Chapter 82 Peach
Qing Bai wasn't as pessimistic as Qi Xiaopang. He looked around, his eyes finally settling on the fresh, green peach branch on the altar. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Even though our peaches are lost, we still have wild peaches."
Qi Xiaopang followed Qing Bai's gaze and saw the wild peach with branches and leaves on the altar. His expression became complicated in an instant. Is this a "wild" peach?
"Brother Qing, what you mean is... to resell the peaches that the Monkey King picked himself and then give them to... the Monkey King?"
Even the unscrupulous middlemen don’t make money like this!
Qing Bai nodded: "In ancient times, people borrowed flowers to offer to Buddha, and now people borrow peaches to give to monkeys. In this 'Buddhist Pure Land', it is still a beautiful story."
Qi Xiaopang was speechless, suddenly feeling that his brother Qing's odd jobs over the past few years hadn't been in vain. His ability to identify gaps, fill gaps, and handle emergencies was even better than that of a recognized social terrorist like him. However...
"Brother Qing, is this how you always deliver takeout? Um...borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha?"
Suddenly he felt that the pocket money his brother Qing had given him before was a bit hot to the touch.
Qing Baimao smiled, "At least when you and Ai Chan worked together to lose my takeout, yes."
Qi Xiaopang was in the wrong and shut up, feeling even more uncomfortable with the pocket money in his pocket... He was just a useless guy who could only make trouble and shout "Come on!" QAQ.
Jiu Nian, who witnessed the conversation between the two, smiled lightly and said, "I think the important thing about takeout is not the takeout itself, but the person who delivers it..."
After a pause, Jiunian's eyes flickered quickly. "After all, there's not much difference between the peaches brought all the way from Weiming New Village and the peaches from the forests of Chushan. They're all just peaches."
The fat kid pursed his lips, thinking to himself that the difference was quite significant. Not to mention that the former were grafted, improved varieties of peaches carefully nurtured by Uncle Li, large, plump, sweet, and juicy, while the wild peaches from the mountains were small, astringent, and incredibly sour. Not to mention that they were being paid for by the sheep themselves... The delivery fee was a million! How shameful!
Qing Bai noticed Qi Xiaopang's hesitation and asked bluntly, "So, are you still going to deliver this order?"
"Send it!" Qi Xiaopang answered without a second's hesitation.
Nine years: "..."
Qing Bai was amused, and Qi Xiaopang felt a little embarrassed, but that little embarrassment couldn't change his heart that longed for his brother to become rich and take him with him: "We're all here, right? We can't go back empty-handed..."
"That makes sense."
After saying that, Qing Bai, who was originally sitting on Jiu Nian's shoulders, turned around, then kicked off with his hind legs, sliding along Jiu Nian's chest and into his arms face to face... Well, as soon as he started to move, he knew that even though Jiu Nian was doing security work underground, he had not neglected exercise. The arc was very beautiful and full of elasticity -
Just as he was about to rub and step on the petals, Qing Bai's hairy claws on Jiu Nian's chest were gently pinched by two slender and powerful fingers. Two strands of hair fell in front of his eyes. Jiu Nian looked down at him and said gently, "Be careful."
Qing Bai sighed. This person had no awareness of being taken advantage of... And who would be on guard against the actions of a tiny little kitten?
"Tsk." Unwilling.
Jiu Nian noticed that Qing Bai was depressed, but he didn't know why. After thinking about the previous situation, he asked tentatively, "Do you want to go over and get the peaches?"
"..." Qing Baimuran, "Yes, I want to take the peaches."
Jiu Nian kindly advised: "Tell me what you want to do and I will take you there."
Qing Bai: "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome." Jiunian was tall and had long legs. He took Qing Bai to the altar in two steps. Considering that the little Lingxi cub had an adult's mindset under his appearance and always liked to "do things himself", Jiunian considerately picked up the whole peach branch and let Qing Bai choose which peach to use.
Feeling that he was being coaxed, Qing Bai twitched his lips and wagged his tail. He slapped the largest fruit on the branch, the one with a pink tip.
After patting, it did not retract its paws, but just held them straight in the air, looking silly. Of course, thanks to its superior appearance as an aristocrat among cats, it still looks like a beautiful cat even when it is being silly.
Qing Bai hesitated subconsciously for a few seconds before he realized that although he had Nine Years by his side now, this 'year' was not the same 'year' as before. The tacit understanding that had been cultivated over the long years was now invalid, and everything had to start from scratch.
Qing Bai's mood hit rock bottom, and his furry paws curled up unconsciously. Just as he was about to retract them, Jiu Nian grabbed Qing Bai's paw very naturally, and then wiped it carefully with a handkerchief that came from nowhere. After wiping, he let go and turned the handkerchief over and folded it to continue wiping the peach that Qing Bai had selected, until all the fine peach fuzz on it was wiped off, and then he stopped with satisfaction.
Jiu Nian was satisfied, but Qing Bai was confused by his smooth movements. Was this guy pretending not to remember, or was he really born with a good temper?
"What's wrong?" Jiu Nianyi lowered his head and looked into the clear, inquiring eyes of the little Lingxi in his arms. Obviously, the look was not very aggressive, but Jiu Nian, who had endured countless heavy pressures and injuries in the past millions of years, could not hold on for a second under such a gaze. He unconsciously began to reflect on whether there was anything wrong with his previous behavior.
