Chapter 368: My Little Nephew Is About to Be Born

On the morning of the ninth day of the first lunar month, in a grove about ten li east of Lu Town’s eastern gate, beneath the rising sun, atop the snow-laden crown of a great pine, a tall and slender young man stood. He squinted at the distant sunrise, an unconscious smile playing at his lips. After a few cycles of breathing exercises, he leapt down from the tree and began practicing his fist techniques, each move precise and measured upon the smooth, snowy ground.

He finished one set of forms and, without pausing, seamlessly transitioned into another set that closely resembled the first. If a martial arts master had been present to observe closely, they would have noticed that this second set was, in fact, a reversal of the previous routine.

This young man was none other than Zhang Xiaohua, who was making his way towards Guo Village.

Ever since he had once again entered the state of unity between man and nature a few days prior, catching a glimpse of the laws of life and death within the Dao of Heaven, Zhang Xiaohua’s cultivation seemed to have reached a new realm. Yet, upon careful inspection of his inner strength, he found that he had only taken a significant step forward, not the qualitative leap he had imagined. Still, Zhang Xiaohua understood well that he had made tremendous progress in some aspect unknown to himself, progress in comprehending the Dao of Heaven. Since he did not fully understand what it was, but knew how to cultivate it, that was enough.

On another front, the death of a stray cat had inspired the next evolution of the Big Dipper Divine Fist. So, while continuing to deepen his understanding of the Dao, Zhang Xiaohua focused his mind on reversing the Big Dipper Divine Fist. After two days of pondering and reflection, he finally comprehended all 108 moves of the Reverse Big Dipper Divine Fist. Last night, before going to bed, he tried it once and found it indeed effective. That mysterious flow of energy began at his right foot and, following the reversed moves, traveled in the opposite direction from before, tempering each bone one by one until it reached the bones of his left foot.

Now, suppressing the excitement in his heart, Zhang Xiaohua alternated between the standard and reverse Big Dipper Divine Fist eighteen times in total, allowing the flow to temper every bone in his body eighteen times over. Finishing his practice, he summoned his Sibu Xiang, leapt onto its back, patted Huanhuan’s head, and with Huanhuan’s hooves flying, sped off in the direction of Lu Town.

Zhang Xiaohua sat cross-legged on Huanhuan’s back, eyes closed in thought: “The True Big Dipper Divine Fist, the Reverse Beidou Divine Fist, they’re both just the Big Dipper Divine Fist. Calling them by separate names is far too troublesome; it’s better to simply call them all the Big Dipper Divine Fist. However, if I do that, then the Big Dipper Divine Fist manual of the Piaomiao Sect would be incomplete.”

Thinking of the Piaomiao Sect, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow for the uncertain fate of his second brother.

“Perhaps I should hurry home and ask if Second Brother has sent any word. If not, I’ll have to go to the Incense Spreading Sect myself. Heh, the Incense Spreading Sect is in the south, so delivering Nie Qianyu there won’t delay me much.” Staring into the distance, Zhang Xiaohua pondered quietly.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted sharply. Not far ahead, high in the sky to the right, a pure white cloud was suddenly swept away and vanished. Zhang Xiaohua frowned and released his divine sense. As expected, beneath where the cloud had been, the sparse Yuan Qi of heaven and earth was now gathering thickly, as if being drawn in by some force. “Auspicious signs of Dragon and Phoenix,” Zhang Xiaohua instantly recalled the extraordinary vision of spiritual energy he had witnessed days ago when he entered the unity of man and nature. “Could it be…?”

Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled. “Is something extraordinary about to happen up ahead?”

Without hesitation, Zhang Xiaohua urged his mount forward at full speed.

Within his divine sense, the spiritual energy in that direction grew denser and denser. By the time he reached Lu Town, he could already make out parts of a dragon and phoenix’s forms.

“What…?”

Zhang Xiaohua truly could not comprehend what he was seeing.

But upon arriving at Lu Town, he needed to turn eastward, precisely in the direction of the dragon and phoenix energies, so it wouldn’t delay his journey to Guo Village at all.

As he pressed on, Zhang Xiaohua extended his divine sense to observe the shifting dragon and phoenix energies, while urging the Sibu Xiang ever faster towards Guo Village. At the same time, Huanhuan seemed to sense the changes in the Yuan Qi of heaven and earth as well, growing increasingly uneasy, occasionally letting out soft whinnies, and showing reluctance to go forward.

Zhang Xiaohua frowned, gently stroking Huanhuan’s neck to soothe her.

Yet the closer they got, the more agitated Huanhuan became, as if deeply afraid of whatever lay ahead. By now, Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense could see that the forms of the dragon and phoenix energies were more than half revealed. Looking down with his divine sense-

“This… Isn’t the spot directly beneath the dragon and phoenix energies precisely Guo Village?”

Thinking of the dragon and phoenix energies, Zhang Xiaohua naturally recalled the spring in his home, rich with the Yuan Qi of heaven and earth. Without further deliberation, he was certain that this anomaly in the Yuan Qi must be connected to his family.

Not daring to waste any time, Zhang Xiaohua patted Sibu Xiang’s head, then leapt lightly from its back, plunging straight into a withered tree by the roadside amidst the snow, and shot directly toward Guo Village.

Huanhuan slowed its pace, ambling forward at a leisurely gait. It could still catch the lingering aura of Zhang Xiaohua, so he wasn’t worried about Huanhuan losing track of him.

