Chapter Eighteen: Descending the Mountain
Yang Shoucheng’s body lay at home for three days before being hastily buried, but the commotion his death stirred in Yanhe Town had yet to subside. Stories about him still circulated through every street and alley.
“Have you heard? The manager of Jade Harmony Tavern, Yang, has died!”
“Are you really from Yanhe Town, or did you just crawl out from between some mountain crevice? He’s been dead for eight days now—grass is already growing on his grave!”
“Uh, I just moved here last year, so my news isn’t very up-to-date! But I heard he died because a vengeful spirit took away his soul—is that true?”
“Nonsense, that’s just idle gossip!”
“But that’s what Butcher Cao from the town told me!”
“That idiot Cao San knows nothing, just parrots what he hears! Zhang Eleven from Jade Harmony Tavern lives right next door to me, and his wife—she told me herself yesterday—said that Manager Yang was drained of his vitality by a female demon, so much so that when he died, he was nothing but skin and bones!”
“Is it really that terrifying? Come on, tell us the whole story!”
“What’s there to tell about such a thing? Fine, since you’re all so eager, listen closely. It all began half a month ago, when a young woman came to Jade Harmony Tavern to buy wine—”
“Was that demon really so alluring?”
“If she weren’t, how could Manager Yang have been drained by her? There’s a saying, ‘To die beneath the peony, even as a ghost one is charming’—you know what that means?”
“I still think it’s a pity for Manager Yang. He was wealthy enough to marry any woman in Yanhe Town, yet he died under a demon’s spell! I heard he has a nine-year-old son, orphaned so young—how tragic!”
“Exactly! What’s worse, he has a scoundrel of a brother. Now that he’s dead, who knows where all that wealth will end up. That boy’s future will be bitter!”
“Hmph, lust is a blade over one’s head—it brings ruin to oneself and others. Whoever can’t control themselves is doomed!”
“Hey, you rascal, watch your mouth!”
Meanwhile, the sunlight shone brightly at the Heavenly Pool Waterfall of Mount Taibai. Zhou Hongxian sat by the pool, fiddling with a square, multicolored object. Tu Shan Ke, intrigued, asked, “Hong Gu, you’ve been playing with that new creation all day. What exactly is it?”
Zhou Hongxian paused and replied, “It’s called a magic cube—a puzzle game!”
Tu Shan Ke laughed, “Another puzzle game? So how does it work, and can you teach me?”
---
Zhou Hongxian seemed somewhat reluctant. “You want to learn this too?”
Seeing Tu Shan Ke nod seriously, she answered coolly, “Fine. The principle is simple: you twist it like I do, but don’t take it apart. The goal is to make each of its six faces a single color.”
With that, she tossed the cube to Tu Shan Ke.
He examined it, turning it over and over. “Hmm, it does seem simple.”
Zhou Hongxian suddenly felt a twinge of defiance. “Don’t let its simplicity fool you—it’s actually quite challenging to solve. Each time I finish, it takes me ten or so minutes!”
Having spent so much time with Zhou Hongxian, Tu Shan Ke understood the concept of “minutes.” He smiled, “Well then, let me give it a try and see who can finish faster!”
He started twisting the cube, and after about three minutes, presented it completed before Zhou Hongxian’s eyes.
She stared in disbelief, but Tu Shan Ke, unsatisfied, said, “That was clumsy for a first attempt—I think I can be quicker.”
He scrambled it again and this time solved it in less than half a minute, tossing it back to Zhou Hongxian with a laugh. “It really is simple. To think you’d play with it for half a day—your perseverance is impressive!”
Zhou Hongxian wanted nothing more than to throw the magic cube at Tu Shan Ke’s teasing smile. She cursed inwardly, “Damn, is there any game left I can enjoy?”
At this time, Tu Shan Ke paid no mind to Zhou Hongxian’s darkening expression. “Hong Gu, don’t waste your time on that. Come massage me, and keep me company with some conversation.”
What does it mean to deprive someone of their joy in life? This was it! Yet Zhou Hongxian could only pout, “Alright, I’m coming.”
As soon as she sat on the stone, Tu Shan Ke arranged himself in his most comfortable reclining pose and rested his head on her lap. Despite her annoyance, Zhou Hongxian worked with focus, beginning the massage from his temples, as was her habit.
