Chapter 392: A Butterfly

The cicadas are chirping, the birds are twittering; in the early autumn season, it is still somewhat hot.

Amidst the dappled light and shadows, a ray of sunlight shines on Lingxiang's face, making her cicada-wing-like eyelashes seem to glow.

She is lying in extreme comfort, wantonly enjoying this intoxicating peace.

"The weather today is truly not bad!"

Lingxiang sighs comfortably, stretches, and lazily changes her reclining posture.

In a daze, she always feels that something is not quite right, yet she is too lazy to move, wanting only to be greedy for this bit of leisure and ignore the disturbances of the world.

A burst of zither music drifts over, curling and rippling, like green mist in an empty valley, like a clear spring in a mountain stream; it is soft, delicate, and exceedingly pleasant to hear.

When the wind rises, the leaves rustle, and the projected spots of light begin to sway.

Lingxiang suddenly opens her eyes and sits up abruptly.

Where is this? Is she not in Maidong's sea of consciousness? How did she get here?

Looking around, it is an antique courtyard, and Lingxiang is currently on the stone steps beside a large tree in the yard; and beside her, there is actually a little girl.

The little girl looks to be only a year or two old, wearing a small green vest, with her hair tied in two small buns, sitting quietly under the tree, fiddling with two unripe Pine Cones in her chubby white hands.

This scene is very familiar, but Lingxiang racks her brains and cannot think of where she has seen it, so she simply gives up.

Otherwise, what else can she do? Could she possibly split her head open?

Adhering to the fine quality of asking when one does not understand, Lingxiang squats down in front of the little girl with a smile she considers bright and gentle, though it looks fawning.

"Little sister, can you tell big sister where this is?"

But the little girl acts as if she did not hear, only fiddling with the yellowing fruit in her hands, sighing like a little adult, yet saying nothing at all.

Eh? Whose child is this? Judging by her clothes, it should be a wealthy family; why is she so impolite?

But what can she do? She cannot possibly get angry at a nursing baby...

Forget it, forget it; relying on heaven and earth is not as good as relying on oneself...

Lingxiang stands up helplessly, just about to explore, when she looks around and sees that there are actually three more people standing not far away—a maid and two children—and the slightly smaller child in front is knitting a pair of not-very-distinct eyebrows, wondering what he is saying to the maid.

Lingxiang ponders, feeling that those features are extremely familiar, yet she cannot remember who it is.

Could it be the foolish son of some wealthy man she swindled in the past?

In the past, when Lingxiang was at Youran Abode, she did not encounter evil spirits every time she did business; many times, it was those wealthy men who had ghosts in their hearts and were prone to Cup Bow Snake Shadow, which was why they came to her door.

As the saying goes, not earning money when it is available makes one a bastard; how could Lingxiang, this little money-grubber, let a fat duck that had reached her mouth fly away in vain?

In Lingxiang's own words, anyway, they did not understand; her own flashy display could both put their minds at ease and be considered a great good deed! She could also earn some "charity money"—two birds with one stone, why not do it?

But...

How could she be at a wealthy man's house?

No, no!

She should be in Maidong's sea of consciousness; could this also be her memory?

The only strange thing is, why do they seem unable to see her? Could it be that this time there is something different?

Wait!

She remembers her divine sense being pierced through the abdomen by a sword; could she really be dead?

Lingxiang takes a long breath, then feels calm—dead is dead, what else can be done? She might as well just watch for now.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do!

And that slightly older boy looks very familiar; she must have seen him somewhere.

Just then, a voice comes from behind.

"Oh, little ancestor, why have you run out wearing so little again? It is autumn and it is cold; do not catch a chill."

Lingxiang turns her head to look and sees a nanny picking up the little girl and turning to enter the house, while on the stone steps under the tree lie the two unripe Pine Cones the little girl was just playing with.

The little boy trots over on his short legs, skipping as he goes, passes Lingxiang, picks up the Pine Cones under the tree, examines them earnestly for a long time, and then asks:

"Whose little lady is that?"

Eh? Is he asking me?

Lingxiang points at herself, looking bewildered.

I want to know that too!

Just as she is about to speak, she hears the maid behind her smilingly reply: "That one? She is the daughter of the Fairy invited by the Master of the house; the little girl is extremely cute."

"Cute?" The little boy looks unconvinced. "Is she as cute as me?"

Hiss!

This little brat, his face is...

Truly thick!

"Naturally, the little young master is the cutest; others certainly cannot compare." The maid coaxes the little boy, her face blooming with smiles.

Having received the maid's response, the boy lowers his head again to fiddle with the Pine Cones, then tucks them into his arms.

A servant boy emerges from a moon gate, saying something about "the Master requests your presence," and the maid takes the two children out, while the servant boy goes to knock on the little girl's door, delivering the same message.

Master of the house?

It really is an old wealthy man!

Tsk! She must go out and take a good look to see just how rich this old man is; if she takes a fancy to anything, she can always haunt his dreams at night, right? After all, one needs to grease palms even in the underworld.

Wealth can do more than move hearts; money can even make ghosts push millstones!

So Lingxiang happily follows behind the little girl and the old nanny.

And it must be said, she did not know until she looked; this residence is truly large, with pavilions, towers, waterside gazebos, and fish Pools—nothing is missing.

Rather than calling it a residence, it is more like a mountain villa.

It seems he is a wealthy master!

This estate's courtyard was not only large but also numerous, with guards in sturdy attire all around, and there was even a martial arts practice field inside, from which came the vigorous sounds of "Heng! Ha!", as if someone were practicing martial arts.

This was not something an ordinary wealthy family could possess; it seemed that today would be a good day to make a fortune, as a wealthy master with such an estate would surely have some good items.

Moreover, from that practice field, one could vaguely hear the voice of a child:

"Brother Lu! What is the point of practicing martial arts every day? Why don't we go roast some peanuts!"...

Perhaps because they had walked too far, the subsequent words could not be heard clearly, only vaguely identified as the voice of a youth, with an extremely gentle tone.

How wonderful! Childhood sweethearts! Innocent and pure!

Lingxiang curled her lip, unable to tell if it was envy or jealousy, just feeling that what was written in storybooks was not entirely fake after all.

However, many childhood sweethearts in storybooks eventually part ways and go their separate ways; she only hoped this pair could eventually have a good outcome.

Lingxiang sighed, turned her head, and followed the nanny and the little girl who had walked far ahead.

The group stopped in a courtyard, and before long, someone came out to pass on a message, telling the little girl to enter the room alone, so Lingxiang took this opportunity to slip inside.

This was a guest room; there were already three men waiting in the outer chamber, and through the curtains, one could vaguely hear voices, as if there were still people inside.

Once the little girl entered the room, she looked around, and perhaps because she did not see the person she wanted to see, she called out.

"Mother!"

Hearing the call, someone inside responded, and then a person came out, and it was actually...

"Mo... Mother..."

It was actually Tumi Xianzi!

This...

What on earth is going on?

Could all of this be a dream?