The General’s expression was very calm, revealing no abnormality whatsoever.
Lord Meishan scratched his heart and liver with curiosity, desperately wanting to know what was written on that paper ball! This was the sorrow of a gossip immortal…
Lu Qianqiao looked for a very long time, then suddenly spread the paper ball flat, folded it neatly, and placed it in his chest.
“Many thanks.”
He pulled out ten jars of Wine to Honor Gods and Respect Heaven from his qiankun bag, threw them on the table, got up and left. In his urgency, Lord Meishan shouted: “Wait! General! I… that… how has little Mei been recently?”
Lu Qianqiao stopped, turned his head to look at him expressionlessly.
Lord Meishan’s heart jumped with fear. Mustering all his courage, he said in a small voice: “I don’t, don’t have any other meaning, just caring a bit…”
Even as an ordinary friend, he still had the position and confidence to inquire like this, right? He did, right? He did, right?
The General still didn’t answer, only lowered his lashes dimly and walked away in silence.
So was she well or not well? Lord Meishan fretted. That bit of remaining courage really wasn’t enough to support him chasing out to continue asking. He could only turn back to hug the water-drinking little crow, smiling ingratiatingly: “Good little crow, tell me, what was written on that paper ball?”
The little crow continued to glance at him disdainfully, turned back and hopped onto the table, pulled over a sheet of white paper, golden light flashed on its claws, and began writing smoothly and fluidly.
Lord Meishan was just about to lean over to look when he suddenly heard the spirit ghosts outside laugh: “Eh? It’s the Fox Immortal! You’ve come at just the right time. Just now that War Ghost General sent over ten jars of fine wine.”
Lord Meishan rolled and scrambled to gather all ten very small and exquisite jars of wine into his arms, roaring: “This wine is too little! Absolutely not giving it away for free drinking!”
Zhen Hongsheng entered with a smile, pushing open the door: “You Meishan, how are you always so stingy? When I get good wine, I’ve never shorted your share.”
“Not giving means not giving!”
Although last time Lu Qianqiao had given him the ingredients for Wine to Honor Gods and Respect Heaven, many of the materials inside only existed in ancient times and had long since become extinct. Now having finally obtained ten jars, he wanted to keep them to slowly savor by himself, sip by small sip.
Zhen Hongsheng didn’t get angry either, slowly walking over. Seeing the little crow writing characters on paper, and it seemed to be about matters of the War Ghost clan, he said: “I just encountered that War Ghost General. Such a fierce expression.”
Moreover, those eyes of his… as expected, the Great Monk had predicted correctly. That mother and son pair really were not simple.
Lord Meishan picked up that sheet of paper and glanced through it roughly, immediately stunned.
Zhen Hongsheng rolled his eyes: “By the way, speaking of which, Xin Mei is the General’s wife, right? I saw that General seemed somewhat wrong. Once he transforms, who knows what chaos he’ll cause at the Imperial Tomb. Meishan, you seem to quite like that girl?”
Before he finished speaking, Lord Meishan had already thrown down the wine jars and rushed out frantically, shouting in exasperation: “Quick! Bring my little immortal crane! I’m going out!”
Zhen Hongsheng moved to the window and added another sentence: “Hurry up! I read that girl’s palm, recently it’s quite inauspicious. If you go late, she might lose her little life…”
Lord Meishan jumped onto the little immortal crane’s back and flew away like an immortal sage riding the wind and lightning, not turning his head back even once. Zhen Hongsheng got what he wished and opened a jar of Wine to Honor Gods and Respect Heaven. Hmph, with his stinginess in the end, wouldn’t this wine still be his? The wine liquid slowly poured into the cup, colored like crystal. He carefully tasted it.
“Good wine, good wine. Meishan, I won’t save any for you.”
Lu Qianqiao never returned to the Imperial Tomb. Si Lan had also been injured and lay on the bed all day long shedding tears like a resentful woman. Whenever he opened his mouth, it was inevitably only those few words: “General… why did you…”
At first, Mister Zhao and the others would console him a few times, but by now it had developed into turning a blind eye and a deaf ear. This day, Xin Mei came over to deliver Golden Wound Medicine. Just as she pushed open the door, she heard Si Lan’s old refrain again: “General! How cruel your heart is! Why, why?!”
Mister Zhao was bent over the table writing the second part of “Resentful Couple Made in Heaven,” tormented by the noise until his head ached. He couldn’t help but lament: “Look at you! Big and burly, thick arms and thick waist! You’re a man! Not the abandoned female lead in a play! Enough, shut up for me!”
Si Lan had a white cloth covering his head. He closed his eyes and silently shed tears.
…How to put it? Xin Mei, as the genuine female lead, felt the burden was very heavy.
“Miss, why are you still delivering medicine!” Mister Zhao caught sight of her and said: “This guy is a demon. A few broken ribs will grow back in two or three days. There’s no need for medicine at all.”
Si Lan couldn’t help but open his eyes: “Old Zhao, I’m wounded in the heart!”
“That’s exactly why I’m forced to sit here listening to you ramble! To prevent you from crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang yourself!” Mister Zhao threw down his writing brush and loudly denounced, “I’m writing the play script at a crucial part, and you’ve disrupted me completely until I have no inspiration at all!”
“It’s all because of your old thing’s unlucky broken play! You made the General leave in anger!”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“You…”
These two demons argued fiercely. Xin Mei looked at this one, then looked at that one. After thinking a long time, she didn’t know whether she should mediate. Just then there was a pot of tea on the table. She was just about to drink some tea and continue watching the excitement when she suddenly heard several little demons outside calling: “Si Lan! Stop faking illness and come out quickly! Outside the Imperial Tomb there’s an immortal trapped by the Yunwu Array, loudly cursing right now!”
Hearing this, Si Lan immediately got up, grabbed the white cloth covering his head and threw it into the water with one motion, casually threw on his outer garment, his movements neat and smooth. Where was there even half a sign of being injured?
Although the General had injured him, as long as he had a breath of life left, he would absolutely never betray him! With the General not at the Imperial Tomb, he vowed to defend this paradise for him even if it meant his death!
Everyone rushed to the Yunwu Array. From far away they heard someone roar: “Lu Qianqiao! If, if you dare kill little Mei, I, Meishan, will never let you go whether ascending to heaven or entering the earth!”
Xin Mei walked over, raised her head to look at the immortal-sage-like little immortal crane in midair, and asked curiously: “Lord Meishan, what are you doing?”
Lord Meishan, catching sight of her appearing completely intact and delicate before his eyes, was so excited he rolled off the little immortal crane’s back, rolling directly to her front, two lines of tears flowing before speaking.
“Little Mei! Thank goodness you’re alright!”
He was excited, he wailed, he was overjoyed. He summoned his manly spirit and grabbed her sleeve with one hand, pulling to leave: “You come with me immediately! Elope! This place can’t be stayed in anymore!”
One pull—didn’t budge.
Continued forceful second pull—continued not budging.
Lord Meishan mustered all his strength to drag hard, his face flushed bright red. He only heard Xin Mei strangely speak from behind: “Why are you pulling Si Lan?”
He turned around in shock and saw himself holding a burly man with a very unpleasant expression. The man looked at him quietly with profound eyes and asked: “Immortal Meishan, where do you want to elope with me?”
…
When Lord Meishan calmed down, it was already much later. In the meantime, Xin Mei and a group of little demons sat on the ground, drank a cup of tea, ate two pieces of locust flower cake, and burped contentedly.
“From your tone, you seem to know what happened to the General?” Si Lan handed him a cup of tea to help him catch his breath.