Where does the story begin…

Time has passed for too long; I no longer remember.

In a pitch-black room, a single oil lamp flickers, its dim green light casting an eerie glow around.

A withered hand adjusts the wick, lost in a daze.

I only remember that in the beginning, there was a poor boy who lived by the Luo River. His parents were already dead, and he had to herd cattle every day. Cattle…

That's right, cattle.

He grinned, finally remembering.

He also had a cow.

………………

His parents died early, and his elder brother and sister-in-law inherited the house, leaving him a room and a cow.

There was nothing to complain about.

Every day he would go out early to let the cow graze, and he would use the cow to plow the fields. Although he was not rich, his days were leisurely.

The poor boy felt that this was enough.

It was a common and ordinary life of marrying and having children, but the story began to change when he met that woman. She was someone he had never seen before. He had never imagined that there could be such a beautiful person in the world. After just one glance, he was bewitched, unable to sleep night after night, and daydreaming all day long.

He thought of the woman while eating, and he thought of her in his dreams.

He thought and hoped, when would he be able to see the woman again, even if it was just for a glimpse?

He would be satisfied with just one glance.

Leading the yellow cow to the river, he sat on a bluestone and brushed the cow's back. This task, which used to make the poor boy whistle with joy, became boring. He stroked the cow's glossy fur and sighed, "Cow, oh cow, when do you think I will see that girl again?"

It was originally a self-talk question, but the yellow cow opened its mouth and said, "This is a very simple matter."

He looked at the stunned poor boy, shook his head, and said, "As long as you cut me a handful of fresh and tender wheat seedlings, and spread my nest with soft weeds, and give me soybeans and eggs to eat tomorrow morning, I can let you see her."

This was an absurd thing, but the poor boy did it.

He cut the wheat seedlings from his own field, and found the softest forage in the entire village.

The next day, the yellow cow pulled him and ran quickly, crossing the Luo River, crossing the high mountains, and in the middle of a wilderness and a city, he really saw that beautiful girl. After the poor boy returned home, he treated the yellow cow even better, almost as if it were a friend.

But after seeing that girl, the poor boy missed her even more.

Thinking of her hair that was like the night, thinking of her fair face, and the unattainable temperament.

One day, he couldn't help but sigh while brushing the yellow cow's fur, "Oh, yellow cow, oh yellow cow, you are my best friend, can you tell me, how can I talk to that beautiful girl more? She is like the bright moon in the sky, I just want to talk to her, then I will have no regrets."

The yellow cow shook its head and said, "This matter is a bit difficult, but it is not impossible."

"You have to prepare a bed made of silk and satin, dishes made of meat and wine, and tie a red cloth on my horns tomorrow morning, and lie on my back without opening your eyes, then I can take you to find her."

"Then tell her that if she doesn't want to be discovered by the Taoists in the human world, she must take off her shawl and feather coat, and change into human clothes, so that you can become friends."

Silk and satin, good meat and fine wine, were not things that the poor boy could obtain, but he still tried his best to do it.

The next day, the yellow cow showed its fangs, eating meat and drinking wine, as bold as a mountain bandit. After eating and drinking enough, the poor boy tied a red cloth on its horns, and then the yellow cow took him all the way. This time, the speed was even faster. The poor boy felt the wind scraping his face, hurting him, but he still closed his eyes tightly.

He really saw the girl again. Although he was nervous and stuttered, he still said it as the yellow cow had taught him. The girl was very surprised and thanked him politely. He felt satisfied and felt that he had no regrets. After returning, he ate and slept with the yellow cow, and their relationship was almost as deep as that of siblings.

The girl became friends with him, and occasionally came to visit. The shawl was not taken off, but turned into a small and exquisite wooden box, which she carried with her. He had also seen it twice.

Time passed slowly, and the beautiful girl was still polite and courteous to him.

But slowly, some other thoughts grew in the poor boy's heart. These thoughts filled his heart like a clump of weeds. He patted the yellow cow's back and said, "Big brother, oh big brother, you and I are like brothers, can you tell me, how can I live with that girl forever? This is my only wish. As long as I can achieve it, I will have no regrets even if I die."

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The yellow cow shook his head this time and said:

"I treat you as a brother, so I will tell you the truth. This is impossible. She is not a mortal, but a celestial maiden from the mountains. She has never been to the human world, so she is curious, but curiosity will always pass. The human world will never be the human world she imagined. One day she will return to the mountains."

"Unless you use the skin and flesh of a monster to wrap her shawl, she will not be able to find the shawl. Without the shawl, she will not be able to fly back to the mountains. And if you use the blood and flesh of a monster to defile her feather coat and bury it at the door, she will not be able to walk out of the threshold. She cannot fly or walk, and can only stay in the human world, but how can this be done?"

