Strong Winds Return Home

The round pebbles were covered in slippery green moss. Liang Shu picked up Liu Xian’an and strode atop them, steady and reliable. Liu Xian’an lay one hand on his shoulder lazily, his thoughts wandering to nowhere. So Liang Shu began to give his opinions. I’ve worked so hard, why did you secretly sneak out for an appointment with those old white-bearded men again?

“I didn’t,” Liu Xian’an said. “I just remembered a legend.”

It was told in the folktales that in the Southwestern barbaric lands, wizards often dried the corpses of children and used special techniques to make them immortal. Then they put them in colorful new clothes, nailed a wooden cross to their backs, and held them up with one hand to walk the streets together. They were called “ghost boys,” which was probably the same as book boys, except that these boys were not responsible for the basic necessities of their masters, but for casting spells and poisons.

Liu Xian’an gestured: “Like the prince is holding me right now, it looks similar.”

Liang Shu ground his molars upon hearing this: “What the hell are these things, don’t think about them, think about something else!”

So Liu Xian’an really thought of something else, but it was also inseparable from demons and ghosts, because the talismans on both sides of the river were so eye-catching and gloomy at this time. It offset the atmosphere, and he felt that if a group of walking dead didn’t jump out of the river, Yin Die’s overwhelming posting method would be in vain.

“The walking dead are like this.” Liu Xian’an stretched out his hands straight in front of him.

Liang Shu rewarded him with a spank: “You’re not allowed to think about the walking dead.”

If it couldn’t be thought about it, that was fine, but this spank was not in the right place. It was below the waist, which was indecent, and even for someone as indifferent as Second Young Master Liu, it seemed that this time, such a thing was not acceptable.

There were roughly two types of beatings. One was like his father and elder brother, who indiscriminately used a ruler to teach him a lesson. This kind of beating was painful, but there was no disturbance in his heart. He only shook his head and sighed, feeling that most people in the world were like this, and even close relatives were no exception. So he looked up to the sky and exhaled, and was beaten as he leisurely thought about the vast difference between heaven and earth, eternally forlorn.

The other type was like His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, whose palm slapped down not lightly but not hard, and wasn’t painful at all. Through the thick winter robes, he couldn’t even feel it, but a spring tide was flowing in his heart, and dreams and reality seemed to fuse a little bit. Liu Xian’an said: “There are no stones here, I will walk by myself.”

Liang Shu put him down gently, and reached out to tug on the other party’s disheveled cloak. So Liu Xian’an’s mood became even more chaotic, and he quickly turned his head to look at the talismans, thinking for a moment about an evil ghost with a blue face and fangs. Liang Shu accompanied him to walk slowly for a while, then suddenly bent sideways so that they were face-to-face. Liu Xian’an was in a trance, and was suddenly startled by this up-close face. Liang Shu looked at him and smiled, dazzling in the splintered golden light on the river, and stretched out a hand to grab his face: “What is it? You’ve been refusing to talk to me.”

Liu Xianan made an excuse: “I’m not, I’m just thinking about tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here for tomorrow’s matters, don’t worry about it.” Liang Shu said, “The laws of heaven are clear, and the vast majority of wicked people in this world will receive their retribution.”

Liu Xian’an made an affirmative sound. The Yu Manor servants were still busy by the river, adorning everything around them grandly. He gazed at the bright red all the way back to the inn, and A-Ning asked keenly: “Young Master, do you have a fever?”

“I don’t.” Liu Xian’an handed him the cloak. “It’s just that my ears are a little hot.”

A-Ning said firmly: “It’s too cold, you need to take some medicine, otherwise you’ll get frostbite.”

Liu Xian’an: “It’s really not that cold.”

The servants of Baihe Mountain Village followed medical principles in everything they did, but Second Young Master Liu’s state at this time clearly had nothing to do with illness. He washed his hands and sat at the table, turning out all the stories and poems about love in his mind, flipping through them quickly. He confirmed one thing, and then let out a long, forlorn sigh.

At this sigh, A-Ning rushed over to test the temperature of his forehead, and pulled over his wrist to test his pulse. After testing for a long time, he said cautiously: “The young master’s heartbeat seems to be a little fast. You’re frowning so much, did something bad happen?”

