《Strange Tales of the Ghosts》


 CH 1

    The sun rises and the moon falls, the flowers bloom and wither; death and reincarnation are inevitable to all the living spirits of the world. After people pass away, they enter the Underworld; even those souls who aren''t humans all change into human forms to walk through the Gate of Hell and the Road of Huangquan to the Underworld. Between the Road of Huangquan and the Underworld is the River of Wangchuan: the river of forgetfulness. The water of this river is blood red, filled with wandering souls who could not be reincarnated.


    Crimson flowers bloomed next to the turbulent and ever-flowing river; they had no leaves and the petals were long and slim like needles. Where the flowers bloomed was called the Shore, and a tall bamboo building stood on the Shore for thousands of years. A mysterious man called Mr. Wangchuan; no one knew whether he was a supernatural being or an immortal. Those who met him before said that he was dressed in white, his hair was tied up by a single ribbon with breathtakingly distinct facial features. The souls and ghosts of the Underworld called him the Ghost Doctor because he treated illnesses for them. He could cure all sorts of complicated and strange illnesses no matter what, but he had a rule --- all comers must swim across the River of Forgetfulness to the Shore, yet the river was filled with extreme poisons which could corrode all souls. Even if they tried to cross the river without any illnesses, they would lose half of their life, and that was why very few souls had met him.


    There were no days or nights in the Underworld. There were no so-called dark nights or daytime, time flowed like torrents in the river. Snow Fox sat on the grass while resting her cheeks in her hands and sighed as she watched the souls who lined up to cross the Naihe Bridge, "Ahh."


    "Why are you sighing, Sister Snow Fox?" Parrot appeared behind Snow Fox. She wore a red dress that dragged to the floor with a few crimson flowers in her hands.


    Snow Fox glanced at the flowers in Parrot''s hands and asked carelessly, "Is Mr. Wangchuan curing souls again?"


    "You are half right. The patient is a giant python this time." Parrot pouted. Her face was small and delicate, looking at most fifteen or sixteen of age, but she had lived on the Shore for over five hundred years.


    Snow Fox heard her and urged, "Then why are you still here? Don''t let him wait for you."


    "What''s the rush? Mr. Wangchuan is still listening to its story, they won''t be done for a while." Parrot sat down next to Snow Fox and rested her head on the fox''s shoulder. After pondering for a while, she asked, "Sister, I''ve been thinking all these times, why does he love listening to stories so much?"


    "You won''t know the answer unless you ask him." Snow Fox was older than Parrot, and her body matured more than Parrot, too. Every single breath and smile was seductively alluring.


    Parrot pouted in dissatisfaction. She had stayed with Mr. Wangchuan for a few hundred years now, yet he never mentioned why, nor did she ask. What was strange to her was that other than swimming across the river, the souls had to exchange a personal belonging and a story; otherwise, Mr. Wangchuan wouldn''t take a look at them.


    "Sister, did you tell your story to Mr. Wangchuan, too?"


    "I did," Snow Fox nodded and stood up with a smile. Parrot saw that she was leaving and quickly chased after her as she yelled, "Sister Snow Fox, can you tell me the story, too?"


    "I will tell you if you can catch up to me," Snow Fox turned around and smiled at her. Her skin was as pale as winter snow, and her lips blushed red. The wind gently blew through her hair, and her beauty was enough to make all men in the world fall for her.


    Parrot saw that Snow Fox flew, she refused to lose and shouted, "Sister, Snow Fox, you won''t get away today!" As she spoke, she turned into a parrot and flew towards Snow Fox, dropping the crimson flowers on the lawn.


    Their playful sounds traveled across the river, Meng Po couldn''t help but look back and smile with a nod. She continued to pour the soup of forgetfulness into bowls, one bowl per soul, at a moderately comfortable speed. For those who drank, the soul would forget everything that happened in the past. Meng Po could count how many souls didn''t drink the soup with two hands after all these years. If those souls weren''t still wandering in the human world, they must have fallen into the river. Snow Fox and Parrot were the lucky souls out of the few; Mr. Wangchuan saved them and kept them on the Shore forever.

 CH 2

    More than a thousand years ago, there was a farmer with the surname Chai who lived deep in the mountains. He guarded a simple cabin and lived a happy life. Because his parents passed away, he only needed to care for himself. He grew some vegetables outside the front door and raised a few chickens and ducks. He climbed up the mountain to gather firewood and sold them at the local markets in exchange for rice and oil.


    One day, the farmer left home with an ax and ropes as soon as the sun rose from the east. The farmer was optimistic; he hummed an unknown melody on the way, the birds in the mountain chirped continuously as if they were singing together with him. At the deep end of the mountain, the farmer was about to chop down the nicely grown branches when he suddenly heard a usual grieving whine. It sounded like a wounded animal. The farmer put down his ax and searched where the sound came from. He saw a little fox with snow-white fur struggling in a pile of dried-up branches. Its legs were wounded by the branches and its fur was soaked in blood. The little fox looked at the farmer with watery eyes as if it was seeking help.


    "Ah, you poor thing, let me help you." The farmer was kind, and all the animals in the forest knew it. The flying birds in the sky and the running hares on the ground have all received the farmer''s care.


    The farmer held the wounded little fox in his arms, realizing that it was severely injured and needed treatment. He gave up gathering firewood and took it home along with his ax. The little fox recovered and became better as each day passed, slowly, it started to run and hop around again. It accompanied the farmer to gather firewood during the day and slept on top of the farmer''s blanket during the night. A farmer and a fox started living a life of codependency.


    "Snow Fox, don''t go over there. It''s dangerous." Snow Fox was the name the farmer gave the little fox because its fur was as white as pure snow. The farmer didn''t forget to check on the little fox as he chopped down branches. The little fox looked like it could understand human language. It stopped temptingly in its tracks as soon as the farmer called out and returned to his side while wagging its tail.


    Days went on by. The farmer didn''t marry because he was too poor, and Snow Fox accompanied him for seven years. As if this was happiness, and perhaps Heaven was jealous, misfortune began to fall on them. There was an old master with the surname Qian in town who heard that there was treasure hidden under the farmer''s cabin and forced him to move out without evidence. The farmer had no one to voice the bitterness in his heart; the limit was three days, and he must move away within three days. The little fox felt sad at the sound of his sighs. There were many things it didn''t understand, but it knew that the farmer was the person who treated it the best. All it could do was to lay by his feet and let him feel its existence.


    "Snow Fox, my dear Snow Fox, you poor little thing. We don''t have a home from now on." The farmer picked up the little fox and looked at it as if it was his child. Tomorrow was the last day. The farmer thought of his life in the future and made a big decision. He decided to return the little fox to the forest, let it search for its family. So, he took out the last bit of rice wine that he had at home and gave it to the little fox. After the little fox drank it, it was drunk and fell asleep. Under the darkness of the night, the farmer quickly traveled through the forest with the soundly asleep fox in his arms. He must send it to a safe place; he saw tragedy in Old Master Zhao''s eyes. Old Master Zhao didn''t want his house, but his eyes were filled with greediness for the little fox. The farmer knew that Old Master Zhao won''t let him slip away even if he gave up his house, and he must arrange something for the little fox first as he couldn''t bear to see it getting skinned alive. The farmer cried at the thought of the little fox''s possible future, and tears fell on its fur. After putting the little fox in a safe place, the farmer looked back longingly as he left, "Snow Fox, go back to your family and don''t ever come back again."


    And just like this, the farmer bid his farewell to the little fox. When it woke up, it found out that it was sleeping in the forest, but the farmer was nowhere in sight. The farmer underestimated the little fox; even if it had never walked that way, it could recognize his smell. The little fox ran and ran, and it reached home in half a day''s time. Their house was still standing, but the door was fully opened. The smell of blood filled its nose.

 CH 3

The farmer died in a pile of blood. His house was flipped inside out, yet that Old Master Qian never found the little fox. The little fox disappeared; he even sent his servants into the mountain to look for it, but they found no traces of the little fox.

 CH 4

    Baiyun Mountain was in sight right outside Pingshan Town. The mountain was desolated, and there were no official roads or travelers. Those who needed to travel for business or excursions always picked the other road. However, the scenery here was indeed much better than on the other route. The young boy laid in the shade underneath a large tree with a glass inside his mouth. He crossed his legs leisurely and freely. Others would think he was out with the cows, but the bright red wedding attire sold him out. He used the bright red clothes as a blanket and he was Qian Lu, the Young Master Qian who the servants were looking for.

 CH 5

The two of them sat under the tree quietly until nightfall. Neither of them ate, and they were starving. Suddenly, Qian Lu heard rumbling and turned to look at Xue Fu, who blushed in embarrassment.

 CH 6

    After eating, they sat by the bonfire and talked for a while. Qian Lu spoke for most of the time, and the naive boy told her everything about his family in detail; he even told Xue Fu about his future plans. Xue Fu fell silent after listening to what Qian Lu said. Seeing that Xue Fu stopped talking, Qian Lu asked worriedly, ¡°Are you missing your family again?¡±

 CH 7

    The incense stick was half-burnt when Qian Lu returned to the Qian Residence with Xue Fu. The first thing he did was introduce Xue Fu to his father, Qian Dagui.


    "Father, I''m back."


    "It''s good to see you back," Qian Dagui sat at the front of the hall and studied the girl he had brought back. The girl was indeed pretty, even Qian Dagui hadn''t seen a beautiful girl like this before. However, something about her made him feel uncomfortable, "And who is this?"


    "Father, this is my wife, Xue Fu."


    Qian Dagui was furious and slapped the table, "Nonsense! You haven''t had your wedding, how is she your wife?"


    "It''s true, Father. Xue Fu and I have feelings for each other, and we have sworn to be husband and wife to the moon."


    Qian Dagui blurted out, "Nonsense! It''s an illicit sexual relationship without the work of a matchmaker!"


    "Father!" Qian Lu didn''t expect Qian Dagui to say something so humiliating, but it was too late to stop him. When he saw the tears in Xue Fu''s eyes, he made up his mind and said, "I don''t care whether you admit us or not, Xue Fu will always be my life. You can''t change that unless I die!" Qian Lu added the last sentence knowing that Qian Dagui would lock him up. He could compromise on anything else but his marriage.


    Qian Dagui couldn''t toughen up at how stubborn his son was. He asked, "If so, I have to go and give her family a marriage proposal, an official wedding should be arranged as well. Before that, could you tell me where Lady Xue Fu''s family is? What do her parents do for a living?"


    "Father, there is no one left in Xue Fu''s family." Qian Lu replied.


    Qian Dagui asked again, "If she has no family, where does she live?"


    "..." Qian Lu didn''t know how to reply because he had never asked Xue Fu about it. If he responded honestly that he didn''t know, his father would be unhappy, so he lied, "Baiyun Mountain."


    "Did you really think you could fool me?" Qian Dagui was rigorous and saw right through his son''s trick. He continued, "Baiyun Mountain is at least twenty miles away from here, and you have never left Pingshan Town since you were born. How did you two meet?"


    "Father, don''t you believe me?" Qian Lu forced himself to act without showing signs of panic.


    Qian Dagui took a sip of tea and shook his head, "It''s not because I don''t believe you, Lu''er. Marriage speaks about well-matched social status, you don''t even..." Before he could finish, the butler rushed in and reported loudly, "Old Master, the Zhou Family heard about our Young Master brought back a new lady, and they''re here!"


    "Where?"


    "Just outside the door, I stopped them."


    "Mhm," Qian Dagui brushed his beard and ordered, "Lu''er, take the lady inside and rest for a while. Your Father, I, need to have a discussion with my future daughter-in-law''s family."


    "Father!" Qian Lu knew that Qian Dagui wasn''t planning to cancel the arranged marriage with the Zhou Family and panicked.


    Qian Dagui comforted him, "Go, Lu''er."


    "Argh!" Qian Lu felt regretful. If he knew things would turn out like this, he should''ve decided to live in the mountains with Xue Fu instead; he didn''t have a choice but to take her inside for now. Qian Lu held Xue Fu''s hands and took her inside. He didn''t stop by the inner hall as his room was only a corridor away.


    They sat down by the wooden table, and after a while, Qian Lu grabbed her hands and said, "Xue Fu, I''ll take you away, we can leave together right now."


    "But..." Xue Fu stopped.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t let you feel wronged. You are my wife, whether my father admits it or not, I won''t let you down." Qian Lu tightened the grip on her hands. He wasn''t sure how his father would treat him, he was scared of mishaps and he was scared of the Zhou Family''s nagging.

 CH 8

    Xue Fu stood up and walked to the window, softly speaking as she glanced outside, "I know your feelings toward me and Xue Fu is thankful to you. But Old Master Qian is your father, what kind of life would he live if you left him? You told me that the Zhou Family is a big household, how would they think if you withdrew from the marriage? Would they let your family go?"


    "But Xue Fu, what about you?" Qian Lu panicked. There was no way he could watch his father make Xue Fu leave.


    Tears filled her face when she turned around, yet she still tried to convince him, "I will always remember how deep your feelings are for me. Your dream was to live in the mountains like a hermit, wasn''t it? Xue Fu can''t do anything else for you, please leave this to me. Xue Fu will take your dream with me to live in the depths of Baiyun Mountain. Whenever you see the clouds and fog shrouding the mountain, you will know that Xue Fu is missing you."


    "Stop it, I won''t let you do this." Tears rushed out of Qian Lu''s eyes as he pulled Xue Fu into his arms tightly. He didn''t want to let go of her warm and soft body and the light fragrance that surrounded him. If he hadn''t had her, it wouldn''t be so difficult to lose her, "I don''t want to lose you. I said I will take you in as my wife, and I promise you I will, or else I''d rather die."


    Qian Dagui, who hid outside the door, was shocked at his son''s words as he didn''t think his son was really in love with this woman of unknown origin. He just made the Zhou Family''s people leave and told them that his son would marry their daughter, but what would happen if he forced his son when he had such a tough attitude? He also heard Xue Fu''s words. Although she was overly charming, and they didn''t know where she came from, she sounded like a person who knew how to conduct herself and had a sense of priority. Plus, she didn''t have any bad intentions toward him either, Qian Dagui thought he''d be unreasonable if he forced them to part with each other. He couldn''t think of a good plan at this moment, but a delaying tactic appeared in his mind as he pushed open the door.


    "Father..." Qian Lu saw him coming in and quickly hid Xue Fu behind him, afraid that Qian Dagui would hurt her.


    Qian Dagui waved his hands and said, "There''s no need to be so nervous, sit down and let''s talk."


    "There''s nothing to talk about, Father. I won''t marry anyone other than Xue Fu, and only death will prove my sincerity."


    Qian Dagui sat on the stool and sighed, "Lu''er, you are breaking my heart. You are my only son; how could I watch you die?"


    "What do you mean, Father?" Qian Lu saw that Qian Dagui wasn''t being harsh, so he relaxed a little.


    "I know that you two are in love with each other, I won''t be against your marriage."


    "Really, Father? That''s great!" It was the best news, and Qian Lu held Xue Fu''s hands excitedly, "Xue Fu, my father agreed!"


    Xue Fu smiled tearfully and nodded. She gazed at him affectionately before bowing deeply to Qian Dagui, "Thank you, Old Master Qian, for admitting us."


