It seemed Hong Ximing had imparted quite a bit of common knowledge to Xin Yunmao, not missing even the topics that human parents typically discuss, to the point where he misinterpreted state banquet dishes as something related to having children.
Chu Zhishui hesitated before speaking: "No, my parents are very open-minded, they wouldn't talk about such things..."
Xin Yunmao frowned and argued confidently: "That's because it wasn't convenient to discuss directly before, so they used dishes to express it. Such topics wouldn't be discussed openly."
"You seem very confident about your understanding of social customs now?" Chu Zhishui sighed deeply and said regretfully, "My father ultimately misplaced his trust."
Xin Yunmao: "?"
Chu Zhishui: "He thought you were up in the atmosphere, but you're actually underground, completely buried in the soil, only thinking about bamboo offspring."
"..."
While Chu Xiaohe was contemplating the harmonious coexistence of humans and supernatural beings, he hadn't expected that a bamboo spirit's mindset would ultimately remain earthbound. Indeed, once supernatural energy was used for flowering, it seemed impossible to think of anything else.
"Don't you want it too?" Xin Yunmao refuted dissatisfied, "Who was it that said last time the bamboo offspring was pitiful, and now suddenly doesn't want to be a good mother?"
Chu Zhishui held her forehead and said gently: "No, at least wait until it actually exists before you criticize me."
"I'm telling you in advance, producing seeds isn't easy, it's not as simple as you think," Xin Yunmao said coldly. "Since it's a new deity, its birth will be very slow, so it's best to start soon."
"What do you mean by that?" Chu Zhishui's expression became peculiar, "It sounds like you're saying that because the deity lord is older, it won't be good for seed production if we don't hurry."
Shouldn't other supernatural beings be saying this to Xin Yunmao? Why was he anxious about it himself?
He snorted lightly and dared to continue: "That's exactly right, I'm at least a thousand years old, if we don't..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Chu Zhishui's face turned red. She reached out to lightly pinch his neck, wanting to stop his wild talk, and finally got her wish to touch his Adam's apple.
"So will you come over next weekend?" Xin Yunmao stared at her, emphasizing, "I can cook now."
"You only know how to cook one dish." Seeing the resentment in his eyes, Chu Zhishui quickly added, "Yes, yes, I'll definitely come to taste the deity lord's culinary skills."
"That's more like it."
The human and supernatural being lingered downstairs for a long while before Xin Yunmao prepared to head home.
In the night, lights shone from countless homes, tree branches rustled in the wind, and he stood there in his white shirt, bathed in the clear radiance of the streetlights.
Chu Zhishui walked him to the door, but Xin Yunmao suddenly grabbed her hand. Just as she thought he was reluctant to leave, he took her hand and guided it to gently caress his slightly protruding Adam's apple.
He lowered his head slightly, rubbing his chin against her hand, his dark eyes gleaming as he teased: "If you want to touch it, touch it properly. You've been staring at me all day. I've known all along that you're attracted to my appearance, there's no use pretending now."
"I haven't..."
"You're always so serious about work, but particularly casual with me."
Her fingertips touched warmth and delicate skin. Whenever he spoke, his Adam's apple would move slightly, creating a novel sensation that made her fingers tingle, with sparks seeming to ignite from her fingertips. His shallow breaths brushed against the back of her hand, bringing a ticklish sensation.
Her palm covered the side of his neck, her fingers gently stroking his Adam's apple, her palm feeling his pulsing heartbeat, her thumb pressing against his deep collarbone. His normally immaculate shirt became disheveled, and she even felt her hand slip inside his collar, every touch filled with strength, as if threatening to burn her fingers.
He held her hand, silently guiding her exploration of himself, his eyes revealing unspoken tender feelings, as if trying to seduce her in the night breeze.
His voice grew husky: "Would you like to touch anywhere else?"
"...Just go!"
Chu Zhishui quickly withdrew her hand, her ears burning red as she pushed him away, wishing she could shove him straight into the dark void.
She hadn't expected that looking at him a few extra times today would give him ammunition to tease her, even leading to accusations. But she had to admit that her annoyance was partly because he had hit the mark – she had wanted to touch him throughout dinner, feeling that his entire appearance was a feast for the eyes.
She suspected she had been successfully hypnotized; he kept saying she was attracted to his appearance, and finally managed to completely mess with her subconscious.
On her way home, her heart was still racing, feeling like the sensation in her palm wouldn't fade, having memorized the temperature of his skin.
At home, Chu Xiaohe and Xie Yan had already restored the dining table to its original state, with leftover food stored in the refrigerator, and various gifts that Xin Yunmao had brought were arranged on the cabinet.
Chu Xiaohe remarked with surprise: "He actually brought quite appropriate gifts. I thought he wouldn't understand these customs since he doesn't talk much."
