Chapter Fifteen: Xiū Niáng

  "In the Northern Darkness there is a fish, its name is Kun. The size of the Kun is unknown, it may be several thousand miles in length. It transforms into a bird, its name is Peng. The back of the Peng is also unknown, it may be several thousand miles in width. When angry and flying, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. This bird, when the seas move, will migrate to the Southern Darkness. The Southern Darkness is the Heavenly Pool."

  As soon as Mu Shan entered the inner courtyard, he heard a soft and emotional recitation coming from under the peach tree in front of him.

  A gentle breeze blows by, and the peach blossoms that have just turned red fall off one after another, dancing in the wind.

  Mushan ran quickly in the direction of the sound, stopped under the peach tree, slowly stretched out his head and said with a smile: "Xiūniáng, what book are you reading again? It's really not good enough, you didn't even wait for me, could it be that you deliberately want to leave me behind?"

  "Ah......" Under the peach tree, a slender woman was sitting on the ground, holding a bamboo book with both hands. Suddenly hearing the sound from behind her back, she shrank her body and let out a startled cry.

  The girl slowly turned around, with a perfect and flawless face, two long thin eyebrows, like the willow branches swaying in the wind, slender and beautiful; a pair of eyes, like the crescent moon at the edge of the sky, clear and elegant; her thin pink lips were pouting now, looking at Mu Shan with a wronged expression.

  "Disgusting, you're just trying to scare me!" Xiu Niang waved her bamboo fan with a hint of annoyance and gently tapped it on Mu Shan's forehead: "Where is my candied hawthorn?"

  "Hehe, I didn't scare you. After all these years, how are you still so timid?" Mu Shan rubbed his forehead and quickly emerged from behind the tree, sitting down beside Xiuniang and opening his handkerchief with a flourish: "Just looking at it makes one's mouth water, when there's something good, of course we have to share it with Xiuniang."

  "You still have a conscience." Xiumei's face lit up with a smile, and her previous anger vanished instantly, set against the soft sunlight spilling from the edge of the sky, the red peach blossoms flying above her head had a breathtaking beauty.

  Mu Shan stared blankly, although they were together day and night, he didn't know why, but this one glance made him stunned.

  Deep down, there is a strange emotion, quietly surging.

  Xiū Niáng snatched the ice sugar gourd from Mù Shān's hand when he was distracted, and happily sucked on it with her mouth closed, her big eyes slightly narrowed, looking at Mù Shān with a smile.

  "Cough!" Mu Shan felt his face heat up, and he coughed awkwardly twice before changing the subject: "What book are you reading? I heard it from afar earlier, and it seemed quite interesting."

  "Ah, you're talking about this!" Xiu Niang put the book on Mu Shan's lap and said: "This is Zhuangzi's 'The Carefree Wandering', which begins by telling of a fish in the Northern Sea called Kun. The body of the Kun is extremely large, stretching for thousands of miles without end. The Kun can also transform into a bird, which after transformation is called Peng. The back of the Peng is wide and stretches for thousands of miles. When it rises to fly, its wings are like clouds hanging in the sky. This bird migrates to the Southern Sea when the sea moves and the wind arises. The Southern Sea is the natural pool of water."

  "Kunpeng, is it a monster?" Mu Shan slightly raised his head, looking through the gap between the branches above him at the sky dyed red by peach blossoms. "Its body stretches for thousands of miles, how many years would it take to grow so big? Such a huge thing, how much food would it need to eat in one meal? It's simply a giant rice bucket! But does such a thing as Kunpeng really exist in the world?"

  "You're just talking nonsense." Xiu Niang smiled and gave Mu Shan a white eye, then gazed up at the sky with a look of yearning on her face. "But if such a mythical creature really existed, that would be wonderful. With its wings spread wide, it soars into the wind, rising straight up to 90,000 miles, carrying the blue sky on its back as it wanders through the void, taking in all the hustle and bustle of the world. If one day I could ride on the back of such a creature, touring all the famous scenic spots and experiencing all the local customs, that would be wonderful."

