To Get Married - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Perhaps because she had watched many TV shows about demons and monsters since childhood, Lu Yudong did not show much resistance to the fact that she was adopted by a yāo.

A slight gap in the curtains welcomed a sliver of daylight into the dim room.

Lu Yudong nestled in Manzhu’s warm embrace. Her eyes, still red from crying, had calmed down considerably.

Everything was not as difficult to accept as she had imagined.

Manzhu was right beside her, gently patting her back. Just like every day and night for the past six months, it made her feel incredibly safe.

After a long silence, Lu Yudong sat up in Manzhu’s arms. Frowning and pursing her lips, like a childish imp, she ran her hands over Manzhu, seemingly to confirm that the yāo in front of her was indeed no different from a human.

Manzhu was amused by Lu Yudong’s childish and adorable little action. She took her small hand and laughed, “Are you looking for my tail?”

Lu Yudong quickly shook her head, a hint of panic flashing in her tearful eyes.

She still couldn’t quite accept Manzhu’s appearance from last night…

Manzhu saw the fear in Lu Yudong’s heart and stopped joking. She just patted her head and said, “Alright, get up and eat.”

Breakfast had been ready half an hour ago and was kept warm in the pot, so it was still relatively hot.

After washing up, Lu Yudong tiptoed to the small coffee table. Her eyes were timid, and she sat and ate uncomfortably.

In fact, nothing had changed.

In the bathroom, their toothbrushes and towels were still together. At breakfast, Manzhu still peeled a boiled egg for her, just like every previous weekend.

But she just felt a messy confusion that she didn’t know how to sort out.

“If you have any questions, you don’t have to keep them inside,” Manzhu said.

Lu Yudong thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, “Can I ask anything?”

Manzhu nodded.

“Why did you hide it from me in the beginning?”

“I was afraid of scaring you.”

“What was that black shadow last night?”

“A Nightmare Ghost. It awakens your nightmares and feeds on your fear.”

“Will… will it come again?”

“No, it won’t.”

After asking three questions in a row, Lu Yudong took a bite of her steamed bun. Her eyes darted around, and her courage grew a little.

She tilted her head, her eyes clear. “Are all yāo very powerful?”

“That’s not necessarily true. There are many weak yāo in this world. They’ve gained intelligence and their thinking is no different from humans, but they can’t even transform into a human shape,” Manzhu chuckled. “There are actually many yāo in human cities. Perhaps they’re the birds in the sky, the fish in the water, or the ordinary cats and dogs of human households…”

“Will they not hurt people?”

“They won’t. Humans have laws, and we yāo have them, too,” Manzhu said, stretching out her right hand. A thin little booklet appeared in her palm.

Seeing someone conjure something with a whoosh for the first time, Lu Yudong couldn’t help but exclaim “Wow!” Her face was full of novelty as she reached out to poke the small booklet. Seeing that her fingers weren’t repelled by any strange force, she boldly picked it up.

“The Yāo Code?” Lu Yudong had never heard that yāo also needed to abide by laws and discipline. This was different from what was shown on TV.

Chewing her steamed bun, she flipped through a few pages of The Yāo Code. It was densely packed with rules—much more verbose than her class or school rules.

After a while, Lu Yudong patted her dizzy forehead, returned The Yāo Code to Manzhu, and fell into thought.

“Don’t you have any more questions?” Manzhu asked again.

“Hmm…” Lu Yudong thought, then looked up and whispered curiously, “Is Little Uncle Mu also a yāo?”

Manzhu nodded. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

Lu Yudong suddenly understood.

No wonder Manzhu’s contact list only had Mu Chensan’s name before. It wasn’t because Mu Chensan was particularly special to her, but simply because she didn’t know anyone else besides her old friend, Mu Chensan.

However… people say birds of a feather flock together. Was it possible that yāo also gathered in groups?

At this thought, Lu Yudong felt like she had opened a door to a new world. Her eyes, filled with curiosity, widened. Even though her fever hadn’t completely subsided and her head and eyes still ached, she seemed remarkably energetic.

She bravely voiced the thoughts in her mind: “Then, what about that Big Brother named Yan? And Sister Huanxi, Sister Xiao Zhi, and…”

Manzhu said, “They all are.”

“So, all those ears, tails, wings, and horns I saw before… they were actually all yāo?” Lu Yudong couldn’t help but recall seriously. “Sister Huanxi is an orange cat, Sister Xiao Zhi is a dragonfly, the others… the others…”

The others were either nameless or had not displayed their characteristics.

“What kind of yāo is Little Uncle Mu?”

“A large flat-necked snake.”

“A large flat-necked snake?” A hint of confusion appeared in Lu Yudong’s eyes.

Manzhu thought for a moment and used a different name: “King Cobra.”

“Ah!” Lu Yudong’s eyes were full of surprise. She had seen it on Animal World. It was one of the most dangerous snakes in the world, known for its fierce temperament, extreme venom, and tendency to eat its own kind.

Manzhu smiled. “Are you scared?”

Lu Yudong shook her head, saying dully, “I just… I just can’t tell. Little Uncle Mu’s personality is different from what the TV said.”

Manzhu patiently explained, “Yāo who want to cultivate must first cultivate as humans. Regardless of their true nature, they must ultimately abandon some of their bestiality. After all, learning to be human is the first step toward spiritual intelligence.”

Lu Yudong seemed to half-understand, and continued to ask, “Then, what about Big Brother Yan?”

