Chapter 308: A Bit Familiar

A big pot of medicinal tea, exactly one bowl per person.

This also let Pan Yun know that one pot of porridge definitely wouldn't be enough to eat.

So she ran up the mountain and carried down the largest pot from the Daoist temple.

Wang Cong, who was cultivating, found his thoughts drifting; seeing Little Xiao Shishu running about so happily, he lost the heart to keep cultivating, and while his father wasn't paying attention, he slipped down the mountain too.

By the time Wang Feiyin came out of the pharmacy, all he saw was Little Red playing under the eaves, avoiding the sunlight.

She tossed the rope over the eaves, tied a knot, and now and then sat swinging on it, and now and then slipped it over her own neck, letting her hands and feet dangle and sway.

Wang Feiyin: …

Fortunately it was daytime; if it had been night, even he would have been startled.

Seeing her gaze drift toward the foot of the mountain from time to time, with envy in her eyes, Wang Feiyin thought for a moment, then beckoned her over.

Little Red feared Pan Yun, feared Master Xuanmiao, and feared Wang Feiyin most of all.

So the moment Wang Feiyin beckoned, she immediately hopped off the rope and drifted over.

Wang Feiyin asked, "Do you want to go down the mountain to play?"

Little Red shook her head at once.

Wang Feiyin fished around in his sleeve, and after quite a while pulled out a black wooden block about the size of a thumb, carved with intricate talismanic patterns.

He formed a hand seal and traced a sigil onto Little Red, then handed her the black wooden block and said with a smile, "Go if you want to. Little Martial Aunt is in the Mountain God Temple; she's the temple keeper, and as long as she allows it, all things under heaven may enter the temple."

"Take this piece of yindark wood with you. It's carved with talismans that will keep you from being harmed by the harsh sun or the yang energy on people's bodies."

Little Red blankly reached out and took it—even though she was currently in a drifting state, with no yellow talisman stuck to her, she somehow reached out and held it.

She quietly reached out to grab the pillar beside her, grabbed at empty air, and caught nothing.

Little Red's eyes lit up. This meant that no one could see her, she couldn't touch other things, and naturally others couldn't touch her either.

Wang Feiyin noticed her little movements and waved his hand, saying, "If you don't want to work, just tell them straight; they won't force work on you. Go on down and play."

Little Red clutched the yindark wood tightly. "Play?"

"Yes, young people should play more," Wang Feiyin paused, then said, "Besides, haven't you forgotten your past? You really ought to play with people more—maybe seeing familiar things or familiar events will help you remember something."

Little Red didn't hold much hope of recovering her memories. She wasn't a person of Mount Sanqing; how could there be familiar things or events for her here?

But she was very interested in playing.

Little Red bent her knees in a bow, then happily drifted off toward the foot of the mountain.

Two pots of water were already boiling down below.

Miao He and Tao Yanbai had used lightness skill to dash to the big market, and in less than half a shichen they'd bought back big bones and meat; right now they were tossing the washed-clean big bones into the pot.

Wang Cong cheerfully set out a cutting board, knife in hand, rapidly slicing meat.

He cut the meat into strips, then into cubes, then went chop-chop-chop, mincing it fine.

A strong human scent drifted out from the main hall and the two rooms on the east side of the Mountain God Temple. Little Red smelled the human presence, and though the sun was shining on her, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

Wang Cong was happily mincing meat when he caught a glimpse of Little Red standing by the road; he immediately beckoned her. "Little Red, come quick, get out of the sun."

He turned his head and shouted toward the Mountain God Temple, "Little Xiao Shishu, Little Red's here!"

Pan Yun appeared at once in front of the Mountain God Temple, smiled at Little Red, and beckoned. "Little Red, come quick!"

Little Red felt as if the stern, sacred Mountain God Temple had opened a gap just for her, and didn't seem quite so terrifying anymore.

She cautiously drifted forward, smoothly floating from the bustling square to the front of the main hall.

Pan Yun led her across the threshold, had her bow to the Mountain God Temple, then pointed to the storage room in the west wing and said, "There are fewer people there; go play over there."

