Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 174 The Simple Immortal

Xiao Er could understand her father's high requirements for a son-in-law, but that didn't mean she thought it was feasible. Zhao Wang hoped that his daughter could marry into a wealthy family and live a life of comfort and security. As the daughter who was being considered for marriage, Xiao Er found it somewhat difficult.

From a young age, she followed her brother to read and write, learning poetry and songs, unlike ordinary women. However, her Zhao family was not a prestigious family, and they had no connections to rely on. She had met some wealthy and powerful scholars in school, and they all married daughters of prominent families. In terms of family background, she could not compare.

Looking down, Zhao Wang, whose family background was similar to Zhao's, looked down on them, feeling that his daughter was marrying down. But looking up, the truly powerful and influential families had already found daughters of high-ranking officials and wealthy people for their sons. Zhao's family only had a reputation as "good people" in the local area, so Xiao Er's family was considered to be marrying up.

Ding Ziming's family did not hold high-ranking official positions, nor were they wealthy enough to be renowned far and wide, thus failing to meet Zhao Wang's standards for a perfect son-in-law. However, compared to the Zhao family, the Ding family still had some connections in official circles; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to clear Zhao Wang and his family of the "White Lotus Sect" label. Moreover, he passed the imperial examination at the age of eighteen and had a promising future.

Xiao Er and he were childhood sweethearts; they had studied together at school and knew each other well. They were both in love and couldn't be more suitable for each other.

When Ding Ziming proposed marriage, Xiao Er had already agreed, but Zhao Wang did not agree, so the proposal failed. Taking advantage of this gap, she went directly to Uncle Ding's family and told him to just let it go. Anyway, Xiao Er didn't expect to change her father's mindset, so it was better to act first and ask for permission later.

Ding Ziming could understand Xiao Er's actions, but... wasn't the process a bit off? Why was it Xiao Er who went to his house to discuss the marriage with his father? Who was marrying whom?

Are we just going home like this?

Sitting on the enlarged kite again, Ding Ziming looked at Xiao Er on another kite next to him. The two of them were now flying in the sky, which made him a little afraid to move.

Although this was Ding Ziming's second time riding a kite, he still felt somewhat uneasy. There was little wind around him, so he couldn't feel the specific speed. But as long as he looked down, he could see the endless mountains and rivers below. If he fell, he would undoubtedly be smashed to pieces.

"Let's take this opportunity to tell Uncle Ding. If he agrees, we can get married."

Xiao Er was much more at ease. She had always been bold since she was a child, and after learning magic and seeing the new world, she became even bolder. She had secretly tried flying in a kite many times before.

"You really aren't going to tell Uncle Zhao?"

Ding Ziming ultimately benefited from this approach, but he still felt it was somewhat against the rules. He didn't mind bypassing his parents to finalize the marriage, but he was afraid it would have a negative impact on Xiao Er's reputation.

Do you want to be rejected again?

Xiao Er didn't think much of it. Zhao Wang had taken his whole family into the White Lotus Sect through a series of actions. They probably couldn't go back to where they used to live, and their family's reputation was definitely not what it used to be. Why bother with all that?

"Actually, after you left, my father found me a marriage with a son from a wealthy family in the city, but he quickly refused."

"why?"

Ding Ziming didn't understand. He wanted to marry Xiao Er but couldn't, so why would someone refuse him?

“I told him I needed to meet him first, and he agreed. Then, during our first meeting… he wanted to recite a poem but forgot the words, so I picked up where he left off.”

"Ahem, you continued his poem?"

Upon hearing Xiao Er's words, Ding Ziming seemed to see that scene: they would ask each other questions about poetry, and if they couldn't answer, they would slap each other's palms. It was a game that the two of them used to play often, so he knew that Xiao Er himself was very knowledgeable.

Since she was a genius who could learn magic with ease, learning poetry was naturally easy for her as well. Xiao Er was able to recite articles with other students. When that young master couldn't recite it, she subconsciously took over.

As a result, the man felt he had lost face, so the marriage was called off, and he couldn't find a suitable candidate afterward.

"I never expected that young master to be so petty."

The two flew over mountains and rivers on a kite, finally finding a secluded spot to land. Flying into the city like this would cause panic.

As soon as they landed, a rustling sound came from the bushes beside them. Because the landing site was a bit remote and surrounded by messy bushes, the two didn't pay much attention to the sound, assuming it was a small animal like a fox.

"Waaah...waaah..."

