Zhang Qiuyu hadn't been bragging; the iron-pot stew her husband made over the wood-burning stove was truly delicious.
Cured pork ribs chopped into chunks, stewed in a piping-hot, generous pot with green beans, potatoes, and dried eggplant, paired with a pot of steamed rice cooked over the wood-burning stove complete with a crispy rice crust at the bottom—it practically transported Nan Zhi back to her childhood.
“Of course! Back then, I only agreed to date your brother-in-law after eating quite a few meals cooked by him...”
Chewing her rice, Zhang Qiuyu locked eyes with her husband, unable to hide her sweet smile. But a second later, just as she was about to persuade her best friend that she should find a partner too, she noticed the hood of Nan Zhi’s hoodie wriggling. Out poked a tiny, fluffy head.
Chubby and golden-yellow, with mung-bean-sized eyes that blinked adorably.
Zhang Qiuyu: “...”
Zhang Qiuyu’s husband: “...Holy crap, sister, are you raising a rat on your body?! Ahhhhh!”
The man’s scream clearly startled the treasure-seeking mouse. Wiggling its plump rear, it cast a disdainful look at him before retreating back inside Nan Zhi’s hood.
“Ahem, this is my pet, Corn. Since it’s the seven-day National Day holiday, I didn't feel comfortable leaving it at home all alone.”
Nan Zhi poked the treasure-seeking mouse’s bottom and calmly picked it up to set it on her shoulder. She then explained to Zhang Qiuyu and her husband, who was cowering behind his wife’s shoulder like a delicate damsel:
“Our Corn is a Syrian hamster. It's very gentle and doesn't bite, and it only eats whole grains and seeds. No need to be afraid.”
Once caught, Corn let out a reluctant “Squeak” as a greeting, though its voice sounded entirely forced.
Zhang Qiuyu’s husband’s face turned green.
No matter how cute it was, it was still a rodent!
And this rat could actually make facial expressions?!
Besides, what normal person secretly keeps a rat on their body?!
The more he looked at his wife’s best friend, the weirder she seemed!
“It’s so cute! When you showed me photos back then, I wanted to visit your place to see it, but who knew you’d be so hooked on that game lately?
It’s nice to have a pet. Living alone, with no other living creature around, even walking or drinking water can feel lonely.”
As for Zhang Qiuyu, she wasn't scared at all. She scooped up Corn with delight, showering it with affection for a good while before suddenly remembering a question:
“Wait... how on earth did you bring it through airport security?!”
Nan Zhi: “...”
How could she tell her friend that she had used a tiny, clever spell to bypass security checks?
If you don't ask, we can still be good friends. Truly.
...
The night was like cool water, possessed of a unique charm in Xixiang. Mulian Village, nestled beneath Qingmeng Mountain, was unlike the overly urbanized suburbs where stars were invisible; as night fell, the scattered lights throughout the wooden village extinguished one by one until the entire settlement sank into deep slumber.
The stars above shone remarkably bright, and a thin crescent moon rested quietly in the night sky. Gentle moonlight cascaded down, covering the lake in a soft glow. From a distance, a few stray dog barks occasionally broke the stillness before quick tranquility returned, peaceful and harmonious.
Nan Zhi stood beneath the locust tree, looking up at the moon.
Even without lighting a lantern, she could clearly see every item in the courtyard.
Crickets chirped among the wild grass, faint green specks of fireflies fluttered through the tree branches, and milky-white moonlight poured down like a gentle stream.
It was a breath-taking scene that many city dwellers had never witnessed.
【Earth Mud Art】
As Nan Zhi moved her hands, the great locust tree suddenly stirred—the flat ground began to churn like hot oil. The dry dirt on the surface sank down as if alive, pushing out the object buried beneath the tree.
The entire process was silent, so quiet that even the weary birds resting in the branches were not startled.
It was a large, rusty iron box wrapped in several layers of red plastic bags.
Nan Zhi had exceptional eyesight and recognized the true nature of the buried item at a glance. Without making a sound, she carried the box back into the house.
—The windows of the side room were tightly shut, and loud snoring echoed from within, growing louder with every breath.
Once inside her room, Nan Zhi turned on her flashlight and carefully examined the things Grandma had left behind for her.