Little Red's gaze swept quickly across the main hall. She saw two braziers on each side, with eight people sitting by each brazier, and in her peripheral vision noticed another cluster of people sitting at the back of the hall.

Five braziers warmed the room until it was cozy; along the walls sat two rows of people, about a dozen or so, packing the main hall full.

Little Red was stunned speechless by all this human presence.

Pan Yun, afraid the human energy might overwhelm her, quickly lifted a foot to shoo her out.

Little Red went to the storage room in the west wing, still wanting more, and so didn't notice that everyone behind Pan Yun was staring in their direction with a mixture of terror and curiosity.

Pan Yun turned around, saw everyone in the main hall looking up at her, and raised an eyebrow. "What? Tired?"

The villagers immediately shook their heads. An older woman swallowed and said, "Temple Keeper Pan, you—you were just now talking to… what was that?"

"Oh, a friend of mine. She heard I was holding a temple fair and got curious to come have a look. Don't worry—as long as you do good deeds for the Mountain God Temple, the Mountain God will protect you."

The villagers were only half-convinced. "Temple Keeper, is it a yaoguai?"

"A ghost, maybe?"

"That can't be right. Whether yaoguai or ghost, they shouldn't be able to enter the Mountain God Temple, right?"

Pan Yun didn't answer, letting them guess.

But the main hall livened up; everyone guessed as they sewed, and their speed actually picked up.

Once the water boiled and the bones slowly released their flavor, Tao Yanbai tossed some ginger slices and medicinal herbs into the pot, and after simmering for another two kechen, poured in the rinsed rice.

He stirred it, then covered the pot.

After one kechen, he opened it again to stir.

Wang Cong added firewood, then stood watching from the side and commented, "We need to add some greens."

Tao Yanbai: "Go up the mountain?"

He didn't want to go up the mountain anymore—running up and down was so tiring.

Wang Cong glanced at him and said, "What mountain? The vegetables we grow on our mountain can't compare to the ones down here. Wait here, I'll take a stroll around the village."

In less than two kechen, Wang Cong came wandering back from the village, four big cabbages cradled in his arms—clearly from different vegetable plots, different households. Wang Cong said to Pan Yun, "Ran into a few elders in the village; they insisted on giving me a few big cabbages. I couldn't refuse, so I took them all."

Pan Yun gave him a thumbs-up.

Washing the vegetables was much easier. There happened to be warm water in the bucket nearby; a splash of water, and he chopped them up on the board with a steady clang-clang-clang.

Wang Cong chopped vegetables as he said to Tao Yanbai, "We can add the minced meat now."

Tao Yanbai was also a master cook. He answered, and as a basin of minced meat was poured in, it was immediately stirred apart...

The chopped cabbage bits followed, and after adding a big handful of salt, Wang Cong called out to Pan Yun: "You can tell them to come out and get their porridge."

Pan Yun turned her head and shouted inside, "Time to eat—"

The villagers had long been waiting for those words, and immediately pulled out the pots, bowls, and basins they'd brought and rushed out.

Pan Yun reached out and shouted loudly: "Line up!"

The villagers obediently lined up.

The porridge in the pot had already boiled into bloom, the meat's fragrance steeped through it. When a bowl was extended, Tao Yanbai would ladle out a bowl of porridge, then sprinkle on a dozen or so bits of chopped scallion...

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Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He held their basins at the very end of the line.

When Tao Yanbai got to them, he paused for a moment, then scooped up the bones left in the pot and gave them to the two.

The mingled aroma of bones and rice porridge hit the nose. After sprinkling on scallions, Miao He grinned happily, clutched her basin, and ran back to the storage room.

Once this pot of porridge was finished, the second pot Pan Yun had been stirring was also done—right as the very first person in line had finished eating and was hesitating, staring at the second pot.

He licked his bowl clean and walked toward the great hall, glancing back with every step, when he saw Pan Yun lifting her ladle and beckoning to him.

He suddenly realized, and clutching his bowl, rushed forward at once.

