Too Late for Regrets

"Rumeng! Rumeng? Where are you? Quickly, get me a glass of water and help me up!"

Slowly waking up in his bed in the official residence, Xu Hanxian, his head throbbing from a hangover, instinctively called out the name of that lovely girl.

Unlike Xu Hanxian didn't show up this time, no matter how long he waited.

Helpless, Xu Hanxian could only drag himself out of bed. He staggered to the table in the room, drank the cold tea in the teapot in one gulp, and only then did he feel a little more awake.

Looking at the familiar furnishings in the room, Xu Hanxian couldn't help but frown. This room didn't seem to be the same as the one he remembered.

"This is—" Looking around at the room's layout, Xu Hanxian suddenly remembered everything. "The official residence in Qingling County —yesterday, I was drinking with the fox spirit from Clear Creek Village —I got drunk, and then, the fox spirit said something about giving me a beautiful woman in my Dream Entry— "

As memories of yesterday surfaced, the dream of playing with a beautiful woman suddenly faded and disappeared.

No, no!

Like a drowning man, Xu Hanxian tried to grasp the memories from his dream. But the more he tried to remember, the more fragmented they became.

In the end, apart from the beauty of the woman and a few memorable moments, all the memories of those years vanished like smoke.

Reaching out to grab his hair, Xu Hanxian remained silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "Rumeng, Rumeng! Indeed, it was just a dream—"

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Xu Hanxian shouted, slamming the kettle on the table to the ground. He yelled, "Where are they?! Where have they all gone?!"

"Hey, Grandpa! I'm here! I'm here!"

Hearing Xu Hanxian's call, a servant hurriedly came in from the doorway. However, before he even entered the room, he began to excuse himself, saying, "Sir, it's not that I'm not waiting here, it's just that Constable Peng told us not to disturb your rest!"

"Peng Shulan? Yes!" Upon hearing this, Xu Hanxian's attention was indeed diverted. "Quickly, summon Peng Shulan to me!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Upon hearing Xu Hanxian's words, the servant quickly withdrew his foot and ran out to find the person.

"Why!"

By the time Xu Hanxian realized something was wrong, the servant had already vanished.

Finding that Xu Hanxian seemed to be in a bad mood, and that the other more clever servants had long since disappeared, Xu Hanxian had no choice but to walk to the well in the courtyard to draw water and wash himself, as no one answered his calls.

After a quick wash, Xu Hanxian, dressed in casual clothes, heard hurried footsteps approaching from afar.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw Peng Shulan walking briskly towards them.

As he approached, Peng Shulan cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Sir, may I ask what brings you here?"

After washing with clean water, Xu Hanxian was no longer as agitated as before.

Looking at Peng Shulan, Xu Hanxian asked casually, "What about the fox spirit from Clear Creek Village?"

"That fox spirit?" Peng Shulan glanced at Xu Hanxian imperceptibly and said softly, "She's already gone."

"What! She's gone?" Xu Hanxian was shocked upon hearing this and quickly asked, "We didn't even finish discussing things yesterday, why did she leave?"

"Grandpa," Peng Shulan said, feigning helplessness, looking at Xu Hanxian, "She left because the deal fell through!"

How could she just leave like that!

Xu Hanxian's face showed a hint of panic as he muttered, "I didn't even let her leave, how can she just walk away like this! Even the grain merchants in the city wouldn't dare to be so rude!"

Although the grain merchants in the city banded together and refused to accept Xu Hanxian's suggested retail price, they were at least polite to each other on the surface.

Their attitude towards Xu Hanxian was that he would come when summoned and leave when dismissed.

They are willing to offer all kinds of help besides practical assistance, and the most important of these is providing emotional value.

Seeing that Xu Hanxian hadn't grasped the key point, Peng Shulan couldn't help but sigh, "It's precisely because that fox spirit isn't a grain merchant in the city that she doesn't need to care about your thoughts, sir! Sir! The grain is with the fox spirit; she can sell it however she wants. Why, why, why must she insist on trading with you!"

Seemingly genuinely surprised by this, Xu Hanxian froze on the spot.

"But—but without my help, how can she establish herself in the city? The grain merchants won't allow such low prices—"

"So, the fox spirit wasn't planning on selling it for money." Shaking his head slightly, Peng Shulan said with a hint of relief, "She's set up a soup kitchen outside the city, offering free soup! Even the grain merchants wouldn't dare snatch food from those starving people!"