“Zhaomu is a Green Tree Viper. He basically grew up under my watch,” Manzhu said, recalling something and smiling lightly as she shook her head. “He was almost eaten by Mu Chensan, who crawled over from some mountain, when he couldn’t take human form yet. Who would have thought they’d be on such good terms now?”

Lu Yudong became interested. “Can you tell me more about your yāo stories?”

“I can!” Manzhu put down the half-finished cup of soy milk and began to reminisce about some interesting events that had happened in the mountains long ago.

Lu Yudong wiped her hands, sat beside Manzhu, and listened carefully as she recounted the past, whose memories had already been blurred by the passage of time.

Although a yāo‘s life is very, very long, for Manzhu, most of it was nothing more than tedious, day-after-day cultivation. Few memories were left, and even fewer were left and unforgotten.

As Manzhu spoke, she eventually ran out of things to say.

She shook her head and said, “Honestly, for a hundred years, there were no interesting things in the mountains. I used to not understand why the yāo there would rather neglect their cultivation to run off to the human world. Now I know that a human’s brief life can be much more interesting than that of many yāo who have lived for thousands of years in the mountains.”

“So you won’t go back, will you?” Lu Yudong reached out and hugged Manzhu’s arm.

Manzhu raised an eyebrow, avoiding a direct answer. “By the way, there’s a Silver Fox Dog at the bar—that’s Uncle Gou who cooked for you last time. If you like, I’ll let him let you pet him sometime… And Huanxi, you can pet her too.”

Lu Yudong was tempted for a moment, then quickly shook her head.

Seeing her shake her head, Manzhu quickly said, “Don’t be afraid. They won’t hurt people.”

“No, no…” Lu Yudong waved her hands repeatedly. “I just don’t think that’s very appropriate. I don’t need to…”

She liked both cats and dogs very much and really wanted to pet them, but the thought that these cats and dogs could transform into people made her feel that if she did touch them, it would be no different from harassing them.

Thinking this, she lowered her head and pursed her lips in contemplation for a moment. She then looked up at Manzhu and carefully asked the question she was most curious about: “Will I… will I be different from others?”

“Different in what way?” Manzhu took a moment to understand, then realized. “Since you and I are bound by the Soul Bond, my yāo power won’t harm you. It will only benefit your body, not harm it.”

“No, no, I wasn’t, I wasn’t worried about that!” Lu Yudong shook her head, her eyes suddenly full of expectation. “I mean, can I… can I be like you… can I learn magic?”

“You want to learn?”

“Can you teach me?” Lu Yudong was overjoyed. If she could learn some magic, wouldn’t she never have to worry about being bullied by classmates again?

“No, you can’t,” Manzhu gently flicked Lu Yudong’s forehead, feigning a serious look. “Study hard. Don’t think about these unnecessary things.”

“Oh…” Lu Yudong covered her forehead and responded softly, looking a little wronged.

Seeing this, Manzhu couldn’t help but smile. “If your grade ranking improves in the final exams, I’ll allow you to learn. But I won’t teach you. You’ll have to find a master yourself.”

Lu Yudong was puzzled. “Why is that?”

Manzhu poked Lu Yudong’s nose with her finger. “Where do all these ‘whys’ come from? What I say goes.”

Although the words were dominant, the tone was extremely gentle.

After lunch, Manzhu accompanied Lu Yudong to the community clinic for a two-hour intravenous drip, then brought her back home.

The little girl was still weak. She was very drowsy after the drip and fell asleep as soon as she got home.

Dozing off, she thought she saw a red light flashing in the room. She wanted to open her eyes but was too exhausted to do so.

When she woke up, the outside was darkening, and Manzhu was no longer home.

Checking the clock, she must have only left recently.

Lu Yudong sat up, wrapped in her quilt. Her head and eyes were finally not hurting as much.

As soon as she picked up her phone, she saw a text message from Manzhu.

—I bought your favorite chili oil dumplings. They’re in your insulated lunch box on your desk. Remember to eat when you wake up.

Lu Yudong put on her cotton coat and slippers, went to the desk, turned on the lamp, and opened the insulated lunch box she hadn’t used in a long time. The dumplings were still warm, and there was clearly a double portion.

This was because she was afraid Lu Yudong wouldn’t be full.

She thought Manzhu must be the gentlest yāo in the world.

…

At the same time, the gentlest yāo in the world grabbed a small knife from the bar counter and held it against her boss’s neck.

“You better give me a reasonable explanation today. Why did your yāo power hurt Lu Yudong?”

“What’s going on? There’s no need for this, no need for this. Put the knife down first…”

“Lu Yudong was hurt by your yāo power. Can you understand that?” Manzhu said, taking two deep breaths to calm down. “What exactly happened? Why is your yāo power so sinister and wicked?”

“Huh?” Mu Chensan looked utterly bewildered. “What do you mean? If yāo power isn’t sinister and wicked, should it be… sacred?”

Manzhu said impatiently, “Stop messing with me!”

The knife, glowing with red light, moved half an inch closer, instantly breaking Mu Chensan’s protective spiritual shield and pressing directly against the skin of his neck.

Mu Chensan was alarmed. “No, no, no, no, no! Abide by the law! No private torture! Let’s talk this through properly!”

“Sister Manzhu! Spare the snake!” Huanxi quickly came forward and grabbed Manzhu’s arm.

Xiao Zhi, who was wiping a table, couldn’t help but exclaim from a distance, “This month’s salary hasn’t been paid yet!”

Gou Hongjie dramatically reached out his arm: “Even if the boss really did something heinous, it’s not too late to kill him in three days!”

Yan Zhaomu: “E-exactly.”