Chapter 35. A child's character is formed by age three.
The current Xuankou Village is quite different from what Jiang Huaisu remembered.
The original suburban villages and some surrounding fields were incorporated into the city, and new outer walls were built around them.
Due to the rerouting of trade routes, the original market was moved to the east of the city. Many buildings were renovated, and exquisitely carved stone bridges replaced the old wooden bridges. A tall tower rose from the ground in the center of the city, seemingly becoming a new landmark.
But those wealthy and powerful families remain rooted here, like immovable rocks in a flowing river.
Jiang Huaisu stood at the entrance of the Tang residence, gazing up at the powerfully written plaque above her head. Nezha, standing to the side, seemed lost in thought, his gaze fixed on the character "Tang" on the plaque.
Two men who looked like guards walked over, scrutinized the man and woman who had suddenly appeared at the door, and asked in an unfriendly tone, "You two? What are you doing here!"
Jiang Huaisu: "Find someone."
"Who should I look for?"
"Looking for your master, Tang Hu, and another one named Qu Ling'er."
Upon hearing this, the two guards exchanged glances, their eyes darting around, before turning away and whispering a few words. After a long pause, they seemed to coordinate their statements, echoing Jiang Huaisu's words: "Master Tang is too busy to see you. As for that Ling'er, we don't have anyone like her in our household!"
Nezha never expected the two to respectfully invite him and Jiang Huaisu in, so he didn't pay any attention to the guards' flawed behavior and was preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Jiang Huaisu knocked out the guard with a chop to the neck, and was about to chop another one when she suddenly heard Nezha shout, "I remember now!"
"Huh?" Jiang Huaisu was so startled by the noise that her hand trembled and she almost hit the person on the head.
“I remember who Tang Hu is now,” Nezha continued. “He’s an old acquaintance. Jiang Huaisu, you’ve met him too.”
"Really?" Jiang Huaisu dragged the two unconscious guards to a corner, while recalling Tang Hu's name in her mind.
"I have absolutely no recollection of it," she said honestly.
"Back then, he was just a little kid, wearing a tiger-head hat. He came with two henchmen to cause me trouble."
Jiang Huaisu frowned slightly, pursed her lips and pondered for a while before suddenly exclaiming, "Ah."
It snowed lightly that day, and it was close to New Year's Eve. She and Miaolian sat on the steps, observing the people coming and going, counting how many legs passed by... She remembered such trivial details very clearly.
Then, a child wearing a tiger-head hat came and provoked Miaolian... and she was forced to act as his henchman.
"It's him."
Jiang Huaisu couldn't help but sigh, what a tragic fate this was.
“You hadn’t transformed back then; you were still a magpie.” Nezha reminisced, vividly describing the scene. “Remember? You almost pecked out his eyes, scaring him so much he wet himself. You were so mean, Jiang Huaisu.”
"Not at all," Jiang Huaisu said modestly, "You're the one who's worse."
This Tang Hu once had a brief friendship with Miao Lian... no, it wasn't really a friendship, he and Miao Lian never got along well.
Decades have passed, and he's grown from a child into an old man, but Tang Hu's bullying habits remain unchanged. This shows that the saying "you can tell what a person will be like at three years old" is not without reason.
"It seems the lesson wasn't severe enough last time," Jiang Huaisu reflected. "The old man is so old, yet he still dares to abduct a woman."
Judging from the guards' evasive attitude, Ling'er was most likely kidnapped by someone from the Tang family. Poor girl, she's just escaped one danger only to fall into another.
Jiang Huaisu pushed open the door and walked straight in, calling out Tang Hu's full name as she went. Since they were going to break off all pretense of respect anyway, she didn't bother pretending to be polite anymore.
"Where did this country bumpkin come from, daring to be so insolent here!"
A group of guards approached, armed with long knives and clubs, intending to teach this arrogant girl a lesson. However, they didn't even touch Jiang Huaisu's clothes before Nezha slapped her to sleep.
Fighting is a skill for Nezha. Mortals are not as resilient as demons, so he needs to carefully control his strength to avoid breaking their bones.
