After the Nine-Nines Cold Days passed, the snow on Fragrant Ze Mountain gradually melted.
Wenren Sheng remembered that the first winter he spent on Fragrant Ze Mountain was holed up in the Rabbit Burrow.
Those rabbits always liked to huddle together to sleep. Wenren Sheng was young back then and didn’t like to talk much, so he found a small corner, curled up his tail, and slept by himself.
But every time he woke up, Wenren Sheng found himself surrounded by a big group of fluffy rabbits. It was so hot that all his fur stuck to his body.
“Mmm…”
That was exactly how Wenren Sheng felt now.
Something like a blanket wrapped him up into a bundle. He couldn’t move at all. In his daze, he even thought he was back in that little corner of the Rabbit Burrow, and that after waking up, he’d have to follow the clan leader to forage on the grassland.
“I want to eat… steamed buns…”
Wenren Sheng turned over with his eyes closed and mumbled indistinctly.
“So greedy?” He vaguely heard a young voice respond by his ear. “How many do you want?”
Wenren Sheng felt like he could already smell the aroma of dough skin and meat filling. He grabbed the bedding with both hands and answered slowly, “…Several.”
After he said that, Wenren Sheng heard the person beside him sigh softly and say, “Then shouldn’t you get up? If you keep sleeping, you won’t get to eat.”
…Wake up?
Wenren Sheng mumbled.
Right, he was still sleeping.
Earlier at the Return to One Sword Sect, he fought alone against two sword cultivators. It was his first time using a sword, and after swinging just one sword with spiritual power, he was almost completely exhausted.
After such hard work, of course he needed a good sleep to recover his strength. Even the Mountain God with heaven-defying Dao arts couldn’t keep going without rest.
However…
Come to think of it, had he forgotten something?
“…”
“Ah!”
Wenren Sheng suddenly opened his eyes.
“The Heavenly Spiritual Root! I haven’t gotten it back yet!”
Warm sunlight suddenly flooded his vision, stinging Wenren Sheng’s eyes. He quickly covered them and steadied his racing heart from the abrupt awakening.
Oh no, oh no. After repelling that sword cultivator, he passed out from exhaustion and remembered nothing afterward.
Wenren Sheng groped around the bedside haphazardly.
Color Kill was gone. And, and what about the Mountain God? Had he broken through the encirclement?
And where was he now?
Freshly awake, Wenren Sheng was utterly bewildered. His pupils hadn’t focused yet; he only managed a panicked glance around.
He seemed to be in a monk’s quarters in some Zen courtyard. Nearby was a floor paved with gray brick tiles, plain white walls hung with several archaic ink wash paintings, and outside the door, he vaguely saw a few incense burners emitting wisps of green smoke.
The room also burned a faint woody incense that smelled very nice.
Wenren Sheng’s pupils slowly focused, but his mind hadn’t caught up yet. He looked completely dazed.
“Finally awake?”
The voice that had spoken to him in his sleep rang out again.
Wenren Sheng quickly turned to look at the bedside and saw that familiar figure.
“It’s exactly the eighth day since you fell asleep. Congratulations on waking up.”
He Mu nodded at Wenren Sheng in acknowledgment.
He had already changed out of his fitted light armor and red cloak. Now he wore a black-and-white Daoist robe with a cinched waist and a ponytail casually tied up, looking much more approachable.
Seeing He Mu, the confusion on Wenren Sheng’s face finally faded. He revealed a joyful expression, immediately threw off the covers, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked up at him obediently.
“Where is this place?”
“Um…” He Mu stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, “My home?”
“Your home.” Wenren Sheng repeated.
That must be the Divine Temple on Fragrant Ze Mountain.
He had seen it from afar many times and even mustered the courage to approach it once.
He remembered what the temple door looked like, with years of wind and frost accumulated on the two door rings, turning the copper pale and lusterless. It should have been a rundown place.
He never expected the inside to be so new and clean.
Wenren Sheng had never stayed in such a nice place before.
He happily touched the soft bedding beneath him and said, “The Mountain God’s home is so beautiful.”
“I say, you…” He Mu sighed instead and said, “Why don’t you take better care of yourself?”
Wenren Sheng tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”
He Mu clicked his tongue. “The clothes you wore when we first met were picked up from the mountain, right? When I sorted your things, I found at least five or six holes in them.”
He gestured with his arms, shaking his head. “Why make yourself suffer so much as a person?”
Wenren Sheng didn’t catch the implication. He looked down and realized his tattered rags had been changed into comfortable undergarments.
Moreover, at the foot of the bed sat a neatly folded robe with gilded patterns—a style he had never seen before.
“This is…” Wenren Sheng said in surprise. “Whose clothes?”
“What do you think?” He Mu raised an eyebrow. “There’s only one kid here.”
!!
So that meant this was a gift from the Mountain God!
Wenren Sheng’s eyes immediately lit up with brilliance. He wanted to climb down and try on his new clothes right away.
But halfway through the motion, Wenren Sheng suddenly remembered something, and his enthusiasm vanished completely.
He quietly sat back on the edge of the bed and said nothing.
He Mu hadn’t figured out the kid’s mindset yet. Seeing Wenren Sheng excited like a little sparrow one moment and suddenly quiet the next, he thought the boy felt unwell again.
