Chapter 25

Tanyin increasingly felt that the formerly frivolous, suspicious, and annoying high priest had disappeared. She found herself disliking him less and less, even when he rudely called her a “little brat” or flicked her forehead. She didn’t even mind his recent confession, “I like you.”

She wanted to say something but didn’t know what. She had never been good with words, and she could only look at him with a silly smile.

“What are you smiling at?” Yuan Zhong deliberately put on a stern face and gently brushed the snow off her hair and shoulders. In the quiet Xie Xiang Forest, the only sound was the subtle noise of large snowflakes falling to the ground. Despite his efforts, new snowflakes quickly settled on her hair. He took off his cloak and draped it over her head.

“You came out dressed too lightly. Don’t let your delicate mortal body freeze.”

Tanyin smiled again, her breath forming a thick mist as she said, “I’m not cold.”

“Even if you’re not cold, you’re not allowed to stand here.”

He tied the cloak’s strings for her.

“Come on, let’s go back.”

Tanyin nodded and called to another “Yuan Zhong” standing in the forest, “Little Yuan Zhong, we’re going back.”

Yuan Zhong almost dropped the basket of spices he was holding and angrily asked, “What did you call him?!”

Tanyin laughed, “Little Yuan Zhong, you’re Big Yuan Zhong.”

Little Yuan Zhong, Big Yuan Zhong… Her parents clearly weren’t people of refined taste, judging by the names she came up with. Yuan Zhong glared at her, then at the innocent Little Yuan Zhong.

“Why name a mechanical man?”

Little Yuan Zhong, looking frightened, hid behind Tanyin, trembling and stammering.

“Master, does he dislike me?”

Tanyin patted his shoulder reassuringly.

“No, he just said he likes you.”

Seeing the expression on Little Yuan Zhong’s face made Yuan Zhong feel frustrated. Although he never considered himself a fierce warrior, he certainly wouldn’t show such an effeminate expression. Yet, this mechanical man looked exactly like him, which only fueled his irritation.

He walked over and grabbed Little Yuan Zhong by the collar.

“Are you a man?” he asked coldly.

Little Yuan Zhong waved his hands frantically.

“I’m a mechanical man! Please, calm down!”

Yuan Zhong frowned. “If I see you acting effeminate again, I’ll dismantle you!”

He turned and saw Tanyin watching with a smile, which only increased his irritation.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

Tanyin quickly shook her head.

“No! Didn’t you ask if I could make a mechanical man that looked like a real person? Isn’t he just like you?”

Was she implying that, in her eyes, he was this useless, effeminate person?

Yuan Zhong looked up at the sky speechlessly, but the sky didn’t look back; it only let down large snowflakes, dazzling his eyes.

Someone gently tugged at his sleeve. Tanyin looked at him with concern. Though she said nothing, he understood her meaning.

He felt a mix of joy and confusion. If he didn’t find a new topic to divert the conversation, he wouldn’t know what to do.

Stupid, clumsy man, he thought, looking down with a wry smile.

“…Let’s go; we’ll talk back inside.”

Yuan Zhong hooked her arm, his hand gradually sliding down until he held her cold hand. Initially, he was careful not to grip too tightly, fearing she would notice and quickly pull away. However, she seemed entirely unaware, engrossed in talking to Little Yuan Zhong, clearly fascinated by her first lifelike mechanical man.

He slowly tightened his fingers around her hand, gripping it firmly like a thief savoring his first successful heist, filled with a mix of nervousness, anxiety, and joy. For a moment, the flowers were not flowers, the fog was not fog, and there was no sound in his ears. He was happy and sad, worried about gains and losses. Have all the people in the world gone through this step?

Back in the small building, Little Yuan Zhong went to boil water and make tea. Tanyin warmed her hands by the charcoal stove. Now, with a mortal body, she would sweat when hot and shiver when cold, which was quite troublesome.

The doors and windows were tightly sealed, with cotton strips blocking any gaps. The small living room was warm and fragrant, befitting the Fox clan’s love for making incense. Even the charcoal blocks were shaped like five-petaled plum blossoms or nine-petaled lotuses, intricately crafted.

Tanyin used tongs to pick up a piece and examine it. Suddenly, Yuan Zhong asked, “Why did you make the mechanical man look like me?”

She didn’t understand the answer herself, and she was caught off guard by his question. She fumbled with the tongs, dropping the charcoal back into the stove. She played with the tongs nervously for a while before muttering softly, “I don’t know… it just turned out this way.”

The door curtain lifted, and Little Yuan Zhong, with a housewife’s demeanor, brought in a teapot and cups. Then, as if not wanting to disturb them, he covered his face with a tray and quickly left.

Yuan Zhong felt both angry and amused.

“You made it look like me, and you’re happy with that?”

Tanyin looked puzzled. “Isn’t he just like you?”

“He looks like me,” Yuan Zhong sighed, “but his personality is completely different. You don’t understand men at all.”

Tanyin whispered, “I can’t control what he says or does. He’s different from the mechanical man I made before… This is my first time making such a mechanical man.”

“And it will be the last,” Yuan Zhong interrupted firmly.

“The last time. No more making mechanical men that look like anyone else.”

Tanyin looked at him in confusion. His expression was one she had never seen before—a mix of hope and a desire to hide it, tinged with a bit of pain but also joy, like a trembling flower bud hidden in his eyes.

She couldn’t help but nod. His eyes lit up, and he quickly lowered his gaze as if protecting the bloom from being seen. After a moment, he joked with a hint of arrogance, “You made the mechanical man look like me because you like me, right?”

