Chapter 24: Who Are You Calling a Wife?

Night fell, and the clamor inside the Princess's Mansion erupted once more:

"Eight for one..."

"I heard a young hero arrived at the government office, his martial arts are godlike, and he's especially handsome..."

"Stop dreaming; he's Miss Linghu's type..."

Inside the two-courtyard residence outside the wall, it was pitch black and utterly silent.

Xie Jinhuan sat cross-legged in the bedroom, hands resting flat on his knees, with visible Qi circulation swirling around his body, slightly ruffling Meiqiu's fluffy fur; beside him lay a newly purchased book titled 'Strange Chronicles of Demons and Ghosts'.

After the two from the Li family, one big and one small, left in the afternoon, Xie Jinhuan went out again to circle around and inquire about the government's movements.

Colonel Yang indeed went to Li Fu and took away the eldest son, Li Zixian; Yang Dabiao was also searching the city for any possible幕后 demon bandits.

But the intimidation factor of the 'Great Demon of Mount Zihui' was simply too high; the prefectural government office did not dispatch many additional personnel. According to people coming from outside the city, the rural counties had already begun organizing civilian laborers to search the mountain using a hand-in-hand formation.

Mount Zihui stretches over seven hundred li, a massive scale; finishing the search will take time, but since the government office is willing to commit such manpower, finding the tomb-robbers' camp hidden within the mountain range is only a matter of time.

Xie Jinhuan had fled Shenshan in a hurry the day before yesterday, unsure if he left any items behind at the tomb-robbers' camp. A round trip would take a full day and night, and with searchers everywhere in the mountains, he dared not return rashly; now he could only try to 'divert the floodwaters eastward', pin the blame on the demon bandits or the Li family, and first shift the government office's attention.

Because he encountered demon bandits today, Xie Jinhuan also casually bought a copy of 'Strange Chronicles of Demons and Ghosts' while strolling.

The book's cover was quite exquisite, depicting a fox demon with large breasts and a plump rear.

Xie Jinhuan bought it to flip through and study knowledge about demonic creatures.

However, he quickly discovered the cover was purely a sales gimmick; the contents were entirely records from the period of the Wu Sect rebellion.

The Wu Sect was originally a fairly normal school, practicing poison mixing, gu breeding, summoning gods, and raising ghosts; it wasn't exactly respectable, but it wasn't exactly causing heaven to rage and people to resent.

But a hundred years ago, a genius from the Corpse Witch faction defected to the demon path, following the 'Ghost Cultivation' method, then relied on puppets to infinitely borrow corpses for reincarnation, becoming the 'Corpse Ancestor' spoken of by the world.

In just a few short years, the Corpse Ancestor killed off one-third of the entire world, even wiping out the entire previous dynasty.

At that time, other factions of the Wu Sect also had righteous heroes who campaigned against the Corpse Ancestor, but the Corpse Ancestor was someone from the Wu Sect, and there were no shortage of Wu Sect lackeys under his command.

For this reason, the founding of Great Qian, out of safety considerations, expelled the entire Wu Sect to the Wastelands to watch the demon beasts bare their teeth; they haven't been able to turn things around to this day.

Xie Jinhuan had studied this history since childhood to outwork the local natives; after flipping through for a long time without finding the large-breasted, plump-rear fox spirit, he tossed the book aside.

Now practicing his arts at home, he discovered the landlady's family was causing trouble again; to seek some quiet, Xie Jinhuan picked up the Zhenglun Sword again:

"Miss Ye?"

"Gu?"

Meiqiu, who was rolling around boredly, saw Xie Jinhuan summoning spirits again and, terrified, immediately flew out of the bedroom.

Meanwhile, the familiar seductive older-sister voice sounded from behind:

"What? Can't sleep, wanting big sister to coax you again?"

Xie Jinhuan turned to look and saw the seductive, lovely red-clad ghost girl lying on her side, propping her cheek with her hand, her eyes teasingly fixed on him.

Discovering the 'Ghost-Brand Earplugs' were very effective, Xie Jinhuan continued sitting cross-legged to gather Qi:

"You asked me earlier today what my feeling was upon first seeing you; what did that mean?"

Ye Hongshuang rolled over to lie on her side, propping her chin with her hand, her two jade feet dangling slightly in mid-air:

"It means exactly what it says; what was your feeling when you saw big sister back then?"

"Are you sure you want me to say it?"

"Mm-hmm~"

Xie Jinhuan glanced at the red-clad ghost, thought for a moment, and his lips curled slightly:

"You're so lewd."

?

