Chapter 19
After going around the peak, passing through the tall and dense grass, and climbing up the steep slope covered with short trees, Jiang Mingyan finally saw a hidden cave.
Listening to the happy babbling of the little guy in the basket behind him, Jiang Mingyan did not hesitate, pushed aside the thick vines and entered the cave.
He believed in Sui Sui, and therefore, he was also willing to believe in blood coagulation grass.
Jiang Mingyan walked slowly along the long and narrow corridor.
After about a cup of tea, the scene in front of me suddenly became empty and filled with soft silver light.
Jiang Mingyan looked quietly at the strange and beautiful scene in front of him, his eyes were complicated, and he couldn't tell what he was feeling for a moment.
This was an elliptical cave. Looking up from where he was standing, he could see a long and narrow crack at the back bend of the arc opposite. A clear stream gurgled out of it, flowing down the stone wall, passing through the silvery white sand like moonlight, and finally merging into the clear and bright lake in the center of the cave.
"Aiya!" Seeing his brother silent for a long time, the little guy in the backpack couldn't help but poke his brother's shoulder with his chubby little hand.
Brother, why don’t you praise Sui Sui yet?
Isn’t this a good thing?
When the little fat boy thought of this possibility, he could no longer sit still. He started to call out to his brother in a small voice: "Brother, brother..."
Jiang Mingyan listened to the little guy's baby voice, smiled helplessly, put the backpack down, and then picked up Sui Sui: "Brother was just too happy just now, it's not that he doesn't like it here."
"Good stuff?" Sui Sui's round, dark eyes were full of anticipation as he confirmed in a childish voice.
"Yes, good stuff." Jiang Mingyan said with a smile.
Sui Sui became happy and raised the blood-clotting grass in his hand happily: "Learn it, Fatty!"
"Wo is fat too!"
Jiang Mingyan looked at the smiling little fat boy with gentle eyes.
He put the backpack on the ground into the Lan Qiuying bracelet, then walked towards the fine and soft silver-white sand with Sui Sui in his arms.
"Sui Sui, do you know what this sand is?" Jiang Mingyan asked softly.
"White sand!" the little guy answered excitedly.
Jiang Mingyan laughed, but he didn't expect the little cub in his arms to give any accurate answer. He just wanted to share his joy with Sui Sui. "It's Silver Frost Sand."
Sui Sui nodded in confusion, and followed his brother's babbling, saying in a childish voice, "Yin Shangsha!"
After saying that, the little guy smiled sweetly.
He didn't know what Silver Frost Sand meant to Jiang Mingyan, but he vaguely sensed the excitement in his brother's heart.
So, Suisui also became happy.
It’s even happier than when you just found out there are good things here!
Jiang Mingyan looked at Sui Sui's bright smile and couldn't help but smile too. His brows were relaxed and his eyes were neatly arranged, like the bright moon in his arms, graceful and elegant.
With the Silver Frost Sand, there are only three materials left to refine the Soul-Restoring Pill.
Although the road ahead is still difficult, there is light at the horizon. How can Jiang Mingyan not be happy?
"Sui Sui, you are really my little star..." Jiang Mingyan murmured in a low voice.
Although his voice was low, Sui Sui still heard it sharply, and his chubby face immediately broke into a smile.
Every year is a little star...
Jiang Mingyan held the little guy, who was almost floating with joy, and walked around the edge of the cave.
Perhaps because of the silver-frost sand by the lake, the cave is extremely clean, without any trace of weeds or insects.
Apart from the cracks in the stone wall from which a trickle of water flowed and the tunnel they had just entered, the cave was completely enclosed, but it was not dark. The silver frost sand emitted a soft and bright light, illuminating the entire cave, which seemed no different from the outside world.
This cave is hidden among the cliffs of the peaks. If it were not for the blood-clotting grass to point the way, Jiang Mingyan would have passed by it like the other monsters and cultivators and gained nothing.
Jiang Mingyan looked at the clear lake water in the center of the cave, and suddenly an idea popped up in his mind.
"Sui Sui." He gently asked the little fellow who was trying to wrap the blood-clotting grass around his fat wrist: "It was the blood-clotting grass that showed us the way just now, so we were able to find this cave. So is this the blood-clotting grass's territory?"
Sui Sui nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I learned it~"
"Then can we stay here?" Jiang Mingyan asked.
"Yeah!" Sui Sui agreed without hesitation.
Xuexue has already said that everything here is old.
Sui Sui belongs to my brother, so he can do whatever he wants.
Jiang Mingyan rubbed the little guy's hair and slowly discussed with Sui Sui: "Sui Sui, stay in the basket first, brother will clean up the cave, okay?"
Suisui shook his head and pointed to the lake in the center of the grotto: "Taotao, Xuexue wants to go over there."
Jiang Mingyan understood.
He walked over holding Sui Sui, and then saw the green-leafed Hypericum and blood-clotting grass jump out of Sui Sui's hands and fall into the lake.
Then, the Hypericum affine tree shook its lush crown and returned to its normal size, with its branches intertwined to form a small bed with railings.