So, that's really how it is—

Many things are like this: when they are right in front of you, they seem insignificant. But when you actually lose them, the pain is excruciating, as if you are suffering an unbearable burden.

"So, sir, I'm also curious about something."

Looking at Xu Hanxian, Peng Shulan couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you agree yesterday? The fox spirit's conditions weren't without room for negotiation—you could have agreed first, and then worked things out gradually. Once the grain was in your hands, you could have acted as you saw fit—why bother angering the fox spirit!"

"How could I, how could I do something so hypocritical!" After a moment of silence, Xu Hanxian also came to a conclusion. "Moreover, those Non-Self our kind are bound to have different hearts! She is a fox demon, so her words cannot be trusted, at least not entirely."

"That's the ridiculous reason?"

Peng Shulan's gaze swept over Xu Hanxian with a highly impolite quality, saying, "Those Non-Self our kind are bound to have different hearts? But what about those unscrupulous merchants in the city? They are of the same kind as you, sir, but are they truly of one mind with you?"

Hearing Peng Shulan's words, Xu Hanxian was truly speechless.

However, Xu Hanxian also a little puzzled; when did Peng Shulan become so sharp-tongued?

Xu Hanxian was unaware that, given his pedantic and pretentious theoretical arguments, if he weren't a county magistrate, countless people below could have rendered him speechless in rebuttal.

"My husband."

Suddenly, a gentle voice came from outside the door.

Upon Xu Hanxian looked over and saw Zuo Xiaoyu walking in from the doorway with a smile.

Incidentally, she also saw Peng Shulan there, and Zuo Xiaoyu greeted Peng Shulan, saying, "Constable Peng is here too!"

"I hope you are well, Madam."

Upon seeing this, Peng Shulan also bowed slightly and paid her respects.

Whether she was the magistrate's wife or the fox spirit's adopted sister, in Peng Shulan's eyes, Zuo Xiaoyu was the one in the city who was the least daring to offend.

Upon hearing Zuo Xiaoyu's call, Xu Hanxian felt ashamed and turned his head away.

Firstly, he lacked the ability to find someone to cure Xu Yue; secondly, although it was just a dream, Xu Hanxian felt somewhat ashamed to see Zuo Xiaoyu upon waking up.

"Husband, are you free at noon?" Zuo Xiaoyu, oblivious to Xu Hanxian's unusual behavior, walked to his side and naturally took his arm. "If you're free, let's go home for lunch. Yue'er hasn't seen you for several days and misses you."

"Madam, you said Yue'er misses me?" Upon hearing this, Xu Hanxian disregarded everything else and asked in surprise, "Yue'er is awake?"

"Not only is she better, she's completely fine now! If I hadn't stopped her, she probably would have come looking for you herself."

Nodding slightly, Zuo Xiaoyu said with a hint of pride, "Yesterday, Sister Yi Yun came to our residence and cured Yue'er with a few simple tricks. I even had Yue'er recognize Sister Yi Yun as her godmother. From now on, we won't be afraid of encountering such things again!"

Oh, and take this with you, my husband. It's a talisman I got from Sister Yi Yun. It's not like those cheap trinkets from those dilapidated temples; it really protects you!

As she spoke, Zuo Xiaoyu took out an exquisitely crafted amulet from her bosom and personally hung it around Xu Hanxian's neck.

Looking at the amulet, Peng Shulan was also a little envious.

Anything given by a fox spirit must be an extremely valuable treasure!

He subconsciously took the amulet and gently rubbed it in his hands. Xu Hanxian was a beat slow to react before asking, "Sister Yi Yun? How come I didn't know your family had such a highly skilled doctor?"

"It's not that she has superb medical skills, but rather that she has Divine Abilities! Also, Sister Yi Yun isn't human!" Zuo Xiaoyu didn't pay much attention and said to Xu Hanxian, "Sister Yi Yun is Nine-Tailed White Fox from the Kingdom of Qingqiu, and she's incredibly powerful!"

"What!" Xu Hanxian hearing this, and hurriedly looked at Zuo Xiaoyu, saying, "You mean, that fox came to our mansion yesterday!?"

"Yes, yes! What's wrong?"

Seeing Xu Hanxian's agitated state, Zuo Xiaoyu was somewhat bewildered and said, "If it weren't for Sister Yi Yun, I don't know when Yue'er would have recovered! You have no idea, Yue'er was harmed by evil people—"