Now, Ao Tu rode the clouds down at White Tiger Ridge.
He landed inside the White Bone Cave.
When the White Bone Spirit saw him, she hurried forward to greet him and bowed. “Great King.”
Ao Tu said, “Tang Seng and his disciples are about to arrive. Come with me.”
And so, with Tiger Vanguard on the left and the White Bone Spirit on the right, they followed Ao Tu back to the wooden hut.
As usual, Miss Qiao’er had carefully tidied the hut, then looked out toward the main road. Seeing that there was still no one there, she prepared to go back.
Suddenly, a figure came walking over from the distance.
It was the person she had been thinking of day and night.
Just as Qiao’er could hardly wait to rush over, she froze when she noticed the beautiful woman following behind Lord Dragon God.
Her face was peerlessly lovely, her jade-like features cold as frost, with a natural, enchanting charm. Her starry eyes seemed to hold dew, her cherry lips were touched with vermilion, as if she embodied a thousand forms of allure. Her black hair was coiled into a Lingxu bun, with a white jade hairpin set slantwise through it; her icy skin was lightly wrapped in snow-white robes, from which nine strands of silver tassels drifted.
Looking back at herself, she was merely a peasant girl. Though she possessed some delicate beauty, she could not avoid the marks of sun and wind, and faint rosy flushes lingered on her cheeks. Her slender jade fingers bore faint calluses, unlike the tender hands of a sheltered young lady.
She wore coarse hemp clothes. Though she had a natural charm, there were no fine garments to set it off, only specks of dust and mud. Her braided hair hung down without the slightest ornament, tied with a single straw cord—how could she compare to someone radiant with gold and jade?
After waiting bitterly for days, she had finally waited until she could meet the one in her heart, yet now she felt ashamed of her own inferiority. A few tears fell from her eyes, and she covered her face and left.
Ao Tu returned to the wooden hut. Before long, Qiao’er knocked on the door, carrying a basket of food in her hands: coarse-flour buns and wild vegetable dumplings.
The White Bone Spirit opened the door and said, “You are?”
Hearing this, Qiao’er felt even more inferior.
Ao Tu said, “This is Miss Qiao’er. Please invite her in.”
The White Bone Spirit then invited Qiao’er inside.
After Qiao’er entered, she looked at Ao Tu and saw that he was handsome and elegant, a perfect match for the beauty of the woman just now. She lowered her head and said,
“My lord, I saw that you had returned and feared you had not eaten, so I brought some food over.”
Ao Tu said, “Thank you. You were the one who cleaned this room as well, weren’t you? Sorry to trouble you.”
He had been gone for more than a month, yet when he came back, the room was as clean and tidy as new. Naturally, someone had been cleaning it often.
Qiao’er lowered her head and said, “It was no trouble. Then, then I’ll be going.”
In the end, she still did not dare ask about the marriage proposal.
If she asked, and his lordship said it had only been a jest, how was she supposed to bear it?
If she did not ask, she could still hold on to a bit of hope, letting the dream in her heart wake two days later.
Ao Tu nodded and said, “Go on, then. Oh, right. Make preparations. In two days, I’ll come to propose marriage. This is my younger sister, Jingjing. The two of you should get acquainted.”
Qiao’er stood frozen on the spot. The joy she had longed for day and night had descended upon her so suddenly.
In a daze, she and Miss Jingjing introduced themselves to each other, then walked out of the wooden hut and returned home. Though it was only a few steps, it felt as if she had passed into another lifetime.
A few days later, Tang Seng and his disciples left the region of Longevity Mountain, and the system’s voice sounded.
【Calculating rewards. Total interception time: thirty-two days.】
【Reward obtained: Spell—Earth Evasion.】
【Reward obtained: Sixth-Turn Golden Pill.】
【Reward obtained: Taiyi Purple-Gold Pill.】
【Reward obtained: Buddhist Dharma—Six-Syllable Mantra.】
【The excess two days will be automatically transferred to the next side mission. Next side mission: Three Strikes against the White Bone Spirit.】
In this Wuzhuang Temple mission, the time Ao Tu intercepted them was not particularly long, only a little over twenty days. Even with the six days of progress from last time added on, he had only barely reached the thirty-day reward.
There was nothing to be done. This was Great Immortal Zhenyuan’s Daoist field, and it was very difficult for Ao Tu to make any major changes.
