Chapter 65: The Great Immortal Pees All Over Chu Jiaojiao's Face

"What is wrong? Is there a flower on my face?"

Chu Li touched her face, suddenly froze, and then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Fu Heng, oh Fu Heng, your luck is not as good as mine this time...

You had just left, and my true face was revealed. What a pity you missed the chance to see it.

Chu Li was not in a hurry to leave now. She simply took out the cinnabar brush and reapplied the disguise talisman to herself. Making sure her current face would not be exposed, she then headed back home with the Great Immortal.

The night in Rongcheng was not too dark, but the wind was biting cold, chilling one to the bone.

Protected by the cold-resisting talisman, Chu Li did not feel much of the cold.

However, the cats and dogs frozen to death along the road stirred a deep sense of worry in her heart.

The further north one traveled, the lower the temperatures would become. She had heard that the region was covered in ice and snow year-round with indistinct seasons, leaving very little that could grow in the fields. Every winter, they had to rely on relief grain distributed by the imperial court to get through the season safely.

The Eastern Cang Kingdom had only been relatively peaceful and stable in recent years. During the past wars, the imperial court could not spare any attention for the people of the northern lands. In those years, aside from the countless soldiers who died on the battlefield, the ordinary people who froze or starved to death right on their own doorsteps were innumerable.

This winter would be exceptionally cold, and it was hard to tell what percentage of the northern population would survive.

Since Chu Li had foreseen the extreme cold disaster in the north, she could not simply stand by and do nothing. As for how much merit she could accumulate, she could only do what lay within her power.

If she could retrieve her missing Earth Soul as soon as possible, perhaps she could contribute even more.

Right now, however, she could barely take care of herself...

Upon reaching the city gates, Chu Li caught sight of Fu Heng's tall and slender figure from afar.

He stood alone by the city wall, his imposing figure materializing and fading within the darkness, exuding an oppressive aura that made it impossible for anyone to approach.

Chu Li let out a silent breath of relief, silently praising her own cleverness. It was fortunate she hadn't been lazy and had applied another disguise talisman as insurance before coming back, or things would have been quite awkward right now.

Fu Heng was learning to be crafty. To think he actually planned to intercept her at the city gates—insidious and cunning like a thousand-year-old fox.

Chu Li could sense that Fu Heng still harbored suspicions regarding her identity.

She had no idea what that fellow was basing his suspicions on, but as a mystic with a very strong sixth sense, Chu Li felt she still could not let her guard down. Fu Heng possessed a sharp mind and strategic acumen, and his perception in certain areas was terrifyingly acute, as was his stubbornness. Being targeted by him would bring immense pressure.

Chu Li believed that at least until she retrieved her Earth Soul, it was best not to expose herself.

Once her Earth Soul returned and her soul solidified, she would no longer need to fear Fu Heng. Even if he intended to drag her back then, she would have the strength to contend with him.

For now, though, there was no need to blindly avoid Fu Heng. This fellow carried a certain amount of fortune with him; perhaps she could even enlist his help to search for the remaining eight sect divine artifacts...

"Why are you so slow?"

Lost in thought, Chu Li had already strolled up to the base of the city wall. Before she could even stand firmly, Fu Heng's icy words came crashing down on her head.

Chu Li froze instantly in place. Seeing the aloof and chilling gaze Fu Heng was directing at her, she understood in a flash.

The probing in the suburbs just now had not been a miscalculation on her part; this fellow truly had not given up his suspicions about her, and might even have suspected her true identity!

What was even more terrifying was that Chu Li felt she hadn't left any obvious flaws—how on earth had this fellow grown suspicious of her?

However, at least half of her concerns could now be dismissed.

Fu Heng had once again proven to himself that his suspicions were incorrect, which was why his attitude toward her had suddenly turned so cold.

That was fine as well. She needed to let him prove it to himself a few more times, to make him realize that Chu Li was Chu Li and Chu Meng was Chu Meng. Maintaining a sense of distance between them would be much more beneficial to her.

Having figured this out, Chu Li relaxed considerably. She met Fu Heng's gaze nonchalantly.

"Didn't Your Highness return first? Why are you still standing here? Could it be that you were waiting for this commoner?"

Fu Heng's sharp glare practically looked ready to slice Chu Li to pieces. Reining in his last shred of patience, he spoke in a voice that could freeze water.

