At the break of dawn on the first morning of the Lunar New Year, many shops chose to close and return home to spend time with their families. Boss Song had set up her stall early, and the large pot of glutinous rice dumplings was steaming hot. Some neighbors who were too lazy to cook their own rice dumplings gathered around a small table, chatting about the lively events that had taken place on New Year’s Eve.
“Boss Song, bring us nine bowls of dumplings.” Yu Jing led the eight juniors and sat around the table. Last night, she received a message from the old hawksbill turtle. She used the Sect Master’s order to ask Sect Master Qiu Hua for help. Then, she kept calculating and searching for these eight naughty kids without stopping.
Outside the ruined temple, the leech yao had set up many formations. She rushed in, her heart burning with anxiety. When she saw that her six nephew juniors were all safe and sound inside the turtle shell formation, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
As for the two disciples, Jiu Hui and Zhi You…
She turned her head to look at the two of them. Jiu Hui was yawning, her head drooping, looking listless. Zhi You sat there obediently, as if he would never speak as long as no one spoke to him.
The piping hot glutinous rice balls were quickly served. Yu Jing tapped on the table. “Eat quickly, everyone. Go back to sleep after you finish.”
“Master.” Jiu Hui held up the bowl. “Last night, when you rushed in brandishing your sword, you were especially imposing.”
“Go eat your dumplings and stop flattering me.” Yu Jing said in exasperation, “Our Wangshu Pavilion only has a few of you promising disciples. If something were to happen to you, we as your masters wouldn’t be able to bear it. However, I didn’t expect that Sect Master Qiu Hua would be so easy to talk to and would come to your rescue in such a short amount of time.”
It was a matter of great importance, and she didn’t care if Qiu Hua would reject her. More paths meant more hope.
“Things may not be peaceful recently. After you return today, stay in the sect and cultivate diligently. Don’t go out for the time being." There was a demon cultivator who intended to destroy the Zhenhe Cauldron, and then a five-thousand-year-old great yao appeared and ate people. These were not good omens.
“Especially you two.” Yu Jing looked at Jiu Hui and Zhi You, and said slowly, “You’ve been in the sect for several months now. It’s time to calm down and improve your cultivation.”
“Yes, Master,” Jiu Hui replied. “This disciple will definitely supervise Zhi You’s cultivation well.”
“With your personality, you’ve only been in the sect for a month, and you’ve already become familiar with the fish at the bottom of the lake. I really don’t know if you’re supervising Zhi You, or if Zhi You is supervising you.” Yu Jing looked at the mortals walking in the misty morning mist: “I only hope that the mortals of the world will not be affected.”
After finishing the rice dumplings, Yu Jing sent the eight people back to the sect. As soon as they reached the main entrance, Jiu Hui and the others saw Prime Minister Wu peeking out from behind the door.
Seeing that they had returned safely, Prime Minister Wu crawled out from behind the pillar. “Luckily, I escaped in time and found the Pavilion Master to save you. It’s wonderful that you’re all okay.”
Chang He: “If anyone says turtles are slow in the future, I’ll be the first to disagree. Our Prime Minister Wu is so nimble that even a great yao with five thousand years of cultivation couldn’t catch up to him. Don’t you agree?”
Prime Minister Wu also knew that it was not very honorable to abandon his companions and run away. He retracted his head into his turtle shell and said in a muffled voice, “Someone had to bring the news. If it weren’t for me, this old turtle, how could the Pavilion Master have arrived in time?”
“Prime Minister Wu,” Jiu Hui squatted down and knocked on Prime Minister Wu’s shell. “This time, thanks to the defensive magic weapon you lent us, we were safe and sound.”
“You’re welcome.” Hearing that the item he gave her had come in handy, Prime Minister Wu poked his head out of his shell. He glanced at the small turtle shell in Jiu Hui’s palm and said with some pride, “Anything that this old turtle gives you can’t be ordinary.”
“Indeed, it’s all thanks to the blessings of your ancestors, Prime Minister Wu,” Jiu Hui nodded with a smile. “Now that we’ve returned safely, this item should be returned to its rightful owner.”
“It’s alright, I stay in the lake of Wangshu Pavilion every day, and I don’t need this thing.” Prime Minister Wu used his head to push the turtle shell in Jiu Hui’s hand: “I’ll lend this thing to you first, and you can return it to me when you… when you ascend to immortality.”
Yu Jing was a little surprised. She knew how afraid of death the old turtle was. This turtle shell defensive magic weapon was a rare treasure in the entire cultivation world, and it was willing to give it to Jiu Hui.
