Of course, Xin Xiu didn't end up eating that fish. She was a principled person with refined tastes, especially particular about what she ate. Otherwise, she wouldn't have spent time figuring out how to make various snacks that were both visually appealing and delicious. That fish had reached a level of ugliness that was almost fascinating, and most crucially, it had dared to attack her.
If it had beaten her, Xin Xiu would have been willing to overcome her visual aversion and fish it out to eat as a way of venting her anger. But it hadn't won, so she disdained eating such an unattractive loser. This thing was fit for a lifetime of solitary confinement.
After witnessing her Master's superhuman skills, Xin Xiu began to find the furnace boring. Unlike when he had quickly made kitchen utensils for her earlier, her Master's serious artifact forging would keep him here for several days.
"Master, I want to go out," Xin Xiu said, tugging at her Master's robe after doing fifty sit-ups on the spot, finally unable to stay put any longer.
Then she was spat out of the large furnace as if it were ejecting sunflower seed shells. With her guardian busy working, Xin Xiu once again found herself unsupervised and free. She still wanted to find pandas, strolling along the border between the back mountain and Secluded Bamboo Mountain, looking very much like a bank robber scouting locations before a heist.
But before she could make her second attempt, she encountered a scene of illegal border-crossers being caught red-handed.
Coincidentally, it was someone familiar.
The Second, with an innocent bear-like expression, was being held by the hand by a bamboo pole-like Senior Uncle in a conical hat, in the same posture as a police officer arresting a criminal, escorted out of the bamboo forest.
At first glance, Xin Xiu didn't see The Second, only noticing another Senior Uncle in a conical hat walking in front. She reflexively defended herself: "Senior Uncle, I haven't even entered the back mountain area yet, I'm just here to familiarize myself with the Secluded Bamboo Mountain environment! I've been wrongly accused!"
Only after speaking did she notice The Second being escorted out, and she immediately fell silent, even wanting to laugh.
Both bamboo pole-like Senior Uncles had stern expressions. Xin Xiu had trouble distinguishing which ones they were from last time, but they nodded at her without speaking, sitting their captive, The Second, on a bamboo section, the same treatment Xin Xiu had received before. Xin Xiu thought to herself, she knew this guy would sneak over to see the Iron-Eating Spirit Beast, but she didn't expect it to be so soon.
See, now he's sitting here waiting for his guardian to come pick him up. She gave a meaningful look to The Second, who was making faces at her, using her eyes to tell him: "Don't tell anyone I'm your mom if you've gotten into trouble!"
Just as she was thinking this, another bamboo pole-like Senior Uncle walked out of the bamboo forest... So there were actually three of these mass-produced looking figures. She wondered if they were triplets.
This newly arrived Senior Uncle was followed by another person, a flamboyantly dressed pretty man in a skirt - Senior Uncle Bo Luan, The Second's master. Well, well, it turns out they were partners in crime.
"We've told you several times already, trespassing in the back mountain is forbidden. Senior Brother Bo Luan, how many times have we caught you now? Why can't you learn your lesson?" the bamboo pole Senior Uncle walking in front said helplessly.
Xin Xiu noticed that he addressed Senior Uncle Bo Luan as "Senior Brother". Strange, wasn't Senior Uncle Bo Luan the Founding Master's youngest disciple? How come these bamboo pole Senior Uncles also called him Senior Brother? Could it be that the bamboo pole Senior Uncles weren't among the Founding Master's thirty-six disciples?
Senior Uncle Bo Luan was like a frequent visitor to the police station, familiar with law enforcement and thus casual in his attitude. He adjusted the flower pin in his hair and said in a perfunctory tone, "I wasn't here to steal the Iron-Eating Spirit Beast this time, just to enjoy the scenery."
The expressions of the bamboo pole Senior Uncles all said, "Do you think I believe your nonsense?"
"It's one thing if you come by yourself, but this time you've brought your disciple along to cause trouble. The child is so young, coming to such a dangerous place. Aren't you afraid of frightening him?"
Senior Uncle Bo Luan: "Listen to my excuse, this time it wasn't actually me who wanted to come, it was this little guy who insisted on bringing me here."
The Second spoke up: "That's right, that's right, Master is telling the truth."
The bamboo pole Senior Uncles sighed and criticized the unreliable single father: "At your age, how can you push all the responsibility onto your young disciple!"
