Lanpu

Kapitel 39

That would be for the best. If you are delicate and fragile, then Huang'e is a kind, innocent, and sentimental young girl.

"What's it to me!" Huang E slapped my hair so hard it flew everywhere.

Before I could even react, Yu Zheng exploded, "You damn bird! I spent so much time combing her hair, what are you doing?!"

Even though the tiger is dead, its might remains. Even knowing that her talent is not what it used to be, our "Golden-Winged Roc King, the Heavenly Queen" has already lost a few feathers and is now just a tiny black dot on the horizon.

I buried my face in my palms and sighed wearily.

I always thought that someone as beautiful as Tang Chenyu Zheng must have many friends, given her good interpersonal relationships.

But I overlooked one fact: aside from their appearance, they are just ordinary people.

Yu Zheng is beautiful, but she has a resolute and volatile temper, and is proud and arrogant. Those who love her to death are usually people with ambiguous personalities, but to her, such people are at most her subjects, and she looks down on them to some extent.

They have equally strong personalities, yet they can't stand each other. In fact, the path to becoming a queen is quite lonely.

At first, I didn't understand why she treated me so well. I had clearly insulted her, hurt her, and seen her at her most vulnerable when she was on the verge of collapse. I thought she would run far away.

“There aren’t many people who can stand up to me.” She glanced at me. “You’re tough enough.”

…Even though I'm so humble and unassuming. “It's still you who keeps grabbing me, like an eagle catching a chick,” I muttered.

"That's because you're so gentle, hahaha!" she laughed wildly. It's true... being pretty has its advantages. This kind of laughter, while charming, doesn't look ugly at all; it's quite pleasing to the eye. "Xiao Chen needs someone with your backbone. If he had your backbone, even if he's like a lion in heat, I wouldn't mind. At most, I'd just hunt for wild prey..."

She stared at her with squinting eyes. She was utterly ruthless in her judgment of men, and without the slightest hint of embarrassment.

But being with her is actually quite interesting. She's very strong-willed, so she works very hard in everything she does. Like a beautiful rose covered in thorns, she's unyielding even to wind and rain. She's terrifyingly tough, yet you can't help but be captivated by her fragrance.

No wonder girls confess their feelings to her. Aside from her beautiful appearance, she has a stronger personality than most men. These days, men are all so effeminate; Yu Zheng seems incredibly trustworthy and worthy of admiration.

Besides, because we are both "shamans," our communication isn't limited to language; it also involves a deeper, more refined emotional connection. Being with her is truly like a gentle breeze... only the storms can be a bit intense.

If Huang'e were to become a human, he might look like this.

After the movie, it's time to go home. We're waiting for the roasted chestnuts. "What does your pet bird eat? Should we bring her something?"

Not only did her wounds heal extremely quickly, but she also adapted to the desolation very rapidly.

“…She gets angry at me.” I scratched my head.

As a result, she bought me two bags of roasted chestnuts. "Eat more so we can have enough."

It means her logic is really...

By the time we got back to the Tang family home, it was already past eight o'clock. I served them some roasted chestnuts, and Tang's mother was overjoyed. She really loves them.

But Tang Chen was startled when he saw me, staring straight at my face. I raised my hand to block him, "Don't say it, I know. You're just putting on a show, aren't you?" I went into the room to wash my face.

He followed me in, "Uh, I didn't mean that..."

I washed my face twice before it was finally clean, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Girls are really amazing; they can go out with such a sullen face and still chat and laugh. All I could think of was Tang Sanzang being forced to cover his face with pig gravy to pretend to be Sun Wukong.

I turned around and saw him still leaning against the bathroom door watching me wash my face. I felt a little annoyed. "...What's so interesting?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Actually, I think all girls look pretty much the same." He touched his nose, "but I was still shocked when you became a 'pretty-looking girl'."

…Shouldn't you take a look at your aesthetic sense?

“Yu Zheng loves this routine.” I took off the hair clip that was almost poking my scalp, and felt completely relaxed.

He didn't say anything, just flipped through a book on my desk. I wanted to change my clothes, but he wouldn't leave. "Uh..."

"You...do you prefer Yu Zheng?" He stammered for a long time before suddenly uttering a surprising question.

I stared at him, wide-eyed, but he wouldn't look at me. I wanted to know what he truly wanted to say, but he instinctively built a high wall around himself.

