The memory stopped at that point then skipped like a movie put on fast forward.
When he felt himself settle down into the familiar body , he found out that everywhere was in darkness, a chilling darkness.
He then felt cool air rushing into his body and going into the nooks and cranny of his body. The cool air then moved to the center of his chest forcefully invading the hole in the middle of his dao.
Bei Shang felt pain but the cool air kept pouring in with full speed , at last the hole tightened up like a stitch and everywhere became quiet.
He let out a huge sigh before opening his eyes.
The place was still dark but it was not as dark as closing his eyes. The place also smelt like damp cotton.
Taohua lets out a sneeze before standing up and stretching. His stomach rumbled and he slapped it before going outside.
The natural light was painful. Taohua took his time letting his eyes adjust to the light before looking around.
The forest was still as quiet as the first time he came here,not even the sounds of animals or crickets made a peep.
The scent of damp cotton tickled his nose again and he sneezed, it was only then helooked at his body.
It turned out the smell was from him.
His clothes have turned extremely brown with hints of fungus growing on it ,the only thing wearable was his shoes but it's not like he can walk around naked.
His stomach rumbled again and he decided that eating first mattered more than clothes at the moment.
He climbed a peach tree and started to eat the peaches , his eating was slow but his fingers were fast , sometimes he would climb other branches to go higher.
He only stopped when he discovered he ate all the fruits on the tree.
Bei Shang was shocked. Taohua wasn't much of a big eater, he tend to nibble on food then go back to it, he could eat a dish of vegetables and rice five times in three hours.
However he had finished a tree and he looked like he's still hungry. How long have he been meditating?
He heard crunching sounds and small discussions. Taohua jumped down and moved towards the direction of the voices.
It was a group of girls carrying mushrooms baskets and fruit baskets , they are probably girls from small families coming to pick lunch.
Maybe he could ask some clothes from these girls and perhaps ask how many years have passed.
Immediately he came in sight , one of the girls screamed before throwing something at him. Taohua have not even recovered when more girls joined in and threw rocks and sticks while they screamed.
Taohua blinked in confusion. He might not be really approachable but people tend to treat him really well , he have never been treated like a monster before, what the hell happened?
When they see he wasn't reacting, instead looking seemingly confused. They gradually stopped before one of them trembling poked his chest with a long stick.
Taohua grabbed it.
The girl let out a scream and jumped a distance away from him , she looked at him from behind a taller girl.
"Demon please don't eat us "
Taohua raised a brow before speaking, because his voice have not been in use for a long time it sounded hoarse.
"I am not a demon"
"Then why do you have your face covered in mud and you're growing fungus from your body ?"
"That's because I was meditating"
"Since when did mushroom demons meditate?"
"Are you calling me a mushroom? …Wait wait wait that's not the point of all this " He let out a sigh " How Long have passed ?"
The girls simultaneously tinted their head " huh?"
"…how long have it been since the …ummm.. oh yes do you guys remember emperor Chen Feng?"
"Ohhh emperor Chen Feng? He died 10 years ago , we have a new emperor now "
It was like dropping a heavy rock on his head. The last time he left , he heard the emperor was really ill , had he really been there meditating for 10 years? It felt like just 3 days to him.
The girls saw how stunned he was and seeing he didn't attack them , they relaxed their vigilance.
"Do you have any clothes I can borrow? I don't mind if it's a dress"
One of them cleared her throat then brought out a yellow dress from her bag.
"You seem like a good guy so I'll let you have it " She threw it at him and coughed when he was leaving " one more thing "
He stopped and turned against the backlight , his figure looked beautiful, his clumpy yet light hair floated in the wind and he used his fingers to push it behind his ear.
"Hmm"
The girls were stunned by the beauty that they didn't speak for a full minute . It was only when taohua tilted his head, she coughed and raised her chin.
"Be wary of demons , they are everywhere now that's why we go in groups all the time. If you see a demon , fight with all your might and run as fast as you can okay?"
Taohua nodded then left.
He went to a nearby lake and took off his fungi infested clothes before jumping in. He held his breath and sank under the water.
Demons were notorious in the past 10 years but they were not so notorious that they reached another state entirely. They liked to stay in one place and enjoyed having other demons to keep company with.
Did their king change again?
He started to feel suffocated so he swarm to the surface and stood up. He heard a shout and he looked to the shore in alarm.
It turned out it was the girls he met earlier and they're staring at him quite…. weirdly?
He pushed his hair backwards and blinked at them.
"Hello … I am the person you helped earlier " he pouted when they didn't respond" mushroom demon.."
"Am I dreaming? " One of the girls mumbled, she rubbed her eyes " How can there be such a beautiful person in earth ?"
"He looks just like a young mistress, if not for his flat chest, I would think I was staring at a beautiful woman who ran away from home "
"He is even more beautiful than those nine tailed demons!!!"
"Mushroom demon ? Have I ever seen a mushroom demon so beautiful?"
"…." Taohua covered his body and sank back into the water.
"Wait !!!" The girls simultaneously shouted , one of them jumped into the lake and pulled him up ,
she moved backwards away from him when he raised a brow " Sorry that was totally subconscious, I have no idea why I did this "
"Don't you think this man looks a little familiar though? I know I have seen him somewhere… I just don't know where "
"Aiyaaa you want to start flirting? You're engaged!!!"
" I am not planning on flirting " the girl slapped her forehead and pointed at him " look really closely "
" Yeah now you're saying it , he does look familiar… ah he is the person the emperor is looking for!!!"
Without warning the girl grabbed some water and scrubbed his face harshly. When he wanted to push her , she placed his hair on his left shoulder and stood a distance.
They all gasped in surprise.
" It's really him in flesh and blood, I thought the emperor was crazy looking for an imaginary person for over 6 years but I understand why he would go crazy. Someone as beautiful as this is a treasure"
"Are you sure he won't blind us for laying eyes on his beloved?!" She quickly covered her eyes and ran out of the lake " Let's run away!!!"
Just like that , the noisy girls have packed their things and left him without letting him say a word or do anything.
"…." Taohua rubbed his face before entering the lake and sinking again.
Have mortals gotten even more stranger or are girls just this inquisitive? They had harassed him twice before running away as if there was something hot on their heels.
After a long while of washing himself to get rid of all the damp cotton scent, he went out of the lake and put on the dress.
He packed his still wet hair into a bun and proceeded to leave the forest.
He didn't hear a single sound not even the noisy girls. Feeling a bit worried, he walked around the forest for a bit but still didn't get a sight the girls. It was already dark before he decided to just leave the forest.
When he reached the outer boundary, he saw a group of people holding torches. He looked at the other side , another set seem to be coming towards his side too.
One of them sighted him , he let out a gasp and shouted. They all looked at him at once then started running towards him!
Bei Shang could feel a hint of panic , why are they chasing Taohua? Did something happen to the girls.
Taohua turned around and started to run. Due to long time of meditating, he have increased stamina and he could use his powers but he didn't want to harm anyone.
He could feel his breath running out ; his neck suddenly tingled and he dodged.
A large fox jumped over him , almost snapping his neck