Chapter 38: The Immortal’s Cave

Ming Dai blinked her eyes, completely unable to understand what he was saying.

Taking advantage of the moment, she spoke with a mysterious expression, “Zhou Sinian, I was just enlightened by the Mountain God!”

Zhou Sinian frowned at her.

“The Mountain God saw that I have the fate of an immortal and granted me an immortal cave. It’s on me, and I can carry it with me.”

Zhou Sinian’s frown deepened as he looked at Ming Dai, clearly concerned. She seemed even more ill than he was. What should he do?

“I can now take items freely, and I can also bring people in and out. Do you want to see?”

Zhou Sinian sighed, sat back down, and continued cracking pine nuts.

He figured he would have her fry the chestnuts scattered all over, and turn the pine nuts into pine nut candy. As things got crazier, she surely wouldn’t cook anymore. Then, their good days would be over.

Since she was still lucid, he might as well have her do more while she could.

Seeing that he didn’t believe her, Ming Dai waved her hand. The pile of pine cones in front of Zhou Sinian disappeared. His stick swung through empty air, making a dull thud on the ground.

Zhou Sinian quickly stood up, instinctively adopting a defensive stance. One hand held the stick in front of him while the other reached for his waist, grabbing a military dagger.

“Wait, when did you put that thing on your waist? There’s no scabbard. Aren’t you afraid of cutting yourself?”

Ming Dai was also startled by the sudden appearance of the military dagger. When had Zhou Sinian started carrying it?

They stood in a standoff for a moment, but when nothing abnormal appeared, Zhou Sinian looked around in confusion, even using the military dagger to pry open the ground in search of something.

But he found nothing.

“I already told you, it’s my immortal technique. Why don’t you believe me? Just watch!” Ming Dai pointed at the pile of pine cones in front of her.

“Gather!”

Immediately, the pile of pine cones vanished!

“Release!”

Before Zhou Sinian could react, the pile of pine cones appeared again!

This time, Zhou Sinian’s expression of wide-eyed amazement and open mouth amused Ming Dai.

“The Mountain God said that only I have the fate of an immortal, and you don’t. But since we are good friends, the Mountain God said I could share it with you. The condition is that you must listen to me unconditionally, understand?”

Zhou Sinian returned to his usual expression, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

“Of course, I’m not asking you to do anything bad. I just hope you won’t tell others about the immortal matter. After all, the Mountain God is currently cultivating on the mountain and doesn’t want to be disturbed.

So, since I have an immortal cave and can use immortal arts, this must remain a secret. If others find out, not only will the immortal cave and the immortal arts be taken back, but both our lives could also be at stake. Do you understand?”

Zhou Sinian solemnly nodded, his voice firm and clear.

“Understood!”

Ming Dai nodded in satisfaction.

“Don’t worry. The Mountain God gave this to me because he saw that we have kind hearts and don’t want to waste food. That’s why he provided such an immortal item. As long as we keep the secret, with this immortal cave, we’ll have endless food and will never go hungry or cold again. Understand?”

At that moment, Zhou Sinian’s eyes lit up.

“Understood!”

Ming Dai smiled and waved her hand.

“Now, come over here. It’s time for this immortal to demonstrate her immortal arts!”

Zhou Sinian followed her instructions and stood beside her.

Ming Dai raised her hand.

“Rise!”

Suddenly, tens of thousands of pine cones in the forest soared into the air. As they shook, full pine nuts fell, floating in mid-air.

“Gather!”

In the next moment, both the pine cones and the pine nuts disappeared, and two small mountains appeared in Ming Dai’s space warehouse.

Zhou Sinian stared at this miraculous scene. Even though he had already witnessed it once, seeing it again still felt incredibly amazing!

Ming Dai used the same method to gather the pine cones from the trees, then she collected a pile of thick pine needles that covered the ground.

Finally, she left the pine nuts that were infested with worms under a tree for the squirrels to use during the winter.

When everything was done, the pine forest, which had been covered with pine cones just a moment ago, was now completely clean, with not a single thing wasted.

