Flower Demon’s Inn Chapter 7

Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Why is Shao Zi called Shao Zi?

Shao Zi held face as she squatted down on the ground in pain to the point of her whole spray (sprig of a plant with blossoms) shaking. If it was only a little ordinary demon then would have its four legs facing the sky (idiom). It’s fortunate that she is has excellent powers! She angrily turned her head up to look and saw that jerk was about to enter her room. Chanted spell, a long vine sprouted and wrapped tightly around his two feet. After tossing once, it changed the wrapping direction. Translations belong to Chocolate Cosmos

The waiter was surprised and cried in fright. He only saw a lady standing in the front, was nevertheless pulled away from the ground, and went higher up each time until he was on the same level with her face. He was so scared with threatening screams, “Ghost ah, ghost!”

Shao Zi laughed jokingly and widen eyes to see those bandits from outside of the window. She saw that they were about to run, and the slender finger swept. The long vines in bulk flew up and tied everything. Immediately rang wails like ghosts and howls like wolves in the entire room. She clapped and jumped into the room. She untied the two people, male and female. She waved once and erased the memory of what had happened before. Hand moved as it carried them to a place close to the inn and when they woke up they can return [home]. When she came back to the killing and robbing inn*, she saw seven to eight bandits tied together in one place and were biting the green vine. They bit until the mouths were filled with water and when they saw Shao Zi, [they] immediately became quiet as sheets and did not dare move.

*黑店hēi diàn – literally meant an inn killing and robbing guests

Shao Zi pulled the chair beside and snorted coldly, “Want to rob this lady, was about to sell me off to a brothel– you guys really eat hearts while with leopard livers.**”

** Attempt risky situations with large confidence

One person immediately cried, “Ghostly lady, spare us please. We only wanted to find a mean of living. Life is hard. Has no alternative ah.”

Shao Zi glanced at the round, filled with fat, stomach of his. Such words coming from his mouth did not have a single bit of convincing, “Sc.u.ms like you lot should be handled by the official to avoid causing troubles for others.”

They would not obediently listen to this suggestion and were about to run away as they stood up. Shao Zi waved hand once and the green vine tied the bandits into a bunch [package]. She carried them on the back and walked toward the government building.

Under the faintly discernable night scene, Scholar stood on the fence, and saw Shao Zi carrying a large green bundle, “Still like to become involved with others’ matters jut like in the past.”

When mutterings finished, the wooden board under the feet suddenly shook lightly and only a bit after, was shaking strongly like a dragon awaken (recovering). Scholar completely had no reaction. It wasn’t until teeth collided and chattered did he knocked on the wood, “Do not be ferocious anymore, I will eat you.”

The inn suddenly stopped and returned back to its original state.

Shao Zi tossed the bandits down in front of the government office entrance. She looked around and beat the drum to call injustice. Only a bit later heard rumbling sounds of people running. She threw the drumstick away, jumped to the roof of the corridor, and saw the bailiff (of feudal government) coming outside, taking the small pasted note down that she wrote, “We are bandits”. They escorted them forcefully inside and it was then that [she] left with a peace of mind.

Returning back to the r

oom in the inn and stretching the back relaxingly, [she] was about to hug the plant and sleep, but before she close the eyes, the bed suddenly cracked. Shao Zi widened her eyes, her entire body slanted, and she fell into a blood mouth wide open like a sacrificial bowl.

Scholar was preparing to lead the horse and wait for Shao Zi to return and go together. [He] looked up at the waist figure rotating here and there of the inn, faintly revealing the figure of a frog, and he shook his head, “Dare to swallow our little peony, really cannot forgive.”

Shao Zi was not scared to the point of unconscious, but was smoked to unconscious. It was also not a naturally awaken, but awaken by the smell of smoke! In the end what place is this, unbearably smelly and intolerable. She stood up and vomited twice. In front was total darkness and cannot see anything. Opened the hand to transform out a lantern and carefully a.n.a.lyzed. This place was s.p.a.cious like a cave and also has sharp, undulating stones. Lifted up leg to attempt to kick it, and the ground suddenly trembled. Demonic energy fly chaotically and Shao Zi stabilized steps while gritting teeth, “Dare to scheme for my demon strength, looking for trouble.”