Though protected by plastic bags, the iron box had still rusted over time. Inside, several items had been wrapped tightly layer upon layer in plastic, neatly packed together:
A tattered ancient book that looked hand-copied, a thumb-sized reddish-purple cricket jar, a palm-sized small cauldron with an ancient and elegant design, a stack of paper currency wrapped again and again and tied with a rubber band yet still showing worm-eaten edges, and a sheet of exercise paper mended meticulously with clear tape.
【《Ten Years of Gu Records》 (Green Quality): This appears to be a Gu master’s personal handbook. Reading it may be of help to a cultivator.】
【Gu Jar (Blue Quality): The Miao people excel at Gu, particularly in using Gu to kill. Placing the five venomous creatures into the jar yields a Gu among Gu—the Mother of Ten Thousand Gu.】
【Chixia Cauldron (Purple Quality): When heaven and earth underwent great changes, treasures concealed their brilliance. This appears to be a precious cauldron used for alchemy. (Note: There seems to be elixir residue remaining inside the cauldron.)】
Though the purple-quality artifact she had desired most was right before her eyes, Nan Zhi’s attention was completely fixed on the piece of exercise paper taped together again and again.
【Will: My house is left only to my good girl, my granddaughter Nan Zhi. No one else gets a share. Not to the eldest, and the second is not allowed to snatch it either. Dao Magu.】
On the paper, the crooked pencil characters were missing strokes here and there, looking strangely amusing.
Nan Zhi couldn't help letting out a chuckle.
As she laughed, tears fell without warning.
The little old lady had been illiterate; all she knew how to write were her own name and her beloved granddaughter’s.
Who knew which child in the village she had begged to teach her how to write this stumbling "will."
Nan Zhi could even picture the wrinkled old lady holding a pencil, mumbling "I have to leave the house to Zhizhi" as she hid from her second son's family to secretly scribble down these few words and stash them away.
The old lady must have been crying while muttering under her breath.
How silly...
Why hadn't the little old lady been willing to leave with her back then?
And all these small bills... how long had the little old lady spent painstakingly saving them, penny by penny?
Even though she knew there wasn't a trace of a ghostly presence in the yard, Nan Zhi couldn't stop herself from looking toward the old locust tree outside the window.
A hunched old lady seemed to be waving at her, her eyes drooping as she started muttering once again:
“Who hit our Zhizhi? Eat a few more bowls of rice and hit them right back... Who says nobody wants our Zhizhi? Grandma will raise our Zhizhi! When you grow up and go out to university, if your dad dares to withhold money, I'll scold him to death... When you get married, Grandma will sew a few extra pairs of shoe insoles for you...”
Tears hit the ground with soft pitter-patters. Corn, who had been sound asleep on the bed, snapped awake in an instant. Seeing Nan Zhi's red-rimmed eyes, it immediately scrambled up onto her shoulder, squeaking nonstop:
“Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak! Squeak squeak squeak squeak?!”
“I’m fine. I just feel like the weight on my chest has finally cleared.”
Nan Zhi shook her head, her nose bright red, yet a smile bloomed on her face—the suffocating frustration and restless fury that had weighed on her heart for so long suddenly dissipated without a trace.
Ever since she embarked on the path of cultivation, everything seemed to go smoothly on the surface, but in reality, a single misstep meant doomed eternal damnation.
Pursued along Yin Yang Road, her close friend ambushed and severely injured, wanted by the Demon Suppression Division, surrounded and attacked in Xingyuan City... Nan Zhi appeared nonchalant, but deep down, she had grown quietly exhausted.
She was like a rootless duckweed swaying in the wind, drifting with the current, bewildered and unsure of what her next step should be.
But now, staring at this "will" that might not even be legally valid, an endless reservoir of strength suddenly welled up from the depths of her heart.
—She was like a child who endured everything outside, only letting out tears once they finally made it home to their family.
The most precious keepsake Grandma had left behind was nothing else but love.
Humans were not plants or stones; how could they be void of emotion?
Precisely because she was loved, she found the courage to forge ahead without hesitation.
At that thought, Nan Zhi picked up the treasure-seeking mouse and wiped her tears on its fur.
That was right: whoever hit her, she would gather her strength and hit them back.
She had Grandma. She was by no means a child without a backing.
That Monk Huiyuan better wash his neck clean and wait!
Rate on N.U.
