Still Pity the Greenery

Xiang Ling was already a bit of a chatterbox, and her thoughts were quite different from others. She had some cunning, but not much, and her words were all over the place.

However, after listening for a long time, Meng Yuan finally understood what her dowry was all about.

It turned out that in the area around Big Head Mountain where Xiang Ling lived, there was a hidden, narrow rock crevice where a Treasure Tree grew, and it had already borne two fruits.

Xiang Ling had discovered the place by accident. After she told her godmother, the two of them discussed it and even specifically found dead wood and leaves to cover it up, and also sprinkled urine nearby to mark their territory.

Then Xiang Ling stayed on Big Head Mountain, and was appointed Grand Inspector of Big Head Mountain by her godmother, while her godmother returned to her hometown.

The mother and daughter were just waiting for the fruits to ripen so they could take one as a dowry and marry into a wealthy family.

"Since you found a Treasure Tree, why didn't you two guard it together? Why did your godmother have to go back to her hometown?" Meng Yuan was truly very curious.

That Roe Deer even went to fleece the Great Tail Venerable, showing she was a money-grubber, but she disregarded the precious medicine and insisted on going back to her hometown to live. This didn't make sense.

"Godmother has a lover!" Xiang Ling was very angry, tears welling up in her big eyes. "Godmother is infatuated with a Daoist from a Daoist Temple not far from her hometown. That Daoist chants scriptures every morning, and Godmother goes to listen every day, rain or shine, even more diligently than collecting eggs, and she even wiggles her butt at him!"

As she spoke, she wagged her tail and wiggled her butt. "Just like that, Godmother got horny!"

What kind of twisted fate is this! For a man, she even forgot the Great Dao? Also, you shouldn't learn that!

Meng Yuan rubbed his temples, remembering that when he went to the Medicine Manor, he did see a low mountain by the Canglang River with a temple on it, but the incense offerings didn't seem to be very good.

"Didn't the Daoist say anything? Did he accept your godmother's affection?" Meng Yuan asked curiously.

"No." Xiang Ling was very serious. "Godmother doesn't dare to speak in front of him, and the Daoist doesn't know that Godmother is a Great Immortal. And some people call my godmother a silly Roe Deer! My godmother is not silly!"

What Great Immortal? Is there a Great Immortal who wiggles her butt?

Meng Yuan didn't want to talk about butts anymore, and just said, "Can the fruit be picked?"

"Godmother taught me how to identify it. It just ripened yesterday, so I came to find you." Perhaps because she was talking about food, Xiang Ling plopped down on the ground, losing her shrewd and capable appearance. She cracked open the egg Meng Yuan gave her and began to peel it carefully.

But since she was talking about her godmother, she was crying while eating the egg.

"Why didn't you eat the fruit when it ripened?" For some reason, seeing Xiang Ling cry made Meng Yuan want to laugh.

"Godmother isn't here, so it's not tasty for me to eat alone." Xiang Ling peeled it and offered it to him, and seeing Meng Yuan shake his head, she said happily, "Besides, I still have to keep one as a dowry."

Don't mention your marriage anymore! Meng Yuan rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"Godmother said that fruit is really good. Humans who eat it become strong, and we who eat it become smart!" Xiang Ling finished the egg in one gulp and let out a satisfied burp. She said seriously, "You saved me once, so I'll give you one, and I can still keep one!"

Meng Yuan looked at Xiang Ling. This little fellow's private savings were tricked away by the Fox Matchmaker, and her Roe Deer godmother was eaten, leaving only her dowry. But she didn't show any signs of dejection, instead focusing wholeheartedly on repaying the favor.

"How far is Big Head Mountain?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Not far, about the time it takes to boil eggs two or three times." Xiang Ling sat on the ground with her butt, tilting her head back and smacking her lips. She spread her two forelimbs wide, gesturing the distance. "Your eggs are really tasty!"

She hinted strongly that she wanted to eat more.

Meng Yuan understood. Big Head Mountain was too close to the village and town. Xiang Ling and her mother were willing to be close to people, which is why they lived on Big Head Mountain, and other spirits rarely went there, which is why they were able to guard the Treasure Tree by chance.

This was the third time he had seen Xiang Ling, and Meng Yuan had been looking into her eyes the whole time. This little fellow was sad when talking about her godmother, energetic when talking about repaying the favor, and disappointed when talking about marriage. She was indeed not lying.

Moreover, although Xiang Ling's words were all over the place, her conscience was not bad, and she didn't have much cunning. When they first met and she hitched a ride, she even paid for the carriage, showing her upbringing.

Meng Yuan had saved this little fellow before and knew that she was just an ordinary spirit, only able to speak human language and being a bit clever and agile, with no other abilities.

Big Head Mountain was not far, just about five or six li into the mountain. Meng Yuan had asked Zhao Datou yesterday, and nearby villagers also often hunted and gathered herbs on Big Head Mountain, saying there was no danger there, but they couldn't find anything either.

"I'll go with you." Seeing that it was still early, Meng Yuan decided to go with her to see the Treasure Tree and the great medicine.

Currently, his Essence Flame was growing slowly. If he had this item to assist him, it might reach completion faster. Then, after refining his body again and entering the Eighth Rank, his progress would surely be faster.

"Okay, okay!" Xiang Ling jumped up when she heard this, very happy and cheerful.

"You lead the way," Meng Yuan said.

"I never get lost!" Xiang Ling was very confident and walked ahead proudly.

Since this area was close to the village, there was also a small path into the mountain.

