Chapter 302: A Cultivator of Square Inches, Leaving Behind a Pure Aura

As the Lunar New Year approached, even the usually quiet Well-Down Street began to buzz with activity.

Early in the morning, while Heaven itself was still dozing and refusing to open its eyes, a golden rooster suddenly crowed at the head of Well-Down Street.

Xu Qing, who was laying out paper and grinding ink, unconsciously halted his movements.

This excited crowing sounded somewhat familiar.

Inside the Undertaker's Shop, the Dream-Eating Gu, upon hearing the rooster's cry, abruptly did a carp leap, tumbling straight off the counter onto the floor.

Since the insect's body was excessively obese, when the large white worm hit the ground, its round belly bounced several times, resembling shaken aspic.

With no time to think, the Dream-Eating Worm almost instinctively struggled desperately toward Xu Qing.

Just as a golden rooster's figure appeared before the shop door, the Dream-Eating Worm's soul fled in terror; summoning every ounce of strength, it leaped onto the coffin board before Xu Qing just before the rooster could charge.

The forty-odd-jin cockerel saw the worm, and green light immediately flashed in its eyes.

Its posture was like that of a diner who hadn't tasted meat for an entire year suddenly confronting a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.

But before it could rush closer, Xu Qing, quick-eyed and fast-handed, locked its fate by seizing its throat.

The clucking sounds ceased abruptly.

Xu Qing casually tossed the Golden Phoenix into a corner as if discarding trash, afterward wiping his hands on his clothes with disgust.

This chicken wasn't as heavy as before, proving that its weight loss during its stay at the Five Elders Temple had been quite successful.

The latter felt not a shred of anger; the golden-feathered rooster trotted happily to Xu Qing's side, a single bird somehow managing to display a fawning expression as dog-like as any cur.

Xu Qing sucked air through his teeth; to say he kept many small animals in his Undertaker's Shop was true, but those creatures could all feed themselves, whereas only this stupid chicken, the Golden Phoenix, did no work on ordinary days yet ate more than anyone else!

Nowadays he was too busy with affairs to have the energy to take it daily to Flower-and-Bird Street to stroll and hunt for worms.

"Where is Daoist Yizhen? Since you are not at the Five Elders Temple, what are you doing here?"

"And furthermore! That worm is a pet raised by the immortal Xuanyu; do not even think about it!"

The Golden Phoenix withdrew its gaze from the fat white worm with great regret, then began clucking incessantly.

Xu Qing, proficient in the languages of birds and beasts, heard the Golden Phoenix complaining that the Five Elders Temple remained closed all day for vegetarian fasting, offering nothing but grain and rice, with no other delicacies to be found.

Finally, the forty-odd-jin cockerel spread its wings for Xu Qing to see, implying that Daoist Yizhen had mistreated it, starving it until it grew thin.

Xu Qing's eyelids twitched violently as he watched.

He wondered, Where exactly have you grown thin?

Although this stupid chicken, when it had previously lodged with him, had grown to nearly seventy jin, by then it was no longer a chicken but a Maitreya Buddha covered in chicken feathers.

If placed in the Heavenly Heart Sect, it could serve as the Maitreya Descending, the Future Buddha manifesting in secret.

Xu Qing paid no heed to the Golden Phoenix's tale of grievance, asking directly, "Has Daoist Yizhen also come to Jinmen?"

The Golden Phoenix nodded repeatedly.

This gluttonous rooster, in order to find Xu Qing, this free meal ticket, had not waited for the ferry at the dock to berth before flapping its wings and flying ashore.

As for Daoist Yizhen, she was still on her way.

Xu Qing asked what business his senior sister had in Jinmen.

The Golden Phoenix replied that the Temple Master of the Five Elders Temple wished to meet him.

Who? Who wants to see me?

Xu Qing, who was writing couplets, jerked his hand in surprise and asked uncertainly, "What does Yizhen's master want with me? Am I that close to her?"

