TDFM Chapter 99

Mushrooms Whether she cultivated or not, Yun Qing had no intention of leaving Shenle Valley like this. Having gone through countless hardships and struggles, with the truth now within reach, how could she be willing to leave just like that!

It was just that she temporarily didn’t know how to pry open Shi Feijia’s mouth, so she could only first put away her thoughts and focus on cultivation. To rescue her master, naturally the higher her cultivation level, the better. Therefore, since coming down from the mountain, she had never slackened off.

Seeing that Shenle Valley had abundant spiritual energy, greatly beneficial for cultivation, she was like a beggar who had never seen the world suddenly getting to eat at a flowing banquet – naturally she had to feast to her heart’s content.

Besides her, Ci Li and Cheng Suiyan felt similarly. Because Jiang Baiyu had the Golden Frost Jade Dew Lotus, it was the same wherever he cultivated, so he didn’t particularly value Shenle Valley’s spiritual energy.

However, since Yun Qing stayed behind closed doors, Jiang Baiyu had no interest in going out either, and simply cultivated as well.

Learning that these four people were all cultivating behind closed doors, Grandma Bayin smiled and said to Shi Feijia, “These young people have good temperaments.”

Shi Feijia said, “With poor temperament, they couldn’t have killed Qingcheng Zi either.”

“What about that little one?”

“You mean Fu Xue? She and Jiujiu are running all over the mountains and valleys, and there’s also Ruibin – when children get together, they’re bound to be boisterous.”

“That’s good too, let Jiujiu relax a bit.”

“Mm.”

****

Fu Xue was swinging on a swing with Shi Muyu and Shi Ruibin.

This swing was actually made from vines that had naturally wound themselves between two towering trees. The vines were blooming with unknown small flowers – some white, some pale yellow – as if the swing was wearing a floral dress.

At the bottom of the vines, a piece of wood as thick as a thigh was tied. The three sat shoulder to shoulder on the wood, and when they’re tired of swinging, they stopped to gently sway.

Fu Xue looked at a distant mountain peak wreathed in auspicious clouds and said, “What’s on that mountain directly facing us? Should we go up there to play?”

Shi Ruibin said, “It’s said there’s a music altar up there. When deities want to listen to music, they come to the music altar, and the Shenle clan members go up to perform for the deities. Because the human race has rich emotions, the music they perform is complex and pleasant to hear, and the deities like it very much.

Moreover, it’s said that when performing music for the deities, the performers can commune with heaven and earth, which is also extremely beneficial for cultivation. This should be considered a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“So magical? Have you been there?”

Shi Ruibin and Shi Muyu both shook their heads. Shi Ruibin said, “The last time a deity visited the music altar was also twenty years ago. It’s such a pity we didn’t get to experience it. The elders don’t like to talk about these things either.”

“Really? Then which deity came to the music altar twenty years ago?”

“Who else could it be? Don’t you know there’s only one deity left in the world? It’s Goddess Shen Xi, whom you call.”

“Oh, oh.”

Shi Muyu listened to their conversation while casually picking a small flower from the nearby vines, holding it to her nose to smell. “This flower is sweet.”

“Really? Let me try.” Fu Xue picked a small yellow flower and put it in her mouth to chew. “It really is! Fragrant and sweet.” After eating the yellow one, she picked a white one to eat. It was equally fragrant and sweet, but the white one’s fragrance wasn’t as intense as the yellow.

Fu Xue said while eating. “We fairy maidens should eat flowers and grass.”

Shi Muyu was amused by her.

Shi Ruibin gently stroked the hwamei perched on her finger while saying, “Sister Fu Xue, your senior sister and the others are all cultivating. Why aren’t you cultivating?”

Fu Xue said with conviction, “My master said that the most taboo thing in doing anything is forcing oneself. If I don’t want to do something right now, then I shouldn’t do it. I’ll do it when I want to.

If effort doesn’t come from the heart, then the effort itself becomes self-inflicted torture. Living a lifetime isn’t easy – why treat oneself so harshly?”

Shi Ruibin said, “That makes sense. I don’t like cultivating either. I only love singing.”

Fu Xue laughed. “Then you should sing.”

Shi Muyu said, “I only love listening to stories.”

Fu Xue laughed again. “Then you should listen to stories. Such a simple matter.”

Shi Muyu scratched her head. “Right, what was I worrying about?”

Fu Xue casually put her arm around her shoulder and said, “I know what you’re worrying about. You’re sad about losing an important relative.”

