Chapter 57: A limerick, "A tasteless young lady."

(57)

Shang Xinglan removed his outer garment and slowly walked into the Bagua Pool. The chill of the pool water seemed to penetrate to the bone marrow. He had a vague intuition that all those who ascended to immortality throughout the ages had done the same.

Chu Li was showing the little one around when she caught a glimpse of him entering the pool. She was shocked and exclaimed, "Get out quickly, you'll catch a cold!"

Autumn is gradually getting colder, and the change of seasons makes it easy to get sick. Yet he still went to the pool dressed so lightly.

Hearing her concern, Shang Xinglan chuckled softly and comforted her, "It's alright, the pool water isn't cold to me. I don't know why either, perhaps it's because of my Heavenly Yang Body."

Upon hearing this, Chu Li led the cub to the edge of the pool, looking at him with a mixture of belief and doubt. He wasn't trembling, and his face was rosy, so he certainly didn't look like he was freezing.

Ascension is such a troublesome thing, having to soak in this lousy pool. Couldn't they just simply strike down two bolts of lightning so that Shang Xinglan could ascend smoothly?

The little boy looked at him curiously, then reached out and touched his neck. "Why are there drawings on your body?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Xinglan lowered his eyes and realized that the little boy was referring to the lightning marks on his body. He couldn't help but chuckle and ask, "Is the drawing beautiful?"

The lightning marks had spread to his jawline and the sides of his ears; almost nothing was left untouched by the lightning.

The little boy tilted his head, frowned, and stared at it for a while. Suddenly, goosebumps rose all over his arms, and he stammered, "It's not pretty, it's a scary painting."

Shang Xinglan assumed the little boy didn't like the dense marks, and pulled his clothes up slightly. He himself didn't like them either. When he first saw the lightning marks appear on his body, he even asked the servants to help remove them, but even after they were removed, the newly grown skin would still have terrible marks attached to it.

Chu Li saw the lightning marks on his face that had crept up to his ear, and her eyes welled up with tears. She pulled the little boy to her side and said, "Yinyin, be good and don't disturb his cultivation."

“It’s alright, let him do as he pleases,” Shang Xinglan said gently. “After I shut down my five senses, I won’t be able to hear or see anything.”

This is recorded in the ancient books of Linshui Pavilion. It is a tradition of those who ascend to immortality. By closing off the five senses, one can accelerate the circulation of spiritual energy within the body. In addition, the pool water of the Bagua Pool is full of spiritual energy, and the cultivation speed will be ten times faster than usual.

However, this method of cultivation has a drawback: once you start, you cannot stop halfway through, otherwise you are very likely to go astray and become possessed by evil spirits.

Chu Li looked at him with some worry and muttered, "Wouldn't that turn him into a block of wood?" He wouldn't feel pain, wouldn't sense danger even if he was injured and about to die, and wouldn't even cry for help.

With her gaze fixed on her, Shang Xinglan carefully instructed, "Take good care of yourself. A-Yue will bring you meals every day. There is a bed behind the screen. Make sure to close the windows tightly at night."

After a pause, he thought of Yan Xinbai again and frowned, saying, "If Yan Xinbai comes, don't show yourself. Let A-Yue and Gu Ye handle it."

"He dares to come again?" Chu Li suddenly pulled a knife from his sleeve and said in a sinister tone, "I was caught off guard last time, but this time I'll make sure he suffers the consequences. Don't worry."

"..." Shang Xinglan sighed, knowing he couldn't dissuade her, and took out a sharp dagger from the storage ring by the pool. "Use this one, it's sharper."

Chu Li took the dagger, pulled it out to examine it, and then slashed it onto the table, chipping off a piece of the table corner. It was indeed a fine knife.

If she were to apply some poison, it would be easy to dodge a visible knife, but difficult to guard against a hidden arrow. As long as she could hurt him, even if Yan Xinbai was incredibly powerful, he would be half-dead.

She carefully tucked the dagger into her waistband, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly, "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself and Yinyin. I promise I won't let anyone bother you."

Shang Xinglan grabbed that hand, wanting to pull her into his arms, but fearing that he would pass on his coldness to her, he gave up after a while and just held that warm and slender hand.

Chu Li pulled the little one over as well and whispered, "Yinyin, come here and hold Daddy's hand."

The little boy obediently stepped forward and reluctantly offered his little hand to Shang Xinglan, saying, "Just this once."

Hearing his adult-like tone, Shang Xinglan couldn't help but laugh. She grabbed the little hand, squeezed it hard, making the little guy grimace, and angrily bit him.

"Mommy, he's bullying me on purpose." The little boy snuggled into Chu Li's arms, complaining, "I'm never letting him hold my hand again."

Chu Li quickly rubbed his little hand and said softly, "Don't say such things, it's too unlucky. If he dies, Yinyin won't be able to hold his hand anymore."

Shang Xinglan: "..." Someone's words sound even more ominous.

Upon hearing this, the little cub's eyelashes fluttered twice, and he looked at Shang Xinglan, his voice much lower, "Will you die?"

Shang Xinglan said with a deep smile, "If you don't want me to die, I won't die."

"Then, then don't die yet." The little boy looked at him expectantly. "Don't die until I grow up."

He was still thinking about defeating Shang Xinglan honorably in the future. This bad guy used to bully his mother, and he had written down all those grievances in his notebook. He would find Shang Xinglan and get revenge when he grew up.

Shang Xinglan paused for a moment, then suppressed her smile. "Okay, I promise you."