    "Hold on..." Qian Dagui studied Xue Fu seriously and suddenly laughed, "You shouldn''t call me Old Master Qian. You will be my daughter-in-law soon, even if I''m not your father yet, you may call me Uncle."


    "Uncle." The way she said this word made their hearts melt.


    Qian Dagui saw his son''s delight and sighed, "Ah."


    "What''s wrong, Father?" Qian Lu saw his father''s sorrow and his compromise, and... "Did the Zhou Family give you a tough time?"


    "Lu''er, we shouldn''t go back on our words, should we?" Qian Dagui looked at Qian Lu kindly as all parents would.


    Qian Lu felt ashamed and whispered, "I acted inconsiderately on this, I will go to the Zhou Family myself to make an apology."

 CH 9

    Qian Lu never paid a visit to the Zhou Family until the very end because Qian Dagui said the Zhou Family insisted on continuing the marriage. Otherwise, they would cut off all trades with the Zhou Family, which would be a huge loss to the Qian Family. One side was the Zhou Family, and the other side was Xue Fu; how could they save both? Qian Dagui came up with a wild idea, and it was Qian Lu to marry both Lady Zhou and Xue Fu. They would marry into the Qian Family on the same day with no difference in social status. Of course, Qian Lu didn''t want to accept the plan as he only had Xue Fu in his heart, and he had never met Lady Zhou either. Even though Qian Dagui said they had met once when he was four years old, Qian Lu couldn''t remember anything so far back then. Eventually, Qian Lu agreed because of how kind and understanding Xue Fu was. Qian Dagui knew he wouldn''t be able to change his son''s mind, so he sought Xue Fu, and she convinced Qian Lu to agree to the plan.


    The arranged marriage between the Zhou and Qian Family was a big event for everyone in Pingshan Town. All the big shots came, the not-so-familiar people came, and those who wanted to make connections with them came too. The wedding was perfect and magnificent; the only difference it had from the traditional weddings was that Qian Lu knelt down and performed the ritual with two brides simultaneously. Xue Fu on his right side, and the Zhou Family''s Young Lady, Zhou Hanliu, on his left side. After the wedding ended, the two brides were sent to two rooms in the same yard; and late into the night, all the guests were drunk and Qian Lu was pushed into one of the bridal rooms.


    The red candles flickered and the bride dressed in a bright red dress sat by the bed with a crimson veil draped over her head. Qian Lu was drunk, but he still remembered whom he liked. He couldn''t help himself but say, "Xue Fu, I finally married you." Then he threw himself towards the bride on the bed, yet he didn''t notice the bride''s trembling body. Qian Lu reached out to hug the bride, but when he leaned in, the smell was unfamiliar. It was a different smell from Xue Fu; she had a special scent on her hair that smelt like wildflowers, yet the bride''s hair smelt like hair oil. Qian Lu noticed the smell and quickly opened his eyes and jumped at the sight. The woman in front of him looked unfamiliar. Although she was quite good-looking, she was as different as Heaven and Earth compared to Xue Fu. Needless to say, she must be the Zhou Family''s Young Lady, Zhou Hanliu.


    "I apologize for my rudeness," Qian Lu stood up subconsciously, completely forgetting that he also married this young lady.


    Zhou Hanliu''s makeup was as delicate as peach blossom, yet it wasn''t enough to cover her disappointment. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Husband, you are drunk. You should rest early."


    "I-I''m not drunk, I''m fully sober." Qian Lu sobered up from the scary event and knew what mistake he had just made. There was no way he could stay here, and he politely said, "You had a tiring day too, you should sleep early. I just remembered that there''s a book I haven''t finished reading yet, I''ll be reading in my study room." Qian Lu didn''t take another glance at Zhou Hanliu before he left the room and closed the door, leaving the shocked bride sitting on the bed helplessly.


    After a while, Zhou Hanliu opened the window, and tears melted the makeup on her face when she saw two silhouettes in Xue Fu''s room. It was only the first night of their new marriage, yet her husband abandoned her and slept with another woman, and she couldn''t bear the humiliation. Zhou Hanliu endured the pain and fixed her makeup in front of the mirror, comforting herself that perhaps Qian Lu went to Xue Fu''s room first, then he would come back in the second half of the night. She sat by the bed and waited. The second half of the night went by, and she waited anxiously until dawn, yet Qian Lu never came back.


    In the morning, the servant girl who was in charge of washing and combing knocked on Zhou Hanliu''s room and asked softly, "Young Master, Young Madam, are you ready for combing?"


    "Come in," Zhou Hanliu replied weakly; despair filled her heart. The girl found the strangeness, but a servant didn''t have the right to be curious; she was only in charge of washing and combing for Zhou Hanliu. According to the rules, the newlywed couple must serve tea to their parents after making themselves presentable. When Zhou Hanliu finished changing and left her room, she heard Qian Lu''s voice ordering the servant girl that no one was allowed to disturb him and Xue Fu.

 CH 10

    Qian Dagui saw Zhou Hanliu presenting herself alone and knew what happened last night, but he was an elder and was in no position to comment on it. He took out a jade bracelet that had been passed down to the family for generations.


    "Hanliu, this is the jade bracelet that passed down in our family for generations, only the Qian Family''s daughter-in-law is worthy of wearing it. I will give it to you today." Qian Dagui used this to bribe her as he didn''t want her to cause any problems or cry to her family.


    Zhou Hanliu took it with both hands and replied softly and maturely, "Thank you, Father."


    "You must''ve had a tiring night. You don''t have to wake up so early on the regular days, you can go back and rest now. Tell Lai Fu if you need anything, he will arrange it for you," Qian Dagui drank another mouthful of the tea Zhou Hanliu served him and eyed Butler Lai Fu.


    Lai Fu quickly approached Zhou Hanliu and flattered, "Young Madam, please give me orders if you ever need anything in the future. I will definitely arrange everything for you properly."


    "Thank you, Butler." Zhou Hanliu bent her knee slightly in a bow. It was the manner of a lady from a wealthy family, they would always be polite no matter what situation they were facing.


    Lai Fu wasn''t in the position to accept a bow from his master and quickly said, "Young Madam, you are reducing my luck by bowing to me!"


    Zhou Hanliu smiled throughout the entire process of serving tea, but no one knew what she was thinking. Since she went back to her room, no one saw her step out of it before noon. Old Master Qian also ordered the servants not to disturb her if she didn''t want to come out. In fact, Qian Dagui saw the exhaustion on her face and knew that she didn''t sleep for the whole night. The servants didn''t urge the other side either as they were both young madams, and anyone with eyes could see that the Young Master favored Madam Xue Fu more.


    The servants all talked behind Zhou Hanliu''s back about how she must have been feeling, yet only she knew how it felt like. She laid in her room, but she couldn''t sleep; Qian Lu and Xue Fu''s lovingness would appear in her head every single time she closed her eyes. The more she thought of it, the more painful it became. It felt like a knife twisting in her heart, and hatred was born from jealousy. Zhou Hanliu clenched her fist. Even the daughter of a wealthy family couldn''t avoid the fate of fighting for love with another woman; thus, she decided to fight against fate. She called a servant girl who was watering the flowers and bestowed her some silvers before asking, "I heard that the other Young Madam is also a beauty?"


    "Yes, Young Madam." The little servant replied quickly at the sight of money. Yet, she felt it inappropriate to answer so fast, and quickly added, "Madam Hanliu, you are a beauty too."


    "Who''s prettier? Her? Or me?" It was a silly question, but all women in the world still asked about it. Even Zhou Hanliu couldn''t run away from this vulgar question.


    The little servant trembled and dropped the silvers on the ground. She immediately picked them up and replied shakingly, "Of course, you are prettier, Madam Hanliu. You are the daughter of a wealthy family, how could she compare to you?"


    Zhou Hanliu smiled. Of course, she knew it was a lie. Before marrying into the Qian Family, she had already heard that Qian Lu brought back an extremely enchanting woman. Still, she just couldn''t give him up. From the day she knew that her future husband would be Qian Lu, she tried everything to get her hands on Qian Lu''s portrait and asked her servants to follow and collect information about Qian Lu. She confirmed that this man wasn''t only good-looking but also morally good, so she made up her mind to marry him. At that time, Zhou Hanliu had already put Qian Lu in her heart, although she had not met him yet. And it was under her request that the Zhou Family insisted on the marriage. If she couldn''t marry Qian Lu and be his wife, she would lose all her purpose in life.

 CH 11

    In the middle of the second night, a big incident happened in Pingshan Town, a butcher who sold pork died. Those who were at the scene saw that it was the bloodiest thing they had ever seen. The butcher''s body was placed on the pork stall, his chest was gouged open, and his internal organs were nowhere to be found. His mouth and eyes were wide open, they could tell that the butcher was extremely terrified when he was dying. The news spread across the town in less than half a day, and everyone was terrified. The administrative office has not solved the case, and everyone was just guessing what killed him. Some said it was a distorted murderer, someone said he offended his enemy, and the most bizarre saying was that a monster appeared in town.


    After lunch, Zhou Hanliu mentioned this, "Father, have you heard about what happened in town?"


    "Yes," Qian Dagui nodded. It was indeed strange. Pingshan Town was only so big, who would do something like this? It wasn''t impossible that an outsider did it, but the administration didn''t know where the butcher''s organs went. There was an old rule in town; whenever something like this happened in town, all the big households would donate money to search for the culprit. Of course, it wasn''t because they wanted to do something good for the town. It was because they were afraid to die, worried that they would be the next one if the culprit didn''t get caught. Therefore, Qian Dagui had already contacted a few other families and arranged a meeting in the afternoon to discuss this.


    Xue Fu was eating with them, and Zhou Hanliu glanced at her pale face with a smile, "Don''t be scared, Sister. We will be fine with Father and Xuan here."


    "She''s right. I''m here, Xue Fu." Qian Lu caring held Xue Fu''s hand tightly, and her pitiful expressions made him feel heartache. She looked anxious since she heard the news this morning, and Qian Lu wouldn''t leave her side either. Xue Fu leaned in Qian Lu''s arms obediently and accidentally discovered that Zhou Hanliu looked at her oddly. Zhou Hanliu smiled, but her eyes were cold. Xue Fu had occupied Qian Lu for two days now, so she couldn''t question Zhou Hanliu and could only remain silent.


    After a while, Qian Dagui left and Qian Lu took Xue Fu back to her room. Zhou Hanliu followed behind Qian Lu and Xue Fu, her eyes were like a knife, desperate to separate the two. But she knew it wasn''t the right time yet; she had to wait patiently.


    Two days went by, and the culprit wasn''t caught yet when the second victim appeared. The second victim was a hedonistic son of a wealthy family who was ignorant and incompetent. His chest was gouged out just like the butcher, and his organs disappeared too. A villager who saw the scene, snorted while covering his nose, "This is no murder, it looks more like he was eaten by a dog?"


    "Hey, now you''ve said it, it doesn''t look like murdering." A woman looked at the corpse and realized it was exactly like the villager described.


    The news spread quickly, and everyone had a new theory about the murders in town. At first, they thought it was a monstrous serial killer, but now they thought it looked more like some type of dog did it. In a moment, the latter guess sounded reasonable, and many people killed their dogs just to prove their innocence. The investigation became easier; all the families with dogs were taken to the office for interrogation, but they all cried that their dogs didn''t kill anyone.

 CH 12

    Soon, all the dogs in town were slaughtered, but they hadn''t found the murderer yet. Victims appeared one after another, and everyone in Pingshan Town was so scared that they couldn''t sleep at night. Everyone locked their doors carefully and lit candles as they were afraid the monster would attack in the dark; they only fell asleep when it was bright outside. There were barely any people out on the streets during the day or night, even the merchants who heard of the stories had stopped coming to Pingshan Town. The people in town slept during the day and watched their homes at night as if they were watching out for thieves.


    But even so, people were still dying non-stop. The people who were the most anxious were the government and the few big households, so they gathered once again.


    "What should we do if this continues?" Old Master Zhou, the owner of many shops, walked anxiously in front of everyone, looking rather stressed out.


    Qian Dagui waved his hands and replied, "You are right. Something bad will happen if this continues." Qian Dagui meant it would be their turn sooner or later. The others became even more irritated, yet they had no solution either.


    "Then what should we do? Even the officials can''t do anything about it. Is there anything we can do?"


    "If it''s a monster, we should seek help from a master in the temples and get rid of it."


    "No, we don''t even know if it''s a human or a ghost yet; it would be a waste of money." The Zhou Family''s Old Master was the stingiest one of all. He immediately shook his head at the idea of spending money.


    Owner Zhao, the head of the silk business, stood up and panicked, "If none of this works, the only option left is to fly out of this town!"


    His words shocked everyone. They were the big shots of the town, and they couldn''t run away like the ordinary people who only needed to take their wives, children, and money with them. They would need quite some time just to sell their land, but who would buy it after hearing what happened here? They didn''t want to stay, yet they couldn''t leave everything behind either.


    When they were all sighing, Qian Dagui''s butler dashed into the room and yelled, "Old Master, something bad happened! Something bad happened!"


    "What happened?" Qian Dagui was extremely nervous. He thought that someone in his family was murdered and sweated furiously.


    Lai Fu glanced at the other masters and whispered next to Qian Dagui''s ears. Qian Dagui''s face turned from yellow to pale, then to ash. He slapped Lai Fu on the face and yelled furiously, "Get out of here, you useless thing!"


    "Brother Qian, what''s wrong?" The others thought it was related to the murders.


    Qian Dagui didn''t want the ugliness of his family to spread. The butler rushed in because Zhou Hanliu suddenly went insane and accused Xue Fu of being the monster and the culprit of all the murders in Pingshan Town. She was crying and throwing a tantrum at home, startling everyone. He replied, "It''s nothing, Lai Fu has no sense of priority. I''m sorry to disturb you." Of course, he wouldn''t let Old Master Zhou know; otherwise, it would be too tiring to deal with both problems at the same time. He remained at the tea house for a while to discuss the murders before leaving.

 CH 13

    Qian Dagui realized the situation was bad after he returned home. Qian Lu ordered the servants to tie Zhou Hanliu to a willow tree in the yard because of her shouting and screaming.


    "Lu''er, what are you doing?"


    "Father, you are back. I don''t know what''s wrong with Hanliu, she ran into Xue Fu''s room early in the morning and said that Xue Fu was the monster who killed everyone. She even hit Xue Fu and cursed at her. I saw that she failed to control herself and ordered her to be tied up," Qian Lu stood in front of Xue Fu and looked at Zhou Hanliu. He never had any feelings toward this woman, and now he started to hate her.


    Qian Dagui looked at Zhou Hanliu and saw that her arms and legs were all tied up. Her hair was messy and teary as if she wanted to say something. Although his son didn''t like her, Zhou Hanliu was Old Master Zhou''s daughter after all. If Old Master Zhou asked, he wouldn''t be able to tell the truth; hence, he wanted to set her free.


    "It''s over now. No matter how insensible she was, you''ve taught her a lesson. Now free her."


    "But Father..." Qian Lu didn''t want to, but he stopped speaking when he saw Qian Dagui''s glare. He took Xue Fu''s hands and headed back to their room.


    Just like what Qian Lu expected, Zhou Hanliu madly threw herself towards Xue Fu''s door after she was untied and cried while slamming the door, "Xue Fu, come out, you monster!"


    "This is just too much!" Qian Lu couldn''t listen to it anymore and dashed out.


