A sound of pleasure

"It's just a wild guess. Many stubborn monsters, if not driven by power or status, must be driven by love. If Si Tiao is driven by power and status, and Yue Niang is connected to Xie Yuan's old subordinates, they certainly won't listen to our nonsense, let alone dare to go against Yue Niang's wishes and take my life. So what kind of poison did you give her? Judging from her expression, it must be extremely unpalatable."

"Grind one ounce of black sesame seeds, half an ounce of black beans, half an ounce of flour, three duck gallbladders, only taking the bile. Grind two ounces each of coptis root, sophora flavescens, and andrographis paniculata. Make small pills according to the traditional Chinese medicine method."

"So, it's non-toxic? Godmother, why are you still making fake medicine?"

"I'm not a scoundrel selling fake medicine. No, what's fake medicine? This is the real thing. I originally wanted to make black bean and sesame balls, but I tried one and it wasn't tasty, so on a whim I added some of the ingredients from the recipe. When you put it in your mouth, it dissolves with your saliva, and the bitter taste immediately fills your mouth, making it especially refreshing."

Yuanli took out another pill from the Lingbao silver bell and handed it to Si Xi. Si Xi took it in his hand and looked at it. It was exactly the same as the one given to Si Tiao. He shook his head and returned it.

After thinking for a moment, Si Xi took back the pill he had just returned to Yuan Li and said with a malicious smile, "I'll take it back and let Yan Ye try it to wake him up."

"Yan Ye seems to be quite obedient to you."

"Well, he listens to me the most. But, godmother, you don't know. When Yan Ye was brought back by my father, he was so arrogant. He always looked down on people with a sense of arrogance and superiority. In the first two or three years that he stayed by my side, Yan Ye listened to me only out of gratitude, but deep down, he didn't like me. Later, when I pressed him, he said that he hated me at the time because he thought I was too wild and vulgar. In his eyes, the way I dressed was sloppy and lacked the etiquette of a gentleman. He also said that I had too many child-rearing husbands, and that any true love he gave to me would be like a stone in the ocean. Therefore, he would never be sincere to me, let alone regard me as his wife. We grew up teasing each other, and in this lonely mountain, playing tricks on each other became our greatest pleasure."

Yuanli frowned and asked, "What do you mean by having too many child husbands? Was it your bastard father's doing? Has your mother lost her mind, actually allowing your father to do this? He dreams of becoming an emperor with three thousand beauties in his harem, but he's just giving you a harem to fulfill it!"

"Godmother, don't be angry yet. When my mother was alive, she didn't know that my father had taken so many child adopters for me. It was only after my mother died that my father came to tell me with a pile of portraits and letters. My father said that all men in the world are unreliable, but among a group of men, there must be one who is more reliable than the other. And as a woman like me, if one day I rebel and insist on escaping to explore the world outside the mountains and refuse to stay with him, then at least I will have someone to rely on when I go out. My father left me a jade pendant, saying that my child adopters outside the mountains will definitely recognize me when they see me."

"absurd."

"It's ridiculous. Those child-rearing husbands, like Yan Ye, were deliberately favored by my father, and the marriages he agreed to were out of kindness. Even if I never left the mountains, or didn't ask them to return after I reached the age of marriage, they couldn't marry anyone else, but they all agreed without exception. I don't know what tricks my father used. I, Si Xi, only want one person's heart in this life. I would rather live alone for the rest of my life than be forced to share my husband with others, and I will never marry those child-rearing husbands of mine."

"Since you have your own ideas and plans, I don't need to worry about you. Just handle it yourself."

Si Xi nodded and changed the subject, asking, "Godmother, what kind of deal do you want to make with Si Tiao? I told her those stories about restoring life through flesh and bones, which I was just trying to trick her with in a moment of desperation. If you make a deal with her and can't fulfill her wishes, I'm afraid she won't let it go. I think this Si Tiao is acting crazy for the person she wants to resurrect, and that will be another problem."

"You lied to her, and I lied to her too. I wasn't planning on making any deal with her. I just wanted to ask about him and Yue Niang, but forget it. She won't completely betray Yue Niang and obey me. She's someone who knows how to judge the situation. Even if Yue Niang dies, if she follows me, she might very well become the next Yue Niang before she achieves her wish. Having someone like that around makes me feel scared and uneasy, so it's better not to have her around."

While the two were talking, Si Xi suddenly asked her to be quiet, indicating that someone was approaching the door.

However, Yuanli did not hear any footsteps.

Si Xi waited for a moment, then suddenly said in a feigned excitement and pride, "Look, the pond my dad built is convenient for changing the water and catching fish, isn't it? It's faster than you trying to fish for half a day without seeing anything, right?"

Yuanli agreed, "It is indeed convenient."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Si Xi got up and opened it, only to see Yue Niang's old lackey standing at the door, carrying a large bag, looking restless like a thief, his eyes darting around, eager to come in and take a look.

"If you have to fart, do it now."

