Longevity, starting from traveling and telling stories

Chapter 185: Liao Zhai, Fox Demon Yingning

What kind of detective is this? He has abandoned the people like this! Ye Aniu cursed in his heart, how dare he talk about killing monsters like this? No, I have to think of a way.

"Miss, what's your name..." Ye Aniu calmed down and said in a slow tone and speed, "I'm already married..."

"My name is Hu Mei'er. Since you already have a family, just divorce me!" Hu Mei'er said frivolously, "Is it because I'm not pretty enough?"

After saying that, Hu Meir took slow steps and approached Ye Aniu step by step.

Ye Aniu was shocked. Oh my god! He never expected that he would be raped by a fox.

My lady, if I really lose my virginity to this fox, please don't blame me.

Hu Meir stared at Ye Aniu. Such a handsome young man is mine, mine.

She approached him like a street scoundrel.

Ye Aniu was terrified. In panic, he subconsciously raised his hand and waved it. In an instant, a flash of energy passed by, and Hu Meir was actually blown away by this wave of force.

Master! Hu Mei'er was shocked and covered her chest where the blood was surging.

Could this person be a cultivator?
Was his previous behavior all a feint? I just don't know which Taoist temple he's from. He's so young, maybe even from the Immortal Palace. Could he have come all this way to capture me?
When Ye Aniu saw the other party suddenly retreat, he mistakenly thought that she was frightened by his casual wave of the hand, so he planned to wave his hand again to protest.

When Hu Meir saw him move again, her expression instantly became nervous.

It worked! Ye Aniu suddenly felt confident. It seemed that this monster must have regarded himself as some powerful figure.

Seeing that the other party was calm and composed, Hu Meir realized that he was indeed here to deal with her.

Judging from his serious expression, his cultivation level is probably on par with mine. If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either.

So, the man and the fox stared at each other, fearing each other.

"Who are you?" After a long time, Hu Meir put away her previous frivolous tone and asked seriously, completely without the dissolute look she had just had.

As expected, this monster mistook me for a master. Ye Aniu was secretly delighted, and a look of confidence instantly appeared on his face, as he put on the airs of a true master.

"I am just an ordinary mortal." Ye Aniu really didn't know how to respond, so he could only be vague and perfunctory, and at the same time test her attitude.

An ordinary mortal? Hu Mei'er looked Ye Aniu up and down, her face full of suspicion. An ordinary mortal could repel me with a casual wave of his hand? That's impossible!
"There is no hatred between you and me, so why should we make things difficult for each other?" Hu Meir said tentatively.

Ye Aniu was extremely panicked at the moment. He thought, "Of course I don't want to embarrass you, just leave here!" No, I can't just say goodbye, or she will definitely see through my pretense.

After all, those masters have always taken it as their mission to slay demons and eliminate evil. If I let her go so easily, it will definitely arouse her suspicion.

But if you say something too harsh and anger her, she might retaliate and that would be troublesome.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Aniu remained calm on the surface, but he slowed down his tone and said, "Tell me! Why are you doing evil on this Black Mountain? If you can explain it today, then it's fine. If not..."

"Hmph!" Ye Aniu pretended to be angry and finally shook his sleeves.

Hu Meir's pupils suddenly shrank. The momentum of this swing of sleeves... was so strong!
"I just want to find a husband of my dreams. I have never harmed anyone's life." Hu Mei'er said softly, "Sir, you won't want to ruin my marriage, will you?"

Please, if anyone wants to ruin your marriage, don't come to me. No, I have to think of a way to fool her. Now that I know nothing about this fairy and demon thing, I'll try to fool her with the heavens.

So he said slowly and calmly on the surface: "When it comes to marriage, God's arrangement is the greatest and cannot be forced."

Arranged by heaven? Hu Mei'er was thoughtful for a long time before she asked, "Sir, can you tell me when heaven will arrange a marriage for me?"

"Well..." Ye Ah Niu's mind raced, and suddenly an idea struck him. He thought, "Isn't there a book that no one else can see? Why not give it a try?"
So he closed his eyes and tried to communicate with the book in his mind.

Just when Hu Meir was getting a little impatient, suddenly, a ray of light flashed on Ye Aniu's body. He slowly opened his eyes. In Hu Meir's eyes, everything seemed normal.

But Ye Aniu clearly saw the book appear in front of him. He hurriedly turned the pages. Miraculously, his brain seemed to suddenly open up, and a story came to his mind.

