Chapter 41
The collapse of Sanzhen Mountain before sunrise caused an earthquake, which was reportedly felt by people in Xiandu Prefecture. The floodwaters that fell from the sky exceeded the carrying capacity of the Xiaoshui River and overflowed in all directions.
In the surging waters, Pei Xuanji, who was born in the capital and could not swim, became disoriented and separated from her companions.
She clutched the box that Li Zhi had told her never to let go of, drifting aimlessly in the water.
It's strange, even though Pei Xuanji can't swim and is currently in a daze, the seemingly indestructible water is treating her extremely gently.
She didn't need to worry; the water carried her, avoiding many obstacles that could harm her, and propelled her in the safest direction.
Unbeknownst to her, the exhausted Pei Xuanji fell asleep in the water, clutching the box.
When she opened her eyes again, the floodwaters around her had disappeared, and Pei Xuanji seemed to have been placed in a forest along with the box.
Pei Xuanji blinked and found herself lying on a damp patch of grass. Above her was a large tree, and several brightly colored birds were singing in the tree.
The air here is warm and humid; when you breathe it in, you no longer feel the heat and dryness you experienced in Jiangbei Prefecture.
She knew she had left Jiangbei Prefecture, but Pei Xuanji didn't know her exact whereabouts.
Pei Xuanji struggled to sit up and looked around at her current position.
The grove looked lush and green, with many birds flitting among the trees, and a small river not far away.
She must have drifted here along the stream, but this lovely stream has been flooded by the Sanzhen Mountain floods, and the water level has risen so high that it has already submerged the original riverbank.
Within her field of vision, Pei Xuanji found no trace of human activity, and she could not find out where she was by talking to people.
What's even more troublesome is—
Pei Xuanji touched the many talismans she had prepared in her satchel. She hadn't expected the flood, and the talismans were all soaked and unusable.
Without talismans, the Taoist priests could not fold paper cranes to seek help from the nearest temple or government office.
At this point, Pei Xuanji's only option was to leave the forest and find a village or town where ordinary people lived.
As for the extent of the trouble they caused by their rampage at Sanzhen Mountain, she could only wait until she found the talisman to figure that out.
Pei Xuanji drew her blunt sword—thankfully, it had been obediently hanging at her waist—and used it as a fire poker to support herself as she struggled to stand up.
Her bones creaked and groaned from the action.
Ji Ren's blow had seriously injured her. Pei Xuanji gritted her teeth and tried to move her arm, but then froze in place.
Ji Ren not only caused her physical pain, but Pei Xuanji is still filled with fear when she thinks back on it.
Therefore, she suddenly realized that something was wrong.
She lost consciousness after being attacked. At that time, only Li Zhi, a newcomer who had only been in the temple for more than ten days, was still standing in the main hall of the Goddess Temple. So how did they escape from Ji Ren's hands?
And looking at this massive flood, they also successfully solved the case of the natural disaster in Jiangbei Prefecture.
Could it really have been done by Li Zhi alone?
The difference between people is so vast, this person is terrifyingly powerful!
Pei Xuanji was struck dumb, feeling utterly disheartened and wishing she could immediately retire from the martial world and never be a Taoist priest again.
She sighed and bent down, wanting to pick up the trunk that Li Zhi was so anxious about, and leave the grove to find a town to rest in.
But just as Pei Xuanji's fingers were about to touch Li Zhi's box, it suddenly moved.
Pei Xuanji took a step back, her hair standing on end.
Why is the chest moving? Could it be that Ji Ren secretly sneaked inside, just waiting for her to open the chest so he could kill her with a single blow?
Lost in her own thoughts, Pei Xuanji quickly picked up a twig from the side, took a step back, and gently poked the box with her outstretched hand.
The box moved again, this time even more violently, and Pei Xuanji was almost certain that it contained a living creature.
Good heavens, Li Tiancai sent her something.
Pei Xuanji took a deep breath, holding the sword without a blade in one hand and a tree branch in the other, assumed a horse stance, and used the tree branch to open the box a crack.