Zhou Sinian was still in a daze, trying to process what he had just seen.

Ming Dai, with the demeanor of a mischievous aunt tempting a child, extended her hand toward him.

“Zhou Sinian, do you want to come see my immortal cave?”

Zhou Sinian looked into her eyes, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Suddenly, everything went dark. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

Instinctively, Zhou Sinian drew his military dagger to defend himself, but Ming Dai had already walked into a villa and was waving at him.

Zhou Sinian took a moment to adjust, cautiously surveying his surroundings, and then followed her footsteps.

As he looked at the polished marble floor and the European-style columns, Zhou Sinian was left in confusion.

Once inside the room, the beautiful scene made Zhou Sinian freeze in place.

He had never seen such a large light fixture!

It hung down from the third floor, made of countless crystal tubes, and the dazzling lights filled the entire room.

Ming Dai found a pair of spare slippers and handed them to him.

“Come, take off your shoes and leave them here.”

Zhou Sinian followed her instructions, changed into the slippers, and only then did he realize that it was quite warm in here. Wearing his cotton coat and pants, he was already sweating.

Ming Dai, too, didn’t pay attention to anything else. She led him to the guest room on the first floor, opened the bathroom door, and turned on the faucet for the bathtub. The hot water rushed in, startling Zhou Sinian!

Ming Dai pointed at the bathroom’s various fixtures, explaining and demonstrating them as she spoke.

Zhou Sinian quickly transitioned from shock to curiosity, and within just a few minutes, he had adapted perfectly to the situation. His ability to adjust was impressive.

“Later, you’ll use the shower to clean yourself off first. After you’re clean, you can soak in the bathtub. Do you remember how to use the toiletries and their categories?” Ming Dai asked.

Zhou Sinian nodded.

With that, Ming Dai left the room. “I’ll leave the water running. Once it’s full, just turn it off. You can adjust the temperature yourself. I’ll go get you some clothes.”

Zhou Sinian looked at the faucet on the sink, trying to lift it. Water started flowing, and when he lowered it, the water stopped.

Turning it to the left made the water hot, and turning it to the right made it cool!

It was amazing! This was immortal magic! This was the immortal cave!

When Ming Dai returned with the clothes, she found him thoroughly enjoying himself and didn’t stop him. After all, there was no waste of water in this place.

“Go ahead and shower first. There will be plenty of time to play later, alright?”

Zhou Sinian nodded obediently. At that moment, with his sweat-drenched hair sticking to his face, he looked unexpectedly cute.

After closing the door behind him, Ming Dai went upstairs to her own room to take a shower.

Even though she could come in every night for a bath, after a whole day of work and the trouble on the mountain, she was feeling exhausted herself.

After a refreshing, fragrant bath, Ming Dai stretched her toes in sheer comfort.

She applied body lotion, took care of her skincare, and then, considering Zhou Sinian’s comfort level, opted against the silk camisole sleepwear and instead put on a cotton long-sleeve and long-pants set.

She shoved her cotton coat and pants into the washer-dryer combo and, with her bunny slippers on, headed downstairs.

The living room was empty; Zhou Sinian was probably still showering.

Passing the guest room, she noticed he was already out, sitting on the bed with his head lowered, lost in thought.

Ming Dai knocked on the door. Zhou Sinian looked up at her as she walked in.

After his bath, Zhou Sinian’s pale face finally regained some color. Dressed in the thin long-sleeve sleepwear, his slender frame was even more apparent.

“Did you feel comfortable after the bath?” Ming Dai asked.

Zhou Sinian nodded. It had been a long time since he had felt this comfortable.

Before Ming Dai came, he had bathed as well, in the river.

In the summer, he would wait until others finished bathing and leave, then he’d go. But during the winter, he noticed those people stopped going, so he started going by himself.

The only problem was that every time he finished bathing, he’d feel dizzy for days afterward, not exactly comfortable.

