The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 101 Divine Friendship
Xichun finally returned home.

She left quietly at the beginning, and now she came back quietly. No one knew about her coming and going, and no one cared about her as a nobody.

After returning to the courtyard, Xichun's first thing was to have people throw away all the needles and thread in the boudoir and replace them with swords, spears, and halberds.

Master Zhan would of course cooperate with his good sister and specially asked Keqing to level out a piece of ground in Huifang Garden in the backyard, put the target and other things on it, and then arranged all kinds of weapons, such as stone shoulders, stone locks, wooden stakes, sand piles...all the things used for practicing martial arts were put there.

However, Mr. Zhan didn't know how to use these things, so he added other fitness equipment such as single and double bars, dumbbells, and barbells.

Master Zhan is very good at boxing and kicking, and his fighting skills are absolutely gorgeous and beautiful as can be.

He was able to win the favor of Third Sister Yu with his fancy moves back then, so he should have no problem fooling Xichun now.

As for actual combat skills, let her practice archery first. This is simple and easy to achieve good results. It is much better than wielding swords and kung fu.

Yang Yougong was originally a hunter and had great archery skills, so it was perfect for him to be the coach.

Youshi and the others didn't know what Mr. Zhan was going to do, so they came to ask. Mr. Zhan told them what he said to coax Xichun, which immediately made Youshi and the others laugh so hard that they covered their mouths.

"What a wonderful immortal spirit, it actually turned into this kind of yang-replenishing yin!"

"The master's mouth is really untrustworthy. He is really good at fooling people!"

"If Sister Xichun knew the truth in the future, I'm afraid she would be furious and ashamed."

Mr. Zhan smiled and said:

"If you don't tell her and I don't tell her, how will she know?"

Thinking of Xichun's character, Youshi nodded in agreement:

"With Fourth Sister's aloof personality, who would want to befriend her?"

"Not to mention that the people who know the truth are all our sisters, so why would we tell her the truth?"

"By the time she finds out, she will have already been completely taken advantage of by our master. How can she still think of escaping from the master's clutches?"

After everyone laughed and chatted for a while, Zhan Ershisi ordered:

"Since Sister Xichun has thought it through, the master will take her in tonight. Go and prepare everything, including the bridal chamber."

"Send a message to the other concubines. At the family dinner tonight, the master will formally introduce everyone to each other."

"Also, the master promised Xiren that he would let her become Rong'er's concubine. Let's prepare for it and do it later."

When Youshi heard this, she scolded him:

"Master really has forgotten the old when he has a new one!"

"The master is concerned about the status of these concubines, but I am still living in this mansion without any status or title."

When Master Zhan saw that Youshi was getting jealous, he laughed, stretched out his arms to hug her, and said with a grin:

"How can I accept you as my wife now that Brother Zhen's body is still warm?"

"Besides, this widow naturally has the flavor of a widow. You are unique!"

"Now that I think about it, I was too modest. I didn't have a moment with my sister-in-law who was wearing mourning clothes at the funeral hall that day. I really regret it."

After hearing this, Youshi stretched out her hand to twist his waist and smiled:

"If Master wants, it's not difficult to make another set of mourning clothes, but it's not easy to decorate the mourning hall. Fortunately, the spirit tablet is still enshrined at home, so Master can make do with it."

Master Zhan waved his hand hastily and refused:
"No, no, the master is a kind gentleman. I was just talking just now. How could he really do such a thing?"

Seeing this, Youshi and Keqing knew that their master was pretending to be innocent again, so they came forward to persuade him:

"Now that the mansion has lost its title, the property bestowed by the court has also been taken back. Only this huge mansion and a few farms are left. If it weren't for Master Zhan's support out of the brotherhood of the eldest master, I'm afraid everyone in the mansion would have to beg for food!"

"Now we not only have enough to eat and warm clothes, but also have wine and meat for every meal. We have no worries about food and clothing, and we are happy and joyful. All this is thanks to Master Zhan."

"Of course, we have to report this matter to the master in the underworld, so that he won't worry about it."

"If the eldest master knew the current situation in the mansion, I wonder how grateful he would be to Master Zhan and feel lucky to have a good brother like Master Zhan!"

Under the repeated persuasion of Youshi and Keqing, Mr. Zhan finally agreed reluctantly.

"Well, then let's report the situation in the mortal world to Brother Zhen!"

"It will also help Brother Zhen let go of his obsession and go to heaven and reincarnate as soon as possible."

