Chapter 56
Chapter 56: One Crowd, Two Sets of Mouths
Just like that, the two of them were “rescued.”
Shi Bai Zhou was a rich young master, and he traveled with a whole entourage. His attendants immediately took soft cloth and slung Hu Qing and Shui Xin up—four on one side, eight on the other—and carried them onto his small spirit boat.
The boat was carved and painted like a floating pavilion, and the air was rich with food.
The moment they were set down, both their stomachs rumbled like thunder.
Neither of them blushed. If anything, they were competing in shamelessness.
Shi Bai Zhou didn’t even need to give an order. His subordinates hurried to arrange everything, bringing dishes and setting a table.
All Shi Bai Zhou had to do was hover over the two of them, worry written all over his face.
“Aunt? Uncle Shui Xin?” he blurted. “What are you doing here? How did you end up like this?”
Then, without pausing for breath, he barreled on.
“We came to gather ingredients. Dreamshadow Marsh has the tastiest mushrooms.”
“Aunt, did Hu Nuan and Jin Xin go back yet? I was passing by Zhaohua Sect and thought I’d come find them to play.”
“They haven’t gone back? Then why don’t we go pick them up first and then head to Zhaohua Sect together?”
“Aunt, who did this to you?”
He glanced at Shui Xin again, still stunned. “And… this really is Uncle Shui Xin, right? I honestly couldn’t tell.”
Hu Qing actually liked Shi Bai Zhou. She didn’t want to talk, but she enjoyed listening, and Shi Bai Zhou could chatter for an hour without needing anyone to respond.
Lin Shu was quiet; Shi Bai Zhou was loud. It was a perfect match.
So Hu Qing only asked one question, soft and casual. “How has Lin Shu been lately?”
Shi Bai Zhou’s face immediately fell.
Right on cue, his subordinates carried in an enormous round table piled with food. Shi Bai Zhou had already noticed both of them were badly injured and too weak to lift a hand, so he didn’t leave it to anyone else. He sat in the middle and tried to feed one with his left hand and the other with his right.
Shui Xin caught his wrist. “No need. Take care of your aunt.”
He picked up his own chopsticks and ate slowly, one bite at a time.
Seeing that he could manage, Shi Bai Zhou turned and devoted himself to Hu Qing, scooping food and bringing it to her lips like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Hu Qing’s skin was thick enough to qualify as armor. She accepted his service without the slightest guilt.
She noticed he still hadn’t answered her, and she already had a bad feeling. She was about to change the subject—ask after his family’s lord, at least pay her respects properly—when Shi Bai Zhou finally spoke.
“Lin Shu is… fine,” he said.
He managed two words, and bitterness seemed to leak out with them. “Her master dragged her into seclusion. Says she’s going to break through to Spirit Immortal.”
Hu Qing nearly choked. “Lin Shu hasn’t even reached Golden Core Stage yet!”
Shi Bai Zhou shook his head.
Oh. So her master wasn’t helping Lin Shu. Her master was guarding Lin Shu.
Hu Qing sighed and forced herself to look sympathetic. “I suppose that makes sense. Times have changed. Little Li Realm is part of Immortal Realm now.”
“If you’re measuring by immortal standards, then men and women shouldn’t even be talking about marriage until they’re at least Spirit Immortal.”
“And with your talent, it’s not too late to discuss this once you’re an Earth Immortal.”
“Aunt—” Shi Bai Zhou sounded like he was about to combust. Earth Immortal? That was thousands of years away.
Hu Qing raised a finger. “Having children too early isn’t good for a girl.”
Shi Bai Zhou’s ears went red. He looked shy for half a breath… and then immediately tried to fight back.
“But didn’t Aunt have Hu Nuan early too?”
Hu Qing smiled at him with serene, gentle warmth—and said, just as gently, “That’s why that man died early.”
Shi Bai Zhou shuddered, as if he’d been hit with a curse.
He sighed like the world was ending, but he didn’t stop feeding Hu Qing.
Hu Qing couldn’t help thinking again: what a considerate young man. Too bad. No fate with Hu Nuan.
Then she remembered something. “Your Shi family is a big clan, right?”
“Huh? Ah—yeah,” Shi Bai Zhou said. “We’ve existed for a long time. A really, really long time. I don’t even know how long.”
