Chapter 41: The Strange Person

  "What other reason could there be, if not that she has taken a liking to my brother, and then my brother ignores her, causing her to turn from love to hate and become sworn enemies?" Yun Er suddenly said something that only an adult would say, making Miss Liang's eyes widen like copper bells.

  However, she quickly recovered and walked up to Yun Er with a smile, lightning-fast stretching out her hand to grab Yun Er's chubby face and saying: "Who taught you to say such things? Your big brother? No way, he looks very refined and wouldn't say such things."

  Cured meat was very dissatisfied with Miss Liang's pinching of Yun Er's face, and without leaving any marks, he quietly moved the carrying pole to the back, allowing Yun Er to escape from Miss Liang's clutches. Yun Er rubbed his face hard and said to Cured Meat: "You're still the best, wait for me, I'll marry you when I grow up."

  Miss Liang smiled and didn't get angry even when Yun Er hinted that she was barbaric, but instead laughed at Yun Da.

  Yun Dai mysteriously said: "But I don't know why that young lady bore a grudge against Yun Zheng."

  "She is the young lady of the Yu Fu Xuan Tian family, how about it, regret now?" Miss Liang looked at Yun Zhen carefully, not missing a single change on his face. The Tian family's daughter was someone she had personally invited over. Ever since hearing that Yun Zhen had rejected the Tian family's offer, she had been filled with curiosity towards this unusual young man.

  "Regret? Where did this come from?"

  Seeing Yun Zheng's bewildered expression, Miss Liang finally confirmed that he had completely forgotten about the matter of having a son-in-law.

  Xiao Wugeng's Spring Festival gathering is usually a grand assembly of the wealthy young men in Dou Sha County. Since the county magistrate's family only has daughters and it wouldn't be proper for them to host, they naturally had to invite this guy to take charge. As the grandson of the chief secretary's family, Xiao Wugeng was a renowned talent in Dou Sha County, and over the past few years, he had gained quite a reputation at the Spring Festival gatherings. The county magistrate's daughter was naturally the center of attention for all, and Liang Xiaojie also belonged to the category of people who were highly praised by others. Tianjia Xiaojie, however, gradually withdrew from this circle because she was going to be married off, as no one liked being married off, especially not young people who could participate in the Spring Festival gatherings.

  In fact, there were not many people, only a total of eight mule carts, plus one horse cart and one very eye-catching cow cart, forming an extremely striking contrast.

  "Brother Wúgēn, who is the person on the ox cart behind? Why have I never seen him in previous years?"

  "It's just a small matter, this year I was admitted to the county school, barely considered having some capital, it's Liang Qi who insisted on inviting you, don't mind."

  "Isn't Liang Qi interested in this big move? Has she gone blind?"

  Xiao Wu Gen looked at the oily-faced man in front of him with disgust, wanting to kick him off his mule cart. Although Yun Zheng was a bit poor, he was still a real man, and it wouldn't be strange if Liang Qi took a liking to him. But for that woman to take a liking to this guy would be truly blind.

  I was just having a pleasant conversation with Miss Lin, when this guy came over and interrupted us. It's simply absurd. If I weren't planning to visit the White Cloud Temple to pay respects to Master Wugou today and needed to calm my mind, I wouldn't have to be around these annoying people at all.

  "A new poem, a cup of wine, last year's weather, old pavilions. The sunset goes down, when will it return? No help for the fallen flowers, like a familiar acquaintance, the swallow returns. Alone I wander in the fragrant garden path."

  It is not known who brought the singing girl, but as soon as the carriage left Dou Sha Pass, she couldn't wait to start singing. This "Washing Creek Sand" by Yan Shu may not be brilliant, but it fits the scenery when sung in late spring.

  Yun Zheng thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery of spring, and what's more, there were free songs to entertain people. With nothing better to do, they picked some willow branches and made grass hats for each of the three of them. This was a rare wild interest in spring.

  The water buffalo was very obedient and followed the mule cart in front of it, so Yun Zheng didn't need to worry at all. However, the speed was generally slower. Yun Zheng didn't urge the old cow on either, but lay down on the board car and joked with Yun Er. There was only one road here, and walking slowly would still get them there eventually.

  Yun Er pointed at the mule cart of the Liang family and said to Yun Da, "Look, they're waiting for you by the side of the road. Does she have a crush on you? If she's willing to marry into our family, I wouldn't mind calling her sister-in-law."

  "A thirteen-year-old girl knows what's going on, you guys used to just know how to cause trouble, does she not know that intentionally waiting for me by the roadside is trying to frame me?"

  "You seem to have a bad impression of 12 or 13-year-old girls, I guess it's the psychological shadow left from before."

  The cured meat had long been accustomed to the two brothers speaking in a strange tone that he had never heard before, so he took out a handkerchief and folded it into a cloth hat, which was put on Yun Er's head. As they walked further up the mountain, it got colder, and a gust of wind blew by, making the fog even thicker.

  Miss Liang opened the curtain of the horse-drawn carriage and said to Yun Zheng, "You should change to a mule cart quickly, the ox cart is too slow. With your earning speed, it should be easy to do."

  Yun Zheng sat up and said to Miss Liang: "It's not that I'm walking too slowly, it's that you're all walking too fast. You've missed countless beautiful scenes. Spring outings should be enjoyable and carefree. Carriages and mule carts are too fast, but a cow cart is just right. And riding a donkey backwards isn't bad either."

  "Zhang Xianren's old wit, being in Ling Mountain cannot blaspheme gods and Buddhas."

  "Who says he's a god? During the Xuanzong period, he admitted that he was a white bat at the beginning of Hongmeng. I'm telling you, this bat loves to suck human blood the most. It's said that beautiful girls like you are their favorite. Every full moon night, huge bats fly out from the moon, flapping their giant wings and landing in front of your window."

  Then he will transform into a very handsome man, standing in front of your window and reciting poetry with you, playing the qin and se, taking advantage of your infatuation to...

  The young lady of the Liang family blushed and her ears turned red, having never heard such a strange story before. Just as she was about to refute Yun Zheng's nonsense, she suddenly discovered that Yun Zheng had turned his head around, with two green fangs growing at the corners of his mouth.

  He let out a cry of alarm and quickly withdrew his head back into the carriage, hearing Yun Er's triumphant laughter in his ear, realizing he had been duped. He reopened the carriage curtain to find Yun Zheng constantly spitting out saliva, the willow branch was really too bitter.

  "If you're really capable, then finish telling the story; I don't believe you'll speak obscenities."

  "That's natural, we'll be famous at Donghua Gate in the future. I never speak ill of others. If you want to know what that bat guy wants to do, just give me a jar of your family's wine. I saw earlier that there are three jars under your feet, share one with me!"

  "Thief!" The young lady of the Liang family cursed, but still handed over a small jar.

  "Fine, be that way. I suppose you've won this round, not mentioning the size of the jar." Yun Zheng handed the jar to Xian Rou and told him to hold it tightly before continuing: "Every time at this moment, the vampire would stretch out his fangs, bite into the girl's neck and suck her blood. He sucked very greedily, after sucking all the blood he flew away. Three days later, the girl would come back to life, but she felt extremely cold, only by sucking blood could she feel a little warmth..."

  "You little devil, spouting nonsense all day long, aren't you afraid of going to hell in the future?"

  The angry fire of the clouds looked back, only to see a Taoist priest with a hundred knots in his clothes walking briskly past the edge of the cattle cart, and in an instant he disappeared into the rolling clouds and fog.