"Then Madam, please prepare yourself. After reporting the situation to Brother Zhen, if he has no objection, then the master will accept you into the Zhan family."

Yu Shi and the others smiled and nodded in agreement to these tasks, then went to prepare.

Xichun's identity was special. Although she was no longer the legitimate daughter of a noble, her ancestor was the Duke of Ningguo after all. Being a concubine in public like this would easily cause dissatisfaction among the neighbors, so the ceremony of taking a concubine could not be done in a big way and it was just done quietly at home.

But the ones who actually presided over this matter were Youshi and Keqing.

Jia Rong, the nominal lord of the East Palace, is Xichun's nephew, but he does not even have the qualifications to participate.

These days, as Master Zhan's plan to usurp the throne went smoothly, many of the original servants of the East Palace were demoted and promoted on the surface, and sent to work in other wineries, jockey clubs and other promising places, with more money to spend. Those who were blind were simply killed as an example to scare the monkeys away.

The East Mansion is now full of unfamiliar faces, and many people don’t even know Jia Rong.

The Lord of the East Palace is now basically an idle person. Apart from taking money from time to time to have fun, he has no power at all.

Even Lai Er and others were no longer respectful to Jia Rong when they saw him.

There is no wall that is impenetrable in this world. Even if Master Zhan occupied the magpie's nest, acted secretly, and strictly controlled his servants, the two mansions were right next to each other, and it was impossible for no news to not leak out over the past few days.

Apart from anything else, the two brothers Lai Da and Lai Er would definitely exchange information with each other.

However, Mr. Zhan helped both families in the previous Jockey Club affairs. Not only did he give Lai Er a lucrative job, he also brought Lai Shangrong along.

Although the Jockey Club has been completed now, the uncle and nephew of the Lai family have long been in collusion in various projects and have made a lot of money.

Especially since Mr. Zhan has now become a viscount, he is obviously more promising than the Ning and Rong families. These two families may still be thinking about finding a way to change jobs!

Even if he couldn't change jobs, Lai Shangrong still wanted to take the imperial examination in the future. If he passed the examination, with a viscount to support him in the court, he might be able to be selected as an official and get a real job.

That would be great!

Because of these reasons, many of Lai Er's messages were cut off after reaching Lai Da and were no longer passed on.

However, such things are always time-limited. Sooner or later, more and more people will know about Mr. Zhan's usurping power. But apart from the people of the Jia family, who will really care?
Even the people from the Jia family, I'm afraid Master She doesn't care. Most likely, only Lady Jia and Master Zheng will be furious.

But by that time, Mr. Zhan's evil claws might have already penetrated deep into the Rongguo Mansion. They can hardly protect themselves, so how can they care about others?

In the evening, everyone gathered and sat in the living room.

There was an octagonal table against the wall in the living room, and a landscape painting hung on the wall behind the table. There was a throne chair on each side of the table, and two rows of chairs on both sides, arranged parallel to the walls on both sides and leading to the door.

Mr. Zhan sat on the armchair on the left, and the seat for the lady on the right was left empty for Baochai.

Sitting in the row on the left were concubines such as Xiangling, Xiuyan, and Erjie, with their personal maids standing behind them. Sitting in the row on the right were Youshi, Yuner, Xiren, and their personal maids, who were not concubines but were also members of Master Zhan's harem.

Yun'er was originally bought and had no personal maid. Later, when she entered the Ningguo Mansion, Youshi gave Ruhua, Xichun's maid, to Yun'er.

Although Xiren had not yet become Jia Rong's aunt, with the support of Master Zhan, this status had already been determined. So Youshi gave her the colorful screen that also came out of Xichun's side.

Although Ruhua and Caiping were not employed by Mr. Zhan, they had betrayed Xichun in the first place, so there was no need to worry that they would go out and talk nonsense after knowing what happened tonight.

When everyone was present, Master Zhan waved his hand and the ceremony of taking a concubine began.

Xichun was wearing a bright red wedding gown, a phoenix coronet and a bridal robe on her head, and was adorned with gold and jade. She sat in a sedan chair and was carried to the front of the hall. She was helped out of the sedan chair by a maid, stepped over the fire basin, walked into the hall on the red carpet, and came in front of Master Zhan, where she bowed down.

"I am Jia Xichun, greeting the master and all the sisters."

Xiangling waved her hand and a maid brought a tray with a wine jug and wine glasses on it.