    Xue Fu stopped him and said, "Husband, don''t be angry with Sister. It''s all my fault. We are both your wives, but you only love me; it''s unfair to her."


    "Unfair? Oh, I think it''s fair! A jealous woman like her doesn''t deserve to marry into the Qian Family!" Qian Lu was too angry to pick his words calmly. He wasn''t stupid; he knew Zhou Hanliu probably did this out of jealousy. He had already avoided her as much as possible, yet he still let her find an excuse to make Xue Fu look bad. Qian Lu couldn''t tolerate this because he didn''t want anyone to bully Xue Fu.


    Xue Fu convinced him, "Husband, please, could you stop arguing with her for my sake? Where should I place myself in the family if you and Sister argue like this all the time?"


    "Xue Fu," Qian Lu pulled her into his arms, feeling sorry. He wondered what did he ever do to deserve such a caring and kind wife as Xue Fu.


    Qian Dagui couldn''t bear to listen to what Zhou Hanliu said either and ordered servants to tie her up again, but this time, she was tied in her room instead of the tree. Too many things happened recently, and Qian Dagui was busy handling them. The most concerning thing was the murderer as they were all in danger. At night, Qian Dagui laid in his bed and thought through everything over and over again. Zhou Hanliu''s madness was the second concern. She was fine yesterday, how did she go crazy over the night? Qian Dagui asked the servants and heard that she didn''t eat much, so it was impossible that she was poisoned. He saw the way Qian Lu protected Xue Fu during the day, Qian Lu never liked Zhou Hanliu, and he would hate her after this. Qian Dagui knew what his son was like, and he assumed that his son wouldn''t do anything insensible, so her madness had nothing to do with him either. Qian Dagui planned to call a doctor tomorrow to see whether she was faking it or not. If she were faking it, it would be hard to investigate, but if she really lost her mind or were poisoned, it would be as clear as crystal.

 CH 14

    Qian Dagui was concerned about whether Zhou Hanliu was faking her madness or not, and he didn''t sleep for the whole night. Early in the morning, he ordered a servant to bring a doctor over. The doctor felt Zhou Hanliu''s pulse, he frowned and sighed, which made Qian Dagui curious, "Doctor, how is she?"


    "There are no signs of poisoning or an irregular pulse," The doctor stood up and walked to Qian Dagui. He glanced back at the crazy Zhou Hanliu and continued mysteriously, "But it doesn''t look like the Young Madam is faking it either."


    "Hm," Qian Dagui nodded and gave him fifty taels of silver. He urged, "Thank you, Doctor. This is for you, and please keep it down,"


    "Thank you, Old Master Qian," the doctor took the money and understood what Qian Dagui meant. Everyone in town knew that the Qian and Zhou families had just had an arranged marriage, it would end badly if the Zhou Family knew that Zhou Hanliu went crazy. He took the hush money from Qian Dagui and decided to avoid trouble from both ends.


    After the doctor left, Qian Dagui ordered all the servants to leave and sighed, "Hanliu, I know you feel wronged. Lu''er has been inconsiderate of you ever since you married him, but is it worth pushing yourself to this state? Even if you want to push the charges on Xue Fu, you have to have proof."


    "Father, Xue Fu is the monster! She really is a monster!" Zhou Hanliu spoke clearly but with bizarre expressions. She looked like she was smiling and crying at the same time and looked like she was truly insane as she didn''t comb her hair.


    Qian Dagui saw that he couldn''t convince Zhou Hanliu and gave up. He left the room and saw his son looking at him by the door.


    "Father, how is she?"


    "Don''t pretend that you care about her," Qian Dagui glanced at his son. If he didn''t spoil Xue Fu so much, this wouldn''t have happened.


    Qian Lu considered this as well. He wasn''t being unreasonable, he just never liked Zhou Hanliu. He replied angrily, "Father, I wasn''t being willful. Zhou Hanliu stepped across the line. She''s out shouting Xue Fu is the monster, it''s obvious that she wanted everyone to keep their distance from Xue Fu so she could achieve her goal."


    "I know," Qian Dagui paused. He was afraid that Zhou Hanliu could hear what they were saying and pulled Qian Lu to the side while whispering, "Lu''er, you know how much I love you. I''m happy as long as you like Xue Fu, but Hanliu is the Zhou Family''s daughter. Since you married her, you still have to worry about the Zhou Family. It''s not a good long-term plan for you to stay with Xue Fu all day long. If you don''t seal Hanliu''s mouth, the Zhou Family will know about this sooner or later, and by then, how should I report this back to them?"


    "I understand, but..."


    "There''s no ''but''. Go to Hanliu''s room when you are free, you only have to talk with her and comfort her a little." Qian Dagui cut off his words. He knew that Qian Lu didn''t want to go to Zhou Hanliu''s room, but Qian Dagui didn''t have extra energy to take care of this. The serial killer in town was enough for him to worry about, and he also had to worry whether the killer was going to aim for his family or not.


    Qian Lu pondered and replied politely, "I understand."


    "Go now. For now, take a break from studying business, and deal with Xue Fu and Hanliu first. As a man has to regulate the family and rule the state, if you can''t do the former, there''s no point studying further," Qian Dagui shook his head and sighed.

 CH 15

    Qian Lu heeded Qian Dagui''s advice and went to Zhou Hanliu''s room as he wanted to have a conversation with her, but she simply madly shouted that Xue Fu was the monster and said nothing else. Qian Lu left her furiously. Still, that night, Qian Lu stayed in Zhou Hanliu''s room under Qian Dagui''s order. Qian Lu knew that Qian Dagui had already compromised a lot because of Xue Fu, so he had no choice but to follow his father''s order after seeking Xue Fu''s agreement. No matter how much fuss Zhou Hanliu made during the day, she was weary by nighttime. She was tied to her bed and half-closed her eyes as she stared into space. Qian Lu sat on a chair and stared at the candlelights for the whole night, thinking about Xue Fu.


    Qian Lu ran out of Zhou Hanliu''s room as soon as the sun rose, feeling as if he got released from jail. The moment he pushed open Xue Fu''s door, he was shocked. Xue Fu sat on the chair with her daytime attire on and crying.


    "Xue Fu..." Qian Lu quickly hugged Xue Fu, knowing that she must be heartbroken because he went to Zhou Hanliu''s room. She showed generosity, but which woman is willing to share a husband with another? He promised Xue Fu to give his unconditional love to her, yet the current situation hurt Qian Lu''s heart as much as Xue Fu''s. "I didn''t do anything to her, I sat on the chair for the whole night..."


    "Please don''t tell me, Husband." Xue Fu hugged Qian Lu tightly and buried her face in his chest. The two embrace each other so tightly as if nothing in the world could separate them.


    However, something big happened in the Qian Residence. Butler Lai Fu was murdered last night in the same way as the other victims. Lai Fu''s corpse was hung up in his room with a rope, his chest was gouged out, and blood splattered all over the floor. A few servant girls were horrified and cried, even Qian Dagui felt his heart tremor. Who on earth was the murderer? How could they enter the Qian Residence without any sounds and anyone seeing? The officials soon sent people over and took down the body. The constable pulled Qian Dagui to the side and said seriously, "Old Master Qian, this is not good."


    "What do you mean by that, Constable Li?" Qian Dagui looked at the constable, whom he had no connections with, and pondered. It was indeed a big problem that someone was killed, but Lai Fu wasn''t the first one, so what did Constable Li refer to?


    Constable Li smiled and whispered back, "I have news saying that these cases have disturbed the Emperor. His Majesty will be here himself to see the developments."


    "You mean His Majesty is coming to Pingshan Town?" Qian Dagui was indeed shocked at the news. Pingshan Town was a small place, they hadn''t even seen any high-rank officials visiting them; the Emperor''s arrival would be as big as Heaven. Qian Dagui gave some money to Constable Li before he told Qian Dagui that the big households should extract some money to arrange a temporary imperial residence, a place for the Emperor to stay. This way, it would benefit those who spent money even if the case wasn''t solved. It wasn''t simply because it gave them face, but if the Emperor were happy about their arrangements, perhaps the future would change for them. Of course, they had to figure out the details with the local officials. After hearing this news, Qian Dagui thought Lai Fu''s death was no longer the main concern. He quickly promoted another servant as his new butler.

 CH 16

    The bad things could lead to good outcomes, and the good things could cause bad outcomes. People died one after another in Pingshan Town, but it didn''t affect the construction of the imperial residence. People stopped caring about the dead; instead, they all looked forward to the future of nothingness, and the construction proceeded smoothly with enough money on the project. The imperial residence was completed when the Emperor arrived. The lavish imperial residence built from the public''s money made the Emperor delighted, and he completely forgot his intention of visiting the town. He happily summoned all the investors, including Qian Dagui, the head of the construction. Qian Dagui was extremely pleased after receiving the Emperor''s compliments, he was even happier when he heard that the Emperor summoned his family to dine with him that night.


    The Zhou Family was also invited. Qian Dagui almost used up all his brain cells to think of an excuse for explaining Zhou Hanliu''s absence, and that was because she was pregnant. Hence, Qian Dagui only brought his son, Qian Lu, and his other daughter-in-law, Xue Fu, with him.


    The night arrived; the candlelights flickered next to the pond of lotus, and the sound of bamboo flutes melodiously filled the air. After all the officials and invited guests arrived, the Emperor made his appearance slowly with the eunuch''s sharp and high voice: "His Majesty has arrived!"


    "Long live our Emperor!" The officials bowed down with everyone.


    The Emperor sat in his seat high up in the room and smiled, "You may all raise. Treat this as a normal feast. Drink well, eat well, and chat. There''s no need to be punctilious."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty," Everyone responded in unison and sat down at the same time.


    Toasts followed flatterings, the scholars tried to show off their talent to make the Emperor smile. The emperor was indeed pleased and made a toast with everyone that came forward. They rose from their seats in order, Xue Fu sat next to Qian Lu and they were the last ones. After Qian Lu finished his blessings, Xue Fu finally stood up gracefully and spoke softly, "I don''t know any poetry, but may Your Majesty enjoy boundless longevity." Then she emptied her cup of wine.


    The Emperor was astonished by her beauty. Her skin was more beautiful and more delicate than snow, a droplet of wine slid down from the corner of her lips to her chin like a tear. The beauty in front of him looked like a fresh lotus out of the water; no, he thought she looked even more beautiful than the flower, she was a fairy. He forgot to control his facial expression and replied in astonishment, "You may raise, Beauty."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty." Xue Fu didn''t look around as she sat back down. The Emperor saw the side view of her face and clenched his fist as he had never seen such a perfect woman as her before.


    The Emperor did not look away from Xue Fu during the entire feast. Her smile and her lovingness towards Qian Lu touched the Emperor''s heart. He had everything he wanted as the Emperor, yet a beauty accompanying an ordinary man like Qian Lu made him sigh and furious. After the guests left, he laid in his imperial residence, unable to fall asleep.


    An official saw the Emperor''s intention and found Qian Dagui on the second day, politely telling him the news. Qian Dagui almost fell to the ground when he heard the official''s words. The supreme Emperor had eyes on his daughter-in-law! She was his son''s favorite, what should he do? If he refused to give Xue Fu, he would infuriate the Emperor; if he gave her in, he was taking his son''s life away. After the official left, Qian Dagui locked himself in his room, beating his chest and stamping his feet. He had no choice but to negotiate with his son and cried, "Lu''er, everything is my fault. I shouldn''t have spent money to build that residence, and I should''ve never let you go with me! It''s all my fault."


    "No," Qian Lu was baffled after hearing that the Emperor had his eyes on Xue Fu.

 CH 17

    The news inevitably spread to Xue Fu. She understood how difficult it was for Qian Dagui and Qian Lu to make a decision. She unexpectedly suggested that she will meet the Emperor and solve the problem for them. Qian Dagui hesitated to let a girl handle this alone, and Qian Lu stopped her with all his might. Before the Emperor''s imperial edict arrived, the two hugged each other tightly.


    "Xue Fu, don''t leave me." Men don''t cry easily, but Qian Lu was heartbroken at the possibility of losing her.


    Xue Fu cried sorrowfully, "I don''t want to leave you, Husband. But we cannot disobey the imperial order."


    "No, I don''t care. I will be with you even if that means death!" Qian Lu looked determined. He would not give his wife to the Emperor even if the Emperor cut off his head.


    "Husband, don''t say silly things like that! I want you to live safely."


    "What''s the meaning of my life without you?"


    "..." Xue Fu cried quietly and shook her head.


    Qian Dagui closed his eyes at the painful scene in front of him. The imperial servants would soon arrive to pick up Xue Fu, so Qian Dagui finally decided on his sacrifice, "Say no more. Leave if you truly love each other. Go somewhere far, somewhere they can''t find you, and live a good life."


    "Father, what about you?" The idea was like a glass of cold wine, which made Qian Lu wake up. It was true, they could still run away, but he couldn''t let his father stay behind."


    Qian Dagui sat down and sighed, "I''m old. I''ve worked hard all my life and all my businesses are here, I''m not going anywhere."


    "No, Father. Please come with us."


    "Enough, stop wasting time. Hurry up and pack, it will be too late if you waste more time."


    "No, if His Majesty blames you..." Disobeying the order would get him beheaded. Qian Lu worried the Emperor would be furious and take Qian Dagui''s life.


    Xue Fu opened her mouth, but someone yelled from outside, "The imperial edict has arrived!"


    "This soon?" The edict arrived too soon, Qian Dagui and Qian Lu panicked.


    "Father, Husband, I don''t know if I will be able to escape from this. If I can''t, please take care of yourselves." Xue Fu finished speaking and rushed outside with tears in her eyes.


    Qian Lu''s mind was chaotic. Xue Fu told him she would convince the Emperor to give up on her, but Qian Lu also gathered information that the entire world knew the Emperor was lecherous. How could a beauty like Xue Fu escape from the Emperor? Xue Fu knew that too, but she was ready to die. If she couldn''t convince the Emperor, she would commit suicide... Qian Lu chased after her like a madman at the thought of this.


    "Xue Fu!"


    The imperial servants who came to pick up Xue Fu heard Qian Lu''s cries and paused. The head eunuch looked at Qian Lu with a frowning face. Qian Dagui sensed the dissatisfaction from the eunuch and quickly ordered the servants to stop Qian Lu. Qian Lu''s helpless cries filled the entire Qian Residence, "Xue Fu, no! Don''t go! Xue Fu!"


    Xue Fu turned around and smiled with tears in her eyes, then she left with the eunuch, leaving drops of tears which have yet evaporated on the ground.

 CH 18

    Xue Fu entered the imperial residence for three days, and then she never stepped out from it. Qian Lu cried for days and nights as he recalled everything about Xue Fu--- their first encounter, their wedding, their love, Xue Fu''s happy smile, the satisfaction on her face when she ate food, the tears she shed for him, and the sacrifice she made for the Qian Family. Everything swept across Qian Lu''s mind like a tornado. Eventually, Qian Lu lost his sanity and made a song, singing it in front of the imperial residence every day like a madman, "Building a palace, the Emperor arrives. The Emperor arrives, the Emperor wants to sleep, the Emperor wants everyone''s wives..."