Gift-giving is an art, and since Chu Xiaohe doesn't smoke, there was no tobacco among the gifts. While all other gifts were appropriate, a bag of pomegranates stood out, their skins full and bright, glowing with a rosy hue, looking incredibly fresh.
Xie Yan picked up a red pomegranate and exclaimed: "Are pomegranates in season already?"
Pomegranates typically come into season in autumn, and it was still a bit early, making them wonder where Xin Yunmao had found such fine specimens.
"He must have specifically searched for them, he's really thoughtful, just a bit eager," Chu Xiaohe remarked. "If we interpret this according to ancient customs, these gifts are quite similar to betrothal gifts."
Chu Zhishui froze: "Huh?"
"Don't you know? And you're supposed to be a graduate from Silver University." Chu Xiaohe teased, "Pomegranates have many seeds, and when given to family and friends, they symbolize family prosperity. The pomegranate fruit represents 'thousands of seeds in one embrace, golden chambers with jade partitions,' symbolizing a perfect marriage and having many children."
In some regions, newlyweds would plant two pomegranate trees together, symbolizing eternal union and commemorating their love.
Chu Zhishui said numbly: "I didn't understand at first, but as soon as you mentioned seeds, I got it."
Plant spirits can never escape their plant-based thinking.
Xie Yan split open a fresh red pomegranate, revealing the glistening red seeds, and praised: "These look really good. We should ask him where he bought them sometime, he's even better at picking fruit than I am."
"If you want to eat more, we can ask him for some another time," Chu Zhishui said vaguely, suspecting he had used supernatural energy to grow them, otherwise such off-season fruit wouldn't be possible.
Chu Xiaohe nodded with satisfaction: "That's good. Although he's not human, he's quite nice, especially sincere."
"It's better that he's not human, no family complications," Xie Yan said. "If he were human, dealing with unreasonable family members would cause so many troubles. We'd definitely have to interact with them, and I couldn't handle meeting someone like Liu Kemei."
Chu Zhishui said weakly: "Dad, Mom, aren't you accepting this too quickly? You're already discussing his good points..."
"Of course, we have to think about our own lives too. If you find someone with a simple family situation, it'll be much easier for us," Chu Xiaohe said. "When the child goes to school, we can send them to the kindergarten nearby, and I'll be responsible for picking them up after I retire."
"...Aren't you thinking too far ahead?"
She had just told Xin Yunmao that her parents didn't have such intentions, but now they were already talking about kindergarten, even planning the bamboo offspring's education?
Xie Yan suddenly remembered something. She quickly put down the pomegranate, wiped her fingers clean, and called Chu Zhishui aside: "I didn't know before, so I didn't say anything, but now that there's something going on, and knowing you're grown up, I should give you a few reminders."
Chu Zhishui looked confused.
"Take care of yourself, and think about how to handle certain things, protect your body," Xie Yan said tactfully. "If you occasionally don't come home on weekend nights, just let your father and me know."
Chu Zhishui was speechless, not expecting this adult topic to come up so suddenly, and stubbornly said: "I want to come home, so I will."
"Why would you come home?" Xie Yan was puzzled, "Hasn't the new home been settled?"
"..." Chu Zhishui swallowed and said casually, "I just want to protect him."
Xie Yan: "?"
Chu Zhishui said calmly: "He's a plant spirit, so it's not about me having a condition, but about him pollinating and bearing fruit. Mom, you've misunderstood."
Xie Yan: "??"
After hearing her daughter's explanation about the bamboo offspring, Xie Yan was momentarily dazed and conceded: "Then come home if you want, don't rush things..."
Chu Zhishui agreed: "Right? You have to consider his feelings."
Xie Yan was now in a daze, nodding absently and responding: "Yes, that's good. Then in the future, don't try to save money, find a proper postpartum care center for him when needed."
"..."
Xin Yunmao's first meeting with her parents concluded successfully, and when Chu Zhishui next visited the new home, she felt much more at ease, with nothing to hide anymore.
A human and a spirit went to a physical store on the following weekend to buy a phone, finally bringing Xin Yunmao into modern life. Previously, he only communicated with Chu Zhishui, able to move freely to her side using a magical token, and being too lazy to interact with others, he naturally had no need for communication devices.
Now, with the phone linked to Xin Yunmao's documents and having added Chu Xiaohe and Xie Yan's contact information, his communication channels had broadened slightly.
Chu Xiaohe frequently sent current news to Xin Yunmao, seemingly hoping he would understand the nation's history of rejuvenation, and even extended the concept of a shared human destiny to include both humans and spirits.
Xie Yan, on the other hand, simply liked the cover photo in Xin Yunmao's social media profile, which was a picture of him and Chu Zhishui at Mount Dan.
