Chapter 2

Peng Peng dragged Ji Shu back to her courtyard with great effort.

Inside the house, there was only a small bed she slept on. Peng Peng brought over a pile of straw for him to use as padding and fetched a basin of clean water to wipe his face.

While Peng Peng was cleaning his face, Ji Shu took the opportunity to survey the little girl’s living quarters.

At first, he had wondered if Peng Peng might just be the child of a servant in the Gongyi household. But servants’ children wouldn’t have their own small courtyard to live in, so this little girl was almost certainly a true descendant of the Gongyi family.

However, her lineage clearly wasn’t highly valued—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been assigned such a place to live.

Through the broken window lattice, he could see a stagnant pond in the courtyard covered with withered leaves. A banana tree beside it drooped lifelessly, looking half-dead. Inside, the walls were peeling, the beams were worm-eaten, and the quilt on the bed was patched in seven or eight places. Even the outer disciples of his sect lived in better conditions than this.

Not only that, but this tiny hut was also crammed with all sorts of junk she must have scavenged from somewhere.

A cracked green vial, a cheap jade pendant missing a corner, and a pile of dusty old books—all carefully wiped clean and neatly arranged on the shelves.

…Could collecting trash be her hobby?

But considering his current predicament, Ji Shu decided to ignore that thought.

He turned his gaze to the little girl wringing out the cloth beside him.

“What’s your name?”

Peng Peng looked up with a bright smile.

“Gongyi Peng. You can call me Peng Peng, sister.”

He asked again, “Why do you live alone in this courtyard? Where are your parents?”

“I don’t have parents.”

That matched his guess.

But to his surprise, the five-year-old girl remained completely calm when discussing such a topic, showing none of the sadness or grievance he might have expected.

“You…”

“Don’t worry, sister. I won’t cry.”

As if reading his thoughts, the round-eyed little girl said solemnly:

“Because I’m strong!”

The protagonists in storybooks who were destined for greatness never had parents, so of course she didn’t have any either. Why would she cry about that?

It just meant she was going to become really powerful someday!

At the very least, she was way stronger than those kids in the Gongyi household who ran crying to their parents over every little scrape!

However, as a normal person, Ji Shu couldn’t quite follow Peng Peng’s bizarre logic. He simply concluded in his heart that this little girl’s mind was… a bit unusual.

“Young Mistress, Young Mistress, I’m back—!”

The sound of fluttering wings grew closer outside the window. Ji Shu turned to see a peacock-blue mountain finch flying in. It struggled visibly in the air, as if its tiny wings could barely support its plump belly, threatening to send it plummeting at any moment.

Ji Shu narrowed his eyes.

A talking bird—a Spirit Demon?

The Spirit Demon perched on Peng Peng’s head also studied Ji Shu with its beady eyes.

How to describe this person’s appearance?

The little finch racked its tiny brain but couldn’t come up with a fitting description. All it knew was that the moment it saw his face, the entire shabby room seemed a little brighter.

What a pity—such a beauty, yet a thief! Judging by his attire, he was clearly one of those stinky Cultivators from the Cultivation world. How unlucky!

“Young Mistress, you usually bring home little scraps of junk, but now you’re picking up half-dead people too?”

Peng Peng argued earnestly, “Qiuqiu, you can’t say the things I pick up are just worthless junk. They’re clearly useful treasures!”

The Spirit Demon named Qiuqiu tilted her head:

“That cracked little bottle isn’t junk?”

Peng Peng adopted a mysterious expression:

“That’s no ordinary bottle! Once it absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, it’ll produce miraculous green liquid—just one drop can accelerate the growth of Spirit herbs!”

“What about that cheap jade pendant missing a corner?”

“According to my intuition, I’m sure there’s a huge hidden space inside, complete with a Spirit spring and Spirit fields!”

“…And those old books you randomly picked from the bushes?”

Peng Peng looked shocked: “How can you say they were random finds? I got them from beneath a cliff! A cliff!”

“……”

“……”

Hearing this, Ji Shu finally understood the unique thought process of this little girl.

