Chapter 42 A Red Lip Print Left Behind

Yin Yu pulled a rolled-up mat from the cabinet and spread it on the floor next to the bed, explaining as she did so, "This is the bed that the Tongxuan people sleep on, so of course you can't sleep on it."

Ling Shu fetched a mattress and stood beside her, waiting for Yin Yu to spread it out: "So this is a bed for ghosts to sleep on, and people in the mortal world can't sleep on it."

Yin Yu tugged at the mat, took the quilt from Ling Shu's arms, and spread it on the mat: "Yes, people from the mortal realm can't sleep here. Go get another quilt."

Ling Shu came over carrying a thick quilt, which Yin Yu naturally took. Ling Shu wanted to make the quilt herself, but Yin Yu shouted, "You stand there!"

Ling Shu stood aside, unsure of what to do. After Yin Yu finished laying out the blankets, Yin Yu rubbed her back and said, "Ouch, my old back."

Do snakes also experience back pain?

Ling Shu went over to help her, but she sat down on the edge of the bed by herself. She said, "Sometimes you can't deny getting old. I haven't made a bed in eight hundred years."

Ling Shu sat on the made-up floor mat, looked up and asked her, "Great-Grandma, have you ever seen my mother?"

"Little Wenji?"

Ling Shu nodded.

I saw him in town five days ago.

Ling Shu grabbed Yin Yu's thick tail around her waist and asked, "Is this our next destination?"

"Yes, Dayuan Town."

Ling Shu's eyes sparkled: "How is my mother...? Does she miss me?"

"I've never heard her mention you. She spends her days listening to music, watching plays, and visiting brothels. She's doing just fine."

I've never mentioned her... Mother has probably let go of worldly ties, hoping for happiness in the next life.

Holding Yin Yu's snake tail, she remembered how cold the snake felt when she held it. She recalled how her mother used to hold her in her arms; her mother smelled sweet and her embrace was soft. When they were fleeing from the evil cultivators, her mother would hold her and fight off the pursuers with one hand, steadily carrying her as they leaped through the forest to escape.

My mother was resolute, brave, and gentle back then.

Ling Shu curled her arms around the snake's tail even tighter. Yin Yu lowered her head, stroked Ling Shu's soft, long hair, and whispered, "Missing your mother?"

"I haven't thought about it."

Yin Yu laughed and said, "Still a little proud and arrogant."

"I'm not..." Ling Shu's voice trailed off as she spoke.

Knock, knock, knock, someone gently knocked on the wooden door.

Ling Shu let go of her hand and was about to stand up when Yin Yu gestured for her not to move. Yin Yu then went to open the door.

The village chief stood in front of the door and said, "I left in a hurry and forgot to remind you not to go out after dark. Go out only after the sun has risen."

Silver rain should fall.

"There is some water and vegetables here. It's lunchtime, so if you're hungry, have some first."

Yin Yu took a food box and a large pot of water.

Yin Yu closed the door, wandered back, placed the food box on the table, and opened it. Inside was a large bowl of rice and two dishes: stir-fried green peppers with pork and Mapo tofu. "Come and eat." Yin Yu ladled a large bowl of rice for her, the rice piled up into a small mound in the bowl.

"Grandma, I don't want to eat that much."

"Eat! You're so thin, you need to eat more to stay healthy. Girls shouldn't go on diets to lose weight."

Ling Shu was indeed afraid of gaining weight. She pushed a full bowl of rice towards Yin Yu, trying to snatch the bowl that Yin Yu was currently serving herself: "I want this bowl." Yin Yu dodged her hand and scolded her: "Just eat what I tell you to eat!"

Ling Shu had no choice but to hold the large bowl of rice and chew it dry.

"Eat your vegetables."

Do not eat Poria cocos.

"You're all skin and bones, who would like that? You're still growing, it's healthier to be a little chubby." Ling Shu shook her head and still refused to eat.

Yin Yu pulled out her trump card: "Zhuang Jinfu likes beauties who are a little plump."

Ling Shu paused, chewing his words, and said, "Grandma, don't try to fool me. It's not even certain whether she likes women or not."

Yin Yu proudly said, "Grandma, I naturally have my own way of doing things."

Yin Yu blinked and leaned closer, saying, "She likes women. When she first came down the mountain, she didn't know anything and thought a brothel was a restaurant. She wandered in by mistake and was forced to drink a lot of alcohol by those women. It was my grandmother who helped her escape from the crowd of beauties."