"Come out quickly, or I won't be polite!" Pei Xuanji called out in a fake tone.
The contents of the box seemed to be intimidated by Master Pei and remained motionless for a long time.
Seeing this, Pei Xuanji shouted again, "Come out quickly!"
The cage remained silent for a moment before being pushed open from the inside. Two wild beasts raised their front paws high, and a fawning female voice said, "Master Pei, what a coincidence! We were swept together by the flood, haha."
As it spoke, a fox head popped out of the box and grinned at Pei Xuanji.
Pei Xuanji gasped and shouted, "Monster!"
As she spoke, she had already raised her bladeless sword and staggered as she slashed at the pearl.
Upon seeing this, Baozhu immediately jumped out of the box and ran away.
Pei Xuanji, sword in hand, chased after him, shouting, "Where do you think you're going! Don't run!"
"It's all a misunderstanding. If you don't chase me, I won't run anymore." Baozhu ran ahead, her arms and legs weak, glancing back at Pei Xuanji every now and then, afraid that she might trip over something in the woods.
"You are a monster, and I am a celestial master. Celestial masters subdue demons and exorcise evil spirits. There is no misunderstanding here!" Pei Xuanji was in excruciating pain all over her body and trembled as she chased after Baozhu.
"There are good monsters too. I have never done anything evil."
"That was in the past, and there's no guarantee you won't do bad things in the future, oh dear—"
Baozhu turned around and saw that Pei Xuanji had completely disappeared.
She exclaimed in surprise and cautiously took a few steps back, trying to find Pei Xuanji's whereabouts.
Baozhu looked around the small grove of trees but couldn't find anyone. She asked curiously, "Master Pei, where are you?"
Pei Xuan didn't say anything, but after a long while, she couldn't help but hiss.
Following the sound, Baozhu parted a thicket of bushes, bent down, and saw Pei Xuanji, who had lost her footing and fallen into a hole dug by some unknown animal.
The hole is almost ten feet high; falling in would probably be quite a hard fall.
This time, Master Pei was in real pain. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and she clenched her teeth and remained silent, but her trembling arms betrayed her pain.
Baozhu was looking at her from above, but she turned her head away from the bottom of the cave, refusing to look at Baozhu.
"Do you want me to pull you up?" Baozhu asked.
Pei Xuanji covered her arm and snorted.
Baozhu thought for a moment, then transformed into human form and looked up at Pei Xuanji, saying, "Master Pei, look up at me. I am Baozhu. We met before in Fuxia Village."
Pei Xuanji was taken aback, but did not look up. She just turned her head slightly and glanced at the pearl out of the corner of her eye.
Above the burrow, the fox disappeared, and a pretty woman lay on the ground. Pei Xuanji recognized her at a glance.
She said angrily, "So it was you. Li Zhi has probably been involved with you since then. He's just a mortal, yet he's getting together with a monster."
Baozhu quickly explained, "I'm not even with him yet."
"What do you mean 'not yet'? That means you're about to join!"
After saying this, Pei Xuanji realized that she seemed to have been tricked by Baozhu, and she was so angry that her eyes turned red. She refused to look at her anymore and moved her body with difficulty in the cave, with her back to Baozhu.
Baozhu got angry and complained, "You don't care about me, and I don't care about you either. You can stay down there."
Master Pei remained silent, displaying remarkable integrity.
She heard rustling sounds coming from the hole in the ground and knew that Baozhu had really left.
Once Baozhu left, Pei Xuanji's surroundings quieted down. Her hand was injured, and she was all alone in this dark and smelly cave, feeling utterly miserable. The strong-willed Master Pei endured for half an hour before her eyes quietly reddened.
By this time, the light outside was already dim. Pei Xuanji was afraid that she would attract wild animals in the cave at night, so she forced herself to stand up and tried to climb out of the cave with one hand.
He tried several times, but failed each time, and fell into the hole from above.
