Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 169 "Aunt's Cousin"

"Cousin, about the marriage proposal you mentioned before..."

"Don't rush, I'm just trying to set you up."

With hope in his heart, Wang Zifu's lovesickness was mostly cured. He was no longer bedridden and ate well every day to recuperate, all so that he could present a good image to his cousin whom he had met once before.

Wang Zifu is happy now, but his cousin is worried. He made up the story of a cousin on a whim, but given Wang Zifu's situation at the time, it's not like he couldn't find her at all.

Madam Wang's original surname was Wu. This cousin was her younger brother's child. Her older sisters had indeed married into several families in the vicinity. It would be easy to find a cousin for Wang Zifu by searching through family relationships. However, no famous beauties had ever emerged from their family in this generation, and Madam Wang did not remember having any relatives living in the southwest mountain area.

To put it bluntly, there isn't much population movement in that area of ​​the Southwest Mountains, and I've never heard of any villages there. My cousin went there to search for a long time afterward, but he found nothing.

Forget about cousins ​​now. Apart from Liu Qingyuan, who occasionally appears near the mountain road, I haven't seen any other living people. Whether there are any villages thirty miles to the southwest is still unknown.

My cousin can't find anyone, and Wang Zifu is getting impatient. The other party came back on the same day he went out to look for someone and said he would help him with the wedding arrangements. Now he has gone from being bedridden to being able to run and jump again, but there is still no news about the wedding that my cousin has contracted.

"They only have one daughter, so naturally they'll be very selective when choosing a husband..."

Wang Zifu had asked many times, but his cousin never gave a straight answer about the progress, always brushing it off with ambiguous words.

At first, he thought his cousin was really busy, since the other person was married and must have more things to take care of than him, but this had been dragging on for too long.

The fact that he could fall ill with lovesickness because of his excessive longing for the girl shows how much he cares about her. His poor health prevented him from getting up before, but now that he is healthy again and can run and jump, the next day, he took the plum blossom branch that had not withered and ran out of the house to the southwest without telling anyone.

By the time Madam Wang and her cousin realized he was missing and sent people out to search for him, Wang Zifu had already entered the mountain path. It was only thirty li away, and as long as he could see the girl again, he felt it wasn't that far.

"These guys... should all get their brains checked."

Sitting in the Realm of Openness, after returning with Daoist Shan, Liu Qingyuan sent him away and took some time to examine the remaining three illegal transmigrators in the system space. Each one was more outrageous than the last, a case of "two dragons and one phoenix chick, one free."

"If those people working for illegal systems end up like this, I think you should hire some psychologists; it might have a miraculous effect."

Because signing a contract with an illegal system is a dead end, if the mission succeeds, nothing will happen, but if you fail and get caught, you're completely finished. This leads to the fact that those who become experienced veterans often have a somewhat eccentric mental state.

Yi Yang had the closest contact with the system, and it was only after capturing him that they were able to find the system on the other side. Therefore, after handing the cigarette over to the underworld for processing, he was the first person they interrogated.

This guy talks a lot of nonsense, and some of his statements are logically contradictory. At first, Liu Qingyuan thought that Yi Yang was just resentful because he was arrested and wanted to struggle again. But later she found out that his constant lying was actually just a "habit".

Yes, it's a habit. Liu Qingyuan didn't know what this person had been through in the past, she only knew that the current Yi Yang always spoke a mix of truth and falsehood, and his testimony could not be completely trusted; every word needed to be carefully considered.

Even though they've all been arrested, and the illegal system has also been brought to justice, lying won't bring any benefits. Besides, why is interrogation so troublesome in the system space?

His answer was also quite peculiar. Xiao Wu detected that Yi Yang's emotional fluctuations were very small, as if he had no desires.

In other words, Yi Yang didn't really care about the tasks assigned by his system; he only did his job diligently because he had to fulfill the requirements from above. As for his own desires? Sorry, he didn't have any. Even the shadow that the mandrill had mutated seemed to want the mission to be completed more than Yi Yang did.

The strangest thing here is that Liu Qingyuan clearly remembers that when he and Jian Feidao fought their way to the capital and chased each other in the sky with their swords, Yi Yang did not show this personality. He also did the same when Shou Wanjie came into contact with them. If all of that before was just an act based on his own lies, then this guy is a bit too scary.

With acting skills this good, he should be the one with the pseudonym system.

