However, the truth was that despite how old he was, he was still tall and well-built, and also very handsome. To most older women, he would be considered very attractive.
Bai Xiaochun was also stunned. He looked at Madam Sun, and then at the Giant Ghost King, and despite how depressed he still was, couldn’t help but slap his thigh and start laughing.
“Congratulations, father-in-law!” he said. All of a sudden, he felt the sadness and bitterness inside of him melt away a bit.
The truth was that all the bickering with the Giant Ghost King had been slowly chipping away at the ice which held his heart locked up. And now, his laughter caused those cracks to widen and begin to fall away.
In contrast, the Giant Ghost King was very depressed by Bai Xiaochun’s words.
However, even as Bai Xiaochun stood there laughing, Madam Sun looked over at him with narrowed eyes.
“Oh, Scholar Bai,” she said with a smile. “I’m glad you approve of the matter. Silly me, I forgot about the good news for you. Widow Zhang said that if Squire Zhou accepted her proposal, then her daughter, whose husband just died last month, and who is also very beautiful, would be the perfect match for you. If both of you agree to marry into the family, she’ll give you fifty percent of the shop!
“I guess her daughter must have just been born under an ill star. Her husband was a ruffian of sorts, a real plague on the village. Supposedly, he got what was coming to him, and was tossed out into the wilderness for the animals to eat. Obviously, he's nothing like the well-educated and cultured man you are, Scholar Bai.”
All of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun’s laughter screeched to a halt. Then, a moment later, the Giant Ghost King started laughing.
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Chapter
1035: Decree From The Vile-Emperor
The leaves of autumn had all fallen, and the cold of winter had set in. Although the coldest days of the season had not yet come, it was still cold enough that most people didn’t want to go outside. The bite of the wind was like blades against the face.
It was still possible to see a few leaves on the ground, but they were all dry and yellow, and would collapse into fragments at the slightest touch. Only once in a while would a leaf be seen dancing in the wind. But now that winter had arrived, none of them seemed willing to stay in the town, and would fly off into the distance as quickly as possible.
It was in such weather that Madam Sun had left the warmth of the buildings in town and come to the dilapidated temple to talk with the father and son that lived there. After all, if she succeeded in her task, the compensation she would receive from Widow Zhang would be considerable.
Because of that, she wouldn’t give up easily. She tried over and over again to convince Bai Xiaochun and the Giant Ghost King to agree to the deal. She emphasized that for the two of them, it was the kind of rare chance that would only come around once in a blue moon, and that they definitely should not allow the opportunity to slip by.
She talked up the good looks of the younger widow, and repeatedly pointed out how profitable the shop was. Over and over again, she explained out how much they would be losing out if they didn’t agree.
The Giant Ghost King wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Despite being a demigod cultivator, there was no reason for him to be cruel in his refusal. All he could do was tell Madam Sun that they would think about the proposal, and then ask her to be on her way.
After she left, he turned back to Bai Xiaochun and sighed.
“See? I’m just too dashing. This is how it was back in Giant Ghost City. It was so bad I preferred to stay indoors. Whenever I went out, the women would all go crazy! Young and old alike!” Although his words were spoken as if in frustration, it was impossible for him to hide how pleased he was with himself.
“Who would have thought that in a little town like this where nobody even knows I'm a cultivator, the same thing would happen again? I guess it’s really my fault.” He sighed.
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t exactly pleased to see the Giant Ghost King moaning and groaning about how amazing he was. It was worse that Widow Zhang had obviously been using Bai Xiaochun as a bargaining chip to try to gain the Giant Ghost King’s approval. Otherwise, why else would she have offered her daughter to Bai Xiaochun in marriage after she had only been widowed for a month?
“I can’t believe that I, Bai Xiaochun, am not even as attractive to these mortals as this old fogey.” Not willing to accept the truth of it, he looked at the preening Giant Ghost King out of the corner of his eye and snorted coldly.
“Congratulations, father-in-law! Who would have thought that you would put down roots in this little town? I'm sure you’ll really prosper here! You absolutely, positively must not refuse the offer. Oh, you’ll also need alcohol for the wedding. So why don’t you go get another jug?”
By force of habit, the Giant Ghost King glared at Bai Xiaochun, and prepared to start arguing. But then he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Now that I think about, I remember seeing this Widow Zhang before. I'm pretty sure I passed her on the street on the way to get alcohol. If I remember… she blushed when she saw me. She’s actually pretty good-looking. Nice figure, attractive rear end… a real hottie!” The Giant Ghost King’s eyes began to shine brightly, especially upon describing what Widow Zhang looked like.
“Wait, hold on a second. I should head over to that shop to double check. After all, she’s making an offer in good faith, and I've always been a straightforward and candid person. I can’t take advantage of her good faith.”
The Giant Ghost King had been somewhat of a pervert even back in the Wildlands, especially when it came to attractive women of his own age. That much was obvious from how he had secretly asked Bai Xiaochun to bring him that one particular woman from the clan outside of Giant Ghost City.
Here he was, down and out in the Eternal Lands, and yet his personality hadn’t changed. Now that his passions were aroused, he didn't care what kind of sarcastic things Bai Xiaochun said. Full of zest, he hurried out of the temple.
“Xiaochun!” he called over his shoulder. “You’ll have to drink alone today. I’ll be back later.”
Bai Xiaochun was a bit stunned. Although he knew of the Giant Ghost King’s lecherous nature, he would never have been able to guess that the man would even be attracted to mortal women. How could a demigod expert be like that…?
Bai Xiaochun smiled wryly at how eagerly the Giant Ghost King rushed out of the temple, and was about to yell something after him when, all of a sudden his eyes flickered, and then began to shine with a light much more intense than anything which had appeared in them in recent days.
He wasn’t the only one to react in such a way. The Giant Ghost King suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked up. Instead of the fiery light of passion which had just been burning in his eyes, his expression was now as cold as Bai Xiaochun’s.
The biting winter wind wasn’t even close to being as cold as their gazes, and in fact, it didn’t dare to remain, and died down.
Moments later, a whistling sound filled the air, along with three distant beams of bright light. As they got closer to the town, it was possible to see that within them were… three deva cultivators, natives of the Eternal Lands!
Two of them simply continued to fly overhead, but the third, a middle-aged man with an intimidating expression on his face, came to a stop in midair above the town. As he did, he unleashed a deva aura that caused rumbling to fill the air like heavenly thunder.