The ancestral tortoise shell couldn’t be given away, but if it was returned after someone ascended, what was the difference between that and giving it away for free?
“Thank you, Prime Minister Wu. I will definitely take good care of your great-grandfather’s shell.” Jiu Hui didn’t refuse coyly. She put away the turtle shell and took out a bowl of steaming peanut dumplings from her storage ring. “These are the dumplings we brought for you. Please try them.”
Prime Minister Wu put the dumpling into his turtle shell, crawled away with satisfaction, and resumed his usual slow pace.
The little girl was quite conscientious, knowing to bring it food when she came back.
Yu Jing watched the old turtle slowly crawl away before turning to Jiu Hui and the others. “Go back and get some rest. Your master and I will be busy for the next few days. Yan Bo and Xi Yuan, you two will have to work hard and keep an eye on these unreliable junior brothers and sisters. Without my orders, none of you eight are to leave the sect.”
“Yes, Sect Uncle.” Yan Bo and Xi Yuan bowed solemnly.
Yu Jing did not say anything more, and left the eight of them behind as she hurried away.
“We escaped with our lives, safe and sound, safe and sound.” Chang He clasped his hands together and bowed to the sky, then said to the crowd, “Everyone, go back to your rooms and get some sleep.”
Jiu Hui covered her mouth and yawned several times before returning to her courtyard. She saw Bai Qi sleeping on her lounge chair and kicked the chair lightly with her foot. “Sleeping soundly?”
“You were out all night, and now you won’t let me sleep in?” Bai Qi jumped out of his chair in fright, and when he opened his eyes and saw it was Jiu Hui, he said in a bad mood, “Look at how listless you look. Where did you go fooling around with those cultivators?”
“I might as well go out and have some fun.” Jiu Hui pushed open the door and sat down on the bed. Bai Qi followed her into the room and saw that Linchi had already prepared hot water for Jiu Hui to wash up with. He rolled his eyes at it. You shameless bird!
“On our way back last night, we ran into a leech yao with a cultivation base of nearly five thousand years.” Jiu Hui washed up and lay down on the concubine’s chair.
“Five thousand years… a leech yao?” Bai Qi said in disbelief. “How could a leech possibly cultivate for five thousand years?”
There were five-thousand-year-old monsters, and there were also leeches that had become yaos by luck, but it was a pipe dream for a leech yao to become a five-thousand-year-old great yao.
If immortal cultivators were divided by aptitude and demons by bloodline, then the yaos were divided by their origins. Small fry like leeches needed to encounter a once-in-a-millennium opportunity to transform into human form. However, due to the limitations of their origins, they were lucky to live for a few hundred years. How could there be a five-thousand-year-old leech yao?
If these words hadn’t come from Jiu Hui’s mouth, it wouldn’t have believed them at all.
“Yes, how could there be a five-thousand-year-old leech yao?” Jiu Hui closed her eyes. “Although this yao has five thousand years of cultivation, its actions are shallow and arrogant. It doesn’t seem to have the temperament of a five-thousand-year-old being. What’s more…”
“What’s more, if there really was a five-thousand-year-old leech yao, its reputation would have spread throughout the demon world long ago. How could it have remained nameless for so many years?” Bai Qi shook his tail. “Little yao girl, something about this doesn’t feel right. Why don’t you ask it how it obtained its five-thousand-year cultivation?”
“No way to ask.” Jiu Hui yawned, teleported from the chaise lounge chair to the bed, and conjured a basin of hot water to soak her feet. She glanced at Bai Qi with a half-smile. “I scattered its ashes. If you want to know, you can go underground and ask it yourself.”
“Actually, I just asked casually. I wasn’t really curious.” Seeing Jiu Hui smiling like that, Bai Qi couldn’t help but feel a little cowardly. “Could it be that it had some kind of fortuitous encounter that suddenly gave it five thousand years of cultivation?”
He was really afraid that this little yao girl would get upset and kill him too.
“I’m afraid it’s not the first yao to suddenly have a fortuitous encounter, nor will it be the last.” Jiu Hui sighed. Compared to humans and demons, it was the most difficult for yaos to cultivate. Where could they find so many fortuitous encounters that would increase their cultivation by thousands of years? If yaos had such good luck, they wouldn’t have fallen to their current state.
There were no free lunches in the world, only traps.
“What are you going to do now?” Bai Qi also became nervous.
“Me?” Jiu Hui lightly stepped on the hot water with her foot. “I’m just a minor disciple from a minor sect. What can I do?”
