A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

"Um... what is your surname, young lady?"

The fat old man didn't dare turn around, but in his haste, he asked a question.

The woman was taken aback, and instinctively replied, "Zixia."

The fat old man was also taken aback, and continued to ask, "What is your surname, young lady?"

The woman angrily replied, "My name is Zixia."

The fat old man dared not ask any more questions, for fear of losing his head. He chuckled dryly, "Surname Zixia, huh? What a fine surname." As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a chill on his neck; a sword was already at his throat.

"I told you, my name is Zixia, not my surname. Someone as mentally challenged as you shouldn't be out in the world. It would be much better if you stayed home." The woman was getting angry. "Why are you stopping me?"

The fat old man said, "Actually, I am a god."

Zixia said, "I saw it a long time ago."

The fat old man said, "Can I turn around and talk to you face to face?"

Zixia sheathed her sword and said, "Fine, you can't beat me anyway when you turn around."

Heartbroken, old iron!

The fat old man turned around, looked at Zixia, and said, "I am Zhongli Quan."

Upon hearing this, Zixia immediately pointed at him and exclaimed with sudden realization, "Oh, it's you! I know you, Han Zhongli, isn't it?"

Zhongli Quan nodded: "It is also me. My name is Han Zhongli."

Zixia asked curiously, "Judging from your appearance, it seems you've come to Jiangning for some business. What is it? Tell me, maybe I can help."

Zhongli Quan said, "I received a message from my friend Tieguai Li, asking me to come here to help subdue the demon."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Zixia perked up. "What kind of demon requires both you and Tieguai Li to subdue it?"

Zhongli Quan said, "You are also a demon."

This means that I can't tell the fairy about the fairy.

Zixia snorted: "I attained enlightenment by cultivating before the Buddha, and you call me a demon? Can you sense any demonic energy from me?"

Zhongli Quan shook his head: "No!"

"That's settled then. Although I didn't attain enlightenment through cultivation in human form, I still have legitimate roots. If you call me a demon, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to Buddha?"

Zhongli Quan: "That's true. It's alright to tell you. She's a spider demon from the reed marshes outside the Qinhuai River. She has great magical power and a special mental cultivation technique. She's quite formidable. The people who have gathered in Jiangning include myself, Tieguai Li, Lü Dongbin, and the eminent monks from Jinguang Temple."

Zixia couldn't hide the smile on her face.

"I'll sign up; I'm good at dealing with fairies."

Zhongli Quan thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. Since you are a Buddhist practitioner, joining is also an option."

Zixia continued, "You were just looking at the pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River. Were you going to imitate others and patronize courtesans? I heard that one of your men, Lü Dongbin, likes to do that."

I was somewhat bewildered by this woman's erratic thinking.

Zhongli Quan had no choice but to say, "This evening, I encountered a female demon working as a courtesan on a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River... I want to confirm this and see if I can take her in while I'm at it."

Zixia said, "Is it so hard to be a demon these days? Do they have to sell themselves to support themselves?"

Zhongli Quan: ...

Zixia asked in confusion, "What kind of female demon would rather sell her body to make a living than kill, set fires, rob, or harm others? That's truly admirable."

Zhongli Quan: ...

Did this woman make a mistake?

We're here to vanquish demons, not to pity them.

But what she said does seem to make some sense.

Zixia was even more anxious than Zhongli Quan, saying, "Let's go, let's go to the Qinhuai River and take a look. Let's see who can make being a demon so elegant and refined? Haha, I really like that kind of thing!"

In a flash, the person disappeared.

Too anxious.

Zhongli Quan also shook his banana leaf fan, and then disappeared from the spot.

On a painted boat on the Qinhuai River.

A woman, a fat old man, and two other women are facing off.

The fat old man said, "If you're human, hurry up and leave."

Upon hearing this, the songstress who had been drinking, admiring the moon, and eating snacks with Bai Mudan looked at Zixia in surprise, then at the fat old man: "How did you get up here?"

Zixia said, "It fell from the sky."

The songstress giggled lewdly, then turned to look at Bai Mudan, whose face had turned pale.

"Peony, oh Peony, listen to this! Who are these people? Did they fall from the sky? People can fall from the sky? Falling down..."

With a clang, the sound of a sword being drawn abruptly cut off the singer's voice. She glanced at Bai Mudan, then at the old man and the woman, and a look of terror gradually appeared on her face.

"roll!"

Zixia scolded.

The songstress scrambled away, clearly seeking revenge on Bai Mudan; she even had a sword. Could it be that Bai Mudan cheated the fat man out of his money, and his daughter, enraged, came to kill her with a sword?

It's still possible!

