A crowd of people streamed away, leaving Verdant Green Maiden standing alone.
A little while later, Verdant Green Maiden waved her flag and said to Hong Luan, "Come on, let's catch up with that big yellow dog!"
"What for?"
"To tell its fortune!"
Hong Luan: "..."
Unfortunately, Verdant Green Maiden was a step too slow. By the time she found the big yellow dog, Fan Kuai had already skinned it, and it had become a drinking snack for Liu Ji and his gang.
Seeing this, Verdant Green Maiden shook her head and murmured, "See? This is what happens when you refuse to let me tell your fortune!"
Hong Luan rolled her eyes. "That dog didn't say anything, did she?"
Verdant Green Maiden glanced at her and said, "Are you stupid? How can a dog talk?"
"Stupid Snake, you weren't saying that just now!"
One Snake One Bird tussled, drawing the attention of Liu Ji and the others.
Lu Wan rubbed his eyes and stared over at Verdant Green Maiden. He carefully nudged Liu Ji beside him, pointed that way, and said, "Big brother, look! It's that woman pretending to be an Immortal Aunt. Why can I hear her talking to a bird? Am I drunk?"
"Get lost! You're drunk, and I'm drunk too?"
Liu Ji waved at Lu Wan, then looked toward Verdant Green Maiden for a good while before muttering, "Could she really be an Immortal Aunt?"
Hearing this, Lu Wan hurriedly said, "Hey, then go get your fortune told, big brother!"
Liu Ji shook his head and waved his hands even more emphatically. "Nonsense! Do I look like I've got two wild rabbits to spare? Get my fortune told? Tell that bird's fortune!"
"Huh? Why's he insulting a bird?"
Hong Luan heard him and immediately grew angry.
Verdant Green Maiden hurriedly grabbed Hong Luan and soothed her, rubbing her head. "Don't be angry... A good bird doesn't quarrel with a rogue."
Everyone knew Liu Ji was an old rogue.
After finally calming Hong Luan down, the aroma from the pot of dog meat Fan Kuai was cooking stirred Verdant Green Maiden's appetite too.
She made up her mind to go outside and look after the wild animals around Sishui Pavilion.
Snake Girl poured her heart out to them in conversation for a while, letting them feel the care of the Green Robe Immortal Maiden too. After all, she couldn't keep catching only the wild boars and rabbits on the Fenwei Plain. That would be far too unfair!
When she returned to Sishui Pavilion, she spotted Liu Ji waiting at the roadside in the distance, holding two dog legs.
"Well, well, Immortal Aunt!"
The Old Rogue greeted her with a wave of the dog legs as soon as he saw her return.
He jogged over, and after catching his breath, held out the dog legs and said, "Immortal Aunt, I saved these for you."
Looking at the two cold dog legs, Verdant Green Maiden asked, "I thought you didn't believe in me?"
"Tsk... Do you take Liu Ji for that kind of man?"
The Old Rogue changed his tune so quickly that even Snake Girl couldn't keep up. He gave a grin and said, "It's just that I didn't have an offering earlier, and I was worried Immortal Aunt might be displeased. Take a look at these dog legs. My brother cooked them, and they're absolutely authentic!"
Verdant Green Maiden accepted the dog legs Liu Ji offered and clicked her tongue in lament.
"Poor big yellow. Don't be a dog in your next life. Be a wild boar instead, okay? If I eat you, you'll ascend to heaven."
Hong Luan asked, "What's the difference?"
"Ahem..."
Verdant Green Maiden cleared her throat and looked up at Liu Ji, who was rubbing his hands together and watching her with a beaming smile.
By now, Liu Ji had sobered up. Seeing that Hong Luan really could talk, he was even more convinced that Verdant Green Maiden was an Immortal Aunt!
Verdant Green Maiden took out the Turtle Shell and pretended to cast a divination.
"Immortal Aunt, what do you see?"
Liu Ji stared at Verdant Green Maiden, waiting for her answer.
She glanced at him, considered for a moment, then said, "What if I told you that you'd grow rich and powerful in the future?"
Liu Ji's eyes lit up. "The Immortal Aunt truly is a True God!"
Looking at the delighted Liu Ji, Verdant Green Maiden asked again, "But what if I told you that you'd die as soon as you left Pei County?"
