Chapter 9

After swinging the sword for half a month, Song Shu has now mastered the strength of swinging the sword, and his hands no longer hurt after swinging two hundred times a day.

Qin Mian's ointment was very effective. After being broken several times, Song Shu's palms were still soft and tender without any calluses.

A few days ago, Qin Mian taught Song Shu some sword moves. Song Shu was now practicing them. He kicked his short legs to the side, followed by a stab. If outsiders saw this, they would probably think that this little squirrel was an old knight.

Look, how powerful the sword is wielded.

After finishing a set of sword moves, Song Shu put down the sword and turned his head to look at the half of Qin Mian's face that was exposed. Although he was still as handsome and elegant as ever, it could be seen that his expression was a little worse than before.

Three days ago, Qin Mian went out alone. When he came back, his lips had completely lost their color and he looked shaky.

Song Shu guessed that he must have gone to the foot of Lingshan Mountain again to reinforce that damn formation. The last time the grain thief almost fainted because of the reinforcement of the formation.

As if sensing the squirrel's intense gaze, Qin Mian narrowed his eyes and looked over, then smiled and said, "Why are you staring at me? Could it be that you've finally realized that I'm incredibly handsome and a rare beauty in the world?"

Song Shu: ...the grain thief is so conceited.

Rolling his eyes in a humane way, the squirrel held the sword in its mouth, climbed up the wooden wall and onto the window sill, placing the sword on the wooden table. Song Shu tilted his head and asked Qin Mian:

"Coo."

Will the grain thief go to the foot of Lingshan Mountain next time?

Qin Mian didn't understand what the little squirrel meant for a moment, so he guessed, "Is he tired? Or is there a sword move he doesn't understand?"

Song Shu shook his head, his long ear hair swaying, and he continued:

"Coo, coo."

Next time the grain thief goes to Lingshan, bring the rat with you. If the rat faints, maybe it can bring it back to you.

"None of them?" Qin Mian pondered for a while, and then guessed: "Could it be that he is thirsty?"

"Coo."

Why is there a formation at the foot of Lingshan Mountain?

"I'm not thirsty, maybe I want to eat some food?"

"Coo."

Does the formation need to be reinforced? Can we just leave it alone?

Seeing the little squirrel staring at him and chattering, Qin Mian said distressedly: "I asked you to practice, look, now I can't understand a word you say."

Song Shu glared at him, a little angry.

Why can the rat understand what the grain thief says, but the grain thief cannot understand what the rat says?

With a leap, Song Shu grabbed Qin Mian's clothes and climbed onto his shoulders. He clapped his paws at Qin Mian's mouth twice and said unhappily, "Gu."

The grain thief should quickly learn to speak like a rat.

"Don't make a fuss."

Raising his hand, he took the little squirrel off his shoulder, and leisurely took out an orchid porcelain plate. On the wooden table was a tea stove filled with warm honey water and roasted pine cones and hazelnuts that the little squirrel loved to eat.

Putting the kernels of pine cones and hazelnuts on a porcelain plate, Qin Mian poured out a pill from a red porcelain bottle, broke off about one-fifth of the pill, crushed it and sprinkled it on the kernels.

The Qi Condensing Pill is specially made by the alchemists in the sect. It can help practitioners improve their cultivation. After eating it, the little squirrel can strengthen its body. If it has a talent for cultivation, it can also take this opportunity to draw Qi into its body.

In short, Qin Mian wanted to force Song Shu to embark on the path of cultivation.

Watching Qin Mian "drug" himself, Song Shu was not panicked, because Qin Mian swallowed the remaining pills immediately afterwards.

How could the medicine that grain thieves take be a bad thing?

Song Shu had long discovered that the grain thief would never treat him badly.

Rubbing the fur on the squirrel's neck with his fingers, Qin Mian said softly, "Eat it, don't waste it. The Qi Condensation Pill is a good thing. Many people in the sect can't even buy it with spirit stones."

The fine-quality elixirs made by alchemists have always been in short supply within the sect, not to mention high-level elixirs like the Qi Condensation Pill, which have always been priceless.

Apart from Qin Mian, I'm afraid no one would give the Qi Condensation Pill to a little squirrel.

"Gu."

Rats don't waste food.