He tilted his head, thinking. “The genealogy records fill an entire hall. I’ve never read them carefully.”
“Do you cultivate the Dao through food?” Hu Qing asked.
Shi Bai Zhou shook his head. “They say our ancestors did. Later… the inheritance was lost. But we still take pride in the Food Dao, and we use it to help our cultivation and gain insight.”
Hu Qing hummed, thoughtful. The Shi family might have existed back when Little Li Realm was still connected to Immortal Realm. If so, their roots really were deep.
“Aunt,” Shi Bai Zhou said suddenly, his voice turning soft and desperate, “could you ask Perfected Jun Bo to say a word for me?”
“Lin Shu can go into seclusion if she wants, but when she comes out, he should at least let me see her.”
The poor kid had truly run out of options. He was even trying to win her over with puppy eyes.
“If I speak up for you, I’ll only hurt you,” Hu Qing said, serious now.
“Listen to your aunt. The hardships your father-in-law gives you, you have to swallow. If he gives you ten parts, you take twelve. Anyone who tries to help you will just make it worse.”
“Wait until he feels embarrassed, or until Lin Shu can’t stand it anymore and steps in…”
She trailed off with a sigh. Since when did any child ever win against their parents?
Hu Qing gave Shi Bai Zhou a heavy pat on the shoulder. “If I were Jun Bo, you might not even live.”
Shi Bai Zhou went still.
Then he cleared his throat and muttered, “If… if one day I have a daughter, I probably won’t want her to marry either.”
He said it with such sincere empathy—and such faint jealousy—that even Shui Xin, who had been quietly eating, looked up at him with new respect.
This brat had learned fast.
He was just thinking a little too far ahead.
With Young Master Shi Bai Zhou leading the way, Hu Qing and Shui Xin made it back in comfort, fed and pampered the whole trip.
Shi Bai Zhou, being young, never thought to send a message to Zhaohua Sect first.
But he was in constant contact with his friends. He immediately sent word to the others: “I ran into Aunt and Uncle Shui Xin!”
“And Uncle Shui Xin is disfigured!”
It was earthshaking gossip. Everyone knew Uncle Shui Xin was the most beautiful person under heaven, and he was proud of it.
If his face was ruined, how miserable must he be?
Hu Nuan hurried to comfort him. “You’re the most beautiful uncle in my heart.”
The sudden praise made Shui Xin pause. Then he understood what had happened.
He turned to Hu Qing with a grimace. “One group of kids, two sets of mouths.”
What could Hu Qing do? The moment Shi Bai Zhou showed up, he’d already blurted everything out. He even knew the kids were at the Buddhist Sect.
Keeping secrets was impossible for them.
Shui Xin said to Hu Nuan, “Your uncle’s disfigured. You’re not coming back to see me?”
Hu Nuan hesitated. “We promised to go visit.”
“We’ve promised a lot of times already, and Ci Ci always broke her word… so this time we have to go.”
“Anyway, when Shi Bai Zhou comes to pick us up, we’re going to Changji Gate to play.”
Shi Bai Zhou really was cunning. If Jun Bo wouldn’t let him see Lin Shu, he would drag a whole group of friends to Changji Gate to “visit” Lin Shu together. Try stopping him then.
Shui Xin said flatly, “Not allowed. You can’t meet people right now.”
Hu Nuan snorted. “Martial Uncle already made Heaven-and-Earth Ageless Art. We can go wherever we want.”
Shui Xin blinked. “That fake thing actually worked?”
“It’s not fake,” Hu Nuan said quickly. “If you cultivate it wrong, you shrink back into a little kid.”
“Martial Uncle said this technique existed in the first place. It had flaws, so it was tossed into a corner to gather dust. Now it’s perfect to bring it out.”
Shui Xin felt the urge to laugh and the urge to swear at the same time.
Those monks really did adore the kids. They were even dragging out a flawed technique just to amuse them.
That technique was harmful. If you shrank back down, your future cultivation would likely be crippled.
How could it possibly compare to true time reversal?
He told Hu Qing what he’d learned. Hu Qing narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t she tell me herself?”
Shui Xin spread his hands. What do you think?
Hu Qing clicked her tongue, annoyed. So she really was the scary mother tiger in her daughter’s eyes.