Chapter 2
The next day at dawn, a secret letter from Nanhai City was delivered directly to Lin'er.
He opened the envelope and saw it read:
Nanhai City will attack Heishan in the near future.
These few words already conveyed crucial information.
The sudden turn of events made Lin'er dare not delay. He immediately came to find me, ascending to this small building in the backyard and knocking on the door.
"Enter."
He pushed the door open and saw me leisurely reading by the window. He slowly approached and said softly,
"Ghost King, the scout has sent news."
"Oh."
Upon hearing this, I moved the book away from my face. He slowly handed me the letter, and as I took it, I read:
Nanhai City will attack Heishan in the near future.
I smiled faintly, sat up, and placed the letter on the desk.
"Nanhai City is truly overestimating itself. Even when the four cities besieged us before, they couldn't take Heishan. For them to dare to come alone, they probably don't know our strength."
Thinking of our previous victory, my heart swelled with joy.
Lin'er, however, did not share my sentiment. He said,
"If Hainan City dares to lead their troops alone this time, they must have made preparations. We still cannot be careless."
Indeed, if they were unprepared, why would they dare to move their troops so easily? So I said,
"The elder's concern is not without reason. Then make arrangements. Strengthen the patrols of Heishan, and the various checkpoints must also be strictly controlled."
"Yes."
Having received the order, Lin'er hurried off to make arrangements.
With nothing else to do, I walked out with my hands behind my back, leisurely.
Arriving in the garden, I looked up and saw another person on the roof. Three people were sleeping side by side.
The thick quilts covered all three of them perfectly.
I stared for a long while, and a terrible idea suddenly struck me.
With a smile, filled with amusement, I returned to the room, fetched paper and pen, and went back to the courtyard. I leaped onto the roof and began to draw all over their faces.
On Wu Dao's face, I drew a large, lopsided tortoise. I connected Liu Shinian's eyebrows and added a mustache.
Approaching Xue Guocheng, I gently stroked his face, filled with admiration.
His slender eyebrows were dotted with dew. His fair face was as serene as a beauty's.
I suddenly became engrossed, silently swallowed, and quickly came to my senses. I slapped my face and silently admonished myself.
"He belongs to Sister Yan. He belongs to Sister Yan."
Only then did I break free from my daze. I picked up my brush, paused for a moment, unsure what to draw on this handsome face.
Then, I inwardly thought,
"Brother Xue and Sister Yan are a match made in heaven. Brother Xue cannot live without Sister Yan, and Sister Yan cannot live without Brother Xue.
I think, why not draw Sister Yan?"
So I put down my brush and drew a woman I considered beautiful on his face.
After finishing, I flew down with a sly grin and, with my hands behind my back, leisurely went for another stroll.
In a daze, I arrived before a side room. My restless heart began to beat again, wanting to see who lived inside.
So I cautiously approached the window, poked a small hole in it with my finger, and peeked inside.
I saw two people lying on the bed with the curtain drawn aside: Thirteen Niang and Yu Jiao.
Seeing their legs tangled up on each other, their arms spread wide, snoring soundly, their unkempt appearance, they looked nothing like two beauties.
Then, I shook my head helplessly and leisurely walked back into the garden.
From afar, I saw Yue Jiucao with his Sister Liu, and Hei Feng with Yan Wushuang, walking and chatting in the garden.
In a daze, I heard Yan Wushuang say,
"How is your injury from last time?"
"It's nothing much, much better."
Hei Feng chuckled and teased him,
"Next time you come, you must use the front door. This back door is not to be used again."
He smiled lightly and replied,
"One experience is enough."
Sister Liu also joined the casual conversation.
"Heishan is so vast, isn't it quite a task to manage?"
This question was naturally answered by Hei Feng. He said,
"When I was in charge before, I didn't interfere much. They just managed themselves.
Now, the Ghost King is here, so she's in charge. But fortunately, with the help of the elders and a few senior members, it's not too difficult to manage."
"I see."
Seeing them engrossed in conversation, I thought I would scare them. So I quietly approached and suddenly shouted,
"What are you talking about!"
The group turned around calmly, but there was no sign of them being startled by me.
I felt a bit awkward and asked them,
"Weren't you scared by me?"
Hei Feng couldn't help but laugh and said to me,
"Ghost King, your thunderous footsteps alerted us long ago."
I was immediately embarrassed and smiled sheepishly.
"Ah! I intended to scare you, but it seems my plan failed."
Yan Wushuang also smiled slightly.