    At this point, they were only waiting for the Emperor''s order to execute the entire Qian Family, including the servants, for singing such a song in front of the imperial residence. The imperial guards soon arrested Qian Lu and put him in jail. Qian Dagui couldn''t save him no matter how much he was willing to bail out his son. Every hope turned into dust, and Qian Dagui thought he was also dead on the inside. The strange thing was that the Emperor gave out two orders--- the first order was to behead Qian Dagui, Qian Lu, and everyone in the Qian Family; however, the second order was only to behead Qian Lu. It was odd, and everyone discussed the reason behind it. They couldn''t figure out why and they all went to see Qian Lu''s sentence. As the executioner swung his giant sword, fresh blood gushed and splattered from Qian Lu''s broken neck. His head rolled on the ground to the side with his eyes still open.


    Qian Dagui drowned in pain and sorrow after losing his son at an old age. He picked up his son''s body but not the head because Qian Lu''s head was hung on the stone gate in the south of the town as a warning sign for others. Qian Dagui buried his son''s body in a grave and went to the south side to visit his son''s head. He always felt like his son was still alive because his eyes were still wide open, glaring furiously towards the front. Everyone thought that place was haunted, and no one dared to walk past that area at night.


    One night, a strange woman appeared. She stood under Qian Lu''s head and stared at it for a long time. Eventually, she spoke without any feelings, "Don''t blame me. If there is anything to blame, it''s because you''re Qian Dagui''s son." As soon as she finished speaking, Qian Lu closed his eyes as if he had nothing else to say.


    The Zhou Family finally knew that their daughter went crazy after Qian Lu died. In a moment, the Zhou and Qian Family were making a huge scene. Qian Dagui no longer had the energy to argue with the Zhou Family, and he paid no attention to them, no matter how much the Zhou Family tried to provoke him. He was the same as a dead man other than the fact that he could still walk a few steps. One of the most prominent families in Pingshan Town died down just like this. As no more murder happened after the Qian Family''s downfall, everyone flattered the Emperor, saying that the Emperor''s arrival saved them and that the monster was scared of the Emperor''s dragon aura. The Emperor was extremely pleased and changed Pingshan Town''s name to Longxi Town, meaning the dragon resides here and no monster should dare to harm the people.


    When the entire town was celebrating, another strange thing happened in the imperial residence; the Emperor''s Concubine Snow went missing. No one knew where she went, whether she died or alive. Although the Emperor didn''t want to give up on her, he must return to the Imperial Palace and leave Longxi Town.


    After the Emperor left, everything returned to normal. Compared to before, now the town had some worth celebrating events from the tragedy since all the things the Emperor touched were listed as the town''s treasures. The only difference from the rest of the current town was the Qian Family. All the servants left, the almighty Qian Residence was empty, and Qian Dagui was alone. The fallen leaves scattered all over the ground, but there was no one to clean them. All the furniture and objects covered in dusks, even the wild birds that couldn''t find food made a stop in the yard. Qian Dagui no longer cared about anything, and he sat in his son''s room every day as if he had dementia.

 CH 19

    In the middle of a dark night, an uninvited guest came to the Qian Residence and pushed the door slightly. Qian Dagui looked up and widened his mouth, "You..."


    "I''m still alive, Father..." The woman smiled brightly and looked at Qian Dagui as if he was the biggest joke in the world, "But your son is dead. What a shame."


    It wasn''t the Xue Fu he once knew. Qian Dagui shook his head and asked, "You are not Xue Fu. Who are you?"


    "How am I not Xue Fu? I am Xue Fu, your daughter-in-law." The woman did not look kindly at all, her face was full of fox''s fierceness as if she was going to swallow someone alive.


    Qian Dagui smelt blood on her and cried in alarm, "You killed those people in town?"


    "That''s right," Xue Fu smiled and walked closer to Qian Dagui, "After Qian Lu fell asleep, I would go out once every three nights to kill them. Of course, I didn''t only kill them, I ate all their hearts and lungs..."


    "Why would you do that?" Qian Dagui couldn''t understand why Xue Fu did such a thing, was she really like what Zhou Hanliu accused her as... "Are you really the monster?"


    "Hahahaha," The woman laughed loudly and waved her hands, "It''s too late that you found out just now. But it wouldn''t be fun if you had known earlier. You''ll be like that woman shouting that I''m a monster to everyone. I pity you; your baby boy wouldn''t believe you even if you said I''m a monster."


    "You... Lu''er loved you so much, and the Qian Family treated you well. You shouldn''t have got him killed even if you are a monster! Don''t you have any feelings at all?" Qian Dagui was shaking from fury. He forgot that he was scared and pointed a finger at Xue Fu.


    The woman mumbled to herself after he reminded her of it, "You are right. I shouldn''t have done that. I shouldn''t have seduced the Emperor, and I shouldn''t have enjoyed my time with the Emperor every night. I shouldn''t have let your precious son think that I suffered so much humiliation because of him that I sacrificed myself to protect the Qian Family. If I didn''t do that, he wouldn''t have died.


    "You monster!" Qian Dagui was furious at the thought of his son''s death. He raised an arm and wanted to hit Xue Fu. When his hand was about to touch Xue Fu, he was sent flying in the air. Qian Dagui finally felt the terror and curled up in a corner as he saw the crimson light glistening in Xue Fu''s eyes; it was the symbol of a devil. He saw a snow-white fox tail stretching out from under her dress, it was as tall as a man. Xue Fu''s emotions fluctuated more as her tail swayed more, she eventually growled, "It''s all your fault! I wanted to kill everyone in town and let you die in terror, but you just had to build that imperial residence! I simply acted on the chances you gave me, or your son wouldn''t have died so early! Because I wanted to play until the last moment, I want you to be scared, I want you to feel pains, I want to torture you more!"


    "We... We have no grudges, why are you doing this to me?" Qian Dagui knew he was going to die, yet he still wanted to know why Xue Fu did this.


    Xue Fu smiled and squatted down next to Qian Dagui. She touched his chest with her paw, "It looks like you forget things easily. Did you forget how much you wanted me? Did you forget the farmer who lived on the mountain?"


    "Farmer?" Qian Dagui tried his best to recall. The farmer on the mountain, the farmer he killed more than twenty years ago. Qian Dagui only wanted the farmer''s white fox, but the farmer would rather die than give it to him. At that time, Qian Dagui searched around the area himself, but he couldn''t find the fox anywhere. He finally understood everything, "You are the white fox?!"

 CH 20

    "That''s right, I''m the fox. Didn''t you want to skin me?" Xue Fu looked at Qian Dagui alluringly and reminded him, "My real name is Snow Fox (1), not Xue Fu."


    Qian Dagui collapsed on the ground and cried, "You wanted to take revenge on me, why wouldn''t you let Lu''er go?"


    "Let him go? What do you mean by that? Your humans talk about ''a dutiful son is obliged to pay his father''s debts'', isn''t it?" Snow Fox swayed her tail and looked at Qian Dagui. "It''s too easy to just kill you with a knife because you won''t understand how it feels to be alone and the pain of losing your family. I want you to be like me, I want you to taste how it feels to watch your family die because of you." Snow Fox forced Qian Dagui to look her in the eyes and used her powers to show him how she killed those people, including how Zhou Hanliu discovered her as a fox. Everything seemed to happen in front of his own eyes and Qian Dagui''s body twitched. He felt nothing but regret, he regretted that he didn''t listen to Zhou Hanliu. Zhou Hanliu wasn''t pretending to be crazy, she lost her sanity from terror. That night, Zhou Hanliu couldn''t sleep and look towards Xue Fu''s window. She saw Xue Fu coming back as half human and half fox after she consumed someone. Snow Fox didn''t kill Zhou Hanliu because she knew that no one would believe what Zhou Hanliu said, so she left her alive to give Qian Dagui more problems to handle. Everything played in Qian Dagui''s mind as if he did it himself and how he got his son killed. When he saw the moment Qian Lu was beheaded again, he couldn''t cope with it anymore and used a hairpin Xue Fu left at home, stabbing into his own heart.


    "You can''t die!" Snow Fox saw that Qian Dagui had committed suicided; she used her powers to save him because her hatred hadn''t disappeared yet, and she was still in pain.


    At this moment, a man dressed in a simple robe appeared in the Qian Residence with a sword in his hand. He kicked the door open and yelled, "Demon fox, that''s enough!"


    Snow Fox trembled at the sight of him. Although she had never met him before, she knew this man was strong. She left Qian Dagui, transformed into formless air, and escaped as fast as she could. This began the story of the highly powerful Master who chased after a white fox. It continued for nineteen years; from north to south, from the depths of mountains to the sea, the Master never gave up trying to capture the evil white fox. Eventually, twenty years later, he caught the white fox who was about to give birth and stabbed her stomach, killing her unborn child along with her, sending both of them to the Underworld.


    Snow Fox didn''t know how long she walked until she arrived at the Naihe Bridge(2). On the other side of the bridge was the Three-Life Stone, where all the souls could see what happened in their past lives. Snow Fox dragged her blood-filled body to the Three-Life Stone--- everything happened before she reincarnated as a fox, her encounter with the farmer flashed across her eyes. Not only so, the stone also showed those who were closely connected to her. Snow Fox saw Qian Lu on it, and she was confused. A dark-faced deity who stood next to it with a writing brush spoke coldly, "It''s nothing strange. What you plant in the previous life grows in the next. Qian Dagui killed the farmer so I made the farmer reincarnate as Qian Dagui''s son to make him pay for it."


    "..." Snow Fox trembled. Qian Lu was the farmer in reincarnation. Snow Fox had been seeking revenge on the person who saved her life all these times. Blood dripped down from Snow Fox''s face as she cried. She turned around and saw Qian Lu''s soul standing behind her, he had waited for twenty years just to meet her.

 CH 21

    The two souls that tangled together for two lifetimes finally met by the Naihe Bridge, they looked at each other. Snow Fox didn''t know what hatred was, and she finally understood why she couldn''t laugh the night she saw Qian Lu''s head hung at the stone gate.


    "Do you hate me?"


    "I miss you. I missed my little fox in the previous life, and I miss my Xue Fu in this life." Qian Lu smiled. Snow Fox didn''t know Qian Lu''s love for her was already deep in his bones, he didn''t regret nor hate her.


    Snow Fox looked down and cried bitterly. She didn''t know how to express her feelings and she couldn''t understand what they were; the only thing she could say was, "I''m sorry."


    "We are a couple, there''s no need to say that between you and I. I should be the one apologizing. If it weren''t for me, you wouldn''t have stepped into the mundane world." Qian Lu slowly walked to Snow Fox and lightly caressed her face as he spoke gently, "I know how much you suffered because of me."


    "I..." Snow Fox didn''t want to tell him, she couldn''t bring herself to do it. She discovered that she was pregnant during her escape, and it was Qian Lu''s child. When she tried to kill the child, she realized she couldn''t do it. It wasn''t only because it was her child, but because it was Qian Lu''s child too. Snow Fox used her spiritual powers to stop the child''s birth as she faced the Master''s pursuit. She couldn''t defy fate. When she thought she could finally give birth to the child safely, the Master found her. She could transform into thin air to escape again, but it would hurt her child; hence she stayed in her true form to protect her child when the Master killed her.


    Qian Lu already saw these from the Three-Life Stone, and he loved her even more now. He didn''t hate her even though Snow Fox killed him, he waited patiently by the bridge and finally met her again. He knew their reunion won''t be long, so he cherished this short moment and hugged her tightly.


    "I should have memorized. Whether it was the previous life or this life, I don''t want to forget any of it. If I didn''t forget you, we wouldn''t have missed each other despite being deeply in love. If I had only recognized you earlier, we could have gone back to the mountains and lived there happily. Perhaps it''s too late to say this, but please remember I will always love you no matter how many lives I live. Snow Fox, I will always love you whether you are a human or a fox." Qian Lu hugged her so tightly as if she would disappear if he let her go.


    Snow Fox cried loudly and hugged him back, "I don''t want to leave you again."


    "Don''t cry, we won''t leave each other again if we live in each other''s hearts." Qian Lu''s tears fell onto Snow Fox''s shoulder, and when she wasn''t noticing, he quickly carried her and jumped into the Wangchuan River. The water of the Wangchuan River flowed at great speed, and numerous evil souls struggled in it. The moment Qian Lu''s lower body fell into the river, he used all his strength to throw Snow Fox to the Shore. He smiled as he watched Snow Fox climb on the Shore with great panic, "I love you..." As soon as he finished speaking, all the evil souls who couldn''t be reincarnated dragged him down into the Wangchuan River and drowned him.


    The Shore was filled with Snow Fox''s mournful cries, and her tears dyed the flowers into crimson red. Mr. Wangchuan stood not far from her and watched her cry.


    "Don''t cry. He loves you dearly. He sacrificed himself to let you restart from your sinful life by sending you to me. If you love him, do what he wishes you to do."

 CH 22

    The deeper the love was, the happier and more painful it was to recall the memories. Snow Fox recalled what happened in the past again, she smiled through her tears, and two droplets of red tears slid down her face and fell on the flowers. Parrot was also upset at Snow Fox¡¯s sadness. She whispered, ¡°Sister Snow Fox, I finally understand why you watch the Wangchuan River every day and do nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s painful, I''ve lived in happiness for thousands of years now.¡± Snow Fox wiped away her tears and smiled beautifully. She spent a thousand years trying to understand what love was, and Qian Lu¡¯s love for her was already planted deep in her heart.


    Parrot nodded, half understanding what she meant. She suddenly widened her mouth when she spotted Mr. Wangchuan standing behind Snow Fox without a smile, ¡°Sir¡­¡±


    ¡°You should help me if you have the time to chat around,¡± Mr. Wangchuan had no expression on his face, and before he left, he glanced at Parrot and Snow Fox, who sat on the grass.


    Parrot hummed naughtily and complained unhappily, ¡°Sir must¡¯ve had another cheater, that¡¯s why he¡¯s in a bad mood.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, or he will be angry at us,¡± Snow Fox stood up, held Parrot¡¯s hand, and headed to the Wangquan Residence together. After a few steps, they saw a half rotten python shamelessly staying at the Wangquan Residence. The python curled its tail on the bamboo pole and mourned with its large, bloody mouth, ¡°Help me, I¡¯m begging you, help me!¡±


    Snow Fox sighed and tried to convince him, ¡°You should just leave, Mr. Wangchuan won¡¯t help you.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right. You asked Mr. Wangchuan to save you, but you didn¡¯t tell the truth. He¡¯s already mad. If you don¡¯t leave, Sister Snow Fox and I will have to throw you into the Wangchuan River.¡± Parrot pouted. This had happened many times over the years; there were always souls who wanted to seek help but lied about their life stories. Perhaps they did too many bad things, and perhaps they tried to be cunning, but Mr. Wangchuan was too clever to be cheated on. Mr. Wangchuan usually reminded them to tell the truth, and he only gave up on curing them when they refused to be treated.


    The rotten python looked at the two weak-looking girls and didn¡¯t take them seriously. It roared, ¡°What? You two?¡±


    ¡°Are you thinking that we can¡¯t make you leave?¡± Snow Fox smiled. Some ignorant and stupid souls always thought so, but they didn¡¯t know that the Shore had powers. The Earth and Heaven were immense, but nothing could be as immensely powerful as Mr. Wangchuan¡¯s spiritual power. In the Underworld, no matter how fierce the souls were, how good they were at sorcery, or how powerless they were, no one could match Snow Fox and Parrot as Mr. Wangchuan taught and trained the two himself.


