Chapter 20 Chapter 20 "Meow meow meow meow"
The years in the mountains were peaceful and leisurely, and Ruan Mingyu lived a leisurely life. It was just that refining pills was expensive, and he had no fame now, so he couldn't sell the pills. He could only make a little money by occasionally treating minor illnesses for other junior brothers and sisters in the sect, and his life was very tight.
Winter soon arrived and snow began to fall at the foot of the mountain. The last time Ruan Mingyu saw such heavy snow was when he was trapped in Shen Yanyuan's residence and tried his best to get out.
If Shen Yanyuan came out of seclusion and found that he was missing, would he catch him back? Ruan Mingyu shook his head. It was useless to think about this now.
It happened to be the end of the year, and the alchemy furnaces were empty.
It wasn't because the cold weather made people lazy, but rather because the sect's internal demand for elixirs had decreased. Although they were cultivators, they weren't true gods after all, and they still had to take a holiday during the New Year.
Several people from Yuantai Peak gathered together and lit a medicine furnace. There was no elixir in the furnace, but a roast duck was stuffed in it.
Ruan Mingyu sat on a small stool beside the medicine stove and stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire.
"Sister, do you think Master will punish us when he finds out?"
Cen Tao held the cat in her arms. The cat was cold, so she burrowed into the blanket Ruan Mingyu had given her and wrapped herself in it. She said, "Don't be afraid. Even if the sky falls, I have my senior brother to hold it up for you."
Ji Ying glanced at her and said, "I can't handle it anymore. Let your senior sister handle it."
His hands were not idle, he was embroidering flowers. It must be said that his embroidery skills were quite good. It was said that when he injected spiritual power into the embroidery, the patterns on it could move after they were embroidered.
It wasn't that he enjoyed embroidery, but rather that it was rare and expensive. His skills were exceptional, so he had no trouble selling his embroidery, and it was more profitable than his alchemy. The Seven Star Sect primarily focused on swordsmanship, while Yuantai Peak's alchemy was considered the last of the sect's. The peak was sparsely populated, and the supplies provided were meager. Old Sanqing spent all his money on the medicine furnace, and he couldn't even afford to build an extra room.
So the medicine furnace was his life. If anything happened to it, he would probably punish him according to the sect rules. If he found out that the siblings were using the precious medicine furnace to cook, wouldn't he expel them from the sect?
As they were chatting, they completely forgot that there was a roast duck in the medicine furnace until they smelled a burnt odor. Ruan Mingyu immediately jumped up, opened the medicine furnace and fished out the roast duck.
Several people stared at the pitch-black thing with wide eyes. Cen Tao waved her hand and said, "Throw it away. How can we eat it when it's in this condition?"
"Don't waste it." Ruan Mingyu cut open the black charcoal on the outside, and you could barely see the meat inside.
He cut out a little, pretended to chew it in his mouth, and then cut two large pieces of dry meat for his dear senior sister and brother.
"It's edible. Try it."
The two of them put it into their mouths half-believingly, and Ruan Mingyu ran away in a hurry. The thing tasted bitter and was inedible.
Seeing that they had been deceived by him, the senior sister put down the cat, and Ji Ying put down the embroidery in her hand, and they scolded him together:
"You little bastard, you've learned to lie! We'll go to Master and report you!"
Ruan Mingyu was shameless and said, "Go ahead! The three of us will be expelled from the sect!"
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Immortal cultivators don't celebrate the New Year, believing it's something only mortals do. However, as the Lunar New Year approaches, the sect also has a holiday. Ruan Mingyu, not considering himself an immortal cultivator, bought some Spring Festival couplets and other New Year's goods and went up the mountain, intending to decorate his residence in a festive manner, hoping to create a festive atmosphere.
He hung a couplet on the front of his house that read, "A thousand years to welcome the new spring, auspicious snow heralds a good harvest." Since he was going to do it, he decided to do it all, and he also put up a few characters for "Fu" on the windows. Seeing how festive he had decorated his house, Cen Tao asked for a few extra scrolls to hang on her door. Unexpectedly, there were still plenty left, so she told him not to waste them and to put them on the doors of his master and fellow apprentices as well.
The entire Yuantai Peak was covered in bright red blessing characters and festive spring couplets. Although the crowds were small, it felt lively and bustling. Ruan Mingyu said, "I always feel like something's missing. Is there something missing?"
Senior Sister's black cat suddenly ran past him, and Ruan Mingyu remembered, "I almost forgot about you, little guy."
He thought about it and wrote a couplet and posted it in front of the black cat's cat house.
The first line of the couplet is "Meow meow meow meow"
Second line: "Meow meow meow meow"
Horizontal banner: "Meow meow meow"
Ruan Mingyu was very satisfied with his "masterpiece" and nodded with satisfaction.
He said to the cat in the bushes, "Xiao Hei, how are you? Are you happy now? Are you satisfied? When will you bring your wife back? Xiao Bai from the next peak is quite good, a very nice cat."
Little Black Mimi barked twice.
Ruan Mingyu: "Don't blame me for being nosy. I'll let you feel the pressure of relatives urging you to get married during the New Year."
The cat didn't understand human language at all, and thought that he wanted to play with it, so he ran over and wanted to have close contact with him. Ruan Mingyu was afraid of it and ran away quickly.