“It’s not bad, just troublesome,” Liu Xian’an replied.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s troublesome. Even if the young master can’t handle it well, there is still the prince.” A-Ning comforted him, “Take your time, it will always be resolved.”

But Liu Xian’an said: “The troublesome thing is the prince.”

A-Ning didn’t quite understand, why would the prince be troublesome? All this way to the south, the prince had provided them with a lot of convenience.

Liu Xian’an still sighed, because he was really afraid of trouble, and the most troublesome thing in this world was “love.” Tossing and turning, losing sleep, lack of appetite, one’s whole heart held by another person. Weeping, crying, laughing, meeting and parting in the world of mortals. Even growing old together, bumpy roads and chaos were always unavoidable in life, and if you couldn’t live together and wanted to break up halfway, then life would be even more uneasy. His back went numb at the thought, and he wished he could ride a white crane into the clear sky and never come back.

A-Ning was stunned: “What did you just say?”

Liu Xian’an repeated: “I seem to not only want to travel the famous mountains and rivers with the prince.”

A-Ning stammered: “W-w-what else is there?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “I don’t want him to marry anyone else.”

The young master didn’t want His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to get married. A-Ning remembered this, but he also remembered his young master always saying “anyone is fine,” but now it had become “not anyone else.”

The gap between the two phrases made A-Ning faintly uneasy, and he swallowed with difficulty: “Then……then, Young Master, let’s stop talking about it and think it over again.”

Liu Xian’an felt that there was no need to think about it again. He had already come to terms with reality. Liang Shu could not marry others, but could only marry him.

The shocked A-Ning attempted to remedy: “Really? But it’s not a big deal, the young master has always been able to accept anyone, and the prince is not special.”

Liu Xian’an explained: “The one who can’t have just anyone is the prince, and the one the prince can have also can’t have just anyone.”

A-Ning was a little dizzy upon hearing this. In fact, whether he heard it or not, he was still a little dizzy at the moment. However, as a loyal servant, he would stand as a united front with his young master no matter what, so even if he was dizzy, he still braced himself on the table and persisted in asking: “Then does the prince know about this?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “I haven’t talked to him yet.”

A-Ning quickly reminded him: “Young Master, don’t worry. This kind of thing can’t be rushed, you must go along at a steady flow. Before our family’s Master Tang went to marry Miss He, they pretended to meet by chance for half a year.”

No matter how one looked at it, the prince should be more difficult to marry than Miss He. A-Ning said: “Young Master, let’s settle the matter of Huaizhen City first, ba. Anyway, we will spend a long time with the prince along the way.”

They would spend a long time with the prince. Just hearing this sentence made Liu Xian’an feel that life was beautiful, even though he knew that there was miasma and heresy ahead. From this point of view, even if he rationally knew that he shouldn’t ask for trouble, he really didn’t know what had happened, and this sort of thing couldn’t be controlled.

Not even a forty-eight thousand year-old immortal could achieve it

Having thought of this point, Liu Xian’an fell asleep in an extremely relaxed state and woke up the next day refreshed, even earlier than Liang Shu.

Yu Manor was also very busy. The stone bride was “invited” out amidst the deafening sound of firecrackers and several aunts wrapped it in colorful silk and satin, placing a veil on its head. Master Yu was also shakily helped over by someone to knock on the stone shell with his cane and say a few words of marriage blessings. He had been lying in bed for several months, and when he went out again at this time, the servants almost didn’t recognize him. They muttered, why is he so thin?

Yu Zhong said loudly: “Okay, Dad, let’s go. The sedan chair is ready.”

Yin Die had also put on a new robe and stood at the front of the procession. When the auspicious time came, the sedan chair was set up, and the shining procession left all the way from Yu Manor. The common people crowded on both sides of the street to watch the excitement. The stone bride was dressed in red silk and carried by eight strong men. When the dazzlingly bright sun shone on it, a timid child was frightened and immediately began to cry. His mother quickly covered his mouth and scolded in a low voice: “The River God’s marriage is a happy event, and there will be delicious food later. Why are you crying, stop crying, be careful not to be blamed by Master Yu.”

The child was still choked up. He always played the marriage game, and the girls he married were all girls similar to him, so it should be taken for granted that when he grew up and married a wife, she would also be similar to him. Now, suddenly discovering that it was possible to marry this terrible thing, it was like a thunderbolt from the sky. He asked in a whimper: “Why is the River God marrying a rock?”