    The python nudged and smiled viciously, ¡°By all means, give it a try.¡±


    Snow Fox didn¡¯t speak nor move, and Parrot skipped towards the giant snake. Although the python was rotten and disgusting, luckily, she was already used to it. She grabbed the python¡¯s tail without using any strength and dragged it lightly before the python yelped and let go of the bamboo pole in pain. Parrot dragged the python towards the Wangchuan River, not forgetting to turn around and smile at Snow Fox, ¡°Sister Snow Fox, leave the stupid big snake to me.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Snow Fox nodded and smiled. She had spent many years with Parrot and knew that Parrot was a kind girl. Although Mr. Wangchuan ordered her to throw all the souls who lied to him into the Wangchuan River, Parrot was too kind and didn¡¯t do it. When she handled these souls alone, she always sent them back to the other side where the Three-Life Stone lay so that the other messengers would take them instead, extremely painful punishments would be better than suffering in the Wangchuan River for eternity.

 CH 23

    Snow Fox stood by the gate, and as she watched Parrot walking away, she heard Mr. Wangchuan calling her name from the inside, "Snow Fox."


    "Yes, Mr. Wangchuan?" Snow Fox walked into the Wangchuan Residence slowly and saw Mr. Wangchuan leaning on the tea table with a tight frown. Even so, Mr. Wangchuan was a rare beauty in the world. His eyes were as bright as the torch, his nose was like a tall mountain, and his expressions were solemn like rivers and mountains. When Snow Fox indulged in his beauty, Mr. Wangchuan looked up at her earnestly.


    "I''m planning to go to the human world."


    "Sir, you are going to the human world?" Snow Fox had never seen Mr. Wangchuan step foot outside the Shore, and she was curious about the reason that made him make this decision, "Why?"


    "A patient," Mr. Wangchuan picked up the scroll on the table and threw it to her.


    Snow Fox knew it was the scroll that recorded down all the patients'' stories and asked, "Sir?"


    "You are in charge of looking after the Wangchuan Residence while I''m gone. If anyone comes, tell them to record their names down according to my rules and tell them to come back after a year," Mr. Wangchuan finished speaking and felt worried, "And you must keep an eye on Parrot, don''t let her cause trouble. We have to be careful so we don''t nurture a tiger."


    "I understand," Snow Fox wasn''t surprised to hear what Mr. Wangchuan said. Mr. Wangchuan was a powerful man, there was no way he didn''t know what Parrot did. He probably knew Parrot was freeing all those souls, but he just didn''t stop her.


    In a blink of an eye, Mr. Wangchuan returned to his room. His room was on the left side of the Wangchuan Residence, and Snow Fox and Parrot''s rooms were on the right side. Snow Fox sighed in relief after Mr. Wangchuan left and sat down by the table while opening the scroll. The scroll wasn''t an ordinary object; it wasn''t heavy, but it recorded so many wonders of the world. Snow Fox had nothing to do and started scrolling through the stories. Then she saw one story and she couldn''t skip it. Mr. Wangchuang drew a red circle with cinnabar ink around it, this symbol usually meant that the patient was not fully recovered. What kind of illness even Mr. Wangchuan couldn''t cure? Snow Fox was curious and read it closely.


    It was a story about the Yab-Yum. The so-called Yab-Yum was a Yidam in Vajrayana of Tibetan Buddhism. It was also known as the Yu Tian and Ai Shen, representing a man and a woman. The man represented the active force, and the woman represented wisdom. The sexual embrace represented the primordial union of wisdom and compassion. It is often known as the method of a man and woman cultivating together in the mundane world. The protagonist''s name in his first life was Zhao Tianhu, a local famous evil tyrant. He looked ominous and only did evil, he bullied the weak and was afraid of no one. However, Zhao Tianhu was different on the inside. Although he looked fierce that no one dared to offend him, he desired something deep inside his heart. He did not know what he wanted until one day, he met a prostitute named Su Qing''e. He planned to have a one-night-stand with her, but it didn''t end as he expected. After that night, he felt like he was thinking about Su Qing''e during the days and nights, but he didn''t believe it was love even if someone put a knife against his throat. Su Qing''e was the most famous lewd prostitute there. Other girls were either forced or had no choice but to become a prostitute, but she was different. It seemed like she was born naturally, and she even respected her job excessively. Whether those men were rich or poor, officials or homeless, they could go into her room as long as she wanted. They even exaggerated that because Su Qing''e was so obsessed with making love, she had to change a new wooden bed every year, Zhao Tianhu thought there was no way he''d fall in love with a woman like this.

 CH 24

    Snow Fox stood by the gate, and as she watched Parrot walking away, she heard Mr. Wangchuan calling her name from the inside, "Snow Fox."


    "Yes, Mr. Wangchuan?" Snow Fox walked into the Wangchuan Residence slowly and saw Mr. Wangchuan leaning on the tea table with a tight frown. Even so, Mr. Wangchuan was a rare beauty in the world. His eyes were as bright as the torch, his nose was like a tall mountain, and his expressions were solemn like rivers and mountains. When Snow Fox indulged in his beauty, Mr. Wangchuan looked up at her earnestly.


    "I''m planning to go to the human world."


    "Sir, you are going to the human world?" Snow Fox had never seen Mr. Wangchuan step foot outside the Shore, and she was curious about the reason that made him make this decision, "Why?"


    "A patient," Mr. Wangchuan picked up the scroll on the table and threw it to her.


    Snow Fox knew it was the scroll that recorded down all the patients'' stories and asked, "Sir?"


    "You are in charge of looking after the Wangchuan Residence while I''m gone. If anyone comes, tell them to record their names down according to my rules and tell them to come back after a year," Mr. Wangchuan finished speaking and felt worried, "And you must keep an eye on Parrot, don''t let her cause trouble. We have to be careful so we don''t nurture a tiger."


    "I understand," Snow Fox wasn''t surprised to hear what Mr. Wangchuan said. Mr. Wangchuan was a powerful man, there was no way he didn''t know what Parrot did. He probably knew Parrot was freeing all those souls, but he just didn''t stop her.


    In a blink of an eye, Mr. Wangchuan returned to his room. His room was on the left side of the Wangchuan Residence, and Snow Fox and Parrot''s rooms were on the right side. Snow Fox sighed in relief after Mr. Wangchuan left and sat down by the table while opening the scroll. The scroll wasn''t an ordinary object; it wasn''t heavy, but it recorded so many wonders of the world. Snow Fox had nothing to do and started scrolling through the stories. Then she saw one story and she couldn''t skip it. Mr. Wangchuang drew a red circle with cinnabar ink around it, this symbol usually meant that the patient was not fully recovered. What kind of illness even Mr. Wangchuan couldn''t cure? Snow Fox was curious and read it closely.


    It was a story about the Yab-Yum. The so-called Yab-Yum was a Yidam in Vajrayana of Tibetan Buddhism. It was also known as the Yu Tian and Ai Shen, representing a man and a woman. The man represented the active force, and the woman represented wisdom. The sexual embrace represented the primordial union of wisdom and compassion. It is often known as the method of a man and woman cultivating together in the mundane world. The protagonist''s name in his first life was Zhao Tianhu, a local famous evil tyrant. He looked ominous and only did evil, he bullied the weak and was afraid of no one. However, Zhao Tianhu was different on the inside. Although he looked fierce that no one dared to offend him, he desired something deep inside his heart. He did not know what he wanted until one day, he met a prostitute named Su Qing''e. He planned to have a one-night-stand with her, but it didn''t end as he expected. After that night, he felt like he was thinking about Su Qing''e during the days and nights, but he didn''t believe it was love even if someone put a knife against his throat. Su Qing''e was the most famous lewd prostitute there. Other girls were either forced or had no choice but to become a prostitute, but she was different. It seemed like she was born naturally, and she even respected her job excessively. Whether those men were rich or poor, officials or homeless, they could go into her room as long as she wanted. They even exaggerated that because Su Qing''e was so obsessed with making love, she had to change a new wooden bed every year, Zhao Tianhu thought there was no way he''d fall in love with a woman like this.Yab-Yum (Part 2)


    One day, the gathering of the Manhong House''s Oiran attracted many high officials and noble people; everyone was there for the Oiran. The Manhong House was full of people crowded inside and outside, but Zhao Tianhu was the only exception. He wore a blue shirt with an exposed chest, his body hairs and beard made him look like an exceptionally rough man. He stood in front of the Manhong House and grinned at Su Qing''e while leaning against the fence. He didn''t know whether it was intentional or not, but he felt like Su Qing''e was casting flirtatious glances at him and his impulse wanted to tear apart the semi-transparent thin layer fabric of hers.


    Perhaps because everyone was there for the Oiran and no one wanted her, Su Qing''e let Zhao Tianhu stay at the Manhong House that night. They were in a room in the corner of the third floor, and it was relatively quiet there. Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e sat across from each other, he could smell the fragrance of Su Qing''e''s makeup. His body tensed up, and Su Qing''e smiled, "Brother Zhao, what''s wrong with you today? You look more like a nobleman than ever."


    "Said who?" Zhao Tianhu sounded coarse. He was a rough fellow, and no one said he looked like a nobleman since he left his mother''s womb.


    Su Qing''e fanned herself and smiled lightly, "Aren''t you? You are in my room, and you just sit here like that?"


    Her intention was obvious. Zhao Tianhu wasn''t a hypocrite and threw himself toward her like a starving wolf. After a moment of kissing, he carried Su Qing''e to the bed by the waist, and his barbaric actions made Su Qing''e giggle. The two of them couldn''t stop; when they were about to take each other''s clothes off, the brothel keeper called her from outside, "Qing''e, Master Li is here. Take good care of him tonight."


    Who was Master Li? He was the local parental official who everyone worshiped. If Su Qing''e remembered correctly, he should be here for the Oiran today. But why would he be here at her door? Before she could think through it, she kicked Zhao Tianhu under her bed. Zhao Tianhu wasn''t stupid either; although he was an evil tyrant, it was a natural law that they do not fight the officials. Who would''ve known that he would bump into Master Li? It was too late to leave, and he had no choice but to hide under her bed, hugging his clothes and shoes.


    At the same time, the door cracked open, and the heavy smell of alcohol invaded the room. Su Qing''e welcomed him with her clothes half falling and smiled charmingly while rubbing his chest, "Master Li, you are here. I''ve missed you so much."


    "Really? Did you miss me?" She didn''t know what went wrong that made him drink so much, he was too drunk to even talk and walk properly.


    Su Qing''e parted her lips and replied, "Of course, you haven''t been here for so long."


    "Who said I wasn''t coming, Beauty? Here I am, aren''t I?" Master Li cracked a grin and his face was dark and red at the same time; droplets of alcohol were still hanging from his beard. Perhaps he mistook Su Qing''e for the Oiran, he smiled pervertedly and put his hand on Su Qing''e''s chest.


    Su Qing''e twisted her waist and giggled as she leaned on him, "You are so bad."


    "You wouldn''t love me if I weren''t bad." Although Master Li was drunk, at least he knew there was a woman in front of him and knew what he should do; he walked to the bed while holding Su Qing''e''s thin waist.

 CH 25

    Zhao Tianhu had a hard time hiding under the bed. He heard Su Qing''e moaning, and the bed started to shake with the sounds of their enjoyment. It made Zhao Tianhu''s heart itch, wanting to kill Master Li. But he could only dare to think about it; there was no way he could kill Master Li at the Manhong House. He had no choice but to tolerate it. It went on for half of the night. Zhao Tianhu almost closed his eyes in drowsiness, and then he suddenly heard Su Qing''s tender call, "Master Li? Master Li?" There was no reply. Zhao Tianhu felt Su Qing''e panicking as her voice trembled, "Wake up, Master Li!"


    Zhao Tianhu smiled coldly. He thought this damned Master Li was probably exhausted and faint from pleasure. After a while, Su Qing''e parted the bed curtain and whispered to Zhao Tianhu, "Master Li is dead!"


    "What?" A clap of thunder struck his head. Although he cursed Master Li and wished him to die early, no one would expect him to die in Su Qing''e''s room. Plus he was in the room, too; he wouldn''t be able to get away if the news spread out. He quickly climbed out and felt Master Li''s breathing, it was completely stopped. The room suddenly felt much colder, and goosebumps quickly covered his body. The almighty Master Li was lying naked on the bed like a dead pig.


    "What do we do, Brother Zhao?" Su Qing''e wore only undergarments, and her face turned ash gray.


    Zhao Tianhu dusted his hand and replied while looking at her, "What else can we do? He died in your room, and it will be a death sentence if they find out."


    "Brother Zhao, I don''t want to die, you have to save me," Su Qing''e cried.


    Her voice was too loud; Zhao Tianhu quickly covered her mouth while warning her, "Stop crying if you want to live."


    Su Qing''e looked at Zhao Tianhu and nodded in tears. After discussing, they decided to sneak the body out of the room and bury it in a desolated area out of town. Zhao Tianhu''s martial arts and skills came into use at a time like this. He used the bedsheets to wrap Master Li, then tied a rope to Su Qing''e''s waist. He slowly dropped Su Qing''e down the window carrying Master Li''s clothes and after she landed, she untied the rope and he dropped Master Li''s body down. Finally, he leaped out from the window. He stole two fast horses for convenience; one horse had Master Li''s body tied on its back while he and Su Qing''e rode the same horse and guided the other.


    The trotting of the hoofs became distant. An hour later, they arrived at an area far from the town. Zhao Tianhu dug a deep hole and buried Master Li''s clothes and his corpse  under the moonlight; he carefully covered it with some fallen leaves so others wouldn''t notice that someone had dug through here.


    On the way back, Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e unified their statements, and they didn''t rush back to the Manhong House. They wandered around the area; after making sure that there was no more ruckus there, Zhao Tianhu helped Su Qing''e get through the window again. Perhaps Heaven was helping them. Zhao Tianhu was thankful that a part of the city wall was broken. If it weren''t for the huge hole, he wouldn''t be able to get past the soldiers at the wall, no matter how skillful he was.

 CH 26

    The disappearance of Master Li became an uproar by noon on the following day. The Manhong House was the first investigation location, making all the still resting girls wake up. Officials and soldiers surrounded the place, and the brothel keeper was busy with flattering them.


    "Master Liu, please go easy on us. We still need to open our business at night."


    "Give us Master Li if you want your business to open," Master Liu swayed his fan slowly, and his glances fixed on the girls. All the glamorous girls looked exhausted, far from the energy they showed at night.


    The Madam was experienced and smiled, "It''s true that Master Li came here yesterday, but how could you blame his vanishing on us? We always open our door for business; the guests come and go as they wish, and we never ask a thing. Isn''t it too subjective to say that we kidnapped Master Li only because he visited here yesterday?"


    "Sharp tongue, but it doesn''t matter what you say. We will seal your door if you don''t give him back!" Master Li was Master Liu''s teacher; he was the most powerful in status other than Master Li.


    However, he didn''t know that every brothel had prominent characters supporting them behind their backs. The owner of the brothel was reliable, even the guests here were powerful enough for the Madam to speak confidently. She pondered for a while and asked, "And how will you investigate if we don''t have him?"


