Chapter 11

In front of the General’s Mansion, the sounds of celebration filled the air, creating a lively and joyous atmosphere. However, in the back hall of the mansion, a cloud of gloom hung over the place. Maids and servants kneeled on the ground, trembling with fear. General Bai, brandishing a long whip, was furious, his beard nearly pointing to the sky in anger.

Madam Bai, dressed in her finery, wiped away her tears, utterly distressed.

The sound of a whip cracking made the kneeling servants shudder.

“Who helped that bastard escape? Speak! Where did she go?” Bai Xun lashed the whip on the ground, shouting angrily.

The maids kept their heads down, shaking with fear, but no one spoke.

“Fine! I’ve been too lenient with you all, and now you’ve helped that bastard cause such a disaster. Not talking? Drag them away and beat them until they talk!”

Bai Xun’s anger was at its peak, even greater than when his daughters Bai Xi and Bai Shuo went missing years ago.

“Master,” the steward Bai Lei hesitated, “they’re all from Miss’s courtyard. If they can’t withstand the punishment…”

“Disloyal servants deserve to die!”

Bai Xun’s cold voice made the kneeling maids and servants realize he was truly furious. Terrified, they quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy.

“General, please calm down! General, have mercy! We really don’t know where the second miss went! We really don’t know!”

The pleas for mercy echoed in the hall. Madam Bai couldn’t bear it anymore and quickly got up to pull Bai Xun’s sleeve.

“Husband, today is Shuo’er’s big day. How can we shed blood and cause death?”

“Madam, it’s because you’ve spoiled that evil beast too much! When we find her, I’d rather beat her to death with one whip than have her executed by the Emperor, bringing shame to our Bai family! Do you think this is an ordinary marriage? This is a marriage decreed by the Emperor! She just ran away, ignoring the Prime Minister’s House and Xi’er!”

A year ago, Bai Xun’s elder daughter, Bai Xi, married into the Eastern Palace and was deeply favored by the Crown Prince and respected by the Emperor.

Madam Bai, worried about her younger daughter and hearing that Bai Shuo’s elopement might implicate her elder daughter, fainted on the spot.

“Madam! Madam!” Bai Xun was thrown into disarray when Madam Bai fainted. He quickly helped her to a chair.

“Mother!” A calm, elegant voice suddenly sounded outside the hall. The Crown Princess Bai Xi rushed into the back hall. Seeing her mother faint, she hurriedly held her hand.

Seeing Bai Xi, everyone in the hall, except Bai Xun and his wife, knelt down.

“Greetings to the Crown Princess!”

Seeing Bai Xi, Madam Bai burst into tears.

“Xi’er, Shuo’er she..she…”

“I already know. Don’t worry, Mother. Ah Shuo will be fine!”

Bai Xi patted Madam Bai’s hand to comfort her. She then turned to the maids on the ground with an uncharacteristically stern look.

“You all grew up with the Second Miss. I know you have deep feelings for her. Those who helped her escape today deserve to die, but do you want to watch her die?”

Among the maids, a girl in a pink-colored dress suddenly looked up at Bai Xi in horror.

Bai Xi narrowed her eyes at her.

“The Second Miss’s marriage was decreed by the Emperor. Even if she escapes today, can she escape for a lifetime? If she returns, she may still live. But if she truly eloped, neither the General’s Mansion nor I can protect her!”

Bai Xi walked to the girl in pink, quietly looking down at her.

“Ah Shuo’s life and death are in your hands.”

“Miss, please save the second miss! She.. she left the capital!” The girl in pink, Taohua, grabbed Bai Xi’s skirt, panic-stricken and regretful.

Bai Xi pulled Taohua up and asked, “How did she leave the mansion?”

“The Second Miss disguised herself in my clothes and sneaked out at midnight. She instructed us to have Leng Zhu pretend to be her in the room to delay time. The second miss also said that once she left, she wouldn’t come back. She asked the Master and Madam to report her as deceased to the Chong family, and the Emperor wouldn’t punish the family.”

Bai Xi was nearly exploding with anger at Bai Shuo.

“Where exactly did she go?”

“Miss said.. said she went to find an immortal.”

Hearing Taohua’s stuttering words, the Bai family nearly fainted from rage. That troublemaking little ancestor had been obsessed with seeking immortality for a decade and hadn’t given up, even at her wedding.

“Why can’t she stop with this nonsense? Where are there any immortals in this world?” Madam Bai was both angry and helpless, tears streaming down her face as she patted General Bai.

“This wretched girl, she can’t stop with this foolishness!”

Bai Xi fell silent suddenly and looked at Taohua.