Ye Hongshuang's dangling feet paused; she narrowed her eyes slightly, then sat up, assuming the posture of an ancient ancestor atop a mountain peak, her eyes sharp as swords, looking down from above:

"Do you like the aloof, 'keep people at a thousand li' vibe?"

Her voice was cold and lonely, like a giant Seeing Bing Tuozi that hadn't melted in a thousand years.

Xie Jinhuan blinked, a trace of daze flashing in his eyes:

"You look a bit familiar..."

A joy rose in Ye Hongshuang's heart; she maintained the demeanor of the Nine Heavens Profound Maiden:

"Oh? Have you seen me before? Think carefully."

"Hmm..."

After pondering bitterly for a long time, Xie Jinhuan suddenly slapped his forehead:

"Right! Nangong Xianzi!

"I once strolled near the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and caught a glimpse of Nangong Xianzi from afar; her aura was much like yours right now."

Ye Hongshuang was instantly speechless, lying on her side on the bed again, propping her cheek with her hand:

"Eating from the bowl while staring at the pot; men really are all big pig trotters, hmph~"

Xie Jinhuan reasoned he hadn't even eaten from the bowl yet; he asked:

"Are you pondering your own origins?"

Ye Hongshuang blinked her beautiful, autumn-water eyes: "My background must be quite significant; perhaps you knew me in a past life, and in this life, I've come to repay my debt to you."

Xie Jinhuan certainly hadn't seen Ye Hongshuang in his past life; he shook his head regarding this:

"I'm not a fox spirit or a white snake; what debt would I repay?"

"Then perhaps I am one~ Repaying a debt in reverse is still repaying a debt."

As Ye Hongshuang spoke, nine red, fluffy long tails floated out from behind her, drifting and swaying slowly within the curtains, transforming her into a large fox spirit with large breasts and a plump rear.

Whoa!

Xie Jinhuan's pupils contracted; he felt this was exactly like the fox spirit he had imagined; he leaned forward to inspect Ye Hongshuang's rear:

"Is this a skin or a mod? Is this really what you look like in truth?"

Ye Hongshang turned her body away, not allowing Xie Jinhuan to gawk.

"How could my true form look like this? You want to see a fox spirit? I only changed for you."

Finding no tail on her true form, Xie Jinhuan lost interest.

But he'd never experienced this before, and his curiosity was piqued:

"Can you turn into any shape? Turn into a spider… I fucking—!"

Before he finished speaking, a piercing shriek erupted from the bed!

The room's scene was too grotesque to describe, but fearless Xie Jinhuan immediately bristled, covering his eyes with his hands:

"Spirit! A female spider spirit! Not Bai Mao the giant spider—!"

"Oh~"

"You're just 'oh'ing?! Make it disappear, make it disappear, I'm gonna have a heart attack!"

"You sure? Big sister isn't some servant you summon and dismiss at will."

"Quick quick quick quick—!"

Xie Jinhuan kept his eyes shut, waving his hands frantically until the ambient sounds returned to his ears, then exhaled softly in relief.

But before he could sit back down, he heard from behind the house:

"Dang dang dang~"

"My dear husband—~…"

"Come, come, drink!"

?

Xie Jinhuan's face darkened; he realized he'd overlooked something. He shamelessly picked up the Zhenglun Sword again:

"Miss Ye? Hongshang? Hey?"

The Zhenglun Sword remained silent.

Xie Jinhuan hadn't expected this succubus to throw a tantrum—he could only grit his teeth, endure the noise, close his eyes, and try to cultivate.

But the mad girls of the Princess's mansion were truly noisy; their babbling made concentration impossible. Midway, he heard:

"The Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival's about to start—they say lots of talented scholars and young heroes have come. Even Bao Fei, the young master of Jinghua Manor, is said to be here…"

"A grown man with a name like that? Don't he fear being laughed at? How fat could he be compared to you…"

"Pfft~ No shame at all. Let's lift her skirt and see who's really fat…"

How the hell is he supposed to cultivate?!

Xie Jinhuan was so stunned he didn't even run to the back to referee—he had incredible self-control!

Unable to bear it anymore, Xie Jinhuan picked up the Zhenglun Sword again:

"Big Sister Ye? Beautiful Miss Ye? Ghost bride?"

"Who are you calling bride?"

"Just joking—I need to practice fast. Help me block out the noise."

"Hmph~"

…

—

Night deepened. The Library of Danwang Pavilion.

Chief Steward Zhu Wenyuan, dressed in scholarly robes, stood beside the desk holding a folding fan, frowning:

"What a season of troubles. Today we visited every household in every county, matching footprints of men of matching height—just in Danyang County alone, there are over a thousand similar cases…"

Danwang Zhao Xiao, nearly fifty, carried an elegant scholarly air, but years of state affairs had streaked his temples with white. He sat behind the desk, flipping through the submitted Juan Sect records:

"Mount Zihui and the Imperial Academy both sensed the overwhelming blood-evil aura. The government office also found footprints in the mountains. A great demon must be lurking in Danzhou."