In one word—

She’d read too many fantasy novels.

As if sensing the skepticism in Qiuqiu’s speechless beady eyes, Peng Peng gathered her collection of “junk” and brought it before Ji Shu, seeking validation.

“They might look ordinary now, but what if they turn into amazing treasures later? Big sister, you’re knowledgeable—the cultivation world must have such powerful magical artifacts, right?”

No. Powerful magical artifacts are powerful precisely because they’re born that way.

But meeting the girl’s utterly expectant gaze, Ji Shu swallowed those words.

Whatever. Which cultivator didn’t fantasize about fortuitous encounters when first embarking on the path to immortality?

Like many years ago, when his sect rescued him during a famine where people resorted to exchanging children to eat, the young boy Ji Shu had thought celestial immortals had descended to save the world. Even when his senior brother handed him a single Grain Avoidance Pill, he’d received it with reverent hands, believing it to be some elixir of immortality.

Only after stepping onto the cultivation path did he realize how vast and obscure both mortal and immortal paths were—where were all those fantastical encounters from the stories?

Compared to miracles, what existed in abundance were desires, resentments, unattainable wishes, and the separations of life and death.

“…Maybe,” Ji Shu answered vaguely.

The little girl’s eyes instantly brightened, and she turned to boast triumphantly to the chubby bird beside her:

“See see! The cultivator sister said it’s possible!”

The little bird’s beady eyes widened roundly, clearly half-convinced.

“—But I’m certain those leftover scraps you collected definitely aren’t treasures.”

Ji Shu looked at the pile of cold, greasy leftovers emitting unpleasant odors on the table and stated mercilessly:

“Take them out and throw them away.”

Peng Peng panicked, protectively hugging the food:

“No! If people go hungry, they’ll die!”

“…You won’t starve.” Ji Shu took out a white porcelain bottle from his Mustard Seed Pouch. “These are Grain Avoidance Pills. Eating these will keep you full.”

For wealthy cultivators, Grain Avoidance Pills were daily necessities, but someone as poor as Peng Peng had never tasted one in her life.

She’d seen other young masters and misses of the Gongyi family consume them before. Those youths who’d undergone Marrow Cleansing and Bone Tempering since childhood ate only pills, not grains, appearing ethereal like celestial beings. Occasionally noticing Peng Peng crouched on the ground shaping mud into “immortal pills,” they never commented but their eyes were full of puzzlement and disdain.

Peng Peng accepted the bottle, carefully pouring one pill onto her palm before giving it a tentative lick.

“…It’s sweet.” The little girl’s cheeks puffed up like a goldfish’s as she marveled, “Are all the pills in the cultivation world this delicious?”

Crunching on the grain avoidance pill, she couldn’t help but think:

This big sister seems not only wealthy but also multi-talented.

If I married into her family, could I eat these delicious candy pills every day?

…Then we must be a match made in heaven! A perfect pair!

“Big sister! Let me help heal your wounds!”

Ji Shu watched as the little girl suddenly became full of energy, her face serious as she pounced to strip off his clothes.

He did intend to stop her, but being severely injured and deliberately avoiding recovery pills, he was caught off guard when Peng Peng yanked open his front lapel, revealing the mottled wounds burned by sword qi…

And his bare upper body.

Ji Shu thought, at least now she should realize he wasn’t a woman.

However, the inexperienced five-year-old stared at his chest for a moment, seemingly comparing it to something during those hesitant seconds.

Finally, she sighed with an oddly mature tone:

“It’s okay, big sister. Small is cute too.”

Ji Shu: ?

With that, Peng Peng rummaged through Ji Shu’s Mustard Seed Pouch, pulling out a clean white undergarment. She then carefully cut it into strips with her scissors and tied them together one by one.

After finishing, the little girl excitedly held up a long cloth strip, showing it off to him as if it were some toy.

“The bandage is ready! Once I wrap this around you, big sister, you won’t bleed anymore—that’s how they do it on TV!”

…What is TV?

Ji Shu suddenly had a bad feeling.

He suspected the child wasn’t actually trying to heal him—she was probably just mimicking something for fun.

