Chapter 157

Chapter 157

“Thank you, Master! My Master is the best…”

I grabbed Master’s sleeve again and swung it back and forth, deliberately acting spoiled while flattering her.

All I received in return was a merciless beating–smack, smack, smack, right on the head!

I covered my head and spoke with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

“In that case, Master, I’ll go outside and bring them in. They’re the monster familiars raised by the feng shui master that I told you about before. You know, Miss Bai Su and little Huihui.”

I turned to leave as I spoke.

But Master stopped me.

“There’s no need. I’ve already told them to come over. You just sit obediently to one side, Ah-Zhong.”

Huh?!

I stared at her in astonishment. “Master, can you send your voice across a thousand miles? Does an art like that truly exist in this world?”

She rolled her eyes at me.

“Why are you making such a fuss? What’s so remarkable about transmitting one’s voice? Doesn’t the rabbit monster Bai Su communicate with you by projecting her thoughts? Monsters can’t open their mouths and speak human languages.”

“But we have to be face-to-face for telepathy! It only works at very close range. Once we’re more than three or four yards apart, I can barely hear her.”

“Exactly. The higher one’s cultivation, the farther one’s thoughts can reach. Of course, sending your voice a thousand miles is utter nonsense. Not even the old Celestial Master on Mount Longhu can do that!”

As Master spoke, she lightly swept one broad sleeve through the air.

Two little bamboo chairs flew out from the corner and landed before her with a clatter.

The praise came straight out of my mouth.

“Master is incredible! Master’s arcane power is truly profound, simply div–ow!”

Something struck my head again.

Heaven have mercy!

I truly wasn’t trying to flatter her with glib words. Every time I saw her casually perform some extraordinary feat, I simply couldn’t help myself!

That was sincere praise, yet she hit me on the head for it. Good thing I was such a fine person. Otherwise, wouldn’t I have turned into one of those evil disciples from novels and movies?

The master bullied the disciple, resentment took root in his heart… and in the end, he became some great villain or demon king. Wasn’t that a common plot in all kinds of novels and television dramas?

All right, I was only joking!

In truth, I knew that although Master loved smacking me on the head, every blow carried a trace of affection.

Her movements were extremely gentle and never hurt at all.

It was merely playful teasing between master and disciple.

Besides, that face of hers was so excessively beautiful… Even if she truly struck me, I couldn’t bring myself to be unhappy!

While my thoughts wandered wildly…

Creak.

The door opened.

An enormous white figure entered from outside. A much smaller gray figure followed beside it.

They were Bai Su and Huihui… No, that wasn’t right. They were the two monsters.

They took tiny steps, both standing upright like humans and walking on their hind legs. Every movement radiated the utmost reverence.

Mentally, Huihui was still like a seven- or eight-year-old boy, at the exact age when children were the most playful and mischievous. In the past, he had always ridden on Bai Su’s broad back.

But this time, since he had come to meet Master, he obediently walked on his own and tried his hardest to look like a “good child.”

The sight almost made me laugh.

“This junior, Bai Su…”

“This junior, Huihui…”

“Greets you, Senior.”

Bai Su and Huihui cupped their forepaws like humans and bowed to Master together.

Naturally, they were communicating through projected thoughts. But since they included me in the transmission, their voices also sounded inside my head.

“Mm. There’s no need for such ceremony. Sit.”

Master spoke calmly and pointed at the two small bamboo chairs before her.

Bai Su and Huihui hurriedly sat down. They looked far more obedient than students listening to a teacher’s lesson.

“Ah-Zhong has already told me about the two of you.”

Bai Su immediately said with respect, “We hope Senior will point the way for us and show Huihui and me a clear path forward.”

Master replied indifferently, “I wouldn’t dare claim to be an Immortal pointing the way. But since you wish to hear some advice about your futures, I’ll give you a general explanation for Ah-Zhong’s sake, as the two of you are his friends…”

For the next half hour or so, I listened as Master gave Bai Su and Huihui guidance on cultivating as monsters.

From the sound of it, their cultivation differed enormously from human cultivation.

It was also extremely abstruse. I couldn’t understand more than half of what she said!

Whenever I strained my mind to keep up and comprehend her meaning, my head began to spin.

Bai Su and Huihui, on the other hand, looked more delighted with every passing moment.

Uh… Even though one was a rabbit and the other a fox, they truly did possess highly humanlike facial “expressions”!

After Master finished speaking, Bai Su and Huihui rose from their bamboo chairs.

Then, to my surprise, they dropped to their knees, bowed until their bodies touched the floor, and remained there for a long time as they expressed their gratitude.

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior! If Bai Su gains anything in the future, I will never forget your immense kindness.”

“The same goes for Huihui!”

Master calmly accepted their obeisance, then said, “If you truly feel grateful to me, remain on good terms with my disciple, Ah-Zhong, from now on. He still has more than two years of school left in Lianghe Town. There may be times when he needs your help.”

Warmth filled my heart when I heard her words.

See? She really was my dear Master!

She was always thinking of me.

But her very next sentence was…

“If Ah-Zhong causes trouble, you may tell me that as well. I’ll discipline him severely.”

Me: “…”

Forget it. All that emotion had been wasted.