Bai Qi: …carpreads.pages.dev
“Little yao girl, why did you sneak into the righteous sect?” Bai Qi paused for a moment and jumped onto the stool next to him, lying down.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier, to go and learn from a master?” Jiu Hui blew gently, and her feet dried instantly. The footbath disappeared without a trace.
“Can your Senior Brothers and Sisters defeat you? Why bother with apprenticeship?” Bai Qi shook its tail in anger. It could tell that Jiu Hui didn’t trust it. It jumped off the stool with a huff and a puff and squatted in the corner farthest from Jiu Hui.
Seeing that it was truly angry, Jiu Hui smiled. “In order to prevent me from suffering losses when I came to the mortal world, my family’s elders played all sorts of role-playing games with me since I was five years old. They tirelessly taught me how to deal with all sorts of possible scams, lies, and even accidents.”
“Before I left the village, Village Chief Grandpa told me that all kinds of magic techniques and cultivation are not as good as the human heart.” Jiu Hui stood up and walked to Bai Qi’s side, stroking its cat’s head. “I really came here to ask for guidance and learn how to be a human being.”
The palm on its head was warm and soft, and Bai Qi gradually calmed down. It meowed twice: “But you’re clearly a yao, why are you trying to act like a human?”
“You’re clearly a yao, why did you come to the mortal realm to make a living?” Jiu Hui asked in return.
Bai Qi couldn’t refute it. There were so many fun and delicious things in the mortal world, and the dazzling world was distracting. Which young yao wouldn’t be tempted?
“In addition to learning how to be a human, I originally wanted to come and get something.” Jiu Hui sighed as she pinched the cat’s ears.
“Did you get it?” Bai Qi lifted his furry head and rubbed his head against Jiu Hui’s palm without realizing it. “Do you need help from this grandpa?”
“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want it anymore,” Jiu Hui laughed. “It’s not that important anyway.”
“Really not important?” Bai Qi didn’t quite believe it.
Jiu Hui took out an account book and flipped to a random page. It read: A certain someone from Jiutian Sect owes Auntie Jiao a box of pearls that is 983 years overdue. A certain someone from Wanhuo Sect owes Grandpa Wang a piece of meteorite iron that is 1,003 years overdue…
“They’ve all been overdue for so many years, the debtors’ bones must have turned to dust by now.” Bai Qi rested his paw on the ledger, looking at Jiu Hui with sympathy. “This one probably has nothing but bad debts, right?”
“When people die, their debts are cleared, so there’s nothing that can be done about it.” Jiu Hui put the account book away in her storage ring. “Sometimes, creditors need to be more open-minded in order to be happier.”
“You know how to comfort yourself.” Bai Qi scratched his ear with his front paw. “Although this sect isn’t big, the scenery is beautiful. Your master, sect uncles, senior brothers, and senior sisters are all very good. No wonder you didn’t enter those big sects and instead became Yu Jing’s disciple.”
“Cultivation is all about fate. What’s so great about a major sect? But you’re right about one thing, my master and seniors are all very good.” Jiu Hui stood up with a smile. “You and Linchi, get out of here and don’t bother me while I sleep.”
“Tsk, use it and throw it away.” Bai Qi jumped onto the windowsill and squeezed out through the crack in the window.
It wagged its tail as it walked into the yard, and its gaze met Zhi You’s from the yard next door.
“Meow.” It took two steps back and hung its head.
For some unknown reason, it felt an unspeakable sense of dread toward this young cultivator named Zhi You.
“Little cat.” Zhi You took out a dried fish. “Eat?”
Bai Qi didn’t dare to refuse. He honestly jumped over the flower fence and took the dried fish from Zhi You’s hand in his mouth.
“When Jiu Hui is sleeping, you and that bird stay in my courtyard and don’t disturb her.” Zhi You took out another dried fish and put it on the table. “Is that okay?”
Bai Qi nodded repeatedly, and the Linchi bird that had just flown over nodded obediently as well.
So, a whole plate of dried fish appeared in front of them.
No longer concerned with the two little yaos, Zhi You returned to the courtyard and retrieved the cloak from his storage ring. The cloak was covered in snow and dust, so he used a handkerchief to carefully wipe it clean, bit by bit. After making sure it was completely clean, he placed it on the top shelf of his wardrobe.
-—–
“Master.” Nan Feng followed behind Bu Ting. “This disciple wants to go to Wangshu Pavilion.”
Bu Ting stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.
“Fellow Daoist Zhi You’s gourd, I forgot to give it to him.” Nan Feng lowered his head, not daring to look at Bu Ting’s eyes. “I’ll come back before nightfall.”
