How to please others (Part 1)
Yan Dan was awakened by the clear chirping of orioles outside the window, and she sat up abruptly. Last night she seemed to have had a very strange dream. In the dream, she was with Yan Bidan, but she never dared to take it.
It only took a moment for Yan Dan to fully regain consciousness; she was utterly terrified. Last night, Master Yu Mo had asked her to watch the time and remind him, but she had actually fallen asleep. She stirred, only to find a soft blanket slipping off her body. Turning to look at her surroundings, she broke out in a cold sweat.
Not only did she fall asleep, but when she woke up, she found herself in the mountain lord's bed. This was far too terrifying.
Yan Dan pulled back the covers and saw that the bed inside was perfectly flat, indicating that no one had ever lain down there.
...Where is the master of Yu Moshan?
Yan Dan finished making the bed and noticed the brocade box containing the Yanbi Pill casually placed on the table. Although she really wanted to take it, she didn't. Taking it now would be tantamount to telling the mountain lord that she had taken it.
Yan Dan was in a daze all day.
Bailing opened the lid of the incense burner and peeked inside. She laughed and said, "It's all my fault for forgetting to mention that this incense is for helping you sleep. If you burn too much, it's no different from sleeping potion. Just a piece the size of a fingernail is enough. Look how much has been burned now. It's good that you opened the window to let in some fresh air, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to wake up for ten days or half a month."
Yan Dan knew that the window was originally closed, so it wasn't opened by her.
She breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder she couldn't help but fall asleep last night; it was all because of this agarwood.
"Where did Master Yu Mo go?"
"You don't know yet? The mountain lord has been injured recently and hasn't recovered yet. He often goes to the mountains and will definitely come back tonight."
Yan Dan was gloomy. He left so openly and gracefully, while she had to sit here facing Yan Bidan—it was torture. It seemed that Lord Yu Mo didn't value Yan Bidan much. She had to find a way to please him, and then the Lord might be in a good mood and give her something. At that time, she could rightfully get the thing.
But how can one subtly and discreetly please the mountain lord?
The clan leader's flattery was far too obvious, and the outcome was unlikely to be good. She would have to be more subtle and discreet.
Yan Dan's master is a very powerful immortal in the Nine Heavens Court, and he likes to hear nice things.
After spending some time with mortals, Hua Hanjing, who was usually unfriendly to everyone, would soften her expression slightly when she heard kind words.
What about demons?
As Yan Dan walked through the corridor, she bumped into the Purple Lin Mountain Lord, who had a dark face and looked very serious. She immediately smiled charmingly and said, "Purple Lin Mountain Lord, you look radiant and exceptionally handsome today."
Zi Lin, who had been wearing a gloomy expression, smiled at her.
Yan Dan pressed on, seizing the opportunity to add, "Master of Purple Lin Mountain, your smile is truly beautiful."
Zi Lin, his face glowing red, brushed past her, as if a red sun were rising behind him, radiating boundless light.
Yan Dan thought to herself, "Kind words really do work on demons."
She turned a corner and walked into the back garden, where she saw Yu Mo reclining casually on a chaise longue under the old locust tree. His clothes were not very neat and were somewhat loose. One hand was resting on his knee, and the other hand was holding a book and reading. Hearing footsteps, he only looked up once before lowering his head again.
Yan Dan walked over, hesitant. How could she strike up a conversation with him? If she spoke to the mountain lord standing in front of him, wouldn't that be looking down on him, which would be extremely impolite? But if she squatted beside the chaise longue, that posture would be too unsightly. Yan Dan thought it over and over, and decided that since she still held the nominal title of the mountain lord's concubine, it was only right that she acted somewhat intimately.
She chose her spot, turned around, and sat down gently. Her plan was to sit right next to Yu Mo, so that whether he wanted to put his arm around her waist or she leaned against him like a little bird, it would be a simple matter. But the moment she sat down, Yu Mo suddenly changed his posture, sitting extremely upright, instantly creating a distance between them large enough to fit another person inside.