    "If so, tell us when he came last night and when he left?" Master Liu turned around and looked at the Madam, she wore all sorts of gold and silver jewelry. Although her face was thick with makeup and lost the beauty of youth, she still looked slightly younger than most women of her age.


    The Madam smiled and pointed at the hall, "We had the Oiran gathering last night; it was already full and crowded by sunset. Almost all the guests were here for the Oiran, and of course, Master Li was no exception. He was here even earlier than the others, and he sat right here." The Madam pointed at a table towards the front.


    Master Liu glanced over and asked, "And?"


    "And, Master Li was waiting for the Oiran to throw the ball of ribbons just like all the other guests. It was a shame that the Oiran didn''t take a liking to him and gave the ball to a handsome, wealthy young master." The Madam recalled Master Li''s loneliness and wanted to laugh at him. Although many people had the same expression, she only found his face to be exceptionally funny. It wasn''t strange, too; he often rode over others in town, and suddenly a rival defeated him. It was as funny as it could be. The Madam laughed because she didn''t dare to do so on that day.


    "In other words, Master Li wasn''t the one who spent the night with the Oiran?"


    "Exactly."


    "Nonsense. If that''s the case, why didn''t he come back for the whole night?"


    "Master, did you think we only have one girl in the Manhong House? Why couldn''t Master Li pick another girl he likes?" The Madam pushed Master Li to Su Qing''e intentionally because she was pretty and the only one out of all the girls who could make men faint from happiness. Although Master Li wasn''t picked for the Oiran''s first night, the Madam was smart, and she didn''t want to offend him because of this.

 CH 27

    Master Liu glanced at all the girls there and asked, "Is she here? The girl who took care of Master Li last night?"


    "Of course, she''s right there, isn''t she?" The Madam smiled and pointed at Su Qing''e. Her face was pale, but so were the other girls; hence she didn''t look suspicious at all.


    On the other hand, Master Liu''s face turned green when he saw Su Qing''e. He was a regular to her, and he didn''t know how to interrogate her on the spot. He quickly changed the topic, "Why is the Oiran the only one absent?"


    "Ah, it''s not a good time if you wish to see her," the Madam smiled profoundly and whispered, "She''s still resting with the Young Master."


    "Go knock on her door and tell her that I''m investigating a case." Master Liu ordered without a second thought.


    The Madam heard him and hesitated, "Well..." She knew that Master Liu was serious. Although she had supporters, they wouldn''t be able to help her immediately, and it wasn''t smart to offend him.


    Master Liu saw her standing there and roared, "Hurry up!"


    "Ahh," The Madam sighed and walked upstairs while lifting up her skirt. At this time, a handsome young master appeared with a paper fan in his hand and smiled, "Master, are you looking for me?"


    "Pri......" Master Liu''s face turned pale; it was a nobleman that he would only meet once every decade! He wanted to behead his subordinates as no one reported to him that such an important person came into his administration area. He knelt on the ground, "I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness."


    "Stand up. No need to be so polite. I came here for a private matter, and there''s no need for kneeling if you are investigating a case," the Young Master smiled as he approached Master Liu.


    Master Liu''s knees and legs were weak at the sight of the Prince; he didn''t even have the courage to stand up. He recalled what he said, afraid the Prince heard it; his heart drummed anxiously, "I was unaware of your presence, Your Highness. Please forgive me for my rudeness."


    "You may stand up. I''m quite interested; what kind of situation made you want to turn this place into turmoil?" The Prince beamed and sat down on the chair.


    The Madam learned the Young Master was a royal prince, and she was delighted. She wasn''t afraid of them closing the business down if he was here. She quickly brewed tea for him, "Your Highness, please have some tea."


    "Mhm," the Prince nodded as he was just feeling thirsty.


    Master Liu heard his question and replied honestly, "Your Highness, Master Li disappeared after he visited here last night. There''s no one taking care of his residence, and that''s why I''m here to investigate the matter."


    "Really?" The Prince blinked and asked, "Did you find out about anything?"


    "Nothing, Your Highness." Master Liu looked down and refused to stand up.


    The Prince shook his head and gave him some advice, "He disappeared, so of course, you need to look for the last person who saw him."


    "Thank you for your advice, Your Highness. Silly me, I will immediately do so."


    "So, who''s the last person who saw Master Li?"


    "It''s..." Master Liu''s forehead was full of sweats. Su Qing''e was the last person who saw Master Li, and if she was really part of it, then the Prince may suspect that he murdered Master Li to climb up the ladder. He hated to say it was Su Qing''e, but too many people knew it; there was no way to hide it, "It was Su Qing''e from the Manhong House."

 CH 28

    Su Qing''e was scared, and her knees started to wobble when Master Liu said her name. Sweats dripped down her face, and her face became even paler. The Prince was looking at her, and she nervously played with the ribbon on her dress.


    The Prince smiled. He has heard of Su Qing''e before. The rumors said she could make a man stay up all night, and he didn''t know if it was true or not. He wanted to ask, but it was not the right time; instead, he asked, "Are you Su Qing''e?"


    "Yes, I am," Su Qing''e''s mind was full of the place where they buried Master Li. She always thought someone would find it, and her voice trembled with fear.


    The Prince pointed at himself to his face when he saw her tremble, "Am I that scary?"


    "Of course not, Your Highness. Su Qing''e is small-minded and has never seen the larger world before."


    The Prince was busy, too, and he didn''t want to announce publicly that he was at a place like this. Although Master Liu was investigating the case, he didn''t have the power to interrogate the Prince. The Prince had enough fun, and it was about time to go back too; he stood up and said, "It''s getting late, and I need to head back. Work on the case and end it soon."


    "Yes, Your Highness." Master Liu''s face piled with smiles as he prayed for the Prince to leave so he could be more relaxed.


    The Madam couldn''t stop the Prince from leaving even if she wanted to. She called out after Master Liu, "Farewell, Your Highness."


    Everyone watched the Prince leave, and Master Liu knew exactly what he meant; the Prince didn''t want them to spread the news that he was at a brothel. First, Master Liu couldn''t investigate the Oiran because she didn''t have the time to commit the crime, and looking into her meant looking into the Prince too. Then, he warned everyone present there, he cleared his throat and roared, "Listen to me carefully, all of you! No one is going to tell anyone that the Prince was here today; otherwise, be careful with your heads!"


    They all exchanged glances with each other, and no one dared to say anything. They quickly locked their lips and told themselves never to say a word about this. The Madam saw her helper had left, she changed her attitude and flattered, "Master Liu, how do you want to investigate the case?"


    "Since no one else took part in it, I will take Su Qing''e back first." Master Liu didn''t want to make a scene at the Manhong House after the Prince showed himself, but he would also be in trouble if he didn''t find Master Li. Whether Su Qing''e committed the crime or not, he had to take her back for interrogation either way.


    Su Qing''e heard she was going back to the office with him, she quickly hid and rambled, "No, I don''t want to go to the jail, no..." Before she could finish her sentence, Master Liu''s subordinates sealed her mouth smartly.


    Su Qing''e was taken away silently, and the soldiers soon left too. The Madam couldn''t help but sigh, "What kind of thing is this? It''s either people finding troubles or troubles finding them! How unlucky!" Su Qing''e was the second most popular prostitute besides the most popular one. Although not all officials and noblemen fought over her, she was always a reliable person. Su Qing''e''s name was famous in this business, and it was a huge loss to the Manhong House.

 CH 29

    Su Qing''e was taken back to the government office, and her face was pale. She couldn''t use what she was the best at, and a beauty like her stood there numbly. After ordering the other guards to leave, Master Liu paced back and forth in front of her.


    "No one is here now, hurry and tell me. Where did Master Li go?"


    "I... I don''t know." Su Qing''e cried and cried.


    Master Liu saw that no one was there, he panicked and begged, "Please, just tell me. I will die if I don''t find him soon."


    "He left yesterday." Su Qing''e replied fluently. Zhao Tianhu taught Su Qing''e to say this, and she memorized them many times.


    "He left? When?"


    "In the middle of the night. He said he needed to grab something from the prison and left."


    "Really?" Master Liu didn''t seem to believe her. No man would have the energy to go back home because of how good she was in bed, and he had many experiences himself.


    Su Qing''e saw Master Liu''s suspicious glance and replied hurriedly, "It''s true, he really left. I thought it was strange too; he drank so much, but he insisted on going back. I couldn''t ask because I thought something important had happened."


    "Well..." Master Liu was confused at her words. Nothing significant happened here recently, and all the cases were being handled. Unless... Unless Master Li hid something from him and didn''t want him to know. Master Liu thought this was the only possibility, and this could explain why Master Li went missing. Perhaps he wasn''t missing at all, he just went to investigate something important.


    Su Qing''e saw that Master Liu let his guard down and acted boldly. She pulled by his sleeve, "I''m innocent..."


    "Ah..." A cunning look appeared on his face; he never thought of letting Su Qing''e go easily. He grabbed her by the waist and laughed pervertedly, "I need to check if you are innocent or not."


    "How?" Su Qing''e waved the silk handkerchief in her hands and flirted.


    "You tell me," Master Liu couldn''t control himself and carried her inside. He didn''t care that it was still daytime, no one would dare to stop him even if he sought pleasure with her there.


    After they finished, Su Qing''e rested her head on Master Liu''s chest and snorted, "You are so bad. You took me here just for yourself."


    "Aren''t you satisfied? Manhong House is a brothel after all, how is it better than here?" Master Liu was rather pleased with his performance just then, and he never imagined what he would end up like if Master Li appeared here.


    In fact, Master Li didn''t come back, but a guard rushed in and reported with blushing cheeks at the sight in front of him, "Master, we''ve found him!"


    "Found who?" Master Liu didn''t hide and he wasn''t in a hurry to put on his clothes either; he even planted another kiss on Su Qing''e''s shoulder.


    "Master Li''s body."

 CH 30

    After Master Liu rushed outside with his men, Su Qing''e had a bad feeling and went to look for Zhao Tianhu. When Zhao Tianhu heard that the body was found, he was extremely surprised, "How did they find it?"


    "I don''t know. They just said they found it and I came to you." Su Qing''e bit her lips; she had no idea what would happen to Zhao Tianhu and her if they found out that they did it.


    Zhao Tianhu knew murdering was a heavy crime, let alone killing a government official; there was no way they could explain themselves. He looked at Su Qing''e without hesitation, "Our best plan is to leave straight away."


    "Leave? But where?"


    "The world is huge, let''s just get out of here first."


    "But I didn''t bring anything," Su Qing''e looked at herself; she didn''t even have an extra handkerchief other than the clothes she was wearing.


    Zhao Tianhu pulled her by the hand and replied, "We need to get out. If you believe me, I won''t let you starve as long as I, Zhao Tianhu, am alive."


    "Brother Zhao..." Su Qing''e was born naturally to love pleasure, and she had never seen anyone who had genuine feelings for her. She was used to looking at fake feelings and greedy men who wanted her for their desires. She never heard anything good, let alone the matter of life and death. Zhao Tianhu''s words indeed touched her; and she bit her lips, "I''ll go with you."


    After they had made up their mind, they didn''t hesitate and ran away with some money without packing anything. They didn''t greet people they knew on the streets and headed straight to the broken wall like birds in a cage that were going to fly in the sky. But it was still too late. Master Liu and his men caught them as soon as they left the town. The guards surrounded them, and Master Liu walked out from the side, asking slowly, "Zhao Tianhu, Su Qing''e, where are you two going?"


    "We... We are going out for a walk." Zhao Tianhu doubted that they could link them to the case this soon and tried to lie.


    Master Liu looked at Su Qing''e, who was hiding behind him, and asked lazily, "I''m afraid it''s not that simple."


    "Ah, Master Liu, we are both men, you know what we want to do." Zhao Tianhu knew that Master Liu once had something with Su Qing''e and found an excuse.


    Master Liu heard him, and his face changed as he roared, "Know what?! Know that you two are trying to escape after killing someone?"


    "We didn''t kill anyone." Su Qing''e panicked and quickly explained, "Master Li died by himself, we didn''t kill him."


    "No more explaining. Take them back!" Master Liu lost his patience and ordered his men to tie the two up.


    After the witness and evidence were brought to court, Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e finally realized that someone saw them burying the body last night. That person was Chen Er, who was in charge of announcing the hours at night. He went past the Manhong House and saw Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e climbing down the window. He followed them out of curiosity, but it was too dark, and he couldn''t see clearly as they were riding a horse. When Chen Er arrived at the burial spot, Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e were already heading back. After pondering for a while, he thought they might''ve buried something valuable there. He dug the hole open and jumped at Master Li''s body. He was too scared and immediately reported it to the government office.

 CH 31

    After Master Liu rushed outside with his men, Su Qing''e had a bad feeling and went to look for Zhao Tianhu. When Zhao Tianhu heard that the body was found, he was extremely surprised, "How did they find it?"


    "I don''t know. They just said they found it and I came to you." Su Qing''e bit her lips; she had no idea what would happen to Zhao Tianhu and her if they found out that they did it.


    Zhao Tianhu knew murdering was a heavy crime, let alone killing a government official; there was no way they could explain themselves. He looked at Su Qing''e without hesitation, "Our best plan is to leave straight away."


    "Leave? But where?"


    "The world is huge, let''s just get out of here first."


    "But I didn''t bring anything," Su Qing''e looked at herself; she didn''t even have an extra handkerchief other than the clothes she was wearing.


    Zhao Tianhu pulled her by the hand and replied, "We need to get out. If you believe me, I won''t let you starve as long as I, Zhao Tianhu, am alive."


    "Brother Zhao..." Su Qing''e was born naturally to love pleasure, and she had never seen anyone who had genuine feelings for her. She was used to looking at fake feelings and greedy men who wanted her for their desires. She never heard anything good, let alone the matter of life and death. Zhao Tianhu''s words indeed touched her; and she bit her lips, "I''ll go with you."


    After they had made up their mind, they didn''t hesitate and ran away with some money without packing anything. They didn''t greet people they knew on the streets and headed straight to the broken wall like birds in a cage that were going to fly in the sky. But it was still too late. Master Liu and his men caught them as soon as they left the town. The guards surrounded them, and Master Liu walked out from the side, asking slowly, "Zhao Tianhu, Su Qing''e, where are you two going?"Yab-Yum (Part 9)


    Master Liu sat high up in the hall and interrogated the two who were kneeling on the ground, "What else is there to say?"


    "I''m innocent, I didn''t kill Master Li!" Su Qing''e looked at Master Liu, who had just made love with her an hour ago, and hallucinated that Master Liu could let her go.


    "Innocent? You killed him and buried him, how are you innocent?"


    "I admit that we buried him, but we really didn''t kill him. He died in bed, I''m not lying!" Su Qing''e spilled everything that happened that night, including how they were making love in bed and how she found him dead, along with why Zhao Tianhu buried the body with her.


    Everyone who came to listen was all murmured. All men kept quiet as most of them had spent a night with Su Qing''e before, and no women could stay cool-headed. They hated this slut and loathed her for seducing their husbands. Now that they knew Su Qing''e killed Master Li in bed, they were afraid that their husbands would end up the same, and they all shouted, "Kill this slut! Kill this demon!"


    "N-No, don''t kill me." Su Qing''e felt cold and sorrowful that all these people wanted to see her die. She hoped her crime wasn''t heavy enough to get her killed.