“As a core disciple of the Jiutian Sect, you can’t even break the leech yao’s barrier, and you still have the mind to consider these trivial matters?” Bu Ting’s tone was indifferent. “From now on, you will go to the sword practice peak and swing your sword 50,000 times. Before your cultivation reaches the Divine Transformation realm, you cannot leave the sect even half a step.”
“Yes, disciple accepts the order.” Nan Feng’s eyes dimmed slightly as he bowed to Bu Ting.
Bu Ting turned and strode away. Nan Feng took out a gourd from his storage ring and let out a soft sigh. He returned to his room and wrote an apology letter to Zhi You. He then summoned the sect’s immortal messenger crane and handed it the letter.
“I hope that Daoist friends Zhi You and Jiu Hui will not blame me for my rudeness.” He picked up his sword and turned to walk towards the sword practice peak.
-—–
News of the five-thousand-year-old leech yao quickly spread throughout the major sects. Countless city lord’s mansions posted announcements warning against the evil yao’s mischief, and the mortal world was in a state of panic. At night, almost no one dared to go out.
When the news reached the yao realm, the yaos were furious.
What were they saying, a five-thousand-year-old leech yao? Although it was true that humans despised and feared yao cultivators, they shouldn’t fabricate rumors just to smear the yao clan.
Let’s see what this announcement said.
A leech yao with five thousand years of cultivation devoured human flesh and blood, forcibly seizing disciples of the sect…
Looking at the entire yao world, how many leeches could develop spiritual intelligence? With this lowly origin that even dogs wouldn’t give a second glance, how could it cultivate for five thousand years?
It would be tough to live even five hundred years.
There were many ways to humiliate them. Even if the human cultivators said that there was cockroach essence, that would be more believable, at least cockroaches were everywhere and were especially good at hiding.
“The announcement said it was a five-thousand-year-old leech yao, and then it said the yao had been slain. Anyway, there’s no way to verify it since it’s dead. Whatever the human cultivators say is what it is.”
“If it was really a five-thousand-year-old yao cultivator, could it have been killed so easily by them?”
“Human cultivators really don’t take us yaos seriously. They bully us too much!”
“We yaos shouldn’t just sit around and wait for our doom. We must fight back!”
“……”
“Why have you all stopped talking?”
-—–
The major sects and the City Lord’s Mansion sent out people to search everywhere, and they really did catch some small yaos who had committed evil deeds, but they did not discover any traces of any other large yaos.
Winter passed and spring arrived, the snow melted away, and a hundred flowers bloomed. After nearly a hundred days, humans gradually let go of their fear of monsters and resumed their daily lives, busy with spring plowing and life.
However, the various sects did not dare to relax their vigilance. Many small sects with few members even closed their sect gates and hid inside to cultivate, seeking peace and stability.
By now, even the small sects with poor intelligence networks had noticed that something was amiss. Letters flew to the Ten Great Sects like snowflakes, all seeking reassurance.
The outside clamor did not reach Fuguang Palace.
In the very center of the Fuguang Palace, a gigantic formation lit up, and ten light gates opened simultaneously.
The puppets pushed open the palace doors and stood neatly on both sides of the formation, their empty eyes staring at Fuguang in the palace. “Please enter the formation, Immortal Lord.”
Fuguang looked at the ten doors, each representing an immortal cauldron that required his spiritual power.
Zhenshan, Zhenhe, Zhentian, Zhendi, Zhenfeng, Zhenri, Zhenyue, Zhengan, Zhenkun, and Zhenji.
The light from the ten doors grew brighter and brighter, as if it was urging him impatiently.
He walked slowly to the center of the formation and sat down cross-legged…
Ten beams of radiant light streaked across the sky, flying towards different parts of the world. Whether they were humans, yaos, or demons, anyone who looked up could see the radiant light in the sky.
“Daddy, there’s light.” A two- or three-year-old child pointed at the sky.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. The light will disappear in three days.” The man holding the child gently patted his back. “Every year at this time, the light will shine. You will get used to it in the future.”
Although they didn’t know what the light was, every time it shone, the crops in the field would grow a season faster. It was probably a blessing from an immortal.
He put the child down and bowed towards the radiant light in the sky. “Come, thank the immortal with your father.”
The others in the field also bowed towards the sky in groups of two or three, just like the man.
The child imitated his father’s movements, performing an awkward bow.
This custom had been maintained for many years. Their ancestors did it, they did it, and their descendants would do it as well.