"Mu Ye, why are you so happy today?"
I stretched and said,
"I don't know. I just feel cheerful today, unlike my usual irritability."
"Indeed, these past few days have been unusually peaceful."
"Yes, it's rare for it to be peaceful. Brother Yue, Miss Liu, how did you sleep last night?"
Sister Liu said,
"I slept quite well, but I drank a bit too much and my head feels a little hazy."
"Hahaha, I also couldn't hold my liquor."
Yan Wushuang said,
"I used to be like that too. I didn't like drinking. Later, I saw my master and senior brothers drinking whenever there was a happy occasion.
Sometimes they brought me along, so I got used to it."
"It seems that drinking is something one has to get used to."
"Not necessarily. A little drink is pleasant, but too much is harmful."
As they spoke, the group couldn't help but laugh.
...
The sun was blazing, and the heat was palpable. Liu Shinian felt unusually stuffy and woke up in a daze.
Wu Dao was also completely awake, rubbing his eyes as he too came to.
As Liu Shinian looked up, he saw Xue Guocheng looking at him with a half-smile.
He suddenly frowned and saw the effeminate woman's head drawn on Xue Guocheng's left cheek. He instinctively burst out laughing.
Looking down again, he saw that Wu Dao's face had a crooked, large black turtle drawn on it, which looked particularly comical.
Wu Dao, however, was completely unaware and instead laughed at Liu Shinian.
"Sir, you've grown a beard, hahaha."
He touched his face in confusion, only to find his hands covered in black ink, and his entire face turned into a mess.
"Hahaha."
Xue Guocheng and Wu Dao burst into unrestrained laughter.
Liu Shinian frowned and said helplessly,
"Who did this? It's truly taking advantage of someone's vulnerability."
"You don't need to guess. No one else would dare to play tricks on us."
Xue Guocheng revealed the truth with a single sentence.
"Liu Mu Ye!"
Liu Shinian immediately guessed, and a hint of anger flared up.
Wu Dao volunteered,
"I'll go get you some water."
Saying that, he was about to get up and go downstairs. Liu Shinian stood up and waved his hand,
"We're not that delicate. Let's go together."
Then he pulled Wu Dao along, and they both leaped down, heading towards a rockery with a flowing stream in the back garden.
The three stood side by side, cupping water simultaneously, washing their faces simultaneously, even their twisting postures were remarkably similar.
In a daze, two peculiar laughs came from behind them.
The three were curious and turned around simultaneously, only to see Thirteen Niang and Yu Jiao emerging from the house, their clothes slightly disheveled.
Glancing sideways, they met each other's eyes. The three wore strange expressions, as if they had seen something they shouldn't have.
"Ah!"
Yu Jiao suddenly let out a scream. The piercing scream instantly echoed throughout the Bright Moon Palace. Then, coming to her senses, she quickly pulled Thirteen Niang back into the room.
"What... what did they do?"
Wu Dao asked with pure innocence.
Liu Shinian pulled him over and suddenly grinned mischievously.
"Children don't need to know too much."
Then, he playfully raised his eyebrows towards the courtyard.
However, this scream also drew everyone's attention. By the time we arrived, we saw Xue Guocheng, Liu Shinian, and Wu Dao standing by the fountain, dripping wet.
Without thinking, I immediately accused them,
"Oh, you three scoundrels, how dare you tease women."
Liu Shinian turned around and, upon seeing me, became indignant. Before I could make a move, he pointed at me and said,
"Liu Mu Ye! Look at what you've done!"
I suddenly felt guilty and pretended to be ignorant.
"What... what did I do? Don't frame an innocent person."
"Frame an innocent person? Wait until I hit you, and then you'll know if you're innocent."
Saying that, he rolled up his sleeves and rushed at me. My heart panicked, and I quickly ran away. Seeing that he didn't catch up, I triumphantly turned back and stuck out my tongue.
Liu Shinian continued to shout,
"Don't run! I'll beat you to death!"
He quickly pursued me, and I ran forward without stopping. The two of us chased each other through the garden and the backyard, completely disregarding others.
Yue Jiucao, however, suddenly became curious and asked,
"What was that scream just now?"
Xue Guocheng remained silent, merely giving a suggestive glance towards Thirteen Niang's room.
Everyone looked puzzled. He hinted a few more times.
So, with a vague understanding, they stealthily approached the window of Thirteen Niang's residence, poked a few holes, and peeked inside.
As they wondered what Xue Guocheng's hint meant, they suddenly saw a strange scene.
