One evening, when everyone was asleep, Yan Xinmeng was woken by a voice. “Xinmeng, Xinmeng.” How annoying! Who’s calling in my ear? Yan Xinmeng turned over to continue sleeping. “Xinmeng, wake up, it’s me, Niu Qi!” Niu Qi?! Hearing Niu Qi’s name, Yan Xinmeng’s eyes snapped open, and she sat up abruptly, only to be scared back by a pair of large eyes in front of her. “Ah!” Yan Xinmeng screamed. Niu Qi, startled by her sudden scream, fell backward, hitting his head on the ground with a loud “thud.” Rubbing her sore back, Yan Xinmeng complained, “Brother Niu Qi, you don’t have to get so close, you’ll scare me to death!”
“What scared me to death? I was scared to death by you!” Niu Qi patted himself down, then got up, only to see Yan Xinmeng staring at him with wide eyes. “What’s wrong? Haven’t seen me for so long, forgotten me?” Niu Qi waved his hand in front of Yan Xinmeng’s eyes. “Brother Niu Qi, your head… how did you lose one of your horns?” Yan Xinmeng pointed at his head, asking in a daze. Niu Qi felt his head, still speaking as he touched, “Lost a horn? No way! How could it be…” Midway through his sentence, Niu Qi’s eyes widened as he stared at Yan Xinmeng, his expression growing more and more horrified. Quickly turning around, Niu Qi knelt down, feeling the ground with both hands, then lifted his head with a mournful face, holding the broken pieces of his horn. “How could this happen?” Niu Qi seemed deflated, his shoulders drooping, sitting helplessly on the ground, probably because the fall earlier had broken his horn. “Brother Niu Qi, I’m sorry! It’s all because I scared you.” Yan Xinmeng felt very guilty. “Forget it, maybe it was fate,” Niu Qi smiled bitterly, “I thought I could quickly bring the people and then help you, but who knew this would happen.” “Brother Niu Qi, what do you mean…” “My horn is broken, and I can’t even use my basic magical powers.” “What should we do then?” Yan Xinmeng asked with concern. “What else can I do? I have to go back to the underworld to fix my horn before I can help you.” “Fix your horn? How long will that take?” Yan Xinmeng asked curiously, as bull horns are not easy to grow back. “I don’t know! I’ll have to ask Judge Gong if he can help me.” Niu Qi scrutinized his broken horn for a long time before handing it to Yan Xinmeng, “Here, take this.” “What do I need a broken horn for? It’s not like I can eat it as a bread roll.” Yan Xinmeng pouted, staring at the horn. “This thing can save your life; if you’re in trouble, just blow it. Any nearby members of the Bull Head Squad will come to help. You know almost all the members, so whoever comes to help, it’s the same. Here, take it!” Yan Xinmeng took the horn, her mood heavy, “So you’re leaving?” “Yes! What else can I do? I can’t go around with a big bull’s head on my shoulders, scaring people to death even if they weren’t dead before.” Niu Qi laughed it off. Indeed, with no magical powers, and unable to transform into human form, Brother Niu Qi would certainly scare people. Speaking of scaring people, how come Brother Shang and the others weren’t woken up by their conversation? Yan Xinmeng looked back at Shang Bieye and the others, seeing them all breathing steadily, sound asleep. “Brother Niu Qi, didn’t we wake them up?” Yan Xinmeng nodded towards the three. “No, I cast a spell before waking you up to make them sleep deeply, but now that my horn is broken, my magic can’t last that long. If we keep talking, they might actually wake up.” That explained it! She thought the three had suddenly become so unalert. Yan Xinmeng nodded in understanding. After finishing his words, Niu Qi stood up, patted his backside, waved to Yan Xinmeng, and said, “Alright, I must go now, remember! Keep that Nine-Revolving Resurrection Pill safe, and keep this horn well. If you’re in danger, remember to blow the horn for help.” With that, Niu Qi vanished. Before she could ask anything else, Niu Qi had already left, leaving Yan Xinmeng staring at the horn in her hand, praying for her own safety.
After several days of travel and camping outdoors, just when Yan Xinmeng felt she couldn’t take it anymore, a small village appeared before her. The village, aside from the markets that came on the first and fifteenth of each month, rarely saw outsiders. Shang Bieye and his companions decided to stay in the village for a few days to rest and gather information. That night, Shang Bieye received a message from Shang Liqun confirming that the motionless bride at home was a maid in disguise, and the real bride had disappeared on their wedding night. Surprisingly, the bride had miraculously woken up a few days before the wedding. As for why the bride vanished the day after the wedding, the Yan family was evasive, only saying that she had gone with the fortune-telling master who predicted her fate to pray for safety and happiness, but who knew if it was true or not. Shang Bieye’s eyes softened, a slight smile playing on his lips; it seemed he needed to have a good talk with this runaway bride.