    Zhao Tianhu stayed silent for a long time, then he suddenly looked at Master Liu firmly, "If you must kill, kill me. It has nothing to do with Su Qing''e. She said that just to cover up the truth for me, she didn''t kill him. I was the one who killed Master Li."


    Everyone fell silent. Master Liu laughed coldly, "Zhao Tianhu, you''ve always caused problems, but why did you kill Master Li? Tell me the truth!"


    "Because, because I went looking for Su Qing''e, but I found out that Master Li took her, I was angry and killed him!" Zhao Tianhu replied reasonably as if Master Li had really taken his love away from him.


    When the others were considering who was telling the truth, tears filled Su Qing''e''s eyes. She didn''t know how many people she had slept with, but no one treated her like this other than Zhao Tianhu. She didn''t know if this was love, but she knew this man was risking his life for her.


    "Brother Zhao..."


    "Don''t. Even if I lose my head, I''ll be a man again in eighteen years." Zhao Tianhu wasn''t easily touched, but he felt bitter at her tears.


    Su Qing''e cried and shook her head, "But you didn''t kill him. Even if someone harmed him and caused his death, it was me. I should be the one to repay with my life."


    "Enough! Stop arguing!" The hammer hit the table hard and Master Liu''s face was as stern as if he was an ethical official. He cleared his throat and announced, "Master Li''s murder case is clear: Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e were partners in crime and killed Master Li. I announce that Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e will be beheaded at the front of the market tomorrow at noon!"


    Many cheered at the decision; whether they were in for the drama or hatred, everything was decided. Su Qing''e didn''t know why, but she wasn''t that scared when she heard their sentence. She even smiled as if she had dropped the heavy burden.


    In fact, Master Liu didn''t have the power to sentence them, and they should investigate the case more. But there was no need to continue as they fell into Master Liu''s hands, and they would die sooner or later. Master Liu hoped that Su Qing''e''s death could wash away the relationship he had with her; there was no way he would let her live.


    "We... We are going out for a walk." Zhao Tianhu doubted that they could link them to the case this soon and tried to lie.


    Master Liu looked at Su Qing''e, who was hiding behind him, and asked lazily, "I''m afraid it''s not that simple."


    "Ah, Master Liu, we are both men, you know what we want to do." Zhao Tianhu knew that Master Liu once had something with Su Qing''e and found an excuse.


    Master Liu heard him, and his face changed as he roared, "Know what?! Know that you two are trying to escape after killing someone?"


    "We didn''t kill anyone." Su Qing''e panicked and quickly explained, "Master Li died by himself, we didn''t kill him."


    "No more explaining. Take them back!" Master Liu lost his patience and ordered his men to tie the two up.


    After the witness and evidence were brought to court, Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e finally realized that someone saw them burying the body last night. That person was Chen Er, who was in charge of announcing the hours at night. He went past the Manhong House and saw Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e climbing down the window. He followed them out of curiosity, but it was too dark, and he couldn''t see clearly as they were riding a horse. When Chen Er arrived at the burial spot, Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e were already heading back. After pondering for a while, he thought they might''ve buried something valuable there. He dug the hole open and jumped at Master Li''s body. He was too scared and immediately reported it to the government office.

 CH 32

    Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e were detained in two different places. They finally met each other the moment before their death sentence. They were both wearing simple, gray robes, ''death'' was printed largely on the front of their clothes. Their hair was messy, and their hands were tied at their back as they knelt in front of the market; a huge-looking man stood behind them with a large sword.


    "It''s noon, start!" Master Liu was in charge of supervising the death sentence. He looked at the sky and threw a wooden plate out. It landed on the ground, and the man lifted his sword.


    Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e closed their eyes, waiting for death. They didn''t know whose head fell on the ground first; they only felt their heads fall off their body and roll together. At this moment, the weather changed. The sunny sky suddenly covered with dark clouds, and the wind swept them like a tornado. Stones, sands, and leaves rolled in the air as everyone covered their face from the sands. This weather didn''t last for a long time. When everything returned to normal, they opened their eyes, and something strange had happened: Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e''s bodies disappeared along with their heads, only two piles of blood were present.


    "What''s going on?" Master Liu was horrified. He only heard of people trying to save criminals from them, but he had never seen anyone who tried to steal bodies away. Plus the strange weather change, he felt extremely anxious.


    Someone said that the executioner was bold enough to cut off people''s heads with a sword, but now he wasn''t so courageous anymore. The executioner held the sword with blood dripping off the end, his legs were shaking, and there was a pile of wetness on the ground. He was scared that the dead would seek revenge as he could not free himself from the terrible feeling of killing someone. Now that the bodies had disappeared, there was no way that he wasn''t scared. He heard Master Liu''s question and replied with a trembling voice, "I... I don''t know." He finished speaking and dropped the sword, running back to his home as if he was a child who had done something wrong.


    Something odd happened under everyone''s eyes and it was truly disbelief to them. It became the story for discussion after meals. Some people even turned against what they said previously and questioned if Master Liu had wronged Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e.


    "You guys didn''t know this, but I was there on the day Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e died! Oh dear, it was so scary. Their heads were chopped off, but they rolled to each other." A woman who was buying vegetables discussed it with her friends.


    Another woman twitched her lips and replied in disdain, "They had a relationship before death, they''re even thinking about it after they died!"


    "Don''t say that. They''re already dead, and their bodies have disappeared. You should be careful." The first woman warned her with good intention.


    But that woman''s husband was once seduced by Su Qing''e, and she was filled with anger as she growled, "Why should I be scared? That slut did so many shameless things, is she scared of us talking about her? Who doesn''t know what she did here?!"


    "Ah, I need to go back and cook, I''m leaving first." The first woman found an excuse and left as she was scared to drag herself into it.


    The woman who was cursing on the street was Liu, but she had nothing to do with Master Liu. She married into her husband''s family, making her Madam Wangliu. She was born with the ''seven stars'' face, which was seven moles on her face. Those moles made her face look ugly, and her husband was always impatient with her; plus, she was a jealous person, no one really liked her. After the other woman left, she also left with her candles.

 CH 33

    Madam Wangliu went to the temple to pray to the Buddhist, and then she went home with her empty basket. There was a distance between her house and the temple, and she had to cross a river first. There weren''t many people living next to the river; it was a shortcut, but people rarely walked this way. She used to walk alone, but she found that something was weird after walking a few meters forward. She felt like someone was following her, she turned around, but no one was there. The uncomfortable feeling made her walk faster, but she still had the same feeling no matter how fast she walked. When she sped up, the thing following her sped up too, and when she slowed down, the thing slowed down too. Humans were afraid of suspicions the most; sometimes, nothing happened, but doubts would kill them. Madam Wangliu slipped into the river as she was too scared to watch where she was going.


    "Hel...Help." Madam Wangliu waved her arms in the water and tried to call for help, but the more she screamed, the more she drank water. It didn''t take long before she drowned completely; there was nothing in the river but an empty bamboo basket flowing on the surface.


    Madan Wangliu''s body was found three days later. Her body floated on the surface, and she was so swollen that her body was twice her original size. Her husband wasn''t sad when he saw it; he simply muttered, "How did she die?" He questioned who was going to cook and wash clothes for him after his wife died, and it was too troublesome to hold a funeral. He was afraid that people would judge him as amoral and talk behind his back; eventually, he held a funeral with his wife''s family and his family''s financial support.


    Therefore, Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e''s story became more and more mysterious. Someone said Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e became demonic spirits, and they came back to seek revenge on those who disrespected them. Madam Wangliu was the best example; she just talked badly about Su Qing''e and got drowned in the river. Half of the people in town thought it was suspicious, and the only person who didn''t believe it was Li Bandian. Li Bandian was a monk over fifty years old, but no one knew which temple he belonged to and where he originated. They only knew that he came here thirty years ago, no one was close to him, and he didn''t like socializing with others. He helped families with religious rituals to earn some money for living, and he bought alcohol if he had extra money. He loved drinking, and he always drank until he was drunk; he was a Daoist Priest who prioritized alcohol over his life.


    On this day, Li Bandian was drinking in a tavern. He heard people discussing Zhao Tianhu and Su Qing''e''s story about how Madam Wangliu was killed by their ghosts. Li Bandian laughed and walked over to that table with half a bottle of liquor; he banged the table and said, "Nonsense! That Madam Wangliu killed herself!"


    "Go away, you stinky priest. What we''re talking about has nothing to do with you." A young master looked at him with disdain and chased Li Bandian away. Not only did Li Bandian not leave, but he even sat down opposite the man and cursed, "All of you just love talking about people behind their backs. Karma is coming!"


    "You are crazy!" The young man saw that Li Bandian didn''t leave; he put money on the table and left. Li Bandian sat there until the other two men left, then he stood up wobbly. The staff at the tavern knew he was drunk, and they didn''t stop him from leaving.

 CH 34

    Li Bandian had a strange habit of never wandering around when he was drunk, and he remembered to go home no matter how drunk he was. His so-called home was an abandoned temple out of town on a mountain. No one took care of the place, so he decided to take it. He thought it was nice; the conditions were fine, the air was fresh, and it was quiet. No one would ever disturb him there. However, the temple was full of dust, plus it wasn''t maintained for many years, and it was broken, some places even collapsed. The people there thought only a crazy man like Li Bandian would dare to live there.


    Li Bandian always seemed to be calm. He slowly walked up the mountain and it was almost dark when he arrived at the temple. He grinned and took out a small chicken from inside his robe. The chicken''s mouth was tied together, it couldn''t make any sound, but its wings flapped livelily. He mumbled to himself, "Just about time."


    He walked inside and stopped next to the two coffins. The coffins were the cleanest things in the entire temple, even the wood was new. Li Bandian pushed it lightly, and the lid opened.


    "Dinner time," Li Bandian spoke to the person inside the coffin as he slit the chicken''s throat open. Blood sipped out and dripped into the mouth inside the coffin; the mouth swallowed the blood continuously as if it finally rained in the desert. But the mouth wasn''t greedy; it only drank about a wine cup and didn''t open up again.


    Li Bandian smiled, "Enough? It''ll be his turn then." As he spoke, he pushed the other lid.


    When he opened the other lid, it was empty inside. Li Bandian immediately sobered up and knew it was bad. He quickly tore a charm paper, stuck it on the body that drank the chicken blood, and ordered, "Get up and talk!" As soon as he stuck the charm paper on it, the body immediately sat up inside the coffin. It was a female body, and its neck was sewed together.


    "Where is Zhao Tianhu?"


    "I don''t know." The body still had blood stains next to her mouth, and she replied blankly.


    Li Bandian frowned. If she couldn''t feel the other body leave, that means the body didn''t leave himself, but someone stole him during the day. But who would steal corpses in town? Li Bandian couldn''t think of anyone in the town who would do this, and rarely anyone would steal dead bodies in this world. Ordinary people wouldn''t have a use for them, and they were frightened of them, let alone trying to control them.


    Li Bandian didn''t run away from the responsibility as he didn''t guard it, he was determined to find the other corpse back. He started to investigate it secretly, but the result wasn''t ideal. He looked in town and the nearby areas, he even asked the other Daoist Priests, yet he found nothing. He thought the body must''ve been taken to a further place, but he was alone and poor, plus he had another body, so he couldn''t leave town to find it. He could only wait while nurturing the other body. It wasn''t good news to not hear about it, but it would even be worse to have news about it as it meant tragedies would happen soon.


    It was a worry that he didn''t know where the body was, but the corpse recovered well under Li Bandian''s care. The sewing marks on the body''s neck disappeared in merely forty-nine days. Another forty-nine days later, the corpse could talk more; and another forty-nine days, the corpse could walk. Every forty-nine days cycle was an advancement.

 CH 35

    Nurturing corpses was a secret technique of Daoism. It was similar to nurturing ghosts, but the difference for nurturing corpses was that it must be done within two hours of death before the body''s three souls and seven spirits disappear. Two souls and four spirits must be stabilized and sealed inside the body and nurture it with fresh blood. The process was extremely dangerous; the nurturer must control the food that the body consumes before it completely gains sanity, which means he must choose what kind of blood to feed it. It could be pig blood, chicken blood, or cow blood, but chicken blood was the easiest to get, which was why chicken blood was used the most often. During this period of time, he should only provide one type of blood and let the corpse have a good habit so that it won''t suck human blood if it missed a meal. The reason behind this is simple, too; this was to ensure that the corpse doesn''t drink human blood. Human blood was the best delicacy for them, and they were naturally greedy for it. As soon as corpses drink it, they would be addicted, driving them crazy; this was also why Li Bandian was worried about where the other corpse went. Li Bandian was worried that it would fall into the hands of an evil man, and if it were fed human blood, Zhao Tianhu would become an immense threat. This kind of creature was neither human nor ghost, and no one found a good method to kill it. Whenever a corpse like this appeared in history, the villages would be piled with bones until someone could trap it and make it immobile. Then, the corpse needed to starve for forty-nine days to truly perish from starvation.


    Li Bandian always felt uneasy about these thoughts. He sat outside on the stone stairs, staring at the setting sun, he couldn''t help but exclaim, "Ah, I shouldn''t have done it if I knew this would happen."


    "Father," a girl dressed in plain black clothes walked over and patted Li Bandian''s shoulder.


    Li Bandian looked at her and smiled comfortingly, "Sit down, my girl."


    "What are you thinking about, Father?" She sat down obediently next to him, looking adorable.


    Li Bandian didn''t know if he should smile or not at his achievement. It was rare to bring up an obedient one like his own daughter. Although Su Qing''e was a prostitute in her previous life, she became clean and pure after losing one soul and three spirits. She was like a little girl who knew nothing about the world, she helped him with chores, and she was caring, too. The reality was harsh, but he must ask, "Qing''e, I have a question that I wanted to ask."


    "What is it, Father?"


    "Do you know what you are?"


    "I do. I''m not your real daughter, I''m just a corpse you nurtured." Su Qing''e face was clean without any makeup, she blinked while looking at Li Bandian. Perhaps because she never came in contact with the outside world, she didn''t know how she was different from other people. Part of her memories was also lost along with her one soul and three spirits.


    Li Bandian took a sip of his liquor and asked again, "Do you know why I nurtured you?"


    "Why?"


    "Do you want to know?"


    "Yes," Su Qing''e nodded and looked at Li Bandian. Clearly, she was curious about her existence.


    Li Bandian hid this secret in his heart for over thirty years. He was originally an inheritor of Mountain Mao''s Daoism; he lost a competition against a junior apprentice called Liu Wuya, so he had to let Liu Wuya take his position as the head of the sect. Not only that, but he also had to give his beloved young female apprentice to Liu Wuya. There was nothing he could do, and he didn''t want to hurt an apprentice of his own sect, so he made a promise to his junior apprentice, Liu Wuya...


    Don''t forget to leave a comment here or on the NU forum, happy reading~

 CH 36

    The promise ended up temporarily letting Liu Wuya become the head of the sect, and their junior female apprentice, Lv''er, wouldn''t pick a side until either Li Bandian or Liu Wuya won. The condition of winning was to compete to see who could nurture the best corpse, yet neither of them spoke of their standards as they both had ideas of their own; all they were waiting for was the call for competition. However, finding a suitable body wasn''t easy, and he waited for thirty years. Li Bandian never contacted Liu Wuya, and Liu Wuya never came looking for him either. All he had was a few letters from Junior Lv''er.