Utilizing his levitation technique, Zhang Xiaohua sped forward in a straight line. Before long, his divine sense could already see everything in Guo Village clearly. At this moment, he could no longer pay attention to the changes in the dragon and phoenix energies; his gaze hungrily sought out his own little courtyard!

Five years had passed, and the Zhang family’s small courtyard had undergone a tremendous transformation. The old mud-brick huts had been rebuilt into grand houses of blue stone. The low earthen walls were gone, replaced by tall blue stone fences. The humble picket gate had been exchanged for the imposing entrance of a wealthy household. At this moment, the courtyard seemed empty, but in the adjacent courtyard of similar size, also with blue-brick houses and a grand gate, Zhang Cai, Mr. Liu, Liu Kai, and an elderly man who looked somewhat familiar to Zhang Xiaohua were anxiously conversing.

What shocked Zhang Xiaohua most was that from the east room of this courtyard, a red glow was emanating, yet his divine sense could not penetrate it!

Just then, a person emerged from the house, none other than the young lady he had once rescued on West Cui Mountain, Li Yinfeng. She looked flustered as she spoke hurriedly with the unfamiliar elder in the courtyard, then quickly returned inside.

That old man turned and said something to Zhang Cai and the others. Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohua remembered, wasn’t this Li Yinfeng’s father, Old Shopkeeper Li?

“What’s going on? What’s inside that room?”

“Why are Li Yinfeng and Old Shopkeeper Li here at my home?”

Zhang Xiaohua was completely bewildered.

Glancing once more at the dragon and phoenix energies in the sky, visible only to the spiritual eye, Zhang Xiaohua gathered his true qi, accelerating his levitation technique. A fleeting afterimage appeared as he shot toward Guo Village at astonishing speed.

As he neared the village, seeing that many villagers were already about, making it unsuitable to use his levitation, Zhang Xiaohua twisted his body, formed a hand seal, and burrowed underground. He had worried he might lose his way, but the intense fluctuations of Yuan Qi ahead seemed to guide him. Urging on his earth escape technique, he tunneled forward, and when he drew near, he leapt out from the ground, right behind his father and Mr. Liu in the courtyard. Tears welled up in Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes; at last, he hadn’t emerged in the wrong place.

At that moment, Mr. Liu said: “Liu Kai, go see what’s taking Xiaolong so long. He was just supposed to find a midwife, how could it take this much time? I fear Qian’er won’t be able to hold on much longer.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua suddenly understood, his little nephew was about to be born!

At the same time, he released his divine sense and saw the dragon and phoenix energies hovering directly above his family’s courtyard. Zhang Xiaohua was startled. What kind of phenomenon was this?

Old Shopkeeper Li, standing nearby, offered comfort: “Brother Liu, don’t worry. Your wife and mine are both inside. Though they aren’t professional midwives, they’re experienced. My wife has spent the past few years chanting sutras and helping with many births, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

“But…” Mr. Liu began, but couldn’t finish. He could only look at Zhang Cai, and the two exchanged wry smiles.

Indeed, while Old Shopkeeper Li’s wife had helped with many births, they were all normal children. The child in this room had been in his mother’s womb for nearly five years. Only this morning had the labor pains started, and they’d hurriedly sent Xiaolong to find a midwife. Naturally, this wasn’t something they could explain to Old Shopkeeper Li.

Liu Kai, hearing his father’s instructions, nodded and said: “Don’t worry, Father. With the child’s fortune, little sister will be fine. I’ll go check now. Jinfeng is with Xiaolong, so there shouldn’t be much delay.”

With that, he turned to leave the courtyard, but as he turned, he saw Zhang Xiaohua, who had just arrived behind them. He couldn’t help but exclaim: “Xiaolong, why are you alone? Where’s the midwife?”

“Xiaolong?” At these words, everyone turned their heads.

Among the three Zhang brothers, Zhang Xiaolong’s face was long and thin, Zhang Xiaohu’s was round, and when Zhang Xiaohua was younger, he had somewhat resembled his second brother. Now, however, Zhang Xiaohua had grown tall, and though his features still retained the look from when he left home, his face had lengthened. At a glance, he now looked almost eighty percent like Zhang Xiaolong, only much younger.

Liu Kai and Old Shopkeeper Li were first puzzled to see Zhang Xiaohua return alone, with no midwife in tow, and looked behind him in confusion. Mr. Liu, too, was uncertain, but soon furrowed his brow, bewildered. This didn’t seem like the son-in-law he saw every day, but who was this unfamiliar young man? For a moment, he was completely at a loss.

Only Zhang Cai, turning to look, immediately realized this was not Zhang Xiaolong. He was briefly confused, but then a surge of joy lit up his eyes. Unable to contain his excitement, he hurried forward a step, his hand trembling as he reached out and asked tentatively: “Xiaohua? Are you Xiaohua??”

Though Zhang Xiaohua had just endured the trials of life and death under the Dao of Heaven, he could not withstand the deep bond between father and son. In a few quick steps, he grasped Zhang Cai’s trembling hands and said: “Father, it’s me. I’m Xiaohua. I’ve come home.”

At these words, everyone in the courtyard brightened with delight, and even Liu Kai and Old Shopkeeper Li’s attention shifted from the still-closed courtyard gate to this youth who so closely resembled Zhang Xiaolong.