Chapter 214
Chapter 214
Master’s praise made my heart feel as sweet as honey.
This was truly rare!
Master had always been rather strict. Although she rarely discouraged me, direct praise like this was extremely uncommon too.
Praise from anyone else merely put me in a good mood. Praise from Master… sounded like music from heaven.
Blushing slightly, I scratched my head and said with a foolish chuckle,
“It’s mainly because Master taught me so well, and because Old Cao’s cultivation really is quite good. That’s how we managed to eliminate the corpse fiend.”
Master smiled faintly too and reached out to tousle my hair.
“I know perfectly well what Little Cao is capable of. If you managed to kill a corpse fiend, you must have contributed a great deal too. Ah-Zhong, eat first. After dinner and your Hand-Sealing Method practice, you can tell me exactly what happened.”
“Yes, Master!”
And so, master and disciple ate together in silence.
After the meal, I practiced the Hand-Sealing Method for fifteen minutes.
Then I recounted the entire affair to her exactly as it had happened, from beginning to end. I left out almost no detail…
It took me more than half an hour to finish.
Master furrowed her brow slightly and said softly,
“When I first came to Wujia Village, I believe I crossed Lianghe Bridge and followed the provincial highway. I should have passed near Baijia Flats, yet even I didn’t notice a corpse fiend buried in the hills there.”
“That shows how effective those Chunhua Yuanbao coin ritual implements were at concealing its aura. The person who created the corpse fiend must also possess considerable cultivation.”
I hurriedly chimed in,
“That doesn’t mean they were powerful. You simply weren’t paying attention, Master. You were only passing Baijia Flats on the way. Who would focus on scrutinizing the place? Even if your powers are profound, there’s no need to remain tense and alert throughout an entire journey. That would be exhausting, wouldn’t it? Heh heh. Are your shoulders tired, Master? Let me massage them for you.”
As I spoke, I eagerly stood behind Master and gently massaged her shoulders.
She did not refuse. She merely let me work on her shoulders while she fell silent.
She seemed to be pondering something.
I was in no hurry. Instead, thoughts began running through my mind…
“Master’s shoulders are so soft. They almost feel delicate and boneless beneath my fingers. Just looking at her frail, beautiful appearance, who could imagine that she’s an extraordinarily powerful practitioner?”
“Is Master actually very old? From what Old Cao said, it sounds as if even his grandmaster knew her.”
“Old Cao is almost sixty! His grandmaster died long ago, yet he knew Master while he was alive?”
“Master couldn’t be more than a hundred years old, could she? But she looks as if she’s only twenty. Is this some incredibly profound and powerful art of eternal youth?”
My thoughts wandered for a while.
Only when Master spoke again did she interrupt my wild imaginings…
“Ah-Zhong, you said you planned to have someone sell the blood fiend’s corpse core and divide the money among Little Cao and the others, correct?”
“Yes, Master. Everyone contributed, after all.”
I nodded.
According to Old Cao’s rules, both Bai Fugui’s payment and the money from selling the corpse core would be divided equally.
“This corpse core is useful to you. Don’t sell it.”
What?!
Master’s words startled me, and I hurriedly asked,
“Master, could I actually absorb this corpse fiend’s core? There isn’t much power left inside it either. It wouldn’t be right to break my promise for so little power, would it?”
Judging from what happened when I absorbed Zhou Min’s corpse core more than half a year earlier, I had been able to absorb only sixty or seventy percent of even the pure corpse core given to me through our nether covenant. The rest of its power had dispersed…
The blood fiend had been far stronger than Zhou Min, but we had surrounded and attacked it until it was utterly exhausted. The power remaining in its corpse core was already less than what Zhou Min’s had contained.
There were various other restrictions, and I was already much stronger than I had been more than half a year ago. Even if I could absorb the core, some of its energy would disperse, leaving only a negligible improvement to my strength.
There was no need!