So, he quietly put the book away and said calmly, "The matter of marriage is simple. I'll tell you a story and you'll understand."

"Story?" Hu Meir showed a puzzled look on her face, thinking that this was just the unique knowledge of a cultivator.

"Uh-huh!" Ye Aniu cleared his throat and began to tell the story skillfully.

He said in a loud voice: "There was a scholar from a wealthy family named Wang Zifu. He was extremely intelligent since childhood and passed the imperial examination at the age of fourteen."

Hu Meir's heart moved. Isn't this exactly the husband she has always dreamed of?

Ye Aniu ignored Hu Mei'er's reaction and continued, "Zi Fu is so smart, so his mother naturally loves him very much and wants to find a suitable marriage for him, but she has never been able to find a suitable candidate."

"Until the Lantern Festival..." (from "Yingning" in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio")
Then he began to narrate how Wang Zifu met a beautiful woman holding a flower on the Lantern Festival.

The woman walked lightly and smiled brightly. Wang Zifu was instantly attracted to her and stared at her so intently that he almost bumped into the wall.

After hearing this, Hu Meir's expression became gloomy. She thought to herself, if she had not been injured by hunters when she was young and had such beauty, why would it be so difficult for her to find a husband?
"Since then, Wang Zifu lost his appetite and soon fell ill and was bedridden..." Ye Aniu said, taking out a scroll, rolled it into a tube, and used it as a prop to demonstrate. He continued, "Zifu's mother was extremely worried and quickly called her nephew Wu Sheng for help."

"Seeing this, Wu Sheng had no choice but to trick him, saying that the woman was a fox fairy and his cousin, and that as long as he proposed, the marriage would be successful. Sure enough, the prince's illness was cured immediately."

"Ah..." Hu Mei'er couldn't help but sigh and said, "If there was a man who loved me so deeply, I would die without regrets."

I don't care whether you live or die! Anyway, I don't want to die, Ye Aniu muttered in his heart, I'll fool you first, if you let me go today, when I become a high official in the future, I will find you a hundred or eighty handsome men for you to choose from.

"Hmm!" Ye Aniu coughed lightly, signaling Hu Mei'er not to interrupt, and continued, "In fact, Wu Sheng deceived Wang Zifu. He didn't go to see that woman at all."

When Hu Meir heard this, she immediately became furious and thought to herself, what kind of cousin is Wu Sheng? How could he deceive his cousin like this?

"But fortunately, after Wu Sheng's comfort, Zi Fu's condition has improved. He plans to go find the woman alone."

When the fox heard this, his expression eased a little. He thought that his cousin was lying out of kindness because of his cousin's illness, which made sense.

But this Wang Zifu is really infatuated! When will I meet someone like him? She watched Ye Aniu telling the story vividly, and her heart moved. The man in front of her was not bad, but then she shook her head secretly. No, she was not worthy of him at all.

Then, Ye Aniu continued to narrate that Wang Zifu walked all the way with the help of a cane, overcoming all obstacles, but he did not even see a single house.

We came to a valley with lush flowers and trees and beautiful scenery, as if there were people living there.

Wang Zifu walked along the valley and found a small village. Although there were not many houses in the village, it was very clean and tidy.

He even heard the woman's cheerful laughter.

Wang Zifu walked to the front of the house with difficulty and heard a woman inside teaching a little maid to read in a long voice.

At this point, Ye Aniu pinched his nose and imitated the woman's voice in a shrill voice: "Who's here?"

"And as soon as the prince walked in, he saw the woman he had been thinking about day and night, covering her mouth with her hands and laughing so hard that she was bent over backwards."

Then, Ye Aniu imitated the prince's clothes and walked towards Hu Mei'er. He bowed to her and said affectionately, "Ever since I met you that day, I have been missing you. Now that I see you again, can you have pity on me?"

Then, Ye Aniu turned 360 degrees again and said in the tone of a woman, "That's good. I didn't expect you to be so infatuated. It's a pity that the flowers I threw that day have withered. I will ask the maid to bring you a bunch of flowers another day."

Ye Aniu played two roles by himself. Although he looked funny, Hu Meir listened attentively without smiling at all. Instead, she was immersed in the story and thinking.

Then, Ye Aniu imitated the prince's clothes and said anxiously, "I don't like flowers. I like the flowers you have touched."