“You’re right.”

Fu Xue’s hand on her shoulder gently lifted and patted her shoulder, saying, “My senior sister said that everything in this world is free. Even a blade of grass or a pebble will never become anyone’s appendage.

So, while a person may seem to possess much, they have never truly owned anything.

For example, those wealthy people with vast fortunes – when they die, the money immediately becomes someone else’s. They could only use this money temporarily while they were alive.

Or take those emperors – while they lived, everyone listened to them, but once they died, well, their descendants fought each other bloody for their position, not caring even if the emperor’s corpse rotted and bred maggots…”

“That’s the truth.”

“So, since we never truly possessed anything, how can we speak of losing anything? You just had a brief connection with Uncle Wushe. When the connection ended, it dissolved.

Uncle Wushe’s chapter of life has ended, and he will begin the next chapter of his life. Perhaps you’ll meet again in the future, who knows.”

Shi Muyu nodded vigorously. “Yes! Uncle Wushe said that in his next life, he wants to be a happy little dog. I hope he gets his wish.”

Shi Ruibin said, “Sister Fu Xue, your master and senior sister speak so wisely.”

“Hehe,” Fu Xue smiled proudly, then said bashfully, “I’m rather dim-witted, not as clever as them, so I keep every word my master and senior sister say in my heart.”

Shi Muyu laughed. “I’m dim-witted too, but I think being a bit dim isn’t bad. When people get too clever, their worries multiply.”

“Sister Muyu, if you can have such understanding, it shows you’re not dim enough.”

All three laughed at this.

The hwamei tilted its head, and seeing them happy, chirped twice along with them.

Later, the three got down from the swing, and Shi Ruibin led the other two to the stream to collect memory stones.

Sunlight gently fell through the branches and leaves, leaving bright circular spots of various sizes on the path. When the wind blew, these spots swayed gently, like autumn blowing bubbles.

They didn’t collect many memory stones, but along the way Fu Xue picked up quite a few colorful mushrooms.

She said happily, “Wonderful! I’ve long heard these mushrooms are delicious, but I never dared to eat them before.”

Shi Muyu picked up a mushroom, smelled it, and said seriously, “This one is poisonous – you can’t eat it!” She put it down and picked up another. “This one is also poisonous! … And this one is also—”

Poisonous, poisonous, all poisonous!

Fu Xue laughingly interrupted her, “Don’t worry, I have my own clever plan.”

****

Jiang Baiyu was meditating in his room when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the window.

He walked to the window, opened it, and saw three girls crowded outside, poking their heads into the window.

They really looked like a nest of little birds stretching their necks.

Somewhat puzzled, he asked, “What is it?”

“Hehe.” Fu Xue didn’t speak first, just smiled.

Jiang Baiyu immediately knew she was up to no good.

Fu Xue looked at him hopefully. “Baiyu, could you help me with something?”

“What kind of help?”

“Come out first.”

Jiang Baiyu left his room. Fu Xue beckoned him outside the courtyard, and they stood under a tree of rosy clouds.

Then Fu Xue explained her purpose.

Upon hearing it, Jiang Baiyu learned she wanted him to supervise them eating poisonous mushrooms, and if they were about to die from poisoning, she’d need to trouble him to rescue them.

… What kind of absurd mind would come up with such an idea?

He was even a bit curious – just how great was the appeal of these mushrooms that they absolutely had to be eaten?

Jiang Baiyu asked, “Does your senior sister know you’re being so reckless?”

Fu Xue said quietly, “If you gossip in front of my senior sister, then I can gossip in front of my senior sister too.”

Great, now she was threatening him.

Shi Muyu found a pot, several sets of bowls and chopsticks, and brought some firewood. They set up the pot under the big maple tree.

Shi Ruibin brought a pot of wine and several wine cups from home. Changxiao and Changdi originally wanted to find Shi Ruibin, but when they came out, they discovered she was right at their doorstep, so they were delighted and both brothers came over together.

All visitors were welcome. Fu Xue generously cooked a large pot of mushroom soup.

Jiang Baiyu glanced into the pot and saw purple-tinged blue broth with colorful mushroom remains floating in it, like poison brewed by devils. He didn’t believe this thing was edible.

After a quarter-hour, those five people sat around the pot, laughing and chatting while eating mushrooms and drinking wine.

After two quarter-hours, they began crawling around on the ground.

