PCJ – Chapter 250 The Immortal Maiden

As soon as the rice began to fill, a crowd often gathered around Jiaohua’s paddy field.

“How did Jiaohua manage this field? I’ve never seen him add fertilizer, apply pesticides, or even weed it, yet the rice is growing so well. By the looks of it, it’s bound to yield over a thousand catties per mu,” said Zhang Jiwang, examining a cluster of rice grains in his hand repeatedly.

“Hey, hey, why are you picking the rice grains again? If you keep doing this, the edge of Jiaohua’s field will be bare,” Zhang Dechun quickly intervened when he saw someone plucking rice grains at the edge of the field. However, the person quickly ran over and plucked a cluster of rice.

Everyone in the village were farmers, and the yield of the fields determined how much they would smile. With nothing else to do, everyone liked to pluck a cluster of rice from the field and count the number of grains. The number of grains determined the yield. Jiaohua’s field had suffered the most from this, as the rice plants near the road had fewer clusters due to the frequent plucking. This was why Zhang Dechun tried to stop them.

Zhang Genxin chuckled, “This is my first time doing it; I couldn’t resist the urge to count.”

Zhang Dechun said with annoyance, “By doing this, you’ve probably reduced Jiaohua’s yield by at least a bag of rice. Genxin, if you want to count, hurry up. Yesterday, Jiwang counted over two hundred grains; let’s see how many are in the cluster you picked.”

A large group of villagers gathered, all eager to see how many grains Zhang Genxin’s cluster had.

He counted them one by one, and after a while, Zhang Genxin said, “291… 292…”

The cluster of rice grains had more than three hundred grains, leaving the experienced farmers astonished and speechless. It was simply unbelievable. The yield from this paddy field was clearly going to be exceptional.

“Dechun, the hybrid rice Jiaohua planted is exactly the same as mine—both are Weiyou hybrids. I added so much fertilizer, weeded, and applied extra fertilizer, and even sprayed pesticides several times. But Jiaohua just planted the rice like beans, without adding any fertilizer, and yet it’s growing better than mine. My rice spikes barely have two hundred grains each. What’s going on? Maybe next time we should all plant like Jiaohua,” Zhang Genxin said, puzzled.

Zhang Jiwang sneered, “If you planted like him, you’d be lucky to harvest a few blades of straw. Do you think you’re Jiaohua?”

Everyone suddenly realized—of course! Jiaohua had always been full of peculiarities. He had the protection of the Meishan ancestors. Ordinary villagers trying to farm like him would probably fail miserably. Each household tried their best to germinate seeds, but even then, the sprouting rate rarely exceeded 90%, and there were always a few weak seedlings. But in Jiaohua’s paddy field, every seed had not only sprouted but had also grown exceptionally well. This wasn’t something just anyone could achieve.

While the villagers of Meizi’ao were gathered around Zhang Jiaohua’s paddy field, an incident occurred in Dui Mianshan.

After the tea harvest a few days ago, many villagers earned anywhere from a few dozen to over a hundred yuan, and every household was full of joy—except for Chen Maozhong’s family, who hadn’t earned a penny. They fought every day upon returning home, and the fights escalated until this morning, when Chen Maozhong woke up to find something strange about his wife. She was sitting at the head of the bed with her hair disheveled.

“Why don’t you comb your hair? You look like a madwoman,” Chen Maozhong said, giving his wife a casual pat.

“I am the Three Caves Meishan Immortal Maiden, the Great Lady of the Upper Cave, Huang Shi; the Second Lady of the Middle Cave, Li Shi; the Third Lady of the Lower Cave, Zhou Shi; the Nine Palaces Immortal Saint, Bird Sparrow White Crane, the Seven Treasures Maiden who has descended to the mortal world. How dare you be disrespectful!” Liu Fengying kicked Chen Maozhong off the bed. Although not the strongest man in Meizi’ao, Chen Maozhong was fairly robust. Yet Liu Fengying’s kick sent him flying more than a zhang away. He hit the ground hard and lay there, winded for a long time before regaining his breath.

“You shameless woman! How dare you raise your hand against me! I’ll teach you a lesson!” Chen Maozhong, thinking he had only been caught off guard, got up and charged at his wife. But before he could reach her, another white, slender leg extended from the bed. He was momentarily dazzled and found it strange that he had never noticed his wife had such a… leg.

While he was still stunned, that leg kicked him again, sending him flying even farther than before. He crashed into the wall, stuck to it for a moment, and then fell to the ground, bleeding from his head. After a long while, he regained consciousness and looked at his wife on the bed.

“Listen carefully. I am the Three Caves Meishan Immortal Maiden, the Great Lady of the Upper Cave, Huang Shi; the Second Lady of the Middle Cave, Li Shi; the Third Lady of the Lower Cave, Zhou Shi; the Nine Palaces Immortal Saint, Bird Sparrow White Crane, the Seven Treasures Maiden who has descended to the mortal world. I am temporarily possessing your wife’s body. But don’t think that just because this body belongs to your wife, you can be disrespectful. This is only a warning. If you dare to offend me again, I will take your life. Now, prepare an altar with incense and paper offerings to worship me, and I will bring prosperity to your Chen family.” The woman sitting on the bed was clearly Chen Maozhong’s wife, Liu Fengying, but her tone was entirely different from before.

Terrified, Chen Maozhong shouted, “Ghost!” and fled the room. Chen Hongming, hearing the commotion, had gotten up and was about to investigate when Chen Maozhong pulled him outside.

“Dad, who were you fighting with?” Chen Hongming was startled by his father’s appearance.

“Don’t make a sound. The house is haunted, and your mother is possessed. She’s the one who did this to me. Whatever you do, don’t go inside,” Chen Maozhong said, not knowing what else to do.

“What should we do then?” Chen Hongming initially thought his father was joking, but seeing his father’s condition, he knew it was no joke.

“We should leave the house for now and consult an elder,” Chen Maozhong suggested, having no better ideas.

Bad news travels fast. The news of Liu Fengying becoming an immortal maiden quickly spread through Dui Mianshan and soon reached all of Meizi’ao.

Under the guidance of some elders, Chen Maozhong went to the market, bought some sacrificial items, and set up an altar at home to worship his wife.

Liu Fengying, with her hair still disheveled, was now properly dressed and sitting on an Eight Immortals table. But Chen Maozhong noticed that she seemed to have gained a strange allure.