Chapter 39

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Chapter 39: The Old Man

Hua Qing and a few others followed Cancan to where she lived, and Cancan was still upset. How could someone say such things about her, like how being foolish means needing to read more books? She had definitely read many books. Oh… watching plays could also count as a form of reading, yes, that’s it!

Arriving at the cave entrance, she swiftly stood at the doorway, lifted her skirt, spun around, saying, "Welcome to my humble abode." With a charming smile, she finished.

Hua Qing fell silent for a moment, watching as the rain was about to pour down. Hua Qing and the others entered one by one, but as soon as they stepped into the cave entrance, Hua Qing paused. He turned to look at Cancan, his mouth twitching, and asked with a fake smile, "Is this where you live?"

Cancan nodded, "Yes, yes!" Returning to her dwelling, Cancan seemed visibly relieved, and her spirits lifted.

She grinned, "What do you think? Isn’t it nice? This is my home."

Hua Qing’s mouth twitched again, "If this is a home, don’t you tidy it up at all?"

Cancan glanced around, not understanding what Hua Qing meant, and said, "I did tidy up! Isn’t it nice this way? Doesn’t it feel cozy?"

Hua Qing smirked, "No."

Big Green awkwardly tried to change the subject, "Um, hehe, Hu Cancan is just like that. Anyway, everyone is the same, just bear with it, and this place is much cleaner than where I come from."

Hua Qing stood still, not moving. Can Can wondered, "Why are men nowadays acting like girls?"

Big Green burst out laughing immediately, even Yu Xiu had a smile on her face, and Hua Qing raised his eyebrows high, and said slowly, "Mainly because women nowadays don’t act much like women either."

Upon hearing this, Can Can nodded with a sense of understanding, "I think so too, nowadays some girls are even dirtier than me, a little fox!"

The scene suddenly fell silent. It was unbelievable that a person, no, even a fox, could lack self-awareness like this. Hua Qing also felt defeated. For some reason, he just felt that if he continued speaking like this, it would only lower his own standards. So he decided not to say anything more, and he turned around to meditate.

Everyone sat down to rest. Can Can peeked out of the cave, looked up at the sky, then suddenly there was a loud thunder. Can Can was startled and ran back. After a short while, she repeated the cycle. Hua Qing couldn’t bear to watch her playing like this, "Can Can, come here." It was like calling a dog.

However, she didn’t mind at all and happily came over to Hua Qing, "What’s up?"

"If you’re free, go over there now and practice your magic, so you won’t be clueless when you encounter monsters." Can Can pointed out, "Can’t I just relax a bit?"

Hua Qing, "Hehe, you have been relaxing all this time. Now, practice with me or don’t follow me."

Cancan sadly took a step back, looking back at Hua Qing, but Hua Qing was unbothered. "Go away quickly."

Not friendly at all, too unfriendly! Cancan was a bit confused why Hua Qing had a restrained and dignified face but spoke so rudely!

Indeed, appearances can be deceiving and things are not always as they seem, as Brother Wolf wisely said.

Hua Qing sat still, while Yu Xiu leaned weakly against the wall beside him. Sitting opposite her was Big Green, who eyed Yu Xiu constantly. Yu Xiu noticed but did not react.

If someone was busy, it was definitely Cancan. She gestured, looked at the book, didn’t understand, glanced back at Hua Qing. Hua Qing, with closed eyes, unmoved. Cancan pouted and continued, Big Green seemed curious about Cancan’s magical learning, but with Hua Qing present, he didn’t encourage. He just watched Cancan lazily until she suddenly created a light, clapping, "Great!"

Their actions seemed more like a circus act. Hua Qing coughed lightly, silent. Cancan was unfazed, silently chanting, creating a light that quickly dispersed.

Cancan turned back excitedly, "I did it!"

Hua Qing noticed how Cancan seemed to suddenly master it, unlike her clumsy attempts earlier. He inspected the cave and found nothing amiss. Shu Mountain, being naturally mystical, made it all seem normal.

Outside, the thunder rumbled loudly, and the rain intensified. Cancan played with a halo around her, saying, "The thunder is so loud, it seems like someone is undergoing a trial."

After speaking, the playful practice continued, but Hua Qing stood up and went to the edge of the cave. He looked outside quietly and said slowly, "Actually, the rain isn’t that heavy."

The thunderstorm was loud, but the raindrops were fine and not pouring heavily. He looked up at the sky, only to see dark clouds covering it, with no trace of blue.

