As evening approached, a group of drunken revelers had all “fallen in battle”, lying on the ground in various states of disarray. The only survivor was Wuzhen. Throughout this drinking party, she had been pouring drinks for others, and half of the people here had been forcibly intoxicated by her. She hadn’t drunk much and remained clear-headed.
Mei Zhuyu came down from upstairs and helped Wuzhen support the drunken men, handing them over to the carriage servants waiting outside. After a busy round of sending everyone away, it was already dusk. The sunset spread across the sky, half of which was covered in orange-red clouds, reflecting on the lake by the small building and the green treetops, painting the world in brilliant colors.
Wuzhen held a cup of clear, bright liquor, sipping it slowly as she leaned against the second-floor railing, gazing into the distance. Tired birds returned to their nests, their calls echoing from afar. Putting down her cup, Wuzhen exhaled, her fingers tapping on the railing as she spoke in a somewhat lazy tone:
“Every year, I gather with these friends twice. This time, fewer people came than last time. Two of my elder brothers were assigned official posts in other places this year and can’t return easily from far and wide. The friends who once rode horses with me in Chang’an can never all gather together again now.”
“Those who came today are the ones in Chang’an who had time to come. There are still many who aren’t in Chang’an or don’t have time to come, and some who have gradually grown distant and don’t want to come.”
Mei Zhuyu listened quietly, also quietly watching her. Her profile was outlined by a warm glow from the sunset, and her eyes seemed to have a sparkle in them, making her look particularly enchanting.
“I had a reputation for being mischievous since my youth, different from other young ladies in Chang’an. My father and sister worried themselves sick over me, but I was rebellious by nature and never obeyed. By chance, I became acquainted with these gentlemen, and they taught and protected me in many ways.”
“The events of my youth are still vivid in my mind, but old friends are no longer young. These elder brothers of mine, who once spoke passionately about traveling ten thousand miles to see the great mountains and rivers, are now steadily working as officials in the six ministries, busy with paperwork and family matters every day.”
“The one who was once flighty and hated studying and being taught by teachers is now in the Imperial Academy, teaching students. The one who was once timid and frail, afraid of blood, only daring to watch from the sidelines during hunts, has now become a general, guarding the border…”
Wuzhen tilted her head back and drained the cup of wine in one gulp, then turned to look at Mei Zhuyu, blinking with a smile, “Don’t you think it’s interesting how people can change so much from their youth to adulthood?”
Mei Zhuyu finally spoke: “You haven’t changed.”
Wuzhen was noncommittal, “Of course, I’ve changed. My temper wasn’t nearly as good when I was young.”
Mei Zhuyu: “…”
Wuzhen put down her wine cup and looked at him with a smile, “What about you? What were you like as a young man, and what kind of life did you lead?”
Mei Zhuyu gazed into the distance, slightly lost in thought, and after a while said, “My life has been ordinary and uninteresting from childhood to adulthood.”
He said it was uninteresting, but Wuzhen became even more curious. She tilted her body towards him, leaning in front of his eyes with a smile, “Tell me about it.”
Seeing her lazy, formless manner, Mei Zhuyu’s gaze softened. After thinking for a moment, he began to speak: “I don’t remember much from before I was three or four years old. After I turned four, my parents sent me to Changxi Temple, and that’s when I started to remember things. Although for some reason I was only considered a nominal disciple, my master and all my senior brothers took great care of me.”
Saying this, Mei Zhuyu paused, not knowing how to continue. After all, life in the temple was truly not very interesting, and he thought Wuzhen might not want to hear about it. So he tried hard to recall and picked out what he thought were slightly more interesting events to talk about.
“Snow falls early on the mountain. Every year by October, there’s already snow accumulating on the ridge. When I was ten, I was once injured and had a fever that needed to be treated with ice and snow, so I was recuperating on the ridge. One day, the snowstorm was so strong it blew down my cabin. I wanted to return to the temple halfway down the mountain, but I got lost because the snowstorm was too fierce.
Just when I didn’t know which way to go, I encountered a snow wolf. The snow wolf was intelligent and not only didn’t eat me but led me back to the temple. However, when it brought me to the temple, it suddenly scattered into a pile of snow. Later, my master told me that it was the mountain god of the Western Ridge, who occasionally transforms into animals to guide people lost in the mountains to find their way.”
Mei Zhuyu finished speaking in one breath, thinking Wuzhen would be curious about the mountain god. To his surprise, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “How did you get injured?”
Mei Zhuyu was stunned for a moment before saying, “I went down the mountain with my senior brother and encountered a demon that wanted to devour me. Although we escaped, I was still injured by it.”
Wuzhen wasn’t very satisfied with his brief answer. The previous story had been told in more detail, so why was this one so simple?
Mei Zhuyu, perhaps sensing what she was thinking, explained in more detail, “It was my third senior brother who said I was too young to always stay on the mountain and hadn’t seen the bustling world below. So he secretly took me down the mountain during a festival to play. But halfway down, we encountered a large dog with flames in its mouth, which bit me on the waist and abdomen, leaving behind fire poison.”
Wuzhen had a moment of realization and glanced at his left waist, “So that’s how you got that scar there. Was the injury very serious at the time?”
Mei Zhuyu shook his head, “Not too serious.” He was small and thin at the time, and when bitten by the huge mouth of the large dog, his waist and abdomen were almost torn open, with his intestines nearly spilling out. It was a large, bloody wound, and if his master hadn’t arrived in time, he might have died on the spot.