After arrogantly searching the mansion, Jiang Huaisu quickly located Tang Hu's room. Outside the door, she could faintly hear Ling'er's loud and forceful cursing, as well as Tang Hu's half-hearted attempts at coaxing.
Nezha stepped forward and knocked on the door. Jiang Huaisu was taken aback, thinking that there was no need to be so polite. The next moment, she saw the door hinge break, and the broken wood fell to the ground with a crackling sound. The door panel disintegrated neatly.
The two people inside the room fell silent at the same time, turning their heads to look out the door.
Ling'er and Tang Hu were running around the round table in the room, one chasing the other. Ling'er was at a healthy age, and apart from a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, she was in good condition. Tang Hu, however, was already panting heavily, his hair disheveled.
Jiang Huaisu felt relieved when she saw the situation inside the room: fortunately, she and Nezha hadn't arrived too late.
"elder sister!"
When Ling'er saw Jiang Huaisu, she was overjoyed and ran out of the room. She turned around and made a face at Tang Hu, saying, "Old man, save your breath. No one would want someone like you."
Tang Hu looked at the wood fragments scattered on the ground by the door, his beard almost standing on end with anger, and shouted, "Who goes there and dares to ruin my plans!"
However, upon seeing Jiang Huaisu's face clearly, his imposing manner instantly deflated by more than half, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy eyes. "Eh, eh?" His voice lowered, and he stammered as he asked Ling'er, "This young lady is... is she your friend?"
Ling'er rolled her eyes and didn't answer.
Tang Hu smiled, thinking himself very gentlemanly, and took two steps toward Jiang Huaisu, his eyes filled with undisguised lust: "What's your name, young lady? How old are you? Are you from around here?"
"......"
"It was wrong of me to take Ling'er away so rashly. You broke in because you were worried about your friend's safety... Don't worry, I didn't do anything." Tang Hu put on the air of a gentleman and stroked his beard.
“Why don’t you stay at my Tang residence with Ling’er? For me, it’s just adding two more pairs of chopsticks, but for you, it’s having a place to stay and saving you a lifetime of hardship.”
Tang Hu was speaking enthusiastically when Nezha, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly sneered, as if mocking his wishful thinking.
Previously, Nezha's face was obscured by the broken door frame, so Tang Hu hadn't paid attention to this person. Now, looking in the direction of the sound, he saw that Nezha had an extremely handsome appearance and fair and delicate skin, and Tang Hu's eyes lit up again.
Jiang Huaisu got goosebumps all over: Is this old guy's love at first sight wholesale?
This handsome young man's attire seemed more masculine, and his physique was also different from that of a woman. He was too tall, with a noticeable protrusion on his Adam's apple and a flat chest... This was really not good.
Tang Hu inwardly sighed with regret, and his gaze toward Nezha immediately turned cold, all traces of his previous enthusiasm vanishing.
"I'll pass on this one. I've always had limited compassion for men, so please forgive me."
Tang Hu turned away, no longer looking at Nezha.
Nezha sighed, half-jokingly, "It's heartbreaking to see someone so cold to their old classmates and friends."
Tang Hu asked, puzzled, "Are you talking to me?"
"yes."
Tang Hu turned around again, pointing to himself with amusement, "Classmate? You little buddy, you lie without even thinking. How old am I, and how old are you? How can we be classmates?"
“Zhen Miaolian,” Nezha said, enunciating each word clearly. “You should remember this name.”
Jiang Huaisu was equally surprised to hear the three words, including the full name, from Nezha's mouth.
But she quickly realized that Nezha was definitely not up to any good when he brought up the old story. Judging from his persuasive manner and gentle, kind eyes, he was practically scheming.
“Zhen Miaolian…” Tang Hu’s pupils contracted and he took a half step back.
The name certainly left a deep impression on him.
Throughout his life, apart from the setbacks he'd experienced with women, Tang Hu's life had been remarkably smooth, so smooth that it was hard to find even a minor obstacle. But that woman surnamed Zhen was an insurmountable hurdle from his distant childhood.
