Chapter 108: Ah Zhao awakens, King Cai Cai…

Qingyu stood quietly at the foot of the mountain, looking down. The evening sunlight was slightly cool, and the beautiful sunset glow shone on the Miao village, adding a touch of loneliness to the dreamlike scene.

"Ah Zhao is awake."

A young man's calm and gentle voice sounded from behind her, and he walked to her side. "Want to go take a look?"

In the afternoon, they ground the Dragon Ball into powder and fed it to A Zhao as medicine. Then, following Xie Tongguang's instructions, they channeled spiritual energy into him to help him summon his soul.

After a flurry of activity, Ah Zhao finally opened her eyes and woke up just now.

Qingyu smiled slightly, then said calmly, "Let's wait a bit... Tell me, how could things change so quickly?"

She sighed silently, gazing into the distance, and said, "A few days ago, I saw Su Xuanzhen here. I congratulated him on his marriage and wished him a happy future... At that time, I thought,"

"Even if, even if their affair is discovered... the worst outcome is that the couple will divorce, and the human and the demon will no longer be involved. After all, it was just a marriage."

Foxes are monogamous animals; whenever marriage is mentioned, it's always a promise made. Besides, Su Xuanzhen himself said he was truly devoted to A-Ling—a nine-tailed fox from Qingqiu, royalty among foxes, he had no need to lie about such a thing, nor would he stoop to using such methods to deceive an innocent Miao girl.

But who could have imagined that so many things would happen on their wedding day because of a dragon ball and a red fox? Agu lost his life, and many others in the Miao village were injured or killed. Azhao and the spirit coexisted, and their future remained uncertain.

The red silk seems to still be in front of you, but upon closer inspection, it is covered in blood. How could anyone not say, "How could this happen?"

Wen Chuan looked at her gently, with a touch of tenderness and emotion.

"Qingyu, the Dragon Pearl is a treasure, just like when we took the scroll in Danzhou, took Doctor Lin away in Shengjing, and even took the Wengu sword sheath in Meishan, Jizhou."

“If it’s a treasure, everyone will fight over it, and fighting over it will inevitably lead to injuries and deaths.”

"This does not conflict with marriage and love; it just so happens that they happened to happen at the same time yesterday."

Yesterday's misfortune, in the final analysis, was not due to A-Ling, nor to Su Xuanzhen, but solely to the dragon pearl, and the covetousness of the Miao and Fox tribes towards it.

A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime; love and affection are sometimes just a cover. Money, treasures, power, status... these things are the root of many troubles.

Qingyu smiled and looked at Wen Chuan, her voice finally showing some relief, "I'm just standing here, thinking about the night before, and feeling a bit sentimental."

"Now that things have come to this, I finally understand what Brother Tianshu was saying. Stars are also treasures, and we should destroy them as soon as possible."

Wen Chuan pursed his lips and smiled faintly, "Yes, but what exactly is this star in the Miao village?"

Qingyu: "Haven't you noticed yet? Zhang, too?"

Wen Chuan paused for a moment, then looked down at the Miao village. "The spiritual energy of this star isn't in the Miao village,"

"In Qishan."

Xiao Zhang said that in his dream he saw the Miao village in the mountains, and he thought the eighth star was in the Miao village, but it wasn't.

With the mountains as the boundary, the Miao village is adjacent to the demon tribe.

This star is in Qishan.

...

March 10th.

The boys delayed for a few more days, then decided to hurry up and head into the Thousand Mountains.

These past few days, the entire Miao village has been covered in white, leaving the villagers with mixed feelings. Ah Zhao also woke up, remaining in a daze for a few days before gradually recovering.

The little girl doesn't smile as much as before; she seems to have grown up a lot overnight and is helping Sister Zhi with many things... Overall, she's doing quite well.

Oh, and Ah Zhao is also very close to Xie Tongguang, probably because of the debt of saving her soul. In any case, the two kids have a good relationship. Sometimes they almost fight over something, and sometimes they whisper to each other and don't know what they're talking about.

Amidst her busy schedule, Ah Zhi became increasingly suspicious and eventually went to the Western tribe to inquire about Xie Tongguang's background.

All that's known is that this kid was originally from Qingzhou. His spiritual cultivation path was too bizarre, so he wandered around and ended up in the Western Tribe of Yundi, just trying to make a living. The Western Tribe's elder, Wu Zan, is a "clever man." Some time ago, he sensed dark energy emanating from the Miao village, and then suddenly a wedding happened. Wu Xiu had a bad feeling and didn't want to go—

As luck would have it, the new coffin boy was curious, so we gave him the invitation and told him to go.