But this time, she’d barely started before Tu Shan Ke grabbed her hand.
Zhou Hongxian was surprised. “Did I use too much force again?”
“No, Hong Gu, your hands are gentle and your massage is perfect. In fact, you’re better than anyone else!” Tu Shan Ke’s words were strangely soft and gentle.
Zhou Hongxian was at a loss for how to respond. After some thought, she recalled what a masseuse had said to her after a foot bath in her previous life, so she smiled, “Thank you for the compliment. Your satisfaction is my greatest reward!”
Tu Shan Ke laughed, shifted from his side to a supine position, and gazed at her. “Hong Gu, your smile is sweet and your words gentle. If only you could always be like this!”
“What does he mean by that? Is this another compliment? He’s speaking so oddly today—it feels unsettling!” Zhou Hongxian’s mind was full of questions.
“Hong Gu, why have you gone silent?” Tu Shan Ke continued to look at her.
“Uh, I just don’t know what to say. Well—thank you again!” Zhou Hongxian scratched her head and smiled.
---
A hint of dissatisfaction glimmered in Tu Shan Ke’s eyes. “Why do you always speak so politely?”
“I’ve always been polite, especially to you, the great master. What’s gotten into him today?” Zhou Hongxian thought privately, but dared not let it show. She smiled, “Is it? Courtesy is a virtue, after all!”
Suddenly, Tu Shan Ke placed his hand on her neck, pulling her face closer to his. His eyes sparkled brighter than usual as he said, “Hong Gu, from now on, don’t be so distant with me, alright?”
Zhou Hongxian felt their faces were far too close—this kind of gaze made her uncomfortable. But Tu Shan Ke had long instilled respect in her; she was sure she’d done something to annoy him, and that this was his way of rebuking her. So, though she wanted to pull back, she didn’t dare react too strongly. She answered, “Then—what does it mean to not be distant?”
Tu Shan Ke smiled again, his voice gentle. “I’ll be staying at this Heavenly Pool Waterfall for another nine hundred years. Honestly, I’m lonely. In the future, talk to me more; don’t just fiddle with your games all the time, alright?”
“So he’s blaming me for playing games! But that’s my downtime—does he have to control even that?” Zhou Hongxian thought, but weakly countered, “Oh. But—being here, except for massaging you and learning magic, I have nothing else to do. If I don’t play these things, how do I pass the time?”
Tu Shan Ke’s eyes suddenly flashed with anger. “Talking to me is boring, too?” With that, he shoved Zhou Hongxian away.
She was startled, and remembered her first job in her previous life, when her boss had passed by as she worked overtime. He’d cheerfully asked, “Xiao Zhou, is overtime tiring?” She’d answered without thinking, “Very tiring!” That month, her project bonus vanished, the reason being “lack of diligence.”
To think, after a lifetime, she still spoke her mind with no improvement! Fear crept in—would Tu Shan Ke refuse to teach her magic now? Would all her years of effort be wasted? She decided she couldn’t give up; she had to salvage the situation. So she said, “Actually, it’s not that talking to you is boring!”
“Oh?” Tu Shan Ke paused, unable to help asking, “Then what is it?”
Zhou Hongxian did her best to sound humble. “It’s just that my knowledge is too shallow—I can’t keep up in conversation with you!” She glanced at Tu Shan Ke, thinking, “I’ve thrown away my pride—surely he’ll be appeased now!”
But Tu Shan Ke clenched his fists and spat out a single word: “Leave!”
“Mercurial! Did I offend you in a past life?” Zhou Hongxian grew sulky herself. She stood up and walked silently away from the waterfall.
Watching her leave, Tu Shan Ke felt even more restless for no reason, and considered drowning his sorrows in wine.
At that moment, his icy voice drifted after her, “The Daughter’s Red is finished. Go down the mountain and fetch more for me today!”
Zhou Hongxian paused, at first thinking, “Damn it, still ordering me around—does he think I have no temper?” But as she reconsidered, a smile brightened her face, and she thought, “How foolish I am! So long as he can’t quit drinking, he’ll never be rid of me. What is there to fear?” And so, she happily went down the mountain.