Holding a burnt yellow nut, Song Shu sniffed the scent of the elixir crumbs on the nut, licked it carefully first, and only after finding that there was no strange smell did he happily eat it.

After eating a few nuts, Song Shu felt waves of warmth throughout his limbs, which was even stronger than the spiritual energy of the spiritual fruit and felt very comfortable.

The spiritual energy was circulating in the dantian area of ​​his abdomen. Song Shu yawned and felt a little sleepy.

Why do I feel so sleepy after taking this pill?

Qin Mian smiled and put the sleepy little squirrel on his lap, saying, "There is too much spiritual energy, and you can't absorb it all at once, so you feel sleepy."

Song Shu nodded, lying on Qin Mian's legs and stretching out lazily.

The mouse takes a nap.

Heavy snow fell. Inside the house, a handsome young man sat on a rattan chair, reading a book and drinking tea. A little squirrel, soundly sleeping, lay on his legs.

The wooden windows are half-closed, and the years are quiet.

~

"Gu!"

With one sword, he chopped off the oncoming wooden stick. He stood on one foot on the ground, one hand facing the sky and the other holding the sword. He was so handsome that he seemed to charm thousands of squirrels.

"good."

Qin Mian praised: "Your Kung Fu has improved a lot recently."

Seeing the little squirrel using the sword more and more skillfully and easily, Qin Mian nodded secretly, thinking that it was worth it that he gave some Qi Condensation Pills to the little squirrel every day.

"Come here and let me take a look."

Song Shu put down the sword and ran towards Qin Mian, pulling his long clothes. After a few jumps, he stood on Qin Mian's arm.

Qin Mian pinched the little squirrel's pulse with one hand, frowned, and muttered: "How come I can't draw Qi into my body after taking so many Qi Condensation Pills?"

Could it be that the little squirrel is not actually suitable for cultivating immortals?

"Gu?"

Song Shu looked at Qin Mian from outside and really couldn't understand why the grain thief was always mumbling and looking worried recently.

He feels that the recent days have been good.

Song Shu felt that his cultivation had improved greatly recently. After taking the Qi Condensation Pill given by the grain thief, Song Shu felt that he had become more proficient in controlling the spiritual energy. He vaguely felt that it would not be long before he would be able to control and transform into a human form at will.

When he can change into human form at will, he will definitely scare the grain thieves.

"Master uncle often feeds his weasel all sorts of random pills," Qin Mian frowned even tighter. "I see that his weasel is not only able to cultivate, but has already reached the foundation-building stage."

"Could it be that the pill I fed you is wrong?"

But if I don’t feed him the Qi Condensation Pill, what other pills can I feed him?

It seems that I have to wait until I return to the sect to ask for advice from my uncle.

Senior Brother Qin, who had no experience in raising spirit pets, felt helpless for the first time.

"Gu?"

What was the grain thief whispering? Was he secretly cursing the rat?

Song Shu peered in to observe Qin Mian's expression, waiting for the grain thief's expression to show any sign of confusion, and then the little squirrel would go up and give a flying kick to that handsome face.

Rats are not to be trifled with.

"fine."

Pushing the little squirrel's head away, Qin Mian said seriously, "I'm praising your recent progress in training. In a while, you'll be able to conquer the world with just one rat."

Song Shushu smiled: "Gu."

Grain thieves are praised and rewarded!

The man and the squirrel laughed and played for a while, then Qin Mian took Song Shu back to the house. He had been free recently and made a fox fur cloak for the little squirrel.

The red fox fur made Song Shu's face a little itchy, but it must be said that this was the most comfortable winter day Song Shu had ever had.

Holding Qin Mian's wrist, Song Shu thought with empty eyes that last winter he could only stay in a tree hole and use wooden boards to keep the snow from Lingshan out of the cave.

At that time, Song Shu in the tree hole ate winter food when he woke up and slept when he was sleepy. If he ate the winter food but couldn't sleep, he could only count on his fingers how many days would pass before the winter was over.

A year earlier, that was the most difficult winter.

Little Song Shu was only four months old. After his mother taught him how to find food, she kicked him out of the nest. There was only one month left before winter.

Little Song Shu was not very good at finding spiritual food, so he could only pick up pine cones and hide them in a temporary tree hole. The tree hole was very wet and not suitable for wintering.

