Peach Blossom Plateau.
Incense burned brightly in the Peach Blossom Temple, and autumn felt like spring in Peach Blossom Village.
Shen Ying had just finished her cultivation. Under Xiao Cui’s care, she bathed and changed clothes. Then she sat on a reclining chair in the courtyard’s back garden. She rocked gently, sipping tea while basking in the sun.
“Miss, your manner now looks just like the young master’s.” Xiao Cui laughed.
Shen Ying smiled lazily. She lightly brushed her temple hair. Then her fingertip traced a graceful curve downward. “I have shared a bed with Lu Lang for three years. Growing more like him is not strange, is it?”
This charming look made even Xiao Cui, who spent every day with her, blush. “If the young master were here, he would not hold back and would devour you right away.”
“Hee hee, is that so?”
Shen Ying’s lips curved up. Her eyes sparkled. She wondered if she should invite Lu Zheng over tonight, so he could enjoy her fully.
But at that moment…
“Lu Lang! Eh? What is this?”
Shen Ying’s gaze shifted. Worry flashed across her face for a second. Her divine sense alerted the eighteen celestial maidens to prepare. Then her figure blurred, and she vanished in an instant.
The next moment, Shen Ying appeared at the edge of the peach grove. She stared ahead. She saw Lu Zheng walking side by side with a youth in white.
She did not recognise the white-clothed youth. But his aura felt familiar. It was the powerful ghost king who had come alone that day.
When he saw Shen Ying appear, the white-clothed youth withdrew his momentum. He cupped his hands in greeting. “Wen Jiong of Wugou Mountain in the Nether Realm greets the lady.”
“Lu Lang?” Shen Ying looked at Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng nodded and said, “Due to a small mishap, I met Fellow Daoist Wen again in the Nether Realm. He had just obtained the ‘Soul Refining Chapter’. So we came together.”
Seeing Lu Zheng’s calm expression and his reassuring nod and smile, Shen Ying relaxed. Still, she secretly told the eighteen celestial maidens to stay hidden. Better safe than sorry.
Then she smiled and stepped aside in invitation.
“Please!”
“The lady is too polite. Please!”
The three returned to the front hall of Peach Blossom Village and took their seats. Lu Zheng explained what had happened before. He had gone to Jin Jue Hall for work. By chance, he chased the chief steward into the Nether Realm. By chance again, the steward broke the formation. And Lu Zheng happened to slay the white bone skeleton.
Wen Jiong smiled faintly. “Young Master Lu acts with integrity. It earns respect. If I hide things now, it would be rude. I trust Young Master Lu’s character and judgement.”
Shen Ying looked at Lu Zheng with eyes full of affection. Lu Zheng winked at her.
“Let’s get to business first.” Lu Zheng turned to Shen Ying.
Shen Ying nodded. She took a human skin scroll from her left sleeve.
Wen Jiong said, “I need to borrow the lady’s study to make a copy.”
“Of course. Please.”
The three moved to the study. Shen Ying fetched blank books, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone.
When Wen Jiong took the ‘Yang Refining Chapter’ human skin scroll, he fully relaxed.
He smiled slightly and waved his hand. Two human skin scrolls landed on the table.
“The ‘Bone Refining Chapter’ does not suit the lady. This is a ‘Nether Refining Chapter’ I obtained earlier. It will benefit your cultivation too.”
“This…”
“Young Master Lu acts uprightly. I am no petty person who cannot tell right from wrong. Lady, copy it with ease.”
Shen Ying could not help but look at Lu Zheng. Lu Zheng looked at Wen Jiong.
Wen Jiong laughed. “Did I not tell you before, fellow daoist? This ‘Seven Tomes of Obscurity’ is something I pieced together from various sources. It is precious if you call it so. But if not, it is just ordinary.”
Lu Zheng nodded and cupped his hands. “Fellow Daoist Wen is thoughtful. Then I thank you on my wife’s behalf.”
“No need to be polite.”
Then Wen Jiong bent over the desk to copy the ‘Yang Refining Chapter’. Lu Zheng and Shen Ying each took one book. One copied the ‘Soul Refining Chapter’, the other the ‘Nether Refining Chapter’.
As Lu Zheng copied the ‘Nether Refining Chapter’, his eyes suddenly flashed. A strange smile crossed his lips.
One hour later, the copying finished. They exchanged back the originals. Then they returned to the front hall for tea.
“Good tea!” Wen Jiong sighed. “It has been over a hundred years since I tasted such fragrant tea.”
Shen Ying smiled. “My husband picked these leaves from an old tea tree on Ling Mountain. The estate has more. You can take some later, Fellow Daoist Wen.”
Wen Jiong shook his head. “No need. The Nether Realm’s yin energy is too heavy. The tea would soak it up quickly and lose its fragrance.”
Lu Zheng could not help asking, “Does Fellow Daoist Wen rarely come to the mortal world?”
Wen Jiong nodded. “The paths of man and ghost differ. The Nether Realm is my true home. Besides, no one in the mortal world concerns me now. Why return? To watch the seas turn to mulberry fields, things change while people pass?”
“Fellow Daoist Wen thinks clearly.” Shen Ying laughed. “I have no wish to enter the Nether Realm. Even just seeing this bustling world is far better than going to that underworld.”
Wen Jiong chuckled. “The lady now cultivates the incense fire divine path. Your peach trees root in the earth. Dual cultivation as one. Your future is much brighter than us lonely wandering ghosts.”
“Fellow Daoist Wen’s cultivation is profound. Now with the new ‘Seven Tomes of Obscurity’, you will surely achieve ghost immortal status soon and live forever.”
“Then I rely on your good words, young master!”
…
After some polite mutual praise, it was clear Wen Jiong had been a noble young master in life.
His words were gentle and refined. He had manners and poise. He was knowledgeable and well-read. He could pick up any topic easily. And he could explain it in clear steps. Very impressive.
They even had dinner in Peach Blossom Village. He gave Lu Zheng and Shen Ying the location of his Wugou Mountain. He said if they ever entered the Nether Realm and needed help, they could find him. Then he took his leave.
“Lu Lang?”
“Hm?”
“How did you win over this ghost king?” Shen Ying was very curious.
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. “Perhaps because I did not forget the greater good for small gains.”
In this world, interests stir the heart. Especially a millennium ghost king’s inheritance technique. Even a ghost cultivation method suits the dao sect’s incense fire guardians and the court’s incense fire immortals.
Yet Lu Zheng discarded it like worn shoes without hesitation. Just because he had an agreement to exchange with the other.
Truth be told, after hearing Lu Zheng’s actions, even Shen Ying was surprised. Of course, the outcome was quite wonderful.
Not only did they gain an extra technique. They also befriended a clearly powerful ghost king from the Nether Realm. Who would believe it?
“Lu Lang~”
“Hm?”
Shen Ying leaned in gently. “I think you are amazing~”
“There is even more amazing to come!”
Lu Zheng laughed heartily. He scooped Shen Ying up by the waist and headed to the back courtyard.
In the back courtyard, the figures of the eighteen celestial maidens flashed and vanished. They hid away. Lu Zheng carried Shen Ying smoothly all the way to the main bedroom.
…
After a late-night snack, Lu Zheng and Shen Ying rode the night breeze and rested idly.
“By the way.” Lu Zheng suddenly remembered something. “When I was copying the ‘Nether Refining Chapter’, I noticed one thing.”
“What is it?”
“The ‘Nether Refining Chapter’ seems connected to that ‘Minor Earth Sovereign Ghost Commanding Divine Method’. The two complement each other.”
