Chapter 66: One Two Three Wooden Man
Qing Bai stared into the dark shadow outside the window without blinking, his limbs felt heavy and stiff, his breathing was slow and labored, and no one moved. It was like they were playing a game of statues, where whoever moved first would lose.
The barking and whimpering of the dog beside his ear gradually weakened, and finally only a faint breath remained. Just when Qing Bai suspected that the dog was about to die, the black shadow squatting on the tree branch finally moved. The night was dark, and Qing Bai could only judge its movements based on the green light in its eyes. The shadow seemed to be looking down at something, and a strip of object swayed, and the next second the black shadow disappeared, leaving only the swaying shadows of the trees.
...He won the game of wooden men.
Qing Bai was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly heard a distant and dull bell. The darkness outside the window seemed to be diluted a little by the bell. It was no longer as deep and sticky as thick ink, but a foggy and drowsy feeling.
It was the morning bell from the temple on the mountain... It was the first time Qing Bai heard the legendary 'morning bell and evening drum', but he was inexplicably certain of it.
Qing Bai slowly opened his eyes as the sound of the bell gradually became clearer and more melodious. It was a magical process - the body reacted before the brain could determine that he was awake, and an unconscious opening of his eyes jumped directly from the dream to reality.
Qing Bai stared at the snow-white ceiling, stunned for a long time before realizing that the scenes just now were just a dream... Was it really just a dream?
Qing Bai turned his head and looked out the window at the tree, its branches trembling in the gentle morning breeze. The tree was about as thick as an adult's thigh, towering straight and tall. Its trunk, mid-to-lower, had no branches, only a dense cluster of twigs and leaves at the top, like an oversized, bare feather duster stuck in the ground. They were on the third floor, their windows facing the treetops.
Qing Bai recognized this tree. It was a very common Chinese toon tree in rural areas. There was nothing special about it, but it was divided into different types. The fragrant one was called Fragrant Chinese toon, which sprouted before Qingming Festival every year. The fragrant Chinese toon sprouts were on the table around Grain Rain, so you could enjoy a fresh and wild meal in a hurry. The other type was called Stinking Chinese toon, which had medicinal value besides being smelly. However, in rural areas that pursue practicality, only the smell was more prominent among these two characteristics.
Fragrant toon is called Toona sinensis, and stinking toona sinensis is called Chu.
This is the territory of Chushan, so it must be the stinking sumac.
"Oh my, I'm not saying anything, but your temple is really a bit immoral. What time is it now? You're ringing the bell before dawn? This is so immoral!" Fat Qi complained while tossing and turning in bed angrily, like a fathead fish struggling to death out of water.
The calm and lucid voice of the cicada echoed: "Every morning at five o'clock, the temple opens for meditation on time, rain or shine, and never late."
"Then you guys are amazing..." As the bell stopped ringing, Fat Qi lost his sleepiness. He poked his head out from under the air-conditioned blanket and saw Ai Chan sitting in the same meditation position on the bed next to him, just as he had last night. He was very surprised and asked, "Did you wake up early or didn't sleep at all?"
Qing Bai stood up and first looked at Jiu Nian beside him. The black cat's eyes were not open, and the whole cat was like a piece of black jade, or like the night outside the window that had not yet melted, without a trace of other colors. Then he looked at Ai Chan, and it really looked like the wooden sculpture from last night.
Ai Chan smiled but said nothing, nor did he make any other movements, looking mysterious.
Fat Qi watched for a long moment, then revealed an empathetic expression. He extended his hand considerately: "Are your legs numb? Come on, let me lend you a hand!"
Ai Chan kept smiling, but did not refuse Qi Xiaopang's help. When she stood up, her movements were a little difficult and she staggered a bit, but at least she didn't fall... It seemed that she had really been sitting still all night.
Seeing Ai Chan like this, Qi Xiaopang tutted his words and said, "You monks are too self-disciplined. Even when the temple on the mountain was smashed, you still ring the bell on time. Even when there is no one watching you down the mountain, you still stay up late to meditate."
Ai Chan didn't respond to Qi Xiaopang's praise, but only said, "Now that you're awake, go downstairs and have breakfast. After eating, you can go up the mountain early."
