Chapter 215

Chapter 215

I had only just drawn close to Master’s side

when my entire body suddenly felt light, as though an invisible force were pulling me upward.

Whoosh!

Master lifted me bodily into the air, and we began to fly!

Wind roared past my ears, and the scenery before my eyes blurred slightly from the speed of our movement…

“Heavens! Are we flying? Master, you can fly?”

I was utterly stunned.

I had never imagined arcane arts could make a person fly!

Even though we were not flying very high, only about twenty or thirty feet above the ground,

and not especially fast, roughly at the speed of a galloping horse,

this was still flight!

Faced with my astonished cries, Master merely said blandly,

“We’re only in a dream. It’s very simple.”

Uh, right!

I suddenly remembered that we were in a mental dreamscape.

“Then can you fly in the real world too, Master?”

I asked.

She did not answer. She merely reached out and smacked me several times on the head to make me shut up.

Me: “…”

This brutal Master truly left me speechless!

Less than a minute later, we landed in a forest.

Huh?

Puzzled, I frowned slightly and looked around before murmuring,

“Why isn’t Roundy here tonight? Doesn’t that fellow normally wait for me here every night? How strange.”

Master gave a cold snort.

“It seems that big fat bird of yours knows how to hold a grudge. It’s probably still resentful over how I summoned it through the air and held it so ignominiously last time.”

Without waiting for me to answer, Master said coolly,

“Big fat bird, if you keep hiding and refuse to come out, you will bear the consequences. This time, I won’t merely hold you by the wing like I did before. I’ll count to three. Three, two…”

Coo, coo, coo! Coo, coo!

A flurry of panicked, urgent cries rang out.

Then a round, white, fluffy figure flew out from behind the trunk of a large tree, flapping its short, stubby wings.

It landed on my shoulder and perched there.

Good grief!

So the big fat bird Roundy had realized Master was here and had been too frightened to come out. It had hidden behind the tree trunk and watched us furtively.

It stood on my shoulder.

Its bright eyes darted about slyly.

It cooed into my ear while raising one wing and pointing at Master as though the wing were a human hand.

I understood what the fatty meant–it was saying: Wu boy, why did you bring this terrifying, wicked woman here again?

Before I could answer, Master sneered.

“Stupid bird, did you think that because you sent the message privately, only Ah-Zhong could hear it? I can hear you too.”

Coo???

Roundy instantly froze.

Then it immediately turned toward Master and cooed ingratiatingly, begging for mercy. Master and I both understood. The fellow seemed to be saying: I was wrong! I’ll never spout nonsense again! You’re not a terrifying, wicked woman. You’re a beautiful immortal sister!

Smack, smack, smack…

Three slaps landed on Roundy’s fluffy head, leaving it dizzy and seeing stars.

Master snorted.

“A household familiar truly takes after its master. You’re both equally glib. You deserve a beating!”

I stared at her, speechless.

I had truly been wronged!

How had I been dragged into this when I was just standing here?

Only after all that commotion did I have time to tell Roundy that Master had a way to increase its cultivation and help it advance another step. Then it would be able to remain by my side for real…

The moment the big fat bird heard that, it became excited too.

It flew around Master, rubbing its fluffy head gently against the back of her hand and putting on its most obedient, well-behaved appearance.

When it came to becoming stronger, it was nothing if not practical.

Master then explained several precautions to Roundy. Afterward, she extended a slender, fair finger and gently touched its head.

White light flared.

Roundy’s eyes first turned confused, then filled with joy. It nodded vigorously, flapping its wings and cooing happily.

I guessed that Master had directly transmitted the method and precautions for consuming the blood fiend’s corpse core into its mind.

She said softly,

“All right, Ah-Zhong. I’m going back. Do you want to stay and play with the stupid bird for a while longer?”

I hurriedly caught hold of Master’s sleeve.

“No, Master. Let’s go back together.”

Then I turned toward the round, plump Roundy and said,

“Big fat bird, work hard and absorb the blood fiend’s corpse core as soon as you can! Then I’ll be able to see you in the real world, and we can play together.”

Coo, coo, coo! Coo, coo!

Roundy flapped its wings several times, looking determined to succeed!

Then Master and I left the dream world.

…

By the time I woke, it was already six thirty the next morning.

I turned my head and looked.

The red corpse core on the bedside cabinet had vanished.

Roundy must have already taken it away.

“Wonderful! I hope everything goes smoothly for that big fat bird.”

With that thought, I rolled out of bed.

I put on my shoes, opened my bedroom door, and walked to the entrance of the main room.

My mother was making breakfast in the kitchen, while my father fed the chickens, ducks, and sheep in the courtyard.

When he saw me get up, he seemed to know what I wanted to ask and said with a smile,

“The Immortal Lady has already gone home. Once your mother finishes breakfast, take it over in the insulated lunch box and eat with her.”

“Ha ha, Dad really does understand me! Here, let me help you feed the chickens and ducks first.”
Laughing, I ran over and worked alongside him.