Yan Dan was stunned for a moment. This was not a good start, but she was going all out now and was determined to do her best, ignoring this small setback. She moved closer to Yu Mo without making a sound, and when he didn't react, she moved even closer.
Yu Mo put down his book and looked at her calmly.
Yan Dan took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, grabbed Yu Mo's hand, and said dryly, "Mountain Lord, what book are you reading?"
Yu Mo didn't say anything, but unfolded the cover for her to see.
The light blue cover bears four characters written in clerical script: "Fuxi's Mathematical Art".
Yan Dan had originally intended to use the book he was reading as a starting point to showcase her own erudition and then begin a conversation. However, she was immediately discouraged when she saw the words on the cover. Fuxi Mathematics was a very profound subject, and she had never been able to read even a single page before when she tried to sit down and study it: "Mountain Lord, you are truly learned and talented."
Yu Mo let her hold his hand, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Is that so?"
Yan Dan quickly replied, "Yes, yes, not only are you very knowledgeable, but you're also very handsome." After those two sentences, the previous feeling of unease vanished, and she spoke fluently, "It's a pity I haven't seen you smile much, Mountain Lord..."
Yu Mo raised an eyebrow slightly: "You want to see me laugh?"
Seeing that the conversation had returned to the main topic, Yan Dan smiled slightly at him: "Your smile means you are in a good mood, and naturally I will be happy because the Mountain Lord is happy."
Yu Mo looked at her for a while, then smiled and said, "You're quite the talker."
Yan Dan immediately replied, "Not at all, not at all, these are all heartfelt words."
"So what do you think of me?"
"Lord Mountain Lord, you are handsome and intelligent, with profound cultivation, a calm and gentle nature, and are very approachable and friendly..." Yan Dan no longer cared whether Yu Mo had these advantages or not, and added everything she could think of, sincerely praising him as a unique, wise and powerful demon in heaven and earth.
Finally, Yu Mo withdrew his hand: "Yan Dan, if you've finished saying all these nice things, could you please make me a cup of tea? The kitchen is just ahead, to the left."
"..."
Yan Dan realized that it was impossible to please the other party with just a few nice words.
She did something stupid.
Yan Dan decided to consult Bai Ling.
"Bailing, what do you think the Mountain Lord likes the most?"
"Hmm... I don't think there's anything I particularly like."
"Do you remember if the mountain lord ever saw anything that made him very happy?"
Bai Ling frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Once I went to see a play and watched it for several days in a row. I guess I liked it?"
Yan Dan was very discouraged: Yu Mo liked to listen to operas, and she couldn't very well use her magic to send an opera troupe over to perform for him. If she had to put on her own costume and perform, then she should forget it, lest she sing too badly and anger him.
"Ah, I remember now, the fish in this pond in the back garden were raised by the mountain owner. He feeds them every day at dusk, but it's probably just a habit."
Whether it's a hobby or a habit, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Yan Dan held a jar of fish food with satisfaction, waiting by the lotus pond for Yu Mo to pass by. It was a little before dusk when she started scattering fish food into the pond, and the little fish wagged their tails and came to snatch it.
When Yu Mo walked over, Yan Dan had already emptied half of the fish food from the can, and the fish that had been most eagerly scrambling for it in the pond was slowly rolling over belly up. Yu Mo reached out, and the overfed fish splashed out of the pond and landed in his hand. Holding the fish, he glanced at Yan Dan with his deep, dark eyes, and with a slight tightening of his grip, the fish immediately vomited up every last bit of food it had just eaten.
Yan Dan was very self-aware and tiptoed backward slowly.
Yu Mo walked to the edge of the lotus pond, threw the fish that had finished vomiting back into the water, and the fish immediately swam away lively. He put his hands behind his back and called out softly, "Yan Dan."