"Hua Qing, when you become an immortal, do you have to undergo a trial? Do you also get struck by lightning at that time? I heard that to become an immortal, one has to face a trial. Before, many of our friends from Shu Mountain were trying to cultivate into immortals, but quite a few failed during their trial and died." Cancan approached Hua Qing and curiously asked, "What does it feel like to be struck by lightning?"

Hua Qing slightly raised his lips, his appearance indeed elegant and handsome. He asked slowly, "Do you want to give it a try?"

Cancan immediately realized and took a step back, saying, "No way. I don’t want to become an immortal or undergo a trial."

"Hua Qing is lying to you." Suddenly, the voice of an old man sounded. Cancan looked around and saw an old man walking through the rain towards them. He was dressed in green clothes, his hair white, exuding an aura of a celestial being. Cancan gasped in surprise.

The old man smiled contentedly, "Do you recognize me?"

Cancan honestly shook her head, "I don’t know."

The old man immediately frowned, "Since you don’t know me, why are you talking so much?"

Cancan said seriously, "I’m just surprised. How can you walk in the heavy rain without an umbrella, not afraid of lightning? You must be a fairy from Shu Mountain." Pausing, Cancan whispered to Hua Qing, "Speaking of which, the fairies from Shu Mountain are really showing off! Despite the heavy rain, not using an umbrella and not running, they still insist on walking slowly, behaving so casually. So pretentious!" Cancan was speaking very quietly this time! She had been warned twice for speaking ill of others to their face, and she had finally changed her ways!

The old man’s face immediately fell, he fumed, "You tricky fox, how dare you speak of me like that! I am not a pretentious person, how dare you… Oh my goodness, Xian Yue!!!" The old man suddenly jumped up, towering three yards high, hitting the cave’s ceiling, holding his head and glaring at Cancan.

Cancan pouted, looking helpless, "I’m not!"

The old man looked at Hua Qing, who simply said, "The Three Lives Stone said she is not."

The old man exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, if she’s not, then how come she looks exactly like Xian Yue? No, no, she must be. Hua Qing, even though Xian Yue used to be your junior sister, you can’t take her side. Even though she now takes the form of a fox, you can’t…"

Before he could finish, Cancan asked in surprise, "I haven’t turned back into my real form, how did you know?" Her eyes widened, curious.

The old man said, "I naturally know, I can see through your appearance, into your essence… Don’t you understand!"

After thinking for a moment, Cancan was suddenly shocked. She gasped, crossed her arms, and exclaimed, "You pervert! What can you see!"

Yu Xiu quietly curled up and looked cautiously at the old man.

Old man, "…"

Hua Qing, "…"

After a while, the old man became angry, "How dare you. What I meant was seeing through appearances to your true self, where did your thoughts wander, where did they go? You sly fox, you’re too cunning. Am I that kind of person? You… Oh dear, Hua Qing, where did you find this fox? She looks exactly like Xian Yue, I’ll take her in."

Before Cancan could react, Yu Xiu stood up suddenly, frowned, and said seriously, "As seen on the Three Lives Stone, I am Xian Yue, not her. Don’t unfairly accuse good people."

The old man was stunned, "You… you… you are Xian Yue?"

Big Green wore a look of realization, and Cancan rushed over, "Yu Xiu isn’t, Hua Qing said Yu Xiu isn’t."

The old man looked at Hua Qing.

Cancan hurriedly said, "Hua Qing, tell him, tell him that Yu Xiu isn’t Xian Yue."

The old man scratched his head, "What’s going on here?"

Hua Qing said, "Three Lives Stone said she is, but she doesn’t have immortal bones."

The old man became confused again, wondering whether Three Lives Stone was accurate or not.

Cancan grabbed Hua Qing’s sleeve and whispered, "Who is this strange old man? I feel like he’s not quite normal. Is he also a fairy from your Shu Mountain? But nowadays, why do all fairies seem to have snake-like traits!"

Hua Qing patted Cancan’s head, as if she were back to her true self, "You go over there."

Cancan didn’t understand.

Hua Qing said, "I will speak with Martial Uncle for a few moments."

Cancan widened her eyes, "Is this your Martial Uncle? Then…" Cancan immediately bowed, "Hello, Martial Uncle!" in a clear and crisp voice.

The old man with white beard was startled by her reaction, pounding his chest, "She really doesn’t look like Xian Yue at all. This little fox is clearly a troublemaker!"

Cancan turned around and asked Yu Xiu and Big Green, "Is ‘naughty ghost’ a good word?"

Big Green chuckled and said, "Don’t turn around."