Xichun stood up, took the pot, filled all the glasses, and then toasted to Master Zhan first. Master Zhan took the glass and drank it all with a smile. Then Xichun toasted to each of the sisters one by one.

Xiangling was the first to enter, so she took the wine glass first and drank it all. Then she put the gift she had prepared long ago on the tray as a gift and said with a smile:
"Sister Xichun, we are sisters from now on. If you need any help from me, just ask me."

Xichun drank a glass of wine, squatted down to express her gratitude, and then toasted the next person.

Each of the sisters present drank a glass of wine, gave each other gifts, and said a few words of encouragement, and that was it.

After one round, the ceremony of taking a concubine was completed, very simple.

Then Master Zhan put a veil on Xichun, and had someone help Xichun out of the house and get into the sedan chair, and then went to the bridal chamber, where Master Zhan and Xichun had another round of worshipping heaven and earth.

As for etiquette, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, Master Zhan is happy and can play however he wants!
After worshipping heaven and earth, Master Zhan lifted Xichun's veil with a weighing rod, and then, as if unpacking a gift, he slowly and methodically took off Xichun's elaborate dress bit by bit, smiling and teasing:
"Good Xichun, the master is going to eat you tonight. You must write an original article later to keep as a souvenir."

Xichun's cheeks flushed and she whispered with red face:

"Master, rest assured. I will savor the details of tonight carefully and memorize them in words. I will recite them to you often in the future and accompany your wine."

Mr. Zhan was overjoyed when he heard this, so he skinned Xichun like a white sheep and placed it under the lamp to admire it slowly.

After omitting 10,000 words, Mr. Zhan finally completed the preliminary preparations, threw Xichun onto the bed, and flew up.

After tens of thousands of indescribable words, Xichun fell into a deep sleep, but Master Zhan closed his eyes, feeling the "dual cultivation energy" gurgling out from the stone in his body.

Xichun is different from the others in that she is one of the authentic Twelve Golden Hairpins, a fairy who came to the world, and the second golden hairpin eaten by Master Zhan after Qin Keqing. Master Zhan has long discovered that through the "dual cultivation energy" obtained from the golden hairpin, his body has been strengthened to the limit of human beings.

Over the past year, he had eaten other people who were suspected to be in the second and third volumes of the Golden Hairpin, but the nourishing effects of the "dual cultivation energy" they received were very ordinary. It was simply impossible to allow Master Zhan's body, which had already reached its limit, to evolve again. It only had the effect of nourishing the body and soul.

The human body in this world has its limits. It is only at the level of a mortal warrior. To go further, one must shed his mortal body and achieve an immortal body.

However, the "jade energy" obtained from the spiritual jade is not for nourishing Master Zhan's body and soul, but for expanding the scope of application of the "dual cultivation energy" so that the "dual cultivation energy" can also have an effect on Master Zhan's dual cultivation partner.

Therefore, Mr. Zhan had high expectations for Xichun, the golden hairpin, this time, and Xichun did not disappoint him.

After he ate Xichun, the stone continuously injected the "dual cultivation energy" it had obtained into Master Zhan's body. After realizing that Master Zhan's physical fitness had reached the limit of human beings, the stone went straight up from the lower dantian, through the middle dantian and upper dantian, and went straight into the Zifu Niwan Palace, and began to condense Master Zhan's soul into shape.

Mr. Zhan just felt warm all over, just like a baby immersed in the mother's womb, and fell asleep unknowingly.

After an unknown amount of time, the Niwan Palace suddenly shook, waking Master Zhan up.

When Master Zhan focused his mind, he realized that a soul with the same appearance as himself was sitting in the Niwan Palace, with a majestic aura.

His mind instinctively moved, and the soul leaped out of the purple mansion and stood in front of the bed. The soul's clothes and hair were so lifelike that it was impossible to tell whether they were real or fake.

This soul does not need to turn its eyes, as it can see every detail within a radius of several feet. Even the crawling and hissing of snakes, insects, rats and ants cannot escape its eyes and ears, and walls and rocks cannot block it in the slightest.

With just one step, he was out of the room, soaring under the moonlight.

The moonlight was cold and the night wind was biting, but the soul did not feel any discomfort when it fell on it. Instead, it was blown away by the wind for several miles in an instant.

This is not an ordinary soul, it is clearly a ghost!

That person who practices hard, meditates and practices every day, perseveres and does so for who knows how many years, and also needs to use top-grade techniques, century-old elixirs and other things, before he can make his soul turn from virtual to real, cross this threshold, and achieve the realm of Yin God.