After the ceremony, everyone continued with their daily routines, their lives returning to their usual tranquility.
-—–
“All the peach blossoms are in bloom. They’re so beautiful.” Jiu Hui sat on the back of Prime Minister Wu, reaching out to play with the peach blossom petals floating on the surface of the lake. A koi fish jumped out of the water, splashing Jiu Hui’s face with water.
Jiu Hui tapped the koi on the head with her fishing rod, and the koi hid back at the bottom of the lake. She wiped her face with a handkerchief and turned her head to see that Zhi You had fallen asleep sitting cross-legged. She reached out to remove the petals from his hair.
She understood the drowsiness of spring, the exhaustion of autumn, the heat of summer, and the cold of winter.
Without waking Zhi You, she quietly looked up at the tree full of flowers, a faint smile on her face.
Prime Minister Wu moved his limbs a little bit, and seeing that the two children on his back had stopped moving, he said, “Why aren’t you two talking?”
“Shh.” Jiu Hui lowered her body and moved closer to Prime Minister Wu’s head. “Zhi You has fallen asleep.”
“Can’t sleep at night, can’t wake up in the day, that’s a common problem for you youngsters.” Prime Minister Wu lowered his voice and said regretfully, “When you two first entered the sect, Zhi You was the one who woke up the earliest in your sect every day. It’s not even been a year, and you’ve already led him astray.”
From top to bottom, the entire Wangshu Pavilion lacked people who went to bed early and woke up early to diligently cultivate. Any self-disciplined child who came here would be led astray by them.
“How can you call it learning bad habits? This is called living a leisurely life.” Jiu Hui retorted, “Don’t you, Prime Minister Wu, often go to the east kitchen to steal chicken legs?”
Who on earth had ever seen a decent tortoise that liked to eat chicken legs?
“I’m over a thousand years old, and I’m getting on in years. If I go to the east kitchen to eat chicken legs at night, how can that be called stealing?” Prime Minister Wu said with a guilty conscience, “Besides, the fish you got to sell in Taolin City were caught with my help.”
It had contributed to Wangshu Pavilion and shed blood for Wangshu Pavilion, so what was wrong with eating a few more chicken legs?
“Look what this is?” Jiu Hui handed a large chicken leg to Prime Minister Wu’s mouth. “I saved it especially for you, old man.”
Prime Minister Wu was immediately delighted. It chewed on the chicken leg, watched the gradually dimming brilliance in the sky, and shook its head: “This Lord Fuguang is truly a remarkable figure.”
“How so?” Jiu Hui asked.
The two of them lowered their voices and whispered, looking like they were gossiping about someone.
“The Ten Immortal Cauldrons guard the peace of all sides, consuming countless spiritual energy. He lives in seclusion in the snowy mountains, maintaining the operation of the ten cauldrons with his own strength, year after year, never ceasing.” Prime Minister Wu chewed on a chicken leg bone with a creaking sound: “What kind of perseverance and talent is needed to support it for so many years.”
Jiu Hui looked up at the gradually fading brilliance, which eventually disappeared slowly, and sighed, “It is recorded in the sect’s library that Immortal Lord Fuguang has protected the cauldrons with his spiritual power since he was six years old…”
For a child of only a few years old, five hundred years was an unfathomably long time.
“Therefore, not only human cultivators, but even yaos and demons must respectfully address him as the Immortal Lord.” When mentioning Immortal Lord Fuguang, Prime Minister Wu’s tone was filled with respect. “All living beings under heaven have received his grace.”
“But in my opinion, he was a sacrifice for the people of the world.” Jiu Hui recalled that evening, in the lonely Fuguang Palace under the setting sun: “He was destined to sacrifice from birth, but he had to bear the life and death of the world. Fate simply didn’t give him any choice.”
Zhi You slowly opened his eyes, and his eyelids trembled slightly as he looked down at the petals that had fallen on the corner of his robe.
“Zhi You, you’re awake?” Jiu Hui ended her hushed conversation with Prime Minister Wu. “Did we disturb you?”
“No.” Zhi You’s face was pale. He looked at Jiu Hui and smiled faintly. “You didn’t disturb me.”
The spring sun was shining brightly as an immortal crane flew over the water.
“Congra——”
“The Sect Master of the Qinglan School, Immortal Venerable Qiu Hua, has advanced to the Great Perfection of the Crossing Tribulation realm, now a half-step away from the realm of true immortality.”
Author’s Note:
Yaos: Your humans’ absurd lies make the yaos feel extremely disgusted!
Little Garlic Chive: It’s really too hard to collect debts