Chapter 93: The Lady Bites

That night, Li Lin introduced Hong Luan's identity to several household servants.

Zhang Afu's eyes held relief; the master was about to marry, so this household would continue, and they, these servants, could continue living here.

Over this period of time, they had also figured out Li Lin's character.

He was a rare, good master.

They hoped to live here for a lifetime.

Meanwhile, the maids looked at Hong Luan with envy.

Li Lin was handsome and wealthy, and had status; let alone becoming his principal wife, becoming his concubine was already a rare good thing.

The maids had also fantasized about it.

It was just a pity that Li Lin never did anything improper with them.

There was even a faint sign of keeping his distance.

After eating and bathing, Li Lin lay on the bed; not long after, the door knocker sounded, then someone gently pushed the door open and walked in.

The room had no lamps lit; it was very dim.

But Li Lin knew who it was.

Not long after, a warm body lay beside Li Lin, accompanied by a nervous heartbeat.

Li Lin reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her over, embraced her, and said: "No rush tonight; sleep well. Tomorrow I will take you back to Shangtikou Village; I must tell her about this."

"Her?"

"Tree Immortal Lady!"

Li Lin was lustful, but not hasty in lust.

Matters must be prioritized.

By the next day, Hong Luan rose first, attended to Li Lin's dressing, and helped him comb his hair and wash his face.

After breakfast, Li Lin went to the market to rent a donkey, let Hong Luan ride it, and returned to Shangtikou Village.

Seeing Li Lin return with a woman, the villagers were excited; all gathered nearby to watch, and some bold ones asked: "Li Xunshou, is this your wife?"

In the countryside, there were no eight-palanquin grand processions.

Often, carrying a quilt on one's back and notifying relatives and friends was enough to marry into the man's household.

"Yes!" Li Lin answered without hesitation.

Naturally, this drew many cheers.

Back home, Li Lin said: "You stay here for now; I'll be back shortly."

Hong Luan nodded; after Li Lin left, she sat with nothing to do, looked left and right, felt the place was somewhat messy, then her servant's instinct rose, and she began tidying things up.

Meanwhile, Li Lin arrived at the altar; the green sprouts on the 'withered trees' beside it were increasing more and more.

The Tree Immortal Lady did not appear.

Li Lin took no notice and said: "Liu Zhe..."

He no longer addressed her as 'Lady' as usual.

"I told you before that I expect to marry soon; I wonder if you remember."

Still no one emerged from the altar.

"Actually, if possible, I would also like you to be my wife; after all, a man having three wives and four concubines is normal."

Li Lin said this with a smile, without a trace of guilt or hesitation.

At that moment, the Tree Immortal Lady finally appeared; she looked at Li Lin, clearly very angry.

"Looking at me like this won't help; I have decided on you and Huang Damei."

The Tree Immortal Lady flew into a rage; she grabbed Li Lin's left arm and bit down hard.

Snake mouths conceal fangs.

Two special fangs pierced Li Lin's forearm; fortunately, they did not pierce the bone.

Perhaps the Tree Immortal Lady had deliberately avoided that.

Blood dripped drop by drop from Li Lin's arm, while the Tree Immortal Lady bit him, motionless.

Li Lin's face showed no expression of pain; with his right hand, he gently stroked the Tree Immortal Lady's hair, then slowly moved downward, touching her soft ears, then her smooth neck.

And that hand seemed to intend to continue exploring downward.

Then the Tree Immortal Lady finally reacted.

She released Li Lin, stopped biting him, and suddenly stepped back.

Although her expression remained cold, Li Lin still noticed she seemed somewhat shy.

"Liu Zhe, when I cultivate to Seventh Rank, I will marry you! Then I will not be harmed by your yin qi."

Hiss!

A long, green snake tail fell beside Li Lin.

On the loess ground, it left a three-zhang-long, deep trench.

The Tree Immortal Lady floated in midair, seemingly with hair standing on end in rage; the air itself radiated chill.

But Li Lin was not afraid; he only smiled and looked at her.

A while later, the Tree Immortal Lady snorted, turned, and entered the altar, no longer showing herself.

Li Lin turned and walked toward home.

On the surface, he wore a smile, very calm, but his back was actually sweating.

A bit of lingering fear, and a bit of pride.

Returning to the room, he saw the house had become very... clean and tidy.

Although Li Lin's small nest was not dirty at all, for a man, a bit of mess is normal.

Hong Luan heard the sound, turned around, saw Li Lin, and smiled: "Li Lang, you're back... ah, why are there so many bloodstains on your sleeve!"

The arm bitten by the Tree Immortal Lady had bled profusely, then soaked up a massive amount of blood, with half the sleeve dripping bloodstains.

Hong Luan rushed over, unafraid of the bloodstains, and lifted Li Lin's left forearm; yet although there were many blood marks there, after wiping them away, there was no wound, only two pink dots.

That was where the Tree Immortal Lady had bitten; she hadn't expected that, in such a state of fury, she had actually healed him.

Li Lin felt somewhat moved in his heart; the Tree Immortal Lady was gentler than he had imagined.

"It's nothing; I am a Soul Hunter after all, so having some special abilities is normal."

"As long as it's nothing," Hong Luan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sit and rest for a while; after lunch, we must return to the county town again."

Hong Luan was very puzzled: "Didn't you say we were going to meet the Tree Immortal Lady?"

"I have already met her!"

"I haven't seen her yet."

"She has seen you."

The entire village lay within the range of the Tree Immortal Lady's divine sense; how could she not know that Li Lin had brought a woman back?

This was also the reason she had hidden away at the very beginning.

"Oh!"

Hong Luan didn't quite understand, but she had one virtue: she did not ask too many questions.

After eating the meal, Li Lin lay on the bed with his eyes closed, resting for a while; he did not let Hong Luan continue working, but instead drew two Soul-Guiding Paper Men to do the tasks.

At first, Hong Luan was somewhat afraid of the two paper men, but after some time passed, she joined the two paper men in doing the household chores.

"You don't need to lift a finger."

"Three people working together will be faster."

Wei Hour... the scorching sun began to tilt westward, and Li Lin took Hong Luan back to the county town again.

Eat, bathe, sleep.

Like the night before, Hong Luan lay beside Li Lin, somewhat nervous.

But this time, Li Lin pulled her into his embrace and removed her clothes.

By the time the next day approached noon, she finally rose.

No one was by the bedside anymore; she put on her clothes, walked with somewhat unnatural steps to the main hall, and saw the man holding a scroll in one hand, reading intently.

Then her eyes instantly went vacant.

Li Lin looked up: "You're awake? I asked Zhang Bo to cook some white porridge for you..."

"Li Lang," Hong Luan bowed slightly: "I must go to Huang Fu immediately to fetch some things; it is urgent. I didn't expect... I only just got up now, and I have already missed the appointed time. I will return again in the afternoon."

Seeing her like this, Li Lin could only nod: "Do you want me to escort you there?"

Hong Luan blushed and shook her head: "No need."

The distance between Li Fu and Huang Fu was not far; it took only the burning of one stick of incense to arrive.

As soon as she returned to Huang Fu, several maids saw her and shouted excitedly: "Hong Luan is back, Hong Luan is back."

Then, surrounded by a crowd of maids, she came to the side hall of the fourth gate; this was where the women of the household stayed.

At this moment, the Eldest Lady and the Huang sisters were all here.

Hong Luan knelt before the Eldest Lady and, with a flushed face, said: "Eldest Lady, this servant has returned."

(End of this chapter)