"Are you pulling my leg, Immortal Aunt?"
The Old Rogue shook his head, clearly unconvinced.
He raised a hand and patted Verdant Green Maiden on the shoulder, advising her, "Immortal Aunt, when you tell people's fortunes in the future, you need to say nice things. That's how you earn something to eat!"
Verdant Green Maiden turned to look at the Old Rogue's greasy hand on her shoulder, staining her clothes, and her eyelid twitched.
"Ahem... It's getting late. If Immortal Aunt has nowhere to stay, I can help you find somewhere."
Liu Ji swiftly backed away, putting some distance between himself and Verdant Green Maiden.
Verdant Green Maiden shook her head in disgust. "No need!"
"Then I won't bother you, Immortal Aunt!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Ji vanished in a flash.
Hong Luan watched him flee, then turned to Verdant Green Maiden and asked, "Is that the future High Emperor you told me about?"
He sure could run fast.
"Ah... Come on, let's go back and eat dog meat. I haven't tasted it yet!"
Verdant Green Maiden sighed, shook her head, and headed back to where she was staying.
Since she had settled in Sishui Pavilion, she had to deal with Liu Ji, the Sishui Pavilion Chief. As they crossed paths again and again, the two of them grew familiar. The good thing about the Old Rogue was that he could call anyone brother. Once they got to know each other, he stopped calling her Immortal Aunt altogether and greeted her as "brother Verdant Green Maiden."
Verdant Green Maiden? And "brother"?
Could those two words even go together?
Every time he called her that, she gave him an eye roll.
"Brother Verdant Green Maiden!"
Liu Ji came calling again that day.
Verdant Green Maiden kicked the door shut and ground her teeth. "I told you to call me Immortal Aunt! Or Grand Aunt! Can you call me 'brother'?"
That smelly old rogue was so incredibly rude!
Liu Ji went around the door and climbed onto the earthen wall beside it. "Brother Verdant Green Maiden, come on, it's you and me!"
"Who's 'you and me'?"
Verdant Green Maiden snatched up a wooden stick and hurled it at Liu Ji.
If Liu Ji hadn't dodged fast, she would have cracked the future High Emperor of Great Han over the head right there.
Seeing him dodge and then grin at her, Verdant Green Maiden fell silent for a moment. She took the stick Hong Luan had picked up and asked, "Liu Lao San, what did you come here for? To annoy me on purpose?"
"Not at all! I've brought good news!"
Liu Ji shook his head and put on a serious air. "A family has arrived in Pei County. They say they're wealthy merchants, and they're holding a grand banquet. Let's go mooch a meal!"
Wealthy merchants? And a grand banquet?
That sounded familiar.
Verdant Green Maiden narrowed her eyes as she recalled what this was about.
So it was the Lü Family.
Verdant Green Maiden pondered for a moment, then waved her hand. "Hong Luan, let's go! We're mooching a meal!"
Food came first, no matter what. Seeing Verdant Green Maiden agree, Liu Ji grinned too, and the two set off for the Lü Family's home together.
But when they reached the Lü Family's home, Liu Ji learned that guests were being seated according to the value of their congratulatory gifts.
"Liu Ji, are you here to mooch a meal?"
Xiao He, who was helping out there, saw Liu Ji and Verdant Green Maiden arrive and waved them away. "You need money to get into the Lü Family's banquet. You'd better go find somewhere else to rest."
"Hey, Lord Xiao, I don't like hearing that. It's only money—I, Liu Ji, have some too!"
Liu Ji wasn't worried in the slightest. He shouted, "Liu Ji offers ten thousand in congratulatory money!"
As soon as he said this, the whole crowd erupted!
Who didn't know that Liu Ji, the Sishui Pavilion Chief, was an old rogue who usually mooched meals from his sister-in-law? Where would he get ten thousand coins?
Under the astonished gazes of Xiao He and the others, Liu Ji grabbed Verdant Green Maiden and pulled her inside the Lü Family's home.
As Liu Ji dragged Verdant Green Maiden along, she still remembered to call out to a servant nearby, "Make a note of mine too: Verdant Green Maiden, ten thousand coins, charged to Liu Lao San!"
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