Fox Mei'er's eyes lit up, and she secretly praised in her heart, this prince is really good at pleasing girls! When will there be a scholar who can sincerely say such words to her?

Ye Aniu went on to tell the story that Wang Zifu did not know that his cousin Wu Sheng was lying, and thought that the woman was really his cousin.

After explaining the situation, the woman walked into the inner hall and told her mother that her cousin had arrived. Her mother then asked the prince to go in and meet him.

The two introduced their family situations to each other. The old woman was surprised to hear that Wang Zifu had walked a hundred miles alone with a cane.

Then, Ye Aniu continued, the old woman said that since the two were cousins, they would choose a date for their marriage. Yingning and Wang Zifu remained silent, which was considered as their agreement.

The old woman said that she was too tired to entertain the guests, so she asked Yingning to accompany Prince Wang to serve.

"Then Wang Zifu and Yingning were alone in a room, and Wang Zifu confessed his love to her." Ye Aniu pinched his nose again and imitated Yingning's voice in a sharp tone: "We are cousins, there is no need to date secretly. This will be easy to do, don't worry."

"The prince was so hungry and thirsty that he held Yingning's hand and said, 'No one will know at night...'"

"Yingning replied that she was not used to sleeping with others."

Ye Aniu portrayed the scene where Yingning caused Wang Zifu to toss and turn at night, hungry and thirsty, vividly.

Hu Mei'er, a "lustful woman" who yearns for sex, was fascinated by what she heard. She thought to herself, she doesn't want to sleep with her husband, but I do! I love sleeping with my husband the most. This Hu Mei'er really doesn't know how to seize the opportunity. What a pity.

Ye Aniu continued to tell their love story:

Day two.

Yingning saw Wang Zifu off, and Wang Zifu also instructed the maid to tell her young lady not to forget her date with him.

Wang Zifu returned home and told his mother about the situation. However, his mother could never have imagined that her sisters would have such a daughter. She was immediately filled with doubts and hurriedly called her nephew Wu Sheng.

Wu Sheng went to look for her according to Wang Zifu's instructions, but he only saw a desolate courtyard with no one living there. He then asked around for information about Yingning, but no one knew anything about her.

Wu Sheng went back to tell his aunt about the situation. Zifu's mother thought that her son was missing her too much and had lost his mind, but Wang Zifu was convinced that the person really existed. Unable to persuade him, Wu Sheng went again.

As expected, this time, just as Wang Zifu had said, he met Qin and Yingning. Wu Sheng then took them to Zifu's house as guests.

When Zi Fu's mother saw Yingning's innocence, she immediately smiled and said that her son had found a good wife.

In this way, Yingning lived in Zifu's home. With her innocent and innocent nature, she quickly won the recognition of the women and sisters around her, and everyone liked her very much.

But she is naturally fond of laughing, even in serious situations.

After hearing this, Hu Meir felt emotional and realized that she actually had a ghost sister too!

At this point, Ye Aniu's tone suddenly lowered:

"One day, Yingning was picking flowers in the garden, but she was seen by the son of the neighbor to the west."

The neighbor's son was instantly captivated by Yingning's beauty and stared at her intently. Yingning was simple-minded and smiled at him openly without shying away.

The neighbor's son mistakenly thought that the beautiful woman was interested in him and was immediately infatuated with her.

Although Yingning was simple-minded, she was not stupid. She pointed at the wall and ran away with a smile.

The man thought this was a hint from Yingning, so he climbed over the wall and entered at night.

But just as he reached the base of the wall, he accidentally touched a scorpion in a hole in the wall and was stung.

He screamed for help, which alerted his family, who rushed to find him unconscious, his body swollen like a pig.

His family rushed him home, but he died in the middle of the night.

"He died well." Hu Mei'er heard this, her tone filled with a hint of satisfaction, and said, "Yingning must have seen that this guy had ulterior motives and deliberately pointed at the wall to tease him. He deserved this disaster and died here."

Ye Aniu nodded, thinking that Hu Meir's analysis was very accurate.

Then he continued, "After that man died, the neighbor reported Yingning to the government, accusing her of seducing his son."

Then he began to tell the story of a neighbor who reported to the government that Yingning seduced the neighbor's son. The county magistrate summoned Yingning, but she just smiled and said nothing.

The county magistrate summoned Wang Zifu again, and Wang Zifu told him what had happened.

The county magistrate was a good official. He roughly understood that it was the neighbor's son who was so audacious that he climbed over the wall and ended up dying from a scorpion sting.