Jiang Mingyan held the baby in one hand and took out a thick quilt from Lan Qiuying's bracelet with the other. After making the small bed, he placed Sui Sui on it.
After settling Sui Sui, he took a few steps back and looked at the blood-clotting grass with its roots stretching out next to the green-leaved Hypericum.
"This is your chance to embark on the path of Taoism," said Jiang Mingyan.
The consciousness of the hemoclotting grass is not as clear as that of the green-leafed Hypericum, so it is naturally unable to give him an answer.
Jiang Mingyan didn't mind not getting an answer, he just smiled faintly.
He chose to live here with Suisui, not only because he could save some spirit stones on rent, but also because he liked the lake.
The lake's bottom and sides were covered in silver frost sand, so the water, through years of contact, was naturally imbued with spiritual energy. Although it was still far from the spiritual energy of the spiritual spring, it was still beyond the reach of ordinary things.
Jiang Mingyan knew that most of the children of aristocratic families had spiritual plants and spiritual springs since childhood. Therefore, after they embarked on the path of Taoism, their foundation was more solid, and they always walked more steadily and farther than others.
Jiang Mingyan was raised in this way by his parents, who carefully cared for him since he was a child. Logically, it should be like this every year.
But now my father and mother are gone, and the conditions we had before are no longer there.
Jiang Mingyan didn't want to let Sui Sui down, and he didn't want Sui Sui to have to make up for the lack of these things in his childhood with a hundred times a thousand times the effort in the future.
Since they lived in the caves, they could use the lake water to wash themselves every day. Although it was not as efficient as the spiritual spring, it could strengthen their foundation and prevent them from falling too far behind.
Jiang Mingyan thought about it and said nothing more. He bent down, put the silver frost sand into a jade box, and began to clean up the cave.
From now on, this is their new house.
·
On the second day, after feeding the little guy who looked at him eagerly like a hungry chick, Jiang Mingyan put him in the backpack and returned to Zhongzhuang the same way.
He did not go to Tang's Pharmacy immediately, but bought some supplies first, then took Sui Sui to stroll around the streets of Zhongzhuang, and finally headed towards Tang's Pharmacy.
Tang Jiu was already waiting in the pharmacy.
Seeing Jiang Mingyan's tall figure, he raised his eyebrows: "Congratulations on coming back alive."
However, when his gaze shifted to the human cub in the backpack, staring at him with two big eyes, the frivolous look on his face disappeared, leaving only a gentle smile with some ingratiation: "Isn't this our super cute Sui Sui? He's even cuter today than yesterday!"
"Hmph~" Sui Sui still held a grudge, and turned his little head away, leaving Tang Jiu with only a furry back of his head.
Tang Jiu sighed in distress: "Alas, I know I was wrong, Suisui, please sort me out."
Jiang Mingyan ignored Tang Jiu, who was still sighing and looking at the cub, and simply took out four jade boxes from the storage bag and placed them on the medicine cabinet beside Tang Jiu: "What you want."
Tang Jiu didn't rush to see what was going on. Instead, he pulled out a chair and pushed it towards Jiang Mingyan. "I'm actually quite curious. How can you come and go freely in the Dusk Mountains with only the third level of Qi training?"
"The outermost part of the Dusk Mountains." Jiang Mingyan sat down holding Sui Sui and corrected lightly after hearing this.
"Okay, the outermost area. So how did you do it?" Tang Jiu said with a smile.
"The outermost reaches of the Dusk Mountains are infested with first-grade demonic beasts. As long as Qi Condensation cultivators are careful, it won't be difficult for them to return safely." Jiang Mingyan said calmly, "And haven't you already planned to allow Qi Condensation cultivators into the Dusk Mountains? If you already knew this, why ask me?"
Tang Jiu complained, "Isn't that just to have more security? If I don't find out the truth, what will happen if something goes wrong? Do you think everyone is as reckless as you?"
Jiang Mingyan glanced at him calmly, his expression unchanged: "Let's talk business."
"How is this not a serious matter?" Tang Jiu sighed regretfully when he saw that he could not get anything out of Jiang Mingyan, but his hands moved quickly and he opened the four jade boxes on the medicine cabinet neatly.
As soon as the jade box was opened, cold white frost spread out from it, and the spiritual energy in the air suddenly rose.
Tang Jiu picked up the frosty white golden stem and silver leaf grass from the leftmost jade box, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes: "It's well preserved."
He did not examine the other three spiritual plants in detail. Instead, he closed the jade box and looked at Jiang Mingyan: "Five mid-grade spiritual stones."
Jiang Mingyan nodded, and then said: "No need for mid-grade spirit stones, just give me low-grade spirit stones instead."
"Then you've suffered a loss." Tang Jiu raised his eyebrows.
Low-grade spirit stones are easy to obtain, but mid-grade spirit stones that are more full of spiritual energy are very popular.
He had only seen people exchanging low-grade spirit stones for medium-grade spirit stones, but he didn't expect that there would be people pushing such a valuable thing away.
"I know." Jiang Mingyan said, "Just change it."