“That’s not a rock.” A clear and gentle voice came from behind.

The little boy raised his head.

Liu Xian’an handed over the sugar cake in his hand: “Don’t watch if you’re afraid. It isn’t a good thing.”

This sentence caused everyone around to turn their heads to look at him. Although they all thought the bride looked very strange, it seemed a bit brainless to say it so openly. Mu Cuihua glanced sideways and said harshly: “The River God is getting married, so it’s fine for you to come and eat a free meal, but you won’t even say auspicious words.”

She was carrying a food box in her hand, ready to take things to eat before the tables opened. A young man nearby said: “Aunt Mou, you haven’t eaten since last night, so you’re hungry and waiting for today’s meal, right?”

Mu Cuihua cursed with a smile. At this time, the sound of firecrackers by the river grew increasingly intense, and the ceremony was about to begin. Everyone crowded forward, trying to occupy the best positions. Officials shouted loudly for order, and Tong Ou also led a garrison to form a human wall in order to prevent people from falling into the river.

Liang Shu held Liu Xian’an’s hand to prevent him from being pushed to the other side. Neither of them had ever experienced such a lively folk wedding scene. They didn’t understand why the common people were crowding until they got to the front of the crowd and realized that there were red envelopes for the people in the front row.

Mou Cuihua had already collected a thick stack. The person who was giving out the red envelopes was Yin Die, who raised his head to regard Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an with a hostile expression. Liang Shu smiled and stretched out his hand: “Merchants from abroad, coming to join the fun.”

Yin Die’s tone was stiff: “Abroad where?”

Liang Shu said: “Wangcheng.”

Yin Die’s complexion changed slightly. The two people were so exceptional, and they were from the royal city……he lowered his eyes slightly, handed over the red envelope, and hurriedly turned to the elevated platform: “Do the salutations!”

Yu Zhong, who was carrying a gong and drum, was taken aback: “Ah, now? But it’s not time yet.”

“It is!” Yin Die ordered in a low voice, “The time is now!”

Yu Zhong thought to himself, he really is a liar. He said the time in the morning, and then turned around and forgot at noon. But he couldn’t be bothered to care about these things, so he beat the gong in his hand: “Worship!”

The stone bride was pushed up. Yu Cong sat on the Eight Immortals Chair. His eyes were cloudy, and there was some water in them as he stared raptly at the bride. Others urged him two or three times, but he didn’t speak. Yu Zhong could only bend down and remind him next to his ear: “Dad, it’s fine. After the River God marries, you will be hale and healthy, don’t be reluctant to part with it.”

Yu Cong sighed: “Life is bitter, life is bitter, ah! Forget it, worship!”

Children grabbed colorful rice and threw it on the head of the “bride,” and the strong men mustered themselves to lift the stone bride into the river. Mou Cuihua, who was at the front, once again screamed like a goose being strangled by the neck, making the people around her feel numb. Another aunt scolded her dizzily: “What’s wrong with you?”

“T-t-the……the bride seems to be crying!” Mou Cuihua’s face turned pale.

As soon as this nonsense came out, the surrounding people were frightened into silence. So in the silence, everyone heard the stone bride crying, as well as a miserable, “Help me!”

Mou Cuihua, who was closest to her, gasped. Her body, which hadn’t been fed for two meals, couldn’t bear the stimulation. She fainted from fright and fell back limply.

The stone bride swayed at this moment, as if trying to break free from the red silk. This was much more frightening than Wan Yuan crawling out of her grave. The people at the scene were so shocked that they fled to their homes one after another, and even the courageous ones also retreated dozens of steps away, hiding behind the garrison and watching in terror.

For a moment, only the stone bride, Liang Shu, Liu Xian’an, and the unlucky and unconscious Aunt Mou were left in the empty field. On the elevated platform, Yin Die’s palms were covered in sweat, and he looked at the two men with gloomy eyes. Yu Cong on the side had already fallen from the chair. Yu Zhong supported his father and turned his head to look at Aunt Liu among the servants, cursing furiously, “Bitch! How did you do that!”

Aunt Liu didn’t say a word. The bag of Mongolian sleeping medicine was still in her sleeve, and she hadn’t taken it out at all.

At this time, Tong Ou strode forward and pried the stone bride apart with a sword.

A thin girl of seven or eight years old fell limply out of it.