Therefore, the county magistrate released Wang Zifu and others without charge that same day.

When the Queen Mother heard this, she was very angry and scolded Yingning severely, but Yingning just laughed. The Queen Mother left crying sadly.

"Since then, Yingning has never smiled again." Ye Aniu sighed and said, "Even if others tease her, she won't laugh."

"Why?" Hu Meir asked puzzledly.

Why? How would I know why? Ye Aniu racked his brains, and suddenly his mind seemed to be hit by something, and he suddenly had the answer.

"As the saying goes, the person who makes you laugh isn't necessarily the one you like, but the person who makes you cry is definitely someone you'll never forget." Having said that, he looked directly at Hu Mei'er and asked in a serious tone, "Excuse me, young lady, has anyone ever made you cry in the past?"

Is there? Of course there is.

Countless images seemed to flash through Hu Meir's eyes. That was her first husband, and that relationship had made her sad for hundreds of years.

Even now, her first husband has long passed away, she still can't get over the shadow of that time. Even after she found more than a dozen husbands, she still can't forget and can't let go!

Rather than saying that I want to find a husband, it would be better to say that I just want to find a man so that I can forget that man.

"Please continue your story, sir." Hu Meir sighed and brought her thoughts back to reality.

Ye Aniu nodded and continued, "Yingning later confessed to Wang Zifu..."

It turns out that Yingning is a half-demon born to a human and a fox. She lost her mother when she was young and was raised by a ghost mother.

She has depended on the ghost mother for more than twenty years, but now she is unable to fulfill her filial duty to her, and she feels very sad.

When Fox Meir heard this, she was also deeply touched. She thought that she had only used the two ghost sisters to confuse the scholar for her and captured him as her husband, but had never done anything for them, and she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Later on, Wang Zifu moved the ghost mother's grave and buried her at the royal family's ancestral tomb."

"The ghost mother also told Yingning to be filial to her mother-in-law in a dream."

"Yingning finally gave birth to a big fat boy, who, like Yingning, smiled whenever he saw anyone."

"Well, that's the end of the story."

After Ye Aniu finished telling the story, he did not dare to disturb the big fox who was lost in thought too much, for fear of angering her and ending up in a situation where both he and the fox would perish.

"Sir..." The big fox suddenly knelt down and said sincerely, "Sir, please, save my ghost sister!"

"I beg you to do as Prince Fu did and save my poor sister Wanjun."

"Ah?" Ye Aniu felt as if ten thousand horses were galloping through his heart. He had just dealt with a fox, and now another ghost appeared. Why did this plot seem so familiar?

But in order not to expose himself, he still spoke in a serious tone, reached out to help her up and said, "Tell me what happened?"

The big fox was helped to stand up, and then began to tell the story:
It turns out that three years ago, due to the rampant banditry, Lin Wanjun was separated from her husband. She set out on a journey to find him alone, but unexpectedly fell to her death in the Black Mountain, and her soul was trapped there, unable to continue looking for her husband.

"Sir, please have mercy on me, collect my sister Wanjun's body, and take her to find her husband." When he got excited, the big fox knelt down and begged repeatedly.

Ye Aniu was suddenly filled with anxiety. Aren't you trying to embarrass me? How can I, a weak scholar, bring a voluptuous ghost with me? What should I do?
But I can't refuse directly at the moment. After all, I am now a "master" in her eyes. If I refuse too directly, it may backfire.

What should I do? If all else fails, I'll just pretend to agree. After I leave Black Mountain, I'll find a place to bury her body. That way, she can rest in peace and I won't feel sorry for her. That's the decision.

So, he asked calmly, "Where is her body?"

Hu Mei'er's face lit up with joy when she heard this, and she said, "Please follow me, sir."

On the dark Black Mountain, everything was quiet.

The winding and rugged mountain road was covered with thorns. Hu Meir took Ye Aniu and walked towards a remote place covered with thorns.

The sound of their footsteps and the occasional sound of stones being kicked echoed in the silent forest.

Finally, they came to the edge of a cliff.

Hu Mei'er stopped and pointed to the bottom of the cliff and said, "Sir, we're here."

After that, Hu Meier raised her voice and shouted towards the cliff: "Wanjun, Wanjun..."

The echo lingered in the valley and did not dissipate for a long time.

