Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 168 1-Year Agreement

When Gu Sheng was on his way home, he brushed past a strange-behaving boy who walked with a limp, as if he had some kind of problem with his legs.

As the two figures passed each other, he heard the boy say something, but he couldn't make out what it was saying. He only knew that the other person was very angry and must have had a fight with someone.

The other person didn't look very old, and walking with such a limp wasn't a good thing. Gu Sheng looked at the sky and thought it was still early, so why not go and help him up?

"Young master."

Gu Sheng turned around and called out to the other person. By this time, the boy had already walked some distance away. Gu Sheng noticed something that looked like bloodstains on the other person's clothes and immediately thought of the monster incident that had been happening in the city these past two days.

However, I heard that the monster was in the form of a beautiful woman, so it shouldn't have much to do with this young man, right? He's clearly injured in this position, and the bloodstains are probably his own.

The boy heard someone call his name and turned to look at Gu Sheng. The boy was very handsome, but his expression was somewhat gloomy and his tone was not very good.

"What?"

"Young master, you are injured and cannot walk easily. My house is just ahead, why don't you go and rest..."

"No need."

Upon seeing the direction Gu Sheng pointed, the boy acted as if he had been stepped on, interrupting him and limping in the opposite direction. Despite his leg injury, he moved quite fast.

Feeling awkward after being ignored, Gu Sheng decided not to play the nice guy and, seeing that the boy was walking quite fast and unaffected by his injuries, went straight home.

"That stinky old woman."

The boy walked to a deserted corner and casually found a place to lean against. If someone were to come at that moment, they would see his eyes emitting an inhuman glow in the shadows.

This is the white fox. He has a human form that he usually uses. He used Feng San Niang's appearance before to take revenge on her. Now that Feng San Niang may have caught up, he is injured and it is better to temporarily change back to his own form to hide.

The wound from the severed tail hadn't healed, and last night, due to carelessness, Lin's dagger struck his hind leg, worsening the injury.

Lin recognized him at a glance as not being a genuine "weak woman," and gave him the cold shoulder. Thinking that eating a woman with a little bit of knowledge might be beneficial to his injuries, she attacked her that very night.

When Lin's dagger came at him, the white fox didn't think much of it. In his opinion, Lin's tricks were obviously something she had learned halfway through, and she was still just a mortal. He never would have imagined that this woman, who was poor and penniless, would have a special way of dealing with fox demons.

He used to bewitch mortals and harm others, but today he was hurt by a mortal woman. Feng San Niang is a fox spirit, so what is that woman?

He couldn't swallow this insult. He had only been careless last night, but now that he knew the other party's background, he would get his revenge tonight and leave as soon as possible to avoid running into Feng San Niang.

The white fox always believed that he was only injured by the Lin family because of a moment of carelessness. He did not expect that the other party could really deal with monsters, but the methods were very limited. After all, he had only learned some superficial skills. He just needed to be more vigilant.

"The boy across the hall is a scholar; what if he passes the imperial examination in the future..."

"Mother, it's getting late, let's rest."

Lin interrupted her mother. She knew what the other woman was going to say, but she couldn't think about anything else until she avenged the massacre of her family.

“There have been stray cats causing trouble at night recently, so I’ve sealed up your windows.”

Lin's mother was hard of hearing. When the white fox came to cause trouble last night, she managed to fool her by saying it was a wild cat. The old lady probably never imagined that her family, which was so poor, could attract a fox spirit.

After settling her mother in, Madam Lin picked up the dagger that Feng San Niang had improved. This dagger had been with her for many years, and for the past three years, she had been living in anonymity, so she naturally didn't have extra money to maintain it.

After being handled by Feng San Niang, the dagger was completely transformed, its blade incredibly sharp, as if it had been newly forged. When Feng San Niang looked down, she could even see her own reflection.

With this weapon, killing ordinary monsters would be a piece of cake; but if I were to use it to kill someone...

"call--"

The bright moon hung in the sky, and a cold wind blew into the courtyard. Thanks to Feng San Niang's reminder, Lin Shi had already changed into clothes that were easier to move in, and was holding a dagger, waiting for the white fox to walk into her trap.

Although Feng San Niang intended Lin Shi to be merely bait, with the dagger only for self-defense, she was never one to sit idly by and wait to die. Having already managed to injure her opponent, she was now equipped with an even better weapon and naturally couldn't simply be used as bait.

"Since you're here, I'll use you as my practice subject."

