Er Sheng had always lived quite independently. Since her family passed away early, she had lived alone like a little rascal for many years, having to rely on herself and thick-skinned persistence for food and necessities. As a result, she wasn’t shy like most girls. But even a boy would cry if someone pulled down his pants, let alone the very sensitive Er Sheng.
She frantically pulled up her pants and scrambled away on all fours. Looking back with tears in her eyes, she stared at the man with a frightened expression.
The man hadn’t expected things to turn out this way either. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but when he saw the red mark above Er Sheng’s hip, his wariness gradually faded, and his expression slowly softened.
After a while, the man asked in a hoarse voice, “Siming?”
Er Sheng was furious. Not only did this guy pull down someone’s pants, but he also called out some random name afterward. It was like slapping someone and then saying you hit the wrong person.
She lay there fastening her waistband, wiped away her tears, and cursed, “Siming my foot! This young lady is called Er Sheng! Damn! These days you try to save someone and get your pants pulled down—I’m never being nice again!”
The man’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he muttered to himself, “Reincarnated in the mortal realm, forgotten everything?”
Er Sheng took advantage of his distraction to stand up and back away further. Estimating that he wouldn’t be able to catch her quickly, she stuck out her tongue at him, made an extremely ugly face, then turned and ran without looking back.
The man didn’t chase after her. Leaning against the tree root, his gaze followed her gradually disappearing figure, and he suddenly sighed, “How did you end up with such a temperament… it’s truly… too similar.”
He touched the wound on his chest, his expression shifting slightly. Though severely injured and stripped of all his divine power, at least he had escaped from that place.
He looked up at the massive tree with its falling leaves, then gazed at the azure sky in the distance. Waves of excitement rippled through his usually calm dark eyes.
Siming, the outside world truly is as beautiful as you said.
Under the same azure sky, Er Sheng finally ran out of the forest behind the village. Two of the Liu family’s children were playing by the roadside at the village entrance. Panting heavily, she called out, “Little Snot Liu brothers! Come here quick!”
The children were young and had only heard adults speak ill of Er Sheng, so naturally they didn’t like her. The brothers looked at each other, then turned and ran.
“Have you seen any snake demons? Hey!” Er Sheng jumped in frustration. “You little snot-nosed brats! I’m not going to hit you, why are you running!” She suddenly remembered something and slapped her forehead, “Right! I should run too, get far away from the forest, so if the snake demon comes out, it won’t see me and eat me first.”
However, she sat in her ramshackle wooden house all afternoon and saw no snake demon emerge from the forest.
The village remained as peaceful as ever. Everything she had seen in the forest seemed like an illusion.
As evening approached and the sunset in the west, Er Sheng grew restless. Thinking of that extremely beautiful person she had seen in the forest made her heart itch with curiosity.
Er Sheng still remembered her mother telling her when she was very young that women were destined to marry, and only by marrying a good man could they live a good life. Er Sheng firmly believed this.
She thought that person was more handsome than all the men in the village combined. He must also be better than all the village men combined. If such a person could accompany her every day if she could marry such a person if she could parade around the village with him—
It would surely make the married women in the village seethe with jealousy and the unmarried girls turn purple with envy, their veins popping out.
What a proud thing that would be!
Er Sheng’s eyes brightened as she continued to think deeply: She had no parents, no dowry, and none of the village men wanted her. Her marriage prospects still depended on her thick-skinned persistence. Now that a strange man had stumbled into her path, and this man didn’t know the village situation, she could very well trick him. Once they were married and had children, he wouldn’t be able to run away even if he wanted to.
Er Sheng grew more excited as she thought about it, especially since that man had already seen her bare bottom. According to custom, she really should marry him.
After much deliberation, Er Sheng couldn’t sit still any longer. She stood up and ran toward the forest, her mind filled with thoughts of marriage. Snake demon? Even a snake demon couldn’t steal her man.
Er Sheng thought: He was covered in blood and must be seriously injured. Even if he wanted to leave, he couldn’t go far—he must still be there.
Indeed, the man was still there. His injuries were so severe that not only had he lost his divine power, but even standing and walking were extremely difficult. Just as he was closing his eyes to rest and regulate his internal energy, he heard a voice in the distance gradually growing louder as it approached him. Opening his eyes, he saw that the figure running through the flower field with uneven steps was none other than Er Sheng.
Er Sheng was waving her arms frantically: “Beautiful one! Beautiful one!”
The man frowned again. She had run away like she was fleeing for her life earlier, and now she was running back so recklessly… truly Siming’s style.
