Immortal Travel of Longevity

Lihua had initially just been curious about the bride.

But after Ruyi's warning, its curiosity only deepened. As the saying went, curiosity killed the cat, but to Lihua, a lack of curiosity was a fate worse than death.

Ruyi chased it in circles around Tang Manor before it finally settled down.

She repeatedly warned the cat not to ask too many questions. Lihua nodded eagerly, not daring to act up.

But once Ruyi fell asleep, it still sneaked off toward Dong Chiyu's room.

Dong Chiyu, whose vitality had yet to recover, sensed something enter her room. She immediately sat up and peered into the darkness, catching sight of a pair of eyes glowing faintly green up on the roof beam.

Fortunately, she was experienced enough not to be startled. From those eyes alone, she knew exactly what it was.

"Lihua?"

Dong Chiyu called out.

Dong Chiyu paused. "Your eyes."

Lihua blinked and began to ponder this.

It thought for a long time but couldn't make sense of it.

It leaped down from the beam just as Dong Chiyu fumbled in the dark to light the lamp.

Dong Chiyu had already shed her red clothes and was now wearing only her close-fitting undergarments, her figure illuminated by the solitary flame.

"Lihua can see perfectly fine without the lamp."

"But..." she replied, "I can't see."

"Is that so?"

Dong Chiyu paused. Right, Ruyi was always saying the cat wasn't very smart. Looking at it now, that really seemed to be the case.

Lihua hopped onto the table and held a paw over the candle flame. Its paws were probably a bit cold, so it wanted to warm them up.

Then, Lihua dropped a bombshell.

"Are you going to marry Ruyi?"

Dong Chiyu froze for a moment before hurriedly denying it. "N-no, I'm not."

Lihua blinked. "Then why were you wearing a bride's clothes, and why did Ruyi carry you into the room?"

"Wait, that's not right either."

"Aren't you supposed to bow to heaven and earth, have a banquet, and then enter the Cave Abode together? Why didn't Ruyi sleep with you tonight? So strange."

Dong Chiyu hadn't thought much of it initially, but at Lihua's words, the image of bowing to heaven and earth inexplicably surfaced in her mind, along with the candlelit bridal chamber. Her face immediately flushed red.

She had always been a dense block of wood when it came to romance and the joys of marriage; whenever she thought about such things, her emotions would always go a little haywire.

"That isn't how it works," Dong Chiyu said.

"It isn't?" Lihua blinked. "What isn't right?"

"It has always been that a woman marries a man."

"Can't a woman marry a woman?"

"Right, they cannot."

"Oh!"

Lihua raised its head and let out an "Oh!" as if suddenly enlightened, but then it tilted its head and asked, "Why not?"

"Because..."

Dong Chiyu paused. She suddenly realized she didn't quite know how to answer. What did she know about these things? After pondering for a moment, she managed to pull something from her limited knowledge to offer an explanation.

"In martial arts, every movement and stance emphasizes the balance of yin and yang. Only then can one walk the Righteous Path. I imagine it's the same for marriage. Men and women are like yin and yang—men belong to yang, and women belong to yin. When the two marry, only then can yin and yang find balance."

"And if they aren't balanced?"

Dong Chiyu thought about it, attempting to hazard a guess. "Entering fire and falling into demons?"

Lihua lowered its head and sank deep into thought.

Dong Chiyu watched it pondering so seriously and assumed it had understood.

But when the cat finally looked up, it simply said, "I don't get it."

"..."

She was truly defeated by its sheer innocence.

Dong Chiyu didn't bother trying to explain further. Instead, she asked, "Why did you come to my room?"

"To see the bride."

Lihua stared at her.

Dong Chiyu shook her head. "I'm not a bride."

Lihua lowered its head, suddenly looking a bit dejected.

Seeing the cat stay silent for a long moment, looking quite depressed, Dong Chiyu asked, "What's wrong?"

"You aren't going to marry Ruyi?"

"Why can't I get this through to you?"

Dong Chiyu sighed softly, feeling rather helpless.

"Then... then..." Lihua asked, "There's no banquet?"

"No banquet."

"No bowing to heaven and earth?"

"No bowing, either."

"No..."

"No bridal chamber, either."

Lihua looked up, its face full of curiosity. "Lihua hadn't even finished. How did you know what Lihua was going to ask?"

"It wasn't hard to guess," Dong Chiyu said calmly.

"You are so smart."

"..."

Dong Chiyu didn't reply.

Instead, she heard Lihua muttering to itself, "What a pity. Sigh, Lihua knew it. Someone like Ruyi probably isn't wanted by anyone. Men don't want her, and women don't want her either. So pitiful, sigh..."

Dong Chiyu barely even understood what it was mumbling about.

How could this cat's thought process be so strange?

It was already bizarre enough that it could speak, but its obsession with such baffling topics made it even weirder.

"Bride, Lihua is leaving now."

Lihua patted its rear and prepared to take off.

"I'm not."

Dong Chiyu raised her hand as she spoke, only to find that the cat was no longer in the room. Who knew if it had even heard her?

She let out a soft sigh, blew out the candle, and returned to bed.

But after lying down, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

She was thinking about Lihua's words.

How could a woman like the Spear Immortal be unwanted? She found it strange, but it seemed Ruyi's uncle had said the same thing.

Why was that?

Dong Chiyu felt that Ruyi was wonderful. Her martial arts were exceptional, she had a good personality, and she was fun to be around. How could she possibly be unwanted?

She thought to herself that if she were a man, she would definitely fall in love with her.

It was just a pity she was a woman.

As she thought about it, she found herself losing sleep.

She didn't even know why; she just couldn't drift off.

...

Ruyi got up early the next morning to practice her spear.

Truth be told, it had been a long time since she had practiced with her spear.

She had probably only become this diligent because she couldn't go to the brothels anymore.

Her life was simple to begin with, and she didn't have much else to do.

If asked to put it in her own words, it would probably just be one sentence: she was bored until birds come out.

Such a phrase might not be very elegant, but coming from her, it sounded completely natural.

Chen Changsheng sat in the pavilion, watching her practice.

He couldn't help but marvel at how extraordinary Mister Lan's spearmanship truly was; the footwork and movements alike were incredibly exquisite.

Hearing the noise, Dong Chiyu also walked over. She was still wearing the red wedding dress from the night before, though her phoenix coronet and golden hairpins had all been removed. Her hair hung loose and her eyes were calm, making her look somewhat cool and distant.

Ruyi glanced back and saw the red dress. Blinking in surprise, she asked, "Why are you still wearing that?"

Dong Chiyu paused. "I don't have any other clothes."

Ruyi blinked. "That's impossible. Didn't the servants of Tang Manor prepare any? Didn't Sister Tang give the order?"

Dong Chiyu shook her head.

Ruyi let out a breath, wiped her sweat, and set her spear down.

"Come with me. I have a few in my room. We're about the same size, so you can wear mine for now."

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