Maid Dingding hesitated for a mont, sowhat reluctant since they had just t and exchanged only a few words. How could she simply move into soone else’s ho?
Seeing her hesitation, Chen Shi smiled and asked, "Do I look like a bad guy to you, Dingding?"
Dingding shook her head, "Not at all."
Chen Shi continued, "Since I don’t look like a bad guy, what’s there to fear? I’m highly respected in the village and known as a good person. Besides, my dog knows how to cook, and he’s quite skilled at it. Let him cook a few dishes tonight."
Dingding’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked towards Black Pot and chuckled, "It can cook?"
"Chopping vegetables, working the stove, frying, cooking, you na it. He’s skilled in all aspects."
Chen Shi added, "Stay at my house, and you’ll see for yourself. Would you rather spend the night here alone?"
Dingding glanced at the coffins in the mansion, tightened her grip on the light blue Pipa cloth bag she held, suddenly feeling a fright.
Chen Shi stepped outside and looked back with a smile, "Co along now! It won’t be too late to visit Madam Huali in a few days."
Biting her teeth, Dingding quickly caught up with him.
The trio - two humans and one dog - headed out of the mountain. While matching his steps, Dingding quietly asked, "Can Black Pot really cook?"
Madam Huali, already lying in her coffin, overheard their conversation and couldn’t help but shake her head silently. "Chen Shi is just like his grandfather, sweet-talking, expert at deceiving young girls."
She didn’t speak out to stop him, allowing Chen Shi to take Dingding away.
Following Chen Shi to Huangpo Village, Dingding found it to be just as Chen Shi said— the villagers were incredibly hospitable, looking at Chen the Scholar as if he were a hen that laid golden eggs.
"What a pretty little girl! Don’t let the bully deceive you," Grandma Yu Zhu said to Dingding with a beaming smile on her face, whispering.
"If you have the chance, run," another old woman said through clenched teeth, her face filled with smiles, whispering.
"Should we report this to the authorities?" another woman quietly ca up to her side and whispered, smiling towards the village bully.
"No, don’t report! His family has fooled several officers!"
"Did he kidnap you or did he deceive you?"
...
It took Dingding quite an effort to escape the enthusiastic villagers and follow Chen Shi to the Chen Family ho. Just as they arrived, Black Pot went to sweep the floor, Dingding stared shocked at the dog but after a mont found it quite normal, thinking her reaction a bit over the top.
Chen Shi went from house to house borrowing oil, salt, at, eggs, vegetables, and fruits.
The villagers were warmly forthcoming, very eager.
Indeed, Dingding watched as Black Pot put on an apron, picked and washed vegetables, chopped them neatly, and classified everything thodically.
"Stop staring, Dingding, let’s go tidy up the guest room."
Called by Chen Shi, Dingding snapped back to reality and quickly followed. Together, they tidied up the guest room and arranged the bedding.
Chen Shi placed the bedding on a wooden rack, lit a dish of pear incense beneath it, infusing the bedding with a fragrant scent, and said with a smile, "The incense contains pear, aloeswood, sandalwood, and several other spices. The pear was picked by on the mountain, squeezed into juice, and mixed with the spices to make this fragrant dish. These are all calming spices. The scented bedding will help you sleep soundly tonight. Do you like the sll, sister Dingding?"
Dingding took a whiff, smiled, and said, "It slls quite nice."
Chen Shi was delighted, sitting on the bed edge, "I’m glad you like it. It’s usually just and Black Pot here, quite boring. Sister Dingding, keep company and chat."
Sitting down, Dingding felt butterflies in her stomach.
Chen Shi was invigorated, talking incessantly about interesting encounters he had had, from his grandfather eating candles to a kiln factory, from the kiln factory to the Evil Bodhisattva, then about the mountain’s rules, various mystical Evil Spirits, and their sacrificial refinent thods.
He was brimming with enthusiasm, pulling out his own drawings of various Evil Spirits, flipping through them for Dingding, then discussing key points about these Evil Spirits.
Dingding felt him getting closer and closer, her heart fluttered, feeling sothing was about to happen.
"Snap!"
Chen Shi closed his compilation of Evil Spirit drawings, saying, "You won’t be bored staying at my house, I’m also a Talisman Master. I can take you to exorcise spirits. It’s just that business has been slow recently."
He seed a bit worried.
Qianyang Mountain was originally full of Evil Spirits, but now it was hard to find even one.
"Could it be that a big Evil Spirit has appeared in the mountain, driving away the others?" Chen Shi pondered.
"From what the sisters said, shouldn’t he be making a move by now?" Dingding’s heart raced.
Chen Shi stood up to leave, saying, "Black Pot says dinner is ready, let’s eat."
Dingding was flabbergasted and quickly followed him, thinking, "He really is a gentleman. I misjudged him."
Indeed, Black Pot had prepared four dishes and a soup, both at and vegetables included.
The two sat down to eat, and Black Pot removed the apron, went to the well to fetch a bucket of water, and washed its paws, watching the two young teenagers eating, sighing deeply.
With the old master gone, who knew how long the household could last without him?
At night, after taking a bath, Dingding poured out the bathwater, bolted the door, and lay on the bed, her heart pounding, "If he cos knocking, should I open the door? I won’t... But what if he pleads? Should I open it or not..."
Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly heard a noise from the courtyard.
Stealthily, she climbed up and peeked out the window. The moonlight was bright outside, and Chen Shi, having taken a dicinal bath, was clad only in white trousers, his torso bare, practicing martial arts in the courtyard.
The youth looked utterly devout, as if cultivating was a sacred act.
He moved through the ritual stances with the ferocity of a tiger, his steps resonant with an indomitable spirit, starlight exploding with each move, flowing through the skin and muscle textures.
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