It was after she'd gained popularity with the beasts thanks to her delicious meals, that the worst of the bullying started.
Li Meirong recalled waking up in the middle of the night during her second year in her private cabin, to discover three pairs of eyes staring at her from the shadows.
They were all cultivators, men she'd never met before. As soon as she awoke, they were on her, stuffing her mouth with a piece of cloth and pinning her squirming body down to the bed.
Fortunately for her, the assaulters had no idea that she was far from alone. They had hardly managed to get her robe off before Chou leapt to her defense, stuffing each and every one of them down his gullet and into his large belly. As per their agreement, he left it to Li Meirong to decide whether or not he would go through with eating them. It was a heavy decision to make, but the lingering sensation of their hands on her skin, being manhandled like that…
Fear drove her to make the call. Chou was all too happy to oblige and finish them off.
The stench emitted from his digestive juices that night was the worst Li Meirong had ever smelled.
She suspected that Captain Liang was behind the incident, but she had no proof. A gut feeling wouldn't be enough to present her case to the higher authorities within the sect. At least, after the mysterious disappearance of three cultivators from Li Meirong's residence, no one dared to attempt anything of the sort again.
A few of the disciples who had heard rumours of the incident assumed that those cultivators had been successful in using the furnace, and then took off from the sect to avoid prosecution. Others within the sect were completely oblivious to the fact that anything had happened at all that night. No one suspected Li Meirong, and no one was aware of "Little" Chou's existence.
The third prank she had to suffer came at a very important time for the sect.
It was the illustrious, once in a century "Gathering of Heroes".
All famous disciples and grandmasters of righteous sects from regions far and wide had congregated in Forgotten Waters for the assembly. Somehow, the event's budget accounts had been assigned to Li Meirong's presumably incompetent hands.
Naturally, should she have failed her given task, the punishment would have been most severe. However, funnily enough, the more cerebral assignments were the easiest for Li Meirong. Handling accounting and finances was practically effortless for her.
Li Meirong amusedly recalled the flabbergasted look on Captain Liang's face as she performed calculations that would have taken anyone else in the sect days, in less than ten minutes. Obviously, the calculations were all simple enough, even an abacus was not needed.
From undignified trash, Li Meirong slowly built herself a name for being a more valuable disciple in the sect. Some of the whispers about her had changed from; "Don't come near her, who knows how many men she's been with," and turned into; "What a shame she has multiple veins. No matter the task, she handles it all with such efficiency! Quite diligent."
Li Meirong wanted to say she didn't care one way or another, but she had to admit that not having to deal with as much constant scorn and ridicule was building her self-esteem tremendously.
Ever since she'd been appointed as an outer sect disciple in the Bestiary Division, she hadn't caught a glimpse of Grandmaster Zhu Zhang even once. He was known for seldom leaving his pavilion and rarely interacting with others.
It was a pleasant surprise to receive frequent visits from her companions, whom she had met early on in this world. In the first few years, only Mo Jing and Shu Qianqian kept in touch.
Mo Jing couldn't visit frequently but when he did, he helped her with the garden and brought her spare herbs along with fruits and vegetable seeds. Li Meirong was always glad to see him and was very grateful to him. Of her three young companions, she got along with Mo Jing the best.
At first Mo Cheng wouldn't come to see her, however that didn't last long. Starting their third year in the sect, he had a habit of dropping in on her at least once a week. He always seemed very considerate and kept insisting that she ask him for help whenever she needed any.
She politely declined time and time again when he invited her out or bought her gifts. He was a sweet boy, but she wanted to avoid him getting the wrong idea about the nature of their relationship. Not to mention, she promised Shu Qianqian that she had no interest in him.
While she did feel that Mo Cheng was making romantic advances towards her, that hadn't stopped him from answering to Shu Qianqian's flirtations, nor several others as well. It seemed as though he had an agenda to win over as many girls' affections as possible.
Li Meirong disliked that particular personality trait, yet she couldn't really fault him for it. His attitude towards women was not improper, considering this was a world that adhered to more ancient customs. Here, building a harem was the norm.
Shu Qianqian visited the least, but when she did, her friendliness seemed genuine. As she grew older, she blossomed into a beautiful maiden and was self-confident enough not to erupt in anger at every woman who approached Mo Cheng.
Unfortunately for Shu Qianqian, there were quite a few of those. Mo Cheng was quite a ladies' man. Being so naturally gifted and handsome to boot, he attracted women like a flower coated with pollen surrounded by bees.
Shu Qianqian learnt to curb her outrage over time, yet when she visited Li Meirong, it was to vent her displeasure about her beloved showing interest in any woman who flounced his way.
It was not that Mo Cheng did not like Shu Qianqian, it was just that she clearly wasn't the only one in his heart.
Li Meirong's heart ached for the girl. She knew what it was like to be in a relationship with a man who kept glancing sideways as if looking for a better deal. On one hand, Mo Cheng was very kind to Li Meirong and so she did not wish to speak ill of him. But on the other hand, she felt that he was undeserving of Shu Qianqian's affections.
Having eaten her fill and fed some to the fish in the pond, Li Meirong's glazed eyes had regained focus as she came back from her memories, gathering her bag of snacks and headed into the cabin in order to handle the remaining accounting files left with her.
As night began to fall, the sun slipped slowly into the ocean's horizon. The skies were splashed with pastel shades of purple and pink. That same evening, Mo Cheng came over for a visit.
Li Meirong welcomed her friend into her cabin, making sure to hide Chou properly inside her sleeve. Mo Cheng held his hands behind his back as he stepped in, and then whipped out a bouquet filled with flowers and herbs, with their roots attached, offering it to her.
Thanks to all her newfound gardening experience, she was familiar with several of them. They were not only beautiful but also very rare. This was a good haul!
Li Meirong thanked him and grabbed the flowers. She placed them in a vase and fetched water from the nearby pond to nourish them. Mo Cheng grinned from ear to ear when Li Meirong happily accepted his tribute.
Actually, Mo Cheng had always been a tad apprehensive of Li Meirong, especially five years ago. Especially after she had saved his brother and Little Qianqian's life. Blood rushed to his face every time he saw her, and he couldn't stop himself from staring at her stupidly.
He regretted not being there for Li Meirong when he heard she was being bullied. He really did wish he could go back in time and change that, perhaps then she would have thought better of him.
It was only three years after their separation into different divisions that Mo Cheng realized, he actually admitted to himself that he liked her. He realized that their meeting had been fated.
Thoughts of Li Meirong plagued his restless mind long after he stopped seeing her. Though he had interest in other girls, he could never forget her face.
The rest could become concubines, he thought, but she had to be special. With his unmatched talent and knowledge, it wasn't as though he couldn't accommodate several women.
Countless times he visited Li Meirong and actively wooed her. He tried everything he could to impress her, to win over her affections. But of all the girls he had ever met, she was the most stubborn. Yet, of course, she was the one he wanted to conquer most.