Chapter 138: Only Envy the Mandarin Ducks, Not the Immortals

Ji Yuan's words, of course, contained some deliberate exaggeration. He wasn't entirely clear about the full capabilities of the local deity in Da Zhen's capital, and his statement merely referred to his ability to rescue someone from their grasp.

Ji Yuan said this deliberately to remind the woman that he had indeed rescued her, emphasizing his ability to snatch people even from a local deity, and to warn her against causing unnecessary conflict with him.

After all, she was a demon who had been relentlessly pursued. If she were to lose her composure, mistake Ji Yuan for another enemy, and lash out desperately, she would certainly be discovered by the City God and the local deity. In such a scenario, Ji Yuan himself might become implicated.

When Ji Yuan turned to look at the female demon named Bai Ruo, only one Bai Ruo remained in the attic; the detached tail on the ground had already reintegrated with her main body.

After a moment of stunned silence, Bai Ruo immediately prostrated herself before Ji Yuan.

"Thank you, Venerable Immortal, for saving me. Bai Ruo will never forget your profound kindness, even until death. If there is anything I can do, I will gladly serve you as an ox or a horse, just command me!"

In Da Zhen, prostration is a grand ceremony rarely performed. Even when meeting officials, one is not required to kneel unless they are a condemned criminal. In temples, although prayer mats are placed before statues, people typically stand when offering incense, only kneeling occasionally for truly significant requests.

The only occasions where prostration is definitely performed are during weddings, when bowing to heaven and earth and to one's elders.

As Ji Yuan had saved Bai Ruo's life, her immediate prostration and fervent gratitude were entirely appropriate, and her words conveyed genuine sincerity.

As she prostrated in thanks, Ji Yuan briefly opened both his eyes completely, seeing through her ethereal form to faintly discern the shape of a white deer.

"Haha, no wonder her tail was so short. I was puzzling over what kind of demon she might be. So, she's a white deer maiden!"

Earlier, when he saw that short white tail, Ji Yuan truly couldn't identify the animal. He had speculated it could be anything from a squirrel to a weasel, as he had never personally studied deer tails in either of his two lives. Only now did the truth become apparent.

Bai Ruo's body trembled upon hearing this, and she remained prostrate, not daring to rise. In truth, she was unsure of the Immortal Master's purpose in saving her; she might have just escaped one perilous situation only to enter another.

"Get up. I don't need you to serve me as an ox or a horse. Just answer a few questions for me first."

Bai Ruo straightened up and knelt in her spot, waiting with a touch of apprehension for Ji Yuan to question her. However, she then saw him offer a faint smile.

"Miss Bai, tell me about your origins, and then how you met Zhou Niansheng and how you came to love and stay together. I, too, am someone who enjoys a good story."

Bai Ruo looked at Ji Yuan, noting his earnest expression.

After a short silence, she calmed her emotions and, after a brief recollection, slowly began to speak.

The cold winter wind swept through the attic, entering the open door and causing the inner curtains to sway, also stirring Bai Ruo's hair.

"More than sixty years ago, in the Great Southern Wilderness Mountains, a powerful demon, using unknown methods, stole a furnace of Dao Xuan Pills from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. When the immortals of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets divined its whereabouts, they pursued it by cloud to the Southern Wilderness. Two sword immortals from Mount Changjian were also present at the time. With the calculations of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets' immortals, the great demon naturally could not escape and was ultimately captured and taken back to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. It's unknown whether it was eventually slain or imprisoned in the Demon Locking Pagoda..."

Bai Ruo hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"However, even years later, immortals from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets continued to search the Southern Wilderness. Subsequently, rumors spread that the Dao Xuan Pills had not been found, which became the root cause of the demonic unrest in the Southern Wilderness. Indeed, a small number of demons who consumed those pills significantly advanced their cultivation and proclaimed themselves demon kings. Over the next two decades, the situation escalated dramatically, with rampant demonic energy and malevolent influences. There were even instances of demon hordes causing chaos and numerous tragedies in the smaller kingdoms of the Southern Wilderness… This ultimately led to dire consequences: the Mountain God of Hengshan was enraged, several immortal abodes intervened, and even a Buddhist Ming King manifested. The demons trembled, and countless fled."

As Bai Ruo slowly recounted her tale, Ji Yuan's brows furrowed deeply. Bai Ruo's comprehensive description, combined with his spiritual eye and the overlapping scene of the 'Rivers and Mountains of the Mind,' brought forth a vivid image before him: the demonic aura and malevolent influences swirling across hundreds of thousands of li of mountains in the Southern Wilderness. The demons, who had once cultivated individually, were now stirred into a frenzy by a single furnace of Dao Xuan Pills, their rampant demonic energy and evil influences obscuring the sky.

The subsequent scattered flight of demons seemed to spread malevolent energy everywhere. Ji Yuan wondered if this dispersion was a good or bad development, as it reminded him of his small wooden plaque, whose contents clearly hinted at an ominous sign.

"Fearing deep implication, I fled across countless mountains and rivers to Da Zhen. At that time, I was severely injured and my vital energy greatly depleted. But after that ordeal, I dared not wander freely or harm anyone… Then I encountered Zhou Lang, who was traveling to the capital for the imperial examination. I employed a subtle 'beauty trick' to join his carriage party, partly to evade the various deities across Da Zhen, but also with a faint malicious intent…"

Up until now, Bai Ruo had been recounting her origins; the narrative now reached the stage of her romance with Zhou Niansheng.

