Chapter 092
Chapter 92: A Misunderstanding Caused by Six Eggs
Granny Chen carried a red lacquer tray, her steps light and quick like a cat hunting for food, as she slipped into the study of the Auspicious Cloud Residence.
She even slowed her breathing, afraid to make the tiniest sound that might disturb the Master inside.
On the tray, a bowl of soft white congee sent up gentle steam. Beside it sat several crisp and neat side dishes: bright green cucumber strips, sweet and sour diced radish, red rose bean curd, and a small plate of pickles.
But the most eye catching thing was a full plate piled high with six smooth, peeled boiled eggs.
In the study, Lin Qing Xuan sat by the window copying a Buddhist scripture.
Morning light slipped through the carved lattice, laying broken patterns over his plain robes. A soft glow rimmed his clean figure, making him look even more like an Immortal untouched by dust.
Hearing the small footsteps, he set down his brush and slowly lifted his eyes.
His gaze passed over the tray and stopped on the little mountain of eggs. His fine brows almost imperceptibly drew together.
He said in a clear, cool voice like spring water: “Nanny, why did you prepare so many eggs?”
At once Granny Chen’s wrinkled face blossomed into a smile.
She set the tray steady at the corner of the desk, leaned in a little, and lowered her voice with a teasing hint that said she “understood everything”: “Young Master, were you not quite tired last night?”
She pressed on the word tired, flicked a quick glance toward the inner bedroom, and reined it back just as fast. Her eyes shone with nosy curiosity and hopeful expectation.
Lin Qing Xuan’s writing hand paused.
A drop of dark ink slid from the brush tip and spread into a glaring blot on the clean xuan paper.
He was silent for a moment, then raised his long fingers and pointed toward the window ledge.
Following his gesture, Granny Chen looked over and saw a pitch black Mystic Cat named “Tuan Tuan” elegantly licking its paw. In the morning light, its green eyes were lazily narrowed.
Lin Qing Xuan said with a calm voice that held no hint of joy or anger: “You misunderstood, Nanny. These are for it.”
Granny Chen’s smile froze at once. Her warm little hope popped like a soap bubble and vanished without a trace. [So it turns out the eggs are for this greedy cat, not for the Young Master to build his strength!]
Her heart shattered all over the floor. [Sigh, that old man was right again! What a waste of six big, round farm eggs! He does not need a tonic at all!]
Her whole body seemed drained, shoulders slumping. She answered weakly: “I understand. Then, Young Master, please enjoy.”
She drooped her head and shuffled out of the study, her back filled with bleak disappointment.
Just past the courtyard gate, a head poked out from the corner. Old Chen had been waiting there. When he saw his old wife looking so crushed, he sprang out like a civet cat, grabbed her sleeve, and asked in a hushed, eager voice: “Old Granny, how was it? How many eggs did the Young Master eat?”
Lifting her eyes, Granny Chen let him see all her wounded grievance.
She snorted: “Eat? Eat what?”
Her voice could not hide the frustration. “All six eggs were for that black lump on the window!”
She let out a long sigh as if the sky had fallen: “Your crow mouth was right. I am afraid nothing happened after all.”
The old couple stared at each other.
Granny Chen’s eyes were thick with disappointment, while Old Chen’s eyes flashed with quick relief.
Back in the study, the black cat Tuan Tuan leaped down and landed on the desk without a sound.
It padded to Lin Qing Xuan’s side and spoke in a clear, precise human voice: “At least you have some conscience. You remembered to prepare breakfast for this Master.”
Lin Qing Xuan was long used to this. He picked up an egg and slowly peeled it. He crushed the golden yolk and pushed it in front of Tuan Tuan.
He said, calm as ever: “Tell me what you saw at the Princess Manor.”
Tuan Tuan leaned in to sniff the mashed yolk. It smelled wonderful. It tested a lick and found it tasty.
It stopped holding back and ate with gusto as it mumbled: “That day at the market, I noticed sneaky people tailing you two. I followed them and saw them enter a big mansion.”
The cat raised its head, green eyes on him.
Lin Qing Xuan urged him: “And then?”
Tuan Tuan said with relish: “Then I kept watch outside for two days. Not one of those guys came out. I got bored and came back first.” It licked the crumbs from its mouth. “But I just could not let it go. That mansion was wrong from top to bottom. When night fell, the place outside was full of restless ghosts, like a crowded fair. I figured there had to be something big inside, so I went back again.”
Its whiskers quivered as it continued: “This time I slipped in. Heh, I ran right into a great show, three men against one woman. Tsk tsk, it was an epic fight. How could I leave before it ended? I had to watch it all.”
The cat finished and licked its paw with satisfaction, eyes bright with excitement.
It added, tapping the empty plate with its paw to ask for more: “They all called her Princess. She carried a heavy Dragon Aura. No mistake. She is the Emperor’s daughter.”
Expressionless, Lin Qing Xuan picked up a second egg and repeated the same careful peeling and crushing.
Tuan Tuan ate even more happily.
It went on between mouthfuls: “The mansion stank of death. Many people must have died. Mixed in with the deathly air was a strong scent of desire. Those two smells tangled together in a very strange way. I am a Heart Demon, and I am most sensitive to such breaths. The longer I smelled it, the fuzzier my mind grew. I had to pull back and report to you.”
Lin Qing Xuan raised his eyes, a faint tease in his tone: “You, a Heart Demon born of the desires of Buddha and demon, were affected by a bit of Demonic Qi?”
“Who says that?” Tuan Tuan instantly puffed up, craning its neck in protest: “Was I affected? No. I worried that Xiao Man would wake and be anxious if she could not see me. You, with your dull heart as the Buddha’s Chosen, what do you know of such things? In Xiao Man’s heart, I am number one. You at best come second.”
Its eyes narrowed with dislike as it changed the topic: “Speak. What did you two do last night? If I had not gotten drunk on Demonic Qi, I would have crouched on the bed and sucked your desire clean.”
Heat rushed up from Lin Qing Xuan’s neck and washed over his cheeks. Even his ears turned pink.
Memories of last night surged without control.
[Last night felt more real than any dream. The faint marks on his body were proof.]
[Xiao Man’s bold touch, Xiao Man’s eager plea, Xiao Man’s broken whispers at his ear, they entwined the whole night.]
At this moment, his heart, his eyes, and his mind were filled with Xiao Man.
He snapped in a hushed voice that softened without him noticing, the tail of his words carrying a tender note: “None of your business.”
Watching him look so distracted, the black cat Tuan Tuan rolled its eyes in secret. [Look at him, completely taken in by a little girl. This Xiao Man really is no ordinary person.]
Tuan Tuan pushed his hand with a paw after finishing the second yolk: “Hey, how long are you going to let her sleep? When will she wake up to pat my backside? You two had your fun. What about me?”
That shameless cat would say anything.
Lin Qing Xuan’s reason finally returned at those crude words.
Though the blush had not faded from his face, a touch of clarity came back to his eyes: “You wild cat, if you keep yelling like this, believe it or not, I will lock you in a cage tonight and recite the Purity Sutra to you all night.”
The black cat pretended not to see his anger and kept eating yolk. In its heart it decided to wait until Xiao Man woke up anyway.