Chapter 392

Not walking far, the Ziyun County government office appeared before them.

Next to it was the official post station, which was currently vacant.

Lin Jue did not stand on ceremony and stepped straight inside.

Third Shixiong followed behind, leading the horse, and sighed as he walked: "It's been years, and Fuyao has grown so big. My horse was almost scared to death by it. How much does it have to eat in a single day..."

Fuyao jumped over the threshold and turned its head to look at him.

Seeing the two people in front stop at the entrance, they both turned around simultaneously to look at him and the horse behind him, especially at the horse's back, as if they had both remembered something at the same time, and asked:

"Third Shixiong, you still haven't said where you've been these past few years?"

"What about that woman in red from that night? The one called Princess Hua! Why isn't she with you?"

The two were both concerned and curious.

"Hmm?"

Third Shixiong, however, had a bad premonition: "Did Eldest Shixiong even tell you about that? Didn't I tell him not to tell you?"

As the words fell, the two looked at each other.

"Third Shixiong, just tell us."

"Yeah! Third Shixiong, just tell us!"

Little Xiao Shimei and her parrot-like companion stared at him with four eyes.

Third Shixiong's old face actually flushed a rare red.

"It's a long story..."

"No rush, take your time," Lin Jue said. "According to the fellow Daoists from Zhen Jian Gong, although two True Lords have joined hands to descend to the mortal realm to eliminate the demons this time, Wang Mu is also very difficult to deal with. It won't be a matter of a day or two. We may have to guard here for a long time, so there is plenty of time to listen to Third Shixiong. It's best to be detailed."

"Third Shixiong is right!"

"Why don't you two talk about your experiences first?" Third Shixiong said uncomfortably.

"What experiences could we have? Besides, haven't you already heard about them, Third Shixiong?" Lin Jue said.

"We want to hear Third Shixiong's story first," Little Xiao Shimei said. "Otherwise, we can take a vote to see who goes first, and the minority will follow the majority."

"You two..."

Third Shixiong looked them over, tied up the horse, walked into the main hall of the post station, found a table to sit at, took out a bowl, and poured wine from his gourd to drink.

"Did Eldest Shixiong tell you what I wrote in the letter—that the female ghost actually had ulterior motives?"

"He did."

"He did!"

The two spoke in unison.

"? Why does that old bull-nose tell them everything?" Third Shixiong was speechless.

"Third Shixiong, don't digress."

"In any case, after I escaped from there, I provoked her with my words, so she kept chasing me relentlessly," Third Shixiong said, shaking his head. "It's not that I couldn't handle her, but I thought that since she let us stay the night and treated us to good food and drink, although she had the intention of using us to help her escape the control of the Xiyue Prefecture Lord, it wasn't too excessive. Instead, it was me who was disrespectful and teased her with my words. Sigh, Shidi and Xiao Shimei, you know your Third Shixiong—I've always been forthright and say whatever is on my mind..."

Neither Lin Jue nor Little Xiao Shimei replied.

Third Shixiong continued to shake his head and said:

"I had no choice but to hide from her.

"Alas, alas...

"The events of that night were fake, but unfortunately, your Third Shixiong is handsome, dashing, mighty, and extraordinary, with a heroic spirit and superb skills. During the process of her chasing me, she actually gradually developed feelings for me..."

Little Xiao Shimei was stunned and reached out to scratch her head: "Then what happened? Did Third Shixiong start a family with her?"

"Start a family? Me? I am naturally free-spirited! Unrestrained and unburdened, singing and dancing to my own heart's content—how could I be trapped by love and get involved in such trouble? Wouldn't that affect my carefree life?" Third Shixiong gulped down a large bowl of wine and said, "I naturally wouldn't agree to her!"

"Ah?"

Little Xiao Shimei was immediately shocked.

"Continue."

Lin Jue listened earnestly.

"Alas, this woman is very difficult to deal with. She chased me relentlessly, and I don't know if she wanted my body or my life."

Third Shixiong sighed, pondered for a moment, and then continued:

"She chased me for half a year, and I avoided her for half a year. But one day, she told me that she could let me go, stop pestering me, and let me do whatever I wanted. However, back in that wilderness, she had indeed treated us with good intentions. Although she had the idea of using us, she didn't force us. It was I who spoke disrespectfully and teased her, which is why she chased me for so long. If I wanted her to let me go, I had to agree to three conditions."

"What three conditions?" Little Xiao Shimei listened, completely bewildered.

"The first was to get rid of the Tu Long Wang. She said the Tu Long Wang killed her original husband, the Wei Shui River God," Third Shixiong said.

"She never intended to marry into the Wei Shui River in the first place, did she?" Lin Jue interjected.

"How could I not know? She just felt that the Tu Long Wang had some skills and wanted me to retreat in the face of difficulty."

"I thought so too."

"However, I felt this condition was reasonable, and eliminating demons is the duty of us Daoists. Besides, if the Tu Long Wang wasn't eliminated, not only would he cause chaos, but the Xiyue Prefecture Lord might force her to marry that monster again, so I agreed," Third Shixiong said. "But when I returned to the Wei Shui River, I found that, heh, that crocodile had already been eliminated by my two Shidi and Xiao Shimei."

"Then does this still count?"

"Of course it counts!"

"What about the second one?" "The second condition was that she used to live in Xiyue and had always heard that there were many famous mountains and rivers in the world with beautiful scenery. She had always wanted to see them but couldn't. This was her obsession. If it wasn't removed, whether she returned to Xiyue to spend the rest of her life or was married off to other gods or spirits, she would never be content in death. So she asked me to take her to see them," Third Shixiong said. "I felt this condition was also reasonable. Besides, I had intended to wander the world and travel through mountains and rivers anyway. It was on the way, so it wasn't a special promise, nor was it troublesome, so I agreed."