Ling Shu held the bowl closer and said, "Great-Grandma, please explain in detail."

"She drank too much and went out for some fresh air. The women there were captivated by her elegant and refined demeanor and wanted to throw themselves at her. They followed her out and kept trying to get her drunk. When she tried to avoid the alcohol, she wandered into a room and saw two women on a couch having an affair. She stood there watching for a long time through the curtain and came out blushing."

"She was standing there like a madwoman in the corridor when the women spotted her. They chased her all the way around the brothel before I finally found her and pulled her out."

Ling Shu seized the key point: "Great-Grandma, do you like visiting brothels?"

Yin Yu retorted, "I don't love it. Don't slander me. I'm going to catch my deadbeat husband."

"You caught them?"

"Eat your food!"

Knock, knock, knock. Ling Shu put down her bowl and rushed to open the door.

Zhuang Jinfu, with her refined and elegant demeanor, appeared at the door. She exuded a cold aura and had no expression, but asked in a gentle tone, "Have you finished eating?"

Thinking of what Yin Yu had just said about Zhuang Jinfu accidentally wandering into a brothel, Ling Shu wanted to laugh, but in the end she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Am I funny?"

Ling Shu suppressed a laugh: "No, I'm done eating."

Yin Yu called from behind, "You've only eaten two bites! What do you mean you're done? Come back here right now!"

Ling Shu stepped outside, hid behind Zhuang Jinfu, and made a face at Yin Yu, saying, "I'm not eating!"

Zhuang Jinfu turned around and coaxed, "Listen to your great-grandmother, eat properly, I'll wait for you."

Hu Shi stood to the side with her arms crossed, her attitude unfriendly: "What a hassle, eat faster!"

"Oh..." Ling Shu listened to her and obediently went inside to finish her meal.

Ling Shu ate quickly, stuffing her cheeks full of food, like a squirrel hoarding food, which was quite... cute. When we were at Qingxi Mountain, she always ate slowly and deliberately, and I rarely saw her eat like this.

Zhuang Jinfu, you're still just a nineteen-year-old girl who throws tantrums and refuses to eat properly, what are you thinking about all day...?

Zhuang Jinfu had a headache.

The sense of guilt deepened.

Yin Yu served her food, but Ling Shu choked while eating quickly. Yin Yu immediately poured her water and patted her back to help her catch her breath. Ling Shu was completely like a junior next to Yin Yu.

Seeing her like this, Zhuang Jinfu convinced herself to relax. She realized that it was because she was alone that she tended to overthink things, which was why she cared so much about Ling Shu's confessions. Besides, Ling Shu had told her to forget those words and that she wouldn't do it again.

Let's leave it at that.

"Eat faster!" Hu Shi urged.

Zhuang Jinfu felt much more at ease after thinking this way.

Inside, Yin Yu cursed, "Hurry up, hurry up, are you trying to kill me?! I'm going to make you eat my Yin energy and stay here with me!"

Hu Shi was so afraid that he kept quiet.

Zhuang Jinfu said gently, "Eat slowly, there's no rush."

Zhuang Jinfu was standing at the door. Ling Shu glanced at her and suddenly realized that her eating manners were rather unseemly... She slowed down her movements and chewed slowly and deliberately.

Yin Yu noticed: "People who truly like you won't dislike you just because you eat badly; they'll only find you adorable."

Zhuang Jinfu: "..."

Why did Yin Yu grow a mouth?

Ling Shu swallowed a mouthful of food and muttered, "Does it really look that bad?"

"No!"

After a while, Ling Shu finally finished a large bowl of rice, put down her chopsticks, burped, and also finished two plates of dishes.

The four set off, spending the afternoon separately inquiring about the tokens in the village. Yin Yu followed Ling Shu, while Hu Shi and Zhuang Jinfu went their separate ways, each planning to inquire about ten households, visiting thirty households on the first afternoon.

Before sunset, they all returned to the village chief's house in the east of the village, having gained nothing today.

When I came back, I noticed that the door to the first room on the left was ajar. The door wasn't closed properly, as if someone had gone out and just closed it casually. This person was a bit careless, not even closing the door properly.

There were two sets of footprints at the entrance, small and narrow, indicating they were a woman's footprints.