As a result, Mr. Zhan became an evil spirit just because he slept with a woman. How can this be justified?

Of course, the fact that this woman is an immortal who has descended to earth is another matter.

Master Zhan's Yin Spirit was just beginning to take shape, and he was very excited. He flew around the capital city for a few times, and even tried the imperial palace.

Although the bald monk and the lame Taoist priest ignored him now, his heart of cultivating immortals had not been extinguished. And in the capital, the place where people who were most likely to practice cultivation was probably the imperial palace.

When he got here, he realized that although he could see everything clearly, it was actually dark and everyone was asleep. Only the patrolling guards were wandering around there.

However, Master Zhan was very cautious. He did not dare to rush over rashly. Instead, he quickly circled around the periphery of the palace. After all, he was now a Yin God and his speed was far faster than the speed of sound. Although the palace was big, it would only take a moment to circle around it.

After confirming that it was safe, he intruded a little deeper into the palace, narrowing the area he was circling, and then narrowing it even more, and then even smaller...

According to the novelist, there should be dragon energy suppressing the inner palace, so that external evil cannot invade.

But he went in and out of the palace seven times and even checked the emperor's three palaces and six courtyards thoroughly, and did not see any obstacles.

This made him very discouraged.

Seeing that it was still early in the morning, he visited all the temples and monasteries in the capital again, but again found nothing.

Or maybe there are some masters among them, but he doesn't know how to distinguish them.

It seems that perhaps only in those famous mountains and rivers and ancient temples in the mountains can one seek out true immortals like the lame Taoist priest and the bald monk. However, these people are elusive and often have supernatural powers. If they want to run away, he can't abandon his physical body and use his ghost to chase them.

After sighing, Mr. Zhan returned to the Jia Mansion and went back to his room. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly had an idea and stretched out his evil hand towards Xichun who was sleeping in his arms.

As soon as his Yin Spirit touched Xichun's body, he felt dazed and came to a wilderness.

In the wilderness, on the left and right sides, there was a group of soldiers fighting each other, but this battlefield felt weird.

The armor and flags looked quite realistic, but looking at the appearance of the army, it looked like a mob, as if a group of servants put on armor and pretended to be soldiers.

Moreover, the two armies fought for a long time, but only people were seen falling down, but there was no trace of blood and flesh flying.

Is this... a game?

But as soon as he took a quick look, he immediately understood what was going on.

I saw the sound of gongs and drums from one of the armies, the ranks split into two sides, and a general rode out on horseback.

The general wore a shiny silver helmet on his head, shiny silver armor on his body, and a white silk robe on the outside. He rode a white dragon horse, held a five-hooked shiny silver spear in his hand, and carried a three-foot green sword on his back. The sword was as white as snow and as shiny as silver. He was three feet tall in front of the horse and more than a hundred steps tall behind the horse. No matter how you looked at him, he looked like an actor on the stage.

Looking more closely at the general's face, I saw that her face was as white as powder, her lips were as red as rouge, her eyebrows were long and she looked heroic. It was clearly General Jia Xichun!

It turns out that I, the master, have entered Sister Xichun’s dream!
What Xichun is thinking about most now is to learn good martial arts so that she can change her fate in the future.

As the saying goes, whatever you think about during the day you will dream about at night. It is normal to have such dreams.

But does this Yin Spirit also have the ability to enter dreams?
Or is this the ability that the stone gives back to itself?
Could it be that I have had this ability at some point in the past, but never achieved the level of a Yin God, so I haven't been able to use it?
Mr. Zhan thought about it for a moment, then put the idea behind him. Looking at Xichun who was killing people on the scene, a strange smile appeared on his face.

Some programs cannot be performed outside, but in this dream, I can let go!

Seeing that the other army was about to be defeated by General Xichun, Master Zhan quickly jumped down, rolled on the ground, and got a set of armor. He casually got a horse, then urged the horse to charge forward, shouting:
"General Wu, wait for me to come and capture you!"

Although this was Jia Xichun's dream, her soul was weak and she could not fully control the dream. Now encountering a sinister freak like Mr. Zhan, she immediately lost control and allowed Mr. Zhan to interfere.

Xichun was enjoying the battle when she suddenly saw the enemy coming. The faces seemed familiar, yet also disgusting. Her thoughts were already confused in this dream, and now she was on the battlefield, so she didn't have much time to think. She immediately showed her feminine power and shouted:
"You thief, you dare to resist the king's teacher, wait and see how I kill you!"