Not only is she a demon, but she will also kill people in the future to avenge her family. Although the white fox spirit this time was an accident, it can be used as practice to avoid making mistakes when killing people in the future.

She didn't care if the fox spirit ran away, but she absolutely couldn't accept it if her enemy ran away in the future because of her carelessness.

Why is it so windy tonight?

Gu Sheng closed the study window to prevent the strong wind outside from blowing in and messing up the things on the desk.

His conversation with Meng Danqing during the day gave him some insights, especially Meng's comments on those popular paintings, which cleared up many of Gu Sheng's doubts. He realized that if one only focuses on dazzling colors, one will not be able to paint anything worthwhile in the end.

Although he still doesn't have the financial means to carefully select the right paints, with Meng Danqing's guidance, he can still catch up with the current trend of "immortal" portraits.

As long as he could earn more money, his family's life would be better. As soon as he got home today, he heard from Gu's mother about the situation of the mother and daughter across the street.

The mother is hard of hearing, the family has almost no food reserves, and the daughter earns her living expenses. The man said he couldn't bear to leave his elderly mother, so he had been delaying marriage.

In a sense, their two families are quite similar; neither is wealthy, and both have an elderly mother to take care of.

“They’ve had a tough time together. I noticed the girl is very filial, but she doesn’t smile much and doesn’t like to talk much. I guess life must be really hard for her. If you have any free time, please help them out occasionally.”

These are Gu's mother's exact words. Lin seemed unwilling to agree to the marriage, but Gu's mother didn't think much of it. Their family was indeed poor, so it was perfectly normal for others to look down on them. Gu Sheng, as a learned scholar, had previously turned down so many marriages, the root cause of which was his poverty.

Since we've become neighbors and none of us are having an easy time, it's always right to help each other out.

Gu's mother made it sound easy, but Gu Sheng found it quite difficult. The woman on the other side was an orphan with no man in her home, and it would be a problem what excuse he could use to visit her. Moreover, he noticed that the girl always had a serious expression and seemed to keep people at arm's length, so she probably didn't like him visiting her so casually.

"Let's go take another look at those paintings tomorrow... What are they?"

Gu Sheng was about to close the window when he suddenly saw a dark shadow flash across the sky. The shadow was very fast and disappeared in an instant. If the moon hadn't been so bright tonight and he hadn't been facing the window, he wouldn't have noticed it.

The shadow flashed too fast to see clearly, but Gu Sheng was certain it wasn't a bird or a wildcat; the shadow was far too large for its size.

"...Are there really monsters?"

Recalling what he had heard during the day, and the somewhat strange boy he had met, Gu Sheng couldn't help but start to overthink again. The boy was good-looking, but his face looked unfamiliar and he didn't seem to be a local.

If he wasn't a local, then what was the cause of all those injuries? Anyway, the more Gu Sheng thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. The sound of the wind outside also sounded more and more like that of a demonic monk. He quickly closed the windows, out of sight, out of mind.

Just as he closed the window, a shrill scream suddenly came from outside, sounding more like a wild beast than a human.

Well, now not only Gu Sheng, but people within a ten-mile radius will probably be unable to sleep.

……

The next morning, everyone had different opinions. The scream was truly terrifying, and there had been rumors of monsters causing trouble in the past few days. That inhuman scream was the best evidence of these rumors.

"Last night was terrifying! What was making such a terrible scream?"

Gu's mother had already gone to sleep last night when she was awakened by a sudden scream. The sound was very clear, as if it were coming from next door, and she didn't get a good night's rest.

People nearby felt the same way. Gu Sheng also didn't sleep well. Others were just guessing, but he had talked to Meng Danqing and knew that there really were monsters and immortals in the world, so he dared not think about it in detail.

He yawned as he walked out the door and saw that the door of the house across the street was also open, with two women standing at the door. One of them was Lin Shi, and the other was a woman he had never seen before.

"There's no need to rush into taking on a disciple. Your mother has about a year left to live. You can come back to me after you've fulfilled your filial duties."

With the annoying white fox finally dealt with, Feng Sanniang felt refreshed. She didn't have any special rules for accepting disciples, and Lin Shi also had an elderly mother to take care of. Considering her filial piety, Feng Sanniang felt that she could relax the rules for accepting disciples a bit more.

According to Lin's original plan, she would seek revenge on her enemies after her mother passed away peacefully and she had no more worldly attachments. The apprenticeship could also be carried out after that.

In return for Lin's cooperation, she calculated Lin's mother's remaining lifespan so that Lin could be prepared for the future.

"As for that scholar across the hall from you..."