"Okay then." Tang Jiu stopped trying to persuade him. He counted out five hundred low-grade spirit stones from his spiritual storage device and poured them onto the medicine cabinet.
Jiang Mingyan put the spirit stone away.
"Don't count?" Tang Jiu teased.
"No need." Jiang Mingyan stood up holding Sui Sui and walked out of the pharmacy.
"Tsk, when will you come over next time? This little spiritual plant can't do much." Tang Jiu followed closely behind Jiang Mingyan, looking at the soft little fat cub in his arms with envy: "Sui Sui? Cute Sui Sui?"
Unfortunately, no matter how much he said nice things, even after they left the pharmacy, Sui Sui still just looked at him with the back of her round head.
"I'll come over in a few days." Jiang Mingyan changed his hand to hold the little fat boy in his arms, and seemed to inadvertently avoid Tang Jiu's hand that was reaching for Sui Sui's black and soft hair: "Mr. Tang, goodbye."
Tang Jiu made a "tsk" sound and stood at the door of the pharmacy watching Jiang Mingyan walk away.
The little fat kid in Jiang Mingyan's arms finally showed his little face this time, glanced in his direction, then wrinkled his little nose and seemed to snort.
"A vengeful little fellow." Tang Jiu laughed.
·
"Brother, where are you going?"
Sui Sui peeked over to take a look at the bad guy who had dared to instigate his brother to abandon Sui Sui, and made an angry little baby voice before realizing something was wrong.
This doesn't seem to be the way back to the cave.
So the little guy raised his little face and asked his brother.
"Let's buy some cakes and then go visit Uncle Chen." Jiang Mingyan was very willing to talk about these trivial matters with Sui Sui. Seeing Sui Sui looking up and waiting for his answer obediently, his tone became a little gentler.
"Dog!" Sui Sui cheered, his dark round eyes full of anticipation.
"You like Dahei so much?" Jiang Mingyan pinched Suisui's soft cheeks amusedly: "Then let's hurry up so that Suisui can see Dahei sooner."
"Yeah!" Sui Sui nodded hurriedly, and Jiang Mingyan felt a little jealous seeing his impatient look.
After buying the pastries, Jiang Mingyan did not put Sui Sui into the backpack, but put the pastries into the storage bag and walked towards Xizhuang with the little fat boy in his arms.
As soon as Suisui saw the familiar courtyard from afar, he couldn't stay there any longer.
He moved his little butt in Jiang Mingyan's arms, his two chubby hands tugging at Jiang Mingyan's sleeves, and his little head kept looking over there.
Jiang Mingyan sighed helplessly in his heart and quickened his pace.
“Woof woof woof——”
Before they reached the gate, the big black dog started barking and wagging its tail at the gate.
Uncle Chen heard Dahei's barking and walked out of the house. Seeing the excited black dog, he was a little surprised: "Dahei, why are you so happy today?"
As he spoke, he pushed open the gate.
"Xiao Jiang?" Uncle Chen asked in surprise after seeing the handsome young man holding a cute little cub outside the yard. "Why are you here?"
"Uncle, look at the dog!" Before Jiang Mingyan could answer, Sui Sui spoke impatiently.
The little cub's baby voice was full of anticipation, and Uncle Chen's rough, red face showed a smile: "Little kid likes Dahei so much? Okay, okay, come in."
Uncle Chen made way and said to Jiang Mingyan, "Let this little guy go play with Dahei."
"Uncle Chen." Jiang Mingyan called out and walked into the yard as he was told. He carried Suisui to Dahei, took out a cushion from the storage bag and put it on the ground, and then put the little cub down.
"Dog!" Sui Sui was super happy and reached out happily to touch the furry ears of the big black dog.
The big black dog whimpered softly, lowered its head, and allowed the human cub to touch its ears.
Jiang Mingyan watched quietly for a while before walking back to Uncle Chen.
"Don't worry, Dahei knows his limits." Uncle Chen comforted the young boy who was overly nervous about his younger brother.
"Yeah, I know." Jiang Mingyan responded softly.
"Have you been to Tang's Pharmacy?" Uncle Chen knew the worries in Jiang Mingyan's heart, so he did not go into the house. The two of them stood in the yard and talked.
"I've seen it. I picked some spiritual plants..."
…
Jiang Mingyan and Suisui stayed at Uncle Chen's house for a whole day until the sunset dyed the clouds in the sky red, and then they returned.
Sui Sui was very reluctant to leave the big black dog, but Jiang Mingyan promised that he would bring him here when he had time, and Uncle Chen also coaxed the little cub, saying that he would always hold the door open for them. Only then did the little cub loosen his chubby arms that were hugging the big black dog's neck.
As the days passed, Suisui had grown accustomed to staying in the backpack, watching her brother gather herbs, take them to Tang's Pharmacy to exchange for spirit stones, and then use the newly acquired spirit stones to buy spirit fruits, cakes, and fashionable clothes...
Except for not being able to see my parents, my life is almost the same as when they were alive.
Jiang Mingyan used his still young shoulders to support a small world of warm sunshine and gentle breeze for Suisui.
Soon, the ninth day of May arrived.
This day is Suisui’s birthday.
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