righteous energy to sense the gaze.

The gaze came from his left, not far away, about seven or eight steps away. There was no malice in the gaze, but rather a curiosity, tinged with surprise and confusion, as if it had seen something that shouldn't be there.

Su Yang ignored him and continued walking forward.

"Hey, little blind man!" A voice came from behind.

Su Yang paused in his steps.

He had lived for twenty-six years and had been called a blind man, a good-for-nothing, and an overconfident bookworm, but this was the first time he had ever heard the term "little blind man."

Moreover, the voice didn't sound like an adult's; it sounded more like a teenage girl's.

Su Yang didn't turn around, but continued walking forward.

"Hey, hey, where are you going? I'm calling you!" Footsteps followed from behind.

Su Yang felt a figure run up to him and block his way. He stopped, leaning on his bamboo cane, and waited for the other person to speak.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't you hear me calling you?"

Su Yang calmly replied, "I heard you."

"Why are you ignoring me even though you heard me?"

"Because you called him 'Little Blind Man'."

"Aren't you just the blind boy?"

"I am blind, but I am not small."

The man was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing, "Hahaha, you're really interesting!"

Su Yang stood on the street, and the person in front of him laughed so hard he could hardly breathe. After laughing, the person leaned closer to examine him closely, his gaze falling on Su Yang's face, on Su Yang's eyes covered with gauze, and on Su Yang's faded gray clothes.

"Where are you from?"

"Over there." Su Yang casually pointed behind him.

"Which way is that?"

"It's over there."

"Why is your speech so boring?"

"You just said I was interesting."

The man was taken aback by his retort, paused for two seconds, then laughed, "Alright, alright, you're interesting, you're the most interesting."

Su Yang had no idea what the girl wanted, so he stood still, tapping the ground with his bamboo cane, waiting for her to explain her purpose.

"What do you do for a living?" the girl asked again.

"School teacher".

"A teacher?" Her tone held a hint of surprise. "You're blind, how can you teach?"

"Teach with your mouth."

What do you teach?

"What do you want to learn?"

"Can I learn anything I want?"

"Anything is fine."

The girl laughed again, this time not loudly, but for a long time, as if she were savoring something amusing. "You're a really interesting person," she said. "I've never met anyone like you in my entire life."

Su Yang thought to himself, "You've never seen a blind person before, have you?"

"What's your name?" the girl asked.

"Su Yang".

"Su Yang..." She chewed on the two words in her mouth, "The name is not bad, but the person himself is a bit too long."

Su Yang didn't understand: "What do you mean by 'a little longer'?"

"You're just old. You look older than my dad."

Su Yang opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He's only twenty-three this year, but because he's suffered so much over the years, his face is weathered and he looks older than his actual age. But surely he doesn't look old enough to be someone's father?

"How old are you this year?" Su Yang asked.

"you guess."

"Thirteen?"

"wrong."

"fourteen?"

"No, no, that's not right."

"fifteen?"

"Why do you always assume the smallest size? Do I really look that small?"

"I can't see."

Su Yang thought to himself, "Judging from your tone of voice, you're at most fourteen or fifteen years old."

"I'm already twenty!" the girl said, her tone tinged with a hint of defiance.

Su Yang paused for a moment, then said, "I'm twenty-three, and you're only twenty. Don't you think it's inappropriate for you to call me 'Little Blind Man'?"

"Then what should I call you?"

"Call me Su Yang, or just call me Mr. Su like everyone else."

"Mr. Su?" The girl laughed again; she really loved to laugh. "You're not my husband, why should I call you 'Mr.'"

"Then call me Su Yang."

"Su Yang," the girl called out, then laughed, "No, no, the name Su Yang doesn't sound right. I'll just call you Little Blind Man."

"..." Su Yang felt he had never been so speechless in his life.

"You're so particular about how you address someone, are you usually very old-fashioned?"

Su Yang took a deep breath and told himself not to argue with a girl.

"What exactly do you want?"

"Nothing much, I just think you're quite interesting and I'd like to chat with you."

"I still have a long way to go."

Where are you going?

"have no idea."

"You don't even know where you're going, what are you rushing about for?"

Su Yang opened his mouth, but suddenly realized that he didn't know how to answer the question. Right, where was he going?

Uncle Jin is gone, and Guanghan Academy has already been built. He can't help Qian Jiuri now. He walks alone on the street with a bamboo cane, saying he's traveling thousands of miles, but he himself doesn't know where this road leads.

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, the girl leaned closer and asked, "Are you lost?"

"no."

"So where are you going?"

"I am traveling thousands of miles."

"What?"

"Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles. This is what the sages said."

The girl tilted her head and looked at him for a long time. "And what happened after you traveled ten thousand miles?"

Su Yang thought for a moment and said, "I haven't decided yet."

The girl laughed again, this time very softly, as if she were looking at a fool talking in his sleep.

"You're a strange person," she said. "Others travel to get somewhere, but you travel just to get somewhere."

Su Yang wanted to refute, but after thinking about it, he realized that what she said seemed to make sense.

"Then talk to me," the girl said. "I'm bored by myself."

"You're not a local?"

"No, I come from a very far place."

Are you alone?

"Um."

Su Yang frowned. A twenty-year-old girl traveling so far alone—she must be incredibly bold.

What are you doing here?

The girl paused for a moment, then her tone suddenly became somewhat hesitant: "I... I've come to find my relatives."

"What kind of marriage are you looking for?"

"My parents arranged a marriage for me when I was very young." The girl's voice trailed off, until it was almost inaudible. "I wanted to see what my fiancé looked like."

Su Yang was surprised to hear this.

"So, did you find it?"

"No." The girl sighed. "I only know that he is in a place called Wanjian Manor, but I don't know exactly where."

Su Yang gripped the bamboo cane tightly.

Wanjian Manor?

These four words were like a needle, piercing the softest part of his heart...