But someone was faster than him—a woman who'd been standing closest to the pot rushed to the front, the porridge in her bowl not yet fully eaten.

Seeing there was a second bowl, she immediately poured the remainder into her mouth and held out her hand to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun didn't care whether they brought small bowls or big basins, or even pots—she gave them all one ladle each.

Everyone saw it, felt it was fair in their hearts, and obediently went to line up.

Once everyone had their share, Pan Yun and the others scraped the bottom, ladled out porridge, and squatted under the eaves to eat.

In the cold weather, the warm bone-and-meat porridge made Pan Yun and the others' backs grow slightly damp with sweat, their mood wonderfully good.

Pan Yun said: "We'll do it the same way tomorrow."

Tao Yanbai: "Won't they get tired of it?"

Pan Yun: "I could eat it ten days in a row."

She was the sort who, when she found something delicious, could keep eating and eating, only growing tired of it after a long while.

Tao Yanbai: "I meant them."

He tilted his chin toward the villagers.

Pan Yun said: "If I'm not tired of it, they certainly won't be."

Wang Cong: "They'll be very happy. The porridge today really was cooked well. Send those two odd-job workers to the big market to buy firewood and chop it—tomorrow we'll need it all."

Seeing Miao Zhen's gaze swept over them and said: "I'm afraid tomorrow one of the two pots of porridge will be carried off by them."

Pan Yun didn't mind. "As long as their work efficiency in the temple doesn't drop, that's fine."

"How would they carry it off?"

Hearing the question, Pan Yun only then turned her head and saw Xiao Hong squatting beside them, not far from the villagers who were eating porridge—the distance wasn't very great.

Pan Yun raised her brows in surprise. "Aren't you afraid of the living's yang qi?"

Xiao Hong said proudly: "Wang Guanzhu gave me a piece of sunken wood, so I'm not afraid anymore."

Pan Yun heard this, her eyes curving into a smile. "If you're not afraid, come down for more strolls. Maybe after seeing more people and more things, you'll remember something. If you can't remember, going down the mountain can still cure your boredom."

Xiao Hong agreed. "Wang Guanzhu says the same thing, but I didn't die on Mount Sanqing, and my accent is different—I'm not from here. Looking around won't help."

Pan Yun: "The affairs of this human world look complicated, but in the end there are only so many things that come and go. Look around more—maybe you'll remember something."

Xiao Hong said thoughtfully: "Then I'll come down to play tomorrow too?"

"Come on, then," Pan Yun paused, then said: "I won't make you work. Since you're no longer afraid of human qi and the sun, feel free to play wherever you like. But Hong Yan is still in closed-door cultivation, so don't drift too far. It's best not to leave the Three Pure Realms—otherwise if someone captures you, I won't be able to save you easily."

Xiao Hong nodded at once. "I definitely won't go far."

Early the next morning, Xiao Hong went down the mountain with Pan Yun and the others. Watching them busy in the crowd, she squeezed into the throng, warming herself by the fire and listening to them talk.

A whole crowd—truly, they talked about everything.

Xiao Hong would sit by one fire for a while, squeeze in at another, turning her head left and right to watch the speakers, occasionally chiming in with comments and critiques. But apart from Pan Yun and the others who came by now and then to check the quality, no one heard her speak.

Still, she thought it was great fun—much more fun than cooking up on the mountain.

Xiao Hong was overjoyed.

When lunchtime came and the food was served, she finally understood what Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen had been talking about the day before.

Today the villagers had, as if by unspoken agreement, brought basins or small pots with lids.

After finishing their share of the first pot of porridge and dividing up the second, hardly anyone actually ate it—instead they covered their basins and pots.

Xiao Hong was very curious. In the afternoon she drifted along behind a few villagers, floating into their homes, watching them take out the porridge from the second pot, add water and bring it to a boil, then cut up a lot of vegetables and toss them into the pot. What they ladled out became the family's supper.

Xiao Hong stared blankly, feeling that this scene seemed somehow familiar.

Good night

(End of chapter)