"The maze that Master Xian and Master Li encountered was Lan Ying's doing, but what about the Changqing Snake Cave?"

There are traces of time travelers on the remains of the Snake Cave seal, but so far, they seem unrelated to the person who was captured. I heard that the mantis was unaware of the years outside the seal, and he thought it was related to the maze.

The result was not so; the one who was truly connected was Lan Ying. The Snake Cave was her own backyard, a world riddled with holes.

"Who said this world was easy?"

A bunch of messy, decryption-like stuff. This is Liaozhai, a world derived from supernatural tales. What the hell is all this murder mystery stuff?

As I've said before, the organization believes in your abilities.

Making a simple process complicated—isn't that a kind of protagonist's halo?

"This ability is completely unnecessary."

Liu Qingyuan would rather collect less energy and get something simple that can be easily resolved with force, or something he only needs to observe.

"Speaking of which, since Heaven is secretly pulling the strings, could Master Guan's special physique also be related to these things?"

Anyway, Liu Qingyuan had never heard of "Guan Songsheng" in the original work. This person's background and physique were very special, so special that they didn't seem like the style of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Guan Songsheng accidentally stepped into the maze, the mantis in the snake cave seal was lured out by Guan Songsheng, his mother was pregnant out of wedlock, he gave birth to a child in a coffin, he was born with yin energy, there are hidden secrets about his background... all these labels stacked up are taller than Gu Chen, this person is so strange that he ascended to heaven on the spot.

While Liu Qingyuan was troubled, someone from Yingning's family suddenly came and invited him over.

Looking at the sky, it was already sunset, and night would soon fall—definitely a time when ghosts and monsters were most active. He simply couldn't recall what the Ghost Mother might want from him. Ying Ning rarely left home, while Xiao Cui would visit her every few days; if anything went wrong, the fox spirit Xiao Cui could resolve it on the spot.

However, compared to brainstorming in a state of enlightenment, going out for a walk is always more relaxing, so he accepted the invitation. When he arrived at the gate, he saw a scholar sitting at the door, who was Wang Zifu, who had run out of his house.

Prince Fu held the plum blossom branch. The branch was clearly withered long ago, but the plum blossoms on it had not withered. After bringing the branch back, Prince Fu either carried it in his bosom or put it under his pillow when he slept. The fact that the plum blossom branch could be preserved so well made people think of some kind of magic.

After running out of his house, he headed southwest as his cousin had told him, entered the mountain path, and passed through dense forests. He didn't know if the journey was thirty li or not, but he felt that he had walked for a very long time, as if he had been wandering in the mountains and forests all day.

From some unknown point on the road, the number of wildflowers along the roadside gradually increased. Wang Zifu followed a narrow path and eventually found himself in a small village.

The village was not only small, but also extremely sparsely populated, with hardly anyone in sight. He found this strange, so he continued along the path until he reached a rather large mansion, which must have belonged to a prominent family in the village.

At the end of the road, Wang Zifu saw a girl standing at the door, pinning a flower in her hair. Wang Zifu initially just wanted to ask for directions, but the girl turned around when she heard footsteps. When their eyes met, they were both somewhat surprised.

Because the girl who wore flowers in her hair in front of her house was the one that Prince Fu couldn't forget after just one meeting. What a coincidence!

The girl opposite him was also surprised to see him, but she quickly adjusted her mindset, smiled at Wang Zifu, and ran home. The main gate of the mansion was closed as well, leaving only a slightly ajar gap for people inside to observe the outside.

It was impossible for Wang Zifu not to be excited when the person he had been longing for was right in front of him. But soon he remembered what his cousin had said: the other party was his cousin, and this family was his relatives. The girl's mother was his aunt.

Now, the safest excuse is to go over under the pretext of visiting relatives, but he had never had any contact with this family before. If it weren't for what happened on New Year's Eve, he wouldn't have known that there was an aunt living in the Southwest Mountain.

Going in directly like that would seem a bit rash, but without a suitable reason, how should he knock on the door and make contact with the person inside?

Caught in this dilemma, Wang Zifu lingered at the gate with a plum blossom branch, waiting until evening, when Liu Qingyuan saw him. Seeing him sitting at the gate, Liu Qingyuan seemed to understand something.

"What is Young Master Wang doing here?"

"Immortal Sword Master?"

