Song Ci pa.s.sed through a forest of blooming paG.o.da trees and saw a crystal clear stream at the end.
There was a st.u.r.dy paG.o.da tree beside the stream, with its branches and leaves hung so low they nearly touched the ground. It swayed gently in the breeze.
Feeling thirsty, he walked down to the stream and squatted to scoop up a handful of water. After gulping it down, he wiped the drops of water from his chin with his sleeve. As he was thinking about sitting down to take a rest, a faint fragrance filled his nose.
He turned his head and saw a maiden in red under the paG.o.da tree. She remained motionless, her graceful figure hidden under the leaves of the tree.
Song Ci stood up hastily and shouted to the maiden, "Lady, do you know where this is?"
"Young Master, you should leave quickly." The maiden's soft voice somehow sounded familiar to Song Ci.
He took a step forward. "I can leave, but you need to tell me where the exit is."
The moment he opened his eyes, he was already at this mysterious place.
"When dawn breaks, leave Le Yu." The maiden said.
"That's not possible. I haven't even found out the location of the Demon Gate. How can I just leave?" Song Ci shook his head. "I won't leave."
As soon as he said it, there was a burst of chilly wind, and a sandstorm surged towards Song Ci right in the face. Song Ci raised his sleeves to block it.
As the sandstorm surged, layers of black clouds gathered in the sky, darkening it. The next moment, the initially lush paG.o.da trees in the woods turned into withered, dead trees, while the clear stream turned turbid and thick. In an instant, the beautiful scenery had transformed into a wasteland.
Song Ci recalled that he had drunk from the stream earlier and his stomach recoiled. He spat a few times. This was even more disgusting than eating flies.
The maiden in red turned around suddenly. Above her pale neck was a b.l.o.o.d.y, skinless face with hollow eyes. Opening her mouth and showing the sharp teeth within, she let off a shrill, ear-piercing howl. She looked extremely ferocious, and she was gliding swiftly towards him.
Song Ci was so frightened that he let out a cry and waved his sleeves. "Go away! Go away! Stay away from me!"
"Since you have a death wish, then I'll grant you your wish!" Her hoa.r.s.e voice sharpened. She spread her mouth wide open, and the corners of her mouth were ripped apart, exposing an entire maw of sharp fangs.
Song Ci grabbed a handful of soil, flung it into the woman's maw, and took the chance to turn around and flee.
At the same time, he sighed in his heart, a woman's face really changes with just a word!1
The maiden in red chased after him. Her big mouth was like iron; there was a loud clank every time she closed and opened her mouth. Once Song Ci heard the sound, he ran like crazy. He thought, given his delicate skin and tender meat, if he was caught in her mouth, even his bones would be crushed into dust.
He had never understood what people used to say about women having a sharp mouth, but now, he fully understood.
Seeing that alien face getting closer to him, Song Ci's fear intensified, and a loud cry escaped his lips.
All his consciousness instantaneously returned to reality, Song Ci opened his eyes and gasped with fear before he realized that he had a nightmare.
He sat up in bed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He thought, this female demon was really formidable; she even entered his dreams to intimidate him.
Sunshine shone through the window, which put Song Ci at ease. He exhaled, went to the window and pushed it open. He saw that the sun was burning brightly outside. Occasionally, there were sounds of birds chirping, which was worlds apart from the dead silence of the night.
He suddenly remembered that Big Beard had knocked him out last night and hurriedly stepped out to look for him. Strangely, there was not a single person in the inn.
He went back and forth, but even the three fellows who collected his money yesterday had disappeared.
Didn't they say three meals were included?
Song Ci was so angry that he wanted to flip the table. He only had that much silver, and he was cheated out of it all.
In addition, Big Beard had also said that he would tell him about the Demon Gate tonight. Yet, he was gone when Song Ci woke up. Song Ci wondered if he had sneakily left while Song Ci was sleeping.
Having been scammed of both money and person, Song Ci shed a bitter tear as he considered draping on his Taoist robe and resuming his old career.
It was only when he was thinking about his Taoist robe that he remembered Second Missy Hu whom he had saved last night was still lying outside. Thus, he quickly went out and saw that there was only a robe left where Second Missy Hu was laid down the night before.