"Don't misunderstand. This Prince simply still remembers that transaction. Tomorrow morning, Seven Treasures Residence—be late at your own peril."

With those few words, Fu Heng strode into the city by himself, his entire person radiating a chilling, devoid-of-warmth aura.

Watching his receding figure with a smile, Chu Li curved her lips and murmured:

"That's more like it. This is the Fu Heng I know..."

She was far more accustomed to that humorless, aloof, and arrogant man. At least that way, she wouldn't have to rack her brains playing mind games with him.

Upon returning to the Chu residence, Chu Li did not forget to glance at the courtyard where Chu Jiaojiao resided. She saw a sky full of lingering resentment shrouding the place, even greater than the resentment generated by Old Madam Chu's death.

Seeing this, Chu Li returned to her own courtyard with satisfaction.

The Great Immortal's parents had already been escorted across by her, but she had deliberately left the piece of fur in Chu Jiaojiao's hands. Once the matter of the blood curse was resolved, the resentment would no longer affect those around them, leaving whoever possessed the item to suffer the bad luck.

The Great Immortal also sensed its mother's lingering resentment and wanted to snatch its fur back from Chu Jiaojiao, but Chu Li stopped it.

"Be a good Great Immortal, that unlucky wretch won't have an easy time of it. Just bear with it a little longer."

At the end, Chu Li gave repeated, earnest instructions: "Great Immortal, you must not commit the sin of killing. Karmic retribution has its own fixed numbers. When your parents left, they must have told you this as well, right?"

The Great Immortal perked up its head, widened its eyes at Chu Li, and then nodded mutely.

"Squeak squeak." Understood, Master. The Great Immortal will not commit the sin of killing.

Yet in the middle of the night, taking advantage of Chu Li's deep sleep, the Great Immortal quietly slipped out and found Chu Jiaojiao's courtyard.

Remembering its master's words, it didn't harm Chu Jiaojiao physically, but instead left a warm puddle of urine right on her.

Hmph! Master wouldn't let it kill her, but she never said it couldn't mark her.

From now on, that woman was an enemy within its territory!

Before dawn the next day, a thunderous scream shattered the peace of Chu Jiaojiao's courtyard.

Between sleeping and waking, Chu Jiaojiao felt a sticky, overwhelmingly pungent, and stinky dampness on her face and neck, which startled her fully awake.

Lighting a candle and peering into the bronze mirror, she saw that her fine face was covered in a layer of unidentifiable liquid, smelling precisely like a stinking diaper that had been sealed up for days.

Unable to hold it back, Chu Jiaojiao retched violently, and the entire courtyard instantly plunged into utter chaos.

The senior nursemaid in the courtyard, hailing from the countryside, caught a whiff of the stench and her internal alarm bells instantly went off.

"Oh no, Young Miss! This is weasel urine, it's toxic! Quickly fetch water for the Young Miss to wash her face!"

Chu Jiaojiao cared deeply about her appearance. Hearing the old nursemaid say this, she immediately felt a burning, stinging pain flare up across her face.

"Quick! Hurry and wash my face!"

After a flurry of frantic activity, Chu Jiaojiao's face was still ruined by the Great Immortal's urine.

Looking at the clusters of red rashes erupting across her face, Chu Jiaojiao flew into a mad frenzy, smashing everything in her room and even injuring several servants tending to the courtyard.

Seeing that the eldest miss had lost her mind with rage, the old nursemaid rolled her eyes and suddenly spoke up:

"Young Miss, do not be angry. This poison is not difficult to cure; this old servant will go fetch the medicine right away."

"Besides, there is a saying in my hometown that if a weasel sneaks into a house at night and urinates everywhere, it is a sure sign that good fortune is about to befall the master of that house. Look, Young Miss, the weasel actually urinated right on your face! What does this mean? It means the Eldest Miss is about to encounter great good fortune!"

"Perhaps very soon, the Young Miss will meet an eligible husband even better than Young Master Cui..."

Chu Jiaojiao's thoroughly ruined mood was soothed by the old nursemaid's words.

Wrapped in her padded jacket, she wound the white sable fur tightly around her neck and put on a display of coy shyness.

Great good fortune? Perhaps it was true.

She had caught wind of some news during the night: the illustrious God of War, Prince You, had arrived in their city of Rongcheng.

Word had it that he was exceptionally handsome, only twenty years old, and had yet to take any secondary consorts...