The poor boy sighed, seemingly giving up this unrealistic idea.

In the evening, he invited his big brother, the yellow cow, out to drink and eat meat. There were all kinds of delicacies on the table, as well as large jars of fine wine. The poor boy toasted the yellow cow and said, "Thank you, big brother, for waking me up, so that I won't be reduced to a lifelong obsession. Come, drink."

The yellow cow seemed very happy, and still ate meat and drank wine in large gulps as before.

He ate half a pig's worth of meat, and a full three jars of wine, and got drunk and passed out.

Then the poor boy used a large axe for chopping trees, chopping off the yellow cow's head, and used a tool for sawing trees to peel off the yellow cow's skin. The blood was dripping, still warm, and exuded the fragrance of wine. The poor boy wiped his sweat, looked at the yellow cow, and said, "Isn't the skin of a monster right here?"

"Big brother, you and I are like siblings, so please help me one more time."

He said that there was new yellow beef to eat, and invited the girl to be a guest, and then suggested that he wanted to see that box, and then, taking advantage of the girl's inattention, he wrapped the wooden box with the blood-stained cowhide and buried it underground. In this way, he kept the celestial maiden who should have been in the mountains in this human world.

At first, he said sadly that he wanted to help find it, and asked the girl to stay in the attic at home temporarily. And he went to his brother's place to deal with it for a few days, but how could he find it? One day passed, one month passed, and he still couldn't find it. The poor boy began to gradually reveal his true nature.

He even wanted to make impolite moves. The girl refused with a stern expression, and the poor boy was blown away by an invisible force before he even approached the girl, and fell to the ground. Finally, he became angry and roared hysterically, locked the door, and wrapped the feather coat with the monster's cow bones and flesh, burying it at the door, so that the girl could no longer walk out.

He thought that as time passed, she would change her mind.

But the girl just looked at the sky, without saying a word.

No matter how angry, scolded, begged, or cried, she still ignored him and just looked at the sky. The flames of desire almost turned him into a paranoid madman. He made a restaurant here, only setting up tables outside and on the first floor. The girl did not eat, drink, or speak. When people asked, the poor boy would say that she was his wife.

He even adopted two children, saying that they were his and his wife's children.

But, but he still couldn't get close to the girl. Time passed, and he gradually grew old, older and older. Finally, one day he died of old age here, and the girl was still the same as before. He fell to the ground, looking at the cold gaze that had never fallen on him. Desire and obsession burned his heart and lungs, and finally he became outrageously angry and crazy.

"You are my wife, you are mine!!"

"Even if I die, even if I die, I will not leave you, I will not!!!"

………………

The green candlelight flickered, and the surroundings were eerily dark.

The man in the Taoist robe praised:

"A very interesting story. It is the prototype of the story of a celestial maiden and a mortal, but there is still one question."

He looked at the man who was half-hidden in the darkness and said:

"Why did the poor boy's elder brother and sister-in-law never appear? It's like they disappeared."

"The second time, where did he get the expensive silk and satin overnight, and where did he get the wine and meat that could feed the demons? Was that meat really just pork? Or... haha, it's just a guess, after all, the demons ate so happily."

The Taoist's voice paused, looked at the man, and said playfully:

"Also, did you really have a cow?"

"Was the one who ate meat and performed the spell really a yellow cow?"

The man in the shadows stared at the Taoist, and the atmosphere was a bit oppressive. After a long silence, he slowly muttered:

"This is just a story."

He looked at the mountain outside the window and said, "A story that will end in two days."

………………

On a mountain surrounded by the lifeless Luo River, there is a quaint pavilion.

In the pavilion is a girl in white clothes. A clear aura different from the ghost realm is trying its best to resist the surging changes from the outside world, but it is slowly unable to resist and is slowly shrinking. When she completely fails, this ghost realm will be completely formed.

The woman's expression was calm.

She had been sleeping for too long, and her strength had been terribly depleted.

And this era is no longer the era of gods after all.

She still had accumulated the last bit of strength, at least enough to perish together with the ghost. At this moment, a ripple appeared in the void, like a stone falling on the water of the night, causing ripples. A slight look of astonishment and surprise appeared on the girl's face. She stretched out her finger, and the ripple touched her finger.

【Sou Shen】 (Searching the Gods)

The message represented by the ancient imprint slowly spread out.

"Wei, the Sili Xiaowei, requests to see the celestial maiden."

"The ancient Crouching Tiger...?!"