“Where is she seeking immortals this time?”

“The second miss didn’t say…” Taohua looked distressed, then suddenly remembered something. “She said she was going to seek immortals beyond the East Sea…”

“The East Sea? East!” Bai Xi and Bai Xun’s eyes locked, both guessing the direction Bai Shuo had fled.

“Bai Lei!” Bai Xun called out, “Prepare the horses!”

“Father!” Bai Xi stopped him, looking towards the outer hall, where the sounds of celebration were getting closer.

Bai Xi shook her head. “The groom’s procession from the Chong family will be here soon. You can’t leave.”

Bai Xun halted, angrily flicking his sleeves, and pointed at Bai Lei. “You take the guards and chase her to the east. She left last night, and at her pace, she hasn’t reached Weicheng yet. Bring her back before she gets there!”

“Yes, Master!” Bai Lei, having served under Bai Xun in the military, moved at the order without a word, but Bai Xi stopped him.

“No,” Bai Xi said to Bai Xun.

“Father, the General’s Mansion has always guarded the capital. It is such a major event in our house today that if Bai Lei leaves the capital, it will certainly alarm the Emperor.”

The celebration sounds grew closer, and the sudden burst of firecrackers hit the old general hard. Remembering the decades of friendship between the Bai family and the Chong family, he felt a surge of anger towards Bai Shuo.

“The Chong family’s wedding procession is at our door, and we can’t find her! Where can I find another daughter for Chong Zhao now?” Bai Xun paced back and forth, frowning deeply.

“Father, don’t worry. There’s only one person who can help us in this situation,” Bai Xi said.

“Who?” Bai Xun stopped in his tracks.

“Chong Zhao,” Bai Xi replied steadily.

Bai Xun was stunned.

On a winding path a hundred miles from the capital, the clear sound of bells approached.

“Sister sits on the boat, brother walks on the shore, and love swings on the towrope…” A young man in plain clothes, chewing on a stalk of wild grass, lay leisurely on a donkey cart, humming a mountain song.

The little donkey suddenly snorted and stopped. The young man opened his eyes and saw the donkey turning its head, panting heavily, its eyes wide.

Strangely enough, though Bai Shuo had not yet become an immortal, she could read in the donkey’s eyes: “I’m so tired and hungry, I don’t want to go on.”

The little donkey was one Bai Shuo had lured from a shed in the capital with two bananas. It wasn’t a blood-sworn companion. Seeing the donkey about to quit, Bai Shuo quickly jumped up with a smile.

“Brother Donkey, once we pass this mountain path, another ten miles, and we’ll be in Weicheng. I promise, once we get there, I’ll find you the finest inn for a rest! I’ll also buy you ten pounds of hay. How about that?” Bai Shuo patted the donkey’s rear end, trying to coax it.

The little donkey flicked its tail, unimpressed, and started to turn back.

Bai Shuo panicked and held up a finger. “I’ll also get you a fresh, young, tender female donkey!”

The donkey paused, looking at Bai Shuo skeptically.

“I swear, I’m not lying! I swear to the heavens!” Bai Shuo vowed.

The little donkey snorted contentedly, turned its head, and prepared to head towards Weicheng with renewed vigor, but suddenly stopped again, staring intently at a pile of dirt and rocks about five meters away.

“Boss, do you think there’s something wrong with this guy? Can animals really understand human speech?” Behind the pile, five or six rugged men were hiding, each holding knives or axes, clearly bandits. A skinny man, Wu Yong, the second in command of the bandit gang, asked as he eyed the lone traveler and his donkey.

“Maybe. Doesn’t matter! The dumber, the better. We’ll take him back to the camp to herd cattle. Keep your mouth shut!” The leader, Zhang Chao, a fierce-looking man with a square face, growled.

“Boss, the donkey’s looking at us. Do you think it has spotted us?” Wu Yong suddenly looked astonished, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Stop talking nonsense! How can an animal…” Zhang Chao snapped, lifting his head to look at the path, only to lock eyes with the large eyes of the donkey. The ruthless bandit leader felt a chill run down his spine, momentarily shaken.

“Could this donkey be a demon…?” Wu Yong stammered.

But soon, the bandits’ confidence returned as they saw the donkey’s eyes widen in terror, and it began to back away, its hooves trembling.

Whether it was a demon or not, this animal was afraid of them! The bandits felt a surge of bravado. Zhang Chao waved his axe and pointed towards the traveler and his donkey.

“Charge! Catch that kid!”

The moment the donkey froze had been brief, but seeing the bandits descend from nowhere, Bai Shuo was stunned.