In any case, Master concluded her guidance for Bai Su and Huihui, then waved a hand and said she was going to rest.
So I led the two monsters out of Master’s courtyard.

“Brother Wu, your master truly is an unimaginable expert! Her cultivation may have reached a realm beyond our ability to fathom.”

Bai Su was still marveling at Master’s power.

Naturally, hearing someone praise my own Master made me delighted, and my face lit up with joy.

But to tell the truth… somewhere deep down, I still found the situation slightly strange.

My rational mind couldn’t help wondering: Was Master truly that powerful?

As I gradually entered the world of the esoteric arts, I learned more and more about it… Judging solely by the combat strength she had displayed so far, she didn’t appear to be all that much stronger than Old Cao.

Yet both Old Cao and Bai Su held her in the highest possible esteem!

Their feelings toward her could only be described as reverence and worship taken to the extreme.

“Perhaps I’m still too inexperienced to truly sense Master’s power. But no matter what, in my personal understanding of the world, Master is the most powerful expert alive!”

I thought silently to myself.

I chatted casually with Bai Su and Huihui as we followed the village path. Before long, we arrived outside the gate to my family’s courtyard.

At that point, I suddenly became conflicted.

“Should I let Bai Su and Huihui meet my parents? What if they frighten them?”

But after reconsidering, I felt that since this was part of my life, I could let my parents know a little about it.

Otherwise, in an effort to understand me better, my mother would keep trying to learn by watching Hong Kong zombie movies broadcast by the Lianghe Town video station…

That truly was a little laughable.

“All right! I’ll let Mom and Dad meet a pair of monsters. Though that isn’t exactly the right way to put it… They did see the weasel that caused trouble through spirit possession of my second uncle last time. But this will be their first time meeting powerful, benevolent monsters whose intelligence has fully awakened.”

I finally made my decision.

My parents were older, after all. During their childhood in the countryside, they had encountered plenty of strange and uncanny events.

Weasel spirit possession, ghosts haunting a neighboring village, wild wolves howling at the moon… These were all “common” oddities in remote mountain villages.

So villagers were far more psychologically prepared for such things than people in towns and cities!

“Miss Bai, Huihui, when we go inside, please don’t take it personally if my parents react strongly.”

I warned them in advance and gave them a few instructions.

Bai Su said that was only natural. All she hoped was that they wouldn’t frighten my parents.

So I had both of them cast glamour spells, deceiving ordinary people’s vision and making themselves invisible, then follow me into the courtyard.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back!”

I called out as I entered the central room.

“Oh, my boy, you’re more than half an hour late again today. Did Immortal Lady Qin add more time to your lessons?”

My mother seemed somewhat displeased.

My father replied, “That’s a good thing! Do you know what kind of person Immortal Lady Qin is? Our son is fortunate that she’s genuinely willing to teach him with such care.”

I chuckled and sat down beside them.

“Dad, Mom, haven’t you always wanted to understand more about that side of my life? I’m going to deepen your understanding now and introduce you to two of my friends. The reason I stayed at Master’s place an extra half hour was that these two friends went to visit her.”

“Oh!”

Surprise and delight appeared on both my parents’ faces.

Especially my mother’s.

She happily looked around, her gaze passing me and searching outside the door.

“Are they friends from that side of your life? Invite them inside to sit. We may be country folk, but if they’ve come to our home as guests, we should still observe the proper courtesies.”

I smiled. “Let me warn you first, Mom. Don’t be frightened when you see them! Dad is brave, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Ever since he was young, my father had been known throughout the village as “Fearless Wu”–he was the kind of man who dared sleep alone in a graveyard.

Several years earlier, when Wang Fei became a vicious water revenant and the bodies of his murdered parents lay in their home, it was my father and Huang San’er who had led the charge and kicked down the door.

My mother laughingly scolded me.

“You silly boy. Are you worried your mother will be afraid of your friends? I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice and crossed more bridges than you’ve walked roads. What could frighten me?”

I said that was good, because they were already inside.

My mother’s expression stiffened slightly. She asked in a soft, suddenly timid voice, “My boy, I don’t see anyone?”

I laughed. “I never said they were human! They’re monsters. Miss Bai, Huihui, reveal yourselves.”

Poof.

A faint cloud of barely visible mist appeared.

The glamour spells dispersed.

Bai Su and Huihui manifested beside me.

One was a rabbit larger than a full-grown guard dog. The other was a gray fox standing upright like a human!

“Dad, Mom, these are my two friends: Bai Su, a rabbit monster, and Huihui, a fox monster.”

“Good heavens! Such a huge rabbit. It really is a monster!”

My mother cried out. Her knees went weak, and she lost her balance, collapsing into the chair beside me.

My father’s quick hands caught and steadied her, keeping her from sliding to the floor.

Me: “…”

Bai Su: “…”

Huihui: “…”

Rather speechless, I scratched my head.

“Um, Mom, didn’t you just say you weren’t afraid?”

My mother’s entire body trembled slightly, and her lips quivered. “I’m n-not afraid… They’re your friends. Why would I be afraid? I just… accidentally lost my balance. Don’t talk nonsense, you silly boy.”