Xie Tongguang: "...What's there to be afraid of about attending a banquet? Pshaw."

Azhi: ? What a good-for-nothing kid.

A-Zhao: What are you saying?

...

In the thin morning mist, dewdrops gently slid down the veins of the leaves.

It's raining today, and now the sunlight is gradually becoming hazy, making it hard to tell whether it's rain or fog.

Qingyu and the others boarded the carriage one by one. They walked quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace of the village any further. Finally, Qingyu sat in the driver's seat and turned back to ask, "Is everything packed?"

Wen Chuan was playing with Cai Cai by the bookshelf when the young man said gently, "It's all ready, let's go."

"Wait, wait, wait! Oh dear, I really—"

At this moment, the rain was falling slowly. Xie Tongguang carried the coffin to shield himself from the rain. Upon closer inspection, he saw that A Zhao was huddled next to him.

Qingyu was a little surprised. Just as she was about to get out of the car, she heard Xie Tongguang say, "No need to get out of the car. We just came to say goodbye."

Qingyu smiled upon hearing this, looking at the two children draped in the coffin to shield them from the rain, "...How did you know we were leaving today?"

Ah Zhao pursed her lips, "Brother Ah Xuan is right."

Inside the car, Zhang Xuan and Qin Tianshu were chatting on a small table across a daybed. Hearing the commotion outside, the scholar looked up at Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan said awkwardly, "The child asked, I can't just lie to a child."

Outside the car, Xie Tongguang said, "She insisted on coming to see you off this morning."

Qingyu smiled gently and looked at Azhao, "Your older brothers and sisters will still come to the Miao village to see you in the future."

Ah Zhao smiled and said, "Okay."

Actually, Ah Zhao didn't know what to say. She wished them a safe journey, asked if they could help find her missing second sister, told them they must come back safely, and said she would be alright...

She didn't really want to say anything; she just wanted to see them again, that's all.

"Sister Qingyu, thank you."

A thin mist spread, and in the distance, wooden buildings stood in layers. A woman in red sat by the car door, smiling, "Ah Zhao, look at me."

A-Zhao looked up, blinked, and looked at Qing-Yu seriously.

The woman smiled, made a hand seal, and gently turned her ten fingers. As spiritual energy surged, she uttered the incantation related to the formation for the first time—

"Borrowing a spirit—"

"The heavens condense all phenomena, and the Dao manifests a thousand lights,"

"With a tranquil mind and peaceful spirit, prosperity naturally unfolds."

"A single thought can awaken a spirit."

In an instant, flowers bloomed not far from them, their stamens unfurling as if summoning raindrops from the leaves, as if life had suddenly taken hold and all things were in full bloom.

Even more amazing is that it seems that there are dancing flower shadows everywhere, a riot of colors, and the air is filled with the fragrance of flowers. When the wind blows, it is a sea of ​​flowers.

The rain fell softly, seemingly slowing down due to the momentary fluctuation of spiritual energy here. Xie Tongguang carried the coffin back on his back and looked at A Zhao, who was lost in thought.

"Ah Zhao, do you like it?"

Sister Qingyu's voice rang out, and Azhao snapped out of her reverie. She nodded, "So beautiful, I love it!"

"If you like it, then learn it. This formation of yours is not simple, but it's not difficult at all either."

Qingyu leaned forward slightly, and the woman smiled, "The next time you see Azhao, I really hope that Azhao can give me a sea of ​​flowers."

With that, she chuckled and cracked her whip. The carriage slowly drove away, and the woman's last words were carried by the wind as she gently tapped their foreheads.

"You're still young,"

"Practice diligently."

...

Inside the carriage.

Zhang Xuan muttered, "Borrowing spirit, raising spirit, Sister Qingyu! I've never heard you recite the incantation before!"

His voice carried all the way to the car door. Qingyu smiled and said, "You always need some kind of aid when you first start cultivating. You won't need it later."

Incantations are troublesome; when the sharpness of a sword or blade is right in front of you, even casting a spell becomes a pipe dream, let alone using incantations—

The more powerful a formation is, the simpler it is. Only a few special formations require complex hand gestures and incantations; the rest are like that.

In the final stage of cultivation, one can simply raise their hand and mentally activate the spirit; this is the level of Qingyu's current mastery of formations.