    After listening to Li Bandian''s descriptions, Su Qing''e blinked and asked nervously, "Father, does that mean I''m the best?"


    "You are the best to me no matter what he says." Li Bandian nodded and couldn''t say the word ''corpse'' out loud. He didn''t want to say that Su Qing''e was the best corpse as they''ve already become father and daughter over the period of time they lived together. Perhaps because Li Bandian was getting old and felt lonely, he had already treated Su Qing''e as his real daughter.


    Su Qing''e heard Li Bandian complimenting her, and she shook his arms shyly, "You are making me feel embarrassed."


    "You silly child."


    "I''m not silly. Father, why don''t you take me to Uncle Liu if I''m the best body you have?" Su Qing''e looked at Li Bandian confusedly.


    Li Bandian sipped some wine and frowned, "There''s something else on my mind."


    "Oh, I know! You mentioned it before. You lost the body you picked up along with me, right?" Su Qing''e didn''t know exactly what "picked up" meant, and she didn''t look sad; she was exceedingly naive.


    Li Bandian sighed, "It''s all my fault. I wouldn''t have lost him if I didn''t go for a drink. I don''t know how he''s doing, and it''s tragic if bad people are using him."


    "Is it that bad? Then let''s go and look for him." Su Qing''e tried to pull him up from the ground.


    Li Bandian smiled and replied, "Silly, I would''ve gone looking for him if it was that easy."


    "Then what should we do?"


    "Wait."


    "Wait for what?"


    "Wait until that body appears."


    "And when will that be?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe soon, maybe he won''t ever appear again in my lifetime." Li Bandian looked into the distance and felt ashamed of himself as he recalled what his master said to him. His master warned him that as soon as the ''Corpse Nurturing Method'' was exposed, it would cause tragedies. His master hid the book in an exceptionally hard place to find; others wouldn''t find it if he didn''t show it to them himself. However, Li Bandian was too young and didn''t know what shouldn''t be done. He read the book together with Liu Wuya, and it was too late for their master to burn the book as the two of them had already memorized the entire book.


    Su Qing''e noticed his unhappiness and became upset too. She mumbled under her breath like a child, "Father, it won''t help if we sit around and do nothing, we won''t know how long we''ll have to wait. If that body doesn''t appear again, are you going to make your junior apprentice wait for the rest of her life too? By that time, her hair would be all white, and her teeth would all fall out..."


    "Where did you learn those from?" Li Bandian tapped her head lightly. He never taught her anything like that, and he didn''t know how she knew what those meant after losing her memories.


    Su Qing''e stuck out her tongue and replied, "I saw it in the book you brought back last time."


    "Book? What book?"


    "The old-looking one that you hid underneath the stove." Su Qing''e replied honestly.


    Li Bandian''s face turned red and white. Someone dropped the book, and he realized it was an adult book after he picked it up. He didn''t want to throw it away, so he decided to hide it, but...

 CH 37

    Li Bandian hadn''t heard anything about the other corpse, so he started considering what he should be doing. It was just like what Su Qing''e said; he impulsively agreed to the competition but was no longer young. Thirty years have passed, how is Junior Lv''er feeling right now? Li Bandian pondered for the whole night and finally made up his mind. He asked Su Qing''e to pack up early in the morning, and then they departed from home. The trees were green, the water was clear, the sun was bright too, and Su Qing''e was skipping happily. However, it wasn''t easy to get to Green Willow Manor. It was a long way from home, and finding food on the road alone was difficult enough for Li Bandian; plus, he had to push down his desire for alcohol too.


    "Ah, I''m tired. Let''s sit down and rest for a while." After walking for half a day, Li Bandian sat down drowsily and looked at the skipping Su Qing''e.


    Su Qing''e looked energetic and shook her head, "Father, I''m not tired. How about you take a break here, and I''ll go find us some food?"


    "Alright, come back soon." Li Bandian unplugged his gourd bottle and drank a mouthful. He wasn''t worried about Su Qing''e''s energy since she wasn''t human; it wouldn''t be a problem for her to run miles away. Su Qing''e ran away happily after he agreed, and she was so fast that ordinary people wouldn''t be able to take notice of her. This was a female body''s advantage; they were known to be light and fast, whereas male bodies were more powerful. Villagers would be scared of Su Qing''e if they saw the way she ran, but she intentionally slowed down to match Li Bandian''s pace. Li Bandian was resting assured as Su Qing''e was obedient, she wouldn''t take a step outside the temple even when he often went down the mountain, and that was why no one discovered her over the last three years.


    One mouthful drink after another, Li Bandian couldn''t control his alcohol addiction. He drank too much and felt sleepy; he laid his head on his backpack and fell asleep on the ground. When he woke up, he saw Su Qing''e squatting next to him and looking at him with blood stains next to her mouth.


    "Tell me! What did you do!" Li Bandian shot up from the ground and looked at her sharply.


    Su Qing''e was horrified at the knife on her neck and sobbed as she replied, "Father, I had food." Then she lifted up the wild chicken in her hands.


    Li Bandian looked at it; and the chicken was always dead, and its blood was all sucked out. Over the last three years, Li Bandian always let Su Qing''e drink the blood first and then eat the meat himself for convenience. It was different this time; it was her first time catching a chicken herself. Li Bandian didn''t think that Su Qing''e would be so smart that she remembered what chickens looked like after she had only seen them once before. She even brought back the meat for him. Li Bandian took back his knife and recalled his shameful actions, "Qing''e, I''m sorry that I blamed you."


    "It''s fine, Father." Su Qing''e wiped the tears off her face with her sleeves and swayed the chicken in her hands, "Do you want to boil the chicken or roast it?"


    "Silly, we don''t have a pot here. Of course, we''ll have to roast it." Li Bandian laughed at himself for being so cautious. He saw blood on Su Qing''e''s mouth and thought she sucked human blood, but his worries were unnecessary.

 CH 38

    Yab-Yum (Part 16)


    The book recorded that a nurtured corpse looked no different from a human. They could speak, smile, and drink water and blood but could not eat. This meant they had every appearance as a human has, including tears, and Li Bandian didn''t miss her upsetting eyes. After they finished eating, Li Bandian looked at her and asked, "What''s wrong? Are you still angry at me?"


    "I''m not angry." Su Qing''e was holding the feather she pulled out from the chicken, the feather was stunning in colour, and she didn''t want to throw it away.


    Li Bandian sighed, "Don''t blame me, it''s for your own good."


    "I understand. You are worried that I will drink human blood and cause a rampage. I remember everything you told me not to do. You looked so scary, and I thought you were going to throw me away," Su Qing''e turned to look at him while biting her lips. There was no resentment in her eyes but traces of feeling wronged by him.


    "Okay, it''s my fault, and I will make sure to remember it. I won''t doubt you ever again." Li Bandian promised.


    Su Qing''e asked naughtily, "Really? You won''t be mad at me again?"


    "Of course."


    "I believe you." Su Qing''e rested her head on Li Bandian''s shoulders and smiled satisfyingly like a little child.


    After resting for a while, the old and young ones started their journey again. Green mountains and clear lakes on the way were filled with their reflections. Sometimes they laughed, and sometimes they worried about finding food. Li Bandian had no choice but to change Su Qing''e''s food to fish blood, rabbit blood, and other animal blood to survive on the road.


    After half a year of traveling on foot, Li Bandian and Su Qing''e finally arrived at Green Willow Manor. Junior Lv''er once mentioned in her letters that this manor was gifted to her by Liu Wuya, which was named after their names: Lv meaning green, and Liu meaning willow. Li Bandian looked at the luxurious manor in front of his eyes and sighed, "It looks like Junior Liu surely made a lot over these past years."


    "Father, is your junior apprentice the only one living here?" Su Qing''e ran around the manor once and thought it was even a few times bigger than Li Bandian''s temple.


    Li Bandian shook his head, "I don''t know." He had never come here before and wouldn''t even be able to find it if his junior apprentice didn''t write the detailed address in her letter. The door to the manor was closed; he knocked on it.


    Someone finally answered the door after a long time. The door cracked open, and a granny in her fifties appeared in front of the pair. The granny looked at Li Bandian and Su Qing''e cautiously.


    "Who are you looking for?"


    "You are?" Li Bandian hadn''t seen Lv''er for thirty years, and he didn''t know what she looked like now. He looked at the granny for a long time and wasn''t sure if she was Lv''er.


    Granny glanced at Li Bandian and replied carefreely, "It''s not important who I am, what''s important is who you are looking for."


    "I''m looking for Lv''er."


    "You are looking for Miss?" Granny looked surprised that he was here for Lv''er and asked again, "And who are you?"


    "I am her senior apprentice, Li Banshan."


    "Wait here. I shall notify her first." The granny slammed the door shut.


    It was the first time Su Qing''e heard Li Bandian''s name and whispered, "Father, is your real name Li Banshan?"


    "Mhm," Li Bandian nodded. It had been more than thirty years, and he never told anyone his real name because it was unnecessary. He won''t reencounter most of them ever again in his life, and it wasn''t important whether they knew about his name or not.


    Don''t forget to leave a comment here or on the NU forum, happy reading~

 CH 39

    Yab-Yum (Part 17)


    After a little while, the Green Willow Manor''s door opened. A lady dressed simple but elegantly and with some white hair walked out; she looked at Li Bandian in surprise and happiness, "Senior Banshan, is that really you?"


    "Junior Lv''er!" Li Bandian was obviously excited as he grabbed the lady''s hand.


    The lady pulled her hand away shyly, and at this time, she noticed Su Qing''e standing behind Li Bandian, "And this is?"


    "Ah, her name is Su Qing''e."


    "Miss Lv''er," Su Qing''e smiled sweetly and stole a glance at Li Bandian before whispering, "Father, Miss Lv''er must be a beauty when she was young."


    "Naughty," Li Bandian tapped Su Qing''e''s head lightly and didn''t notice Lv''er''s expression.


    Lv''er was surprised that they were father and daughter; she thought Li Bandian had married and had this daughter in the past thirty years. However, she noticed that Su Qing''e did not only not look like Li Bandian but also didn''t even have the same surname as him, "Is she your daughter?"


    "Yes." Li Bandian quickly replied but immediately explained, "But she''s not my biological daughter!"


    "Oh," Lv''er''s expression eased a little at his words, and she smiled, "Why are you standing outside? Come in, let''s talk inside."


    Li Bandian and Su Qing''e followed her inside. Although the manor was huge, they did not see many people. Li Bandian asked, "Where are your servants?"


    "We don''t have that here," Lv''er smiled and shook her head.


    "You are the only one living in this huge manor?"


    "We had some before, but I found them too noisy, so I asked Senior Wuya to send them away."


    "Ah," Li Bandian nodded and recalled the granny who opened the door for them, "Who was the granny?"


    "That''s Aunt Qin. I met her when you left that year. She was alone without any family, so I let her stay with me." Lv''er opened a door and welcomed them in, "Come in, we can sit and talk here." Then, she brought them some tea.


    Li Bandian drank the tea as he studied the room. There weren''t any antique objects, but he couldn''t deny that Liu Wuya indeed put a lot of effort into the room design. He knew what Lv''er was interested in, and everything was arranged according to her liking. The bronze incense burner engraved with cranes alone was extremely elegant. Only something simple but refined would gain her favor.


    Lv''er sat on the other side of the table from Li Bandian and asked when she noticed that he wasn''t speaking, "Senior Banshan, how have you been all these years? Last time you wrote to me saying you were helping people with running dead bodies in Jiangxi, was that tough?"


    "Ah, that''s more than thirty years ago. I went to a small town and settled down there. I help people with funerals and rituals." Li Bandian put down the cup and felt like he had spent thirty years drinking it. If he didn''t see Lv''er today, he wouldn''t realize that his feelings for her had never disappeared for thirty years. He just tried his best not to think about it but still put all his energy into finding the most appropriate corpse.


    Lv''er was part of the matter, and she knew the competition between them; she asked softly, "Senior Banshan, have you found a suitable body?"


    "Yes." Li Bandian nodded and continued at Junior Lv''er''s content expression, "I found one, and a very successful one too."


    "Really?"


    "It''s true, Miss Lv''er. Father didn''t lie to you, I''m the body he found." Su Qing''e smiled and joined the conversation.


    "What?!" The answer was unexpected. Lv''er couldn''t help but pull her body backward. She couldn''t even tell Su Qing''e was a corpse at her level of cultivation...


    Don''t forget to leave a comment here or on the NU forum, happy reading~

 CH 40

    Li Bandian found an excuse to send Su Qing''e to the garden to play and told Lv''er the entire story in detail, emphasizing that the other body was missing. As an inheritor of Mt. Mao Sect, Lv''er was aware of how serious this matter was and asked nervously, "And what are you planning to do, Senior Banshan?"


    "I don''t know yet, that body never appeared, and I don''t even know where it is." Li Bandian shook his head.


    At this time, Su Qing''e ran inside with a bouquet of flowers in her hands and chirped happily, "Father, look. The flowers are so pretty!"


    "Indeed, I still have some matters to discuss with her. Go and play." Li Bandian felt helpless at her naive expression.


    Su Qing''e nodded obediently and ran outside again. After she was far enough, Lv''er asked, "So Qing''e doesn''t remember anything about herself before her death?"


    "She doesn''t know anything other than the fact she is a dead body."


    "Poor girl," Lv''er sighed. "She doesn''t seem to know what a dead body means to the living people. She''s too naive, and it''s concerning."


    "I''m not too worried about that. Qing''e is very obedient, she won''t run around if I tell her not to. Judging from her state, it''s not easy for anyone to harm her either." Li Bandian was more worried about the other one.


    Time was merciless; Lv''er''s hair was slowly turning white, and wrinkles also appeared with her smile. She comforted, "Senior Banshan, you did an amazing job. No one has ever nurtured a body as successfully as you."


    "One isn''t perfect. I don''t know where the other body is; if I managed to nurture both of them, it would be perfect."


    "Senior Banshan, have you thought about this method before?"


    "What method?"


    "Since Qing''e and Zhao Tianhu were destined to die together, they should be able to feel a strong connection between themselves. If we could restore Qing''e''s memories, doesn''t that mean we can find the other one?" It was a risky method, and Lv''er only suggested it as they had no other choice. She had waited for so many years and only agreed to the ridiculous competition to stop the brothers from fighting each other. She was already getting old and didn''t know how long it would take for her to finally be with Li Banshan if they didn''t solve this.


    Li Bandian knew what Lv''er was thinking and avoided answering the question. He asked about her instead, "Did Junior Wuya treat you well over these past years?"


    "Yes. He gave me things every year, and he remembered every single festival." Lv''er smiled bitterly. She couldn''t be with the person she liked, and she couldn''t accept the person who had treated her well for over thirty years. She had turned from a young girl to an old lady.


    There was something on Li Bandian''s mind, but he never asked her in his letters; he thought it was finally the time to ask, "You once said you told Senior Wuya that he was not allowed to even take one step inside the manor? Is that true?"


    "Yes, he''s been giving me necessities and foods over these past years and some interesting little things, but he only sent them to the door and never came inside," Lv''er nodded.


    Li Bandian was happy that Lv''er kept their promise. Although he would defeat Liu Wuya, he couldn''t force himself to laugh. No one would expect the three of them to spend their whole lifetime on a ridiculous promise they made more than thirty years ago.