Flower Demon’s Inn

Shao Zi researched thirteen ways to kick Scholar out, but when she was eagerly waiting to take action, Xin niang patted her shoulder, and earnestly said, “Gramps has gone back to his hometown. If you scared him off, this inn will have no one to look after it right?”

Such statement awakens Shao Zi, and she becomes more sullen.

A night as cold as water, Shao Zi sits on the roof under the moonlight and absorbs the essences of heaven and earth. That year she was cultivating in the mountains, and was scooped up by the old innkeeper who planted her in the yard. In a blink of an eye it has been five years. She is already part of Tong Fu inn so how can she let the inn decline.

“This won’t do!” Finished thinking, Shao Zi stood up. The wind blew the flaps of her sleeves, a beauty that confused others. She gripped her hands tightly, and firmly said, “I shall replace Gramps in protecting this inn!”

Plump gourd yawned, “Boss, weren’t you always protecting it though?”

“This time it’s different. Before there were little demon kids causing trouble and I would kick them out at night. But during the day I cannot do anything. Look at that stupid Scholar watering plants during noon, his head clearly lacks a couple of nerves [crazy]. Tomorrow re-opening will definitely be a mess. ”

Rhododendron asked, “Boss, what are you going to do then?”

Shao Zi laughs haha twice, and lifts her legs to take a step. When her legs touched the ground, she has transformed into a charming young woman with no powder and paint (no makeup). Her clothes are white, and her hair is lightly pulled up. Briefly looking over, she looks like a female next-door neighbor, “I am going to apply as a waiter!”

“…”

The sun hung three levels. Shao Zi has almost become a dried-up peony at the door, yet Scholar has not opened it. She fans herself with her sleeves, and the surrounding raging heat surged up violently. She has waited for half a shi chen (a hour), and almost wanted to jump in Scholar’s room and pulp his face. She sat on the stone steps in the front, was extremely bored, and so she drew circles on the dirt.

Suddenly the bright sunlight was covered, and she looked up to see that the person shielding the light -swallows- was actually that stupid Scholar. Why did he come through the front door? Don’t tell me he didn’t return from last night? But if he went out, then how come I cannot sense it?

Shao Zi’s face rapidly wrinkled like a dumpling. This guy at night was not guarding the inn! If thieves came in and stole things then what’s to be done, really is unreliable.

Scholar smiled, “Lady is here to stay or eat? Or is it to rest??”

Shao Zi brushed her bottom and stood up to correct him, “Inn jargon should be ‘return to stay at inn or stop for a snack’. Otherwise people will scold that you are amateur, a person who does not pay for meal, and runs away midway. Also I have come to apply for waiter. ”

When she finished, she raised up a red paper from her hand.

Scholar smiled and asked, “Do you eat much?”

Shao Zi scratched her head, “Not much, only one bowl per meal.”

Scholar happily nodded, “Okay, will accept you.”

Shao Zi was dumbfounded, it’s that simple? Last night she took the whole inn internal rules and memorizes them. In addition, she and Rhododendron jiejie specially learned the eighteen recipes to the point of troubling ah!

With the main door of the inn opened, Scholar sat peacefully at the cashier reading a book. Shao Zi stood for a while, and asked, “Today is not the opening day?”

Scholar nodded, “Isn’t this already opening?”

“… No setting off the firecrackers, no hiring the dancing lions to celebrate??”

Scholar touched his chin, and shook his head, “Too much trouble!”

Shao Zi’s mouth twitched. Well, he is not only a stupid Scholar, he is also a lazy Scholar. Shao Zi deeply despairs, and silently clenched her fists. This inn really is up to her to protect!

“Ah, yes, I still do not know your name.”

“Call me Shao Zi.”

The inn has been opened for half a day, but no one had come. Because the chef was the old innkeeper, old customers would come to the door. What they see was not the old innkeeper, but a young man and will know at glance that the inn is no longer the same as before. Naturally when eating the taste would not be the same (original) as before, and so old customers would promptly back out.