Qing Bai slowly shook his head and spoke very slowly, as if he was struggling to form his words. "Nothing, I'm just a little surprised that Jiunian's movements are so proficient... Do you also hate the fuzz on peaches?"
Judging from the taste and texture of the fruit, Qing Bai has always preferred hairy peaches over shiny nectarines. But that doesn't stop him from hating the fine fuzz on the surface of hairy peaches. Of course, it's not the peach's fault. It's just that Qing Bai hates any fuzz on fruits or vegetables that gets on his hands and makes his skin itchy.
The source of this strong dislike can be traced back to Qingbai's childhood - the little Qingbai, who had just started to remember things, was coaxed by someone into stretching out his defenseless, dimpled little hand to touch a bamboo shoot shell covered with fuzz... The first childhood shadow was formed, and it continues to this day, and as time goes by, he gradually vents his anger on all things with fine fuzz.
It is really... a serious sin.
Jiu Nian looked at the handkerchief in his hand, his movements slowing down by a fraction of a second. A flicker of surprise and thought flashed across those eyes, which in their human form were as clear as the reflection of a mountain in water. He was momentarily at a loss for words as to how to respond to Qing Bai's simple, single-word question. His actions had been automatic, his body performing them before his mind could register, as if it were natural, as if he'd done it countless times and was accustomed to it.
But he... has lived in the underworld for a long time, and he had not been in contact with the world for many years before he came to take care of little Lingxi. Even a long time ago when he was still wandering and growing up in the body of a beast between heaven and earth, although he did not reach the point of eating raw meat and drinking blood, he also loved meat... How can a cat be a vegetarian?
Since he doesn't eat it, there's no question of liking or disliking it, but he's so adept at it. They say habit becomes second nature, so how did he develop this habit? It's truly puzzling.
Confused, Jiunian said truthfully: "I don't know... maybe because you hate it?"
Qing Bai: “…”
Not only was this person not on guard against him, his attack was also incredibly powerful.
"Ahem..." Qing Bai, who was hit by a straight shot, coughed twice, "I don't really like it..."
Putting the incomprehensible things aside for the moment, Jiu Nian put away the handkerchief stained with peach lint with a smile, holding Qing Bai in one hand and a clean peach in the other: "That's good."
At this moment, Ai Chan, who had been banging the brick on the other end, finally got what he wanted. It was not known whether the bone string was too old and had been cooked for too long, or whether his determination moved the spirits of the bone beads in heaven. Ai Chan actually smashed out a pile of bone ashes with half a brick. However, the loss was a bit large, and there were many impurities similar to brick fragments in it.
But both parties (monkeys) had no objection, and Qing Bai, as a bystander, naturally would not make any annoying noise to find fault.
Ai Chan carefully gathered up the ashes he had just smashed out manually, his expression extremely nervous. Perhaps because of the close association with bad people, he had unknowingly picked up Qi Xiaopang's habit of talking more the more nervous he became. He muttered, "This skull is made from the brow bones of nine senior monks from my sect. It has boundless magical power... probably, or so my master said... I'm not well versed in Buddhism, so I probably won't be able to unleash its true power in this lifetime. But no matter how powerful a magical instrument is, it's still an inanimate object, especially one made from the bones of a dead person."
"...My master, driven by selfish desires, made a mistake and ended up killing you. Now, using this sect artifact containing his brow bone to liberate you is a form of retribution..." Ai Chan practically choked with tears as she finished, "...Don't be afraid."
The little monkey stared at the mournful cicada, its hands covered in ashes, with its large brown eyes. He didn't quite understand the bald little monkey's long speech, but as the bone beads were cracked, shattered, and pulverized by the bricks, the pain, fear, panic, confusion, and hatred buried so deep that it didn't even know it had been sealed by the stinking black mud for over a decade seemed to be cracked open by the force, and then scattered all over the ground, waiting for the wind to blow.
It stretched out its hand toward the person in front of it and said in a crisp voice, "I'm not afraid."
Ai Chan's eyes were filled with tears, but his face was smiling. He also reached out his hand, and gently touched the top of the little monkey's head with his fingers stained with ashes, silently reciting scriptures. The little monkey instantly felt a coolness in his head, which had been painful and empty for more than ten years. Something flowed into his brain through the old and terrifying wound on his crown...
A cool breeze blew into the dilapidated temple, and the ashes seemed to have self-awareness and lingered around the curled-up little monkey. Not a single ashes flew around. The wrapped little monkey trembled all over, but gritted its teeth and said nothing. Even as naive as it was, it knew that this was a chance to be reborn.
After a long time, the wind gradually grew stronger, and at some point the ashes suddenly became unruly and flew up into the sky outside the door. The gray and white flying around looked like pieces of ashes floating into the sky after burning paper money during the Qingming Festival to worship ancestors.
The little monkey slowly stretched its body in the ashes, and the movement made a series of crisp "crackling" sounds of bones colliding.
Qi Xiaopang glanced at the brick platform where the clay statue had been placed and exclaimed, "The little monkey's bones are gone!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound with different expressions.
Jiu Nian seemed to have expected this and whispered, "His fate... is complete."
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