Zhen Miaolian is good at memorizing books, good at her studies, and good-looking. She is good at everything and is a typical "other people's child".
Both were wealthy young masters, but Zhen Miaolian completely outshone him! These may seem like trivial matters now, but for Tang Hu at the time, they were enough to make him hate Zhen Miaolian to the core.
Fortunately, Zhen Miaolian later dropped out of school, and Tang Hu's fame returned.
Later, the patriarch and patriarch of the Zhen family passed away one after another, and a tombstone engraved with Zhen Miaolian's name was discovered in the back mountain. The Zhen family was already small in number, and this whole affair was tantamount to the extermination of the entire family by God, with everyone dying mysteriously.
The former site of the Zhen Mansion had become a haunted house, so eerie that no one dared to take it over. Thus, in Tang Hu's memory, the name that he hated so much was shrouded in an additional layer of terrifying gray.
A few years ago, government officials took the lead in building a temple to the Third Prince directly on the site of the former Zhenfu residence, saying that they wanted to use the prestige of the deity to suppress the evil spirits of the place.
This matter was thus completely concluded. Tang Hu thought that even if Zhen Miaolian's resentment remained and she became a vengeful ghost, it would be difficult for her to cause any more trouble after being suppressed by the gods.
Unexpectedly, he heard Zhen Miaolian's name again under such circumstances. Tang Hu was filled with doubts, his first thought being that the young man in front of him had found out about his past and was deliberately playing a trick on him.
"Strange," Nezha said, leaning closer. "Weren't you looking at me very carefully just now? Why didn't you recognize that I was Zhen Miaolian?"
Having not seen her for decades, Zhen Miaolian's face had become increasingly blurry in Tang Hu's memory. He only remembered that the boy was very handsome, but he couldn't recall exactly how handsome he was.
After all, he had no interest in men whatsoever. No matter how handsome a man was, if he didn't have his own face, he would only feel disgusted and find it annoying to even look at him.
Nezha took another step closer, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Tang Hu nervously swallowed. Perhaps it was just psychological suggestion, but the appearance of the boy before him seemed to be gradually overlapping with the person in his memory.
"You used to secretly put your pens and paper in my schoolbag and lie that I stole your things. After that, you even brought a bunch of people to ambush me on my way home from school." Nezha observed his increasingly frightened expression and said happily, "Because of that incident, my dad helped me drop out of school. Do you know why?"
Actually, that's all Nezha could recall about Tang Hu. Life at the private school was boring; ten days felt like one. There weren't many people or things that left a deep impression on him.
Tang Hu was already sweating profusely, and he believed Nezha's words to a large extent. Not daring to anger the ghost in front of him, he could only go along with him and say, "I...I don't know."
“Because he was afraid I would kill someone.” Nezha laughed. “He dropped out of school for me to protect you.”
"But that old man really doesn't understand me. There are countless ways to make someone unhappy, why choose the most boring one?"
Tang Hu's breathing gradually quickened, and he was now completely convinced that the person in front of him was indeed Miao Lian.
No doubt about it, it's just right.
Miao Lian used to look like this, wearing a beautiful human skin, but doing all sorts of inhuman things!
That man surnamed Zhen wouldn't suffer even the slightest loss. Tang Hu slumped to the ground, unable to understand why this person tormented him while alive and wouldn't let him go even in death. So many years had passed, did he still hold a grudge? Why wouldn't he be reincarnated?
It dares to come out and about in broad daylight; what a ferocious and malevolent ghost it is!
Tang Hu said in despair, "Brother Zhen... if you have any unfulfilled wishes, just tell me, and I will do my best to fulfill them for you!"
"real?"
"May I be struck by lightning if I utter a single lie!"
"If I told you that you could never touch a woman again, would you grant me that wish?" Nezha stared at him with his dark pupils.
Tang Hu was even more desperate. He had already prepared himself for difficulties, but he never expected Zhen Miaolian's demands to be so outrageous!