Master looked at the conflicted expression on my face and seemed to see through my thoughts at a glance.
She deliberately snorted and said,
“Little fool, what are you thinking? Of course you can’t absorb the blood fiend’s corpse core. But you can feed it to that abnormally fat gyrfalcon household familiar of yours.”
“Considering that your cultivation is no longer weak, if it consumes this blood fiend’s corpse core as well, I estimate there’s at least an eighty-percent chance it will be able to remain with you in the real world at all times.”
What?!
I was instantly overjoyed.
“Th-that’s wonderful, Master! Thank you.”
I truly was delighted.
As I continued cultivating, my understanding of different arcane lineages had grown as well.
The so-called household familiar arts essentially formed a mental and spiritual connection with an invited household guardian spirit. For a household familiar to follow its human companion in the real world, both the person and the familiar had to meet rather demanding requirements.
Even an exceptionally gifted practitioner would probably need several years!
Yet after only a little more than half a year, I would be able to have Roundy live beside me all the time. My progress was as fast as riding a rocket!
Naturally, a moment like this called for an extravagant flood of flattery!
“Master, you truly are a peerless immortal maiden descended to the mortal world. My admiration for you flows on like the endless waters of a mighty river and surges like the Yellow River in flood, unstoppable once unleashed…”
Smack, smack, smack!
Three slaps landed on my head. I hugged it and stared at her with a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
Hmph!
How unreasonable! Was I not even allowed to praise her? This Master of mine was infuriating!
“I told you to stop being glib.”
“Oh, I understand. Sometimes I just can’t help myself…”
Master spoke to me for a little longer, then decided to bring Roundy to me that very night.
The exact method was simple–she would once again use the dream-entry art she had performed before!
Master would stay at my house that night and sleep in the room next to mine.
I would fall asleep holding the blood fiend’s corpse core. Master would enter my dream at the same time, and together we would form a mental connection with Roundy… In the real world, Roundy would use the unique method of a household familiar to come to my bedroom and take the corpse core away.
Once it had completely digested the core, it would be able to meet me in the real world and remain constantly by my side!
…
My parents were delighted when Master came home with me.
They kept complaining to me, asking why I had not told them earlier that the Immortal Lady would be staying the night. They should have cleaned the house thoroughly in advance, then prepared their own bedroom for the Immortal Lady and slept in the guest room themselves!
Although rural houses had a large total area, they rarely contained many bedrooms.
Most of the space consisted of the main room, kitchen, storerooms, courtyard, threshing yard, and so forth…
There were only three people in our family. Apart from my parents’ bedroom and mine, we had one extra “guest room,” which was actually quite unusual in our countryside.
That was only because Second Uncle’s family lived close by. Sometimes they visited and stayed overnight at our house if it grew too late or started raining.
Master said, “There’s no need for such trouble. I won’t lie down. I’ll merely sit cross-legged and meditate.”
But my parents would not hear of it. They hurried to the guest room with their blankets and pillows, insisting on leaving the master bedroom to Master.
I shrugged.
“Then you should take the master bedroom, Master.”
She was not one to fuss. After nodding, she pushed the door open and went inside.
Bang!
The door closed behind her.
Then Master’s voice sounded beside my ear all the same.
“Fall asleep halfway through the Hour of the Rat. I will enter the dream with you.”
Halfway through the Hour of the Rat meant midnight–twelve at night, or 00:00.
Naturally, I followed Master’s instructions and used sleep cultivation to fall asleep at midnight…
After a brief blank, my awareness returned, and I knew I was inside a dream.
Whenever I came home, I met Roundy this way, so I was thoroughly familiar with it.
This time, however, when I found myself standing in a dense forest inside the dream, Master stood beside me–just as she had when she first met Roundy and determined what kind of household familiar it was.
“Master, you’re here.”
“Mm. Let’s go find that big fat bird of yours.”
With a light sweep of her sleeve, she walked forward.
I hurried after her.