Very sad, Shao Zi lies down on the table and drifts off in sleep. In the past everything was great. Even though it was not full, but at least people still came into the inn.

In a drowsy state she heard someone went in. Her nose sniffs and she almost jumped up. The garment on her rolled downward, and she looked below, this long gown (chang shan) is that of a man’s. Smelling it in one breath, she could not help frown: when did Scholar drape his garment over her? How come she did not feel it… cannot think too much, and so she looked outside to see a young woman coming in who said in gloomy voice, “Is there any vacant room left?”

Scholar smiled and said, “There is. Shao Zi take the guest to Tian (Heaven) room.”

Shao Zi paused, fixed her voice and said, “Lady, please come with me.”

The woman bowed her head in response, and followed her upstairs into Tian room. Shao Zi backs out. She felt that the room was rather cold and gloomy, thus she was pensive.

Ivy clumps the eaves with a flash of greenish-blue, coils around a pillar, and finally pats Shao Zi’s shoulders from behind while poking the back of her neck. Shao Zi did not turn her head and said, “Pa Pa stop moving around.”

In a moment’s time, that ivy has turned into a human, and jumped clattering down. A young boy wearing green robes, he probed around, and then immediately ran up beside Shao Zi, “Shao Zi jiejie, I have something urgent.”

“Wait.” Shao Zi folded her hands in front of her chest, ten fingers wrapped around each other, and her mouth lightly chanted a spell. Within a moment the whole corridor is covered with faint, white rays. Satisfied, she clapped her hands and said, “It’s best to obediently stay. Otherwise malice energy releases out, and right away awaits an inescapable net* to catch you. ”

* tianluodiw.a.n.g: 天tiān(sky/heaven)罗luó(to catch) dì(earth/ground/land)网wǎng(net) A trick/method of subduing enemies to prevent them from escaping.

“Shao Zi, I really have something urgent.”

“Say it.”

“Just now Scholar is carrying water.”

“Ah ah ah ah! That fool!” Shao Zi’s face drew into a black line, she hold him and jump up to the roof. She took a look at the yard, and is exactly when Scholar carries out half a bucket of water. She bent over and quickly jumped into the flowerbeds. She threw the ivy up and it immediately clung to the walls.

Scholar bends to scoop a ladle of water, paused for a bit, then said to himself, “Seems like something else is here.” Then he splashed the water at them. Although this time he held the bucket tightly, but the water still plops incessantly into the demon group’s face(s). There is no good sensation of watering or the beautiful and graceful lines of dripping water droplets running down. His mouth shouts, “Let’s eat!”

**Dinner is served! Let’s drink!

The splashing water mixed with the mercilessly hot sunlight crushed Shao Zi’s face and caused her face to blush red. She nearly turned into a human to grab this stupid person and beat him up a hundred times.

The demons immediately hugged each other and cried.

“My stomach hurts…”

“I finally know what a violent temper is like…”

“Boss, you should still kill him! Wu, wu, wu. *”      * Weeping sounds.

Shao Zi looks up at the sky. Counting a man’s life expectancy, they’ll have to endure Scholar torturing them for eighty more years ah. Scholar’s face expresses across that he didn’t water too shabby, and when the flowerbeds lament, he left.

Xin niang shook off the water drops, and asked, “Just before was there demon qi (energy) entering the inn?”

Shao Zi replied, “Just a female ghost, nothing to fear.”

She is a flower demon with three hundred years of cultivation, and is also a peony flower sprite with innate cultivation power being quite high and her wits high as well. Although said to have three hundred years of cultivation, but in actuality Shao Zi must have seven or eight hundred years of magical powers/cultivation, and so a small demon cannot do anything to her.