Qi Xiaopang wore a mask of pain: "It's only five o'clock, bro! Don't the owners and cooks of the farmhouses need to rest?"
Ai Chan seemed accustomed to it: "Although the temple on the mountain is not a thousand-year-old temple, it has a history of several decades. It has been like this year after year. The people living down the mountain have long regarded the morning and evening bells on the mountain as signals..."
At this point, Ai Chan paused and said, "Besides, it's a farmhouse built on Chu Mountain. Don't worry, they will be ready."
There really isn't much beautiful scenery here. People who come here are either for the Buddhist temple on Chushan Mountain or for the so-called "immortals". Since the farm stay serves these people, they naturally won't miss the daily temple opening hours.
Qi Xiaopang seemed to understand: "Okay, then go wash up first."
After listening to the conversation between the two, Qing Bai's mind cleared of the last trace of confusion, and he regained consciousness. He twitched his paws and took two steps back, measuring the distance with his eyes. Then, he alternately kicked the sheets, pressing down with his front paws and slightly bending his hind paws, preparing to jump. He wanted to jump onto the windowsill and see the tree outside with his own eyes.
The preparation action was well done, but unfortunately the pre-swing was too long, and the skill was forcibly interrupted before it could be performed.
Qing Bai lowered his head, and the fluffy and familiar cat's tail just circled his small waist, which could not be described as strong and powerful but only soft. Looking along the tail, he met the pale golden eyes of Jiu Nian. There was no trace of confusion of just waking up in them. He was sober and calm, more like someone who had not slept all night than Ai Chan, whose legs were numb and stiff.
"It's not yet fully light, you can sleep a little longer."
This is like trying to coax a child who doesn't want to sleep into growing taller because he doesn't get enough sleep.
Qing Bai, feeling that his human form was already tall enough, shook his head and rejected Jiu Nian's suggestion to catch up on some sleep. However, he wasn't ready to tell the truth either. After a moment of silence, he tilted his head and said in a rather literary tone: "...I want to watch the sunrise."
Jiu Nian glanced at the dark sky outside the window, said nothing, curled his tail and jumped, and before Qing Bai could react, he was on the windowsill.
The cat's tail is retracted, half-circled around its back, and gently placed on its front paws. Its lower jaw is slightly retracted and its fur is smooth. The whole cat is extremely elegant.
Qing Bai looked at his reflection on the window glass. Compared to the past nine years, he looked like an unevenly kneaded dough ball, or a glutinous rice dumpling that was not put into the pot in time after thawing and was hastily coated with a layer of glutinous rice flour to prevent sticking and then put back into the refrigerator, causing it to deform... In short, the gap was so big that it was really heartbreaking.
Qing Bai sighed silently, and decided to out of sight, out of mind. He took two steps forward, put his face against the glass and looked down - the bare trunk of the Chinese toon tree looked normal in the faint morning light, and the dog and chain in his dream seemed to not exist.
Qing Bai leaned his head against the cold glass, feeling a little bewildered. Could it be true that whatever he thought about during the day he would dream about at night?
"You don't want to watch the sunrise," Jiunian's tail wrapped around Qingbai's waist again, moving the fur ball back to a safe place. Before retracting the tail, the tip of the tail gently brushed Qingbai's forehead, and the flattened fur instantly became fluffy again. "How can you look down?"
Qing Bai looked up at Jiu Nian without saying a word.
Jiu Nian looked at Qing Bai for a moment, then lay down consciously, trying to keep his head at the same level with Qing Bai.
Qing Bai's face remained expressionless, but his tail flicked twice to the left and right. Qing Bai also lay down on the windowsill, head to head with Jiu Nian, as if whispering, "I just had a dream."
Although the sun hadn't risen yet, Jiu Nian's eyes were already dazzling enough. There was only one sun in the sky, blazing and dazzling, shared by all things in the world. His eyes were warm, soft and bright, always staring at Qing Bai.
Jiu Nian lowered his eyes to look at the little snowball next to him and asked softly, "What kind of dream?"
Although he had just woken up from that dream, Qing Bai was at a loss for words and could only simply say, "I just...suddenly heard the sound of a dog barking and chains. The dog's barking was very weak. Perhaps it was tied up?"
