Chapter 177
Chapter 177
I slowly walked to the eastern edge of Fallen Flood Dragon Slope’s flat summit.
When I leaned over and looked down, a tall, sheer rock cliff dropped vertically beneath me.
Few ordinary people would dare approach this spot!
But a careful look revealed a winding series of stone steps carved downward into the cliff face. Each recessed step seemed to have been forcibly gouged out with some strange, sharp implement…
That’s right!
Bai Su had carved them directly into the rock with her sharp claws.
As a rabbit, she might lack strong natural combat instincts, but she was still a great monster with power comparable to more than fifty years of cultivation.
Once she channeled monster qi into her claws, they became sharper than daggers and harder than iron shovels!
Carving steps into a stone cliff posed no difficulty.
To make it easier for guests like us to visit the cave, she had also driven lengths of rebar into the rock beside the recessed steps, giving us handholds for balance and stability.
Whenever I came, I gripped those bars and followed the carved steps down the cliff face into the cave.
Today was no exception…
“Miss Bai, Huihui! I’ve come to visit.”
Even as I spoke, I moved down the steep rock face with the agility of an ape and entered the cave.
Yip, yip, yip!
The fluffy little gray fox bounded happily from the depths of the cave to greet me at the entrance.
Amusingly, he even had a lollipop clamped between his teeth!
At the same time, a little boy’s clear voice rang inside my mind.
“Brother Wu, you’re here? Huihui missed you so much.”
The little gray fox launched himself into my arms and began wriggling like a pet dog.
He was plump and soft, and his silky fur felt extremely pleasant beneath my hands.
“I missed you too, little fellow.”
I rubbed his head with a smile, took a large bag of snacks from my backpack, and placed it before him.
Huihui began jumping excitedly from side to side. I had seen this on the television program *Animal World*; foxes expressed excitement this way.
Uh…
He might already be a monster, but he was still fundamentally an animal. Naturally, he retained certain instinctive behaviors.
At that moment, an enormous white rabbit slowly emerged from the depths of the cave as well.
A woman’s clear, lovely voice sounded inside my mind.
“You’ve spent money on us again, Young Mr. Wu. Whether Huihui visits you at the coffin shop in town or you come to our home, you always give the little fellow mountains of snacks.”
I waved a hand.
“They didn’t cost much. As long as Huihui is happy, that’s enough. By the way, Miss Bai, school is out for winter vacation, so I’m heading back to Wujia Village. If you and Huihui have time, you can visit the village. Or you could spend more time with Old Cao at the coffin shop. I’m afraid he won’t be used to my absence, especially on New Year’s Eve…”
Bai Su nodded.
“All right. I was thinking the same thing. When my master was still alive, I celebrated the New Year with him every year. Come to think of it, I haven’t celebrated the human Spring Festival in many years.”
Longing and emotion appeared in her eyes as she spoke…
After chatting with Bai Su and Huihui for a while longer, I left their cave in the cliff face of Fallen Flood Dragon Slope and started home.
It was winter, and the days were short.
By the time I returned to Wujia Village, darkness had already fallen.
When I was only a li or two from the village entrance, I unexpectedly encountered a lonely wandering ghost drifting through a nearby field. It even tried to frighten me on purpose.
Instead, I frightened it half to death on the spot. I raised my hand and sent a burst of talisman fire at it, sending the ghost fleeing with terrified screams as though it had pissed itself.
It nearly fell several times, demonstrating just how frightened it was.
I doubled over laughing.
I could tell the ghost was extremely weak and possessed almost no baleful energy, so it certainly couldn’t harm anyone. Even an ordinary person as brave and blessed with as hard a bazi as Dad could probably have beaten it.
It had likely remained in the mortal world simply because it didn’t want to reincarnate.
Lingering here and refusing to enter the Netherworld for reincarnation wasn’t ideal, but I was no self-righteous guardian obsessed with moral purity or with making everything follow the rules perfectly.
Human or ghost, everyone had certain obsessions. As long as an obsession didn’t become a heart demon and create an opening for evil entities, it did no harm.
When I reached the village entrance, I saw Dad waiting for me as usual.
Back then, ordinary small towns generally lacked streetlights at night, much less a tiny village deep in the mountains!
Lianghe Town only had streetlights because it was such a large and prosperous town.
