The Unruly Immortals

"Thud, thud, thud~!! Thud, thud, thud~! As the sun sets behind the mountain and darkness falls~ there are nine out of ten households that lock their doors. Only one house remains unlocked, offering incense and drums to invite the immortal na~"

Accompanied by the urgent drumbeat, Bai Lingmiao was striking the drum while circling around the naked man bound by his limbs in the center of the room.

In the corner of the wall lay a group of people, men and women, old and young, trembling with tears in their eyes.

"Today, going up to the pass brings great auspiciousness, the Nandou leans toward the Beidou"

"Before ascending to the pass, first spray three mouthfuls of Divine Water"

"Striding to the southwest and north, Qian is the heaven and Kun the earth"

"Only to see that demons and ghosts scurry far away!!"

As Bai Lingmiao finished singing the Soldier-Shifting Decree, she immediately took off the red veil from her head, dipped it into the pre-prepared tub of water, and with droplets clinging, directly covered the man's face.

In an instant, the man who was bound at his limbs let out a scream as ghastly as a ghost's wail or a wolf's howl.

The wet red veil, along with the drumbeat, kept changing shape, sometimes bulging into a wolf's head with a gaping maw, sometimes sinking into a skull, seeming to morph into four heads of a serpent stuck together.

The screams grew louder and more intense, until at its peak, the man's body suddenly tensed as taut as a drawn bow and then collapsed onto the ground.

Immediately after, a blurry, barely visible red mist shaped like a little person crawled out from under the red veil and scurried towards a nearby pillar.

Bai Lingmiao made no move to act, waiting until the little mist person had burrowed into a corner of the pillar before she approached.

When Second God's sharp nails pierced the wooden beam and forcefully pried it open, accompanied by the sound of splitting wood, a miniature blood-red palace emerged before them.

This little palace seemed not to have been assembled beforehand but carved directly from the heart of that pillar.

"Have you offended someone?"

With a swift swipe of Second God's black nails, the entire miniature palace instantly collapsed, its conspicuous red color quickly fading away.

Seeing the Copper Coin reward handed to her by the afflicted villagers, Bai Lingmiao looked up at the bare walls surrounding them; she did not take it but simply turned around and left.

"This little bit of Copper Coin is too burdensome to carry; keep it to repair that pillar, and think carefully about who installed this beam. Remember to stay far away next time."

Once Bai Lingmiao came out and seated herself in her carriage, she exhaled deeply, "Finding jobs like this isn't easy."

Chun Xiaoman waited until Second God bent his legs to get on the carriage, then lightly flicked the reins and directed the carriage towards Niuxin Village. "Miaomiao, that should complete the duties assigned by the Immortal Sects for this month, right?"

Hearing Chun Xiaoman's words, Bai Lingmiao nodded her head, "Yes, but that's just for this month. Next month, we'll have to start over."

After speaking, she leaned back, lying on the carriage, picked up a book beside her, and started reading.

The content inside the book was simple: on the left it read "duck," and on the right, there was a drawing of a duck.

"Duck..." Bai Lingmiao, holding a wooden stick, traced over the character again and again, very earnestly.

Once she had firmly engraved the character in her memory, she turned the page to the next one, which was the character for pig.

This book for literacy, unavailable elsewhere, was hand-drawn by Gao Zhijian himself.

Beneath the Ancestral Temple, even though there were numerous books and Cultivation Techniques, they were all recorded using characters. To understand what her own people had left for her, she had to learn to read.

Accompanying the creaking of the carriage wheels, the sky gradually darkened, and when Chun Xiaoman opened the carriage curtain, the interior was pitch-black, except for a pair of bright green reflective animal eyes floating in the air.

"Miaomiao, it's already so late, shall we camp out here tonight?"

"You go ahead with your tasks; I'll keep reading for a bit."

Hearing the other party's reply, Chun Xiaoman let out a sigh, pulled down the carriage curtain, and went to gather firewood.

Not only had Miaomiao's personality changed, but even the way she went about things had become rigidly principled.

Once she had decided to learn to read, aside from eating and drinking, she would bury herself in books the rest of the time, determined not to give up until she had learned to read.

As Chun Xiaoman, hugging enough firewood, was setting up a campfire next to the carriage, she saw Second God standing silently in front of her, holding some wild vegetables in her arms.

"Thank you, I'll go get the pot, keep an eye on the fire and don't let it go out."

The two of them didn't need as big a pot as before; a normal little iron pot would do, with Chun Xiaoman breaking up the hardtack into small pieces and tossing them into the pot.

When it had cooked to a semi-soft state, she would add some jerky and wild vegetables, and a simple supper would be ready.

When Chun Xiaoman saw Bai Lingmiao still holding the book even as she ate, she shook her head helplessly, her sister almost seemed obsessed.

"Why make it so complicated, Gao Zhijian knows how to read, doesn't he?"

"Better to rely on oneself than on others, and besides, he isn't smart enough. What if he reads something wrong? You wouldn't even know."

"Have you forgotten how Li Huowang tricked that leper before? I do not want to make the same mistake."

"Then how about hiring a few tutors?"

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea, and then let these tutors find out I am the remnant of the White Lotus Sect and report me to the Astrological Bureau."

Chun Xiaoman frowned slightly; the Miaomiao from the past would never have been as sarcastic as she was now.

When Second God put two pieces of meat in Chun Xiaoman's bowl with her chopsticks, her dissatisfaction began to fade.

"You're the best," Chun Xiaoman said softly, leaning on Second God's shoulder and continuing to eat her dish of meat and bread soaked in broth.

After eating, the two of them lay down on the bed to rest, back to back on the left and right.

With a "thud," Bai Lingmiao's hand rested on Chun Xiaoman's shoulder, and the remaining discontent in her heart gradually dissipated.

She turned over, embraced the other as before, and shut her eyes. No matter how the other had changed, Miaomiao was still the good sister who comforted her at her most vulnerable.

Just as she was about to close her eyes, another body pressed against her from behind; it was Second God's body.

"Oh, you two...." Chun Xiaoman decided to just lie down and sleep, embracing one in each arm.

The next morning, when Chun Xiaoman got up, she realized the carriage was already moving.

After sneezing, she went to the front to take the reins from Second God's hands, but the other party was reluctant to hand them over.

"I'm here now; it won't wear me out, just driving the carriage, it's not like I'm walking on my feet."

As they were arguing, a small county town appeared before them, with various tenant farmers carrying baskets of wild game and furs towards it.

"Right, today is the fifteenth, the day of the big market."

As the carriage entered the county town, a buzzing hubbub arose all around, with people selling and buying goods on both sides of the street.

There were also many people who came out not to buy anything, which made the streets very congested and the carriage moved slowly.

"Why is it so noisy?" An impatient Bai Lingmiao pulled open the carriage curtain, and the bright sunlight almost blinded her.

Just as she was about to wrap a ribbon that Li Huowang had tied around her hand over her eyes, she accidentally spotted someone familiar.

"Xiaoman, isn't that Scholar Lv over there?"