She wanted to shake her head, but her neck stubbornly refused to move. After a long pause, she lowered her head, speechless.

The small living room fell into a strange silence. Tanyin felt she should leave, retreat to her messy room on the second floor, and find something else to do to distract herself. But she didn’t want to leave. The warmth of the charcoal fire enveloped her, filling her mind with a cozy haze.

After a long while, or perhaps only a moment, she heard Yuan Zhong say, “When the snow stops, let’s visit a bigger town. I need to buy some things.”

He had mentioned wanting to leave Fangwai Mountain to travel and see the sights, but they had stayed in this small cave for months. It seemed he had no intention of leaving. This was good, far from the mortal world and the war ghosts under Han Nu’s influence. Here, he could live quietly until old age…

This sudden thought made Tanyin uncomfortable. The goal she had almost forgotten resurfaced. She was here to wait for him to die. She realized she didn’t want to think about this.

There was nothing wrong with her plan. He didn’t know, and she wouldn’t tell. An immortal’s life span was only a few thousand years. Accompanying him for a lifetime… why not?

She was willing to be a mortal craftsman for these few thousand years, sweating in summer and shivering in winter, making strange little things every day in this serene cave, with only the two of them for his entire life.

It wasn’t just for Taihe that she was willing to do this. So, there was nothing wrong.

Nothing wrong at all.

The door curtain lifted again, and Little Yuan Zhong, with a housewife’s face, lovingly brought them two bowls of hot soup. The thick broth was a light red, smelling sweet and slightly alcoholic.

Tanyin took a sip, finding it deliciously sweet and smooth. “Little Yuan Zhong, this is so tasty.”

Little Yuan Zhong, twisting his clothes shyly, said softly, “I’m glad you like it.”

He glanced shyly at Tanyin, then at Yuan Zhong’s furious face, and said affectionately, “You two must get along well…” before running off again, covering his face.

Yuan Zhong suddenly felt that he no longer wanted to stay in this cave. Otherwise, he feared he might dismantle that disgusting mechanical man. He had to leave immediately, right now, to go out and explore.

The heavy snowfall lasted four or five days before stopping. During those days, Yuan Zhong shut himself in his room almost from morning to night, doing who-knows-what. Sometimes, when Tanyin went to look for him, she would hear a series of chaotic noises from inside. It would take a long time before he opened the door, and even then, he would only open it a crack, not letting her see inside.

Even though he had agreed to go out shopping once the snow stopped, he procrastinated for several more days before reluctantly taking Tanyin out of the cave with the Bird of Paradise. It was obvious he hadn’t slept for days, with a loose strand of hair hanging by his ear and an unshaven stubble on his chin.

Tanyin had rarely seen him so disheveled. Normally, no matter how mischievous he was, his clothes and hair were always neat and tidy. The Fox Clan took pride in their appearance.

Yuan Zhong wrapped her in a blanket and threw her onto the back of the Bird of Paradise like a piglet. Then he jumped on the bird’s back, sat behind her, and whistled, making the bird flap its wings and slowly ascend.

He seemed deep in thought, resting his chin on her head while plucking feathers from the bird’s back and playing with them. The bird squawked in protest.

Wrapped tightly in the blanket, Tanyin was not cold but so hot that she was almost sweating. She struggled to move and asked, “Are you making a mechanical man? Are you having trouble? I can help you.”

Yuan Zhong snorted, “I don’t need your help.”

“You haven’t learned the craft, and without any inherited skills, it’s natural you can’t make one in just a few months.”

“Be quiet.”

Tanyin had only been guessing, but now she was almost 80% certain he really was making a mechanical man. Curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, “Are you really making a mechanical man? What kind are you trying to make?”

Yuan Zhong sighed and straightened her head.

“If you don’t stay quiet, I’ll throw you off.”

This fox always had a bad temper. Tanyin had no choice but to keep silent. Fortunately, the town wasn’t far, and the Bird of Paradise landed in front of a city gate after less than half an hour. Unlike small towns, even immortals and spirits had to walk through the gates here. The strict control suggested this was the Qiong Kingdom’s capital, Guixu.

In recent years, the Qiong kingdom has been plagued by peasant uprisings. There used to be a valiant general guarding Jiaping Pass, but he mysteriously disappeared, allowing the rebels to advance. This turmoil had left the citizens of Guixu in a state of anxiety. From a distance, Tanyin could see the crimson palace walls, heavily guarded with soldiers stationed every few steps, ready to drive away any suspicious individuals.

Riding on the Bird of Paradise, Tanyin gazed at the crimson walls, feeling a strange sense of familiarity. It was as if she had been here before, though she couldn’t recall any specific memories.

Lost in thought, she suddenly realized Yuan Zhong had tied the bird to a shop entrance. He quickly slipped inside, and she hurried to follow, only for him to glare back at her.

“Wait here and behave. Don’t follow me.”

“Okay…”

Tanyin reluctantly stopped and casually looked around the shop. Most of the items were handmade: camphor wood masks, delicate wooden boxes for scented powders, and small handcrafted copper figures. The most striking piece was a porcelain basin in a crystal display case in the center of the shop. The basin, over five inches tall, was a light sky blue with exquisitely painted lotus leaves and flowers, lifelike and artistically impressive.

Noticing her interest in the basin, the shop owner, hoping to make a sale, approached with a smile. “Miss, this porcelain basin has quite a story.”

Tanyin, inexperienced in dealing with merchants, took the bait. “What’s the story?”

The owner smiled mysteriously. “Have you heard of Young master Qi?”