No demons in all realms

Chapter 23 The Girl Searching for Her Relatives

"What's wrong with you?" The girl noticed his unusual behavior.

"Nothing much," Su Yang said calmly. "Go on."

"There's nothing more to say, that's all I know," the girl said. "I don't even know my fiancé's name, all I know is that he's at Wanjian Manor."

She paused, then suddenly leaned closer and asked, "You said you're a schoolteacher, so you must have read many books and traveled to many places, right? Do you know where Wanjian Manor is?"

Su Yang remained silent.

Of course he knew; he could figure out the way even with his eyes closed.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" The girl waved her hand in front of him.

Su Yang snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and said, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" The girl's tone was clearly disbelieving. "Your expression just now clearly showed that you knew."

"I really don't know."

"You're definitely lying."

"I'm blind, I don't know the way."

"You're lying." The girl's voice was very certain. "Not only do you know it, you're also very familiar with that place. When you heard the words 'Ten Thousand Swords Manor' just now, the strength in your grip on your bamboo cane increased."

Su Yang's heart skipped a beat.

He forgot that although the girl spoke in a rambling manner, she had excellent observation skills.

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't take you," Su Yang said.

Why?

"No reason."

"You must have a reason," the girl persisted. "Do you have a grudge against that villa? Or do you owe them money?"

Su Yang did not answer.

"Oh, please take me with you." The girl's tone suddenly softened, with a hint of coquetry. "What if I run into bad people all by myself in an unfamiliar place? I'm just a girl, I can't even kill a chicken. If I get bullied, how can you live with yourself?"

"What does this have to do with me? Go home," Su Yang said.

"I don't want to," the girl said. "I've come all this way, and I'm not going back until I find that guy."

"You don't even know his name, how are you going to find him?"

"Once I get there, I'm sure I'll find it!"

Su Yang took a deep breath; he felt he couldn't waste any more time with this girl.

"Why don't you ask someone else for directions?"

He leaned on his bamboo cane, walked around the girl in front of him, and continued walking forward.

After walking seven or eight steps, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me.

"Why are you following me?" Su Yang stopped in his tracks.

"If you don't take me, I won't go." The girl's voice came from behind, with a hint of smugness. "Anyway, I don't have anything else to do, so I'll go wherever you go."

"I'm blind."

"I know."

I walk very slowly.

"I have plenty of time."

"I have no money on me."

"I have money, I'll treat you to the best of everything."

"..."

Su Yang found himself speechless when talking to her.

"Aren't you afraid I'll sell you off?" Su Yang asked.

"You?" The girl chuckled. "You can't even take care of yourself, and you want to sell me?"

Su Yang opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't refute it. He continued walking with his bamboo cane, and the girl continued to follow behind.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Su Yang stopped, turned around, and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

The girl stopped, tilted her head, and looked at him with a hint of seriousness in her voice.

"I just think you're a really interesting person, and I want to travel with you." She paused, "Anyway, I'm alone, and you're alone too, so two people are always better than one, right?"

Su Yang remained silent for a long time.

It wasn't that he didn't want companionship; he had been alone for too long these past years. In Qingniu Village for ten years, he was surrounded by students and villagers, but there were very few he could truly talk to. Uncle Jin was one of them, but Uncle Jin is gone too.

It wasn't because he was afraid of trouble, but because he was afraid of something going wrong. He was blind, and he could barely even stop a bully with some skill. If they encountered any danger on the road, he wouldn't be able to protect the people behind him.

"It's dangerous for me to follow you," Su Yang said.

How dangerous is it?

"You might even lose your life."

The girl paused for a moment.

Su Yang thought she was scared and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly heard her say, "That's perfect. Life is meaningless, so let's just die."

Su Yang almost choked on his own saliva.

Who exactly is this girl?

"Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"I'm scared," the girl said, "but I feel that if I go with you, I won't die too quickly."

Su Yang realized he couldn't reason with her, so he turned around and continued walking forward, with the girl following him.

After walking a few steps, the girl suddenly ran up to him and grabbed his sleeve.

"Take me to Wanjian Manor," she said. "I really just want to see what my fiancé looks like. I'll leave as soon as I see him and I won't bother him."

"Why are you fixated on me? Can't you find someone else to take you?"

"You just happen to be going that way."

"Who told you I was going that way? I don't even know where I'm going."

"If you don't know where to go, anywhere is fine, even Wanjian Manor is fine."

Su Yang opened his mouth, only to find that the girl's logic was impenetrable.

"I really don't want to go to Wanjian Manor," Su Yang said in a low voice.

Why?

Su Yang did not answer.

The girl glanced at him and suddenly said, "Do you have some bad memories from over there?"

Su Yang tapped his fingers lightly twice on the bamboo cane.

"If you don't want to tell me, then don't," the girl said, "but you at least have to tell me why you don't want to go, right?"

