Chapter 93: The Lady Bites People

That night, Li Lin introduced Hongluan’s status to the household servants.

There was gratification in Zhang A’fu’s eyes.

The master was about to marry, which meant this household would continue on, and servants like them would be able to continue living here.

Over this period of time, they had already figured out Li Lin’s character.

He was a rare and good master.

They hoped to spend their entire lives here.

The maidservants, meanwhile, looked at Hongluan with envy.

Li Lin was handsome, wealthy, and possessed status.

Let alone becoming his principal wife, even becoming his concubine was a rare blessing.

The maids had all fantasized about it.

Unfortunately, Li Lin never behaved improperly toward them.

He even seemed to deliberately maintain some distance.

After dinner and a bath, Li Lin lay on his bed.

Not long afterward, there was a knock on the door, and someone gently pushed it open and entered.

No lamp was lit in the room, making it quite dim.

But Li Lin knew who it was.

Before long, a warm body lay down beside him, accompanied by a nervous heartbeat.

Li Lin wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her over, and embraced her.

“There’s no rush tonight. Get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow I’ll take you back to Shangtikou Village. I need to tell her about this first.”

“Her?”

“The Tree Immortal Lady.”

Li Lin was lustful, but not impatiently so.

There were priorities in everything.

The next day, Hongluan got up first and helped Li Lin dress, comb his hair, and wash his face.

After breakfast, Li Lin rented a donkey from the market, had Hongluan ride it, and returned to Shangtikou Village.

Seeing Li Lin return with a woman, the villagers became excited and gathered nearby to watch.

Some of the bolder ones even asked,

“Patrol Hunter Li, is this your wife?”

The countryside was like that.

There were no eight-bearer bridal sedans

Many times, all it took was carrying a quilt and notifying relatives and friends before a woman moved into her husband’s home.

“Yes.”

Li Lin answered without hesitation.

That naturally drew many cheers.

After returning home, Li Lin said,

“Wait here for a while. I’ll be back shortly.”

Hongluan nodded.

After Li Lin left, she sat idle for a while and looked around.

The place seemed somewhat untidy to her.

Then a servant’s instincts took over, and she began cleaning up.

Meanwhile, Li Lin arrived at the altar.

More and more green shoots had appeared on the nearby “dead trees.”

The Tree Immortal Lady did not appear.

Li Lin was not bothered and said,

“Liu Zhe...”

For the first time, he did not address her as “Lady.”

“I told you before that I would probably be getting married soon. I wonder if you remember.”

No one emerged from the altar.

“If possible, I’d like you to be one of my wives as well. After all, it’s perfectly normal for a man to have multiple wives and concubines.”

Li Lin said this with a smile.

There was not the slightest trace of guilt or hesitation.

Only then did the Tree Immortal Lady finally appear.

She looked at Li Lin and was obviously furious.

“There’s no use looking at me like that. I’ve already made up my mind about you and Eldest Sister Huang.”

The Tree Immortal Lady became enraged.

She grabbed Li Lin’s left arm and bit down hard.

Hidden inside her snake mouth were venomous fangs.

The two unusual fangs pierced Li Lin’s forearm.

Fortunately, they did not penetrate the bone.

Perhaps she had deliberately avoided doing so.

Blood dripped from Li Lin’s arm little by little.

The Tree Immortal Lady remained motionless, still biting him.

There was no sign of pain on Li Lin’s face.

With his right hand, he gently stroked the Tree Immortal Lady’s hair.

Then his hand slowly moved downward, touching her soft ear and then her smooth neck.

And it seemed as though the hand intended to continue moving lower.

Only then did the Tree Immortal Lady react.

She released Li Lin and stopped biting him.

Instead, she suddenly retreated.

Although her expression remained cold, Li Lin noticed that she seemed somewhat shy.

“Liu Zhe, once I reach the seventh rank, I’ll marry you! At that time, your yin energy won’t be able to harm me anymore.”

