Flower Essence Family
In the shadows of the trees, two dark figures huddled together, watching the opera troupe gradually walk away.
"Hey, you're not living with those mortals anymore, don't you need to say goodbye?"
"Once you've said hello, you can't leave..."
"Oh, what if they still won't give up? Should I conjure up a corpse, slash its face, and throw it to them to pick up?"
"Enough with the nonsense, take me to see your grandfather now."
"You're so fierce. Be careful you won't be able to get married in the future."
"..." Yan Dan clenched her fist and forced out a sentence, "No need for you to trouble yourself."
All good things must come to an end. Although she was very happy in the opera troupe, she was still different from ordinary people. Ordinary people are born, grow old, get sick, and die, but she would not grow old. She could never consider herself an ordinary person. Rather than waiting until later when they were surprised to see her ageless appearance and regarded her as an oddity, or watching the ordinary people she knew leave this world, it was better to leave quietly now.
She recalled how she had fallen at the entrance of the opera troupe, and now that they were parting ways here, it was actually for the best.
"I can't walk anymore, I'm so tired, can you carry me?"
"...I won't memorize it."
Yan Dan couldn't help but think that she had made up her mind to become a demon, but looking at the appearance of this flower spirit in front of her, should she reconsider?
"Then hug me..."
"Go by yourself."
"You're so fierce! You'll never be able to get married if you're this fierce."
Yan Dan suddenly turned around, grabbed her and shook her a few times: "Why are you so long-winded—wait, you, you, you are a man?" She was stunned for a moment, then reached out and touched the other person's chest again. It was very flat. She then pulled open the collar of the other person's outer garment and looked at his throat. She quickly let go and looked at the other person with disdain: "You call yourself a man? So you have a fetish for Yi Hongzhuang!"
The flower spirit, who looked like a young boy, said righteously, "What? I look good in this outfit, can't I wear it?"
Yan Dan took two quick steps forward, only to see him immediately press close to her. She quickly stepped back, saying, "Don't come any closer." What she feared most was that kind of man who acted more flamboyant and delicate than a woman; every time she saw him, she would get goosebumps.
"Why? I smell so good, and you still complain? I'm going to lean on you anyway, so what?"
"Don't come any closer!"
"You're so fierce, you'll never be able to get married..."
Snap—
Yan Dan's rationality snapped: "This is the third time! When will you ever stop? You keep repeating the same thing over and over. Do you believe I'll expose you right now?"
However, the facts are irrefutable; both past and future events prove this statement to be true. Yan Dan has wasted so many years, still unable to marry.
Yan Dan entered the demon register, a process as simple as her escape from the immortal register. The patriarch of their flower spirit clan was old, with thinning hair and a large bald patch on his head. Most of the flower spirits were very beautiful, but they were extremely noisy, having spent hundreds of years in the same place before taking human form, which had driven them crazy.
Their flower spirit clan was considered to be thriving and multiplying among demons. Yan Dan thought that their clan could have become kings of the mountains simply because of the number of their members, yet they submitted to the Lord of Yelan Mountain.
The Lord of Qianlan Mountain, all demons surrender.
Yan Dan thought that this statement sounded incredibly powerful. But no matter how powerful it was, why should they, as dignified flower spirits, have to depend on others? Although she didn't have the ambition to control the six realms like Zhao Huanqin, it would be too shameful to submit to others.
"Tell me, from the outside, which is more sturdy, the pine tree or the bamboo?" the clan chief asked, taking a sip of tea.
"It should be pine."
“It is indeed a pine tree, but look, every time there is a heavy snowfall and the tree is covered with snow, the bamboo bends under the weight, while the pine tree stands straight. However, in the end, the bamboo does not break, but the pine tree breaks its branches. Why do you think that is?”
Yan Dan paused for a moment: "Because pine trees refuse to bend like bamboo."
The clan chief raised his hand and tapped the table: "There is a saying in the mortal world: 'A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind.' This is the same principle. Now that Lord Yelan Mountain has the ability to stand out among all demons, we must submit. Demons must also know how to read the situation. If you know that stubbornness will not end well, why insist on doing it? It's just a matter of bending over."
Yan Dan immediately felt a deep sense of respect.
Yan Dan believed that both demons and mortals could be divided into three categories: human beings, talented people, and scum.
The clan leader is a talented person, Zhao Huanqin is a scoundrel, so the Yelan Mountain Lord, whom I've never met, must be someone important.
As autumn approached, Yan Dan began to feel quite worried.
She originally thought that the lividity on her arm would fade away on its own soon, but now, not only has it not faded at all, but another patch has grown. If this continues, she will definitely become the first flower spirit in the world to be covered with lividity.
In recent days, the clan chief has begun selecting some beautiful clanswomen, intending to send them to the Yelan Mountain territory to serve as concubines for the two mountain lords. This matter occurs every fifty years without fail.
