I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse-Chapter 42

Three days later.

An ancient mansion with a thousand years history stood amid the eastern mountain range. At this moment, nine differently dressed women were kneeling in front of the mansion, with nine neat rows of people also kneeling behind them.

To anyone with a discerning eye, it was not difficult to notice that many of those kneeling in the nine rows were top-tier wealthy businessmen and high-profile socialites from around the world, each controlling the economic pulse of a region or even a country.

They had been kneeling here for a long time, some for as long as three days.

These usually haughty social elites had no complaints whatsoever. Instead, each face was filled with anticipation, resembling the most devout believers awaiting the descent of the "True God".

"Yiya—"

The vermillion gates of the mansion slowly opened, and a mesmerizing figure that could captivate all beings slowly emerged from within.

Upon her appearance, people called out in unison, "Greetings, Empress! Long live the Empress!"

And this Empress, draped in a splendid robe and blessed with a beauty that could disrupt nations, was Zhao’er!

However, Zhao’er’s expression at this moment bore none of her usual perplexity and dullness. Her eyes, deep as autumn pools, shimmered with a frightening sharpness. Anyone who caught her gaze found themselves prostrating in trembling awe.

"Qiuyue."

The Empress slightly lifted her gaze and looked down at the ancestor of the Wu family with an overwhelming presence.

"I am here!"

"Who is Li Muyun?"

As soon as the Empress spoke, Wu Qiuyue’s forehead immediately broke out in a cold sweat, "Reporting to the Empress, he, he should be a descendant of the Li family."

At that moment, the wind began to blow, carrying red leaves elegantly by, and also moving the long hair of the Empress, like an invisible hand gently brushing her cheeks.

"Summon him."

"Yes!"

"Wait."

Just as Wu Qiuyue turned to leave, the Empress suddenly called her back, "Never mind, after I finish cultivating in seclusion for three months, then we’ll go find him."

"Empress, your servant has something to report," Wu Qiuyue asked softly.

"Speak."

"According to what your servant understands, in order to sever the Li family’s bloodline, I set a thousand-year curse upon them by your command years ago, dictating that their descendants would not live past twenty. Li Muyun is the last of the Li family’s bloodline, and he has at most two more years to live."

The Empress did not respond, instead slowly lifting her head to gaze at the western sky, her lips slightly curling into that frequently seen arc...

You dozed off, and the bumpy bus ride awoke you from your slumber.

Upon opening your eyes, you suddenly felt some weight on your left shoulder and turned to see, oh, it was her.

At this moment, Fan Yi was leaning against your shoulder. She still wore her thick black-rimmed glasses, and her long braids draped softly against her ample bosom.

The morning sun shone through the window, gently illuminating her already exquisite face.

Looking at her, you thought of Zhao’er again.

Nevertheless, you quickly gathered your emotions and buried them deep in your heart.

Over the past three days, you had finally managed to stabilize your emotions; you couldn’t afford to sink any further.

As a man, you had to be responsible for your future!

As it turned out, your current outing with Fan Yi was not a date but an educational assignment given by Du Xishan. You followed his team to Chun’an County, Longyuan Village, for a practical lesson.

Du Xishan’s teaching style was unique, even by industry standards, getting really hands-on from the start.

At this moment, Du Xishan sat in the row in front of you; due to getting up very early, everyone in the bus was resting with closed eyes, some even snored.

Fan Yi also looked somewhat exhausted, probably from a poor night’s sleep.

You didn’t disturb her sleep, and having a fragrant girl leaning on you was quite a nice feeling too.

After about half an hour, the bus finally stopped, and Du Xishan yawned and turned around, finding you and Fan Yi both asleep. He reached over and patted your right shoulder.

Once you opened your eyes, Du Xishan smiled and said, "Wake Little Yi up."

You looked at Fan Yi’s sleeping face, a mischievous idea suddenly sprouting in your mind.

You grabbed the almost empty water bottle next to you, poured the remaining water into the cap, and positioned it over Fan Yi’s mouth, spilling it onto your shoulder. After waiting a moment, you tapped Fan Yi’s hand with an exasperated expression.

"Hey, wake up."

"Mm?"

Fan Yi rubbed her sleepy eyes and suddenly realized she was leaning on your shoulder, quickly apologizing, "I’m sorry, I didn’t notice."

You made a slightly aggrieved face and told her, "I’m sorry to wake you, but your drooling was quite excessive. If this keeps up, my trousers will be wet."

Hearing your words, those in the bus who were in on the joke burst out laughing.

"I... I... I’m so sorry!"

Fan Yi suddenly stood up, but because she wasn’t quite steady, she leaned forward and fell towards you!

Oh!

You felt your entire face enveloped by a familiar softness and fragrance.

She quickly struggled to move away, hanging her head low like a startled little rabbit, her cheeks flushed, stirring a strong protective urge in you.

"I’m sorry, how about I wash your clothes for you tomorrow."

"No worries," you said magnanimously, patting your shoulder and joking, "I’ve heard from older folks in the village that Miss Huang Hua’s saliva is quite a remedy."

Seeing Fan Yi’s cheeks turn even redder, Du Xishan slapped you lightly and laughed, "Stop teasing Little Yi, let’s get off the bus."

