Chapter 691

That kind of hunter's gaze, fixed on prey they have long coveted, determined to obtain it, makes one's heart tremble with fear.

I am all too familiar with that gaze; it has been secretly watching me for years.

This is the first time I have precisely caught it and stared it down.

Since that year, after hearing the tale of the Five Blessings Immortals from my mother, I have probed the familiar townsfolk indirectly; yet strangely, the rumors circulating in the villages around Wufu Town I could not confirm from any native resident of Wufu Town.

This feeling is especially surreal.

I do not think these rumors are baseless, after all, the Dang Pu exists, and so does this weasel with abnormal abilities.

Furthermore, a few years ago, when the Second Young Lady was buried in water, this weasel had only whitish fur on its back; now, most of its body's fur is almost completely white.

It is said that the whiter the weasel's fur, the higher its cultivation.

But such a change can only be achieved through long-term cultivation; even with extraordinary talent, one must lay a solid foundation step by step, and at each critical juncture must undergo the Heavenly Tribulation to advance to the next realm, a timespan that requires at least a century.

Yet this weasel before us achieved it in only a few years.

To reach this realm, there are only two possibilities: either one encounters a great opportunity, receiving guidance and transmission of cultivation and merit from a high adept; or one takes a shortcut, using an evil path.

Where in the world are there so many great opportunities?

I now reasonably suspect that the Second Young Lady back then, and those girls who later disappeared without cause over these years, all became the furnace for this weasel's cultivation.

And back then, I may have also been targeted early on.

It has been watching me all along, yet never made a move—why?

I silently clenched the silver ring in my hand—is it because of Zhao Zixun?

I am not sure.

At that moment, the Dang Pu's assistant poked his head out to look my way; I blinked, and the weasel had vanished.

I hurriedly turned and left.

Over the past two years, Marshal Chen's power has expanded ever more, each year requiring massive recruitment of troops and horses; Wufu Town accordingly established two schools: one called the Martial Lecture Hall, mainly teaching tactics, the other called the Health Training Office.

This Health Training Office cannot produce regular battlefield nurses; it merely serves as a training gathering for reserve personnel, mainly teaching medical supplies organization, epidemic prevention disinfection, hemostatic bandaging, and so on.

While studying at the Health Training Office, I continued to work as a tutor for wealthy families.

The reason I entered the Health Training Office was so that, should Zhao Zixun's side ever need help, I could assist.

Returning to the dormitory of the Health Training Office, I sat on the bedside, my mind unsettled, always feeling that something was about to happen.

Throughout history there have been many instances of meritorious generals being set aside after their usefulness ends; Zhao Zixun's reputation as an ever-victorious general spreads abroad, and as long as Marshal Chen remains at war, he must rely on Zhao Zixun.

But if Marshal Chen stops fighting, how would he arrange for Zhao Zixun?

Will Zhao Zixun hide this sword, or will he cut it off at the waist?

I raised my hand and firmly pinched my brow, constantly giving myself a pep talk: Fu Wan, Fu Wan, perhaps you really are overthinking; clearly everything is improving, why are you worrying needlessly?

My unease was greatly soothed a few days later when another letter from Zhao Zixun arrived.

In the letter he said, his troops have already outflanked toward Small Camp Mouth; if all goes well, they could take it in half a month. He is an orphan, with no parents, but for the great matter of marriage, he must ask a weighty elder to come to the door to propose, with the three letters and six rites, none of which can be omitted; he does not want to wrong me.

He had already arranged it.

He will ask the Grand Lady to come to the door to propose on his behalf, and the Grand Lady agreed.

All we need is for him to return from Small Camp Mouth, then the proposal matter will be put on the agenda.

He also said in the letter that he has already entrusted someone to look for a house in town, intending to buy a moderately sized courtyard as our wedding home……

Everything has been arranged in orderly fashion.

This happiness, visible at a glance, fills my heart to the brim.

I even go to the shops in town whenever I have free time, browsing for things we will need for the wedding.

After a few days like that, I suddenly received an invitation from the Grand Lady, asking me to find time to go to the Marshal's Mansion; she had something to tell me.

After the Second Young Lady's death, I have also been to the Marshal's Mansion a few times, but only to the front gate area, never again to the Grand Lady's courtyard.

The Grand Lady devotes herself year-round to Buddhist worship; the whole courtyard is permeated with the scent of incense.

The Grand Lady sat in the main hall, taking my hand and exchanging pleasantries: 'In the blink of an eye, several years have passed; Wanwan, you truly grow more beautiful by the day, and our Little General Zhao is indeed fortunate—not only does he fight well, but his eye for people is also so good……'

She went on speaking to herself, her face piled with smiles.

Her complexion had improved greatly compared to a few years ago; her whole person seemed to have returned to spring, her skin so tender it seemed one could wring water from it.

I smiled and echoed her, yet I dared not meet her eyes.

The Second Young Lady's eyes completely inherited those of the Grand Lady; meeting the Grand Lady's eyes makes me think of the Second Young Lady.

I recall her begging me for rescue in a dream, and I recall that doll buried beneath the blue pine of the temple.

I would feel guilty.

In the end, I was unable to help her.

'Has Little General Zhao already written to tell you about this?' the Grand Lady shifted her tone, smiling with narrowed eyes, 'He asks me to step in, to stand in for his deceased parents and come to your home to propose; this joyous occasion, I am of course wholly willing, but he plans to wait until he returns from Small Camp Mouth to handle it, and I had someone calculate yesterday—it may not be possible in time.'

I wondered: 'Not in time? What does that mean?'

The Grand Lady said earnestly: 'You young people lack experience; we elders must worry more. Marriage is such a major affair—from having a matchmaker make the introduction, to exchanging birth characters, to coming to the door to propose—there is a complete set of procedures, none of which can be done without time. I specially had someone check yesterday: next year is a widow's year, unsuitable for marriage, and the best auspicious days within this year are at the beginning of next month; by the time Little General Zhao finishes his campaign and returns, the yellow flowers will be cold.'

Is that so?

'So I was thinking, since Little General Zhao trusts me and treats me as an elder to respect, I will take charge for him, complete the preliminary procedures, set the date, and when he returns everything will be settled; you two just wait to become bride and groom, Wanwan—do you think my arrangement is alright?'

Marshal Chen is the heaven of Wufu Town; the Grand Lady's willingness to step forward and help arrange my marriage to Little General Zhao is a blessing countless people beg for and cannot obtain—how could I dare to be ungrateful, to even think of refusing?

Although the doll matter leaves a knot in my heart, I can only nod in compliance: 'Everything will be as the Grand Lady arranges.'

The Grand Lady instantly beamed with joy: 'Alright, that's exactly what I've been waiting for…'