Su Yang remained silent for a long time.

"I've been there," he said.

"and then?"

"Then he left."

"Why aren't you going back?"

Su Yang ignored her and walked forward with his bamboo cane. He walked for about an hour, and the girl followed him for the same hour.

He stopped to drink water, and she stopped to drink water too. He sat down to rest, and she sat down to rest too. He stood up and continued walking, and she stood up and continued walking too.

The two of them stood one in front of the other, one silent and the other chattering away.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" the girl asked.

"There's not much to say."

"You're so boring. Are you like this when you're teaching?"

"He was very talkative when he was a man."

"Then why don't you become my husband? Then I won't bother you anymore, right?"

"You're not here to study."

"Who says I'm not? I've loved reading since I was little, but my dad wouldn't let me. He said a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, which infuriated me."

Su Yang's heart skipped a beat when he heard those words.

"You want to study?"

"I want to, but there's no one to teach me."

Su Yang was silent for a moment, then took out a token from his bundle and handed it over.

"Take it."

"What is this?" The girl took it and examined it from all angles.

"Your academic credentials from Guanghan Academy. Take this to Qingniu Village and find one of my disciples; they will teach you."

"Didn't you say you weren't taking me?" Her voice suddenly softened.

"I didn't take you. I told you to go by yourself."

"But I don't know the way."

"Anyone you ask in Qingzhou will know where Qingniu Village is."

The girl held the sign in her hand and remained silent for a long time.

Su Yang stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and continued walking south.

There were no footsteps behind me.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt like something was missing.

Just as I was about to take a step, I suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps behind me.

"How can you treat me like this!" The girl ran up and grabbed his sleeve. "I'm a grown person, and you're just going to dismiss me like this?"

"I didn't send you away; I sent you to study."

"But I want to go to Wanjian Manor."

"Then you go to Ten Thousand Swords Manor, I can't go."

"Why can't we go?"

"Because I don't want to go."

"If you're not going, I'll go myself. Just tell me how to get there."

"Head south for about 1,200 kilometers, cross the Canglan River, and then it's about 20 more kilometers away."

"I don't know how to navigate!"

Su Yang took a deep breath, feeling that he must have owed this girl something in his past life.

"What exactly do you want?" Su Yang asked.

"Take me there," the girl said. "When we get to Wanjian Manor, you don't have to go in if you don't want to. You can just wait for me outside, okay? I'll just go in for a quick look, and then I'll come out and come with you."

"Come with me? Where are you going?"

"I'll go wherever you go," the girl said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, I have nowhere else to go."

Su Yang rubbed his temples.

In his twenty-six years of life, he had never met such a difficult person.

"Aren't you afraid your parents will worry?" Su Yang asked.

"My dad?" The girl chuckled. "He's busy, he doesn't have time for me."

Where is your mother?

The girl paused for a moment, then her voice suddenly softened: "I have no mother."

Su Yang tapped his fingers twice on the bamboo cane, then stopped talking and sighed inwardly.

Forget it.

He turned around and took a step toward the northeast.

"Let's go."

"Where to?" The girl didn't understand.

"Ten Thousand Swords Manor".

"Really?" The girl's voice lit up immediately. "You're willing to take me with you?"

"I don't want to."

"Then why did you tell me to leave?"

"Because you don't know your direction."

The girl paused for a moment, then burst out laughing, bending over with laughter.

"You really are something!" she said with a laugh. "You promised to take me, but you still have to be so sarcastic."

Su Yang didn't laugh, and walked forward, leaning on his bamboo cane.

"Slow down!" the girl called after him. "Your legs are longer than mine!"

Su Yang slowed his pace.

"Oh, right." The girl walked up to him and walked alongside him, "What's your name again?"

"Su Yang".

"Su Yang." The girl nodded. "My name is... um... Ye Qing."

"You don't need to tell me."

Su Yang inwardly complained that he had hesitated for so long over his own name, but he could just use a pseudonym at a glance.

Why?

"Once we reach Wanjian Manor and you find your fiancé, we'll go our separate ways. It doesn't matter if you know his name or not."

The girl was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Fine, whatever you say. You just don't want to have anything to do with me, right?"

Su Yang did not answer.

The two walked one after the other, through the town, onto the main road, and slowly headed northeast.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the girl suddenly said, "You're a really interesting person."

Su Yang did not respond.

"You get upset when I call you Little Blind Man, you don't respond when I call you Mr. Su, and you complain that I'm too casual when I call you Su Yang."

Su Yang still didn't respond.

"So what should I call you from now on?"

Su Yang thought for a moment and said, "Whatever."

"Whatever?" The girl smiled. "Then I'll call you whatever from now on."

"Whatever."

"Look, look, you're here again!" The girl laughed even harder.

Su Yang's lips curled up slightly, but he quickly suppressed it again.