Chapter 5

When Shen Yutang and his party were returning home by water, they rescued a woman on the boat.

That disheveled woman was me, being chased and beaten by a burly man conjured up by Fox Sister.

He grinned viciously, “Still trying to run? Your father sold you to me, your life belongs to me now! Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death!”

The boat was large, and many people gathered to watch the commotion.

I ran about in panic, shouting “Help!” and, spotting Shen Yutang, rushed toward him.

But before I could even get close, I was blocked by his attendants.

Yet Shen Yutang intervened in this matter.

He was the type who would never stand by and watch someone die. A paragon of virtue for ten lifetimes-even my corpse, he would pull down from a tree and bury, let alone leave a living person in peril.

He handed Fox Sister five taels of silver in exchange for my contract of indenture.

Then, right in front of me, he tore that contract to pieces.

This gentleman with a jade-like face smiled warmly, “Miss Li, do not be afraid. From now on, you are free.”

It seemed he only meant to redeem me, with no intention of looking after me further.

That wouldn’t do. I knelt down, clung to his leg, and burst into tears, “Young Master, from this day on my life is yours! I am willing to serve you year after year, to go through fire and water for you! I don’t eat much-you can treat me like a dog, just feed me some… some food…”

Fox Sister: “?”

Shen Yutang’s two maids who accompanied him were both proper in appearance and kind in nature.

One was named Qiushi, the other Shuanger.

That night, they brought hot water to help me wash and said, “You truly have good fortune, meeting our young master. If not for his compassion, you would have been beaten to death.”

“Yes, our young master is so kind. After you tidy yourself up, you should go thank him properly for saving your life.”

So I really went to kowtow to Shen Yutang.

Outwardly, I thanked him, calling him a great benefactor, but inwardly I grumbled-this rascal buried me, ruined my Cultivation, and now I still have to kowtow to him in the end.

I was not convinced-wanted to bite him out of spite.

When Shen Yutang saw my cleaned-up face, he frowned slightly, somewhat surprised: “Miss Li… you look familiar.”

He truly had sharp eyes, noticing my resemblance to Daomei Fairy.

But it was only a resemblance, after all.

Daomei Fairy glowed with radiance, her skin was like flawless jade, and her smile was mesmerizing.

Whereas the down-and-out Li Niannian had a sorrowful face, sallow complexion, and the thin, frail look of a poor girl.

They seemed similar, but in reality, they were quite different.

Besides, to him, that was just a dream.

I looked back at him with a blank expression.

So he said nothing further, simply asked me a few questions and told me to rest.

After two days on the boat, I performed a little act-suffering from vomiting and diarrhea.

Sister Qiushi and Sister Shuanger were quite anxious.

They brought me food and water, making sure I needed to do nothing but rest.

I simply lay in their arms, moved to the point of humming softly, “Thank you, sisters, for your great kindness-let me have a sniff.”

The scent of humans is always tempting to a Jiangshi.

I couldn’t bite them, but hugging was still nice. Regretfully, I licked my teeth.

A few days later, traveling by both water and land, we finally reached the Shen Family home in Yuhang.

A grand mansion with nine courtyards in depth and five bays in width, eaves sweeping upward, standing tall and majestic.

A large crowd waited outside to greet Shen Yutang, forming a dense throng.

A woman in plain clothes saw him and instantly burst into tears-

“Qilang! My son, you’re finally home…”

Before even entering the door, Shen Yutang took off his outer robe, revealing his mourning clothes underneath.

All of us servants who traveled with him were also issued mourning garments by the house steward.

Shen Father, the head of the Shen Clan in Yuhang, had passed away two months prior.

According to Sister Qiushi, at the time, Shen Yutang was attending an imperial entourage elsewhere and did not receive the news in time.

By the time he hurried home, too much time had passed and Shen Father had already been buried.

The household had already taken off their mourning clothes.

Only the two white lanterns at the gate and the arrangement of the mourning hall remained.

Shen Yutang was truly a filial son.
When passing through Suzhou Prefecture, some local officials set up a banquet to entertain him, but he declined them all on the grounds of mourning for his father.

