Aunt No. 2 frowned deeply, watching the young couple before her with a strange gaze. Mei Qing was sweating profusely, his face flushed, and he coughed twice, his brows furrowed as if deep in thought. Yet Bi Zhen simply stared fixedly at herself, speaking frankly with her head held high, appearing completely convinced.
Aunt No. 2 sighed inwardly. They always say girls tend to be swayed easily, but even so, none could be as extreme as Bi Zhen. Whatever Mei Qing said, she took it as absolute truth. The ancestral practices of their family across countless generations were completely overturned by just one sentence from Mei Qing.
“Aunt No. 2,” seeing Bi Zhen’s expression, Mei Qing felt quite embarrassed and quickly stepped forward to speak. “I suspect that the Mei Valley you mentioned might not actually be a true cave dwelling in the conventional sense. With the right effort, someone could easily set up a place to resemble a cave dwelling. As long as the location is sufficiently hidden, it wouldn’t necessarily require the internal spiritual veins or abundant spiritual energy typical of a cave dwelling. Surely there must be other such secluded places, right?”
“There should be,” Aunt No. 2 nodded, then hesitated slightly before replying, “But Bi Mountain is so vast that I can’t possibly know every corner of it. Perhaps only the eldest Miss would have a thorough understanding.”
Bi Zhen’s mother was currently refining an unknown magical artifact, so Mei Qing and Bi Zhen could only chat casually in the room while waiting.
“Oh, by the way, I really am careless,” Mei Qing suddenly said. “It’s already come to this, and I still don’t even know the names of your grandmother and mother.”
Mei Qing wasn’t truly forgetful; after all, this was the Ming Dynasty, and since Bi Zhen hadn’t told him the names of her mother and grandmother, it was actually inappropriate for him to inquire. However, he suddenly thought that since Bi Zhen’s family had long lived here, they must be a well-known aristocratic family, and perhaps their names might come in handy later, so he asked.
“It’s not really carelessness,” Bi Zhen reassured him. “Actually, I don’t know either. I just call my grandmother ‘Grandma’ and my mother ‘Mother.'”
Mei Qing was left speechless.
“Then there’s Big Aunt, who has served your grandmother since childhood, and Second Aunt, who serves your mother. Why don’t you have anyone to attend to you?” Mei Qing looked at the busy Aunt No. 2 and asked Bi Zhen.
“That’s exactly it. It really irritates me,” Bi Zhen huffed. “Since childhood, my grandma said my fate was different and that I would naturally have people to serve me in the future. Fortunately, she wasn’t wrong in her prediction—after all, I now have you.”
Mei Qing was again at a loss for words. Bi Zhen also felt that comparing Mei Qing to a servant might have been inappropriate, so she quickly apologized, saying, “That’s not what I meant. What I meant was—look, I can still command Wukong, right?”
Hearing this, the white-furred Wukong nodded repeatedly nearby, eagerly rushing forward to massage Mei Qing’s shoulders and back while expressing his loyalty enthusiastically.
Mei Qing stared blankly at the ceiling, letting out a long sigh.
“There are actually two and a half cave dwellings in our mountain,” Bi Zhen’s mother said, smiling warmly at her daughter and son-in-law. “Besides this one, there’s another on the opposite side of the mountain belonging to the Xu family. We have some acquaintance with them, but since the previous patriarch failed in his ascension attempt, the Xu family has closed their doors, and it’s been over thirty years now. Additionally, there’s a cave behind the Xuanwu Monastery on the mountaintop, which has traditionally served as a quiet retreat for the monks there—it counts as half a dwelling.”
Originally, Bi Zhen’s mother had prepared a pair of love locks as a gift for her returning daughter and son-in-law. However, when Mei Qing took out the ruyi, a traditional scepter symbolizing good fortune, she suddenly felt her own gift was somewhat hasty. In terms of craftsmanship, it might not even compare to Mei Qing’s. Therefore, she returned to the furnace, added more materials, and poured considerable thought into refining it further.
Bi Zhen only knew her mother had given her a gift meant to bless their union and express love, so she happily thanked her mother. Mei Qing, however, understood the meaning behind her mother-in-law’s gesture. He realized that although Bi Zhen’s mother appeared gentle and composed on the surface, she was actually quite competitive—no wonder she hadn’t forgiven Lu Bing all these years. Feeling sympathy for Lu Bing while inwardly worrying for him, Mei Qing loudly praised the exquisite craftsmanship of the love locks, saying they had broadened his horizons. As expected, his words delighted Bi Zhen’s mother, whose eyes softened even further.
Bi Zhen, being rather careless by nature, simply thought it was natural for her mother to give her something good and didn’t think much of it. Joyfully accepting the love lock, she then asked about the situation within Bi Mountain, which led to the conversation just mentioned.
“Then, besides those two locations, are there any other particularly secluded places?” Bi Zhen glanced at Mei Qing and asked.
Bi Zhen’s mother thought for a moment and replied, “There might be one unusual place—a mountain bay not far from here, under Guayue Peak. Originally, that area was considered dangerous, seemingly an ancient battlefield site filled with intense yin energy, so none of us ever go there. However, a few years ago, I happened to see someone entering and exiting that area, though I never discovered where they lived.”
“A person?” Mei Qing pressed. “Who was it?”
