Chapter 4

Cheng Lin became the first guest ever to stay in my home.

I introduced him to my family.

The little black dog was called Taxue because all four of his paws were white.

The little cat was called Xunmei because she was white all over except for one black patch on her back.

The little snake was called Ah She. I had not expected him to stay after I healed him. Later, I tried to give him a proper name, but by then he had firmly learned that he was Ah She. No other name worked. Only when I called “Ah She” would he lift his head and hiss in reply.

“The little fellow certainly has character.”

Cheng Lin smiled and held out a hand. Ah She crawled onto his wrist and wound himself around and around it like a soft noodle.

“He likes you,” I said.

Cheng Lin laughed. “Because I carry Big Sister’s scent.”

I smiled without taking the bait and merely asked, “Why must you undergo a trial of love? What is a trial of love, anyway?”

Cheng Lin paused.

“I don’t know. My master only said that unless we pass a trial of love and learn what mortal affection truly is, we can never attain perfection and ascend to immortality. Otherwise, we’re doomed to remain here until we grow old and die. Big Sister, do you know what a trial of love is?”

I shook my head.

That was a question for cultivators to ponder.

To mortals, love was like fireworks against the sky: beautiful and quick to fade. I had never seen a married couple love each other faithfully from beginning to end. Most nursed grudges, sighed through the years, carried regrets through this life, and pinned their hopes on the next.

The mortal world held far too many trials already.

A cold.

A hailstorm.

A month of unending rain.

A wind that rose without warning in the night.

What did a trial of love amount to? It meant you had eaten too well, lived too idly, and found yourself with enough leisure to brood over nonsense.

Cheng Lin became my assistant. When I visited villagers to treat them, he carried my medicine chest and brought my cat, dog, and snake.

I had hesitated over taking them. It was a long journey, well beyond the surrounding villages.

“Bring them,” Cheng Lin said. “If we leave them at home, someone might eat them. Zhao Yunzhi looks desperately poor these days. What if he takes Ah She hostage to threaten you?”

His gaze fell on Ah She. The little snake immediately climbed onto his shoulder and rubbed ingratiatingly against his cheek.

He held Taxue in his arms while Xunmei perched on his other shoulder.

So young, and already blessed with a cat, a dog, and a snake. What a happy young gentleman.

I laughed.

Zhao Yunzhi was terribly arrogant and knew nothing of ordinary human conduct. He might kill Ah She, but he would never think to use the snake to threaten me.

Wei Shuang could not remain long in the mortal realm. She bought an abandoned house from the village chief for Zhao Yunzhi, asked the chief to look after him, and hired someone to cook and wash his clothes. Then she hurried back to the immortal mountain.

Even reduced to a mortal, Zhao Yunzhi did not have a difficult life.

He worked hard to gather magic within himself again, but every attempt failed.

He had probably realized that passing his trial of love was his only path back to immortality. Lately, he was always wandering around my house.

He was so proud that he always waited for me to speak first.

I ignored him, but Cheng Lin felt decidedly threatened.

I overheard him muttering, “Shameless fox spirit, coveting another man’s wife… I wish I could kill him.”

You could not simply kill people.

As it happened, a patient in distant Peach Blossom Ridge had sent for me. I decided to take Cheng Lin with me.