Feng San Niang glanced in the direction of the Gu family and saw Gu Sheng looking in their direction with curiosity.

"This scholar from the Gu family has little fortune, but his descendants are fortunate. It is estimated that a talented person will pass the imperial examination among his descendants. The choice is yours."

As a fox spirit, her perception of time is different from that of ordinary people. Even though she is currently living in human society, there are many things she cannot keep up with in time. So she made a pendant out of the white fox tail that had been cut off earlier and gave it to Lin as a token.

A year later, after Lin's mother passes away peacefully, she can take this token to find Feng San Niang. Whether she returns to a mortal life or follows the fox spirit to embark on the path of cultivation, the answer will be revealed a year later.

"...Thank you."

"Such a beauty deserves to smile more. This beast offended several powerful figures before, and I need to inform them of the outcome of this matter. See you in a year."

As Feng San Niang left, Gu Sheng watched her retreating figure, wondering who she was. Then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished.

"?"

This is the second time. First it was Meng Danqing, and now this strange woman. How come they all appear and disappear without a trace? Gu Sheng looked back at the opposite door and found that Lin Shi had also closed the door long ago and was no longer appearing.

Starting today, the stories of a beautiful woman appearing in two different places at the same time ceased in the city, the nights were no longer filled with shrill screams, and the rumors of monsters diminished. Gu Sheng tried out a newly popular painting style to earn money, while Lin's mother became curious about the white hair ornament that had suddenly appeared on her daughter's body.

Feng San Niang, along with the nearly lifeless white fox, went to find Yue Wuque and the others to inform them of the final result, telling Meng Danqing that the harassing fellow had been dealt with.

"Are you all heading to Jinling?"

"Yes, someone came here just to have fun."

As she said this, Shu Longqin looked at Yue Wuque.

“If you don’t come to play, does that mean you’re here specifically to uphold justice for others? That’s the job of Yuan Wuxiang and Juan Shoutian. You’re not so overflowing with a sense of justice.”

"If you're going to Jinling, you can take a boat..."

"no."

Feng San Niang's recommendation was sincere, but sending Yue Wuque by water? Impossible, don't even think about it. He only went on Shuang Xiu's small boat once, and never went on it again.

"The Sword Immortal mentioned before that the Dragon King of the East Sea was holding a wedding banquet for his daughter..."

"Don't go."

Where is the Dragon Palace of the East Sea? It's inside the East Sea! He'd rather die than go there. Besides, Ma Ji's drifting to the Great Rakshasa Kingdom has nothing to do with them, they weren't involved in the sea market, and Yue Wuque isn't the one marrying the Dragon Girl. They're neither relatives nor acquaintances, so what's the point of going?

"Qin Xin, go tell Jian Zi that if you can't bring Dao Feng, you can't bring him. Don't think about using other people to make up the numbers."

"Ok."

Shu Longqin felt helpless on the surface, but still agreed verbally. The East Sea Dragon Palace was built deep in the sea, and it was indeed not suitable for Yue Wuque to go there.

"Nanjing has indeed been quite lively lately, but..."

"But what?"

Feng San Niang recalled what she had heard before.

"Recently, many legends about immortals have appeared in Jinling, along with a lot of paintings related to immortals. In addition to painters who come here because of their fame, there are also some people who like to seek immortality and ask questions. If you go there like this, it may be quite troublesome."

Looking at the appearances of these three people, they would have been called monsters or mistaken for gods in the past; they could never keep a low profile.

"There are also rumors that the Golden and Silver Immortals appeared in Jinling and would appear on the mountaintop like a mirage. I have never been there and do not know the details."

Based on Feng Sanniang's experience, she didn't know which two deities were bound together by a gold and a silver connection. The descriptions she had heard before were varied and unreliable.

"Don't worry about that, he's someone we know."

It seems that Juan Shoutian Yuanwuxiang left quite a mark in Jinling before, as there are legends that his paintings appeared in sets.

"However, the one without a name is a painting of a golden-haired fairy. It is said that a painter was accidentally saved by a fairy and painted it out of admiration. The fairy in the painting not only has golden hair, but also holds a strange paintbrush, and her dress is fluttering... uh..."

Whether it was her imagination or not, the more Feng San Niang described it, the more it resembled Meng Danqing before her eyes.

"what happened?"

Meng Danqing, who was experimenting with new paints, was completely unaware of what was happening until she noticed everyone's gaze on her. She blinked and asked what had happened.

Very good, we definitely have to go to Jinling.