Demon with demon often bite and swallow one another to increase demonic strength of oneself. The issue is that it will become a devil being[1] and will cause karmic hindrance and cannot cultivate to become an immortal. Shao Zi was already a demon flower and meeting such devil being was causing head to hurt normally. Yet, this devil being has swallowed several other demons and despite not cultivating as long as she has, its strength should not be underestimated.

[1] The demons such as Shao Zi and the flower demon inn gang are those that cultivate and absorbs the essence of the earth and become these beings that can transform into humans or have magical powers. They are not necessarily the evil kinds that take away essence from mortals or eat others. While the devil being refers to the more malicious ones that actually eat others (human or demon) and essentially will have karmic hindrance from their current lifetime’s evil deeds. Translations belong to ✿ChocolateCosmos✿

The left hand held the lantern and the right hang held a very sharp dagger. Shao Zi projected teeth and pierced strongly into the stone wall within the chaotic demonic energy. Right away the cave rang in rumbling sounds and the s.h.i.+fting has caused severe pain in her ears from each round. Biting down teeth and not letting go, [she] was tilting to the point of almost vomiting and decisively threw away the lantern. The oil lantern light suddenly went off. Then [she] transformed out a knife and stabbed in with great efforts.

Frog spirit demon was stabbed consecutively by two hits and turned up in a heap, falling down to the ground. The surrounding ground within hundred of miles was like struck by lightning. Shao Zi was swallowed by the stomach and hand was shaking. Falling up and down. Inside [she] was secretly thinking that everything was over. If those stones crushed her then will definitely die. Unexpectedly, [she] gently fell into the warm chest that firmly supported her.

Breathing suddenly halted and Shao Zi tried very hard to open eyes and look at that person. Cannot see anything. Was about to transform out a lantern, but that person saw her action and caught her hand to prevent her from doing so. Shao Zi knew and withdrew hand as the whole body was hugged by that person and gracefully lifted feet to jump out.

Shao Zi smelled the energy from him and looked up, “You were on the demon mountain that day?”

That person did not respond. Shao Zi lowered head and continue to sniff, “Not the same…”. She became scared and rubbed the chest, flat; it’s a male! Again, rubbed the face, did not have beard, also no wrinkles; it’s a young male! Again, rubbed above…cannot reach… that person was avoiding her.

Inside her heart immediately got colder, perhaps it was that stupid Scholar? Can enter and not expense any strength? If she did not guess wrong, later on cannot go about one’s way comfortably, and she grumbly said, “Stupid Scholar, it’s you, it’s definitely you. Faking as a pig but eat tiger[2].”

[2]This phrase derives from a folktale where hunters wore pig skin and pretended to be pigs. The tigers thought they were real pigs and approached, but were shot dead by the hunters. The meaning of this idiom is appearing to be harmiless but unexpectedly was a hunter/harmful..fldfhdhdhfd.df.dfh.dh.dfhdfh

Suddenly felt a gentle wind blowing by, Shao Zi thought this was strange. That person finally spoken up, “What is lady talking about, farewell at the demon mountain, and lady is still full of lively spirit.”

Was not the voice of Scholar, and was clearly the voice of the skilled gentleman of that day. Shao Zi’s spring self sprouted and tried again to move within his chest while extremely hoping that stomach of the devil being can be a bit bigger to not go outside so fast, “Expert, how come you are here?”

The voice was calm and steady, “Just pa.s.sing by.”

“…”, Shao Zi felt that her intelligence was insulted. Just pa.s.sing by the stomach of a frog…Expert, how can you speak such nonsense like this…

That person suddenly halted and silently pondered a while then said, “Unexpectedly has set up a beckoning formation [spell].”

Shao Zi was a bit anxious, “What to do now?”

“Lazy to continue to run, pierce the stomach to go outside.”

Turned out to be lazy in running and decided to fight back ah? Shao Zi immediately sighed with sorrow, indeed expert’s line of thought was unlike others ah, “Expert, what’s your name? My name is Shao Zi.”