The songstress was almost certain of it.

However, she still dared not stay there to watch the excitement, for she might lose her head while watching. She struggled for a while between saving her life and watching the excitement before quietly slipping away.

A small boat sped away, heading towards a large pleasure boat on the other side.

“I don’t know you,” Bai Mudan said immediately.

Zhongli Quan said, "You don't recognize me?"

White Peony: "You're that lecherous old man?"

Zhongli Quan: ...

Zixia laughed heartily, sheathed the sword she had drawn halfway, and said with a grin, "I heard from that lecherous old man that you'd rather sell yourself than kill, set fires, and rob... What a fine demon you are!"

Another lecherous old man?

Zhongli Quan: ...

I'm not going to talk anymore. We came here in a big mood to subdue the demon, but girl, how are we supposed to subdue the demon now that you've done this?

Upon hearing this, Bai Mudan curled her lip: "Murder and arson? How bloody are those things? I am a fairy, that's true, but I am a flower fairy. Do you even know what a flower fairy is?"

Zhongli Quan and Zixia nodded at the same time.

Zhongli Quan said dismissively, "Isn't it just that flowers have become spirits? Is that so strange? Is that so hard to understand?"

Bai Mudan looked at her with an expression of certainty and said, "Look at you all, you only know a little about the affairs of the demon realm, yet you keep shouting about subduing demons. Isn't this just nonsense? People who treat human life like dirt are the ones who are most likely to be called 'disregarding human life'."

Zixia said, "I am also a demon, I don't discriminate against you, please continue."

White Peony continued, "Flower fairies are spirits of noble character, holding the highest position in the fairy world. Have you not heard of a virtuous person who once composed a poem praising a flower fairy like me?"

Zhongli Quan was taken aback and asked, "What poem?"

Zixia also looked expectant.

Bai Mudan said, "Aren't we tired of standing here talking? If others see us with swords and knives drawn, they'll think you're thugs trying to rob me."

Yes, that's right, hurry up and sit down!

So the three of them sat down, and Bai Mudan called out, "Mom, tidy up here and bring a pot of good tea."

Zixia complained, "Look at you, you're so stingy! You were drinking and eating meat with that green tea b*tch friend, but when I come here, all you get is a cup of tea? Am I not a nun? Am I not allowed to eat meat?"

Bai Mudan rolled her eyes at her: "Preparing food and wine costs money..."

Zixia asked, "How much?"

Bai Mudan held up two fingers and gestured.

Zhongli Quan suddenly stood up and said angrily, "This is outrageous! It's just ordinary food and wine, yet they're charging twenty taels of silver. That's outrageous!"

Bai Mudan said, "It's two hundred taels, and that's a friendly price."

Zixia patted her clothes and took out a gold ingot: "If you have money, just bring out the best wine and food."

Zhongli Quan angrily said, "Even if you have money, you can't waste it like this..."

"Are you going to eat?"

Zhong Liquan shut up.

Bai Mudan retorted sarcastically, "Those who come here to do business are all wealthy and influential officials. They don't care about a mere two hundred taels. What they care about is who will drink and eat with them, who will dance, sing, and play the pipa for them... This is a high-end gathering, not the kind of low-end gathering where you only care about the food and drinks and how much you pay."

This was practically a direct insult to Zhong Liquan, calling him a "poor wretch."

Zhongli Quan was furious, but Zixia showed no intention of subduing him, and he felt awkward about taking action alone. Besides, this White Peony didn't seem to have any bad cultivation level.

Moreover, there seemed to be some chaotic energy within his body.

Weird.

After receiving the money, Bai Mudan called out with a grin, "Mom, bring up some good wine and food."

Before long, a plump madam came up, followed by several maids, carrying wooden trays with some wine and dishes, which she placed down.

The madam winked at Bai Mudan, then her eyes lingered on Zhong Liquan several times before she left, satisfied, after Bai Mudan also winked.

She's taken a liking to this fat old man.

The meaning of "blinking" is to get the fat old man drunk as much as possible, and then use a substitution trick so that there will be meat to eat tonight. The madam is very happy.

Zhongli Quan watched the madam's departing figure, snorted, and coldly looked at Bai Mudan: "Is that madam a toad spirit? Heh, this place really is a den of demons!"

Bai Mudan said, "So what if they're demons? We've never harmed anyone. It's just that people who claim to be immortals come to harm me from time to time. There was this Lu Dongbin up ahead who even wanted to take me as his furnace. Bah! If it weren't for the Taoist priest coming, he wouldn't be eating a damn thing."

Taoist priest?

Zixia suddenly stood up and stared at Bai Mudan: "Which Taoist priest? What's his name?"