They saw Yu Jiao wearing Thirteen Niang's clothes, and Thirteen Niang wearing Yu Jiao's clothes, both twisting in front of the mirror.
Yu Jiao taught her to imitate her own demeanor: charming and seductive. Thirteen Niang, in turn, asked her to learn to be strong.
After a long while, Yu Jiao called out,
"Ye Lang."
Thirteen Niang sweetly replied,
"My beloved wife."
Everyone was startled and felt their scalps tingle. Yet, they couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle outside, thinking, so that's how they are.
Just then, a cough was heard, and a voice suddenly came,
"What are you doing?"
The sudden voice made the already guilty group jump to their feet.
Wu Dao hastily stood up but lost his balance and fell to the ground with a cry of "Ouch!"
Xue Guocheng quickly pulled him up.
This voice also alerted the two beauties inside. They hurriedly opened the door and saw a group of people standing outside.
Upon seeing them, everyone's silent faces were flushed.
Yu Jiao suddenly realized that their strange behavior seemed to have been discovered by everyone.
The already silent air suddenly became intriguing.
It was Lin'er who first spoke, breaking the awkwardness.
"You should close the door properly from now on."
Thirteen Niang looked confused but then blushed and stammered, pointing at everyone,
"Did... did you... did you discover that we were teaching each other retention techniques?"
Yu Jiao covered her face, her cheeks burning with shame.
"Ah!"
Everyone let out exclamations of confusion, as if in disbelief.
Only Wu Dao, with great boldness, asked,
"Weren't you falling in love with each other?"
Thirteen Niang was bewildered and full of doubt.
"Falling in love? What love? Wasn't I teaching Yu Jiao how to win a man's heart?"
"Tch!"
Everyone sighed again, their fantasies shattered. They had expected some scandalous affair, but it turned out to be completely different from what they imagined.
They thought they had stumbled upon juicy gossip, but it was merely sharing tips. Feeling a sense of disappointment, they began to disperse one by one.
"Hey, why are they making that face?"
Yu Jiao was very puzzled, wondering if they weren't interested in them.
Lin'er smiled slightly and explained,
"Perhaps they didn't hear what they wanted to hear, so they're disappointed. Alright, alright, I'm leaving too."
Thirteen Niang and Yu Jiao were even more confused by his words, not understanding what they were up to, but they still felt happy.
Yu Jiao pulled Thirteen Niang along and continued to ask,
"You were saying earlier that girls should be a bit strong, and what else?"
"You have to let them see that you don't depend on anyone. You don't cling to him; just a casual greeting, or giving him something delicious, and he'll naturally become more infatuated with you."
"You're still the best."
"Right? You're not bad either, hahaha."
The two women praised each other, laughing and chatting as they returned to the room to continue their endeavors.
Meanwhile, Liu Shinian and I had been chasing each other for a while. Seeing that he still couldn't catch me, and I was getting tired of running, I stopped to rest.
"Why aren't you running anymore?"
Liu Shinian also stopped, hands on his hips, looking at me.
I sighed and sat down on the stone steps.
He slowly walked over, and I waved my hand,
"I'm not running anymore. If you want to hit me, then hit me."
So I proactively offered my head for him to hit. He smiled sweetly, crouched down, and suddenly leaned close to my face.
I squinted, looking at him strangely, and questioned,
"What are you doing? Coming so close, trying to make a move?"
He suddenly moved his head away, sat down beside me, and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, make a move on you? Forget it. You're that thousand-year-old turtle; you're afraid of no one. I'm just glad you haven't made a move on me."
I glared at him with slight anger, but then my spirit suddenly deflated, and I sighed,
"Alas! Am I not beautiful?"
"Beautiful? Very beautiful."
"Beautiful like a beauty?"
"Beautiful like a concubine."
I immediately became displeased.
"I, the dignified King of Ten Thousand Ghosts, being a concubine? Forget your unrealistic dreams."
He slowly stood up and smiled faintly.
"So what if you're the King of Ten Thousand Ghosts? You're still fit to be a concubine."
I feigned slight anger and rebuked him,
"Liu Shinian, don't go too far. Be careful, or I'll beat you to death."
He ignored me and walked away on his own.
I quickly caught up with him, calling out,
"Hey! You stinky Liu Shinian! Are you thinking of fighting?"
"Oh, but you have to catch me first."
"Fine, don't run, and I'll beat you to death!"
"Only a fool wouldn't run."
With laughter, he quickly ran off, and I chased after him, playfully bickering.