The Golden Phoenix explained that the Old Temple Master occasionally heard Yizhen mention him within the temple, while it itself would from time to time recall past hardships and cherish present happiness, missing its days at the Undertaker's Shop; whenever the Old Temple Master fed it rough grain and coarse food, it would express its longing for Xu Qing.

Over time, the Old Temple Master naturally developed a strong interest in Xu Qing, which the Golden Phoenix believed was appreciation, crediting its own eloquent praise.

After saying this, the Golden Phoenix puffed out its chest, very much expecting reward for its merits.

Xu Qing barely suppressed the impulse to kill the chicken for the New Year; this was not appreciation, but clearly an elder fearing their junior family member had been 'led astray' by an outsider, coming specifically to sound him out!

"What cultivation level does your Temple Master possess?"

The Golden Phoenix looked utterly blank; the old female Daoist always concealed her abilities, so it truly did not know that old woman's level of Daoist attainment.

Xu Qing shook his head, ceasing to ponder further.

He possessed the Heaven-Deceiving Art; since this character-level divine ability could even deceive an old woman of unknown identity, he was not worried about the Temple Master of the Five Elders Temple detecting anything unusual.

What Xu Qing truly feared was the romantic debts Hu Baosong had incurred years ago; after all, in Yizhen's words, Hu Baosong was half his teacher, making Yizhen nominally his half-senior sister.

If that old female Daoist held Hu Baosong's accounts against him, how unjust would that be?

"That old fox certainly enjoys an easy life; with one kick of its legs, it dumped a whole backlog of old debts cleanly. Now, things may well turn out such that I suffer the consequences instead."

Just then, as Xu Qing finished writing a pair of couplets, a female Daoist figure long unseen appeared outside the door.

Daoist Yizhen, dignified in bearing, with cold eyebrows and eyes yet hiding a unique charm, stood gracefully outside the shop entrance.

"That old fox actually sired such a handsome daughter."

Xu Qing raised his eyes to see Daoist Yizhen carrying a wooden box on her back, offering him a faint, elegant smile.

"Junior Brother Xu, this poor Daoist bows."

"Did Senior Sister come alone?"

Xu Qing put down his brush, rose, and walked outside the shop door, looking around in all directions.

"What are you looking for?" Daoist Yizhen asked, somewhat puzzled.

Xu Qing exhaled in relief, turned back, and said, "I heard from the Golden Phoenix that your master was coming to test me, making me quite nervous for a while."

Daoist Yizhen, completely baffled, said, "Test? My master did indeed mention wanting to see you, but what does that have to do with a test?"

Seeing no outsiders nearby, Xu Qing spoke much more casually; blinking his eyes, he teased, "Even an ugly daughter-in-law must meet her in-laws; since you have never made friends outside, upon hearing news of me, wouldn't your master naturally come to find fault with me?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the female Daoist's face flushed slightly, though more than anything, she looked strange.

She gave Xu Qing a meaningful glance, then untied the wooden box from her back, placed it on the coffin board covered with couplets, cleared her throat, and said:

"Junior Brother must not joke with Senior Sister, otherwise the consequences will be unpredictable."

Unpredictable consequences? What consequences could there possibly be?

Xu Qing felt that Yizhen was acting a bit off today; in the past, when he joked with this senior sister, she would simply smile it off or occasionally chide him playfully, never taking it to heart.

But why had she suddenly uttered such an abrupt, contextless statement today?

Xu Qing assumed that since they hadn't seen each other for some time, his senior sister was merely feeling a bit reserved, so he didn't think much of it.

He then turned his gaze to the wooden box Xiang Yizhen had placed on the coffin lid, his eyes lighting up as he said:

"Hey, if you were coming, senior sister, you didn't need to bring a gift!"

"."

Yizhen hastily stood up, pressed her hand onto the wooden box, and stammered, "What gift?"