"I didn't confess my feelings to her, and it wasn't that kind of liking," I said.

"...How do you compare to me?" he asked again, but still didn't look at me.

I was even more confused. "...Tang Chen, are you suffering from heatstroke?"

He chuckled twice. "I was just thinking that you two didn't get along in the first place. 'When did Meng Guang take over Liang Hong's case?'"

His question made me feel a little dejected. “It all started with ‘saying goodbye to her mother.’ I didn’t know her before, and I just thought she was arrogant and annoying. But after getting to know her better, I realized she’s just as you said, a serious and righteous girl.”

Tang Chen didn't say anything, just smiled and went out.

"Tsk tsk, youth." Huang E shook his head. "This is youth."

"What's going on between you and Tang Chen? Why are you talking in riddles instead of saying what you mean?" I said irritably.

She glanced at me sideways. "You're so oblivious. Tang Chen's jealous."

"Are you crazy?" I rolled my eyes.

"Oh dear, how would an old woman like you, who's lost her youth, understand?" She rolled her eyes. "Right now, he doesn't know whether to be jealous of you or the lioness, he's caught in a dilemma. He's found that he's more jealous of the lioness, which makes him uneasy... So cute."

I waved her away. Who cares about her crazy ramblings...who can understand them? What's he jealous of the two of us girls? He's insane.

But the next day, before dawn, he dragged me out to exercise.

Don't let Tang Chen's scholarly appearance fool you; he's incredibly fit. He's fierce and accurate when he plays tennis; I even knocked him unconscious with one of his tennis balls once.

As for me? My physical condition can no longer be described as "bad"; it's downright miserable.

So when he asked me to go out for exercise, it was basically a disaster. I begged for mercy in less than ten minutes, and then we ran into one of his middle school classmates. Tang Chen had them drag me to play basketball, which gave me a little chance to catch my breath.

As a result, I fell asleep on a bench next to the basketball court... and the summer sun was scorching. By the time Tang Chen found me, I had already suffered from heatstroke.

Although it's embarrassing, I'd rather have him carry me home than call an ambulance. "...I'll just make you bird's nest porridge morning and night."

"You might as well let me get some sleep," I replied weakly.

"Exercise is the key to good health," he stubbornly insisted.

As they were going up the stairs, they bumped into Yu Zheng. After a stiff greeting, Yu Zheng caught up with them, his face darkening, "...Why are you so weak? Did you have heatstroke?"

I could only manage a couple of forced laughs.

"Let's go for afternoon tea this afternoon, and have some cake to replenish our energy."

…I didn’t want any afternoon tea…cakes only provide fat, and besides, I don’t like sweets.

Tang Chen smiled slightly. "You're happy to have met Yu Zheng?" I found it a bit strange.

"No, no." He was slightly troubled. "It's not because I'm happy to have met her."

I suddenly wish they were all dead. I've truly reached a point where I'm completely helpless when it comes to living people.

After that, I lived a life a hundred times more arduous than that of school. In the mornings, Tang Chen would drag me swimming, and in the afternoons, Yu Zheng would drag me along. They seemed to have reached some unspoken understanding, but I was caught in the middle and it was incredibly tough.

I guess they were used to living together, and the breakup must have left them feeling lost. But please don't use me, an innocent bystander, as a scapegoat... I'm really exhausted.

That Huang E is a real scoundrel. All the slightly respectable, albeit not-so-righteous, superstitious people in the city fawn over her. She's invited to banquets at one house to another every day, having so much fun that she forgets everything else, taking the opportunity to stay far away from this virtuous family. She's living like a god, completely oblivious to my suffering.

"You should have some friends your own age to play with. Why are you always clinging to me?" What kind of talk is that! It's like I'm the one who insists on being clingy to her!

I don't want to just play around, I want to go back to my home in Shuo! I'm about to break down, I really am...

***

Such overwork definitely caused problems. My body, which was not in good health, was affected by the yin month of July. Due to excessive labor, I almost fell seriously ill.

This August happened to fall during the yin month of July. Although I should have been toughened up by my time at our school in the cemetery, the yin month in this metropolis was even more intense than the density of students at our school.

This month is a carnival for ghosts. They have a purpose and can go anywhere. Since they have no ill intentions, the virtuous families have no impact on them... but it has a great impact on me.