Yan Dan was about to turn and flee when she was stopped in her tracks by the voice. She awkwardly asked, "Mountain Lord, did you call me?"
Yu Mo said in a very calm tone, "From now on, you don't need to remember to feed the fish here."
Yan Dan had done two stupid things in a row and couldn't lift her head. She replied softly, "Yes, I understand."
After falling twice in a row, even Yan Dan, with her thick skin, couldn't take it anymore.
She thought somewhat dejectedly that it might be better to give up than continue like this. Even if she were to become a flower spirit covered in corpse spots, it would probably take a long time, and perhaps there would be a turning point during that time. In truth, she was still just coveting that Jadeite Pill.
On the third day, she passed by the kitchen and saw Bailing fanning the stove, and a strong smell of medicine wafted into her nostrils.
Yan Dan stopped and asked curiously, "Bailing, what are you burning?"
Bai Ling pinched her nose and stood up: "It's Yu Moshan's medicine. Although they are all very nourishing herbs, the smell is really awful."
Yan Dan recalled the situation she had encountered with Yu Mo in the past few days and was even more puzzled: "But the Mountain Lord looks perfectly healthy, could it be that his injuries haven't healed yet?"
Bai Ling sighed: "I can't just tell you about this."
Yan Dan's eyes flickered, and she suddenly remembered that Yuan Dan had said that the Hundred Spirits' long tongues could not keep secrets, so she immediately said decisively, "Since it's a secret, then don't tell me."
Bai Ling looked at her strangely: "Aren't you curious?"
She feigned indifference: "Is this the mountain lord's private matter? It doesn't really matter whether I know or not. Bailing, you don't need to tell me."
Bai Ling lowered her head, fanning herself, and after a moment glanced at her suspiciously. Yan Dan found it amusing, reached out and touched her cheek, feigning concern, and said, "Is there something dirty on my face?" Bai Ling shook her head, then lowered her head again. After a moment, she couldn't help but lower her voice and said, "Just pretend you didn't hear me and don't tell anyone else, actually..."
Yan Dan squatted down beside her and earnestly interrupted her: "You don't have to put yourself in such a difficult position. You really don't need to tell me."
“Just listen to what I have to say. The Mountain Lord was seriously injured this time when he went out. He can't even maintain his human form anymore and often has to revert to his original form. Don't be fooled by his seemingly fine appearance; he gets very tired even after walking just a few steps.” Bai Ling began to ramble on, “I heard he was injured because of the Extraordinary Eye… Do you know about the Extraordinary Eye? It's said to be a treasure that gathers the essence of heaven and earth. The Mountain Lord had it for a long time, but suddenly a flower spirit took it. Once that flower spirit got the Extraordinary Eye, its cultivation level increased significantly, but it was still no match for the Mountain Lord. But the Mountain Lord's luck was really bad; he was injured instead…”
"He can't even maintain his human form, is it that serious?" Yan Dan rested her chin on her hand. "Then what is Lord Yu Mo's true form?"
Bailing gave her a deep look: "How could I possibly know? We demons can't reveal our true forms to others. You don't even know that? Besides, the mountain lord's cultivation is so profound. If he didn't want me to see it, how could I possibly tell his true form?"
Yan Dan was only a half-baked flower spirit, a fact the clan leader had never told her, so naturally she didn't know. She had indeed wanted to see Yu Mo's true form before, but each time she couldn't see anything; it turned out his cultivation was higher than hers. However, when she looked at Zi Lin, she could see a blurry, round, earthy-yellow object. What was that?
But let's put that aside for now. Master Yu Mo is injured and really needs to recuperate. No matter how good the medicinal herbs are simmering in this pot, they're still medicine, and they're bound to taste terrible.
She could actually learn to make soup for the mountain lord. This would not only show her good intentions but also let the mountain lord know in a respectable way, which would be much more useful than the two foolish things she did before.
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