The thing is that for the past few days the ghost has been very law-abiding (doing nothing and content with one’s situation), and occasionally would go out. When she comes back she does not eat, even Scholar does not bother to ask her. Shao Zi secretly grew angry. If he was willing to do business, then he should have asked the customer if they wanted to eat anything to be considered okay.

Shao Zi feels day by day she certainly has more and more grievances of Scholar … sooner or later she’ll be tempted to hit him into pieces…

After a few days, customers would occasionally come. Majority of the time Shao Zi cooks and occasionally drags Rhododendron into the kitchen. Gradually previous customers poured in. Shao Zi was quite pleased.

That night after she cleaned the rooms and was ready to return to the yard, she pa.s.ses by the Tian (Heaven) room and felt that something is wrong. She pressed her ears against the wall. Inside there’s not a single breathing sound of the female ghost anywhere. Behind it there’s cold demon qi, and she shuddered from the cold. She probed from the direction of the fence and up to the inn’s roof that’s filled with malice energy. Dark clouds overhead, and resentful energy heavily weighs.

Shao Zi hurriedly turned around, pressed her fingertips onto the floor, and suddenly became stupefied. How did the inescapable net that she set broke? Lifted her hand to open the heavenly eye (third eye)* and saw that the net has been broken starting from the end of the corridor with what seems to be dry chicken blood.

* It’s a magical ability/power that lets one see a certain destination (brings “clarity”).

The door creaks open, Scholar waves up a featherless chicken in his hands, and looks around. He saw Shao Zi and laughed, “You came at the right time. I am unfamiliar with this chicken. Chop it or keep it alive, will you help me cook it?”

Shao Zi’s fl.u.s.tered and exasperated [said], “Cook you the arrogant idler then!”

“…”

Finished speaking, she immediately turned around and ran down the stairs. She jumped down, turned into her flower demon form, stepped on the quiet air of the night, and flew through the main door of the inn and soar into the sky.

Shao Zi watches attentively at the black haze of the outback, and said in a low voice, “Little ghost dares to come here and cause trouble, quickly leave. If not, do not blame me for causing your soul to fly away and disappear.”

A woman emerged from the dark clouds, [and in a] gentle voice with not a half trace of animus [said], “I’m waiting for someone, I will go once that person appears.”

Shao Zi said, “You want to wait then wait. Do not bring forth a group of clouds with demon energy from the roof. Otherwise the yang energy of the mortals will be completely sucked up.”

The ghost shook her head and firmly said, “No, if he does not see that this place has demon energy, he will not come.” A bit later [she] said, “He is a Daoist priest. One time he lost [a battle] and a ghost seized more than half of his soul. But that ghost could not seize the other half of his soul. That other half remembered that he is a man who subdued ghosts. If he lost this other half, his memory will be gone and he will die. ”

Shao Zi felt angry and also lamentable, “Thus you let him constantly catch you, and help his unwholesome soul remain here?”

The ghost shook her head, “No. Even though [he] remembers clearly, [he] will slowly forget. I have appeared in front of him for three hundred and ninety seven time. Not long after a few days, he will forget that he has caught me.”

Shao Zi paused, “What you meant is that he does not remembered catching you before. While you cannot bear to see him dead thus you appeared in front of him and reminded him that he is a Daoist priest in order to help him live?

“Yes.”

“But he will not remember you.”

The female ghost paused for a bit. A smile blossoms suddenly on her pale face, “So what? I remembered him is already good enough.”

Shao Zi was stunned for a moment. No matter what is done the other person will not remember me. No matter how many things there are the other person will only see me as a ghost. What is the significance for doing so… she cannot understand.

Scholar sits on the narrow and long fence. He leans slightly to the woman in white from afar and closed his eyes. Finally, he looks at the chicken in his hands, and exclaimed, “Still a bit too tender and green.”

Finished speaking, [he] threw the chicken up to the sky. Within the twinkling of an eye, it turned into a wisp of smoke, and dissipated between the heaven and earth.