Xiao Hei was chasing him from behind, and Ruan Mingyu screamed, "Stop chasing me! I won't urge you to take the cat home. You can live on your own. Being a single cat is pretty good! Okay, stop chasing me, King of Cats, please let me go! Woo woo woo..."
Soon, New Year's Eve arrived. It was Ruan Mingyu's first time celebrating New Year in the mountains, or rather, his first time celebrating New Year in this world.
In the evening, several people gathered in front of the stove. Ruan Mingyu made a bunch of dumplings, and his senior sisters and brothers came to help.
They both went up the mountain when they were very young. Before Ruan Mingyu came, they had no idea what the Chinese New Year was and found it strange.
Is cultivating immortality good or not? Ruan Mingyu couldn't say for sure. When people want too much, their thoughts become futile. It's best to just live in the present moment.
There was no pot on the mountain, and the key to the alchemy room was with Ji Ying. He said indifferently, "Come with me," and secretly took them to the alchemy room.
Ruan Mingyu opened the furnace and put the dumplings in. He specially chose the best furnace. You know, the medicine furnace is very precious. Usually, only good furnaces are used to refine high-quality elixirs.
"The pills refined in this furnace are of the best quality, and the rice cooked in it should taste great too." Cen Tao commented.
Ji Ying still looked like he was always distracted. In the middle of the conversation, he suddenly said, "Pay attention to the stove. Do you want some baked dumplings again?"
Several people gathered around the stove, but they didn't dare to chat. They stared at the stove and waited for their meal. After a while, the dumplings were ready. When they opened the stove, the aroma immediately filled their noses.
Ruan Mingyu gave it to his two senior brothers and sisters.
Cen Tao: "I haven't eaten in several years."
Ji Ying: "It's okay to eat a little. It won't hinder your immortality."
After a considerable effort to eat this bowl of dumplings, the group divided the dumplings. Ruan Mingyu even thoughtfully left some for his senior sister's cat. However, he didn't dare to go over, so he handed the unsalted cat dumplings to his senior sister, letting her feed them herself.
After a while, they heard footsteps. Cen Tao exclaimed, "Oh no! It must be Master coming."
Several people hurriedly packed up their things.
As soon as she finished speaking, her master appeared in front of her.
"What are you guys doing here sneaking around?"
Cen Tao: "We are discussing our experience in alchemy."
The old man Sanqing said, "Don't hide! Take out the things behind you." He imitated Cen Tao and shouted in a shrill voice, "Oh no, Master is coming!" Then he said, "Master, I am here to see what bad things you are doing!"
Several people stood in front of the stove and took out the bowls.
Sanqing's expression changed drastically, and he acted fiercely: "How dare you use my stove to cook! According to the sect's rules—"
Several people looked at their master nervously, afraid that he would say something to deduct spirit stones from them, and their mood suddenly became not so good.
The old man stroked his beard, pointed at them and said, "You guys are secretly eating the good food and not even leaving a bowl for me, your master!"
Several people breathed a sigh of relief, and Ruan Mingyu quickly scooped a bowl for him:
"Master, please come in."
"That's more like it."
The master scolded them first, distressed that his stove was being used for cooking. Then he resumed his conversation, and as he spoke, he asked for a drink. Intoxicated, Ruan Mingyu took the opportunity to have the master refine the elixir in front of him. Finally, he got to see firsthand how he prepared the Yang Yuan Pill he would sell to him. Ruan Mingyu memorized the steps and planned to replicate them tomorrow, saving himself a considerable amount of spirit stones this month.
Four people and a cat spent the New Year like this.
As the sky gradually darkened, the stars moved and a full moon hung high in the sky in the night.
Ruan Mingyu walked out the door and stood alone, gazing at the sky. Compared to his previous world, the festive atmosphere here seemed incredibly faint, with not a single firework visible in the sky. Fortunately, he had someone by his side, otherwise, he would have been so lonely.
He suddenly thought of Song Chenxi. What would he be doing at this time?
If Song Chenxi were here now, he would definitely make a sarcastic remark, asking why he was staring at the sky, as there were no elixirs in the sky. Or maybe he was in a good mood and used magic to set off fireworks for him.
Cen Tao came out and asked him, "You look so pensive, what are you thinking about?"
Ruan Mingyu couldn't say that he was thinking about Song Chenxi, so he evaded the question by saying, "Nothing."
Cen Tao: "Senior Sister, I have experienced more than you and walked more roads than you. If you have any troubles, you can tell me. If you feel it is inconvenient to tell me, you can tell your senior brother Ji Ying. He is very strict and will not spread rumors."
Ruan Mingyu smiled and said, "It's really nothing."
Cen Tao: "If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. Don't keep things in your heart, it will make you sick."
Ruan Mingyu didn't want to make her worry, so he rolled his eyes, smiled, and said, "I really have something to do. Senior Sister, can you lend me some money?"
Cen Tao called him a bastard: "Some things are better kept in your heart."
Ruan Mingyu swept away the gloom in his heart and laughed out loud, his eyebrows and eyes curved with laughter.
Soon he couldn't laugh anymore. Cen Tao said, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. The moon in the sky is big and round, and my little brother on the ground is missing you. He's missing his beloved brother!"
Ruan Mingyu: “…”
It’s a rumor, a complete rumor!
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