During the next few days of camping in the mountain forests at night, she never encountered any unusual situations again.
She had heard people say that Wanlan Mountain had an area where the Imperial Tomb was built. Due to too many people being buried alive with several generations of emperors after their deaths, that place was perpetually shrouded in sinister winds, and rumors of hauntings had grown increasingly frequent in recent years. The current emperor also rarely went to the Imperial Tomb to make offerings, so by now the Imperial Tomb had probably become a gathering place for demons, ghosts, and monsters. That night’s bird demon and the strange man should both be monsters from the Imperial Tomb, right?
To be able to accidentally enter the Imperial Tomb in the vast Wanlan Mountains and encounter such extraordinary events fully demonstrated that her luck was extraordinarily good. This trip would surely yield results—she could buy a husband who was both good-looking and useful to take home and make her old father happy.
Flying all the way to Chongling Valley took four days. The gate-guarding disciples of Chongling Valley were all stunned with their mouths agape when they suddenly saw the enormous pelican descending from the sky.
This spiritual beast… was really impressive. No one had ever had the courage to use such a large and ugly spiritual beast.
When Xin Mei jumped down from Qiuyue’s back, the gate-guarding disciples’ mouths opened even wider.
She was… truly a beautiful girl… Although she wore only the simplest style of green robes for traveling, it was hard to conceal her beauty. She walked over with a smile, her cheeks as white and translucent as fine porcelain, her dimpled smile innocent and carefree. Seeing her smile like this made one feel there were no troubles in the world at all.
Xin Mei had originally planned to go over and greet them, then hand over the spiritual beasts to collect payment, but the two gate-guarding disciples just kept blushing while looking at her. Eh, looking carefully, they were both quite good-looking!
Xin Mei looked left and right, feeling the one on the right had more masculine appeal. She liked real men and had no interest in flower-like beauty. Touching her money pouch, which contained three thousand taels in silver notes as funds for buying a person—this one could come home with her!
Xin Mei coughed to clear her throat: “This young gentleman, would you be willing to…”
“Are you Boss Xin from Xinxie Manor?” Someone from inside the gate interrupted her words.
“Yes.”
Business was most important; the matter of a husband could be discussed slowly. Xin Mei answered, then flashed a bright smile at that handsome young man, glancing at his name tag—”Oh, your name is Zhang Dahu. Good, I’ll remember that. I’ll find you later, and we two can have a little competition.”
Just being good-looking wasn’t enough—he had to be useful too. She needed to test his skills.
His face turned red then white, presumably what plays called being both surprised and delighted?
Xin Mei’s mood became even better as she led the group of spiritual beasts following the steward servant through the gate.
Chongling Valley was considered a major client of their Xinxie Manor, requiring large batches of spiritual beasts almost every year. In previous years, it was always her father who made such long journeys; this was her first time coming here. These blessed lands where immortals resided were indeed different—clean, spacious, and beautiful. Even with the same ordinary blue brick and tile houses, green grass and red flowers, they could arrange them elegantly. Along the roads she could often see valley disciples passing by, all clean and refined, politely nodding to greet her.
When they reached a magnificent pavilion, the steward servant went in to report, then came back out: “Boss Xin, the Valley Master says he’s in a good mood today and wants to see an old friend, and he’d like you to stay here for a few days.”
Xin Mei had heard her father mention that the Valley Master of Chongling Valley was a fox immortal who had attained enlightenment a thousand years ago. He was most amiable, and even juniors could joke and chat with him without worry—he would never blame them. It was wonderful that he was willing to let her stay here. Later she would go find Zhang Dahu to discuss buying a husband.
Just as she was about to enter, she suddenly heard mooing from above. A dilapidated ox cart descended from the sky, landing right beside her. The cart door opened, and a white figure rolled out, rushing into the building as if fleeing for his life while shouting: “Move aside, move aside! Zhen Hongsheng! You damn fox, get your ass out here!”
He rushed so quickly that Xin Mei couldn’t even see what he looked like. Looking back at the steward servant, she maintained a calm expression, clearly accustomed to such scenes.
“Boss Xin, please.” She gestured for her to go upstairs.
Since others were so composed, she felt embarrassed to make a big fuss with questions, so she went upstairs.
This building appeared ordinary from the outside, but inside it was bright daylight with four distinct seasons—one season per floor. After experiencing the beautiful scenery of spring, summer, and autumn, Xin Mei stopped at the steps of the top floor, where snow covered everything and cold winds howled—clearly the bone-chilling depths of winter.
Going up the steps, the top floor was actually a small courtyard with a frozen pond, trees full of small red fruits in winter, a snow-covered pavilion, and two men rolling around together in the pavilion.
“Give it to me!” The man on top was aggressive.
“Beg me then, and I’ll give it to you if you beg.” The man being pressed down had seductive, silky eyes.
“You’re asking for death!” The one on top darkened his face.
“Not only do I want to die, I want to die of ecstasy.” The one below went with the flow.
“You…” The one on top suddenly paused, abruptly raising his head to see Xin Mei standing dumbfounded at the entrance. He froze.