  "What a mess of thoughts, aren't you afraid that Kunpeng will swallow you up with one mouthful?" Mu Shan habitually rubbed Xiu Niang's hair and said: "Even if there really is a Kunpeng in the world, it's still a monster. Monsters are supposed to eat people!"

  Xiu Niang pushed away Mu Shan's rough big hand and argued: "It's not like that! A strange beast like Kun Peng shouldn't eat humans. Roaming above the nine heavens, only immortals can do that, how could an immortal harm people?!"

  "Xiuman looked at Xiuniang with a serious face and asked: "Xiuniang, do you really want to go out and take a look at the outside world?""

  "I...". Xiu Niang's expression turned gloomy, and she lowered her head silently, saying: "Uncle will not agree. Even when I wanted to read books, he didn't allow it, and it was Jili who secretly taught me, otherwise I would still be a silly girl who doesn't even recognize characters!"

  For some reason, Mu Shan looked at Xiu Niang's expression and suddenly felt the sky darken, as if the sunlight on the horizon was excluding them from this small piece of land.

  "Xiu Niang, you don't have to listen to Guan Zhuangzhu for everything. He's just your uncle, not your father. What right does he have to decide your lifelong happiness?"

  Mu Shan only felt that there was a nameless fire burning in his heart, and even the tone of his speech rose several degrees.

  Whether it was out of sympathy for Xiuniang's unfortunate life or because the beauty in front of him would forever be a match made in heaven but not meant to be his.

  "Fortunately, without my uncle, I wouldn't be alive today. The kindness of nurturing is greater than heaven! In my eyes, my uncle is no different from my own father." Xiumei's soft tone carried a hint of melancholy and desolation: "Moreover, Jili has also been very good to me, what more could I ask for?"

  "Jili..." Mu Shan's rising anger was suddenly doused, as if someone had splashed a basin of cold water on his face. His words still carried a hint of bitterness: "Yes, among the three of us, perhaps only Jili can take better care of you!"

  "Three people......" Xiu Niang hesitated for a moment and asked in a weak, mosquito-like voice: "I don't even know how Chang Sheng is doing now."

  “Long life……” Mu Shan followed the sound and looked over, only to see a blush spreading across Xiuniang's flawless white face, with a hint of shyness like a young girl. For an instant, Mu Shan felt as if something had stung his heart, with a faint ache: “Uncle is a good person, I think Long Sheng should be doing well. It's been three years, and my martial arts skills are now stronger than many of the masters who run martial arts schools in the county town. With a famous teacher guiding him and an extraordinary technique, Long Sheng's current martial arts skills are probably unmatched among his peers. I think that among the three of us, perhaps the one with the most promising future is Long Sheng.”

  "I also don't know if Changsheng will come back? We haven't seen each other for three years, and when we meet again, I don't know if he'll remember me?" Xiuniang slightly raised her head, and when she mentioned Changsheng, her cheeks, which were as red as rubies, seemed to be emitting a certain inexplicable aura. Especially the vermilion mark between her eyebrows appeared to have an irresistible attraction that drew Mu Shan's attention in: "In every letter he sends back, what he mentions most is you and Jili, and only asks about me and Feng Xian sister briefly, then doesn't mention it again."

  Mu Shan listened and couldn't help but joke: "This sounds like it has a sour taste to it!"

  Xiū Niáng was like someone had pierced her heart, and her jade-like cheeks were now red as if they were about to bleed. She grabbed the bamboo slips in her hand and was about to hit Mù Shān's body: "You, hateful!"

  Mu Shan quickly dodged to one side and made a ghostly face at Xiuniang, saying: "Hehe, can't hit, can't hit!"

  "Mu Shan, the master of the manor is looking for you, hurry up and go to the main hall!"

  Xiu Niang was about to chase him out, when she suddenly heard the shouting from outside the courtyard. She stopped in her tracks and anxiously said: "Ji Xiang, hurry up and go! Remember, don't let my uncle give me a hard time, or I'll settle accounts with you."

  "Always have to come up with this, annoying or not!" Mu Shan shook his head and walked towards the main hall with a displeased face, muttering to himself: "I know, I'll help him, when can you ever consider me?"