"At that time, Scholar Zhou was quite interesting. Though he clearly desired me greatly, he never touched me, always saying he intended to formally marry me…"

A tender expression also appeared on Bai Ruo's face.

"He was truly exceptionally kind to me. As a demon, I had never experienced such care or genuine love. He even spent his fortune to acquire various rare herbs and medicines for me. I became somewhat bewildered, and one day, I accidentally revealed my true nature…"

At this, Bai Ruo's expression became a mix of exasperation and amusement, while Ji Yuan's curiosity was greatly piqued.

"I fully expected to have terrified Zhou Lang, but by then, I couldn't bring myself to harm him; I just thought I'd leave. Yet, to my surprise, that simpleton… he was merely startled and didn't even cry out. Instead, he just asked me, 'If you're a demon, can you bear children for me?'… *Pfft*…"

Bai Ruo couldn't help but laugh, her face turning a little red.

Ji Yuan, however, found it utterly unbelievable. He couldn't imagine that the now frail and elderly Zhou Niansheng had possessed such daring in his youth. Was it courage or utter foolishness? He must have been a level above even Brother Xu Xian!

"That question left me stunned for quite some time… Only that night did I learn that after we had spent half a year living together, Zhou Lang had already sensed something unusual about me. He had been afraid at first, but realizing I wouldn't harm him and instead treated him gently, he gradually lost his fear. By that evening, he was, in fact, only momentarily startled…"

"Upon learning I was originally a white deer, Zhou Lang was unexpectedly delighted, saying that in his hometown, white deer were auspicious animals, and there were tales of lost travelers in the mountains finding their way out after encountering a white deer. Just like that, he became completely unafraid of me…"

Bai Ruo's face still seemed to hold a trace of her confusion from back then, unable to comprehend why Zhou Lang ceased to be afraid simply because she was a white deer.

Ji Yuan, however, had his own thoughts on the matter; perhaps Zhou Niansheng was simply finding an excuse to put his own mind at ease.

"After that, Zhou Lang did not pass the imperial examination. Instead, we married and settled in the capital…"

At this point, Bai Ruo's face held both an expression of happiness and a touch of sorrow.

"He didn't know, and neither did I. After our marriage, we were unrestrained, which in fact, had already harmed Zhou Lang's vital energy…"

Ji Yuan interjected with a timely question.

"Did he only take other wives and concubines after realizing this later?"

Bai Ruo paused, then shook her head.

"No, that's not it. Because I was a demon, I couldn't bear a child for Zhou Lang. That's why I allowed him to marry other mortal women. As the saying goes, 'of the three unfilial acts, having no heir is the gravest,' and I didn't want the Zhou family's ancestral line to end."

I see, so that was the reason.

"About seven or eight years later, I finally realized something was wrong. Even though I had never done anything detrimental to Zhou Lang before, and had tried my best to protect him during intimacy, carefully concealing my demonic aura so he never absorbed a trace, he was still losing a great deal of vital energy, and his lifespan was becoming unstable. At that point, I was more anxious than when I had been in the Southern Wilderness Mountains, and I began searching everywhere for a way to save him…"

The story wasn't particularly long, and overall, it was rather ordinary; only the ending, where the soul was sent to the Underworld, provided the greatest dramatic turn.

Yet Ji Yuan found it a very pleasant story to listen to. Imbued with Bai Ruo's emotions, it was a genuine tale of love between a human and a demon, not even truly tragic, and ended rather satisfactorily.

Even among mortals, how many lovers or married couples could truly compare to Bai Ruo and Zhou Niansheng?

After Bai Ruo finished speaking, she continued to stare blankly in the direction of Miaosifang. For some reason, now that the story was told, she felt a sense of loss, wondering if it would have been better had she not fled back then.

The more she dwelled on it, the more distressed she became.

"This is indeed a good story! I don't think this story should be known only to me, nor should it ever disappear from history!"

Ji Yuan said this with a touch of emotion, musing, *Perhaps I should tweak some details and have Master Yin write a 'Tale of Maiden Ruo'?*

Just as he was pondering this, Ji Yuan came back to his senses and found Bai Ruo prostrated before him once more, her posture utterly respectful, with no intention of rising.

"Miss Bai Ruo, what are you doing?"

Bai Ruo repeatedly knocked her head against the wooden floor, refusing to rise.

"Venerable Immortal, Bai Ruo knows you are a person of great divine powers and abilities. I no longer care about my cultivation in this life; I no longer wish to attain enlightenment!"

The woman raised her head, two lines of clear tears streaming down her face.

"I wish to go to the Underworld Bureau under the Imperial Capital's City God. Please, I beg you, send me there. I fled before, and if I go by myself now, my soul will surely be scattered on the spot. Please send me there, and I implore you to speak with the City God Lord, to allow me to accompany Zhou Lang in the Underworld until my yin lifespan is exhausted. At that point, whether my demon soul is refined or something else, I will leave it entirely to the Underworld Bureau's discretion!"

"Thud, thud, thud…"

The woman kowtowed again, her forehead repeatedly striking the attic's wooden floor with continuous thudding sounds.

"Bai Ruo knows this is an excessive request, but this humble maiden has nowhere else to turn. I can only beg you, Venerable Immortal. Please, please, please… Thud, thud, thud…"

Ji Yuan was somewhat stunned, and for a moment, he found himself at a loss for how to respond to the woman before him. His immediate thought wasn't about the hassle of dealing with the City God, but rather, he murmured a line:

"Facing the moon, a lonely figure longs for a companion; I only envy mandarin ducks, not immortals…"