The wounds she sustained from Ji Ren's beating hadn't healed yet, and after falling so many times, she simply didn't have the strength to struggle anymore, so she could only make do with spending the night in the cave.
By this time, it was completely dark, but there was still moonlight at the cave entrance. All Pei Xuanji could see was darkness, and she could hear a buzzing sound in her ears, as if insects were flying around. She originally hated insects, but now she couldn't escape them. She was both scared and uncomfortable, and she could no longer hold back her sobs.
"It's all the fox demon's fault, it's all Li Zhi's fault, it's all Ji Ren's fault." Pei Xuanji sobbed, blaming everyone who had caused her to end up in this situation.
Baozhu, who was eavesdropping at the cave entrance, was indignant and immediately retorted, "You have a point in blaming Li Zhi and Ji Ren, but why are you blaming me? I already told you to stop chasing me."
Baozhu suddenly spoke at the cave entrance, startling Pei Xuanji so much that she swallowed back her tears. Pei Tianshi retorted, "You are a monster."
Hearing this gave Baozhu a headache. She asked in surprise, "Master Pei, you are so young, why are you so stubborn? If it weren't for me, you would all have been beaten to death by Ji Ren. I even destroyed the statue of the goddess with a demon. Tell me the truth, which mortal in Jiangbei Prefecture is as powerful or as capable as me?"
Upon hearing Baozhu's words, Pei Xuanji was greatly surprised. Forgetting her embarrassment, she looked up and said, "Did you actually do this?"
"Of course, besides the fox demon Baozhu, who else here can do that?" Baozhu patted her chest proudly.
Pei Xuanji's focus was quite strange. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I knew it. We're all just ordinary people. I think my talent is not bad. Even if Li Zhi is a genius, he can't possibly beat Ji Ren right after he's just started learning. That would be more like it."
Baozhu looked down at Pei Xuanji and said, "You need her to get you out of this monster."
Pei Xuanji blushed. Even though she was feeling extremely uncomfortable, she couldn't speak because she remembered what she had just said to Baozhu.
Baozhu snorted coldly, threw a few wild fruits into the cave, and turned to leave.
Pei Xuanji quickly caught it, wiped it slightly, and put it in her mouth. She hadn't eaten for a long time and was really starving.
Just as Master Pei was about to have a hearty appetite after barely managing to eat a few sour fruits, a strong aroma of roasted meat wafted from the cave entrance.
Before Pei Xuanji could react, her stomach began to rumble loudly, the sound carrying far and wide. The pearl above seemed to hear it, and the little tune it was humming became even louder.
“This pheasant is so fat, it’s practically dripping with oil from roasting it,” Baozhu exclaimed. “One wouldn’t even be enough to fill my teeth, but luckily I managed to hunt two.”
After saying that, she sprinkled some spices she had found in the forest on the pheasant.
The spices and oils mingled with the flames, releasing a unique aroma that was precisely blown into the cave by the pearl, fanning the leaves.
Another rumbling sound reached Baozhu's ears, making her extremely happy.
Finally, as Baozhu happily devoured the pheasant, Pei Xuanji weakly called out from inside the cave, "Miss Baozhu, are you still there?"
"I'll be here when you want me to, and I won't be here when you don't."
"Miss Baozhu, can you get me out of here?"
Pei Xuanji's voice grew softer and softer until the last word was almost completely silent.
Baozhu barely laughed out loud. She put the pheasant down, clapped her hands, and said, feigning reluctance, "Sigh, this is really troublesome. Fine, whatever."
Pei Xuanji looked at Baozhu, who jumped in through the cave entrance, with a bewildered expression, and said shyly, "Thank you."
Baozhu wrinkled her nose, indicating that she wanted to carry Pei Xuanji on her back.
Pei Xuanji quickly lay down on it.
With a light kick, the fox demon carried Master Pei up into the cave, then carried her to the roasted pheasant she had prepared.
Baozhu put Pei Xuanji down, reached out and handed her a pheasant, pouting as she said, "Two seem too many to finish, so you can have them."