Afterward, I read through The Classic of Dwellings and The Book of Burial, those two books on secret feng shui arts, again. Then my mother finished breakfast and had me take it to Master’s house…

If none of the nearby villages had any strange supernatural incidents for me to handle, my weekends in Wujia Village were leisurely and relaxing.

Sunday afternoon soon arrived.

After lunch, I prepared to return to Lianghe Town early.

After all, I had promised Wang Dachun that I would go to his house for homemade hot pot that evening!

“Oh, you child. How can you visit a classmate’s home empty-handed? We may be a country family, but we still need manners. We can’t let city people laugh at us. Wait here. I’ll prepare some local specialties for you.”

“There’s no need, Mom. They should feel honored that I’m coming at all. After all, I’m their bos–”

“What nonsense are you talking? You’re so young, yet you boast so grandly. You need to be modest. Wait a moment. I’ll prepare some sausage and cured pork for you.”

My mother glared at me, then turned and went to the kitchen to get the sausage and cured pork.

Throughout Sichuan and Chongqing, people traditionally made sausage and cured pork in winter.

After smoking the meat over cypress branches to give it a distinctive fragrance, they hung it in a well-ventilated place, where it could keep for a year or two!

Our family usually hung ours in the kitchen.

My father sat beside a low table in the courtyard, leisurely took a sip of tea, and smiled at me.

“Just listen to your mother, or she’ll nag you.”

After a pause, he continued,

“Oh, right, son! Stop bringing so much money home. Keep some for yourself. Your mother and I don’t understand the sort of things you do, and we don’t feel it’s our place to pry. But I imagine you sometimes need money for them too…”

He was referring to the several thousand yuan out of the payment Bai Fugui had given us with profuse thanks, which I had once again left at home when I returned on Friday.

I waved a hand.

“Dad, don’t worry about that. I know what I’m doing. I…”

Before I could finish, suddenly–

Screee!

A sharp, piercing birdcall rang out from the sky overhead, powerful enough to split metal and stone.

My father and I looked up in surprise.

Against the light, we saw a massive, pure-white bird of prey descending from the sky!

With its wings spread, it resembled a fierce eagle.

But as it gradually descended and approached the ground…

we could see that this white bird of prey was far too round, plump, and fat!

My father was so startled that the teacup in his hand clattered onto the low table.

“What kind of bird is that? It’s so fat! Fatter than the old hens we raise. How can it even fly? How strange.”

Roundy?

Joy surged through me. I waved and shouted,

“Hey! Roundy, is that you? It really is you! This is wonderful!”

We had met countless times in my dreams, and I remembered its appearance perfectly. Although it looked even plumper and fatter than it had in the dream, its claws also seemed somewhat sharper.

Coo, coo! Coo, coo, coo!

The round, fat white bird cried out as it adjusted its posture above the courtyard and folded its wings. Striking the arrogant pose of a mighty expert making an entrance, it slowly descended onto the low table.

It looked cool and imposing!

Then…

Perhaps it had misjudged its landing point, because one claw plunged straight into my father’s teapot–which was full of scalding tea freshly brewed with boiling water!

Coo???

Coo, coo!!!

The big fat white bird hopped and jumped all over the low wooden table after burning its foot. A stream of agitated coos burst from its beak, sounding rather like a person cursing.

It even tried to swat the teapot that had burned its foot off the table with one wing.

My father: “…”

Me: “…”

My father regarded the big fat bird on the low table with some disdain.

“Son, what strange thing is this? I’ve never seen a bird like it. It couldn’t be one of those protected animals they talk about on television, could it? Did it escape from a zoo in the city? A bird this fat probably can’t hunt for itself. It looks downright useless.”

I burst out laughing and explained,

“Dad, this is the household familiar Master invited for me a year ago. Put another way, it’s our family’s household guardian spirit. Its connection with me has now reached a certain level, so it can manifest and follow me around.”

“What?”

My father was startled.

“This is our household guardian spirit? Then… was I too disrespectful just now?”

As he spoke, he pressed his palms together toward Roundy on the low table.

“Household guardian spirit, please don’t take offense at what I said just now. And please forgive me for accidentally burning you with the tea I brewed.”

Roundy straightened up, puffing out its round belly with a smug expression.

Smack!

I slapped it on the head.

“You big fat bird, don’t put on airs in front of my dad! By seniority, you should call him Uncle!”

“Hey, son… should you really be so rough with a household guardian spirit?”

When my father saw me strike Roundy’s head, he instinctively reached out to stop me, his expression conflicted.

In his understanding, a household guardian spirit was an extraordinarily powerful and responsive mystical being that needed to be worshiped and served with great care! People feared neglecting one in the slightest. How could anyone casually beat it?

“Ha ha, it’s fine, Dad. This is simply how Roundy and I get along. Isn’t that right, big fat bird?”

I swept Roundy, who looked like a fat hen, into my arms. Affectionately, I pressed my face to its fluffy head and rubbed back and forth, then used both hands to knead the soft down on its belly.

The fatty seemed strongly opposed, but it also knew it had to show me some respect in front of my father. It could only endure my manhandling and play along…