Er Sheng had no idea what he was thinking. She suddenly stopped ten paces away from him and asked seriously, “Were you trying to kill me earlier? Are you going to kill me now?”
“I was then, but not now.”
Er Sheng nodded, then immediately pounced before him, smiling brilliantly: “What’s your beautiful name?”
“Chang Yuan.”
“Where does Chang Yuan live? Do you have a wife?”
Chang Yuan looked at her: “What are you planning?”
Er Sheng pulled out a crudely made short sword from her sleeve and handed it to Chang Yuan, solemnly saying, “Self-sword.” It was meant to be self-recommendation… Chang Yuan fell silent and didn’t dare take the sword. Er Sheng tried to convince him, “This is a family heirloom passed down from my ancestors. I willingly offer this sword to you, uh… what was it… ah yes, to form a family with you and have a bunch of little kids together.”
Chang Yuan stared at the short sword and said, “You are my closest friend, Siming.”
“I am Er Sheng.”
Looking at the girl’s persistent eyes, Chang Yuan suddenly felt the urge to sigh: “I won’t take a wife.”
“Why not?”
“Can’t find a suitable one.” Chang Yuan thought because he was the last dragon in this world.
Er Sheng pondered his words on her own and said, “So you mean you don’t think I’m good enough for you right now.”
Chang Yuan was stunned, not expecting her to draw such a conclusion. But after some private consideration, believing that Er Sheng could never meet a dragon’s requirements, he nodded and said, “You could say that.”
Er Sheng wasn’t discouraged: “In that case, what would it take for you to accept me?”
Chang Yuan shook his head, not knowing how to explain a dragon’s mate selection criteria to her. Snake-like form, scales, two deer-like horns on the head? She probably couldn’t meet any of these requirements.
The two stared at each other for a long while before Er Sheng took a deep breath: “Good! I understand!”
You… understand what? Before Chang Yuan could ask, Er Sheng had turned and run back toward the village, leaving only a shout in the wind: “Wait for me! I’ll come back tomorrow!”
Chang Yuan was severely injured and couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.
The next day, Er Sheng happily brought a bunch of miscellaneous items to him. The smell made him very uncomfortable, and he frowned slightly, asking, “What are these?”
“Food, of course.”
This matter-of-fact answer left Chang Yuan speechless.
“You’re injured and can’t move, with no water to drink or food to eat—you’ll starve to death eventually. I’m bringing you food to keep you alive, and once you’re healed, I’ll be your lifesaver. Then you’ll have to repay the favor. I’ve already thought it through—you came here alone with nothing else, and I don’t want much, just you as a person will do.”
“Siming…”
“I’m Er Sheng. Never mind, never mind, let’s not talk about that now. Look at this!” Er Sheng pointed at the things in her hands, “The black ones are pig bone worms, large worms that grow on pig bone trees, very delicious. These red ones are pupu worms, they live in the soil and make pupu sounds when they dig their nests—they’re very chewy. And these blue ones are my favorite to eat. Since they grow under tree leaves, they’re very clean and can be eaten raw without washing. They’re crunchy, but no one ever told me their name, so I call them crunch-crunch crispy worms.”
All… insects.
Chang Yuan slowly shifted his gaze to Er Sheng’s face: “You like eating these?” In his memory, what Siming liked to eat was completely different from these things.
“I grew up eating these! Don’t look down on them—once they’re in your mouth, they’re a whole different kind of heavenly delicacy!” Er Sheng pushed the insects toward Chang Yuan’s face, staring at him with big eyes, “Try some.”
The ancient memories had grown hazy. Chang Yuan only remembered that ancient humans ate grains and cooked wild beasts, but he didn’t know what constituted normal food for current humans. He just didn’t want to eat something that smelled so disgusting.
He shook his head: “I’m not hungry. I don’t need to eat.”
Er Sheng didn’t press him further. She grabbed a blue worm and slurped it into her mouth, speaking indistinctly while chewing: “Well, when you get hungry, I’ll catch more for you. These are mine then.”
Chang Yuan quietly watched Er Sheng eat the worms one by one. Her evident enjoyment made his stomach, which hadn’t stirred for tens of thousands of years, ripple slightly.
“Is it really that delicious?”
Er Sheng gave him a sidelong glance while chewing on a pig bone worm, then picked up a smaller pupu worm and stuffed it into Chang Yuan’s mouth. Before he could react, Er Sheng covered his mouth, commanding authoritatively: “Chew.”