"The mountain master asked me to bring you a bed and quilt. He said the night dew is heavy in the mountains, and this room is next to a pond, so it's very damp. He was worried that the quilt wouldn't be dry and you wouldn't sleep well. So he asked me to bring the bed over and even had someone warm it by the fire."

"It's hindsight. Why didn't you send it earlier? Why didn't you wait until I left the room before sending it?"

"Oh, my dear girl, I apologize to you. It's all my fault. I'm old and my brain is not working well. I can't remember things. The mountain master gave you instructions yesterday, but I forgot. For this, the mountain master has already punished me severely."

Si Xi took the bundle and said unhappily, "Stand back a little. You're standing so close to me. Aren't you afraid that I'll close the door and pinch you? Don't blame me if I do."

After saying that, Si Xi slammed the door shut. She used quite a bit of force, and the door made a loud noise when she slammed it.

Si Xi opened the bundle and what caught his eye was a red festive quilt. The embroidery on it somewhat resembled Si Xi's original form, lying with his limbs spread out, looking chubby and adorable.

She unfolded the quilt and carefully searched and felt inside to see if there was anything else hidden.

Only after she had touched every part of the red quilt did she feel at ease and throw it aside.

After the old woman had gone far away, Si Xi said unhappily, "Look, look, they wouldn't let go of any slightest movement and sent people over immediately. And those eyes! They're rolling around, why don't they just come out and keep rolling around in my room!"

"Are you often monitored by Yue Niang's people? They even check a quilt so carefully before they feel at ease. Have they... ever harmed you?"

"Yes. Of course she'll keep an eye on me. She'll be careful because my father treats me well, but she won't let down her guard against me. She also knows that it was she who went to anger my mother to death. Once I find out, I'll definitely do everything I can to kill her for revenge. Besides, we're living in the same house with her secret, so there will only be more people watching us. They won't be eavesdropping directly, but she'll definitely know if anything goes wrong."

"Have they ever hurt you?"

"Yes, who would want to be someone else's stepmother? Besides, he hasn't even gotten the status of stepmother yet. How could she look upon me, the child of her lover and another woman, without feeling resentful? She wants to be known as a kind girl, to highlight her supposed deep affection for my father. She also wishes I were dead and peaceful, so she lets her minions harm me. They poison me, release venomous snakes and insects into my room, deliberately summon demons to attack me, and even insert embroidery needles into my quilt... all these little tricks are ridiculous and useless."

Yuanli was so angry that she slammed the table and said through gritted teeth, "Who did this? I'll torture them to death!"

"No need, I've already taken revenge. Their fates will only be worse than each other. Don't worry, godmother. I'm not a coward who tolerates injustice. Let's not talk about this anymore. What are you going to do next?"

"Si Tiao is too aggressive and always throws her life at the slightest provocation. We can't handle her, let alone capture her. Killing her would be a miracle. We've already confirmed that it was Si Tiao who caused the rebellion. I didn't expect us to kill Si Tiao from the beginning. Let's go back and reunite with them."

"Okay, let's go."

After coming out of the house and taking a few steps, I heard the servants inside talking about how female ghosts had been causing trouble in the mountains recently and a lot of monsters had died. It sounded very weird.

When he saw them coming, he stopped talking.

Si Xi immediately called Yan Ye to ask him, and Yan Ye said that the female ghost the servants were talking about had already caused trouble when they moved in to stay for a while, and killed several people. The cruelty of her methods was no less than that of the water ghost mentioned above.

The water ghost that Yan Ye mentioned is Si Tiao.

After the female ghost killed someone, the mountain residents rioted, but were suppressed by the mountain master, who immediately sent people to search for the so-called female ghost.

However, not only was there no result, but that night, the female ghost haunted the house again.

Almost half of the mountain people saw the female ghost killing people. She was so bloodthirsty that she broke a neck with one hand, tore the bodies into pieces, and hung them casually on the ghost dead tree. Blood flowed all over the ground.

After the female ghost calmed down, the villagers rushed to the mountainside and the entrance to the top of the mountain to make trouble. With the example of the mountain master killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, they restrained themselves a little, but they still sat close to each other and no one left.

Not long ago, the mountain master invited a bald fire demon from somewhere. The demon looked very domineering. He brought a chair to the entrance and sat down, scaring the mountain villagers who had been talking in silence into shutting up.

Even most of the monsters were quite tactful and ran away.

Upon hearing this, Si Xi's expression was solemn yet delighted. She asked, "Is the fire demon you're talking about the one with a long scar on his back and other burn scars on his body, and is he tall and strong, with a centipede-shaped beard?"

"Oh! It's amazing! How do you know? It's like you saw it with your own eyes. Have you already been there?"

"You've seen him too, Yan Ye. After Dad died, Yue Niang became the mountain master. It was the same thing. When the mountain folks were causing trouble, it was him who helped Yue Niang establish her authority and intimidate them. Only then was Yue Niang able to completely quell the farce."