He never breaks his promises; even if ten thousand evil spirits try to drag him to the underworld, he will definitely climb out.

The cultivation has begun.

Chu Li and the little boy wandered around the Seven Saints Hall for a long time, then lay on the bed, bored, looking at the notes left by those who had ascended to immortality throughout the ages.

Most of the notes of those who ascended to immortality were just a few words, but Shang Liuyu wrote several notebooks in great detail, but they had nothing to do with ascension. They were all poems he wrote when he was drunk, a jumbled mess of incomprehensible words, yet the little kid was still very fascinated by them.

She was dizzy after looking at the words for a couple of seconds, so she lay down on the soft couch for a short rest.

The elegant ancestral hall, with its sandalwood incense mingling with the ink scent of books, was exceptionally inviting for a deep sleep. Chu Li felt that this sleep was very, very long, and when she woke up, it was already dark.

She woke up on the soft couch, and the little boy was asleep, lying beside her with his arms and legs outstretched, his hands still reluctantly clutching the book of Shang Liuyu's poems.

Chu Li was amused by the little boy, gently pinched his nose, and got up to collect his dinner.

Shang Xinglan was still cultivating in the pool with his eyes closed. Whether it was her imagination or not, Chu Li really felt that he was a little different. When she approached him, he did not react at all, and the lightning marks on his body emitted a faint golden glow in the night.

She dared not touch him and tiptoed past Shang Xinglan. Before she reached the door, she suddenly saw what appeared to be a tall figure standing by the window.

Chu Li was startled; in the blink of an eye, the figure had vanished.

Did I see a ghost?

This is an ancestral hall, after all. Could it be that she saw Shang Xinglan's ancestors?

Chu Li's heart pounded wildly as she cautiously walked to the window to look out.

There was no one in sight; the lonely moonlight spilled onto the windowsill, and the tree branches swayed in the wind.

Perhaps it was the shadow of the tree; she was truly still half asleep.

After retrieving the food from the door, Chu Li woke up the little one to eat. Opening the lunchbox, the room was immediately filled with a fragrant aroma. The food served at the merchant's house was always better than that of a restaurant, only the taste was a bit bland.

The two children had a good time eating. Chu Li cleaned up the dishes and was about to take them out when she suddenly heard a low voice behind her.

"Don't be afraid."

Goosebumps rose all over her body. Chu Li turned around abruptly, but there was no one behind her. She called out in a trembling voice, "Yinyin, is that you speaking?"

A bewildered voice came from inside the house, "Mother, did you call me?"

Chu Li managed to calm herself down, clenched her fists, and walked back to the cub's side.

Seeing Shang Xinglan still cultivating, she felt even more anxious and flustered, as if there was another invisible person in the house besides her family.

What exactly happened? Was she hallucinating from exhaustion?

She couldn't help but move closer to the little boy, and seeing that he was still engrossed in reading the poetry collection, she said softly, "Yinyin, read it aloud."

The little boy looked at her in confusion, but still obediently did as she said, loudly reciting those nonsensical doggerel poems.

Listening to those nonsensical, boastful verses, the eerie atmosphere vanished completely. Instead of being afraid, Chu Li started to feel a headache. "Forget it, let's not read them anymore. Is Shang Liuyu even a member of the Shang family? He doesn't even have half a ounce of ink in his belly. The poems he writes are truly awful."

As soon as the words were spoken, two soft coughs suddenly came from somewhere, and in an instant, Chu Li and the little cub's bodies froze.

"Who!" She turned her head quickly, but still didn't see anyone. "Who's playing tricks on me, Gu Ye? Was it you?"

The two exchanged a glance, and the little one immediately rushed into Chu Li's arms.

"Mother, Mother, who was coughing just now?"

Chu Li hugged him tightly in fear, but said, "It should be your father."

The little cub whimpered, not daring to lift its head, "But why does that voice sound different..."

"Shh." Chu Li covered his little mouth with a trembling hand, not daring to look up either. The mother and son lowered their heads, only daring to stare at the poetry collection on the table.

Suddenly, the pages of the poetry collection moved on their own without any wind, as if an invisible hand was turning the pages. Chu Li and the little boy's eyes widened slowly, and they hugged each other tightly in fear.

"A tasteless young lady."

A soft, distant voice slowly sounded in her ear, as if the voice was standing right behind her.

"Look at this one, isn't it terrible?"

"A ghost! There's a ghost!" Chu Li grabbed the cub and ran, but before she could even get out of the ancestral hall, she was suddenly awakened from her sleep.

When she opened her eyes, the little boy looked at her with concern, holding a small handkerchief in his palm to wipe her sweat.

"Mother, did you have a nightmare?"

Chu Li stared at the little boy, still shaken, her chest heaving. Turning her head, she saw Shang Liuyu's poetry collection still lying on the pillow.

It was terrifying; she actually dreamed of Shang Liuyu's ghost.

But this dream is really strange. Didn't Shang Liuyu ascend to become an immortal? Where did this ghost come from?

Chu Li pinched her temple, took a deep breath to calm herself, and saw that it was dark outside the window, almost exactly the same as in her dream.

She brought food to the baby, but had no appetite for it herself. Instead, she searched for Shang Liuyu's memorial tablet in the Seven Saints Hall.

She wanted to pray properly so that this spirit would stop scaring her in her dreams.

After a while, she found Shang Liuyu's memorial tablet, which was in the far corner. He was the first person from the Shang family to ascend to immortality.