"So Third Shixiong spent these past few years taking her all over the country, from the south to the north, and from the Western Regions to the Eastern Lands?" Little Xiao Shimei scratched her head and said.

"Yes."

"That sounds... strange..."

Little Xiao Shimei scratched her head for a long time, unable to think of how to describe it, so she could only say: "Strangely fun."

"No wonder Third Shixiong ran to so many places these past few years. We thought Third Shixiong was being hunted by her the whole time," Lin Jue said, falling into thought. "Let me guess, the last condition—she hasn't thought of it yet and hasn't told Third Shixiong, right?"

"Hmm? How did you know?"

"In the world of the common people, in the taverns of the cities, aren't stories like this often told?" Lin Jue said.

"That's true. This female ghost has heard many wonderful stories of the human world and feels they are beautiful, so she often imitates them," Third Shixiong said with a headache.

"Isn't that quite beautiful?" Lin Jue smiled.

No errors in the content at a glance!

"Third Shixiong, you took her all over the country for such a long time—didn't you develop any feelings for her?" Little Xiao Shimei asked.

"What feelings! There are no feelings. You Daoist nun, what could you possibly understand?" Third Shixiong rolled his eyes at them. "I am someone who wants to wander the world and be free!"

"But, but Third Shixiong, you took her with you and wandered the world freely for several years, didn't you?" Little Xiao Shimei discovered a problem and stated it directly.

"Xiao Shimei is right. She didn't stop Third Shixiong from being free; on the contrary, she could be free along with Third Shixiong," Lin Jue said. "She seems to have a palace, many dowries, and servants. Third Shixiong taking her with him is equivalent to bringing a palace and many servants along. He doesn't have to worry about food or clothing, doesn't have to worry about wine, and even has singing girls and dancers to liven things up when drinking. Isn't that even better?"

"This..."

Third Shixiong was stunned by his words. After thinking carefully for a long time, he said: "In any case, I am better off alone and will never get involved in such troublesome entanglements."

Lin Jue knew as soon as he heard it—

This Shixiong had a very stubborn mouth.

Not to mention the appearance, skills, schemes, and personality of that Princess Hua, just the fact that they traveled together all over the country for several years—how could they not have developed some feelings?

Traveling together is not an easy task.

If there were no feelings and they couldn't get along, they would have parted ways halfway through these years.

Moreover, Lin Jue could tell—there was no such thing as "I felt this condition was reasonable," "it wasn't a special promise," "it was on the way," or "it wasn't troublesome." Third Shixiong must have already developed feelings for her before agreeing; otherwise, he would never have agreed no matter what.

And these three conditions, traveling around the world, were nothing more than Princess Hua's schemes and methods.

It's even possible that Third Shixiong coming here, and the information about the Great Yin-Yang Method here at Wang Mu's, was Princess Hua's idea, just to make him see his own heart clearly while they were together and supporting each other.

Little Xiao Shimei was still scratching her head, very confused.

Then she seemed to think of something, aimed her gaze at Third Shixiong, and then turned her head to look at the luggage on the horse's back in the courtyard: "No, didn't you say she followed Third Shixiong to Ziyun County? Isn't there still one of the three conditions left unfinished? She wouldn't be right beside Third Shixiong, would she? It's just that it's daytime now, so Third Shixiong put her somewhere?"

"? How did you know?"

Third Shixiong felt that this Xiao Shimei seemed to have become smarter.

But this made him feel a bit embarrassed.

"Because Third Shixiong practices the Bean Soldier method and needs to collect remnant souls and obsessions. Doesn't Third Shixiong often use a bottle to hold remnant souls? Little Shixiong learned it from you. And Little Shixiong also keeps other ghosts, which are also kept in a small magic seal and carried on his person."

"..."

"Why don't you call her out to see?" Little Xiao Shimei looked at him blankly and guessed boldly, "Shixiong, are you afraid of her?"

"..."

Third Shixiong was helpless, but also free-spirited.

He got up and took the luggage off the horse's back. Inside was a small vanity box, also made with mother-of-pearl inlay. He took it out, placed it on the table, and tapped it a few times.

The vanity box opened automatically.

The two Shixiong and Xiao Shimei, along with the fox Cai Li, stared at the vanity box at first, then suddenly turned around, only to see that at some point, a beautiful woman in red had already stood behind them.

She looked no different from when they first met.

Third Shixiong's voice came from behind: "This is my Shidi and Xiao Shimei, do you remember them? I happened to meet them here today."

"No need to say more. I was just hiding from the sun in the box; it's not that I couldn't hear you talking." The woman in red said lightly, then turned around, looked at Lin Jue and Little Xiao Shimei, smiled slightly, and performed a salute. The first thing she did was to apologize for what happened back then:

"Back then, I was desperate to avoid marriage and also wanted to escape my father's control. I happened to meet you and had the intention of using you. I was very rude, please forgive me."

Lin Jue also stood up and returned the salute.

Then he couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

Although he had heard similar stories in the taverns of the cities and the world of the common people, the reason these stories are popular and enduring is precisely because they have their own cleverness, interest, and fascination.

If Third Shixiong's experiences over these past few years were written into a book, it would probably attract quite a few followers, right?

It really lived up to the words of "Lady Yao Hua"—

"It is fate, it is fortune, not disaster, not calamity.

"It is clever, it is wonderful, hard to distinguish for a moment."

(End of chapter)