Fortunately, his gains were abundant. Aside from the rewards given by the system, he had also obtained three Ginseng Fruits. He had eaten one, leaving two, and along with a section of branch from the Ginseng Fruit tree, he was nourishing them within his Five-Colored Divine Light.
As for the upcoming Three Strikes against the White Bone Spirit, he could operate properly this time.
Back at Wuzhuang Temple, he had already begun laying the groundwork.
【Entering mission area.】
【Current side mission: Three Strikes against the White Bone Spirit.】
【Mission requirement: Stop the scripture-seekers within the White Tiger Ridge region. Rewards will be calculated according to the duration of interception.】
【Mission rewards: Three days/Third-Turn Golden Pill, seven days/Sixth-Turn Golden Pill, half a month/Demon Court—Lesser Zhoutian Formation, one month/Shamanic Weapon—Peachwood Staff, one season/Divine Ability—Rainbow Transformation Art, half a year/Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, one year/Innate Spirit Treasure—Soul-Scattering Gourd, three years/Innate Spirit Treasure—Hetu Luoshu, twelve years/Chaos Bell, sixty years……】
【Current progress: two days.】
Ao Tu looked at the rewards the system had refreshed.
There was nothing much to say about the rewards for three days and seven days.
The reward for half a month was a formation. He had never heard of it, but judging by the reward tier, which was only at the half-month mark, it should not be especially powerful.
The reward for one month was a shamanic weapon, the Peachwood Staff. Putting aside its power for the moment, its five-element attribute was wood, which happened to fill the gap in Ao Tu’s Five-Colored Divine Light and greatly increase the divine light’s power.
At present, within the Five-Colored Divine Light, the metal element had the Third-Grade Golden Lotus, the water element had the Three-Light Divine Water, the earth element had the Ginseng Fruit branch, and the fire element had the Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan. Only the wood element was still lacking.
The reward for one season was the Rainbow Transformation Art.
This art was a divine ability of the same level as the Five-Colored Divine Light. It was also known as the Golden Crow’s Rainbow Transformation Art. The Golden Crow was the essence of the great sun; light divided into seven colors, dispersing into rosy clouds and gathering into a rainbow, hence the name Rainbow Transformation Art.
Once it was used, body and light became one, traversing ten thousand li in an instant without leaving any trace. It was the number one evasion art of the Three Realms.
As for the reward for half a year, Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood.
If Ao Tu could obtain and refine it, he would be able to reproduce a few traces of the ancient dragon race’s might, and show Brother Monkey the oppressive aura from the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation.
Ao Tu went down the mountain to buy some betrothal gifts. There were not many items.
One zhang of cotton cloth, one zhang of red cloth, one dou each of the five grains, two jars of rice wine, two strips of cured meat, and two taels of silver wrapped in red cloth. That was all.
For an ordinary family, this was already a very good betrothal gift.
He brought them to Qiao’er’s parents and stated his purpose.
The two elders were naturally willing, and carefully asked about Ao Tu’s family circumstances.
Ao Tu answered that his family had originally been an official household. His father had died after being framed in court struggles, and his mother had passed away from grief.
There were still nine brothers in the family, but in order to avoid disaster, they had scattered in all directions.
He had brought a younger sister to this place, wishing to live in seclusion among the mountains and forests, marry and have children, work the fields at sunrise and rest at sunset, and from then on live the peaceful life of common folk.
When the two elders heard this, they were delighted and immediately settled the marriage.
Because White Tiger Ridge had previously been troubled by demons, there were few households here, and thus there were not many relatives or neighbors to invite.
A few days later, they chose an auspicious day. Red paper was cut and pasted on the windows, two red candles were paired together, and the two families joined together to prepare a table of good dishes, eating happily. Qiao’er dressed in red bridal attire, and Ao Tu carried her on his back to the wooden hut. With that, the rites were considered complete.
Tiger Vanguard built another wooden hut nearby and gave up the bridal chamber.
At night.
Ao Tu lifted the veil.
Qiao’er’s cheeks were flushed red, and she was too shy and nervous to look at him.
Ao Tu smiled and said, “All right, I won’t ruin your purity. Stay here at ease for some time. There is no one else in these mountains, so it won’t count as sullying your reputation. Once my affairs are done, I’ll gift you a thousand taels of gold and silver and send your whole family to live in the city.”
After Ao Tu said this, Qiao’er showed not the slightest joy. Instead, her face turned pale.
That was right. His lordship had said before that it was only acting…
After Ao Tu finished speaking, he prepared to leave.
But Qiao’er suddenly grabbed his arm.