Down the Mountain

"Take something?" When Jingxin said this, a cascade of thoughts rushed through Li Huowang's mind.

Seeing the weight on his face, Jingxin explained herself.

"Don't think I'm using this as an excuse. If you want to be rid of your master, that thing is the key. Without it, no one can separate you from him. He's stuck to you too tightly, too closely, too intimately. I can even smell him on you now."

This only made Li Huowang's heart heavier. He thought for a moment, then spoke again. "Venerable Jingxin, this is the last condition, right?"

When she nodded, Li Huowang took a deep breath. "Fine! It's a deal. What do you need?"

He wasn't afraid of her making demands—he was afraid of her breaking her word. As long as she set terms, it meant they were still within the bounds of a transaction.

At least for now, Li Zhi hadn't lied on his deathbed. The nuns of Anci Nunnery really could be called good people, in a certain sense.

In this twisted world, finding people like that was no easy thing.

Besides, he had no choice now. If he delayed to search for another way, Danyangzi would reach him first.

"A pair of eyes. The eyes of a very peculiar kind of evil spirit. Two hundred li east of Mount Hengheng, there's a grove. Go there and bring me the eyes." Jingxin finally stated her final condition.

"An evil spirit? What kind? What abilities does it have?" Li Huowang needed to know what he was up against.

"It's called Layue Shiba—the Eighteenth of the Twelfth Month. That thing is strange. Every year on the eighteenth of the twelfth month, it changes. Not just its appearance, but its divine powers too. I have no idea what it looks like now. Just remember—it's red."

"As for how to take its eyes, you'll have to figure that out yourself. You're already carrying the Thousand Greats Record, aren't you? Are you afraid you can't handle it? Besides, that immortal master of yours wouldn't let you die, would he?"

"Layue Shiba? That's its name?"

Li Huowang's face twisted with difficulty. That was it? No more clues than that, and he was supposed to go fight some evil spirit? He would be going in completely blind.

He definitely didn't want Danyangzi to step in again. If that happened again, who knew whose body this would end up belonging to.

"Could I ask the nuns of the nunnery for help? Other terms are negotiable."

"Heh. They're lazy, impossibly lazy. If you can convince them to move, go ahead. But you have no money left to hire them to go down the mountain, do you? Heh heh heh." Venerable Jingxin gently mocked her own juniors.

Now that the target was set, Li Huowang didn't waste any more time. After confirming the location of Layue Shiba once more with Jingxin, he cupped his hands in a bow and turned to leave.

"I won't trouble you for a meal, Venerable. I'll go down now and have someone send the gold up."

"Oh, and one more thing. I smell dried persimmons on you. I love dried persimmons. Remember to send those too."

"I understand." He was giving up all the gold anyway, a little extra food was nothing.

As Li Huowang turned and left, the room fell back into darkness.

But the blind Jingxin was unaffected. She reached her right hand—black grime caked between her fingers—into the folds of her greasy, fat-rolled body and began digging.

After groping for a long moment, with a soft plop, she pulled out a thin, withered old man. His limbs were shriveled, his head was bald, and he was mixed with rotting fluids. His mouth was crooked, his eyes were slanted, and he muttered unintelligibly from time to time.

Gently, Jingxin cradled him in her pus-oozing bosom and fed him mouth-to-mouth from the basin of food.

"My son, did you hear that? In a few days, you'll have dried persimmons to eat. Heh heh heh. Aren't you happy? I remember when you were still in open-crotch pants, you loved dried persimmons the most."

The old man showed no reaction to Jingxin's voice. He dry-heaved the food back out unconsciously.

As if she hadn't noticed, Jingxin simply repeated the motion.

"Do you see? This kid is a Heart-Element just like you. But his future will be much more miserable. You have your mother. He has no mother. I wonder what kind of end he'll meet. Ah, this kid is pitiful too..."

At the Penglai Inn, the naked Bai Lingmiao rested her arms on the edge of the wooden tub and let out a soft sigh. "I wonder how Senior Brother Li is doing. If only I had gone up with him earlier."

"Should I tell him or not? If I tell him, won't he just worry about me? But he already has so much to worry about..."

After thinking it over for a long time, until the water in the tub had grown slightly cool, Bai Lingmiao finally stood up from the flower-petal-strewn water, dressed herself, and walked toward the bedroom.

"Forget it. If he doesn't come down in three days, I'm definitely going up to find him. Who said I'm a burden?"

With a creak, Bai Lingmiao closed the door behind her. When the door shut, the figure that had been hidden behind it was revealed—a bizarre woman wearing a red bridal veil, a skirt of colorful ribbons, and red embroidered shoes.

Bai Lingmiao entered the room, lifted the blanket, and with a hint of playfulness, dove inside, wrapping her arms tightly around the person already under the covers.

"I like you best, Sister Xiaoman. You're so fuzzy—it's so comfortable to hug."

Xiaoman turned around to face the white-haired girl. She could feel each of the other's gentle breaths.

"What's so good about this? It's because of these black hairs that everyone treats me like a monster. Even an old bachelor over sixty wouldn't dare marry me."

"Don't worry, Sister Xiaoman. You'll definitely find your perfect match." Bai Lingmiao reached out and gently rubbed Xiaoman's black hair.

"Not needed anymore. I hate men. I'm going to be a zishu nü—a self-combing woman!" Xiaoman's words were resolute. "I don't need a man. I can live on my own!"

"Why would you say that, Sister Xiaoman?" Bai Lingmiao's eyes widened in surprise. She wanted to ask if it was because of her father, but the words died in her throat.

Seeing Xiaoman turn her back to her again, Bai Lingmiao wrapped her arms around her from behind and held her gently.

"Sister Xiaoman, if you ever have nowhere to go, come to my house. How about you be my child's godmother in the future?"

Xiaoman didn't answer. Her eyes lingered on the wall before her, full of hesitation. "Are you really going to marry Senior Brother Li?"

Bai Lingmiao didn't answer. She blushed and gave Xiaoman a soft, playful punch on the shoulder.

"Think it over again? I'm saying this for your own good. Senior Brother Li has been kind to us, but you don't have to repay him like this. After all... he is what he is."