Chu Qianmo ran for twenty miles before finally seeing the city of the mortal world. He was almost moved to tears by the sight. Guards were stationed at the city gate. Seeing Chu Qianmo's state, one of them approached, hand on his weapon: "What happened to you? What's going on?"
Chu Qianmo wiped the sweat from his brow: "Just now, in the woods over there, I ran into five female cultivators. I didn't do anything, and they actually wanted to kill me. Sir, you must uphold justice for me!"
This statement was half-truth, half-lie. It was true he hadn't done anything; the original host's five ex-wives had come looking for him, and wanting to search his soul was simply bullying. As for expecting the city gate guard to help him, that was pure nonsense. Who hasn't watched a few TV dramas?
In those dramas, eight out of ten lowly gate guards are bad news. Chu Qianmo was certain this soldier wouldn't bother with him.
Sure enough, the guard frowned: "Zemeng City prohibits armed conflict, for both cultivators and mortals."
After saying this, the guard didn't spare Chu Qianmo another glance and returned to his post. Chu Qianmo straightened his clothes, glanced back, and then scurried into the city.
Not long after he left, several women appeared in the woods not far from the city gate. They were none other than Princess Huyang and the other four who had just intercepted Chu Qianmo.
"How can someone be so cowardly?" Princess Huyang, with the most fiery temper, was also the most impatient.
Du Ruoruo, dressed in black, stared thoughtfully in the direction Chu Qianmo had gone without speaking. Another, He Baili, the third wife who practiced demonic arts, also remained silent. The fifth, Zhou Yuyan, who spoke the least, held a jug of wine and leaned against a tree trunk.
The fourth wife, Zhu Yiren, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's household, looked at Du Ruoruo: "Sister Ruoruo, what do you think?"
"He looks very much like Chu Qianmo when he was young, but his behavior and mannerisms are not similar at all." Du Ruoruo was originally Chu Qianmo's junior martial sister; they grew up together as childhood sweethearts. When it came time to find cultivation partners, they naturally ended up together.
Of those present, no one understood Chu Qianmo better than her.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's just capture him and have Baili search his soul," Princess Huyang said.
"That won't do," Zhu Yiren interjected. "Zemeng City is different from other cities. Here, neither cultivators nor mortals are allowed to brawl. The city even has special personnel who conduct daily registrations of residents. If anyone disappears without reason, they will investigate thoroughly."
Even after becoming a ghost and learning skills for a lifetime, Princess Huyang's fiery temper remained unchanged.
"This won't do, that won't do. What do you suggest we do then?" Due to the historical enmity between their two nations, within their "revenge alliance," Princess Huyang and Zhu Yiren had never gotten along. Princess Huyang seized every opportunity to mock Zhu Yiren.
Even someone with Zhu Yiren's good temper would be driven mad by her, and the two would start arguing pointlessly.
"Just go after him yourself then. Do whatever you want. If anything goes wrong, bear the consequences yourself," Zhu Yiren retorted, her temper not exactly mild either, especially with the national and familial hatred between her and Princess Huyang.
"Enough, you two, stop arguing," Du Ruoruo spoke up. Princess Huyang glanced at her and closed her mouth.
Although Chu Qianmo was a scoundrel, that didn't stop Princess Huyang from feeling slighted. As the emperor's most favored princess, she was always number one.
Du Ruoruo was the first wife, she was the second—how could Princess Huyang accept that?
So, on the first day they found Du Ruoruo, they fought. Princess Huyang was soundly defeated. After that, they fought several more times, with the same result each time. After being beaten enough, Princess Huyang finally behaved.
"Follow him into the city. Lurk near him and observe slowly," Zhu Yiren said, her eyes turning cold. "If he really is that man, find the right opportunity and kill him again."
"Let's go." The five of them split into two groups to enter the city.
By now, Chu Qianmo had already found a broker in this world based on the original host's memories and quickly rented a courtyard with a shop front.