Lin Fanxiang sat at the medicine table, flipping through medical books. She looked up and asked, "Are you interested in formations because you're asking so many questions?"

Zhang Xuan chuckled twice: "It's always good to have more skills, I think it's quite interesting... Sister Qingyu! Could you teach me sometime?"

He recalled how Qingyu had slaughtered a group of people on the high ground of the Miao village before... I must say, sometimes, formations can actually be quite cool, tsk tsk.

Qingyu laughed out loud, and the girl, while driving, called out leisurely, "What are you learning, to bloom flowers?"

Zhang Xuan: "..."

"Let's eat!"

Qin Tianshu sat opposite Zhang Xuan and smiled. The scholar leaned against the wooden table in the middle, using a soft pillow as he flipped through a book, looking quite content. "If you learn to use arrays to grow vegetables, they'll definitely follow you around in the future."

Zhang Xuan snorted, "Cai Cai has always been with me."

As we were talking about Cai Cai, the little chick was nestled on the long table by the couch, clucking away. A moment later, it suddenly stood up and started waving its claws around on the table.

I don't know what they're so happy about.

Wen Chuan found its proud and arrogant appearance amusing, and then suddenly remembered when Cai Cai and Zhang Xuan first met. He chuckled.

“Yes, even when Cai Cai runs away from home, she has to go to Xiao Zhang.”

"Run away from home?"

Qin Tianshu asked curiously, "What do you mean by running away from home?"

Zhang Xuan thought for a moment, "Hmm... this..."

"It's like Cai Cai ran away from home and met Xiao Zhang. Then she fell from the sky onto Xiao Zhang's head, and the two of them fought fiercely. If we hadn't met them, Cai Cai might have already become Xiao Zhang's meal."

Qingyu laughed, and the girl loudly recounted what had happened at the beginning of last year, finding it extremely interesting to think about.

Cai Cai: "Gu gu gu - Gou Gou Ga!"

Qin Tianshu: "What is that?"

Lin Fanxiang was also unusually puzzled, "Cai Cai, fell from the sky?"

Zhang Xuan paused for a moment, then sighed!

"It's because Cai Cai ran away from home and can't eat vegetables anymore. That day was also my first day in Qingshui City, and I was wearing a jade crown..."

Qin Tianshu had already understood the story, and the scholar couldn't help but laugh, "And then?"

Zhang Xuan didn't want to speak, but Qin Tianshu was laughing so wildly that the boy gritted his teeth and said in a small voice, "And then, we met."

"Oh—you mistook the jade crown for a vegetable, and then the vegetable jumped onto your head and started pecking at it!"

Lin Fanxiang listened to the story thoughtfully at first, then suddenly realized what it meant, looking as if she had just understood.

Dr. Lin was always very good at responding to questions. Unlike Qingyu's sudden sharp tongue, she always spoke seriously and gently about some cruel or funny facts.

Hahahaha!

Qin Tianshu laughed unrestrainedly, "You, no wonder I said you have so many jade crowns but you never wear them..."

Qin Tianshu and Zhang Xuan had once shared a room, so the scholar naturally knew what Zhang Xuan was wearing. Hair ornaments like headdresses were actually quite formal, but even children from wealthy and powerful families could wear them at a young age.

The scholar didn't think much of it when he saw it, but Zhang Xuan rarely wore it; he usually wore it with a high ponytail. He even asked about it, and Zhang Xuan replied...

"I just like it, can't I save it up... I'll use the money when I'm twenty."

...

"Hey! Stop laughing!"

Qin Tianshu nodded with a smile, "Okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore, hahaha—"

Lin Fanxiang also lowered her head and pursed her lips. Zhang Xuan scoffed, "Tch!" The young man said...

"Don't always laugh at me. When Brother Tianshu first met me, he even said he wanted to stew the vegetables!"

Cai Cai: "Gou Gou ge ...

Qin Tianshu made a few "heh" sounds and said, "Who knew that besides Wenchuan, there would be people who would keep chickens as pets? Back in Danzhou City, I thought you were going to kill chickens with a knife in your hand, okay?"

At that time, the scholar was still chasing after the painter, trying to solve the case. When he encountered Zhang Xuan carrying a knife and a chicken, he shouted, "Young hero! Don't rush to kill the chicken! Help me catch the murderer first!"

Upon hearing this, Wen Chuan looked at Qin Tianshu, and the gentle young man sighed softly.

"You really are incorrigible."

When they first met in Qingshui, they were only fourteen or fifteen years old. The scholar said to Wenchuan, "You raise chickens well, let's stew them!"