"Then I turned around," Qing Bai raised his paw and pointed at the crown of the Chinese toon tree outside the window. "There was a dark shadow on the branch staring at me. It had green eyes. It must be an animal, and it looked like... a monkey."
"Then..." Qing Bai stared at Jiu Nian. "Have you ever played 1, 2, 3, statue? It's a game where whoever moves first loses. I was in a stalemate with that black shadow for an indefinite amount of time. It seemed like very fast, yet also seemed like a very long time."
Qing Bai added childishly, "I won."
"Very impressive..." Jiunian said in an inexplicable tone, "What about me?"
"You?" Qing Bai, who was still trying to recall, was stunned by Jiu Nian's question. "What do you mean?"
The ears on Jiu Nian's head moved slightly, and he asked patiently, "Am I in your dream?"
Qing Bai was really confused now, because he found that he really didn't pay attention. In his dream, he didn't think of looking for Jiu Nian. He just had a very firm "feeling" - when everything happened, the people in the same room and bed did not react at all.
It seemed as if at that moment the whole world was left with only him on the bed, the dark shadow on the tree, and a dog whimpering somewhere.
Seeing Qing Bai's reaction, Jiu Nian knew what was going on. He raised his paw and gently ruffled the slightly messy hair on Qing Bai's forehead, revealing the small jade horn hidden in the fur. His voice was light but gentle: "That was not a dream, it was your 'spiritual vision'."
"Spiritual Vision..." Qing Bai repeated softly, "What is it?"
Although Jiu Nian still took Qing Bai's height into consideration and didn't stand up, he straightened his head and said in a serious tone, "It's our innate instinct."
The morning light was just beginning to shine. Jiu Nian looked at Qing Bai, his pale golden eyes shimmering with light. "We are beasts. No matter what our vocation is, when we first encounter this world, we are wary and cautious."
"Being born and raised in nature also means being without parents and without protection. The inheritance not only contains knowledge, but also the skills to survive. It can also be said to be the instinct of spirit beasts facing this world."
"Clairvoyance is one of them," Jiunian said. "As children, we never truly sleep. One of our body and soul is always on guard."
"You may not be aware of it, but your instinct to be on guard is always there. Once a threat appears, your soul and body will instantly wake up."
Qing Bai understood: "...So that wasn't a dream, it was something my... soul actually 'saw', or rather... felt?"
Nine years nodded.
Qing Bai lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly raised them and asked, "What about you? Did you see anything?"
Jiu Nian opened his mouth to speak when Qi Xiaopang's energetic voice suddenly came from behind him: "Brother Qing Jiunian, Zhiliao and I have finished washing up, you guys go quickly-"
They both turned around at the same time. Fat Qi, who had just washed his face with cold water and whose temples were still dripping, took two steps back when he was stared at by two cats, one large and one small, sitting on the windowsill. "...right?"
"What, what's wrong?" Qi Xiaopang looked at Ai Chan in confusion and asked softly, "Did I say the wrong thing again?"
It was already daybreak. Ai Chan squinted her eyes as she watched the two 'cats' snuggling together in the golden morning light. "I didn't say anything wrong, it was just inappropriate at the wrong time."
Qi Xiaopang: “???”
The conversation was interrupted, and some words were missed the opportunity to be spoken. It would be tantamount to forcing them to say something. Jiu Nian simply turned back into a human, then held Qing Bai in his arms and took him to the bathroom to wash up.
But when Qing Bai left the windowsill, he heard a very light "No".
...Do adult spirit beasts lose their clairvoyance instincts similar to the 'Novice Protection Skill', or do those beings pose no threat to Jiu Nian at all?
Qing Bai fell into deep thought.
After washing up, several people went to have breakfast with their cats and dogs. Just as they came downstairs, before they saw anyone, they heard a clear female voice saying, "Boss, the tree behind your house is growing really well, but the tree species is not good."
The woman's voice was like a chant or a song: "If a Chinese toon tree is planted in a house, the family will be destroyed and the people will die. If a Chinese toon tree is placed on a beam, there will be casualties..."
Several people looked at each other, and Qi Xiaopang exaggeratedly mouthed the word - unlucky.
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