Night.
Stars twinkled softly, and the moon hung in the sky like a round plate. As the recruitment assembly drew to a close, Xu Xian finished handing over his responsibilities and took the first step back to Zuiwan Residence.
Then, he sat down at the entrance.
And waited!
Before long, Li Qingshan returned to Zuiwan Residence with Xia Chu Yi as promised. Seeing Xu Xian, Xia Chu Yi ran over, her face beaming with joy, yet she stopped respectfully before the door.
"Third-generation disciple Xia Chu Yi greets the Little Grand-Uncle!"
Xu Xian smiled, his eyes filled with doting affection. "You child, stand up."
"Thank you, Little Grand-Uncle!"
Li Qingshan strolled past, swaggering into the courtyard as he said nonchalantly, "She's your niece. You handle the arrangements. I'm exhausted..."
Xu Xian was displeased, his brows furrowing. "What's with that attitude?"
Li Qingshan rolled his eyes and walked away.
One would think this was his house and he was the boss.
Xu Xian grumbled inwardly with utter disdain, not forgetting to say to Xia Chu Yi, "You mustn't learn from him. He has no respect for seniority and doesn't know the rules."
Xia Chu Yi was a bit confused but didn't care about any of that, nodding repeatedly.
"Mm-hmm, Chu Yi will listen to Uncle. Chu Yi is the most obedient."
Xu Xian was somewhat satisfied. "Follow me. I'll find you a place to stay."
"Okay!"
Xia Chu Yi followed Xu Xian into the courtyard. As they walked through the grounds, her restraint vanished, and she couldn't stop asking questions.
"Wow..."
"It's so big."
"So big!"
"So very big!!"
"Uncle, is this our home?"
Xu Xian replied without missing a beat, "Yes."
"A house this big must have cost a lot of money, right?"
Xu Xian waved his hand. "It's not about the money."
"Then what is it?"
"Status. You must have status."
Xia Chu Yi's eyes were full of admiration. "I see. Uncle is so amazing."
"I'm alright."
"Uncle, does my master live here too?"
"Yes."
"Does my master not have a house?"
"Yes."
"Is it because my master has no status?"
"He's a bit below me."
"You don't mind him living here?"
"He's my Martial Nephew, a junior of the family. If I can lend a hand, I will."
"Uncle, you're so kind."
"I'm alright..."
"Uncle, I'm hungry."
"I'll take you to eat in a bit."
"Yay!"
Xu Xian took Xia Chu Yi up onto the roof and gave her a brief introduction to Zuiwan Residence.
The main courtyard, the side courtyards, the backyard, and the spirit herb field.
He gave her a special warning: she couldn't just pull up the herbs in the spirit herb field at will. Then, he found a room and got her settled in.
She finally had a place to stay.
During this time, he asked about things back home. Everything was fine, which brought him quite a bit of relief.
As the night deepened, the moon remained bright and clear. Xu Xian started a fire in the small courtyard, brought out a piece of beast god meat, and began roasting it directly.
He would dote on his own niece. He would never allow the hardships he faced while eating porridge to be repeated with her.
Before he even started roasting, Wen Qingxue arrived uninvited, bringing Tu Kongkong with her.
The two young girls were overjoyed to see each other.
"Chu Yi!"
"Kongkong, why are you here?"
They held hands and began chatting excitedly.
Xu Xian was puzzled. "Why did you bring her?"
Wen Qingxue acted as if she were in her own home, skillfully taking the meat from Xu Xian's hands and helping to roast it. She said with her usual coldness, "She wanted to come herself."
Xu Xian was confused. "What do you mean?"
"She said she wants to take you as her master," Wen Qingxue said.
"Huh?"
Wen Qingxue shrugged. "She also said you told her you'd look out for her, so I brought her over."
Xu Xian was baffled.
Tu Kongkong proactively stepped forward and gave him a respectful bow.
"Greetings, Master Xu Xian!"
Xu Xian stared. "Don't go calling me that. I never agreed to be your master."
Tu Kongkong looked aggrieved and turned to Xia Chu Yi for help.
Xia Chu Yi understood immediately and started acting spoiled with Xu Xian, shaking his arm so hard it nearly fell off.
Xu Xian was helpless and had to compromise.