Jiang Baiyu crossed his arms and stood under the maple tree, expressionlessly watching the people crawling all over the ground.

Someone was learning to hop like a rabbit, someone was learning to walk like a cat, and someone was learning to swim like a fish. Everyone was muttering to themselves – the scene was somewhat like a gathering of an evil god’s believers.

Jiang Baiyu didn’t plan to rescue them so quickly. Since they liked courting death, it was better for them to learn their lesson.

In the distance, two people approached.

One was Shi Qingshang, beside him a man slightly shorter than him, wearing pale green Taoist robes with elegant bearing.

This man had a very conspicuous pouch hanging at his waist, the same color as his clothes. It was conspicuous because his pouch was much larger than ordinary pouches.

As they walked, the man said to Shi Qingshang, “Qingshang, why haven’t I seen Chief Sister today? Where is she?”

Shi Qingshang said, “What do you want with her? Haven’t you been beaten enough?”

“If she’s the one beating me, I’d be willing to be beaten to death.”

“…” Shi Qingshang looked speechless. “Are you sick?”

“Yes, I’m lovesick. She’s really beautiful.”

Shi Qingshang opened his mouth. “Do you know how old she is?”

“Ah? You want to talk about seniority? By seniority, you should call her auntie, right? Then in the future I’ll call you brother, and you call me uncle.”

“… No, I mean, by age, if you called her grandma, you’d be taking advantage of her.”

As they were talking, the man turned his head and saw people crawling around in the distance. He was startled. “Ah?!”

Shi Qingshang said impatiently, “Ding Lisheng, what’s wrong with you now?”

Ding Lisheng didn’t answer. He left Shi Qingshang behind and hurriedly ran to the big maple tree, crouching down to first check Shi Ruibin who was nearby, then examined Shi Changxiao beside her.

Then he looked at the broth in the pot and said loudly: “Hey, this is poisoning! Qingshang, someone’s been poisoned!”

Shi Qingshang’s expression changed, and he ran over too.

Shi Changxiao suddenly pounced on Ding Lisheng, who was so frightened he quickly struggled. However, Shi Changxiao was much stronger than him, and he couldn’t break free.

“Qingshang, help!”

“I know, stop yelling.”

“No, don’t save them first, save me first!”

Shi Qingshang was about to walk over when suddenly his ankle was grabbed. He heard someone by his feet muttering in low voices, saying strange and incomprehensible things. By the voice, it was Fu Xue.

If it had been Changxiao or Changdi, he would have kicked them away immediately, but Fu Xue was a guest after all, and a girl, so he could only crouch down and patiently pry her hands away.

Fu Xue had originally been lying on the ground, but now, uncomfortable with his prying, she released her grip and unconsciously grabbed his arm, then rolled over to lie on her back.

Shi Qingshang was pulled down on top of her, but fortunately his reflexes were quick enough that he supported himself with his arms on either side of her.

Now they were face to face, no more than inches apart.

Jiang Baiyu frowned and was about to walk over to separate them when he suddenly heard an angry shout. “What are you doing?!”

It turned out Yun Qing had heard the commotion outside and curiously came out to see. As soon as she came out, she saw this scene under the maple tree. Shi Qingshang was lying on top of her junior sister, looking like he was about to kiss her!

She had always felt that her junior sister was naive and easily bullied. Now seeing her worry actually come true, she felt a surge of anger rise from her feet straight to the top of her head. Without thinking, she drew her sword.

Hundred Years of Sorrow rang out from its sheath, carrying torrential fury, striking directly at Shi Qingshang’s face.

Shi Qingshang rolled away to dodge. But Yun Qing wouldn’t let him go, pressing her attack step by step.

He also grabbed his sword, but didn’t draw it, only using the scabbard to block her offensive.

Yun Qing’s sword intent was aggressive and pressing. He dodged left and right, and in the most dangerous move, the sword qi grazed his cheek as he barely avoided it. The silk covering his eyes was cut by the sword qi and fluttered down.

Shi Qingshang retreated step by step, finally forced against the big maple tree. Yun Qing gripped her sword in reverse and held it across his neck. Suddenly she heard Jiang Baiyu’s voice:

“Yun Qing, it’s a misunderstanding.”

The blood boiling like a raging sea finally receded. Yun Qing’s killing intent completely disappeared. Looking up, she was stunned.

Shi Qingshang opened a pair of clear, bright eyes and was looking at her with a smile.

“You’re so fierce,” he said.