I closed the door and found myself in the corridor. The two of them were arguing so fiercely, it was so noisy.
"Xu Ran?" Yao Yao pondered for a long time. "No impression."
"It's not you, it's whether Bai Ze knows her. It should be," I thought, "Bai Ze from Zeng Guofan's past life."
Yao Yao inherited all the memories of Bai Ze's previous past lives. Although these memories were like a quiet library and didn't have a strong presence in Yao Yao's mind, they undeniably existed.
"Wait a moment, I'll check—what are you doing over there? So noisy."
Both their voices carried into the corridor. Chu Qi and Chen Ke poked their heads out to look. I waved my hand, signaling that everything was fine.
"Daji is holding a bat demon, possibly a subordinate of Zeng Guofan from the past," I guessed.
"Ah, I remember. There was one, a valiant general under Zeng Guofan."
"Do you have detailed information?"
"...Do you think I'm a computer? Do I have to output a copy for you, print it out?" Yao Yao complained and hung up.
But I knew she was just complaining, because I also knew that accessing Bai Ze's memory bank made Yao Yao uncomfortable. Accessing it too much could give her splitting headaches.
Of course, she still did it.
Before long, Yao Yao sent me the information in several voice messages.
The "file" showed that this Xu Ran had cultivated into human form as early as the late Ming Dynasty, belonging to the same era as Yao Yao and the others. However, she had been active in the Jiangnan region for years and had never been to the Northeast, so she had no contact with Yao Yao or the Eight Demons. During the Qing Dynasty, Xu Ran continued to cultivate in the human world, lying low. It wasn't until the late Qing Dynasty, when the Shanhai Yao clan revolted amidst the Taiping Rebellion, that Xu Ran descended the mountain and entered officialdom. Disguised as a man, she joined Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army. With her extraordinary personal abilities, she gradually rose to become the leader of a battalion, the "Ran Battalion." For a time, she was even on equal footing with Zeng Guoquan. After the war with the Shanhai Yao clan, Xu Ran intended to emulate Hua Mulan, return her armor, and retire. However, she fell in love with that old man, Zeng Guofan, and wanted to become his concubine. Zeng Guofan refused and ordered her to return to the mountains to continue cultivating, or to find a good family and get married.
Xu Ran refused and threatened to die. Bai Ze, of course, would not stand by and watch a capable subordinate die, so he pretended to agree. On the day of the concubine ceremony, Xu Ran, veiled with a red veil, got into the bridal sedan chair. However, she was carried into the mountains by eight great demons and sealed.
This naturally caught Zeng Guofan's attention. However, unlike Yao Yao, Xu Ran was not sealed for 400 years by her master. She was only sealed for nine years, as Zeng Guofan estimated he had only eight years left to live.
Eight years later, Zeng Guofan passed away, and Bai Ze's current life as a mortal ended. He went into hiding, waiting for the next reincarnation, Yao Yao.
A year later, the seal expired. Xu Ran was released by those eight great demons. Xu Ran, with her fierce temperament, immediately went to settle scores with Zeng Guofan, refusing to let him off even in death. She forcibly dug up her former commander's tomb. Fortunately, the eight demons rushed over in time, properly handled the aftermath of the tomb, and fearing that Xu Ran would go mad again, added a permanent seal to Zeng Guofan's tomb. This is why in modern times, when experts discovered Zeng Guofan's tomb, they did not conduct an archaeological excavation but announced that it would never be dug up or opened. This was because there were experts within the national archaeological team who saw traces of "demon seals" and dared not proceed with the excavation.
This incident even made the news and can still be found on Baidu today.
After this, Xu Ran wandered the martial world, with only one thing left in her heart: to wait for Bai Ze's reincarnation and personally question him. Back then, they clearly had feelings for each other, so why did Bai Ze refuse to take her as a concubine!
In reality, Zeng Guofan had already answered her question with his actions. Bai Ze's reincarnation was a human, and humans have a lifespan. Moreover, at that time, Zeng Guofan had less than ten years left to live and was already an old man. How could he harm Xu Ran, a blooming maiden? Furthermore, given Zeng Guofan's high historical standing, his wives and concubines, and his children would all be meticulously recorded in historical texts. If he took a concubine, and this concubine remained youthful and immortal, wouldn't her demonic identity be exposed?
A demon who could become Zeng Guofan's concubine would be extremely valuable and would attract unwanted attention. Therefore, considering all aspects, Zeng Guofan chose to seal Xu Ran, actually to protect her.