That person’s voice had a bit of a laugh, “Shao Zi…Because you and flower peony are related?[3]”

[3]“勺” in Shao Zi and “芍”in peony (芍药) are p.r.o.nounced similarly (sháo), thus Scholar thought those two terms were related. Translated by ChocolateCosmos 

“No, this name was given by the old innkeeper. Not too long ago when I stayed in the inn, in the middle of the night was hungry and ran to the kitchen to steal food. As a result, old innkeeper found out and asked whose child was I. I didn’t dare to respond. He allowed me to eat a bowl of noodles and said after to stay here. Also named me as Shao Zi and said this place was my home. En, called me Shao Zi because I only used a spoon and did not know how to use chopsticks.” *

*The sháo in her name means spoon or a similar utensil used back then.

Hugging her a bit tighter, [he] gently responded, “En.”

Shao Zi wiggled inside his chest/embrace, how come there’s a feeling of deja vu. But fundamentally cannot be, in the beginning she knew how to transform when [she] was still under the mountain and afterwards, old innkeeper with his wife came to the mountain when picking medicine. Not right, they were a young couple then and brought her back. Planted in the flower bed of the inn and within a blink of an eye fifty years pa.s.sed.

Inside the frog demon’s stomach, the energy overwhelmed the person as Shao Zi withstand with difficulty and was hazily remembering her life before. That time it was great, bustling with excitement; yet, now there was a horrible person named Scholar taking over. She held onto the clothes of the male and said in a low, angered voice, “Stupid Scholar, cannot cause the inn to collapse.”

That person held onto her more tightly. The person in the embrace was breathing steadily and was already sinking deeply into dreams. Underneath the feet suddenly came a breeze of cool wind, slowly dispersed, and within that time blew away all the demonic energy with not a single left, exhausting nearly all. Going outside, each step seemed to sprout out lotus flower, the steps that moved a thousand miles were strong and definite, and nothing can stop it.

Frog demon cried one sound in pain, and waited for them to go outside and then jumped to escape. That person glanced once, “Stay put.”

“…” Frog demon choked up, it was not only wrong, it was greedily hungered, and was about to swallow the flower demon to take three-four hundred years of demon strength. Yet, cannot expect that he had purified the demonic mind and stiffly erased its four hundred years of cultivation cleanly. It was very mortified…………..

That person embraced Shao Zi up to the cart, and took off his coat to cover her. Bent down to go off the cart, and when the feet touched the ground, the cool breeze flew by, and was already that meager Scholar.

He walked in front of the frog demon and looked at it. Face suddenly appeared a smile, “There are two ways. One is to go under the lake until evil mind has dispersed and cannot go out without permission. Two is to continue to transform into a proper, official inn.”

The frog demon’s face was rather miserable and looked at him, “Is there a third option?”

Scholar smiled, “Yes, right now be erased completely by I.”

The frog demon seriously said, “The second option.”

Scholar nodded, “Good.”

The frog demon chokingly returned to the spot, and when was transformed back into a house, the wooden pole of the inn was silently cursing… good you arrogant idler ah… I am obviously forced!

Scholar jumped on the horse cart, took the reins, lifted up, and there was no movement. After that remembered… he does not know how to drive the horse cart ah…Cannot wait and pulled the curtains up to look inside and saw the person sleeping soundly. Really looks like a finely pearl jewel, beautiful without a flaw. After looking for a while, rubbed nose, and let the curtains down; cannot continue to look, cannot continue tot look.

After pondering of a way to drive the horse cart for a while, several tries, in the end…failure.

He had no other way than to set it aside, hugged Shao Zi back to her room and bent over to cover her with a blanket. Looking at the vivid red color of her lips, couldn’t hold it and lowered head. The warm breathing wafted onto the tip of the nose, suddenly stood straight up, and remembered ““Indecent should not look, indecent should not look look.”

Outside the room, the moonlight shone brilliantly, and projected onto the ground like frost like snow. After gazing for a proper while, the calm mind returned.

Cannot rush. Anyhow, already has been found, and definitely cannot let her to suddenly disappeared once more.