In the past, Huang'e would stay by my side without causing any major problems. But Huang'e is good at learning everything, and after learning only a little bit of Shuo's knowledge, he actually started talking to me seriously about "chaos" and told me to get used to it myself.

"Huang'e, you don't have a boyfriend, do you?" I coughed hoarsely on the pillow and looked up at her listlessly.

"What boyfriend?" She smugly looked at herself in the mirror. "I'm just too beautiful, smart, and charming. It's a sin of me to be like this..." Then she flew away with her tail wagging.

…It’s quite remarkable that the dictionary of Huang’e has added the word “sin”.

That wasn't the worst part. What was worse, the quack doctor who treated me said I had an asthma attack and needed to go somewhere with fresh air to recuperate.

…You're the one who's having trouble breathing. I've caught a cold, you know? But I doubt he even understands how to explain those two words.

But Tang's mother was very worried. With friends all over the world, she immediately contacted a friend for me and happily asked Tang Chen to take me to that friend's villa in Yangmingshan to recuperate.

…I don’t want to go to Yangmingshan, where the ghost density is even higher!

"Tang Chen, your parents both have work and can't come with you," Tang's mother earnestly instructed. "Take good care of Hengzhi... Don't do anything to her! Not only will your uncle not forgive you, but your mother will not stand for it either."

…I definitely don’t want Tang Chen, who has a monster magnet, to go to Yangmingshan with me and be a lone man and woman!

But I'm so sick that even a single word from me is like being cut into a thousand pieces by coughing. How could I possibly express my protest clearly? In the end, I was helped into the car, feeling utterly dejected.

Can I really make it safely until the start of school...?

Judging from Tang Chen's experiences, this journey should be considered safe.

Don't even mention being squeezed onto a traffic island, getting rear-ended at a red light, nearly being hit in the middle by a large truck on the expressway (or highway?), or having cement spilled from a dump truck smeared on your windshield...

At least we didn't crash and die. We drove steadily into Tang's mother's friend's villa. The only problem was when we were reversing into the parking space, we practically slid across the wall. I had to climb to the driver's side, otherwise I wouldn't be able to open the door.

I was feeling relieved that Tang Chen's luck was starting to improve when I looked back and saw three jade pendants around his neck that were shattering, and the prayer beads in his hands were rolling off as he walked.

Fortunately, they have a wealthy family and many relatives, so they can afford the losses.

My mother's friend is also said to be someone who loves studying ghosts and spirits. Looking at this house, one has to admit that his research has yielded some results. In Yangmingshan, where the density of ghosts is so high, and which becomes even more menacing after the seventh month of the lunar calendar, it is surprisingly quiet, like a pure land. It's truly heartwarming.

Although I had to grit my teeth to squeeze into the house, it was because I'm a weirdo, not the house's fault.

Having isolated the source of the illness, I felt much better after a night's sleep; at least I wasn't coughing so badly I felt like I was going to cough my lungs up. However, this old villa is located near a mountain road, and people were speeding all night, which was a bit of a downside.

I changed my clothes and, supporting myself against the wall, coughed as I went downstairs. Tang Chen had already cooked breakfast and came to help me with a smile. "You look much better now. I didn't know you had asthma."

He gave a wry laugh. "...I've never had asthma, okay?"

His cooking skills are about the same level as mine, but as long as there's food, that's fine. This villa, which I don't know if it belongs to an uncle, aunt, or cousin, has a large collection of books. Tang Chen also brought two laptops. We read books, and the very weak one played video games with Tang Chen, which was quite entertaining.

In a villa area where every household has a swimming pool (no matter how small), the elder's yard has a charmingly shallow pond with a few lotus flowers and weeping willows swaying in the water, making one feel carefree.

On quiet summer nights, he would insist that I wear a light jacket and take a mosquito-catching lamp to the pond to cool off and chat. Sometimes he would even bring out the medicine stove, brewing the Chinese medicine prescribed by my uncle while gazing at the starry sky.

Despite being so still, Tang Chen remained happy, though it was unclear what he was enjoying.

Sometimes, however, we're having a casual conversation when the astonishing exhaust noise of street racers drowns us out.

Occasional bickering is fine, but I don't know if it's because of the summer heat, but sometimes they keep me up all night. Tang Chen called several times, but these reckless kids always come back, which is very annoying.

"His skills are terrible, he's just hot-blooded." Tang Chen shook his head solemnly.

I chuckled. Tang Chen, that good kid, why is he judging other people's skills?