But the next sound proved it wasn't a fox. The sound was very strange, like a human voice, yet also like the roar of a wild beast—it was just bizarre and unlike anything I'd ever heard before.

The two had already witnessed many strange things, and Xiao Er suspected it was some kind of monster. Looking at a tuft of white hair swaying in the grass, Xiao Er took out a few talismans and watched the white hair in the grass warily.

"Wow... Wow!"

A strange, all-white creature emerged from the grass. It looked like a white-haired monkey, with no hair on its face and the front half of its head. Its skin looked like a human's. It had a single horn on its forehead that looked like a bamboo shoot. Its eyes were large, but its nose was not visible. Its ears were strange, like fish fins, but its skin was still like a human's.

It held a few wildflowers in its hand, had three thick fingers, and two slightly thick, sharp teeth could be seen in its open mouth. In short, it looked nothing like an ordinary animal.

"...What kind of monster is this?"

After being on guard for a while, Ding Ziming realized that the little monster was not hostile. It was just rummaging through the grass looking for more wildflowers while making some incomprehensible noises. Ding Ziming asked Xiao Er, who knew more about these supernatural beings than he did.

But the waiter didn't recognize the creature in front of him either.

"I don't know, it doesn't seem to have any demonic aura."

Xiao Er frowned as she looked at the creature. She didn't put down the talisman in her hand just because the creature seemed harmless. She had actually seen this kind of creature before. What was even stranger was that the creature looked so strange, yet she couldn't sense any demonic aura about it.

The lack of demonic aura suggests it's not a monster, but who would believe it if it didn't look like one?

"It turns out to be here."

As the two were wondering what was going on, a man's voice came from the depths of the jungle, followed by approaching footsteps. A man in black came out, his target the white creature that was searching for flowers.

"Stay put, don't wander around."

The man was dressed entirely in black, with only a few silver trims on his clothes. His hair was a light brown, combed back, with a few strands falling across his forehead.

Compared to the various flashy images they had seen before, his attire was quite simple, yet it was precisely his appearance that made Xiao Er and Ding Zimo fear and retreat.

"Wu Hua... Wu Huan..."

"These wildflowers aren't good for making wreaths, huh? What are you two doing standing there?"

Just as Tianji was about to pull Yedai back from his wandering ways, he noticed a young couple staring intently at him, their eyes filled with surprise, as if they had seen something unbelievable.

Tianji found their gazes strange. He didn't think he had anything frightening about him, so why were these two acting like this? If they were frightened by Ye Dai's appearance, shouldn't their gazes be on Ye Dai? Why were they staring at him?

"you you……"

What surprised Xiao Er and Ding Zimo was Tian Ji's ears—long, pointed ears. Just like the former Asura King, these were inhuman, long, pointed ears!

……

Although Zhen Sheng's appearance was sudden, it was of great help to Qing Yangzi and Jing Tao Jun. His familiarity with the two indirectly showed that they were not bad people.

Judging from Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun, Zhensheng seems a bit too familiar and naive, but he is indeed an enlightened cultivator. Because of his low seniority, he does not hold a proper position and can be considered a leisurely immortal.

With the true immortal Zhen Sheng vouching for Qingyangzi, there's no need to delve deeper into the matter with the White Lotus Sect. Even if we were to investigate further, with both the City God and other deities involved, no one else could afford to offend them.

"Since the immortal has vouched for you, I will trust you for now."

The woman stroked the horse beside her, which was draped in a brightly colored blanket and adorned with scattered decorations, in the same style as her shamanistic attire.

Judging from her appearance, she must have left the city today and happened to run into their group.

"It's good that Madam understands."

"Now that the White Lotus Sect has collapsed, where did the Asura King go?"

“Naturally, he went where he was supposed to go.”

No one else knew what grudge the woman held against the White Lotus Sect, but they could tell that she had a strong opinion against the White Lotus Sect and even against the sect called "Ten Thousand Calamities".

However, it's really impossible to say anything about Shou Wanjie's movements. After all, Liu Qingyuan would naturally take back his disguise after using it. If we say that... uh, it seems like his true form has become an evil god.

"We can guarantee that the Asura King will not appear again."

"The Asura King? The Asura clan?"

Zhen Sheng is the kind of person who is out of touch with reality. Because of some rules in heaven, gods cannot interfere too much in mortal affairs. So even though Zhen Sheng lives in the mortal world, he always travels outside of the secular world and doesn't pay much attention to these things.

