The City Husband Who Changed Everything

A young ge’er from the city had arrived in Liushan Village.

He was strikingly beautiful—his peach-blossom eyes shimmering with life, even his fingers as delicate and pale as jade. Yet he was so poor he could only live in the Zhong family’s long-neglected old house, taking care of his sick mother.

Rumors spread quickly through the village: the young ge’er had been cast out by the Zhong family for doing something wrong. No one wanted anything to do with him, and the eligible men were repeatedly warned by their families not to be led astray by him.

The first time Pei Mu met Zhong Yizhu, the latter was washing clothes by the river.

He used soap pods as if they were free, yet didn’t even know how to rinse clothes properly—like a complete fool.

The second time, Zhong Yizhu was gathering firewood in the mountains.

His pale, eye-catching hands were now covered in scratches and small wounds. When he saw the wild fruit in Pei Mu’s basket, his eyes lit up, and he smiled as he asked if he could trade some firewood for a couple of fruits.

Pei Mu glanced at the half-dry firewood in his basket, tossed him two fruits with a cold expression, and turned to stride down the mountain.

The third time they met, the slight figure of the young ge’er stood blocking the entrance to Pei Mu’s house. His lips were pressed tight, with a trace of blood at the corner.

His voice trembled, but his tone was strangely calm.

“Pei Mu… will you marry me?”

The marriage between the city-bred ge’er and Pei Mu—the village’s so-called “bringer of misfortune”—left everyone in shock.

By the small river at the edge of the village, women and ge’er gathered to wash clothes, chatting about every household’s affairs—especially the newly married Pei family in the east. There was always something new to say.

Everyone in Liushan Village knew Pei Mu’s story. His mother and grandfather had both died, and he had survived a wolf attack—an ill-fated star. Even his own father feared him and refused to live under the same roof.

Later, when the imperial court conscripted soldiers, several men from the village went—but only Pei Mu returned alive. The elders said his fate was too strong, that others should keep their distance lest they be harmed by it.

Privately, people believed the young ge’er had chosen a path to ruin. With his delicate looks, if he wasn’t doomed by Pei Mu’s ill fate, he’d surely be beaten to death by him.

—It was only a matter of time.

With a loud thump, a large basin of clothes was set down on the rocks by the river. Everyone turned—and immediately fell silent at the sight of Pei Mu himself.

But he didn’t even glance at them, simply crouching down to start washing clothes.

The others exchanged astonished looks, their hands moving faster. Finally, the village head’s wife gathered her courage and asked,

“Pei Mu, why are you the one doing the washing? Where’s Zhu-ge’er?”

Pei Mu carefully scrubbed the green robe in his hands. After a long pause, he replied in a cool voice:

“It’s cold. He can’t handle it.”

“Whoa—!”

After he left with the laundry, the riverbank erupted into chatter.

Unbelievable. The bringer of misfortune must be possessed.

…

Later, as Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu’s life grew better and better, and their relationship became the envy of others, the villagers finally realized:

It wasn’t possession at all.

It was simply that someone had taken up residence in his heart.