"Master, you're so slow! Come and have dinner quickly!"
Zhou Chengzi strolled into the house. Seeing Yong Shanling in a flurry, he couldn't help recalling the day he first found her. The chubby - faced baby had been left in the snow. She wasn't afraid when she saw him. Instead, she giggled and even reached out to tug at his beard.
In the blink of an eye, the baby girl had grown into a graceful young woman.
He always liked to tease Ling'er, saying that her skills were mediocre and she was just a novice. In fact, he just wanted Ling'er to think that she was not very capable so that she could stay away from danger and not act impulsively to stick her neck out.
Ling'er didn't know that her talent was unparalleled. She was a prodigy. If she really wanted to practice, she would reach a realm that no one had ever touched before.
But he just wanted the child he had raised with his own hands to live a safe and sound life, free from illness, disaster, and suffering.
But perhaps it was predestined by heaven that this child couldn't be an ordinary person. What was meant to come would always come.
Zhou Chengzi sighed softly. After dinner, he rarely checked Yong Shanling's homework, and then made an excuse that he was sleepy and went back to his room.
It seemed that his comfortable life of more than a decade had been long enough. For this precious apprentice, it was time to fight again, at least to strive for a peaceful era for the children.
"Master is so heartless. I'm leaving tomorrow. I won't be able to come back for ten days or half a month. Doesn't he miss me at all?" Yong Shanling complained while tossing and turning on the bed.
Thinking that she was going to leave the home where she had lived for more than a decade tomorrow, she felt reluctant and a bit sad. She just couldn't fall asleep.
"Hmm... What should I do?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her rarely - used phone. Her eyes lit up. She grabbed it, clumsily opened WeChat, and sent a message to her only friend, Mu Yijie: "Uncle, are you asleep?"
Soon, the reply came: "I'm still working."
"Uncle, you're so busy. You still can't rest so late... I can't fall asleep. Will you chat with me?"
"Who's the boss here?"
Yong Shanling's eyes dimmed, and she pouted involuntarily.
Twenty seconds later, a voice call invitation came. Yong Shanling quickly answered it, smiling from ear to ear: "Uncle~"
"Can't fall asleep, so you come to bother others?"
Through the current, Mu Yijie's voice was even more magnetic. It softened the cold and sternness, adding a touch of gentleness.
Yong Shanling instinctively rolled around on the bed and mumbled, "Uncle, I'm so reluctant to leave home. Master is getting old. I originally wanted to stay with him and take care of him all the time."
"..." Mu Yijie paused for a moment and then said, "Your master must be an extraordinary person. Why not come to my house together?"
"Hehe, Uncle, you said exactly what I was thinking~ It's a pity that my master is an old - fashioned person. He refuses to go no matter what. Sigh." She pretended to sigh sorrowfully.
Mu Yijie was also helpless. He pursed his lips and said, "Tomorrow, I'll persuade the old gentleman myself."
"Really? Uncle, you're very eloquent and steady. You might really be able to change my master's mind!" Yong Shanling kicked her legs excitedly. Instantly, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.
"Can you go to sleep now?"
"Yeah! Uncle, go to bed early too. Don't stay up too late. Master said staying up late will cause wrinkles!" Yong Shanling hung up the phone, lay down obediently on the bed, and fantasized about the new life with her master in the Mu family. She even had a smile on her face when she fell asleep.
But early the next morning, Yong Shanling's smiling face turned into a crying one.
"Master, you're so annoying!"
She stood by the dining table, pinching a note in her hand, and stamped her feet tearfully.
On the note was Zhou Chengzi's unique and elegant regular script, telling his precious apprentice that she had finally graduated from her apprenticeship. He was now care - free. He thanked his little burden and said that he had made an appointment with some old friends to travel around the world. The return date was uncertain. He told Yong Shanling to work hard and not make the employer angry.
"Why didn't you tell me in advance if you were going on a trip? I thought I could go to Uncle Mu's house with you..." Yong Shanling squatted down and curled up into a ball. Her eyes felt sour.
Since she was picked up by her master, they had been dependent on each other for seventeen years. They had never been separated for more than a day. But this time, the old man was so heartless to leave her alone. It was really... really sad...
She rubbed her eyes twice, pouted aggrievedly, and tried hard not to cry out.
"Bang! Bang!"
There were some noises coming from the kitchen. Yong Shanling walked in listlessly. The Ran Yu fish in the water tank was actively bumping against the tank wall. Its big head looked so stupid.
She peeled off a note from the water tank: Stupid apprentice, remember to change the water for the fat - headed fish regularly. I'll sell it for money when I come back!
Seeing the familiar tone, Yong Shanling felt a bit better.
That's right. Master would surely come back. When the old man came back, she must pluck a few of his beard hairs as revenge!
Before leaving, Yong Shanling wanted to clean the house one last time. When she went to tidy up Zhou Chengzi's room, she pushed open the door and found a small bundle on the table in the middle.
Her master wasn't a careless person. Since the things were placed here, they must be for her.
Yong Shanling quickly walked over and opened the bundle. Her eyes lit up, and she excitedly picked up the wooden sword and the bell on the top.
Although these two things looked a bit old, dusty, shabby, and unremarkable, Yong Shanling knew that they were both precious magic tools treasured by her master, priceless treasures that were hard to come by.
Previously, when she accidentally saw her master take out these two treasures, she wasn't even allowed to touch them. She had a big tantrum with the old man.
Unexpectedly, her master had left the treasures to her without any warning...
Under the magic tools was an old thread - bound book. Yong Shanling picked it up carefully.
"The Bestiary? What kind of treasure is this? Why have I never heard of it before?"
She simply flipped through a few pages and saw the ferocious or solemn demons on the inner pages. Each one was so lifelike that it seemed to jump out of the paper.
"Snapped."
She closed the book, wrapped the bundle up again, picked it up, and found a third note under it.
"Ling'er, it's time to give these things to you. After leaving home, practice hard. Don't delay your cultivation because of laziness. The magic tools are for your self - defense. That Bestiary is a gift from your master. Study it well. It will be very useful!"
"Why is the old man suddenly so emotional..."
Yong Shanling had just cheered up a bit, but was almost made to cry again.
She tidied up her master's room, stepped out of the door, sat in the courtyard patio, and stared blankly with her chin in her hand. She murmured in her heart: Uncle is so slow. When will he come to pick me up? If he's any later, I won't go. I'm so reluctant to leave...