Because it was located on the edge of the cultivation world, brokers in this era were fiercely competitive. The place came fully furnished, with even the bedding brand new, and the courtyard was planted with many flowers.
They were blooming brilliantly.
After looking around, Chu Qianmo was very satisfied. He made a few more requests, and then the broker left.
Chu Qianmo pushed open the door to the main bedroom, lay down on the bed, and started venting in the chat group.
[Wife-Slaying Ascendant Chu Qianmo: You guys won't believe this. I just ran into my five ex-wives.]
Chu Qianmo was utterly miserable: [I think those sisters are definitely scheming nearby. I even changed my name. In the heat of the moment, I couldn't think of anything, and in a brain freeze, I called myself Song Ergou.]
The surname Song was his mother's maiden name, and Ergou (Second Dog) was something he came up with on the spot.
The group members had interacted with Chu Qianmo for a while now. They all knew he was a bit unreliable, but they hadn't realized he was this unreliable.
Lin Duxi was quite impressed. In terms of self-deprecation, he felt he was no match. [Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: Brother Ergou, your skill in self-mockery is something I truly admire.]
Once Lin Duxi spoke, others in the group followed suit, repeating similar sentiments. Chu Qianmo looked at the messages, feeling disheartened.
So, he poked Lin Xi, planning to find some amusement: [Wife-Slaying Ascendant Chu Qianmo: Little Xi, can you check for me? See if his place has gone bankrupt yet.]
Chu Qianmo felt that nothing, except for his master's son's misfortune, could cheer him up now.
This was the second time Chu Qianmo had asked about his former employer. Lin Xi efficiently opened a food delivery app and sent a screenshot over. Compared to the screenshot from half a month ago, the menu at Chaoxi Private Kitchen had changed dramatically.
The prices had also dropped from their previously high levels to something comparable to an ordinary restaurant.
Chu Qianmo had already come to terms with his master's son's incompetence. He said: [My master spent decades building Chaoxi Private Kitchen from a tiny, hole-in-the-wall eatery into a prestigious private kitchen. And as soon as he died, his son starts messing it up. He's completely ruined Chaoxi's exclusive appeal.]
[Once that exclusive appeal is gone, building it back up won't be easy.] Chu Qianmo's master had been truly good to him, which is why, even after his death, Chu Qianmo stayed on despite the son running the restaurant into the ground.
Chu Qianmo now wanted to help but couldn't, instead he was leaning towards the other extreme. He said: 【Just close it down already. All those dish photos of his are pre-made meals. It's fine if customers eat there once or twice, but if they eat more often, his prices aren't any lower than others', and there are plenty of other choices. He's just scraping by.】
Lin Xi didn't understand this industry, but she trusted Chu Qianmo's judgment. She thought of his current situation: 【What are you planning to do now? Do you need any help from me?】
【Wife-Slaying Ascendant Chu Qianmo: Not needed for now. I'll open a restaurant first. It's been so long since I cooked, I really miss the feeling of wok-tossing. I plan to scout around Zemeng City these next couple of days, see what their food is made of.】
【In a few days, I'll get the restaurant up and running. As for those five sisters, I believe that apart from this 30% resemblance in looks, I'm completely different from the original owner. They can watch if they want.】
Chu Qianmo was easygoing; in this short time, he had already adjusted. What else could he do if he didn't adjust? Kill himself? Might as well live on, even if it's just getting by. He'd just keep living for now.
Seeing this, Lin Xi didn't say anything more: 【If you have any problems, just come to me.】
Chu Qianmo replied exceptionally fast: 【Okay, okay.】
The bed in this courtyard was comfortable, and before long, Chu Qianmo was fast asleep.
In the room next to his, the third sister, He Baili, said, "He's asleep."
Princess Huyang rolled her eyes: "I think you're all overthinking it. That bastard was tricked by us; he didn't dodge the last three, most powerful lightning tribulations at all. He was blasted to smithereens long ago. The one next door, cowardly and carefree, couldn't possibly be him."