Even his friend was someone he made by living next door to the other party, and the other party took the initiative to keep watch over him. As for recent events, such as the White Lotus Sect Asura King, Zhen Sheng basically didn't pay attention.

So when he heard about the Asura King, his first reaction was that it was the Asura race in Buddhism.

"No, it's just a title."

When facing Zhensheng, Jingtao always had a sense of déjà vu. He felt that this immortal was a bit too naive, as if he believed everything anyone said. The two of them had only met Zhensheng once and chatted briefly, and could not even be considered friends.

Despite having only this one connection, he still made a special trip to drink with them and offered to vouch for them. In other words, he was so simple-minded that he didn't seem like a "human being."

"Using such a title as a designation..."

"Since you're not a bad person, I won't say anything more. Goodbye."

The woman bowed, then led the horse away. The horse was of excellent quality and looked very valuable.

As she led her horse past Zhensheng, Zhensheng, who was still struggling with the title "Asura King," couldn't help but glance at her.

"Your horse is..."

"Oh, the immortal master noticed?"

As if knowing what Zhen Sheng was about to say, the woman turned around and smiled.

"This is my husband."

Ignoring the strange expressions on the faces of the people present, the woman led her horse away. After walking a short distance, she nimbly mounted the horse and then disappeared along with it.

As for whether it was a human turning into a horse or a horse turning into a human, the parties involved are all gone, so it's no longer important.

"Fellow Daoist just said the problem is solved, you've made up with that friend?"

Because of Zhen Sheng's appearance, the barefoot monk knew that he wouldn't be able to find out anything by trying to probe further. He chatted briefly with this immortal who lived outside the city and then left, as if he hadn't come specifically to see Qingyangzi Jingtaojun.

The fact that he was an enlightened immortal resolved all the probing and hostility. It's quite surprising that Jingtao Jun said the City God's birth was more powerful than anyone else's.

"The gems have been retrieved."

Zhen Sheng reached into his sleeve and took out a crystal-clear stone that looked like jade. Its shape and size were very similar to the black one from before. This was the gem that Bao Zhenzi had given him.

Although the divination indicated that everything would go smoothly, Zhen Sheng was still uneasy when he went to see that friend. After all, the other party had a criminal record and did not like to lie. In the past, when he asked for the gemstone, he would have told him everything about its function.

Knowing that this is a gem that can turn stone into gold, can someone who once had greedy thoughts really return it to him? Zhen Sheng was somewhat unsure.

When he finally arrived at his friend's house, the process went smoothly. His friend was willing to return the gem to him, but on one condition: he had to teach him the art of turning stone into gold.

"You taught me?"

Upon hearing this, Qingyangzi frowned. Zhensheng's friend had been greedy for the art of turning stones into gold. Teaching the magic to him would only fulfill his greed.

"The art of turning stone into gold is one of the important immortal techniques, and it is generally not passed on to outsiders. However, I have already set a rule for Brother Jia: with the money obtained from turning stone into gold, we will build one hundred coffins and prepare one hundred sets of cotton clothes to help the poor."

Money obtained by turning stones into gold is considered unearned wealth. Too much of this kind of money would disrupt the balance of the world. Therefore, when a friend asked to learn how to turn stones into gold, Zhen Sheng also gave such a condition, which can be considered a sin of using good deeds to obtain wealth without labor.

"Moreover, Brother Jia has already explained that his family is poor, so he has a desire for money and material possessions. He is not a miser who doesn't spend money, but will use his wealth in a reasonable way."

"Fellow Daoist, you truly have a sincere heart towards your friends."

Jingtao Jun still maintains that this immortal is a bit too naive, too naive for a human. His mortal friend at least knows how to use gems to seek other benefits.

"If I may ask, what was your background before you became an immortal?"

In the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, whether they are monsters, elves, or any other creatures, they will eventually strive to become "human" after cultivating themselves. Even though humans face more suffering, these non-human beings will still use various methods to become "human".

Those who cultivate immortality and attain enlightenment are basically fixed in human form, making it impossible to discern what they were before. Looking at Zhen Sheng's naive personality, Jingtao dares to say he has absolutely never experienced the harsh realities of interpersonal relationships.

"I?"

Zhen Sheng was a little confused as to why Jing Tao asked that question, but he still answered honestly.

"I am actually a fox who has cultivated and attained enlightenment, so I cannot compare with those in the heavens and have always lived on the earth."

"...A fox spirit?"

"No, she's just an ordinary fox spirit."

"..."

It doesn't look like it at all anymore!