But it was difficult to find a suitable tree hole, so Song Shu could only eat the pine cones he picked up in the cold and damp tree hole.

Just when Song Shu touched his shriveled belly and thought he was going to turn into a squirrel skin, fortunately, spring finally arrived.

"What are you thinking about?"

Pushing the little squirrel's head, Qin Mian asked with a smile, "Your eyes are wide open. Is there something sad going on?"

Rolling his eyes in disdain, Song Shu held Qin Mian's hand and nibbled it gently.

"Gu."

Although the grain thief has a mediocre character, he is nice to rats.

If you can keep it up, it's not impossible for me to accompany you back to your master's sect.

However, if you treat the rat badly after returning to the sect, the rat will still return to Lingshan.

The little squirrel made a series of "cooing" sounds. Qin Mian didn't understand what they were saying, so he could only laugh and joke, "How come you've become such a chatterbox?"

Song Shu hugged his arm and squinted his eyes lazily, and his big tail slid back and forth in Qin Mian's palm, as if he was deliberately provoking him, or as if he was teasing Qin Mian mischievously.

The rat thought that the grain thief was a decent person after all.

~

The moon rises and sets, the sun rises and the moon sets.

When Song Shu got up from the bed, he found that the smell of the grain thief had become weaker. The last time the smell of the grain thief was weaker, he had gone to the foot of Lingshan Mountain.

Could it be that he went to the foot of Lingshan again this time?

Why not call the rat?

Song Shu pulled at the window frame and looked out at the sky. It was snowing heavily and the sky was gloomy, as if clouds were about to fall and kill the people below.

Song Shu sniffed with the tip of his black nose and could vaguely smell Qin Mian's scent.

Do you want to go find the grain thief?

He was a little hesitant.

Turning around and seeing the peanuts Qin Mian had left for him on the table, Song Shu frowned, grabbed a few peanuts and ate them, then looked out the window again.

There is no sign of the grain thief returning.

If we continue to wait, we might not be able to smell the scent of the grain thief anymore.

To go or not to go?

After about an incense stick of time, Song Shu turned around and put on the fox fur cloak that Qin Mian had sewn for him, and then grabbed the four-legged clothes that Qin Mian had sewn for him as a plaything.

The rat has to go and see the grain thief.

If he froze to death in the snow, the rats would have no food.

Cheering himself up in his heart, Song Shu's dark nose moved, and his small figure quickly disappeared in the wind and snow.

After finally reinforcing the seal of another formation, Qin Mian sighed lightly. He was now so depleted of spiritual energy that he couldn't even melt the snow that fell on his face.

"Tsk, if I had known this job was so troublesome, I wouldn't have taken it."

But then he thought again, if he hadn't come to Lingshan, he probably wouldn't have met that lively little squirrel.

Shaking his head helplessly, Qin Mian muttered, "When I return, I must ask Master and Uncle-Master for some compensation. Otherwise, I will be sorry for the hardships I have endured these past few months."

The footprints on the way here had long been covered by the newly fallen snow. Qin Mian carefully identified the direction to go back and walked slowly in the snow.

I don’t know if the little squirrel will get angry if it doesn’t see him.

Although he knew that the little squirrel was living comfortably when he left it alone in the house last time, Qin Mian always felt that the little squirrel was also thinking about him.

Walking around a huge rock, Qin Mian's sight was suddenly attracted by a bright red in the snow-white. It was a small squirrel wearing fox fur, with its four little paws covered in footwear with ugly stitching, running in the snow.

Seeing Qin Mian's figure, the little squirrel paused, then ran towards him with all four paws without hesitation.

Qin Mian was stunned. His chest felt stuffy and blocked, but it was as if he had drunk a mouthful of freshly warmed honey water, sweet and warm.

"Gu!"

Song Shu jumped into Qin Mian's palm, staring at him with his black eyes without blinking. Although he didn't say anything, Qin Mian seemed to understand what the little squirrel in his hand meant. It said:

The rat has found you.

The author has something to say:

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Song Shu (patting his chest): Rat is very conscientious [Keep it up]

Qin Mian (touching the mouse's chest): He really has a conscience [lop-eared rabbit head]