This suspicion was soon confirmed.

“Young mistress! No! Why did you tie yourself up too?”

The little chubby bird nearby noticed something was wrong and cried out in panic.

Only then did the focused little girl realize her mistake. She was sure this was how bandaging worked, so how had her arms gotten tangled up in the process?

Peng Peng gasped in shock: “How did this happen?! It tied me up! Damn it, is this clothing actually a magical artifact?!”

…It was just ordinary cloth.

But the girl, whose face clearly read “I knew these peasants were out to get me,” thought otherwise.

“It’s the cotton cloth spirit! Big sister, save me!”

“Young mistress, don’t panic! I’ll save you!!”

“Ow ow ow! Stupid Qiuqiu, you’re pecking my forehead!”

The girl and the bird flailed around in their struggle to undo the bandages. During the chaos, Ji Shu’s wounds were elbowed six times, and his chin was kicked three times. If he were to die, he figured it wouldn’t be from his injuries but purely from being tortured by these two.

It wasn’t until late into the night that the room finally quieted down.

—Because the two of them had exhausted themselves and fallen asleep.

The little girl sprawled over Ji Shu slept soundly, her slender arms loosely hugging his. The chirpy little finch had also folded its wings and curled up on his stomach, fluffy and round, nuzzling the girl’s forehead in its sleep.

Ji Shu studied Peng Peng’s sleeping face with a probing gaze.

He was a light sleeper by nature, often lying awake all night. No matter how soft the bed or how soothing the incense, he rarely managed a truly restful sleep.

So he couldn’t understand at all why someone could be wrestling with cloth strips one second and be fast asleep the next.

Moreover, this child had fallen asleep leaning against him.

The candlelight flickered, reflecting the little girl’s innocent sleeping face in the young man’s pitch-black eyes.

…If she knew the hand she was clinging to had severed countless heads, he wondered if she could still sleep so carelessly.

Never mind.

It was good that she was asleep.

It was time for him to leave.

A glimmer of light flashed at Ji Shu’s fingertips, and the cotton cloth strips wrapped around Peng Peng automatically loosened. A gentle current of air lifted her and Qiuqiu, silently moving them to the bed.

But just as they moved an inch—

“The Cotton cloth spirit! It’s going to strangle me!”

Peng Peng suddenly cried out. Caught off guard, Ji Shu’s fingers twitched, and the little girl floating mid-air immediately plummeted downward.

Fortunately, Ji Shu reacted quickly and caught them in the blink of an eye, though he felt his abdominal wound bleeding again. He sighed.

Just who was saving whom here?

The little girl in his arms, completely unaware of the trouble she was causing, clung to Ji Shu like an octopus, as if genuinely afraid of being caught by the imaginary Cotton cloth spirit.

Was it really that scary?

She was brave enough to live alone in this shabby little house at such a young age.

“…Monster, I’m not afraid of you…” The little girl murmured in her sleep, her toes curling in tension. “…Take this, my golden cudgel!”

…What nonsense was this?

Ji Shu recalled how women usually patted children to soothe them. After hesitating for a long time, he lightly patted her back twice.

As if drawing comfort from this gesture, the little girl’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

Ji Shu let out a relieved breath.

…Wait.

Why was he comforting her? He could just knock her out if she woke up.

Ji Shu stared at his hand for a few seconds, his expression stiff with complex emotions.

He had to leave now.

If he didn’t…

He had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to leave at all.

For Peng Peng, the night passed quickly.

The early spring chill of March usually let in a draft that kept her from sleeping well, but tonight there was no wind, and it wasn’t cold. Even the bed felt softer than usual. Peng Peng slept soundly without dreams and woke to bright daylight, the sun already high in the sky.

Upon waking, Peng Peng pushed aside the soft, thin quilt covering her, paused for a moment, then immediately shook Qiuqiu awake:

“It’s a new quilt! Qiuqiu! We have a new quilt!”

The changes in the house weren’t limited to just the quilt.