At that moment, Pei Xuanji's stomach growled, and she quickly accepted the gift with a flushed face, whispering her thanks to Baozhu.
Baozhu waved her hand and said, "We demons are broad-minded and generally don't hold grudges against mortals."
The two ate the two pheasants in silence. Baozhu tidied up the fire she had started and then prepared to rest.
Pei Xuanji quickly said, "I'll take the night watch."
Baozhu hummed in agreement and lay down on the hay she had prepared. To be honest, her body had housed too many ghosts, which always affected her, and she was really too tired today.
She was so exhausted that she should have fallen asleep immediately after lying down.
But after a long time, Baozhu's eyes remained open.
She knew what was wrong with her; she was not used to it. In fact, since the first day of her rebirth, she had never been separated from Li Zhi for more than a few days. Especially in Jiangbei Prefecture, they slept together every night, and Baozhu had become dependent on Li Zhi's scent.
"Where did you think Li Zhi went after being swept away by the water? Is he alright?" Baozhu asked softly, her back to Pei Xuanji.
Pei Xuanji, who was lost in thought by the fire, was startled and comforted him, "I was in a daze the whole way and was carried here by the water, but I was not harmed. There is a force in the water protecting me, and I think it is the same for Master Li. He will be fine. Tomorrow, we will find a town and use paper cranes to find him."
Upon hearing this, Baozhu felt a little relieved.
“Miss Baozhu, you…” Pei Xuanji’s gaze lingered on Baozhu, “You seem to be different from the monsters I know.”
Baozhu stood up and looked at Pei Xuanji, saying with dissatisfaction, "I also find it strange. If they are mortals, it's one thing if they haven't encountered many monsters in their entire lives. Maybe they just happened to meet a bad monster. But you are a Celestial Master. Don't you know that there are many different kinds of monsters?"
Pei Xuanji refused to meet Baozhu's gaze. She lowered her eyes and whispered, "Because a family member of mine was harmed by a monster, and her life was ruined, that's why I hate monsters so much."
"Your family?" Baozhu asked curiously.
"My sister, something bad happened to her... I won't go into details."
“Alright, so that’s why Master Pei wanted to become a Celestial Master.” Baozhu drawled out her words, indicating that she understood.
“Yes, that’s why.” Pei Xuanji lowered her head, looking at the flames burning. “I’m the seventh child in my family, you can call me Pei Qi.”
"Pei Qi, your mother gave birth to seven?" Baozhu exclaimed in shock. "Even we foxes can't have that many children."
Pei Xuanji chuckled: "My mother's biological children are only my older sister, my two older brothers, and me."
“Oh…” Baozhu didn’t quite understand such a large ordinary family.
But when she thought back, even though Li Zhi became a high-ranking official in her previous life, and Baozhu did not have any children, he did not marry another wife.
Until Baozhu died, she was the only mistress of his mansion, and Li Zhi entrusted everything to her.
These things, which she used to think were only natural, she still think are natural now, but she has a deeper understanding of Li Zhi's feelings for her.
Sigh, but...
The image of Li Zhi from her previous life was becoming increasingly blurred in her mind.
Now, at eighteen, Li Zhi has made many choices different from before, and he is gradually becoming a different person.
Baozhu felt somewhat ashamed.
Li Zhi was able to be devoted to her for over twenty years, but she only had a few months of her life back, and it seems she's already changed her mind...
Baozhu was lost in thought when she gradually drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Baozhu and Pei Xuanji were awakened by the sound of a suona horn by the extinguished fire.
They touched their throbbing temples and looked toward the path beyond the woods.
This path winds its way through the woods and along the stream. A group of ordinary people are carrying a sedan chair, escorting a bride to her wedding.
The suona horns blared loudly, sounding joyous, but the bride's family members wore mournful faces and wept, shouting, "The Liu family has a daughter who is fortunate enough to marry the River God!"
Baozhu and Pei Xuanji exchanged bewildered glances, asking in confusion, "What kind of monster dares to call itself the River God?"
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