As your group disembarked, a crowd of local leaders greeted you; they had been specially waiting there.

According to Du Xishan’s assistant, local people discovered an ancient tomb while clearing some wilderness for planting fruit trees. Initially, three villagers descended but none came back, prompting a call to the police and the area being cordoned off.

Du Xishan, unlike his brother Du Xihai who enjoyed pomp, declined the officials’ banquet invitation and led the work team up the mountain directly.

The mountain trail was rugged and difficult to navigate. Initially, several young men wanted to show off in front of Fan Yi, each eagerly offering a hand to assist her, but contrary to your expectation, she moved through the mountain terrain as if on flat ground, climbing for about an hour without even breaking a sweat or panting, putting to shame a bunch of gentlemen.

After crossing a mountain, standing on the peak and looking down, you suddenly paused and asked Du Xishan, who was standing beside you, "Professor Du, the layout of this mountain hollow seems strange."

"Oh? You noticed too?" Du Xishan smiled at you.

"Looking at the terrain, this is a small basin with yang water flowing in from the north, surrounded by lush trees and no drainage; such a location should have formed a small mountain lake, but there’s none. Where did all the water that poured in go?"

"My young friend, you have good insight. This place was indeed a lake more than thirty years ago. One year, six bolts of divine thunder struck the lake consecutively, and then the lake disappeared."

The speaker was the village chief of Longyuan Village. From his appearance, he seemed a simple, honest rural man, and when he spoke, he did so with a naïve smile.

"Our older generation always said there was a snake monster living in that lake. Later, the monster’s cultivation angered the Heavenly Gods, bringing down heavenly thunder and sealing its own doom."

Standing next to the village chief was a middle-aged man who looked very sturdy and was dressed in faded camouflage clothes.

"This tale of gods and monsters is certainly not credible, but the fact that six lightning bolts struck the lake consecutively indicates that there must be something beneath this basin." Du Xishan turned to you and smiled, "Muyun, do you have the guts to go down and explore?"

You handed your backpack to Fan Yi and leaped down from the four-meter high earth embankment amid exclamations from those around.

"Be careful!"

Seeing your impulsiveness, Du Xishan couldn’t help but caution you.

You turned your head towards him, grinned, and scoffed.

Just after walking a few steps forward, a sudden noise came from behind. Turning your head, you saw the retired military uncle also following you down.

"Uncle, why did you come down too?" you asked him.

"I’m Gao Shu, how may I address you, young man?"

Gao Shu approached and extended his hand to you.

You shook Gao Shu’s hand and smiled, "Li Muyun."

"I’m more familiar with this area than you since I’ve played here since childhood, and the location of the ancient tomb is quite hidden with hidden pits around. It would be troublesome if you fell in one, so I’ll take you there."

You nodded and followed Gao Shu towards the ancient tomb.

The tomb’s location was unremarkable, nestled in a shallow depression, surrounded by lush vegetation.

Interestingly, you noticed five trees around the tomb.

These five trees, approximately seventy meters from the tomb in a pentagonal arrangement and starting from the right, were a pine, a cypress, a locust, an elm, and a cypress tree.

Those familiar with feng shui would know that these five trees are known in the study as yin wood.

Yin wood refers to trees with long lifespans, naturally preferring shade and with lush branches and leaves.

These five types of yin woods can gather yin energy and create yin land, and creatures that prefer shade often inhabit them.

Pine and cypress trees are generally planted in cemeteries to guard yin houses; elms and cypress trees are mostly planted near temples and ancestral halls, and it’s quite taboo to plant these two types of trees in front or behind yang houses, which are one’s own homes.

As for the locust tree, though it doesn’t grow very tall, its branches are lush and once matured, it can block out the sun and prevent yang energy from entering, making any yard with such a tree very cool.

Additionally, there’s a popular saying among the people: "Don’t plant mulberry in front, willow in back, or have a ghost clapping in the yard."

This refers to three other taboo trees besides the five yin woods, namely the mulberry, willow, and poplar trees.

"Mulberry" sounds like "mourning" in Chinese, an ominous sound, and it’s quite taboo in yang houses; willow branches are generally used to make "soul summoning banners" and "mourning sticks," and willow twigs are often used to mark graves, making it unlucky to plant them in yang houses; while poplar leaves are numerous, and the wind rustling them sounds like ghostly clapping, which isn’t much of an issue during the day but at night, the swaying shadows and noisy leaves are quite frightening, and over time, they will definitely affect people’s minds, leading to unfortunate consequences.

Seeing yin wood around an ancient tomb is normal, but what baffled you was the presence of a very large peach tree just a few meters behind the tomb. Judging from its appearance, the peach tree was at least several hundred years old.

Peach trees are yang wood, and they are among the most abundant in yang energy in yang wood. The wooden swords used by Taoism are also mostly made of peach wood.

Seeing you staring intently at the peach tree, Gao Shu smiled and said to you, "The elders in the village say that there were originally six mounds that emerged from this lake, and each mound had a thousand-year-old tree growing on it. Interestingly, this thousand-year-old peach tree blooms but never bears fruit."

"Do you see something?"