"And his name is Song Er'gou. Think about it, if he really were that bastard, could he bear to be called that name?"
The five women present fell silent. They had all been married to Chu Qianmo. His identity had changed countless times, but the one constant was his arrogance.
A name like Song Er'gou—just hearing it whispered in his ear in the past would have been an insult to him.
"I also hope he's dead. But his personal spatial dimension hasn't been unbound." Du Ruoruo insisted Chu Qianmo was still alive. Everyone believed what she said.
"Fine. I'm going to cultivate." The fifth sister among them, Liu Shuyin, picked up her wine jug, found a random room, and walked in.
"She's really so boring, seems uninterested in everything," Princess Huyang grumbled.
"Her entire family was slaughtered by that bastard. If it were you, could you be happy all the time?" Zhu Yiren retorted as usual.
They had gathered for a common goal, but their relationships with each other weren't actually very good, so they soon dispersed.
Before going to sleep, Lin Xi told Gu Nuanyang what Chu Qianmo had said.
The next day, she got up a little after six. Gu Nuanyang had also just gotten up not long ago. Staring blankly at the scene before her, she was stunned for a moment before clicking on her chat history with Lin Xi: 【Reborn Transmigrator Gu Nuanyang: I've already discovered it.】
Gu Nuanyang had used the spirit spring in her previous life; she knew best what it should be like. When using the spirit spring on plants, one drop needed to be diluted with two buckets of water. If you wanted the plants to grow a bit faster, one bucket was enough.
But this morning, she had poured her wash water onto the vegetable patch in the courtyard. The vegetables in the patch were struggling, yellowish and half-dead due to the poor soil. After she threw that basin of wash water, the vegetables changed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The stalks thickened and straightened, the leaves perked up and turned greener.
It was just so damn unbelievable. In her previous life, you needed one drop of spirit spring mixed with half a bucket of water to achieve this effect.
Gu Nuanyang was terrified. After sending the message to Lin Xi, she took a photo, immediately pulled up those few vegetables, didn't dare cook and eat them, and directly sent them to Lin Xi.
Lin Xi clicked accept, and a bunch of unknown greens appeared in her space, lush and green, looking utterly delicious at first glance.
Gu Nuanyang was almost in tears. This damn spirit spring had become more powerful after being reborn once. It was discovered by others even when it was like that in the previous life; now that it's this strong in this life, isn't it just blatantly telling people she has a problem?
Although literacy rates weren't high among the ancients, not everyone was a fool either.
There were indeed people skilled in farming, but how old were they? How old was Gu Nuanyang? And there were still people out there searching meticulously for the person who harmed Zhao Juanqing. If those people couldn't find the real culprit who hurt Zhao Juanqing, they would definitely arrest a bunch of people to take the blame. If she stuck her head out now, wouldn't she just be a perfect target rushing to her death?
Gu Nuanyang truly didn't want to see the people from her previous life again. Especially Zhao Juanqing's mother, Consort Zhen—she was extremely difficult to deal with. Moreover, Gu Nuanyang was sure that after Zhao Juanqing recovered from his injuries and still didn't leave, he must have told Consort Zhen the truth. Consort Zhen probably understood her better than she thought.
Gu Nuanyang couldn't even outsmart someone like Lady Guli; in front of Consort Zhen, she was about as capable as a three-year-old child.
【Reborn Transmigrator Gu Nuanyang: Xiaoxi, what should I do?】
Lin Xi also didn't know what to do. Aside from Chu Qianmo from the inherently mystical cultivation world, Gu Nuanyang was the first person in the group to possess a golden finger. She had no experience dealing with this sort of thing.
But then she thought of Chu Qianmo's words: 【Chu Qianmo said there are cultivation techniques that can conceal the spirit spring. Why don't you exchange for one with him later?】
Gu Nuanyang was very excited and was just about to type a reply when a system message popped up: 【System Message: This group can recycle unwanted golden fingers. Group members can make one request to this system. Within reasonable limits, this group will fulfill it.】