"Fine, fine, fine. As you wish. She can stay, she can stay."
Xia Chu Yi gave Xu Xian a peck on the cheek and said happily, "Uncle is the best! Long live Uncle!"
Tu Kongkong's pout vanished, and she chirped happily, "Long live Master Xu Xian!"
Xu Xian pretended to wipe his cheek in disgust, rolling his eyes as he said, "You'll have to make do with sharing a room with Chu Yi for tonight."
"Okay! I'll follow Master's arrangements!"
Xu Xian felt even more helpless...
Before long, the aroma of meat filled the air. Lu Yuan caught the scent and arrived, squatting by the fire as if nothing were wrong. He asked knowingly, "Why are they here?"
"What do you think?"
Lu Yuan gave Xu Xian a sympathetic look and teased, "With those two together, you're in for some real trouble."
Xu Xian remained silent.
Wen Qingxue teased instead, "You should say that with the four of you together, Martial Uncle Qingshan is the one in for real trouble."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow.
Xu Xian wrinkled his nose.
Li Qingshan appeared out of nowhere and snorted, "Finally, someone sensible has spoken the truth."
Xu Xian curled his lip. "What are you doing here?"
Li Qingshan said, "This is my house!"
They ate the meat once it was cooked and drank wine under the moon.
Because Lu Yuan didn't know how to drink, he was forced to sit at a table with the two young girls. Only the other three drank to their hearts' content.
Li Qingshan and Xu Xian bragged to each other, exchanging all sorts of barbs and mockery, while Wen Qingxue listened for the entertainment.
Late into the night, Chu Yi, who was still a mortal, grew sleepy and pulled Tu Kongkong back to their room to sleep.
Lu Yuan left once he was full, and Wen Qingxue departed as well.
Li Qingshan and Xu Xian traded a few more insults, but finding it boring, they also parted ways.
It was a rare moment of quiet.
After some consideration, Xu Xian found Lu Yuan and discussed having him train Tu Kongkong.
Lu Yuan asked, "On what grounds?"
Xu Xian said as if it were only natural, "Because you're both demons."
Lu Yuan turned away and flatly refused, "Not doing it."
"Reason?"
"This girl's background is too big. I wouldn't dare teach her," Lu Yuan complained.
Xu Xian didn't care about any of that. If he told him to do it, he had to do it, whether he wanted to or not.
As for the girl's background, did Lu Yuan even need to tell him? He knew it perfectly well.
Her mother was Tu Sisi, the Nine-Tailed Immortal Fox. As for her father, he likely wasn't an ordinary character either.
But he had thought about it; it truly was more appropriate for Lu Yuan to teach her. Lu Yuan had a greater background and knew more, being on par with the little book spirit. Although his beast veins were incomplete and he had to practice human techniques, as a fellow demon beast, he was naturally a better fit.
After some back and forth, Lu Yuan didn't say he agreed, but he didn't refuse either.
The next morning, Xu Xian woke the two girls early, gave them each a set of new clothes to wash and change into, and then took them to the Personnel Hall.
They were registered and entered into the records.
Xia Chu Yi was a disciple under Li Qingshan, making her a third-generation disciple. Tu Kongkong, however, was registered under Xu Xian, making her a second-generation disciple.
By rights, Chu Yi should call Tu Kongkong 'Martial Aunt.' However, after the two children discussed it, they decided to keep their own terms of address, and Tu Kongkong still called Xia Chu Yi 'Sister.'
Xu Xian didn't interfere; as long as the children were happy, it was fine.
There was a small hiccup during the registration. The disciple responsible for the records asked for their home addresses.
Tu Kongkong said her home was in the North Sea. The recording disciple thought she was bragging.
Xia Chu Yi said she was the successor to the village chief of Houdao Village and that the whole village was her family. The recording disciple's mouth twitched.
He remarked, "Truly, people of a feather flock together."
Once finished, they went home.
Xia Chu Yi went with Li Qingshan, and Tu Kongkong went with Lu Yuan.
Xu Xian urged them to cultivate well and then paid a visit to the Baicao Garden. Yao Xiaoxiao hadn't woken up yet, but her complexion looked much better.
Xu Xian then went to Zhujian Peak to find Ruan Hao. He planned to take some time to refine his forging skills.
"Master, I'm here!"
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