Prince Fu looked up and saw the "immortal" he had met before. Why was the other person here? Oh right, this person lives in the southwest mountains. He occasionally goes to the town. Since there are villages in the mountains, the two must have some interaction.

"I heard from your cousin that you were sick and bedridden. Are you better now?"

"Those were just minor illnesses before, and I'm fine now."

Thinking back to his previous lovesickness, Wang Zifu thought of the girl who ran into the house and realized that he hadn't yet come up with a reason to visit her.

"It's getting late, young master, aren't you going home?"

Liu Qingyuan seemed oblivious to his inner turmoil. She looked up at the setting sun and asked Wang Zifu why he hadn't gone home yet. There was a curfew in the city, and it wasn't safe in the mountains at night, so his question was understandable.

"It's already so late?"

Wang Zifu looked at the sky with him and saw the sunset over the western mountains. He realized that it was really too late. He had left home in the morning and had been outside all day.

What's even more amazing is that I didn't feel anything at all during the 30-plus-mile journey from morning to evening without eating or drinking. It's truly incredible.

"This place is quite far from the city. What brings Young Master Wang here?"

Liu Qingyuan glanced towards the doorway and, through the crack, could see a head of black hair and an apricot blossom pinned to it.

"It's not safe in the mountains. Why don't I escort you back, young master?"

"No, no need."

Having finally found his sweetheart, Wang Zifu was unwilling to leave. But if he were to tell the truth and say that he came here to find a girl he had met once before, wouldn't that make him seem like a hooligan?

As he was struggling with his decision, the door opened and an old woman came out. She first greeted Liu Qingyuan, then looked at Wang Zifu.

It was at this moment that Wang Zifu saw a girl dressed as a maid walk out from beside Liu Qingyuan. After receiving instructions from the old woman, she went straight into the house, pulled the girl who was hiding behind the door, and dragged her away.

Strange, when did this maid appear? He only saw Sword Immortal standing there, he didn't see any maid.

However, in terms of presence, this immortal who was dressed in white from head to toe was indeed more eye-catching, perhaps I just overlooked him.

Not only Liu Qingyuan, but the old lady also welcomed Wang Zifu in. Although Wang Zifu struggled for a long time without finding a suitable reason, the old lady didn't seem to care much. According to her, Wang Zifu had been lingering in front of her house since the morning. She thought he was a bookworm and must be hungry after wandering around for so long, so she planned to let him come in and sit down and have something to eat.

Prince Fu was naturally willing and followed him into the courtyard. The village was quite small, and the houses didn't look particularly special from the outside. However, the courtyard was full of blooming flowers, with white stone paths and brand-new walls.

It was indeed a wealthy family's home, but for some reason, there were no servants around, making the courtyard seem rather empty.

After entering, Liu Qingyuan went to other places first, while the old lady instructed people to serve Wang Zifu dishes. While waiting, she kept staring at Wang Zifu and finally asked this question.

"Is your mother surnamed Wu, young master?"

"Yes, my mother's original surname is Wu."

After saying this, Wang Zifu heard a gasp from the other side.

"That's right, you're my nephew, and your mother is my sister!"

Wang Zifu was not surprised by this. He had come out to find his cousin and aunt. The old lady quickly accepted the surprise after her exclamation, as she had prepared these words in advance.

In another room, separated from them by a wall, Liu Qingyuan overheard these words without being surprised, because he knew it would develop this way and could foresee some of the things that would happen later.

It now seems that the Ghost Mother has decided to entrust Yingning to the Wang family.

The only person who might be surprised by this process is Wang Zifu's unjust cousin. The cousin he mentioned was just something he made up on the spot, since he had never actually met Ying Ning and at most knew that there were people living in the southwest.

However, the cousin didn't have a chance to be surprised. Wang Zifu ran out of the house without saying a word and disappeared for a whole day. The Wang family was almost frantic with searching for him.

"Where did that brat run off to?!"

Sometimes, Madam Wang really wanted to pick up a stick and give her troublesome son a few whacks, but the Wang family only had one son, and Master Wang had been gone for several years. If she beat him too badly, he wouldn't be able to start over.

"Could it have run off to the southwest mountains?"

When his cousin recalled Wang Zifu's questioning yesterday, he figured the kid had probably gone to find that "auntie cousin" on his own. He had only offered to help her propose marriage because he was afraid she would do that.

But the village in the southwest mountains hasn't been found yet, and my cousin just made it up. It would be strange if we could find it!