Sept nuits de neige

Chapitre 6

A ghost! It's definitely a ghost!

Ma Qianli was too frightened to speak. He stared blankly as the female ghost licked the blood from her lips, stepped over the convulsing body of the Black Vulture Demon, and watched helplessly as she cleaved open the carriage with a single stroke, picked up the people inside, and disappeared into the distance like a cloud in the mist.

The Black Eagle Demon had already fainted from the pain, and even if he woke up, he would be like a cripple.

Ma Qianli had slumped into a puddle of mud, and his body was already damp and smelly.

The female ghost was none other than Tang Shijiu.

Enraged, she left Xiaoyao Manor and descended the mountain alone. Looking back at the bustling scene and the festive atmosphere, she felt there was nowhere for her to belong, neither in heaven nor on earth. She took out the sachet from her bosom, examined it, sighed again, and felt even more desolate.

Feeling troubled, she found a secluded cave to sit in. She had discovered the cave by chance when she was a child, lost in the mountains; it was her little secret, never told to anyone. She loved wine, but finding it inconvenient at the mountain lodge, she stored all the fine wines she found in the cave. One day, by chance, she encountered the rare and exceptional Monkey Wine! Brewed by wild monkeys from the mountains, using wild fruits from places inaccessible to ordinary people, it was exceptionally sweet and mellow.

The more wine enters my sorrowful heart, the more my heart breaks.

Drinking alone only makes me feel more miserable.

What are Father and Mother looking for me for? They abandoned me a long time ago.

Now even my junior brother doesn't want me, and even my master tells me to stay far away from him.

If even her junior brother and master don't want her, where in the world would a man want her? I'm afraid that even if it were ten years, she wouldn't find anyone willing to marry her.

In this way, I will never see my master again.

I'll never see my junior brother again...

Tang Shijiu shamelessly discovered that even though Xu Ziqing had broken her heart, she still wanted to see him again, still wanted to tell him jokes to make him blush, still wanted to practice swordsmanship with him, and still wanted to... be with him.

As she drank more, her thoughts became increasingly chaotic. Some monkeys from the mountains, seeing her drinking, couldn't resist sliding down to try and snatch the wine from her. Nineteen angrily shouted, "Snatch! Snatch! What are you snatching? Just because you snatch it doesn't mean it's yours!"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind: if I snatch it... then it's yours?

That's right, if I snatch it, it's mine! Gu Yan snatched Xu Ziqing, so Xu Ziqing is hers. Since that's the case, why can't I, Tang Shijiu, snatch a man back as my husband?

Once one principle is understood, all principles become clear. Tang Shijiu, still drunk, decided that once he sobered up the next day, he would go out and rob a man.

As long as he's not too bad-looking, not too old, and a man, that's fine. Tang Shijiu sang loudly, momentarily thinking that the toilets at Xiaoyao Manor would probably be in short supply at this hour, and couldn't help but feel happy. Then she thought about how she could just snatch a man tomorrow and return to Xiaoyao Manor, and couldn't help but feel joyful. Then she thought about the way Xu Ziqing looked at Gu Yan, and felt a pang of sadness.

Singing and walking, he was fortunate enough to be hanging upside down in the tree, lost in thought and drinking wine, until Ma Qianli arrived in his carriage.

Great, I don't need to go looking for it, a young man will deliver it to my door.

Tang Shijiu was very satisfied. Grabbing the man's belt, she only wanted to return to the cave as quickly as possible, light a campfire, and take a closer look at this man who had delivered her to her door, to see if he looked to her liking.

Chapter Four: Forced Marriage

The monkey's wine had a strong aftereffect, and Tang Shijiu only felt his steps were a little unsteady after entering the cave. The cave was clean and simply furnished, and the roaring campfire made people feel very safe.

Shen Yuntan let out a soft breath and carefully adjusted his breathing. Inside the cave, aside from a blanket, were jars upon jars of wine.

This woman is not only ugly, but she's also an alcoholic!