Senior Uncle Bo Luan: "..."
After being forced to admit his mistake, Senior Uncle Bo Luan put his arm around his disciple's neck and left the sight of the bamboo pole Senior Uncles and the onlooker, Xin Xiu.
Xin Xiu bid farewell to The Second with her eyes, and couldn't help pondering a question: What exactly was the punishment for trespassing in the back mountain?
The three bamboo pole Senior Uncles, having sent off the master and disciple, turned to look at her. Xin Xiu hadn't had time to break the law this time, so she stood straight-backed, smiling as she greeted them again, "Senior Uncles, thank you for your hard work. I'd like to ask, what exactly is the punishment for trespassing in the back mountain?"
One of the bamboo pole Senior Uncles said: "The punishment for trespassing in the back mountain is calculated every three years, based on the number of trespasses and the severity of the actions, decided personally by the Founding Master."
Xin Xiu thought: Based on the number of times... From this sentence alone, it's clear that there are many fellow disciples testing the boundaries of the law.
Xin Xiu: "Can you reveal any specifics about the punishment?"
Bamboo pole Senior Uncle: "You're a good child. Senior Uncle believes you won't do such things, so you don't need to know."
Xin Xiu thought: I am.
But she couldn't say it directly. What fool would tell the police outright that they were planning to break the law? So she'd have to go back and ask her Master.
Her Master, absorbed in artifact forging, hadn't come out. A Senior Uncle sent a disciple to deliver a large jar of honey.
Xin Xiu, already accustomed to this kind of package pickup, accepted the jar and thanked him: "Thank you, Senior Brother, for bringing me honey."
The Senior Brother replied very plainly: "No need to thank me, Junior Sister. It's not specifically for you. We send this honey to Senior Uncle Shentu every year."
Senior Brother, your words leave me speechless. Cultivators who have detached from social interactions either speak exceptionally well or not at all.
Carrying the large jar of honey back, Xin Xiu pondered why her Master would like sweet things like honey. It was sent every year, but she hadn't seen any honey in the bamboo house, which meant it had been eaten. But for her Master, this aloof and eccentric big shot, with his villainous setting, liking honey was such an incongruous hobby.
Her Master wasn't a stingy person, so he probably wouldn't mind if she ate a little honey, right?
Xin Xiu had seen a hawthorn tree on the mountain earlier, its fruits bright red. She had gone and picked a bag full to bring back. Sitting by the small stream, she washed them clean one by one, removed the stems and cores, and filled the hollow centers with honey before sealing them up. Then she went back to boil rock sugar. She always had great patience when making these snacks, and the feeling of quietly boiling a pot of syrup surrounded by bamboo forest was very serene.
With the sweet fragrance lingering around her, Xin Xiu whittled small bamboo skewers while inhaling the sweet scent. Each small bamboo skewer only pierced one hawthorn, which was quickly rolled in the bubbling sugar pot, coating the bright red little hawthorn with a layer of transparent syrup. After setting them aside to dry, she would carefully brush on a layer of honey.
She didn't like sour tastes, so she had figured out this version of honey-filled candied haws. This version was very popular among her friends, but she had been too busy with work before to make them often.
She tasted one of the candied haws she had skewered, and whether it was due to the superior ingredients in this world of immortal cultivation or something else, she felt it was much more successful than what she used to make.
Before she finished eating one, her Master's voice sounded from behind.
Xin Xiu turned her head while chewing on the candied haw, looked at him, and casually lifted the bamboo tray, "Master, I made some candied haws. Would you like some?"
Her Master nodded and took the entire bamboo tray.
Xin Xiu thought: Master, I was only offering you a few.
But she didn't feel right saying the truth, nor did she want to quibble over such small matters with her Master, after all, her Master was now her father. However, her Master once again subverted her impression of him today - he actually did have a sweet tooth.
He just stood there, and the candied haws on the tray decreased one by one. Although his movements seemed quite slow, the speed at which the candied haws disappeared was not slow at all. Xin Xiu watched helplessly as he finished the entire tray of candied haws. She empathetically felt her mouth becoming cloyed, but her Master didn't seem to have such a sensation.
What puzzled Xin Xiu the most was that after finishing the candied haws on the tray, her Master even lifted the bamboo tray itself, as if preparing to put it in his mouth.
...Was Master planning to lick the tray clean? This really wasn't necessary, was it? Xin Xiu stared at his actions.