Whoosh!

A long green snake tail slammed down beside Li Lin.

A deep trench nearly nine metres long (~30 ft) was carved into the yellow earth.

The Tree Immortal Lady floated in midair.

She seemed furious enough that her hair might stand on end, and the air itself felt cold.

But Li Lin was not afraid.

He merely looked at her and smiled.

After a while, the Tree Immortal Lady snorted, turned around, and disappeared back into the altar without showing herself again.

Li Lin turned and walked home.

Outwardly he was smiling and calm.

In reality, his back was already drenched in sweat.

Partly frightened afterward, partly pleased with himself.

Returning to his room, he found the house had become very... clean and orderly.

Li Lin’s little home had never been dirty.

But he was a man, and some clutter was normal.

Hearing movement, Hongluan turned around.

When she saw Li Lin, she smiled.

“Young Master Li, you’re back... Ah, why is there so much blood on your sleeve!”

The arm bitten by the Tree Immortal Lady had bled heavily.

Blood had soaked through the sleeve, and droplets were still dripping from half of it.

Hongluan rushed over.

Ignoring the blood, she pulled up Li Lin’s left sleeve.

Although there was blood everywhere, after wiping it away she found no wound.

There were only two pink circular marks.

That was where the Tree Immortal Lady had bitten him.

He had not expected that, despite being so angry, she would still heal him.

Li Lin felt touched.

The Tree Immortal Lady was even gentler than he had imagined.

“It’s nothing. I’m a Spirit Hunter. Having a few special abilities is perfectly normal.”

“As long as you’re alright.”

Hongluan sighed in relief.

“Sit down and rest for a while. After lunch, we’ll head back to the county city.”

Hongluan looked puzzled.

“Didn’t you say we were going to meet the Tree Immortal Lady?”

“We already met her.”

“But I didn’t see her.”

“She saw you.”

The entire village lay within the range of the Tree Immortal Lady’s divine awareness.

How could she possibly not know that Li Lin had brought a woman back?

That was also why she had hidden herself from the beginning.

“Oh.”

Hongluan did not really understand.

But one of her strengths was that she did not ask too many questions.

After lunch, Li Lin rested on the bed with his eyes closed for a while.

He did not allow Hongluan to keep working.

Instead, he created two Soul-Guiding Paper Figurines and sent them to do chores.

At first Hongluan was somewhat afraid of the two paper figures.

But after some time, she began doing housework alongside them.

“You don’t need to do anything.”

“Three people working together will finish faster.”

At the hour of Wei, the blazing sun had begun to slope westward, and Li Lin took Hongluan back to the county city.

Eat, bathe, sleep.

Like the previous night, Hongluan lay beside Li Lin with some nervousness.

But this time, Li Lin pulled her into his arms and removed her clothing.

It was nearly noon the next day before she got up.

The person beside the bed was already gone.

After getting dressed, she walked somewhat awkwardly to the main hall and saw a man holding a book in one hand, reading attentively.

Her gaze immediately became entranced.

Li Lin looked up.

“Awake? I had Uncle Zhang prepare some rice porridge for you...”

“Young Master Li.”

Hongluan gave a slight curtsy.

“I need to return to the Huang residence right away to fetch some things. It’s urgent. I didn’t expect... that I would get up this late and already miss the proper time. I’ll come back this afternoon.”

Seeing how insistent she was, Li Lin could only nod.

“Do you want me to escort you there?”

Hongluan shook her reddened face.

“No need.”

The distance between Li Residence and the Huang residence was not far.

It took only one stick of incense to arrive.

As soon as she returned to the Huang residence, several maids spotted her and excitedly shouted,

“Hongluan’s back! Hongluan’s back!”

Surrounded by a group of maids, she was escorted to a side hall beyond the fourth gate, a place reserved for the women of the household.

The First Madam and the Huang sisters were all present.

Hongluan knelt before the First Madam and said with a flushed face,

“First Madam, this servant has returned.”