The Unruly Immortals

"Bai doll, your family is quite wealthy, isn't it? Didn't your parents give you some copper coins to buy something to eat?"

Bai Lingmiao shifted her gaze from the flowered copper hairpin on the peddler's tray, "No, in the village, you can't buy things with money."

The peddler slapped his forehead with regret, forgetting that this shabby place wasn't a county town and that money couldn't be spent. This girl definitely doesn't have a single coin on her.

"Then... what are you doing standing there? Hurry up and call your parents, let them come buy you some candy."

"My parents are out on errands, and I'm staying with my aunt with my brother."

"Hey, what a waste of effort." The peddler didn't bother with the Bai girl anymore, sitting down by the tree root and drinking from his gourd water bottle.

Bai Lingmiao seemed to really want that hairpin, but she didn't do anything, just stood there obediently watching, as if enjoying every extra glance.

Before long, the village entrance became lively, as children spread the news of the peddler's arrival throughout Niuxin Village. Many got a scolding for their dirty faces, but they didn't mind, eagerly begging their parents to buy them candy.

Those who came were mostly elderly women and daughters-in-law; the men were mostly out working the fields at this hour. Everyone surrounded the peddler, chattering non-stop with questions.

Many children pestered their mothers for candy, but apart from a few who were spoiled, most were greeted with a firm smack.

"More candy! You little rascal! Where did you get all that soot on your face!"

But the kids with candy didn't eat it all themselves; they took the half-sucked candy out of their mouths and handed it to the crying ones. The small candy traveled from one little mouth to another until it reached Bai Lingmiao's mouth.

Looking at the stringy, almost disappearing brown candy, Bai Lingmiao licked her lips. After hesitating for a while, she finally resisted the temptation and put the candy into her brother's mouth.

"Is it delicious?" Bai Lingmiao patted his little head and asked.

"Mm, delicious." Watching her brother nod vigorously, Bai Lingmiao smiled happily.

After the women dispersed, it was obvious that a lot of things were gone from the peddler's rack. He thought to himself that his judgment was indeed correct—the more remote the village, the fewer other peddlers come, and the more profit there is.

Feeling the noticeably heavier money bag, the pleased peddler sat once again by the tree root to rest his feet, planning to take a breather before continuing to the next village.

"Uncle, have you been to many places?" Bai Lingmiao drew closer and asked.

"Oh yes, over the years, I've traveled far and wide, going just about everywhere." In much better spirits, the peddler answered her question.

"What's it like outside? Is it very different from Bai Village?" Bai Lingmiao's eyes were full of longing; she was very curious about the outside world.

She wasn't the only curious one; in fact, all the children in the village were curious, so hearing this question, they all gathered around.

"Of course, do you know what's far to the west? It's the sea. Have you ever seen the sea? I have. Once, when I was begging along the Hedong Road, I saw someone catch a fish from the sea that was taller than two people."

Seeing those eyes full of amazement and hearing the gasps of wonder, the peddler couldn't help but smile, feeling a bit exhilarated.

"Oh well, since I'm in a good mood today, let me tell you little kids some stories, so you people from such a small place can see something new."

Soon, from the peddler's mouth, the children of Bai Village had their first taste of new concepts, like what a shop is, what a pawnshop is, and what a tea house is.

The more the peddler spoke, the more excited he became, and hearing more and more exclamations of astonishment around him, he began narrating like a storyteller in a tea house.

But in some parts, he didn't remember so clearly, so he just made things up. After all, they were just kids; they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"Once upon a time in the ancient past, the Nine Li tribes caused chaos, merging the realms of humans and gods! No... that's not right, utterly indescribable~ when deities mingled with mortals, it wasn't permitted. This means that in the past, the immortals in the heavens lived among us."

"But then, someone noticed that this wasn't right, and that someone was Zhuanxu."

"Now, let me tell you, Zhuanxu was amazing. He was nine feet tall at birth, could eat an entire ox in one meal, and could drink a creek dry with one gulp of water."

"It's said that Zhuanxu's father was an immortal; whether that's true or not, I don't know, but he was just that incredible~ anyone could tell he wasn't an ordinary person!"

The children of Niuxin Village listened enthralled, not noticing the carriages approaching from the distant road.

"Calamities were rampant, unmatched in power. Zhuanxu accepted his fate, meaning he was so powerful that he naturally possessed great abilities, which is why he became the king of the people, known as the Human Emperor."

"Once he became emperor, he obviously had to do something, so he noticed that gods were living with people and felt uncomfortable. How could that be? People and gods living together? He took General Bai Chong and General Yu Li to go deal with the gods."

"Hey~! But can you guess what happened?" At this point, the peddler triumphantly left a suspenseful pause.

"What happened?" Bai Lingmiao and the others couldn't help but be on the edge of their seats.

"Turns out the immortals were unwilling, hey~! You tell me, with Zhuanxu's fiery temper, could he take this lying down? If he could hold back, I wouldn't be able to, so right there, they started brawling with the immortals. Oh, the scene, smack smack smack, it was quite a sound."