Chu Zhishui's family, like her, opened their arms to him, gradually incorporating a cluster of bamboo into their courtyard, nurturing him as quietly as gentle rain.
At the Huaijiang Observation Bureau, personnel from the Observation Department returned from Kongsang, bringing back a large batch of new reformed spirits to accelerate the bureau's construction progress.
Chu Zhishui stood by the window, gazing at the construction site from afar, and remarked curiously, "Why does the construction site seem livelier? Didn't Director Miao say recently that the furnaces would be empty soon, with no suitable candidates?"
Although the bureau's infrastructure could rely on reformed spirits, there were still practical difficulties, as not all spirits were capable of building. Some older spirits who had been imprisoned for many years lacked the necessary knowledge and couldn't operate various equipment, making it essential to capture spirits who kept up with the times.
Jin Yu explained, "I heard they caught a batch in Kongsang. Their Observation Department couldn't hold any more, so they had to distribute them to other observation bureaus. They specifically chose plant spirits skilled in construction to bring back."
"I didn't know observation departments had capacity limits."
"They do. If too many accumulate, the bureau becomes unstable."
"I see."
In the Kongsang Bureau, Director Huang and other spirits had finally, after a long battle and with support from other bureaus, completely suppressed the recently aggressive Dragon Temple forces.
However, arrests didn't mark the end. Detention was equally problematic, with enormous pressure nearly crushing the Kongsang Bureau. Even with continuous transfers to other bureaus, the outflow couldn't keep pace with the inflow, mainly because long-distance prisoner transport was too slow.
At the Kongsang Observation Department, a dragon's roar echoed as dark spiritual energy scattered about, suddenly breaking free from long-binding chains!
A black shadow emerged from the grotesque stone dragon head, seemingly about to soar toward the heavens, escaping its thousand-year imprisonment!
"Close the doors, close them now!" Director Huang shouted in alarm, "Don't let it escape the Observation Department!"
Countless chains rattled loudly, violently forcing the shadow back into the dragon head, but the shadow stubbornly rose again, waiting for another chance to slip past the imposing gates. The furnaces holding the Dragon Temple followers began to stir, using the opportunity to pressure the Kongsang spirits, rallying behind their former god.
The earth shook as the iron door cracked open slightly, only to be slammed shut again, but that shadow still managed to slip half its essence through.
The scene descended into chaos as all spirits panicked.
Director Huang shed leaves in terror, slapping his forehead as he exclaimed, "It's over, I'm going to be dismissed! He actually escaped!"
"Director Huang, only half of his soul escaped, about one-eighth of it, and it's been weakened over a thousand years..."
"Even if only one-sixteenth escaped, it's still a security incident! This is binary - either it happened or it didn't - the amount doesn't matter!"
This news quickly spread to the other three bureaus: the remaining dragon soul had wandered off, its whereabouts unknown.
In the director's office, Hu Chenrui felt the tension in the situation acutely. He immediately summoned Xin Yunmao and Miao Li to discuss countermeasures, saying gravely, "Divine Lord, now that the Dragon God has escaped, I fear trouble is brewing. Please take action immediately..."
Xin Yunmao sat on the sofa, completely unperturbed, and calmly asked, "Why should I take action?"
"What?" Hu Chenrui stared at him in surprise, "But that's the Dragon God's remnant soul, he'll surely..."
"That's one-eighth of his remnant soul, and it's been weakened over a thousand years," Xin Yunmao frowned, "If he couldn't defeat me before, do you think he'd actively seek confrontation now? He's not stupid - he'll need to recover and rebuild his strength before making a comeback."
"That's exactly why we can't let him recover. We must strike while the iron is hot..."
"After his recovery, it'll be hundreds of years from now. By then, it won't be my concern," Xin Yunmao said nonchalantly, "I'll only live another hundred years. That's your work, not mine. Why should I take on this responsibility?"
If the Dragon God hadn't attacked him back then, he wouldn't have gotten involved at all - plants aren't naturally combative.
"Divine Lord, this isn't appropriate!" Hu Chenrui gaped, trying to persuade him, "We can't just start slacking off as soon as we join the system. These are human bad habits you shouldn't adopt!"
How could he start slacking right after getting his official position!?
"I belong to the Economic Development Department, not the Observation Department. You have no authority over me," Xin Yunmao mocked, "If you can't even handle one-eighth, you're really quite useless."
Hu Chenrui was at his wit's end: "Miao Li, say something, please convince the Divine Lord!"
Miao Li let out a soft meow, raising an eyebrow and saying lazily, "What's there to convince? At least he didn't get pregnant right after joining the system - I'd say that's quite moral of him."
Hu Chenrui: "???"
Xin Yunmao: "..."