“It was a young girl,” Bi Zhen’s mother looked at Bi Zhen. “She looked about the same age as Bi Zhen, I believe. I saw her once about ten years ago, but haven’t seen her in recent years.”
Mei Qing’s brow furrowed deeply. Bi Zhen asked curiously, “We actually have a neighbor around my age? How come I never knew about her?”
Bi Zhen’s mother laughed. “Calling her a neighbor is stretching it a bit. In the cultivation world, people often live their entire lives without interacting. Besides, you left for the capital at a young age, so you never had the chance to meet her. Although I only saw that girl from afar twice, I could tell she was also a cultivator, likely a disciple from a reputable sect, and quite accomplished.”
Bi Zhen mumbled something incoherently. Mei Qing then asked, “Was the girl living with anyone else?”
“I never saw anyone with her,” Bi Zhen’s mother shook her head. “Later, I occasionally saw a servant woman following her, probably a maid. As for her family, I don’t know whether they were also here.”
Mei Qing nodded and asked no further questions.
When Lu Bing’s spirit message talisman returned, Mei Qing and Bi Zhen were already on their way to the mountain bay Bi Zhen’s mother had described.
“This place is actually quite large,” Mei Qing chuckled. “Well then, let’s just treat this trip as a casual walk together.”
Mei Qing’s plan was simple—if they didn’t know who they were dealing with, they would just pretend to be ordinary travelers and go directly to investigate, adapting as circumstances required.
It was early spring, and the weather in Anlu was gradually warming up. The sun shone brightly that day. Mei Qing and Bi Zhen, dressed as two traveling scholars, led a thin donkey and chatted happily, exuding a certain refined charm.
“Not husband and wife—brothers! You silly Qing, if you keep saying the wrong thing, I’ll really hit you,” Bi Zhen corrected him with exaggerated seriousness. She had changed her appearance again, now looking like a pale, sickly young scholar, and indeed, there was no hint of her true identity.
Seeing how immersed his wife was in playing her role, Mei Qing grinned, “Exactly. Tonight, you and I, brothers, can find a roadside inn and chat the night away together.”
Bi Zhen’s expression remained calm, but her voice betrayed a hint of embarrassment: “Who wants to chat the night away with you? Thinking such indecent thoughts!”
“What indecent thoughts?” Mei Qing feigned innocence. “After all, brothers should be like that.”
Bi Zhen was furious and chased after him, and the two of them playfully wrestled on the road.
“Ahh!” Suddenly, a startled scream rang out.
They immediately stopped, exchanged glances, and hurried toward the source of the sound.
Although their bodies hadn’t yet reached the scene, their spiritual senses had already scanned it clearly. A young man was lying on the road, and a servant boy was crying beside him.
“Young sir, what seems to be the matter?” Mei Qing noticed that the two were merely ordinary people and sensed that the young man’s life force was weak and sluggish, as if he had been injured somehow.
“Oh, noble sirs, my young master was out for a walk today when he suddenly collapsed on the road for no apparent reason. I beg you, please help him!” The little servant boy, tears streaming down his face and at a complete loss, immediately pleaded for help upon hearing Mei Qing’s voice.
Bi Zhen stepped forward, extended two fingers, and placed them on the young man’s wrist, closing her eyes as if in deep thought. After a moment, she solemnly declared, “I see. Your master merely fainted from the sudden heat of the season after stepping out from a cool place too abruptly. Combined with his naturally weak constitution, this caused his collapse. Allow me to administer a few needles, and he will recover shortly.”
With that, she pulled out a long golden needle from her sleeve and inserted it into the young man’s philtrum, gently twisting it a few times and lightly tapping his chest before calling out, “Wake up! Wake up!”
Mei Qing watched with amusement. He remembered how Bi Zhen had once disguised herself as a traveling physician back in Shi Village. Now, she was playing the role again, clearly trying to fool people. In truth, for cultivators like them, diagnosing illness required no pulse-taking. But Bi Zhen loved to put on a show, making everything seem very professional.
Sure enough, the young man groaned, “Ow!” and slowly opened his eyes, weakly asking the servant, “Si Qin, what happened to me?”
Si Qin hurriedly replied, “Master, you’re finally awake! You suddenly fainted, and I was so scared. It was these two gentlemen who helped you recover.”
The young man turned his gaze to Bi Zhen and Mei Qing and said, “My name is Liu Mengmei of Anlu. I am deeply grateful to both of you for your timely assistance.”
“It was nothing much,” Bi Zhen smiled. “My brother and I are from the capital, surnamed Mei, and we’re here visiting relatives. How are you feeling now? Can you stand?”
Liu Mengmei nodded and, with the help of Mei Qing and Si Qin, slowly rose to his feet. He then suggested, “Not far ahead around the bend, there’s a small teahouse. Perhaps we could all rest there for a while?”
Bi Zhen nodded in agreement, and the four of them slowly made their way forward. After walking a few miles, they indeed spotted a small thatched teahouse with a cloth banner fluttering in the wind, bearing the single character “Tea.”
Inside the small teahouse, it was quiet, with only two elderly men resting there—one dressed as a woodcutter and the other resembling a wealthy landowner.
“It seems, Brother Liu, you know this place quite well,” Mei Qing chuckled. “Unless one is a local, it’s hard to know about such a hidden teahouse.”
“Not at all,” Liu Mengmei smiled weakly. “I had just come out from here not long ago when I fainted on the road, so naturally I know about this teahouse.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage