Mu Ge-sheng’s words confirmed Anping’s guess—the young man standing before him was Chai Shu-xin.
The other man’s expression was calm and unruffled. He nodded at Anping before turning his gaze toward Mu Ge-sheng on the second floor.
“I’m back.”
“Just in time.” Mu Ge-sheng stretched lazily and jumped down from the window. “I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“What would you like to eat?”
“Yangchun noodles. Make the broth rich.”
Mu Ge-sheng casually snatched the enamel mug from Anping’s hand and opened it to take a sip.
“Not bad. This stall only sells lotus seed soup during the first lunar month. It tastes just as good every year.”
Chai Shu-xin turned and went into the kitchen.
Anping was still standing there in a daze when Mu Ge-sheng snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.
“Come back to your senses.”
He wore an utterly shameless expression.
“Your eyes are practically popping out. Never seen a beauty before?”
Only then did Anping react. He said in disbelief, “I didn’t expect him to still be alive…”
“He died already.” Mu Ge-sheng cut off the rest of his sentence. “Just like me.”
Anping froze. He was about to ask another question, but Mu Ge-sheng had already picked up the enamel mug and started walking away.
“Come on. Let’s go to the temple fair.”
He added, “An Ping’er, you don’t need to ask too much. You’ll understand in time.”
Mu Ge-sheng walked into the front courtyard and casually grabbed a handful of loose change from the merit box.
Behind him, the yellow ox shouted at the top of his lungs, “You’re taking my incense money again!”
“I’ll pay you back later!”
Mu Ge-sheng waved his hand and slipped away.
Outside, the temple fair was already filled with the deafening sounds of gongs and drums. Two large red lion dancers were running down the street, competing for an embroidered ball.
Mu Ge-sheng disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
By the time Anping finally caught up with him, the man was squatting in front of a fortune-telling stall, holding a sugar sculpture shaped like Zhu Bajie, made entirely from poured sugar syrup.
A dignified Tian Suan Zi had actually gone off to steal someone else’s small business.
Anping found it hilarious. He felt that this man’s shamelessness had reached an entirely new level.
When he walked closer, however, he heard Mu Ge-sheng say:
“Brother, I see you’ve got quite a few coins in your bowl. I’ve got a large bill here. How about exchanging it for some smaller change?”
Anping: “……”
The fortune-teller shot Mu Ge-sheng a sidelong glance.
Mu Ge-sheng bit off Zhu Bajie’s head in one bite and continued, “I won’t exchange it for free, either. How about this? I’ll tell your fortune and predict how much money you’ll make today.”
Anping was speechless.
Yet, while he was distracted for just a moment, Mu Ge-sheng actually managed to exchange his money.
Not only that, the man even walked off with the fortune-teller’s bowl.
Anping watched as Mu Ge-sheng wandered through the streets and alleys, exchanging the bowl for a lantern, the lantern for candied hawthorn skewers, and the candied hawthorn skewers for a tiger-headed doll in a child’s hands…
Good grief. He had turned the entire temple fair into a giant barter market!
Finally, Mu Ge-sheng leaped into the air and snatched the embroidered ball while everyone was distracted.
The two lion dancers pounced through the air and caught it in their mouths, only to discover that the object they had been performing for all this time was actually a cloth tiger.
A child who had finished eating his candied hawthorn stared at the two lion dance performers, who were looking at each other in bewilderment. He sniffled, then burst into tears.
“They stole my tiger!”
Mu Ge-sheng swaggered back to the City God Temple and placed the loose change at the ticket counter. He knocked on the window.
“Here’s your incense money.”
After making a whole round of the temple fair, he really hadn’t spent a single cent.
Anping was practically drunk with disbelief.
“How did you manage to exchange that fortune-teller’s bowl for money?”
“Oh, that?” Mu Ge-sheng blinked. “I told him my daughter works for the urban management bureau.”
Anping: “……Actually, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask. Wu Bi-you is still underage. How did he become an urban management officer?”
Mu Ge-sheng yawned.
“He’s the Wuchang Zi. He’s responsible for patrolling the human world. Besides dealing with illegal activities and maintaining order, he’s also responsible for capturing wandering lonely ghosts that roam the human world. It’s somewhat like Fengdu’s Day and Night Patrol Gods, except he just happens to have an ordinary human-world official title.”
The rear courtyard gate creaked open.
Chai Shu-xin walked out, carrying a white porcelain bowl with steam rising from it.
“Breakfast is ready.”
“Coming, coming!” Mu Ge-sheng took the bowl. The broth was a rich, soy-colored brown, with a handful of thin noodles in it and bright green scallions sprinkled on top. Anping watched, practically drooling. The yellow ox tugged at his sleeve. “Come on. Let’s get ourselves some food.”
Anping followed him into the kitchen in the back courtyard. This room was usually little more than a decoration, but today the stove was lit, with one pot of thin noodles and another of broth simmering away.
“What a big family we have here.” The yellow ox served himself a bowl of noodles, then lit the stove again and fried himself an egg. He sighed contentedly. “Finally, someone who knows how to cook has come back.”
Anping served himself a bowl too. He had only seen Chai Shu-xin cook once in his dream, but he hadn’t expected the man’s cooking to be this good.
Back at Ginkgo Academy, he used to watch Song Wen-tong cook himself special meals every day. Unfortunately, he could only watch and never get to eat any of it. It had driven him crazy with hunger. Today, at last, he could enjoy the food for himself. The two of them gathered around the pot and ate with great enthusiasm.
“It’s New Year’s Eve today.” The yellow ox lifted the pots and bowls on the stove, revealing chicken and duck that had been cleaned and marinated in earthenware jars, fish and shrimp soaking in clear water, and several large baskets of vegetables. “With all this, we can put together quite a feast tonight.”
Anping looked out the window. He wasn’t quite sure how he should address Chai Shu-xin, so after hesitating for a moment, he asked vaguely, “That person… Does he live here?”
“That’s right.” The yellow ox kept his head down as he ate his noodles. “Something happened a while back, and that gentleman rarely went out. He just happened to be away during the time you arrived.” He burped. “Good thing he made it back before the New Year. Otherwise, with Tian Suan Zi’s cooking skills, we’d really be left drinking the northwest wind on New Year’s Eve.”
“Is he the one who usually cooks?”
The yellow ox smiled and looked out the window. “Not always.”
The two of them stood at the entrance to the back courtyard. Chai Shu-xin was holding a bowl, while Mu Ge-sheng stood on the threshold, putting up Spring Festival couplets.
The yellow ox had been right. That afternoon, the kitchen was already bustling with activity. Frying, deep-frying, boiling, braising, stewing, and stir-frying—the entire courtyard was filled with rich aromas. Mu Ge-sheng sat beneath the eaves playing chess with Anping. Anping had been learning from Lin Juansheng for several days and had improved a little. He was mentally prepared for the outcome, and sure enough, he was utterly crushed.
“Anping, you’ve lost again.” Mu Ge-sheng tossed a chess piece in his hand. “Want to play Gomoku instead?”
This man was beating him while making fun of him, and had even used the arrangement of the pieces on the board to form a smiley face. Anping’s mental state collapsed. “I’m not playing anymore.”
“Don’t be like that. You’ve studied under my senior brother, after all. Giving up just like that is so embarrassing.”
Anping wasn’t falling for that. “Even Changsheng Zi has lost to you before. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Mu Ge-sheng shrugged. “It’s a shame Senior Brother isn’t here. It’s been a long time since we’ve played together.”
Lin Juansheng was the sect leader of Penglai. A few days ago, something had come up in the sect, so he had returned to Penglai ahead of time.
With nothing else to do, Mu Ge-sheng went to the kitchen and came back carrying a huge basin of freshly fried lotus-root sandwiches. They were golden and crispy, and the only sounds filling the courtyard were his loud crunches as he ate.
Anping finally couldn’t take it anymore. He went into his room, brought out his schoolbag, and pulled out two thick stacks of exam papers.
“Anping, it’s New Year’s today.” Mu Ge-sheng raised an eyebrow at the sight. “Do you really have to work this hard? You’re doing homework even on New Year’s Eve?”
Anping thought, Yeah, right. He placed one stack of papers in front of Mu Ge-sheng.
“These are yours, Student Mu.”
“Study hard. Let’s do them together.”
Mu Ge-sheng, as expected, refused. He folded the exam papers into paper airplanes and sent them flying all over the courtyard.
Anping couldn’t stand watching anymore and was just about to say something when the back courtyard gate creaked open.
“Has that old bastard woken up yet… Fuck!”
It was Wu Bi-you. The paper airplane in Mu Ge-sheng’s hand flew out and hit him squarely in the face.
“Daughter, you’re here!” Mu Ge-sheng waved at him, having finally found someone to amuse himself with. “Come over and kowtow to your father. I’ll give you New Year’s money.”
Wu Bi-you seemed to have come to deliver New Year’s supplies. He was carrying several bags, big and small. The moment he heard that, he exploded.
“Kowtow to your fucking grandpa!”
“Is that how you talk to your father? Where are your manners? Be careful, or you won’t grow any taller this year.” Mu Ge-sheng wiped his hands. “You came back just in time for the coldest days of winter. Stay for New Year’s Eve dinner tonight.”
Wu Bi-you seemed somewhat wary of Chai Shu-xin. He glanced toward the kitchen and said stiffly, “I’m not eating.” Then he tossed down the New Year’s supplies and turned to leave.
The next second, the kitchen door opened. Chai Shu-xin stood in the doorway.
“It’s time for you to take your medicine.”
This time, it was Mu Ge-sheng’s turn to refuse.
“I’m not taking it.” Then he added, “I just finished the last prescription. At least give me a chance to catch my breath.”
“You stopped taking your medicine on your own several months ago,” Chai Shu-xin said, unmoved. “You didn’t take a single dose of the last prescription.”
Exposed in a single sentence, Mu Ge-sheng didn’t even blush. He continued chewing his lotus-root sandwich and mumbled indistinctly, “Fine. I’ll take it after my daughter finishes wishing me a Happy New Year.”
Chai Shu-xin turned to look at Wu Bi-you.
Wu Bi-you: “…”
These people really had formed one bizarre food chain. Wu Bi-you practically held his nose as he gave Mu Ge-sheng his New Year’s greetings. But after that, he didn’t leave. Instead, he sat on the steps playing games and kicked Anping’s table.
“Come on. Team up with me.”
Anping took out his phone, and the two of them played several rounds. Their win rate was decent, and Wu Bi-you’s expression improved a little.
Anping thought for a moment, then tried to make conversation. “Are you spending the New Year here?”
“What about it?” Wu Bi-you shot him a sidelong glance. “Am I not allowed to come?”
“Don’t you dislike your dad?” You were always calling him an old bastard.
“Fuck off. He’s not my dad.” Wu Bi-you snorted. “I’m here to see Rakshasa Zi. He and my father were brothers back in the day.”
As if Mu Ge-sheng weren’t also Wu Zi-xu’s brother, Anping thought to himself. Then he suddenly realized what Wu Bi-you had called Chai Shu-xin.
“What did you just call him?”
“Rakshasa Zi.” Wu Bi-you glanced at him. “That old bastard didn’t tell you? Didn’t you see the spirit tablet in that room that night?”
On Anping’s first night staying at the City God Temple, he had woken from a dream in the middle of the night. In the room whose door had been blown open by the wind, he had seen a spirit tablet.
The Spirit Tablet of Chai Shu-xin, the Spirit Pivot Zi, among the Spirits of the Seven Sages.
In the memories Anping had seen, Chai Shu-xin had still been the Spirit Pivot Zi. What exactly had happened in the meantime was something he had no way of knowing.
Spirit tablets were things meant for the dead. Mu Ge-sheng had also said that morning that Chai Shu-xfin, like himself, was already dead.
Rakshasa Zi—born amid chaos, presiding over slaughter and bloodshed.
Though capable of suppressing chaos in a troubled world, he was violent and vicious. Every Rakshasa Zi throughout history had been a great rebel, utterly uncontrollable. Some had even turned against the other six houses, making them an unpredictable variable that gave everyone endless headaches and cause for wariness.
“Kill the Buddha when you meet the Buddha, kill the Patriarch when you meet the Patriarch, kill the Arhat when you meet the Arhat, kill your parents when you meet your parents, kill your relatives when you meet your relatives. Only then can you attain liberation.”
In Anping’s memories, although Chai Shu-xin had been taciturn and aloof, he had ultimately been a gentleman in character. It was truly hard to believe that the young master of the Medicine House had become such a vicious and ruthless person.
“I thought that old bastard had told you everything.” Wu Bi-you looked at Anping and gave a cold laugh. “Then again, there are things even he himself doesn’t remember.”
Wu Bi-you was like a firecracker that would explode at the slightest spark. Anping had wanted to ask what had happened to Wu Zi-xu while he was alive, but he opened his mouth and eventually swallowed the question.
The past was shrouded in layers of mist, growing increasingly confusing and mysterious. Anping didn’t know how Mu Ge-sheng had introduced him to the others, either. Somehow, everyone had inexplicably accepted his presence.
When all was said and done, he was just an ordinary person. Could he really become involved with the Seven Houses of the Seven Sages so easily?
Could it be that, just as Wu Bi-you had said, Mu Ge-sheng really intended to take him on as a disciple?
Anping shuddered. He still had a family business to inherit. Being an ordinary rich second-generation heir was perfectly fine. He had no such lofty ambitions.
He had seen all of Mu Ge-sheng’s memories. What a turbulent, magnificent, and bittersweet first half of a life it had been.
Although Mu Ge-sheng treated him with a little more warmth, this man was practically an old fox who had lived long enough to become a spirit. He never showed his emotions, and always greeted everyone with a smile. As Anping recalled everything that had happened, he felt that Mu Ge-sheng might not be quite what everyone said he was. Perhaps he had other plans.
His cultivation was profound, far beyond anything Anping could comprehend. After letting his thoughts run wild for a while, Anping finally put all those tangled ideas out of his mind.
There was plenty of time yet.
In the kitchen, Mu Ge-sheng drank a bowl of medicine with a deeply resentful expression.
“Have you finished taking care of your business?”
“More or less. The remaining Santu Intervals have basically been cleared out.” Chai Shu-xin was washing dishes by the sink. “Is he the child you mentioned?”
“Mm. By a twist of fate, he ended up tasting my blood.” Mu Ge-sheng leaned over to rinse his mouth. “There’s a bit of fate between us, so I’ll keep him by my side for now and look after him.” Then he remembered something. “That disturbance on the Yin-Yang Staircase a while ago—were you the one who rescued him from the Santu Interval?”
“He was carrying a jade clasp. It had been stained with your blood.”
“I’m impressed you could even tell.”
Chai Shu-xin dried his hands, took something out from his robes, and handed it to Mu Ge-sheng.
“I took this out of the Yin-Yang Staircase.”
Mu Ge-sheng stared at it in surprise, then broke into a smile.
“You actually managed to find it.”
It was a Mountain Ghost Flower Coin.