After saying that, Xichun swung the silver spear in her hand and rushed forward to kill the general. Unfortunately, she had not learned spear techniques at all and could only stab with the spear. Of course, she had no problem bullying weaklings, but she was unlucky when she met the cheating Master Zhan. Master Zhan easily dodged the spear tip, snatched the spear from her, threw it to the ground, and said with a grim smile:
"Female General, why don't you just obey me obediently!"

Xichun was furious, so she rode up and started punching, but of course she was no match for him. Master Zhan grabbed her little fist, lifted her up, and carried her over the horse, laying her horizontally on the horse's back. He raised his hand and slapped her little butt a few times.

Even though Xichun was wearing armor, she was still stunned by these blows. She was completely at a loss and didn't know how to respond.

Master Zhan waved his hand and gave an order, "Men, go and kill the government troops. I will take my wife out to have some fun first!"

All the bandits responded in unison and charged towards Xichun's army, defeating the leaderless army.

Xichun watched helplessly as her own troops were being driven around in the mountains and fields like ducks. She wanted to go up and rescue them, but found that she had been tied up tightly and could not move at all.

She has already become a female general, so how come she has no control over her own destiny?
After being stripped naked again, Xichun looked at the thief leader sucking and moving on her body with tears in her eyes, while reflecting deeply.

This dream is originally a private place. Many thoughts in one's mind can be sensed by others without having to be spoken out loud.

Therefore, Mr. Zhan naturally knew all the strong doubts in Xichun's heart.

Master Zhan put Xichun into eighteen different positions on the horse, trying various ways of having sex with her, while he said with a grin:

"Of course it's General Xichun, your martial arts skills are not high enough!"

"Think about it, if you are a martial arts expert, I will naturally be unable to defeat you, and you can naturally behead me in exchange for military merit, and naturally you can control your own destiny!"

"But I see that your martial arts skills are mediocre, and your spear skills are even more disorganized. You can't beat any random bandit leader."

"In my opinion, General Xichun, you should stop being a female general and just come to my stronghold and be my wife!"

After hearing this, Xichun burst into tears and cursed:
"shut up!"

"I will definitely not give in!"

"You can kill me, but don't expect me to follow you!"

Master Zhan changed his position again, slapped her on the buttocks with a big slap, and scolded:
"What's the point of saying that nicely?"

"If you are not good at martial arts, you just can't do it. It's just like math. If you can't do it, you just can't do it!"

"Instead of being tough here, you should be tougher when you do it later, and don't retch again!"

Xichun was extremely embarrassed and angry, but she couldn't struggle to get away, so she had to let him do what he wanted.

Master Zhan tried seven or eight ways of playing and was getting very excited when he suddenly felt the space around him shaking and as if it was breaking apart.

Oops!

This is Xichun waking up!
Master Zhan hurriedly let go of Xichun, shook himself out of the dream, and threw himself into his own body. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Xichun in his arms suddenly sitting up, gasping for breath.

"My dear, what's wrong with you?" Master Zhan pretended to have just woken up, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and asked with a smile.

"I...I had a nightmare."

"Oh, I wonder what kind of nightmare it is?" Master Zhan reached out and hugged Xichun in his arms, asking with seeming concern.

Xichun looked at her master with complicated eyes. Thinking of how she was manipulated into various positions by her master in her dream just now, she couldn't help but blush and her heart beat fast again. She didn't dare to tell the truth, for fear that her ridiculous master would come up with some bad ideas after hearing it.

Xichun buried her head in Master Zhan's arms, not daring to let him see her shy face, and only whispered:

"Nothing, it's just... I just dreamed that I didn't learn martial arts well and was killed by the enemy in the battle."

But she didn't know that everything that happened just now was directed and acted by Master Zhan himself. He knew what she was dreaming about. Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but get excited again. He turned over and pressed her down, grinning and saying:

"Good Xichun, don't worry."

"The master's secret medicine can increase strength and improve physical fitness. We just need to practice more and I will definitely make you an unrivaled warrior in the world!"

"Come on, come on, first practice the dog-tail pose from your Yi Jin Jing and increase the effect of absorbing the secret medicine."

After Xichun woke up, she felt a stickiness on the inside of her legs. Seeing that her master was in the mood, she reluctantly started practicing the Yi Jin Jing dual cultivation technique with him.

Because the technique is too abstruse, the details are not included.

(End of this chapter)