Whether he touches a woman or not, what does it have to do with Zhen? He doesn't believe this is Zhen Miaolian's obsession; it's obvious that this evil spirit just wants to make him uncomfortable.
"Even the Temple of the Third Prince can't subdue you...?"
Tang Hu suddenly realized that he had blurted out his true feelings. He was so frightened that he slapped himself and quickly tried to make amends, saying, "I was just curious, I didn't mean anything by it... It would be best if the Temple of Immortals couldn't do anything to you."
Ling'er realized that Nezha was teasing Tang Hu. Although she didn't know who "Zhen Miaolian" was or what connection Tang Hu had with the Third Prince, she couldn't help but feel schadenfreude seeing Tang Hu so frightened.
She whispered to Jiang Huaisu, "That old man is really stupid."
Using a temple dedicated to the Third Prince to suppress the Third Prince is unprecedented in history.
Jiang Huaisu pulled Ling'er a little further away, making sure Tang Hu couldn't hear their conversation, before saying, "No matter what, he should be taught a lesson."
Meanwhile, Nezha was still diligently pretending to be a ghost, using illusion magic to make his face appear more like the traditional ghosts in the storybooks in Tang Hu's eyes: a blue face with fangs and a long tongue hanging down to his chest.
Tang Hu was so frightened that he wet his pants, thinking that he had angered this man surnamed Zhen, who had even abandoned his human skin and transformed into a demon to take his dog's life.
"Brother Zhen, Brother Zhen, I was wrong!" Tang Hu cried as he tried to make amends. "I'll grant you any wish! I swear... I'll never touch a woman again in my next life. If I break this vow, may I die covered in festering sores!"
Jiang Huaisu secretly admired this move; it was brilliantly used to attack the mind. Physical injuries could heal, but psychological trauma was not so easily overcome. Who knows, Nezha might become a frequent visitor to Tang Hu's nightmares in the future.
“No need for oaths,” Nezha said seriously. “My soul has been lingering here for a long time, and I know everything you do. If you go back on your word, I will drag you to the underworld, pull out your tongue, peel off your skin, and scald you in boiling oil ten or eight times. By then, even the hardest bones will be softened, and you will naturally know what the word ‘obedience’ means.”
Tang Hu believed it. Tang Hu's wailing grew louder and louder.
He repeatedly assured that he would keep his word and fulfill his brother Zhen's last wish.
Nezha promptly dispelled the illusion. "Alright."
Tang Hu collapsed to the ground, looking as if he were about to kowtow to Nezha. His old bones couldn't take any more; that monstrous face had nearly killed him on the spot, so he dared not try anything funny again.
If it were anyone else, Tang Hu would have to think twice, but since it happened to Zhen Miaolian, he truly believed that this person... this ghost had the ability to throw him into a vat of boiling oil!
Seeing Jiang Huaisu and Ling'er walking towards them, Tang Hu immediately turned his head away, avoiding their gaze. Previously, he had coveted their beauty, but now he avoided them like the plague, wanting to stay as far away as possible.
He wanted to show Zhen Miaolian that he was a man of his word, after all, he had sworn never to touch a woman again for the rest of his life, so how could he play around with girls like before?
Jiang Huaisu, holding Ling'er's arm, whispered, "You can ask him for some compensation for emotional distress. The Tang family is so rich; since you've come all this way, wouldn't it be a loss not to take something back with you?"
Ling'er took her suggestion and took a gold-inlaid jade hairpin with her when she left. Tang Hu had no objection to this; these things used to please girls would probably be hard to give away again in the future, so he might as well do her a favor.
The old man's face was ashen and filled with despair, as if the sky had fallen. He was filled with deep regret, wondering why he had been so reckless in his youth, daring to provoke that woman surnamed Zhen. Now, having made such a terrible vow, what hope did he have for the rest of his life?
Perhaps the only hope is that the Third Prince of the temple will display his divine power and descend to earth to subdue this evil spirit... Thinking of this, Tang Hu began to wonder if the temple's incense offerings were not strong enough, preventing the Third Prince from using his divine power here.