Suddenly, a puff of white smoke rose up, and within it, a beautiful woman slowly emerged. She had a graceful figure and a gentle temperament, exuding the unique tenderness and charm of a Jiangnan woman.

Her eyes were full of surprise, and she said cheerfully, "Sister Mei'er, why are you here?"

After saying this, she tilted her head slightly and looked towards Ye Aniu, her tone filled with a hint of doubt: "Hey, who is this person? Could this be the ideal husband that my sister has found?"

Hu Mei'er quickly stopped him, whispering, "Shh... This is the expert I found especially for you. He has promised to help you leave Black Mountain and find your husband..."

Ye Aniu looked at the "beautiful ghost" who suddenly appeared in front of him, feeling helpless.

Upon hearing this, Wanjun said softly, "Thank you very much, sir, for your kindness. I am truly grateful."

Ye Aniu secretly complained in her heart, but she could only bite the bullet and pretend to be calm and said, "Forget it, tell me in detail about your husband's situation."

Wanjun slowly stood up and began to tell the story, "My husband's name is Zhongkang. We live in the provincial capital. Three years ago, we went out together to do business, but unfortunately, we encountered bandits along the way and were separated."

"I only wanted to find him, but I didn't expect to accidentally fall in this black mountain."

"Although my soul is trapped here, I miss my husband day and night. I hope you can help me fulfill my wish to find him."

Ye Ah Niu felt a mixture of emotions after hearing this. On the one hand, he felt sympathy for Wanjun, but on the other hand, he really didn't want to get into such trouble.

After thinking for a moment, he decided that he was going to the provincial capital anyway, so he might as well take her with him! Having another ghost as a companion didn't seem like a big deal.

He pretended to think for a moment, then said, "First, bring your body up."

After saying that, Ye Aniu turned his gaze to Hu Meir. The meaning in his eyes was self-evident, indicating that she should go and get the bones.

Hu Mei'er looked troubled and said helplessly, "I can't get down. It seems like something mysterious is blocking me. Sir, you have great magical powers, so you must be able to do it. Otherwise, I would have helped Sister Wanjun to get the remains up long ago. How could I bear to let her lie exposed in the wilderness?"

Ye Aniu gritted his teeth and in order not to reveal his identity as an ordinary person, he had to bite the bullet and climb down the cliff.

He looked at the dark cliff and couldn't help feeling a little scared, but he took a deep breath, turned his back, and began to climb down carefully.

Hu Mei'er looked at his difficult movements and asked in confusion, "Sir, why don't you fly down?"

Ye Aniu hurriedly responded vaguely: "This place has a strange feel. If we fly down rashly, I'm afraid it will cause some unnecessary trouble."

Hu Meir was slightly stunned and actually believed it.

Ye Aniu climbed towards the bottom of the cliff with difficulty. Fortunately, the cliff was not too steep. As long as he was careful and climbed slowly, there would be no problem.

But if you are not careful, you may slip and fall, and end up with no complete body. I think Lin Wanjun probably slipped and fell accidentally on a rainy day.

Although the cliff is not too deep, the cliff walls are covered with sharp rocks and thorns.

Lin Wanjun's body was left halfway up the mountain, having long since turned into bones. A piece of tattered cloth still remained on the bones, swaying slightly in the wind, as if telling of the tragedy of the past.

Ye Aniu carefully collected the bones, wrapped them up meticulously, and then began to climb back slowly.

Suddenly, Ye Aniu's hand was cut by a sharp stone, and blood immediately flowed out, dripping onto the stone next to him and splashing everywhere.

He couldn't help but curse his bad luck, hurriedly tore off a piece of cloth from his clothes, simply bandaged the wound, and continued to climb up.

However, after he successfully climbed up, a small ball of black gas suddenly emerged from the place where the blood was spilled. There was a strange blood light in the black gas and it followed Ye Aniu away.

On the other side, Lin Wanjun and Hu Meir were extremely excited when they saw that the corpse was really taken up.

Lin Wanjun said gratefully, "Thank you, sir. Please bury me near the temple. That way, my soul will be free and can leave with you."

"Okay!" Ye Aniu cursed in his heart. This was really a losing deal. Not only did he have to work for free, but he also had to help find people.

After finishing all this, the sky had begun to gradually brighten, and the morning light gradually dispelled the darkness of the Black Mountain.

"Sir, let me go to your backpack first to avoid unnecessary trouble." Lin Wanjun said softly.

(End of this chapter)