No way; she had just escaped the prison-like capital, eagerly seeking immortals, and now she has encountered bandits? Was the security in Great Jing so unreliable?

“Go, go, go! Quick, move!” Bai Shuo hastily turned the donkey around, whipped it hard, and started to flee.

The little donkey, sensing the danger to its life, ran faster than a horse.

“How dare you run! Catch him!”

Wu Yong shouted as the person and donkey turned to flee, and the bandits gave chase with their axes raised.

Dust flew up on the mountain path as the bandits gained ground. Just as they were about to catch up, the little donkey suddenly halted with a sharp brake, turned around, and glared fiercely at the bandits.

The bandits were taken aback by the donkey’s actions and paused, axes raised, unsure of what to do.

“Boss, what’s this donkey trying to do?” Zhang Chao, being stared down by a donkey for the first time in his life, gripped his axe nervously and nudged Wu Yong.

“How should I know? Could this guy be a martial arts expert?” Wu Yong readied himself for a fight.

“Death donkey, what are you doing! Run!” Bai Shuo was pale with anxiety, urging the donkey frantically.

But the donkey ignored her, pawing the ground with its hooves, eyes wide with determination, nostrils flaring. Bai Shuo felt a mix of exasperation and admiration. “Brother donkey, are you planning to fight the bandits alone? I didn’t expect you to be such a brave donkey…!”

Before Bai Shuo could finish her praise, the donkey suddenly bent forward, arched its back, and used all its strength to throw Bai Shuo off its back.

With a loud “thud,” Bai Shuo landed face-first in the dirt, while the donkey, now unburdened, swiftly turned and ran off at top speed.

On the mountain path, the sound of the little donkey’s hooves landing was exceptionally clear. From far away, Bai Shuo could hear the joyful snorting of the donkey.

Bai Shuo was so stunned that she even forgot to cry out in pain, staring blankly at the disappearing silhouette of the donkey. If her memory wasn’t playing tricks on her, had she just been outsmarted by an animal?

A large axe appeared at her neck, and Bai Shuo slowly turned her head to face a bandit with an equally indescribable expression on his face.

“Brother, the donkey you raised has become a spirit!”

Bai Shuo bitterly smacked her lips, but before she could explain, the axe came down and struck her head. The intense pain knocked her to the ground.

Damn it, once I become immortal, I’m going to eat every donkey in the world!

In the darkness, Bai Shuo made her first wish upon becoming immortal.

Back at the General’s Mansion in the capital, the festive music continued.

The young groom, dressed in celebratory attire, stood in front of Bai Xun, who wore a face full of guilt. Despite the disappointment in his eyes, there was not a trace of anger.

“Uncle, rest assured, I will bring Shuo’er back safe and sound.”

Chong Zhao turned to leave and had just crossed the corridor when he saw Princess Consort Bai Xi standing by a small door, waiting for him.

“Greetings, Princess Consort.”

Bai Xi raised her hand and said, “Ah Zhao, Shuo’er…”

“Your Highness, please don’t worry. I have already asked Uncle to send a memorial to the palace overnight, stating that Shuo’er has fallen ill and requesting the Emperor to postpone the wedding by three months. I will also explain everything to my father.”

Bai Xi sighed in relief.

“Thank you. The general’s household cannot leave the capital, so we must rely on you to bring that girl back.”

Zhong Zhao nodded.

“Your Highness is too kind. Shuo’er is my betrothed. It is my duty to ensure her safety. I take my leave.”

As Chong Zhao turned to go, Bai Xi suddenly spoke.

“Ah Zhao, you know her temperament. She is fixated on her beliefs. Whatever they are, they make her unsuitable to be the Prime Minister’s daughter-in-law. Why not take this opportunity…”

“Your Highness,” the young man’s clear voice interrupted Bai Xi.

Chong Zhao turned back, his eyes bright and transparent. “From now on, whatever she wants to do, I will let her. If she wants to seek immortality, I will accompany her on her quest. At worst, I won’t be the Prime Minister’s son anymore.”

The young man smiled, turned, and walked away, his red robe and handsome face full of youthful spirit and deep affection.

Bai Xi sighed and said no more.

In the bandit hideout on the outskirts of Weicheng, the front hall echoed with shouts of drinking and eating meat.

In the pitch-dark kitchen, Bai Shuo woke up groggily, rubbing her head.

“What is this place? My head hurts…” Bai Shuo mumbled as she rubbed her forehead, fumbling around in the darkness.

Suddenly, her hand paused as she touched something very soft, like… a human face?

Bai Shuo’s heart pounded with fear as she turned her head stiffly. In the moonlight, she saw a face.