Chang Yuan’s face darkened, but unable to spit it out, he had no choice but to chew as told. After the initial fishy taste dissipated, a rich, sweet flavor spread through his mouth. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but what was even more unexpected was that before he could swallow, a warm energy began rising slowly in his abdomen. It gradually spread through his limbs and organs, warming his injury-stiffened body.
Er Sheng was down to her last two crispy worms. She glanced at Chang Yuan and asked, “Do you want more?” Even as she asked, she was already moving to put both worms in her mouth. To her surprise, Chang Yuan said, “Yes.”
Er Sheng pouted: “Here, you can have one.”
This time, Chang Yuan didn’t hesitate at all before chewing and swallowing the worm. Sure enough, another wave of warmth surged through his body. Following the flow of energy, Chang Yuan focused his mind, and a thin thread of divine power slowly condensed in his blood. Though minimal, it was enough to delight him—with divine power, healing his wounds was just a matter of time.
“Now that you’ve eaten my food, you’re half mine already.” Er Sheng patted Chang Yuan’s shoulder. “By rights, you should come home with me, but you’re too badly injured to walk, and I probably don’t have the strength to drag you back. So after your wounds heal and you can walk, come back with me to perform the wedding ceremony and have babies.”
Not giving Chang Yuan a chance to speak, Er Sheng continued: “I was careless yesterday, forgot to bring you a blanket for the night. Wait here, I’ll go get one now.” With that, she ran off impetuously, leaving Chang Yuan to sigh unheard in the white flower sea:
“I won’t take a wife…”
Chang Yuan’s wait lasted until the next morning.
Mist wreathed through the forest, making the massive velvet-flowered trees look even more like a celestial realm. Chang Yuan was meditating with closed eyes when he heard hurried footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes slightly, thinking to himself that the current Siming remained straightforward but had become much more reckless than before.
“Chang Yuan, Chang Yuan, you weren’t too cold last night, were you?”
When he saw Er Sheng running toward him through the thin mist carrying a bundle of bedding, Chang Yuan was slightly stunned. Er Sheng kept apologizing while draping the blanket over him, tucking it in carefully.
Chang Yuan looked at her for a long time before shifting his gaze away. After a moment of silence, Chang Yuan said quietly: “What happened to your face?”
Er Sheng’s hands stiffened as she tucked in the blanket. She replied irritably: “Got scratched by a pig.”
In truth, the blue and red marks on Er Sheng’s face were from being beaten by Second Zhu from next door.
Er Sheng’s blanket at home was thin, and worried it wouldn’t be enough against the forest’s cold, she went to borrow a thick blanket from the neighboring Zhu family. Sister-in-law Zhu was a simple-hearted girl with a soft nature, and after a few pleading words from Er Sheng, she agreed. But just as she was bringing out the blanket from the house, they ran into Second Zhu, who had come home drunk in broad daylight. He was the village ruffian who terrorized the countryside, using his burly frame to bully the weak. Er Sheng had been beaten by him many times before.
Seeing him, Er Sheng grabbed the blanket and ran. Second Zhu blocked the doorway and picked up Er Sheng like a chicken, his breath reeking of alcohol: “Stealing from my family?” Then he gave Er Sheng a thorough beating. Sister-in-law Zhu was terrified, fearing he might beat Er Sheng to death, and called for family members to help stop Second Zhu.
Er Sheng didn’t make a sound, just grabbed the blanket and ran. When she got home and gathered her things to go find Chang Yuan, her head was too dizzy to bear. The blanket in her arms was soft and warm, and not wanting to let it go, she decided to rest for a moment on her bed. But that moment stretched until early morning. That’s why she had rushed over in such a hurry.
Of course, Er Sheng wouldn’t tell Chang Yuan any of this. Though Chang Yuan didn’t ask further, he understood that she had been bullied.
After Er Sheng finished tucking in the blanket, Chang Yuan suddenly said: “This place is rich in spiritual energy, even the insects that grow here are sacred healing objects. You’ve grown up here since childhood, eating these insects, so you must have accumulated considerable spiritual power. With some training, though you won’t master profound magic in a short time, you’ll certainly have more than enough power to protect yourself in the mortal realm.”
Er Sheng looked at him in confusion: “What do you mean?”
“Si… Er Sheng, would you like to learn the art of the Dao?”
“What’s that?”
Chang Yuan paused, then put it more simply: “A way to never lose in fights against ordinary people.”
Er Sheng’s eyes lit up brilliantly. She grabbed Chang Yuan’s hand like an eager puppy, staring at him intently: “Can Chang Yuan teach me?”
Before Chang Yuan could nod, Er Sheng had already pounced on him: “My husband! I knew I hadn’t misjudged you!”