Dad had placed a kerosene lantern on a rock beside him, while he leaned against a tree trunk with his head lowered, smoking a cigarette.
“Dad, are you using the excuse of coming to meet me so you can secretly smoke out here? Better bribe me to keep quiet, or I’ll tell Mom as soon as we get home.”
Hearing my voice, Dad hurriedly raised his head and cursed me affectionately with a delighted smile.
“You little brat! Just try it! If you dare snitch, I’ll hit you twice as hard as your mom hits me.”
Then he slapped my shoulder forcefully.
Me: “…”
Now I knew where I had learned to be so shameless sometimes. It was hereditary!
When we returned home, Mom was naturally overjoyed. After chatting with me briefly, she told me to hurry and deliver Master’s meal first, then come home early after eating to spend time with them.
…
Perhaps even heaven felt that I had worked too hard over the past six months. For once, it didn’t add any new ordeals to my winter vacation.
Even the evil entities hidden in the shadows seemed to quiet down in preparation for the end of the year.
For nearly half a month, I spent every day with my parents, doing homework, reading the various cultivation texts Master had given me, and visiting her to learn new things.
My days were fulfilling yet leisurely.
The day before New Year’s Eve, I invited Master to spend New Year’s Eve with my family and stay up to welcome the New Year.
I hadn’t held out much hope and merely asked on the off chance she might agree.
To my utter astonishment, Master accepted immediately!
I was delighted.
That afternoon, I brought Master to my home early.
Mom was feeding chickens in the courtyard when she saw us enter. She froze, then grinned so widely that her mouth nearly reached her ears.
She abandoned the chickens, wiped her hands on her apron, and shouted toward the main room,
“Dear, the Immortal Lady is here! Hurry out and welcome her!”
Then she rushed forward to greet Master.
Dad hurried from the house as well, extremely enthusiastic but also slightly constrained.
They now knew my abilities were growing stronger, and they understood even better how powerful Immortal Lady Qin was!
As the sun approached the horizon, Second Uncle and his family arrived as well.
My paternal grandparents had both passed away, leaving only the two brothers’ families to celebrate the New Year together.
Second Uncle and Second Aunt naturally knew Master’s great reputation, but they weren’t close to her and treated her mostly with awe.
The four adults busied themselves preparing New Year’s Eve dinner, leaving me to play with Second Uncle’s daughter–my younger cousin.
She was seven now and wore her hair in two pigtails that stuck straight up. She was quite adorable and constantly pestered me to play.
I glanced at Master, who sat quietly nearby. She smiled faintly and said,
“Don’t worry about me. Go play. But after New Year’s Eve dinner, when they stay up watching television in the main room, you need to cultivate with me in the courtyard.”
Huh?
I was baffled.
It was the New Year… and I still had to cultivate!
Was that really necessary?
I normally worked quite diligently at my cultivation. Couldn’t I stop even on New Year’s Eve?
Master noticed my gloom and reluctance and explained softly,
“Ah-Zhong, I’m not being harsh. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the old and new replace one another, and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth undergoes a great shift. In this Age of Spiritual Decline, it is also the best two-hour period for cultivation each year.”
“And because you possess exceptional talent, the transition between the old and new years may bring you certain special insights into spiritual forces. It is extremely profound. I hope you can grasp something from it. Only then will you be better prepared to cultivate the arts and methods of my lineage in the future.”
Her voice was utterly sincere and seemed to carry a measure of anticipation.
So that was why!
I understood. Emotion and guilt filled my heart.
I was moved because Master had always planned everything for my sake.
And I felt guilty for questioning whether she was too strict.
“Yes, Master! I understand.”
…
I don’t know what customs other places followed for the New Year, but where we lived, the entire family gathered for New Year’s Eve dinner shortly after nine at night.
My parents, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt prepared an incredibly lavish feast together.
Every kind of fish and meat covered the table.
The rich aromas unique to farmhouse cooking filled the main room and rushed relentlessly into my nose!
The table held every kind of Sichuan-Chongqing banquet dish, as well as my personal favorite: Mom’s “original” stir-fried free-range chicken with pickled chilies.
When it was time to eat, Master naturally removed her mask.
The entire room seemed to brighten in an instant.
Master’s exquisitely beautiful face appeared before my parents, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt.
That’s right!
During all their previous interactions, Master had worn her mask.
This was the first time they had seen her face.