Chapter 113: Going Home

Seeing my slightly dazed expression, Old Man Jiang put down his empty bowl and rubbed the top of my head hard twice before saying, “You kid, have you gone silly with happiness? This month you can just let yourself run free.”

I was happy, of course I was. Over the years, I had spent far too little time with my family, but deep down I still felt like something was missing, as if only counting Old Man Jiang as part of the family made things complete.

And he was going to such a dangerous Hungry Ghost Tomb. How could I not worry about him?

“Chen Chengyi, listen carefully.” Old Man Jiang suddenly became serious.

I jumped up instinctively. In all these years, there had only been a few times he called me so formally as Chen Chengyi. How could I not take it seriously?

“Do not let your studies fall behind. After the Hungry Ghost Tomb matters are finished, I will check your progress. Understand?”

I nodded. The idea of slacking off had crossed my mind before, but after so many years, it had become a habit. Sometimes not doing it actually felt uncomfortable.

“Wait for me.” As he spoke, Old Man Jiang went into the small room.

I did not follow. He had told me to wait.

When he came out of the small room, Old Man Jiang handed me a cloth bag and said, “These are things that need to be added to your nightly tonic meals. I have already portioned them out over the past few days whenever I had time. Use one portion each day. There is a list inside of the ingredients needed for the tonic meals. Have your mother buy them. Nothing rare, just meat, but it must be fresh.”

I took the cloth bag, feeling a bit moved and also a bit sad about parting. For a moment, I did not know what to say.

“The fragrant bath decoction probably cannot be prepared anymore. Just make do this month. You are older now anyway, so it is fine if you do not soak in it every day. Sigh, even if I wanted to continue it, your mother would not be able to boil it anyway,” Old Man Jiang said, rambling on.

I lowered my head in silence. Old Man Jiang scolded with a laugh, “You little brat, always like this, treating emotions as too important. Your personality is too indecisive and muddled. Nothing in this world is perfect, and it does not revolve around you. Over the years you have become too dependent on me. A real man should not be like this. You need to fix this, or your Dao heart will never become complete.”

I did not care much about Dao heart at all. The thing I hated most in normal days was this kind of cultivation theory. If a perfect Dao heart meant seeing through everything, transcending everything, becoming detached from the world and emotionless like the laws of heaven, then I would absolutely never be able to achieve it. Who said I had talent for this? This was clearly proof I did not.

“You are my master. If I do not depend on you, who am I supposed to depend on?” My face turned red after being scolded, so I had to find an excuse.

“I cannot let you depend on me forever. This Jianghu and this cultivation path will ultimately have to be walked by you alone,” Old Man Jiang said, glancing at me calmly.

I immediately became nervous and asked, “Master, are you going to leave me in the future?”

I could not be blamed for thinking this way. My grandmaster was said to be over three hundred years old, so I figured my master might also be able to live that long. As long as he lived long enough, he would not leave me. That was how I thought.

“You brat, do not act like a girl, alright? That is too disgusting,” Old Man Jiang said, half angry and half amused, switching into a standard Beijing accent.

Hearing this, I finally let out a long breath. This was the master I was familiar with. That made me feel safe again.

“Alright, I am going down the mountain. Remember to go home early tomorrow,” he said, and without turning back, he left the mountain.

When the car stopped in the county parking lot, I subconsciously looked around but did not see my father.

That made sense. It was not the weekend. How could he know I suddenly came back?

I still remembered the way home. Carrying my bag, I walked out of the station by myself.

The county town was still lively. Every time I came back over the past two years, it always seemed like there were new changes. It felt fresh.

Even the people on the streets were wearing brighter colors. I even saw something new, denim jeans. I could not help feeling a little envious. At my school in the market town, I had only seen Guo Er’s child wearing a pair, treating it like treasure.

At that moment, a song drifted into my ears. I had unknowingly reached the busiest street in the county. The song was singing, “Shaolin, Shaolin, how many heroes and warriors come to admire you…”

This immediately made me think of Hui Jue’s image. Shaolin Temple was full of monks, and Hui Jue was also a monk, but I did not feel any admiration for him at all.

After walking a few more steps, another soft and beautiful song reached my ears: “Sunrise over Songshan slope, morning bells startle the birds…”

I could not help but stand there in a daze listening. The song was so pleasant, and the woman singing had such a gentle voice that I ended up standing there holding my bag, just listening.

There was no helping it. I was a “miserable” kid. Every day was either school or training. How could I have time to listen to music? Old Man Jiang did hum a tune when he was in a good mood, but unfortunately he was completely tone deaf. Listening to him was torture.

As for Hui Jue, his folk songs, tsk. All that elder brother and younger sister singing. He never even considered that he was a Buddhist monk. And his voice was about the same as Old Man Jiang’s. If those two ever sang at full volume together, even dogs would probably foam at the mouth.

While I was listening to the music, someone came out of a shop. It was a fashionable young man wearing denim jeans that I envied.

“Get out, get out. Where did this countryside bumpkin come from? Do not block my business,” he said.

I looked at my own clothes, a washed-out blue padded jacket and a pair of dull yellow military-style pants. Compared to his fashion, it really did not measure up. I just smiled at him and turned to leave.

There was no need to get angry over something like this. I just wanted to go home and see my family as soon as possible. I had even forgotten myself while listening to the song earlier.

When I reached the alley where my home was, I saw that our small shop was still open. Over the years, it had already expanded. Originally there were two storefronts downstairs, and we used one while renting out the other. Now the rented one had been taken back because the business was too good and we needed more space for goods.

Who told us this place had such a good location, right next to the best school in the entire area, the county middle school?

At the shop entrance was a long table with skewers of ingredients, mostly vegetables. Beside it was a pot simmering with a rich broth. What was this?

Because of the Hungry Ghost matter, I had not been home for quite some time. What new thing had my mother come up with?

I walked quickly over and found no one in the shop. After all, it was winter break and still morning, a slow time for business.

I examined the long table. A sign stood beside it that read “Spicy Hot Pot,” and the neat handwriting clearly belonged to my eldest sister.

Heh, this was basically the same as my usual vegetable pot. The smell alone made my appetite rise. I shouted toward the inside, “Boss, how much per skewer for the spicy hot pot? If no one is here, I will just take some myself.”

At that moment, a surprised sound came from inside the shop. Then someone stepped out from behind the counter, followed by an excited shout.

“San Wa Er, San Wa Er, Dad, Mom, Second Sister, our San Wa Er is back!”

It was my eldest sister who came out. She was smiling so brightly her eyes nearly closed. After shouting, she rushed straight over and hugged me tightly, not caring at all that I was already fifteen.

“San Wa Er, your sister missed you so much.”

Being held by my eldest sister, I felt warm inside and not the least bit awkward. I missed her too. It had been more than half a year since we last saw each other.

Then I heard a series of hurried footsteps.

My mother, my father, and my second sister all came downstairs.

“San Wa Er, why did you not tell us you were coming back?” That was my father. He was trying to sound stern, but how could I have informed them? By letter?

“Oh my, come here let mom take a look. Have you lost weight? You child, why have you disappeared for more than a month?” That was my mother.

Looking back, my second sister was smiling softly, her two dimples deep and clear.