Wuzhen suddenly said, “I guess you must have been very obedient as a child. When your senior brother took you down the mountain, you probably didn’t want to go, right?”
She guessed correctly. At that time, Mei Zhuyu indeed didn’t want to go down the mountain, but his senior brother had forcibly carried him down. So when he encountered danger later, his third senior brother felt very guilty. Even though Mei Zhuyu didn’t mind, his third senior brother knelt in the main hall for a month, refusing to get up no matter who persuaded him. Later, when his third senior brother took on disciples, he would constantly remind his disciples to listen to him in the future – Frost was the disciple of his third senior brother.
Wuzhen suddenly moved closer, sitting on the railing and hugging Mei Zhuyu’s waist. Afraid she might fall, Mei Zhuyu put his arm around her back. Their intimate posture cast a shadow of closeness on the ground.
Wuzhen hugged her husband’s waist, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him, asking, “You’ve been able to see those things since you were little, right?”
“Yes,” Mei Zhuyu lowered his head to meet her gaze, unconsciously smiling. “But there were no demons in the temple, and the entire Western Ridge Mountain only had some harmless spirits. Only occasionally when I went down the mountain would I encounter those demons that wanted to harm people.”
“So you were sent to Changxi Temple to avoid danger?”
“That was just one of the reasons.” Mei Zhuyu didn’t elaborate on this question, but instead asked her, “You often see those demons in Chang’an, it must be very hard for you.”
Wuzhen replied, “Hard? Not at all. I find it interesting to be able to see those things.”
Mei Zhuyu: “…”
But hadn’t she been trembling with fear before?
Wuzhen burst into laughter, “Before I became the Cat Lord, I couldn’t beat those demons who came to trouble me, so, of course, I was afraid. But after I became the Cat Lord and could beat them, what was there to be afraid of?”
After she became the Cat Lord, the situation was completely reversed. The demons that used to scare her were now too afraid to appear. Those who once wanted to harm her were caught one by one and turned into stone statues placed at the entrance of the demon market. The little demons in the market got used to using those statues as seats.
Wuzhen had always been one to seek revenge from childhood. Even if you didn’t provoke her, she would cause trouble when she was in a bad mood. If you actively provoked her, did you think you could get away unscathed? Dream on.
Among all the Cat Lords throughout history, Wuzhen was the youngest, but she quickly adapted to this identity and wasn’t defeated by the endless troubles and powerful demons. With her innate “fierce” spirit, she managed the group of troublemaking demons in an orderly manner.
Mainly because Wuzhen, who had inherited the Cat Lord’s legacy, was like a bear cub with a sharp sword. Her destructive power was even more terrifying than adults because she didn’t follow reason, only her likes and dislikes. Moreover, the little girl was capricious, and no one could predict her temper. During that period, no one in the demon market dared to provoke this little tyrant. Who knows how many demons who came to cause trouble in Chang’an were played to death by her?
Mei Zhuyu didn’t know about her past achievements. He firmly believed that “a child of just a few years old becoming the Cat Lord to manage the demon market would be bullied,” and his heart was full of pity. Even after hearing Wuzhen say this, he still felt that she had suffered greatly with no one to protect her in her childhood.
Wuzhen looked at his expression, her eyes turning as she inwardly laughed. She no longer tried to explain, but instead sighed and nestled into her husband’s arms, lowering her head and saying, “Actually, although I was the Cat Lord, I was too young to command respect in the past. Once, when a powerful demon heard about this, it tried to take advantage and cause trouble in Chang’an. That time, I got a big hole in my head.”
She did get a hole in her head, but that troublemaking demon lost its entire head. Now its skull is still displayed in Yan Tower, used by her as a flower vase.
Mei Zhuyu gently stroked her hair, unable to hide the anger and tenderness on his face. If that demon who had broken Wuzhen’s head was here now, he would open a dozen holes in its head.
Wuzhen laughed inwardly and continued her act, pressing her cheek against her husband’s chest and saying, “The energy in Chang’an is different from other places, and there are many people, so it’s easy for various filthy spirits and monsters to emerge. We often need to deal with them. In the past, I couldn’t rest well every night and had to go out at night to solve those problems.”
“To avoid attracting attention, even during the day I had to wander around often. Sometimes, to solve problems, my actions were a bit outrageous, so over time, my reputation for being arrogant and unruly became well-known throughout Chang’an…”
She sighed softly, a sigh that tightened Mei Zhuyu’s heart. He hugged her tightly and said in a low voice, “I will never let you suffer like that again. In the future, if there are any difficulties, I will do them for you.”
Wuzhen stroked her husband’s waist, thinking that such a gullible husband must have been taken advantage of many times before. Thinking this, her hand moved down to her husband’s buttocks and squeezed it.
Mei Zhuyu: …
He quickly stepped back, his face red and ears burning, wanting to speak but stopping himself. Wuzhen sat on the railing, laughing out loud, laughing so hard she bent forward and backward, swaying and almost falling off the railing. Mei Zhuyu watched and eventually had to step forward to pull her down.
“Why are you laughing so happily?” Her husband asked, somewhat helplessly.
Wuzhen held his fingers, smiling as she answered, “Because… I suddenly feel that I love you very much.”