Chapter 8

As night fell, Ning Wuxie, after eating the meal Qingfeng had brought, stayed in the side room of the Taoist temple and lit a candle.

Sitting by the square table, he read books. In his previous life, the reclusive Ning Wuxie had few friends and would read books every night. This was the first time he had read at night in this new world. In Ning Family Village, there were few opportunities to read at night. His family's financial situation was so dire that they couldn't even afford oil lamps, let alone candles.

Before long, Daoist Baiyun knocked on the door and entered. Ning Wuxie quickly stood up and greeted him.

Seeing Ning Wuxie reading by candlelight, Daoist Baiyun, who rarely nodded, did so now. He looked around the room, and a faint smile appeared on his stern, thin face. "It's good to study hard, but don't overwork yourself," he said.

"County exams are approaching, and I want to read more classics. I apologize for disturbing you, Daoist Master," Ning Wuxie replied with a smile, bowing in apology.

Ning Wuxie's clear eyes and friendly smile reduced Daoist Baiyun's suspicions. He nodded and said, "If that's the case, you may continue reading. I won't disturb you."

With that, Daoist Baiyun left the side room, closing the door behind him. He thought to himself, "Could I have misunderstood? Is he just temporarily possessed by a demon?"

After some thought, Daoist Baiyun took out a yellow paper talisman with red lines from his robe. He muttered some incantations, made a hand sign, and pointed at the talisman with his finger. The red lines on the talisman glowed faintly in blue.

When the blue light faded, Daoist Baiyun stuck the talisman on the door. Through the window, he could vaguely see the silhouette of a scholar sitting by the candle, swaying his head as if immersed in his books.

"With this talisman, if there's even a trace of demonic aura in the room, I will immediately sense it. I'll also have a disciple keep an eye on things. Nothing should go wrong. Zhang Qing will come tomorrow, so I need to prepare," he thought as he left the courtyard.

Inside the room, Ning Wuxie listened to Daoist Baiyun's footsteps gradually fade away. He let out a sigh. Although he didn't know what the talisman on the door was for, he knew it couldn't be good for him.

He wasn't sure if he was a demon. If not, everything would be fine. But what if he was? Would Daoist Baiyun kill him?

Better safe than sorry.

Having died once and finally found family, Ning Wuxie didn't want to die again. He took a piece of white paper cut into a human shape from under the bed and placed it on a chair. He then threaded a string through it and arranged it to look like someone reading. From outside, it would appear as a vague silhouette of a person reading.

This was the best plan Ning Wuxie could come up with, similar to the shadow puppetry in folk performances. The candle was the type used in front of the deity statues in the temple, which would last the whole night. Now, Ning Wuxie could only pray that no one would come in. If no one came, they wouldn't discover that it was just a piece of paper.

Feeling it was time, Ning Wuxie tiptoed to the wooden window and pushed it open. He had already observed that this was the back of the temple, and outside the window was a forest behind the temple. Opposite was a snowy mountain, where he could hide for the night.

The window was about two meters from the ground. In the past, Ning Wuxie would have struggled, but after drinking Daoist Baiyun's herbal soup, his body was much stronger. He easily leaped out of the window and landed softly on the snow, making no sound.

"If I keep drinking for another month, I might even become a martial arts expert," he thought, feeling the strength in his body. He was as light as a feather, and the snowy landscape made the distant, misty mountain and the shadowy trees look eerie.

Ning Wuxie quickly leaped over the three-foot-deep snow, like a rabbit hopping on the snow, and swiftly entered the forest, running toward the deep mountains.

"Huff, huff, huff... A mountain that looks close can be far. Damn, the mountain that looked like it was just a mile away is actually more than ten miles from the temple. I'm exhausted."

Ning Wuxie collapsed on the snow, panting heavily. Looking back at the path he had taken, he could see the small temple faintly at the end of the white, desolate road.

By now, a full moon had risen over the temple, indicating that he was heading west. Despite wearing only a thin robe, he didn't feel cold. Instead, a warm current flowed from his lower abdomen to his organs and limbs, a sensation he had experienced before when drinking the herbal soup. Clearly, the effects of the soup had not fully worn off.

"Better go a bit deeper and find a cave to hide in," he thought.

Although he was already more than ten miles from the temple, Ning Wuxie was still unsure if Daoist Baiyun would notice. Taoist magic was too mysterious, and it was better to be cautious and stay as far away as possible.

He broke a suitable branch from a tree and held it in his hand, carefully walking deeper into the mountains. In other seasons, Ning Wuxie wouldn't dare venture into the mountains, as they were home to many wild animals like tigers, leopards, bears, and wolves. His father, a hunter, made a living selling animal skins but never dared to go deep into the forest.

However, it was winter, and a recent snowfall had driven the animals to their dens. Even so, Ning Wuxie didn't dare to be careless. It would be too frustrating to die from wild animals after escaping Daoist Baiyun.

After a heart-pounding journey, Ning Wuxie finally found a cave. The entrance was small, and the cave wasn't deep. Moonlight shone in, illuminating a space about eight meters wide, with jagged rocks and the sound of dripping water.

Hiding in the cave, Ning Wuxie let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He leaned against the cold rock wall and couldn't help but curse, "Damn, what kind of fate is this? When others become demons, they are powerful and fearsome. I don't even know if I'm a demon, yet I have to hide and fear being exterminated."

"Xuanzang said that both humans and demons are born of mothers. The difference is that humans are born of human mothers, and demons are born of demon mothers. If I'm a demon, does that make me a half-demon?"

Thinking of the androgynous creatures from a certain country, Ning Wuxie shivered. "Ugh... or a demon-human?"

Lost in the dilemma of whether he was a "half-demon" or a "demon-human," time passed, and the moon rose to its zenith, nearing midnight, the time of the heaviest yin energy. A cold wind blew into the cave, making Ning Wuxie shiver.

Looking outside, he saw a large, round moon hanging in the sky, its bright light like a thin white veil gently swaying with the tree branches.

In his previous life, Ning Wuxie had seen the moon many times, but he had never found it so beautiful. The pale moonlight slowly condensed, forming a silver-white giant wolf that howled at the full moon.

"Awooo..."

In that moment, Ning Wuxie saw himself transform into a wolf, howling at the sky.