He changed his robe, dusted off the dust, and tied up his long hair. a.s.suming an enigmatic appearance, he headed for the city of Le Yu.
The news of Second Missy Hu's safe return had already spread throughout the small city of Le Yu. People were remarking about how that Taoist priest from yesterday was not someone with just an empty embroidered skin.2
As soon as Song Ci stepped into the city, he was warmly welcomed by the crowd. The crowd surrounded him although they did not dare to get too close. They were all full of praises for him.
It was the first time Song Ci received this kind of treatment. Although he put on an air of nonchalance like a great master, he was secretly pleased.
One after another, the ma.s.ses asked about the demon in the inn. Song Ci frowned, then asked in a deep voice, "Does any of you know Sun (p.r.o.nounced as 'soon') Yunniang?"
At the mention of the name of Sun Yunniang, the commoners around him abruptly stopped speaking all at the same time. A complicated expression came over their faces.
"Is Daozhang talking about Third Missy Sun from our Le Yu city?" An old man asked.
Song Ci figured that it should be her, and thus he nodded, "That's her."
"What a sin. When Sun Yunniang said she would return, I never thought she would really come back……" The old man shook his head and sighed.
"This is all the fault of the Hu clan. Their evildoings brought trouble to everyone in our city!" Someone beside them fumed.
The people around him began to talk and chatter in low voices. Song Ci did not understand what they were saying, but one thing was clear.
They all knew Sun Yunniang.
Song Ci grabbed the old man and said, "Please tell me exactly who Sun Yunniang is."
"Daozhang, please follow me. It's a long story." The old man replied.
Song Ci followed the old man home. The old man happened to be having his meal, and Song Ci felt rather abashed to receive a bowl of noodles from him. He listened to the old man's narration as they ate.
The city of Le Yu had always been a small town, located in a remote area, where few outsiders came.
Thus, every news, no matter how small, would spread like wildfire throughout the entire city.
That day, the Sun household gave birth to their third girl. When she was born, half of her face looked as if ink had been spilled on it; it was frightful. In less than half a day, the entire city knew that Third Missy Sun was an ugly freak.
Over the next ten years, as Third Missy Sun grew older, the neighbors all privately referred to her as' ugly girl' because of her flat nose, beady eyes and the large birthmark on her face. Youngsters of her age refused to play with her, saying they were afraid that the birthmark on her face would be contagious.
Even the Sun household's First Missy Sun and Second Missy Sun did not like this ugly sister of theirs and treated her harshly.
She was Sun Yunniang.
Sun Yunniang knew that she was inferior in appearance and rarely took the initiative to interact with others. Whenever she saw someone, she would avoid them if she could. After she had grown up, she would no longer hide to cry because of the cruel words of others. She always spoke in a soft voice, and she had never clashed with anyone.
She never dared to ask for the rouge and jade hairpins3 that were common among ladies; they would gossip about her if she took even a second glance at those items on the streets.
Sun Yunniang would always walk at a fast pace when she was out on the streets. Only when someone called out to her would she stop and respond in a gentle manner.
Later on, people would say that although Third Missy Sun was ugly, she had a kind heart. Some kind-hearted people attempted to play matchmaker for her. But when the other party saw her, they all immediately rejected the match.
When Sun Yunniang was nineteen of age, her sisters were already mothers, and yet, she was still not engaged.
Aware that no one would marry her, Sun Yunniang declined the kindness of others and made up her mind to take care of her parents all her life; she would no longer to think about marriage.
However, what fate had in mind for her was far from the smooth-sailing one she wished for. Sun Yunniang saved Old Madam Hu after her carriage overturned at the sides of the paddy fields. To repay her kindness, Old Madam Hu ordered her son to ask for her hand.
The only son of the Hu clan, Hu Qi, pa.s.sed the imperial examination at the county level after ten years of study. He later failed the imperial examination at the provincial level and followed in Old Madam Hu's footsteps to become a merchant. He was also well-known as a womanizer in the city of Le Yu.
Although Hu Qi had a lot of maidservants who were there to satisfy his s.e.xual urges