A thought suddenly struck him. Why not have someone completely renovate the Third Prince Temple, inside and out, and pile up plenty of incense and offerings to show their piety? That way, perhaps the Third Prince would respond to their call and manifest his power!
Thinking further, as long as we can destroy that evil spirit Zhen Miaolian, his poisonous oath will naturally be null and void. At that time, who will care if he forcibly brings a hundred or eighty concubines into the mansion?
Imagining that beautiful scene makes life seem to have hope again.
Tang Hu's expression shifted from gloomy to partly cloudy, but as he looked up and saw Jiang Huaisu and Ling'er's departing figures, his resentment remained. He vowed to reunite with them once Zhen's soul was scattered!
He won't be so merciful then... He'll make them suffer.
Without further delay, Tang Hu immediately returned to his room and began planning the renovation of the Third Prince Temple.
As soon as she left the mansion, Ling'er found a place to pawn the hairpin for money and treated Jiang Huaisu and Nezha to an expensive meal at the best restaurant in the city as a way of expressing her gratitude.
When they were in the fishing village, she had planned to cook for herself, as that would better express her gratitude. However, after such a long delay, mealtimes had long passed. Buying ingredients to cook would mean waiting forever. How could she let her benefactor continue to go hungry?
"Sister, what are your plans for the future?" After the meal, Ling'er asked about Jiang Huaisu's schedule.
"As for me, I need to go back to Flower Fruit Mountain."
Will you stay there for a long time?
"No, I'll just say hello to the monkeys and then leave. After that, I have to go back to Heaven. Although I'm a demon, I have a friend who's an official in Heaven, and I'm currently living with him."
"Are you referring to the Third Prince as a friend who holds an official position in Heaven?"
Nezha: "It wasn't me. She and that friend eat and live together, they're so close they could share a pair of pants. I'm far away in Yunlou Palace, I don't see Jiang Huaisu much."
Ling'er listened, seemingly understanding but not quite: "Oh, oh." These things were too far removed from her life, and though she wanted to ask about the details, she felt it was unnecessary.
Compared to the initial excitement of meeting the immortals, she now feels more reluctant to part with her friends. At the same time, she also needs to take the time to plan what she needs to do next.
First, return to the village before sunset and ask the boatman if there are any fishing boats available. Even if they're a bit damaged, it's okay; they can be repaired. You also need to buy the necessary fishing gear... All the previous gear was lost when the monster captured you.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel fortunate that she had listened to her sister and taken a hairpin from the Tang residence. The money left over after pawning it should be enough for her to buy everything she needed.
Nezha then suggested going to the back mountain of Zhenfu to take a look. Jiang Huaisu guessed that he might also be thinking, "Since I'm already here," and want to inspect his cenotaph. Hmph, he's two-faced. He says he doesn't care, but he's not entirely without feelings for his past self, is he?
As the person responsible for erecting the tomb, Jiang Huaisu felt it was necessary to accompany him on the trip.
She had a feeling of waiting for her superiors to inspect her work. She felt inexplicably nervous, hoping that the weeds wouldn't grow too tall and at least reveal the inscription.
The two then parted ways with Ling'er, saying they would meet again another day if fate allowed. Although everyone knew perfectly well that "another day" was nowhere in sight.
It seemed like a light rain had just fallen on the mountain; the soil was still a bit damp.
Jiang Huaisu walked uphill along the mountain path, with Nezha following behind her. Every time they passed a small mound, Nezha would ask if it was him.
"Have some confidence in the Zhen family's financial resources, okay? Having inherited your estate, how could I possibly make your cenotaph look too shabby?"
That's what they said, but Jiang Huaisu herself wasn't sure. So many years had passed, the grave couldn't possibly have remained the same. If it got overgrown with weeds, that would be one thing, but if wild dogs dug it up, that would be the end of it all.
Jiang Huaisu secretly regretted that she should have hired a tomb keeper at a high price to take good care of the tomb, so that she wouldn't be so terrified today.
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