The drafty window had been sealed, the holes in the roof were gone, and the broken three-legged cabinet had been replaced with a brand-new ebony antique shelf, neatly displaying all the junk Peng Peng had collected—her little green bottle, the white jade pendant, the cultivation manual… Huh?

Peng Peng picked up a ring from the shelf and examined it carefully in the sunlight.

The ring was rusty, its jade inlaid surface dull and mottled.

…Had she ever picked up a ring like this?

No matter—whatever she picked up was her treasure now!

Qiuqiu, now fully awake, looked around in alarm and shrieked, “A thief! A thief broke in!!”

Peng Peng turned to her solemnly. “Not a thief! It was the Magic Servant Girl!”

Qiuqiu’s beady black eyes were filled with confusion.

“No, not the snail maiden either.” Peng Peng thought for a moment before breaking into a satisfied smile. “She’s the beautiful wife I picked up!”

On the rooftop eavesdropping, Ji Shu felt a vein pulse angrily on his forehead.

…Who the hell is your wife?

The reason he was still here had to be traced back to last night.

After the two had fallen asleep, Ji Shu had bandaged his wounds, taken some medicinal pills, and spent most of the night meditating to regulate his breathing.

Once his injuries were mostly healed, he had planned to leave quietly. But the moment he took his first step, the little girl behind him kicked off her blanket in her sleep.

Ji Shu hesitated for three seconds before finally turning back to tuck her in properly.

That simple act turned out to be his downfall.

First, he thought the blanket was too thick—no wonder she kicked it off. Then he noticed the drafty windows that clearly needed fixing. Looking up, he saw the biggest hole was in the roof. Since he was already here, he might as well patch that too.

After finishing these repairs, his eyes fell upon the shabby furnishings that clashed terribly with his hard work—and things quickly spiraled out of control.

Coming back to his senses, even Ji Shu couldn’t understand his own behavior.

Meanwhile, the little girl inside was still searching for him, muttering something that sounded like concern over his unhealed injuries.

Useless.

No matter how endearing she acted, it was time for him to leave.

Yet as he took that first step, his keen hearing caught faint noises in the distance.

“That little bitch Gongyi Peng! How dare she make me get laughed at by those losers from the Yin and Qi families!”

Ji Shu froze mid-step.

The voice came from within the Gongyi residence’s inner courtyard.

“A Lang, I’m telling you—she’s deliberately trying to embarrass the Gongyi family! Who in this day and age would pick through someone else’s leftovers unless they wanted to humiliate us? As if anyone actually starves these days!”

Ji Shu closed his eyes.

Strictly speaking, all the child had done yesterday was drag him around haphazardly and poke at his wounds—hardly what one would call “rescuing.” He owed her nothing.

“A Lang, you should just kick her out! She’s ruining the Gongyi family’s reputation!”

It’s fine. If she’s survived safely this long, she can handle this minor issue herself.

Ji Shu repeated inwardly:

Not his problem…

Don’t get involved…

Just walk away…

“Doesn’t she realize she’d be nowhere without the Gongyi family’s charity? How dare that fatherless, motherless brat cause trouble for her benefactors! This time we’ll really teach her a lesson!”

His foot, already lifted to leave, came back down.

Now he understood why he couldn’t leave.

Even after nine lifetimes, seeing this orphaned girl living on others’ mercy reminded him too much of his own childhood self—equally rootless, equally yearning for the miracles promised in storybooks.

The spring breeze whispered through, rustling petals from the trees.

When Ji Shu reappeared in the courtyard, Peng Peng was squatting on the steps with Qiuqiu, seriously discussing search plans while earnestly dividing areas on the ground with a stick—because splitting up would be more efficient.

Nothing was more adorable than a child taking things seriously.

Ji Shu’s lips curved up unconsciously, just as Peng Peng seemed to sense something and looked up, meeting the young man’s unusually gentle gaze.

Before Ji Shu could say anything, the little girl opposite him threw down the tree branch and confidently smiled:

“I knew it! Qiuqiu said the note you left claimed you wouldn’t come back, but that was just angry words. I didn’t believe it!”

“…”

Was it too late for him to leave now?