The Hundred-Day Crisp truly lived up to its name; his limbs were still aching, and the internal energy he had cultivated for half a day had vanished in the blink of an eye. He had originally planned to deliberately fall into a trap, letting those people send him directly to Jinhu Manor to save himself some trouble. He hadn't expected Sangmen to be so cunning, and this Hundred-Day Crisp to be so powerful, almost causing him to capsize in a ditch and suffer a great loss.

Tang Shijiu gently placed the man on the ground, casually tore off a piece of cloth, and brought it close to her body to wipe his face. Little did she know that her own makeup was a mess from crying, smeared into a paste, and really needed to be wiped clean.

Hmm... this man is quite good-looking. His thick eyebrows extend straight to his temples, and his gentle eyes are filled with affection even when silent. His skin is extremely fair, and he is even more refined and handsome than Xu Ziqing. His thin lips are slightly pursed, and there is a light stubble on his chin, but it does not detract from his handsomeness; on the contrary, it adds a touch of mature charm.

Hmm, very good, very good. Tang Shijiu was extremely satisfied; he'd snatched back a handsome guy—that's impressive!

He looked thin and frail, seemingly a sickly man who couldn't even stand up. Tang Shijiu opened a jar of wine, took a big gulp, and exhaled a satisfied breath: "Hey! Do you know any martial arts?"

The man's voice was deep and pleasant: "No."

Uh, he doesn't know martial arts, that's a bit troublesome. Taking him back seems a bit embarrassing. Tang Shijiu took another sip of wine, looking him up and down. So thin, even if he fought brute force, he definitely couldn't beat Xu Ziqing, and probably couldn't even handle Tian Man. Taking a man like this back would definitely make his junior brothers and sisters laugh at him to death.

She hesitated, wondering whether to throw this useless man out, but when she turned her gaze to his face, she couldn't look away.

This man may be useless, but he's very handsome.

Tang Shijiu felt a little dizzy. Seeing that the man was also staring straight at her, she smiled and asked, "What's your name? Want a drink?"

"Yun Tan, Shen Yun Tan." His voice was calm and indifferent, showing no concern what the female ghost who had suddenly dragged him into the cave was going to do.

"Talking in the clouds? And you call yourself a spittoon! From now on, I'll call you a spittoon!" Tang Shijiu laughed heartily, pulled the man in front of her, and handed him the wine jar. "Spittoon, drink up, drink up!" She shouted, urging him to drink, while she herself picked up the jar and gulped it down. The clear wine slid down her face, washing away her messy makeup and revealing a sliver of fair skin.

"Alright! Let's drink!" Shen Yun laughed, not minding being called "spittoon." He was weak from the poison, and as soon as he lifted the jar, his hand went limp and fell back down.

"Haha, you're so stupid!" Nineteen laughed, and for some reason found this person quite cute. He snatched the wine jar, pulled over the "spittoon," and poured the wine from the jar into the man's mouth.

The strong liquor was indeed fragrant and mellow as it went down his throat. Seeing that he had drunk several large mouthfuls, Tang Shijiu stopped forcing him to drink and took the jar himself, gulping it down.

"I... I'm Tang Shijiu, you can just call me Shijiu." She'd had too much to drink, her tongue was thick, and her mind was a little foggy. "I'm the very, very, very senior sister of Xiaoyao Manor. I'm very skilled in martial arts! Everyone's afraid of me."

"Hmm, your martial arts skills are quite good."

Nineteen's eyes were a little blurry, but the more she looked at the man's face, the more she liked him. She couldn't help but hug his neck tightly: "You're so handsome! I didn't grab the wrong person!"

The greasy makeup smeared on his clothes, and a vein throbbed slightly on Shen Yuntan's forehead as he felt a bad premonition.

Sure enough, Tang Shijiu said excitedly, "From today onwards, you are mine, and I am yours. We'll get married tonight; you'll be my husband, and I'll be your wife!"

Shen Yun's face turned completely green.

Tang Shijiu clung to him like a piece of candy, sometimes pouring him drinks, sometimes muttering incantations. Sometimes laughing loudly, sometimes crying loudly.

She was drunk.