On this journey home, nothing on his face betrayed any emotion; he appeared to be a young gentleman of excellent temperament.

In truth, however, his heart was heavy with sorrow, and he often drank alone to drown his grief.

It was evident that he had a deep bond with his father.

Therefore, upon returning home, he donned mourning clothes and insisted on keeping vigil at the funeral hall for three days.

The meals Qiushi sent were barely touched.

Late at night, when all was quiet except for the dozing attendants outside the door, only he remained in the funeral hall.

I quietly slipped in, knelt beside him, and accompanied him in silence.

There were two reasons. First, Fox Sister had instructed me as we disembarked to appear more in front of him, to behave well, and to strive for an early Yin-Yang Union.

Second, I was somewhat puzzled.

Shen Yutang really seemed very sad.

He knelt before his father’s memorial tablet, going from uncontrollable sobbing to silent tears.

When he cried, he lowered his head, tried his best to hold back, his body trembling.

I could not comprehend such feelings.

But quietly, I knelt with him for three nights.

Later, I became a maid in Shen Yutang’s Study Room.

Later still, I saw a portrait of Shen Father in his Study Room, as well as the Proud Son Poem Shen Father wrote for him.

The middle-aged man in the portrait was naturally dignified in appearance, with a full beard and piercing eyes, exuding authority.

The Proud Son Poem, written in a vigorous hand, went like this-

Yutang, my proud son, of unmatched beauty and elegance.
By one year old, already grasping the classics, knowing much at such a tender age.
At four, he knew his name, his eyes never strayed to base things.
Among his peers, all took notice, saying he must be a phoenix among men.
…

I couldn’t quite understand all of it, but I could feel how much joy and pride Shen Father had in this son.

So I blurted out, “Master seemed to like you very much.”

Shen Yutang, lost in thought as he gazed at the keepsakes, looked slightly dazed at my words and said, “My father was naturally loving toward me.”

“It seems my father loved me too,” I recalled earnestly. “My mother as well.”

More than two hundred years have passed, and it is difficult to remember clearly.

I only vaguely recall that Li Dahu once took me to the lantern festival, bought me little sugar figurines and a rabbit lantern.

When they buried me, they left many burial goods, including a little jacket my mother sewed by hand.

But so what? It only deepens my hatred.

So I snorted and said to him, “It’s all fake. All things in this world are no more than White Dog as Calamity. I don’t care for any of it.”

Shen Yutang looked at my angry face, probably recalling what happened on the boat.

At the time, I said I came from a poor family, and my parents, to save money to marry off my younger brother, sold me away.

That person beat me every day. I escaped all the way and was finally saved by him on the boat.

There must have been anger on my face, for his expression softened as he said to me, “At the crossing of life, each has their own boat. The love of parents is the same. Fate gathers us, fate disperses us. Niannian, do not trap yourself every year.”

Frankly speaking, even now, a deep resentment still coils in my heart.

Fox Sister and the Night Patrolling Deity know nothing of this.

They all think that with the demise of the villagers long ago, I had already let go, that all resentment had dissipated.

Even among Spirit Monsters, there are good and bad.

The evil and demonic will always be condemned and destroyed one day.

For two hundred years, unable to cultivate to Indestructible Bone, I made myself the Deer Cottage Immortal. Under the guidance of the Night Patrolling Deity and Fox Sister, I wanted to walk the right path.

Though I knew well that the deep resentment in my heart, no matter how hard I suppressed it, had never dispersed.

I often thought afterward, if Shen Yutang had not passed through the woods and, with good intentions gone awry, buried me, would I really have attained Indestructible Bone on the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month?

Even if I had succeeded, could I truly have entered the right path from then on?

There is no answer.

But when Shen Yutang said to me, “Good and evil in this world are all driven by self-interest. Fortune and misfortune come as they may. When you have already borne the evil of others, the kindness left in your own heart should be used to forgive yourself, not others.”

I pondered these words for a long time and began to gain some insight.

Good and evil in the world, driven by profit, all have their price.

So is the resentment I cannot let go really just malice I hold toward myself?