That day, Yan Dan was visiting the clan chief's house when she saw him rummage through his chest for a while before pulling out a small brocade box. He opened it and showed it to Yan Dan: "You've come at the right time. I've been thinking about what to send over, but luckily I suddenly remembered this treasure I've been saving. What do you think?"
The moment the brocade box was opened, Yan Dan immediately smelled a fragrance that resembled both orchids and musk, and felt instantly refreshed: "This looks like a pill."
The clan chief nodded and closed the brocade box: "It is indeed a pill called Yanbi Pill. My ancestors used a thousand kinds of medicinal herbs to refine it. It can be used to dispel yin energy and nourish the body."
Expelling Yin energy? Yan Dan felt her blood boiling, and forcibly suppressed her excitement as she asked, "Clan leader, are you not going to give this pill to Lord Yelan Mountain?"
"Yes, gold, silver, jewels, wine vessels, and beautiful women—even if all these things were combined, they probably wouldn't be as precious as this one pill. I've already had someone add the Yanbi Pill to the gift list and send it over."
Yan Dan pondered: Now that the gift list had been sent out, and she was also a member of the Flower Spirit Clan, it would be rather unreasonable to pocket the pills now. However, if she waited until the clan leader had given the gifts away before stealing the Yanbi Pill, it shouldn't implicate her clansmen, right?
She suddenly stood up, leaned forward slightly, and asked nervously, "Clan leader, do those two Yelan Mountain Lords have a strange habit of dressing as women? Or are they the kind who are frail and delicate, even more fragile than women?"
The clan chief wiped his sweat: "These kinds of things aren't just said casually... Nonsense, utter nonsense."
Yan Dan leaned forward a little more: "I want to be the mountain lord's concubine. Could you give me away at the same time?"
The clan chief stroked his beard, somewhat hesitant to speak: "Yan Dan, actually, judging from the way the two mountain lords chose people in the past few times, the mountain lords' preferences are really not like yours."
Yan Dan thought it over and over, but still wouldn't give up: "But, but how will we know if we don't try? Maybe the mountain lord's taste has changed and he wants to try something else. Even eating the same dish all the time can get boring... Clan leader, just let me go. Even if it really doesn't work out, I can come back..."
The clan chief, worn down by her persistence, finally nodded and said, "You should also make sure to take good care of things, so that you don't embarrass our Flower Fairy Clan when you step out."
So Yan Dan and her people traveled to the Yelan Mountain region.
On the day of her departure, Zifang—the clan leader's grandson who had a crush on Yi Hongzhuang—happily twirled in front of Yan Dan wearing a purple embroidered silk dress, and said with a smile, "Do you think my dress looks good?"
Yan Dan felt she had made her disgust for his quirk quite clear, but the oblivious flower spirit seemed completely oblivious, and could only manage a weak reply: "It's alright..."
Zi Teng stood in front of her and said earnestly, "I think you'll be back soon, so I won't say goodbye properly. When you get to Yelan Mountain, don't be so fierce, or you'll be in deep trouble if you offend the mountain lord."
Yan Dan revealed a smile that looked like she had a toothache: "Thank you for your kind words..." She swiftly stripped the purple embroidered silk robe off Zi Teng's body with clean and neat movements, and said with a slight smile: "Women's clothes are not so easy to put on. If you want to wear them, you should at least know when you can take them off easily and when you can't take them off no matter what, understand?" She learned this skill in the opera troupe. At first, without any magic, she couldn't even put on her own clothes properly. Later, she practiced and became skilled enough to change the costumes of the actors in the blink of an eye as soon as they came off the stage.
Wisteria tugged at her inner garment, her mouth agape wide enough to fit an egg, and muttered to herself, "So you have this kind of hobby."
Yan Dan rubbed her temples: "No matter how many hobbies I have, none are as strange as yours. Okay, I really have to go now."
Wisteria, holding her outer garment, waved to her: "Sister Yan Dan, I wish you success, no, I wish you mishap."
Yan Dan didn't really want to argue with him this time.
So, is she really going to become a mountain lord's concubine for Yan Bi Dan's sake? Up until now, she doesn't even know what kind of demons those two Yelan Mountain Lords are, what their personalities are like, or what they look like. Their cultivation levels must be quite high; she wonders if they'll be like the clan leader, appearing very old and experienced, with a shiny bald head?
She looked at her fellow clansmen, each one a carefully selected beauty; blending in, she wouldn't attract any attention at all. But to obtain the Yanbi Pill, she first needed to get close to the Mountain Lord. What if the Mountain Lord didn't think much of her? Wouldn't she have made this trip for nothing?
Yan Dan was very troubled. She had been scheming all the way, finally managing to steal the Yanbi Pill. After succeeding, how to clean up the mess was also a major problem. However, she felt that after stealing this precious pill, she absolutely could not run away immediately; such an action would be tantamount to protesting too much.
But no matter how meticulously she planned the whole process, the most important problem she still couldn't solve: how could she win the mountain lord's favor in a subtle and understated way?
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