Wen Chuan: ? How about I stew you?

The scholar was speechless. He thought for a moment, then thought again, and then thought yet again, finally turning his head and sighing, "Wen Chuan, Cai Cai is truly a fine chicken, you..."

"You...I...I still want to ask, what were you thinking back then? Why did you raise chickens as spirit pets?"

"Oh, there's more!"

Zhang Xuan also raised his hand and asked, "Why does Cai Cai like to eat vegetables so much? Is it because she likes to eat vegetables and is named Cai Cai, or is it because she is named Cai Cai that she eats vegetables?"

Lin Fanxiang looked at Zhang Xuan, her expression complicated, "Your question is quite good."

"I know!"

Qingyu, who was leisurely driving the car, laughed loudly from the car door. The girl's voice was clear and bright, "I know why Cai Cai loves to eat vegetables!"

"Because Cai Cai was sick that year, Wen Chuan channeled his spiritual energy into the leafy greens and then fed them to Cai Cai!"

"After that, Cai Cai became lively and energetic, and also developed a great love for vegetables!"

Qingyu had asked Wenchuan this question a long time ago, since it's very, very rare for cultivators to raise chickens as pets in Kyushu.

Cai Cai: "Coo coo coo coo coo—"

Haha, are the owners investigating the chick's origins? I'm King Cai Cai.

Wen Chuan looked at Cai Cai and smiled, while the young man said helplessly, "I originally wanted to buy a hen to raise, thinking it could lay eggs."

"Later, when the elders in the city heard that I wanted to buy chickens, they thought I was going to raise chickens to sell, so they specially gave me several chicks."

"I never expected that there would be a chicken plague in Qingshui City that year. All the chickens died, but Cai Cai was still struggling. I couldn't bear it, so I fed it some vegetable leaves that had spiritual energy."

"I am not a healer. Although the spiritual energy is somewhat similar, I have never saved any animals... It was just a coincidence, but Cai Cai really survived."

"Later I thought, since its crowing can also tell the time, there's nothing wrong with keeping it as a pet."

Ultimately, Cai Cai herself had a strong will to survive. The chicks were intelligent; although they were ugly, they were well-fed and kept clean and smooth, and they were very affectionate.

Who says this chicken is bad? This chicken is clearly very good.

Everyone in Kyushu knows that Cai Cai is a magical little chicken who has traveled all over the land. She is the king of chickens and can also be called King Cai Cai (of course, many cultivators prefer to call her, oh, that Cai Cai chicken).

...

In the spring of March, the seventeenth year of Tianchen.

We're talking about Cai Cai today, right?

Hehehe—

Cai Cai is really amazing!

Coo coo coo!

Who still remembers the first page of this king's diary?

Hehehe!

Okay, okay, let's not dwell on the past anymore~

The owner said,

We'll be at Great Demon Mountain soon!

Cai Cai is going! To see the great demon! Hahaha!

—CaiCai's Diary, a recollection of the king's past.

-----------------------

Author's Note: I wrote this chapter about Chun Chun because I went to look at my beginning today, which is the one about the sea (I felt it wasn't very appealing, and it was a bit awkward at first... Anyway, I'm too lazy to revise it [shy]).

Then I went to review the Warm Orphan story again—

Discovering that Azhi and Aling are truly something else—Azhi, the older sister, longs to return home even while far from home, while the younger sister, tormented by grudges, only wants to run away… Agu is dead, and Azhao is destined to undergo trials and tribulations to cultivate the Great Dao… I swear, this is truly unexpected; I have a feeling this family is really in trouble…

Wu Zan: Hahahaha, I knew it...

Other:

There probably won't be any more text about A-Ling after this. She left, just to go to Kyushu to see the scenery, adjust her mood, cultivate properly, and then go home to help her sister manage the Miao village. Yes, that's it. (Just popping in to say hi [cat paw])

Then there's the nine stars and the nameless stone, which I didn't mention in the main text. It means that the scholar said that Wuxin would give the stone to him at the end.

The scholar and the heartless couple fell in love very naturally. The story is a bit mysterious because they just mysteriously got together. [heart emoji]

...

Ding ding ding, we have arrived at Yundi. Passengers who need to get off or transfer, please take note. Thank you for your support and cooperation. We wish you a safe journey.

Wild animals frolicking, a picnic feast.

New passengers and passengers who have not yet reached their destination, please enjoy the scenery with peace of mind. (Wide opening)

Next stop, Qishan.