Shentu Yu glanced at his disciple and paused his movement, putting down the tray.
So Master really wanted to lick the tray? Surely he wasn't about to eat the utensils out of habit? Xin Xiu began to consider whether her Master truly had such an extreme sweet tooth, or if he had rarely eaten during his cultivation and had become this greedy. Whichever it was, it seemed too pitiful.
Xin Xiu: "Dad, if you still want to eat, I can make some more for you." She couldn't let her Master resort to licking the plate.
Shentu Yu: "Dad?"
Xin Xiu: "It means father, in the dialect of my hometown."
Xin Xiu had called him that casually, but Shentu Yu fell silent. He had been cultivating for over 600 years, and because he was different from all others of his kind, he had always been lonely. Later, when his Master, LingZhao Immortal, achieved true immortality here, he saw that Shentu Yu had already embarked on the path of cultivation and, finding it rare, took him as a disciple.
After that, he had a Master and fellow disciples, but he was still not of the human race, with different habits. His senior brothers who knew his true identity and his junior brothers who didn't, all interacted with him in a lukewarm manner. Though their friendship was long-lasting, it wasn't passionate.
This little disciple of his was different. Perhaps because she was still so young, she was very affectionate and clingy, able to interact with him without any fear. In such a short time, she had already regarded him as a father, calling him "dad" so straightforwardly and sincerely—the Master didn't know about the habit of internet-addicted young people casually adopting fathers, he only felt touched that his disciple trusted and was so close to him.
He felt a heavy responsibility settle on his shoulders. Because of that one word "dad," Shentu Yu, now bearing this weighty responsibility, somewhat awkwardly but full of affection, patted his disciple's hair.
Xin Xiu: "???" Just because she said she'd make him some more delicious food, Master was so moved that he could even overcome his social anxiety and actively pat her head. The power of good food was truly formidable.
After making another pot of candied hawthorns for her Master, she said goodbye, mentioning she was going out to play, and happily left with a small bamboo tube of honey. She planned to use the honey to lure the giant pandas from the back mountain. Perhaps they would come out if they smelled the sweetness. Bears all liked to eat honey, and pandas should be no exception.
Shentu Yu stood on the bamboo house. If he wanted, he could see his disciple wandering at the edge of Secluded Bamboo Mountain, watching her search everywhere for the Iron-Eating Spirit Beasts. Shentu Yu, who had just realized his role as a father, felt a bit uneasy. His disciple liked him so much, yet he was planning to avoid her.
But he also didn't really want to be cuddled and have his fur stroked by his disciple. He ate the honey-glazed candied hawthorns with slight anxiety as he watched his disciple sit disappointedly on a large rock by the stream, sighing.
Dejected.
Alone.
Shentu Yu's movements in eating the candied hawthorns became slower and slower, until he finally put down the tray.
...
Xin Xiu tapped on the bamboo tube, thinking she probably wouldn't see any giant pandas today either. She jumped off the big rock and started heading back when, passing through a bamboo grove, she saw a glowing white giant panda lying there.
Xin Xiu: "!"
That familiar round figure, that size, that black and white fur—it must be the mother panda she had seen last time!
Clutching the bamboo tube of honey, she leaped over two large bamboo shoots in the middle with a hurdling posture, landing beside the panda.
"Do you remember me? We met last time." As she spoke, her hand was already expertly stroking the panda's black paw.
Hehe, she got to touch it again. This feeling was indeed the best. A few days ago, she had found a fur mat in the bamboo house to use as a mattress, but the feeling couldn't compare to a real giant panda. Looking at this warm, soft, and smooth fur, it was truly intoxicating.
"I brought you some honey. Do you want to eat honey?" Xin Xiu first offered this "payment," hoping that in exchange for this tube of honey, the mother panda would let her pet it for a while longer.
Shentu Yu took the small bamboo tube of honey and put it directly into his mouth, tube and all.
Xin Xiu was still wondering how it would eat when she saw this, and her petting hand paused. What a direct and simple way of eating, and the sound of biting the bamboo was so crisp.
Watching the giant panda's cheeks move, the fur trembling along with it, she reached up to stroke the panda's round face. Giant pandas indeed looked better with chubby cheeks; this was the best-built panda she had ever seen.
Burying her face in the furry belly, Xin Xiu continued to make happy purring sounds.
