“I have good news for you!”0

“What good news?”0

“The court has lifted the curfew today.”0

“It’s finally lifted, huh…“0

“Yeah!” Heroine Wu couldn’t help but shake her head. “A few days ago, I heard they chopped out a bamboo demon at that gifted scholar surnamed Chen's house. I thought the curfew would be lifted the next day at the latest, but it seems the court wanted to use this opportunity to sweep out other hidden demons and evil ghosts in Changjing, so it dragged on until today.”0

She paused, glancing at the cat nearby. “Good thing your cat wasn’t caught.”0

“I’ve heard a lot about that important official Mr. Chen lately in the teahouse,” Song You said with a smile. “It’s said that he painted the bamboo shadows at his home—a truly elegant gesture.”0

“I don’t know about elegance. All I heard was that when they chopped out the bamboo demon, it revealed its true form, charred black like coal.”0

Heroine Wu shook her head again. “Coincidentally, that house in the Western District that was struck by lightning lost an entire bamboo grove too. It seems like either Heaven took notice or some god manifested and casually sent down a lightning bolt to strike it. I bet that bamboo demon was already near death, which is why it didn’t put up any resistance when it was chopped out and died right on the spot.”0

“You’re certainly well-informed.”1

“What a pity…“...0