"If we find no leads by tomorrow, submit a memorial to Luojing and hand this over to the State Master."

"Even if I'm scolded by censors as incompetent, even if Mount Zihui and the Imperial Academy are called useless fools—it's better than letting a great demon slip through and doom countless civilians."

As a regional governor, Danwang held military, administrative, and financial power. Even if facing a powerful demon, he should first let his subordinates handle it—only if it exceeded their capacity should he report to Luojing.

If every problem was immediately forwarded, and Danzhou did nothing, why keep so many officials?

As an advisor, Zhu Wenyuan wanted to resolve this within his territory, but the "Great Demon of Mount Zihui" was buried too deep—his men simply couldn't find it. Hearing this, he changed the subject:

"At such a critical time, the Li family is adding chaos."

"The Li family has turned Li Zixian over to the county government office. Fearing the government office won't use torture, they're personally overseeing the beatings."

"Li Zixian's bones are hard—he refuses to admit he allowed his subordinates to sell banned drugs for profit, denies sheltering demon rebels or massacring innocents, and insists it was Li Shizhong deceiving him and acting on his own…"

Danwang had anticipated this: "No witnesses left. If Li Zixian has half a brain, he won't confess. The Li family forcing the government office to torture is just putting on a show for me. The Sanhe Building incident just happened, and the Li family already sent someone to Luojing. Without doubt, Li Gongpu's men will arrive in Danyang by morning."

Li Gongpu holds the rank of Huang Menlang, serving daily beside the Emperor, deeply trusted.

Though Danwang is the Emperor's own brother, distant kin are no match for close neighbors. Unless he can crush Li Gongpu outright, he must give him three parts of face—otherwise, the man will constantly make his life miserable.

Danwang is already exhausted from hunting the ever-emerging "Great Demon of Mount Zihui," and now he must deal with the Li family's mess—his spirit is worn thin.

After flipping through the Juan Sect records for a moment, Danwang suddenly noticed a name appearing repeatedly—he looked puzzled:

"Who is Xie Jinhuan? He was present at Dongcang Alley and Sanhe Building—and according to reports, he delivered the primary achievement."

Zhu Wenyuan, when reporting to Danwang, had certainly investigated beforehand:

"Son of the former Wanan County Wei, Xie Wen. Three years ago, Xie Wen was reassigned south; he followed his master in the Hidden Immortal Lineage to train, and only recently returned. He's currently staying in Qingquan Lane."

"This youth is young, yet his martial skill is quite impressive. But his life has been tragic: according to the records, he lost his mother in childhood, and his father Xie Wen was killed by demons during his transfer—now he's the last survivor of his family."

"Oh…"

Hearing his father died in service, Danwang naturally felt greater sympathy for Xie Jinhuan:

"To receive a single praise from you—'his martial arts are quite impressive'—means his abilities are certainly no small matter. With the source of the demonic qi difficult to locate, this is precisely the time we need people; this young man..."

At this point, the Pill King suddenly frowned:

"This young man lives in the back alley of the Princess's residence?"

"Uh..."

Zhu Wenyuan knew that the Prince regarded Princess Changning as a pearl in his palm, spoiling her since childhood, even managing to copy some portions of the Martial Divine Scripture kept at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau so that Princess Changning could study it conveniently.

Now that Princess Changning had reached marriageable age, the Pill King, as an old man, was most worried that Princess Changning would meet an unworthy man and be snatched away by some ruffian.

But Princess Changning was of peerless beauty and the Prince's pearl in his palm; which man would not wish to be a golden son-in-law?

In the past, many young men of no measure often wandered near the Princess's residence, hoping to stage a drama of 'a wealthy heiress falling for a poor boy.'

Seeing the Prince mistake Xie Jinhuan for a playboy trying to woo his beloved daughter, Zhu Wenyuan hurriedly explained:

"This young man is an old friend of Wei Shi Yang Dabiao, which is why he lives in Qingquan Alley; he has not interacted with the Princess at all. On the contrary, he is quite close to Miss Linghu. If Your Highness is concerned, I will pay closer attention to him these days."

The Pill King carefully reviewed the Juan Sect files, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"Very well. Although this young man comes from humble origins, his ancestors served the country with loyalty, and he possesses considerable ability and a righteous heart. If Ling'er takes a fancy to him, it would not be too much of a slight to Ling'er. Let nature take its course."

"Yes."

——

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(End of this chapter)