Li Hua
"Ah! By the way, my name's Li Hua!" The woman smiled warmly as she introduced herself, radiating a strange warmth reminiscent of spring even in the midst of the cold snow.
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Upon reaching her house...."Alright! Sit here for now!" Li Hua pointed at an old-looking chair as she hurried into her home.
'It's larger than I imagined...' Zhou Tiandi had anticipated a small village but found a decently sized settlement. Li Hua's house, though, appeared larger than typical for a mortal in the countryside.
'Pretty rundown though...' Despite its size and spacious courtyard, the entire house was in shambles and desperately needed repairs.
'I followed her mindlessly, but...' The dilapidated chair creaked as Zhou Tiandi took a seat, prompting him to ponder, "...What am I to do now?"
'My Dao pilgrimage has been dragging out for too long... I've made quite a lot of progress, however...'
Zhou Tiandi's dao pilgrimage was on the verge of reaching 60 years, for the past few years he made not even a slight improvement and he needed to return to the sect sooner or later.
'Perhaps, I should wrap this up soo-'
"Here, wipe yerself with this!" Zhou Tiandi's train of thought abruptly halted as Li Hua returned with a piece of cloth in her hand, thrusting it towards him.
"..." Zhou Tiandi looked at her dumbfoundedly, not understanding her intentions.
"Urgh! Just wipe yerself with this!" Noticeably frustrated, she threw the cloth onto his face, which he caught effortlessly.
"How filthy..." Zhou Tiandi muttered lightly as he held the cloth.
"Ungrateful! Be glad that I saved yer ass from getting frozen to yer death!" Although Tiandi intended it as a mindless remark, Li Hua heard it loud and clear, and she was not pleased.
She gritted her teeth, glaring at her rude guest, to which he responded with a blank stare, seemingly unaware of the reason for her frustration.
"Ah..." After a few moments, Tiandi's expression changed to one of realization, "Here."
He offered a small bag made of coarse cloth to Li Hua, "Huh?" Baffled, she looked at him with a questioning gaze.
"Money." In a similarly bland tone, Zhou Tiandi continued, "For helping me, compensation for your time."
"Y-You!!" For some reason, Li Hua was further enraged. "Do ya think I was doing that for money?!"
Zhou Tiandi couldn't comprehend her reaction. 'Did her pride get hurt?'
"My apologies, that was quite thoughtless of me." He apologized as he began to put away the little bag.
However, before he could do so, "I didn't say I wouldn't accept the money!" Li Hua snatched away his money.
She hurriedly opened up the bag, revealing golden taels filling it up. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the golden taels not leaving them for even a moment.
"Pfft...!" Hearing a sudden sound, her gaze left the gold taels and settled on Zhou Tiandi, who looked at her expressionlessly.
"Did ya just..." She began, questioning Tiandi, but looking at his clueless expression she stopped, "...Nevermind."
"Anyways!" She cleared her throat as she continued, "Even though it is out of gratitude, I can't just take yer money for free! And that's why!"
She pointed at Tiandi in an oddly familiar fashion. "I'll let ya live in my house for the time yer staying here."
"Pardon?" Tiandi was baffled at the mortal's words, finding her statement ridiculous for multiple reasons.
"After all, it's not like you have another place to stay, right?!" She puffed up her chest, looking at Tiandi with a smug expression, as if she had completely read through him.
"Yeah, sure..." And with that, Zhou Tiandi's life with Li Hua began... and he had yet to introduce himself to her...
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'Daughter of a previously wealthy family, orphaned at a young age... having survived by herself and even went as far as working as a huntress for the town...'
This was what Tiandi found out about Li Hua, his "landlady" in the past week. It's not like he tried to find out about this but rather...
"You should be careful of that Li Hua! Do you know how she got that scar? She..."
...There would always be someone coming up to him, telling him about the demoness that was Li Hua.
'This is getting annoying...'
At first, he didn't mind such gossip. However, when every single day his morning walk was littered with such events, he had understandably grown unamused.
"I do not care for such a thing. If I ever wished to know about this, I'd just ask Li Hua about it." He bluntly stated, turning away to ensure such a nuisance won't follow him in the future.
The woman who had wasted his time gritted her teeth, staring at his leaving back.
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"I am back..." Tiandi muttered lightly as he entered through the creaky main door.
"Oh! Yer back!" Li Hua somehow heard his light mutter ...or perhaps the loud creaking noises... Mostly that. "Anyways, ya came at the right time! I just finished cooking food."
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Taking a spoonful of the meat soup(?) Zhou Tiandi remarked, "Bland as usual..."
"Hah?! Be glad I made it for you!" Li Hua, the temperamental mortal, raised her voice yet again. Tiandi often found himself impressed by how she could keep this up for days...
"It's not that I am not grateful..." Zhou Tiandi raised his head and looked into Li Hua's eyes. "I am simply stating a fact. It tastes bland."
"Arhh! You! Do you even know how to cook yourself?!" Yet again her voice was raised even further.
After pondering for a few moments, Tiandi spoke, "Well... not much."
"See! That's why ya sho-"
"But I can definitely make something more edible as compared to... this thing."
Hearing this, a vein popped on Li Hua's forehead in anger, "Well then, why don't ya cook the food today?!"
"Fine."
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A bowl containing liquid gold, a velvety broth, bejeweled by various ingredients... A fine aroma wafted through the air, invoking the appetite of anyone who caught it.
"Urgh dammit! It's good!" That day Li Hua wept tears of defeat, yet her hands never ceased their actions as she devoured her meal.
What infuriated her even more was the bastard smiling as he looked down on her! 'Urgh...! Dammit!'