Today, though, after the bath, he still felt a bit dizzy, but it was a pleasant kind of dizziness.

Ming Dai: Who would bathe in a river in the winter? Is it winter swimming? No, you’re not dizzy, you’re just feverish from the cold!

Ming Dai chuckled and looked at him, half-sitting on the bed. “Why don’t you sit down properly?”

Zhou Sinian smiled awkwardly. “I’ll just bounce right back up.”

Ming Dai paused for a moment, then realized he had never slept on a mattress before.

That’s when the series of “whys” began. Ming Dai took him through the guest room, the living room, the kitchen, the storage room, and even the yard and the pool out back.

For all the questions she could answer, she did. For those she couldn’t, she made up something about the immortal not telling her the answer.

One notable thing was that the house’s TV, phones, and tablets couldn’t play any media beyond this time period. This meant they could only watch shows and movies from the current era.

After a while, Ming Dai was getting tired of the questions, so she turned on the TV, fully diverting Zhou Sinian’s attention.

Ming Dai sighed in relief. She hadn’t expected to have a breakdown from all the questions herself.

In the end, it was Zhou Sinian who suggested going back home.

Watching Zhou Sinian casually turn off the TV without any hesitation, Ming Dai couldn’t help but admire his self-discipline.

Before leaving, Ming Dai checked his pulse again, telling him that the immortal had instructed her to cure his illness.

Zhou Sinian wasn’t resistant at all. He did everything she asked, whether it was extending his left hand instead of his right, or rolling up his sleeves without unbuttoning them.

Finally, Ming Dai placed her hand on the back of Zhou Sinian’s head. As expected, she felt a dent in his skull.

It seemed like an old injury had never healed properly, and the mental instability he experienced was likely caused by damage from the medicine.

That person really did hate him.

Ming Dai didn’t hold anything back. She explained the situation to Zhou Sinian.

He didn’t fully understand, but he was willing to listen. “I don’t know, but I believe you. I want to get better. It feels like I’ve forgotten something very important.”

Ming Dai nodded. Effective treatment always started with a patient willing to cooperate.

So, Ming Dai shaved Zhou Sinian’s head completely bald.

Looking at the perfectly shaped bald head, Ming Dai nodded in satisfaction.

Zhou Sinian, on the other hand, touched his own head, then silently went to the storage room to fetch a Lei Feng hat.

Ming Dai held back a laugh and handed him his dried clothes.

Once they both changed, Zhou Sinian got ready, and they both emerged from the space.

The sudden shift in temperature made both of them shiver at the same time.

They exchanged a smile, and the two of them began walking down the mountain.

On the way, Ming Dai collected dry branches and wood, and when they reached the place with chestnut shells, she collected those as well.

The journey was full of easy and fruitful harvests, and Zhou Sinian seemed to be in high spirits as well.

“Hey, Zhou Sinian, why is it that I’ve been up the mountain so many times, but I haven’t seen a single wild chicken? I don’t think any small animals have appeared either.”

“That’s because of me.”

Ming Dai was confused. As she picked up a fallen dry tree branch, she glanced at him.

“I don’t know, but as long as I don’t hide it, they won’t come near.”

After a while of asking, Ming Dai finally understood. Apparently, Zhou Sinian was releasing killing intent from his body, and small animals, being sensitive, were too scared to approach. When he concealed it, they couldn’t sense it anymore.

“Killing intent?”

Ming Dai frowned. Could he be lying to her? Just because I got immortal magic doesn’t mean you suddenly have killing intent, right? Is this some sort of wuxia trick?

Zhou Sinian shook his head. “I don’t know what it is, but I can control it freely.”

Ming Dai nodded. Alright, maybe so. Zhou Sinian’s remarkable learning ability, his capacity for quick thinking and investigation, all pointed to him being no ordinary person, someone who couldn’t be viewed with typical eyes.

Soon, they reached the foot of the mountain, where they placed some of the wood onto the cart. Zhou Sinian pulled the cart while Ming Dai rode in it.

The roller coaster ride was about to begin!