Spring urged the greenery, and although the sunlight was mostly blocked, some red light still slanted in.

The mountain was damp, and the morning sun brought up a misty vapor. In the quiet tranquility, the sound of birds echoed in the empty valley, giving a sense of returning to nature.

"Oh, I ran too fast and got a stitch in my side!" Xiang Ling, who was ahead, plopped down.

Meng Yuan took out the last boiled egg and threw it to her. Xiang Ling happily took it. "Little Gelder, you're so nice!"

Perhaps because they had been traveling together for a while, Xiang Ling was no longer afraid of Meng Yuan carrying a knife and a bow. She grabbed the hem of Meng Yuan's clothes and quickly climbed onto his shoulder.

"So high! Higher than when I hang from a peach tree!" Xiang Ling pointed the way while peeling the egg, and then even stuffed the yolk into Meng Yuan's mouth. "You eat."

"I don't eat," Meng Yuan refused.

Xiang Ling clearly didn't know the principle of offering three times and refusing three times, so she immediately stuffed it back into her own mouth and hummed contentedly twice, as if it were the most delicious thing in the world.

After walking for more than half an hour, they finally saw Xiang Ling's hometown, Big Head Mountain.

They saw a bare high hill, which was Big Head Mountain. Of course, Big Head Mountain also referred to the surrounding area.

In front of the high hill was a mountain hollow about ten zhang in circumference, which had accumulated a lot of water and seemed quite deep. This was the Old Turtle Pit.

Xiang Ling chattered away, talking about where was fun here, where was comfortable to sleep, and saying that the water here was delicious and so on.

"It's here." After bypassing Big Head Mountain, they saw a small hill in the dense forest.

The small mountain was covered in thorns and sour jujube trees, surrounded by many dead leaves and rotten branches.

"Keep it safe for me, don't get it dirty." Xiang Ling took off her floral headscarf, carrying her small floral bundle, and jumped down. She burrowed into the thorns, quickly pushing aside the dead leaves and messy branches. She saw a crack in the mountain, narrow in some places, only a finger's width, and wider in the middle, only two fists wide. It was indeed hard to spot.

Meng Yuan looked down into the crack from above. It was dark inside, about three to four zhang deep, and there was indeed a small green plant within.

The green plant was about knee-high and bore two green fruits.

This green plant probably only received a little sunlight at noon each day, but it still looked vigorous, clearly extraordinary.

The near-noon sun was warm, emitting a faint, pleasant fragrance.

"I'll pick one for you right now, hehehe!" Xiang Ling was very happy, but she saw that the Little Gelder didn't respond. She turned her head to look and saw that the Little Gelder had taken off the longbow from his back and was calmly nocking an arrow.

Xiang Ling started crying, "Little Gelder, you're so mean! You're really like a male pig raising piglets, pretending to be a good grandma! Like a weasel giving New Year's greetings, pretending to be a good person! Godmother said people can't be trusted, and she really didn't lie to me, wuwuwu..."

She simply lay down, closed her eyes, and stuck out her white belly. "Wuwuwu, godmother said it's better to live a bad life than die a good one. You have to be quick about it. If it hurts too much, I'll curse your gelding skills!"

Xiang Ling kept crying incessantly, but she didn't feel any pain in her belly. She opened one eye to look and saw that the Gelder had drawn his bow and nocked an arrow, but he wasn't aiming at her. Instead, he was aiming into the distance.

Xiang Ling quickly stood up and crawled out of the thorny bush. She saw a half-human-sized old fox under a pine tree in the distance.

The old fox wore a green robe, leaned on a wooden staff, and was hunched over, looking in their direction.

"Old Matchmaker, where have you been?" Xiang Ling was overjoyed. "What did the son-in-law say?"

She had just been lying down waiting to die, and now she was thinking about marriage again.

The old fox ignored her, just staring at Meng Yuan's arrow, and smiled, "Young friend, there are two fruits. How about you and I each take one? Is that acceptable?"

"One fruit was given to me by Miss Xiang Ling, and the other is Miss Xiang Ling's dowry. You should ask her," Meng Yuan said.

The fox looked at Xiang Ling and said, "Xiang Ling, the son-in-law sent me to get the dowry."

When Xiang Ling heard this, she kept shaking her head and said, "The dowry is for me to save face when I go over. I don't need to give it to the son-in-law. If we divorce in the future, I can still bring the dowry back!"

She actually understood the customs of marriage quite well.

"She doesn't agree," Meng Yuan said.

The old fox was silent for a moment and said, "One plow ox, half a field. Whether it yields or lies fallow depends on heaven. Will you make it yield or lie fallow?"

"What does she mean? Why don't I understand!" Xiang Ling wasn't stupid. She saw that something was wrong now and lay on the ground, not daring to move, but she couldn't control her mouth.

"The fox is saying that this treasure medicine was planted by her, and it's ripe today, so she's here to harvest. As for whether she can harvest it, it depends on my ability," Meng Yuan said.

"This was raised by me and godmother with our pee and poop," Xiang Ling cried again.

"I have always been kind to others, but this time I have an urgent need," the old fox took a step forward and said, "You may not be able to defeat me. How about you and I each take one? Then the world is vast, the young man's future is bright, and there is much joy in the human world."

"I am not happy at this moment," Meng Yuan said.

The old fox's face was very gloomy and said, "A small, foolish, stupid monster, like grass and trees, can die in an instant. Young friend, why bother?"

"Having understood the vastness of the universe, I still pity the greenery," Meng Yuan's bow was drawn like a full moon, and the arrow shot out.