Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Another Spring Has Arrived_1
Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Another Spring Has Arrived_1
Qian Yixiu only then rembered that Bull Head and Ma Mian who lured her soul seed to be wearing a tag too, which read “007.” It made sense; with so many people across so many tilines, a single pair of Bull Head and Ma Mian obviously couldn’t handle everything.
However, Ma Mian gave her no face and pulled a long face, saying, “Miss us? Do you think you’re so lonely ghost who can just whimsically think of us? You think with just a few words, we’ll help you cross the Netherworld Path to reincarnate? Hmph, don’t even think about it. Go, go, don’t disturb us from our important work.”
Indeed, Ma Mian was so self-righteous and tsundere, and even seed to have a mild delusion of grandeur. It seed that while honest Bull Head was always the sa, the Ma Mians with personality each had their own quirks.
Qian Yixiu stepped aside and, bored out of her mind, followed them to watch the excitent. They floated over to the county town and soon hovered over a large house with blue-grey bricks and black tiles. Before long, they had lassoed a soul with a rope and floated it out.
The soul was still crying, “My life is so bitter, tightly controlled by my father in the first half of my life, and tightly controlled by my son in the second half. Despite having such a grand Baohe Hall, I’ve never been able to spend silver freely. I finally got Red, who was to my liking, but before I could enjoy my ti with her, I died. Sir Bull, Master Ma, I beg you, give a chance to return to the light. I have buried so important docunts in the Jin Qianrong tree in the backyard. I want to tell Red… In my whole life, I had no other love than young and interesting ladies. Red pleased greatly; if she gets those docunts and threatens my son for more silver, she won’t have to suffer too much in the future.”
Ma Mian snorted and scolded, “Such shalessness despite your old age. No wonder your father, when he died, begged us to take you away early, fearing that you would ruin the family legacy. You’re really one to die under a peony, living as a romantic ghost. You died of exhaustion beneath that woman and still think of going back to give her the deeds.” He pulled at Ma Mian and roared, “No way!”
The soul begged again, “Then let entrust a dream to my Fangfang. I had a boy servant give her fifty Taels of Silver just this afternoon. I don’t want to die and have the silver confiscated by her godmother.”
Bull Head innocently said, “It’s not that we won’t give you the chance; it’s that your Fangfang won’t give you the chance to enter her dreams. She’s amusing herself with soone else right now, not even asleep, so how can you entrust a dream?”
The soul, angered beyond asure, stopped crying, cursing the faithlessness and ingratitude of his lover, and also blaming himself for not discerning her true nature.
Bull Head gently advised, “Don’t be angry. Once you drink the Oblivion Soup, you will forget everything about your past life…”
As their voices gradually faded into the distance, the bored Qian Yixiu floated into the large mansion.
…
Spring ca and went, flowers blood and wilted, ti flew swiftly by.
Another year of spring arrived in the blink of an eye. Several years passed, and the two children were already five, running around everywhere.
Qian Yeejin was a handso, robust boy with thick eyebrows and phoenix eyes, very fair skin, and nearly a head taller than Qian Yixiu; he looked like a six or seven-year-old child and was extrely smart.
Before he could even speak, he knew how to please adults and how to grab an extra bite of food. Sotis, when the adults were not watching him, if he was extrely hungry, he would either suck on his sister’s nose or her ear, and he even gnawed on her little feet. His sister was bullied to no end by him, unable to fend him off, only left with her little mouth puckered into a constant hum. This made Qian Yixiu watching nearby clench her teeth in frustration.
Once he could speak and walk, he beca even more incredible, his skill at wheedling food growing ever more masterful. Since turning two, he was able to run to the Qian family alone, visiting several households that were on good terms with them. Blessed with a handso face and a pleasing pout, he could make even the tightest-fisted won happily give him delicious treats, and even the notoriously stingy Lady Tang had once given him an egg. The majority of Old woman Qian’s private savings ended up in his mouth.
Everyone from Qian’s third wife’s household was slender and pallid, except for him, chubby and ruddy-cheeked. There was no helping it; sweet-talking children get sweets.
Growing up alongside him was Dashan. Dashan had grown into a strong, big dog, with coarse, stiff, brown fur and a round body that was uncommonly agile and imnsely fierce. After he grew up, Qian Yixiu thought he resembled a Tibetan mastiff, but was not quite sure.
Clearly, people from Qian’s third wife’s household, barely managing to keep themselves alive, could not possibly have fattened up Dashan like this. With an appetite as big as a cow’s and a taste for the rank and raw, Dashan was as clever as his young master when he was a pup. Seeing no hope of being fed at ho, he set out to fend for himself and find his own food.
It wasn’t until several chickens, ducks, and geese went missing in the village that people discovered it wasn’t weasels stealing their poultry—it was the ugly dog from Qian’s third wife’s household. The villagers flocked to Qian’s third wife to demand justice, causing Lady Wu to compensate them with so money.
The gentle Lady Wu lost her temper as well, striking Dashan several tis with a stick and saying, “If you steal soone else’s chickens to eat again, we will not keep you in our ho.”
Smart as he was and able to understand human speech, Dashan dared not steal from the village anymore and would not stoop to the desperation of a mongrel, licking up filth when starving. At his wit’s end, he bravely ventured into the mountains alone to catch wild ga. It was a win-win situation; not only did he fill his belly, but he also honed his skills in the process.
Now grown, Dashan was big, fat, and fierce; children would burst into tears at the sight of him from afar, and even so timid adults would tremble. The villagers, intimidated by his appearance, believed he was the offspring of a lion and a dog, dubbing him “Big Lion Dog.” But it was the knowledgeable Mr. Zhang who said that it was a “mastiff,” a kind of dog, and he warned the villagers not to provoke him lightly, as mastiffs are fierce as fire, more formidable than wolves.
So villagers felt their lives and property were threatened and asked the local authority to have the mastiff, more ferocious than a wolf, killed. The Qian family, however, assured everyone that despite its fierce appearance, Dashan was extrely obedient and would not bite if not provoked. They also promised again and again not to let Dashan enter the village. Later, seeing that Dashan truly had not hard any people or livestock, and considering that Qian Yeejin would occasionally walk with him around the edge of the village, they turned a blind eye to it.
Little Qian Yixiu had inherited features from both her parents, her delicate features exceedingly lovely. However, she was much skinnier and smaller, her eyes dull and lifeless, clearly not as appealing as her brother. She was also much slower to react and inherited her personality from White Lotus Mom—timid and weak, especially prone to crying, and she nearly wet the bed every day.
She seldom ventured into the village, preferring to squat in the courtyard watching flowers or on the barren land in front of the courtyard. If her brother did not go to the village, she would follow him around, inside and outside the yard, and when she got tired, she would ask her brother to carry her.
Her brother was extrely protective of his sister, even to the point of indulging her every request. He could be very competitive with others for a single bite of food, yet he would save a mouthful for her.
However, there was one thing that truly upset Qian Yixiu. It wasn’t that she was petty like a child, but rather that Qian Yeejin, that rascal, was far too bullying.
…………………………
Thanks to book friends 151104144321502, Fool Fool Fool, and Hera@Qianlin for their contributions. Thank you all for the recomndation tickets and comnts. Please continue to click, recomnd, and add to your collection.
You all have noticed, haven’t you, the heroine is about to take her rightful place.
Reviews
All reviews (0)