“Oh, you must be Xin Mei?” The man being pressed down turned his head, looking at her with a smile. “When I saw you before, you were just a baby in swaddling clothes. Now you’ve grown so big. Come here, let me get a good look at you.”
Xin Mei stood for a moment, thought about it, then turned to go downstairs: “Sorry for disturbing you. I’ll come back up later.”
“Stop!”
Someone roared. Xin Mei turned back to see the man who had been on top was now standing in the snow. He wore loose, somewhat worn robes and was bone-thin. His face currently bore a subtle expression that seemed part shame, part anger, part despair as he stared at her intently and said carefully: “You’ve misunderstood!”
What classic four words—often performed in plays. For instance, when a man accidentally held hands or embraced the waist of a woman who wasn’t his wife, and was unfortunately caught by his wife, his first words would inevitably be these. Or when a woman was framed by a scheming rival, and her husband became cold and cruel to her for added drama, she would inevitably say these four words as heavy as mountains while spitting blood.
She sympathized with such feelings and would never react in a way that made them more depressed, so she immediately nodded: “Oh, I understand.”
That person became even more frantic, roaring: “What do you understand? Don’t look at me with those eyes! You don’t understand anything at all!”
Xin Mei scratched her head in distress, while the other man in the pavilion burst into laughter. With a wave of his sleeve, a somewhat worn book fell into that person’s hands.
“Meishan, your temper has become increasingly explosive these years. What a shame for an immortal—go back and take some Heart-Clearing Pills. Here’s your item. It’s just a wine-brewing manual, and you’ve gone mad over it.”
Meishan treasured the worn booklet and carefully tucked it into his robes. Looking at Xin Mei again, still somewhat embarrassed, he simply flicked his sleeves and left. His voice came from downstairs: “You have many medicinal herbs here. Let me stay for a few days to gather some brewing ingredients.”
“Little Mei, come here.” The man in the pavilion slowly beckoned.
Around his neck was a living white fox that didn’t move at all. If not for its blinking eyes, Xin Mei would have thought it was a scarf. Above the white fox’s crystal-clear, lustrous fur was a smiling, gentle face that was… truly as beautiful as a flower!
“Hehe, it’s been so long since we met, and you’ve grown so big.” He reached up to caress her porcelain-like cheek, his palm fragrant and warm. “And so beautiful too.”
Xin Mei felt goosebumps all over from his touch, then remembered what her father had told her—this fox immortal lord had no elder’s dignity and liked to pat and touch both men and women to show affection. When the time came, she should just let him touch her a couple times. But he… why was he still not letting go after touching for so long!
He also took her hand, turning it over to carefully examine her palm lines. After a while, he calmly turned it back, treating her hand like a toy as he gently kneaded it in his palm while saying: “I heard your father has been very troubled about your marriage lately. Stay here for a few days—the valley has many young and handsome disciples. Tell me if you fancy any of them.”
Xin Mei’s eyes immediately lit up, and being touched by him suddenly didn’t seem so uncomfortable anymore.
“Really? Actually, I just took a fancy to Zhang Dahu at the gate!”
Zhen Hongsheng paused, raising his eyes to look at her with an expression that was half-smile, half-not, and hummed: “How did you take a fancy to him? He’s only been here a few months, has no abilities, and looks quite ordinary.”
“Not at all, I think he looks very good.”
He chuckled softly, suddenly feeling mischievous. His romantic, intense eyebrows took on a hint of seductive charm as he pinched her chin and gently lifted it, making her look at him.
“Am I better-looking? Seeing someone like me, you still think about wanting him—you little girl have no eye for beauty.”
Xin Mei looked at him with clear eyes, her pupils rotating twice, seeming somewhat troubled: “You… eh, Fox Immortal Lord, you… how should I put it…”
“Just speak freely.” Seeing her hesitation, Zhen Hongsheng quickly indicated she should be bold and speak truthfully. He had always cared most about his appearance, so he perked up his ears to hear how she would evaluate him.
Xin Mei said very seriously: “You look like a woman. I don’t like the flower-like beauty type.”
“…”
With a crackling sound, his soul received severe damage. The winter snow scene on the top floor cracked into fragments, dissolving into firefly light that scattered in the air, and the pavilion returned to its original carved railings and painted pillars.
The fox immortal Zhen Hongsheng, weak as gossamer, suddenly rose and walked away step by step in desolation.
Like a woman, like a woman, like a woman… only these three words remained spinning in his heart, spinning endlessly. He had lived for over a thousand years, and only this sentence had dealt him the greatest blow—it hit right at his vital spot, leaving him unable to even crawl up.
“Uh, Fox Immortal Lord?” Xin Mei called out in amazement. What about Zhang Dahu’s matter?
He suddenly turned around: “This is called handsome! Handsome, do you understand?! You ignorant dead girl! I absolutely will not give you any of my disciples! Not a single one! Not even half of one! Absolutely not!”
Having said this, he covered his face and fled in a mad rush.