Chapter 2 Meeting the Ghost King
Time passed.
Qianhua had already stayed at her distant uncle's mountain for 500 years.
Five hundred years was very long for a hedgehog, but for a hedgehog who wanted to cultivate to become a spirit, it was a mere instant.
"You're quite gifted and have the potential."
Since the Eastern Sea God said this about her, Qianhua stayed focused and cultivated, year after year.
Of course, Qianhua wanted to cultivate to become a stunning young woman, or at least so pretty it hurt to look at her.
Her relative also gave her all the help she needed to cultivate; with her gift and hard work, after 500 years and three days, Qianhua did indeed cultivate into a spirit.
A spirit, the precursor to a fairy maiden, or to be honest, still a hedgehog.
At least she wasn't trapped on an island anymore. She had always been optimistic, so with this change, she picked a sunny day to crawl out of the cave inside the Eastern Star God's garden. She stepped onto a country road, appreciating the spring sights all around her. The Eastern Star God had promised to take her to the Heavenly King's birthday banquet when she finished hibernating.
Qianhua had just cultivated into human form for two days. Not counting the hibernation period, this was the third day she was reborn, so to speak. In another three days, she would be a guest at the Heavenly King's party, along with other gods. What a lucky turn of fate for a mere hedgehog!
It was a fortunate thing that her third aunt's fourth aunt's ninth uncle's eighth nephew's fifth cousin's godbrother's elder son was her uncle!
The Eastern Star God had chuckled when she bragged about their connection. "Why don't you call me godfather? It'd be easier than describing all the layers of connection. Would that be all right?"
"Yes, I'd love it! Lemme bow to you!" Qianhua knew he was in a good mood after having a few drinks, and wanted a goddaughter. She was a hedgehog with no family, after all, and it was her pleasure to agree.
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Qianhua ambled along the country road. The green fields and the spring flowers were so pleasing to the eye, and even the earthworms seemed pleasant. The only flaw was she had no friends, just like on the island.
Suddenly, something hit her in the back of her head. Qianhua wanted to tell herself, See, never be greedy! She had a godfather, a mountain to call home, and three meals a day, so why did she dream about a romance, too? And now—
She was knocked back into her original form by a little turtle.
Qianhua saw a flash of gold in front of her eyes. She figured gold falling from the sky was not in the picture, but she hadn't counted on a golden turtle colliding with her.
It wasn't that embarrassing to be hit by a turtle, but it was mortifying to be knocked back to her old form, a shivering, soft-spiked hedgehog.
Too bad she had just cultivated her human form, so she couldn't easily switch back and forth yet. She could only curl up into a ball and glare at the turtle.
Then, her body felt lighter as she found herself held in a pair of hands.
A stunning, almost unhuman-like face was next to her. The man had almond-shaped eyes, a tall nose, and pink-tinged lips with a devilish smile, all paired with a crystal-clear voice, which said, "Adorable one, my pet turtle, Goldie, didn't mean to hit you."
Goldie?! A turtle with such a fancy name.
Qianhua huffed. To others, it may looked like she was shivering.
Qianhua actually used the chance to sniff him. This was a pale man with a cold air about him. For a minute, she thought he was a woman disguised as a man, but the coldness wasn't the yin of female, but the deep cold of the Ghost world. Could he be . . . ?
The man tapped his finger and Qianhua returned to her human form.
She was still held in his hands—she was just much bigger. It was decidedly awkward being in his embrace.
Be calm, be calm! Qianhua told herself until her tongue froze, but then she blurted, "My name is Luo Qianhua. Don't call me adorable one; just Qianhua!"
Why were they whispering like lovers?
"Qianhua?" The man smiled, and his dimples seemed more seductive than ever. "Okay, you can call me Han Ge (In Chinese, the same pronunciation of "Brother Han")."
Being taken advantage of like this wasn't fun. Qianhua mumbled, "Yeah right. Why should I call you anything Brother . . . ?"
Wait. She stopped. Han Ge was the name of the Ghost King!
She didn't dare linger in his arms anymore. She got up in record speed and bowed with a single knee, unleashing a torrent of apologies. "Please forgive me. I had no idea I was in the presence of the Ghost King. Please pardon me."
Han Ge only smiled and helped her up, or more accurately, picked her up. "It's all right. If my Goldie was better at flying, he wouldn't have hit you and forced you to regress. I'll pardon your death sentence."
He was indeed hard to deal with, as was rumored. At first he seemed reasonable, but the latter part of his statement was terrifying. So she didn't have to die, but she'd be punished in life?!
Qianhua sighed at her fast-changing fate and could feel her ears ringing as he continued to talk. "I won't make it too hard for you. Just come back to the Ghost realm and stay with me for a few days. Sing and dance for me, hang out . . . No need to call me Ghost King though; just call me Han Ge. There're very few people who may call me this name, you know. Think you can appreciate the opportunity?"