She went out when they went out, and then came back.

The sun was about to set, so the courtyard gate and the main house door were closed, but neither was bolted, in case she couldn't come back.

Ling Shu was very curious about this resident, so she deliberately didn't go back to her room and sat at the square table in the hall.

Judging from the darkness peeking through the crack in the door, it was completely dark outside.

The guest on the far left hasn't returned yet.

The wind howled, like the cry of a monkey in the dead of night. The door creaked open, revealing a crack. Outside, it was pitch black, and green will-o'-the-wisps floated in the air.

They suddenly gathered into a ball and flew over quickly. Ling Shu took a step forward, placed her hands on the door, and firmly closed it.

Luckily, she was cautious and waited for the guest in the hall; otherwise, the door would have been blown open and the outside would have come in.

Suddenly, a gentle female voice came from outside the door.

"Shu'er, open the door for your mother."

Her gentle words seemed to come alive from the depths of her memories.

It couldn't be her mother! Ling Shu pressed the door shut firmly.

"Shu'er, Mother is back."

"Shu'er, it's so dark outside. Open the door for your mother. I brought your favorite crystal shrimp dumplings."

"Shu'er, it's okay if you don't open the door, Mother is fine. You must protect the demon core."

"No matter what others say, you must not give your demon core to anyone else. This is what your mother left you to protect yourself."

"Your mother only wishes for your safety."

Ling Shu was startled. This was the Tongxuan Secret Realm, the Realm of the Dead. Her mother was here, and they couldn't go out after dark. She couldn't let her mother stay outside; it was dangerous outside.

Ling Shu loosened his grip.

The door was pushed open by the wind.

A chilling wind swept over us.

It was a black blob with green fire eyes and a wide-open mouth made of green fire. It had no facial features or a formed body. On its head, three identical heads floated in from behind, and more black blobs surged around it.

Bang.

The two doors closed.

A jade-white hand pressed against the crack in the door, with two rows of teeth marks on the back of the hand, and the wounds had already scabbed over.

A cool body was pressed almost against her back.

A long sleeve swept across her shoulder and cheek, a cool, refreshing fragrance wafted over, and a moist, warm breath brushed against Ling Shu's earlobe.

"Ling Shu, don't let your mind get flustered."

Ling Shu's heart was pounding wildly.

A sudden burst of force outside the door caused it to be forced open inwards.

The black and green flames huddled together, squeezing through the crack in the door. The green flame's mouth croaked, "Shu'er, Mother has come to see you."

Another hand reached out from Ling Shu's side and slammed it against the door. The icy magic penetrated the door panel, and screams of agony echoed outside the door. Ling Shu also pushed the door shut with all her might.

She almost wanted to hold Ling Shu in her arms.

Her jade-like hand slowly moved downwards, finding the door latch. With both hands working together, she latched the door shut.

She withdrew her hand.

Ling Shu turned around hastily and bumped into Zhuang Jinfu's arms, kissing her on the fabric of her clothes and leaving a red lip print. One hand was on her shoulder, and as Ling Shu took a step to the side, the hand was released. She quickly bowed slightly and apologized, "I...I'm sorry."

Zhuang Jinfu took a step back and coughed lightly: "It's nothing."

"How are you?"

“I’m fine…you, your clothes…” Ling Shu pointed to the lip print on her left chest.

Just then, Yin Yu opened the door and immediately saw the lip print on Zhuang Jin's clothes. She raised an eyebrow and said to Ling Shu, "You've been cheating on me since I wasn't here?"

Zhuang Jinfu ran his hand over the lip print, and the lip print disappeared.

"You've misunderstood," Zhuang Jinfu explained. "It was an accidental collision. We're innocent. Please don't misunderstand her."

"That's good," Yin Yu said, pulling Ling Shu into the house. "Ling Shu will sleep with me tonight." She then turned back and gave Zhuang Jinfu a provocative look.

Ling Shu pinched Yin Yu's hand, signaling her not to say that.

"She can sleep with whomever she wants, I don't care." Zhuang Jinfu formally responded to her provocation, then turned and went back to his room.

Ling Shu: ...

Those are hurtful words.

So be it, she doesn't care, she doesn't care.

The door was pushed open forcefully, but didn't open. Then, a rapid banging sounded, and a woman's voice shouted, "Open the door! Open the door now!!!"

"Is there anyone who can save my life?!"