He half-knelt down and asked caringly, “What’s wrong, Shengsheng? Uncomfortable?”
Wenren Sheng obediently shook his head. “No, I’m not uncomfortable.”
He Mu asked puzzledly, “Then why did you suddenly get unhappy?”
A blush crept onto Wenren Sheng’s face. He avoided He Mu’s gaze and asked carefully, “Has the Mountain God retrieved the Heavenly Spiritual Root?”
He Mu nodded. “Yeah, it’s temporarily in the Qiankun Sleeve. Once your body recovers more, I’ll transfer it back into you.”
Wenren Sheng said, “Then… the Mountain God’s mission this time is complete, right?”
He Mu “mm”-ed. He seemed to sense what Wenren Sheng wanted to say, a slight curve hooking at his lips.
Wenren Sheng awkwardly swung his legs and said coyly,
“Th-then, the thing you promised me…”
Before Wenren Sheng finished, He Mu cupped his face and leaned close. “I remember.”
“You want a family, right?”
Hearing this, Wenren Sheng’s nose instantly soured.
All the grievances and unhappiness buried in his heart seemed on the verge of bursting at this moment. A thin layer of mist gathered in his water-blue pupils, liable to spill tears unbecomingly at any moment.
Wenren Sheng looked at He Mu with teary eyes and pitifully “mm”-ed.
Seeing him so aggrieved, He Mu inexplicably felt his heart melt.
He let go of his hand, tucked Wenren Sheng’s hair behind his ear, and said softly, “Then, would you let me adopt you?”
Adopt…
That would mean becoming… fa-fa-family…
Wenren Sheng’s cheeks instantly flushed red like a ripe peach. He hurriedly covered his burning-hot face with his hands and stared fiercely down at his toes.
“Yes…”
His voice was as soft as a little puppy’s whine.
“Hm?” He Mu pretended not to hear. “Not willing?”
“No!” Wenren Sheng quickly looked up and said urgently, “I am willing! Super, super willing!”
With emotions surging, Wenren Sheng couldn’t hold back his tears. Crystal-clear droplets immediately slid down his cheeks.
He felt it too embarrassing and hurriedly raised his arm to wipe his tears with his clothes.
But before he could, He Mu gently pinned his arm down and wiped away Wenren Sheng’s tear tracks with his thumb.
“I have no experience living together with anyone. When you told me before that you wanted to find family, I didn’t consider myself,” He Mu said. “If you’d said it sooner, I would’ve agreed right away.”
During the days Wenren Sheng lay in a coma, He Mu hadn’t only bought some clothes down the mountain; he had also carefully sorted the boy’s tattered little bundle.
He first took out the cloak Wenren Sheng had sewn himself and aired it out, then dumped all the little “trash” from the bundle.
Most of those things were butterflies and bugs Wenren Sheng had picked up from the mountain. Only one item was different: a crooked, lopsided clay figurine.
He Mu flipped the figurine over and discovered “Cangyu True Monarch” clumsily carved on the back in childish script.
It was modeled after him.
Though He Mu was reluctant to admit it, he could tell this kid really idolized him. He often came to the Divine Temple from afar to pray blessings for him, accumulating quite a bit of merit.
It was hard not to soften toward such an obedient child.
Wenren Sheng cried until he was hiccuping a little. It took him a while to speak normally.
“I didn’t dare say,” Wenren Sheng answered with hitched breaths. “I felt like you wouldn’t agree. Then I’d be unhappy, and if unhappy, I couldn’t help properly.”
Though young, he was especially emotionally sensitive. Even a casual unrelated remark would make him overthink.
He Mu patted his head and smiled. “Alright, no more dwelling on sad things. While you were out, I reported the Sword Sect matter upward and petitioned the Heavenly Court to stay in the lower realm temporarily to clean house. We’ll live on Fragrant Ze Mountain for this period. How’s that?”
Wenren Sheng nodded vigorously. “Yes! I’ll study spells diligently!”
He Mu stood up, placed the new robe from the foot of the bed on Wenren Sheng’s knees, then dragged a chair over and sat facing him.
“But how did you convince Color Kill to open the barrier, and how did you kill a Mahayana Realm cultivator all by yourself?” He Mu propped his cheek and asked. “Impressive. With only half a spirit root, you drew out thirty percent of Color Kill’s power.”
Wenren Sheng shook out the robe and jumped off the bed. While dressing, he answered, “I just talked to it a bit, and it agreed.”
“But when I used the sword, my body felt super light.” Halfway through dressing, Wenren Sheng couldn’t help gesticulating. “Then it felt like my soul left my body or something, and my strength got super huge. I just—whoosh—swung the sword like this, and Sword Qi shot out!”
Watching him flail around with his half-on clothes flapping, He Mu couldn’t help covering his face and laughing.
“Oh, so impressive,” he said amid laughter. “Makes sense. The potential of a Heavenly Spiritual Root is limitless. You accomplished what many can’t.”
Wenren Sheng blushed from the praise, his heart leaping with joy. He deliberately mumbled without speaking and finished putting on the new clothes.
“But—”
He Mu changed tack, looking at Wenren Sheng with a half-smile, and said slowly,
“At your age, shouldn’t you be going to school?”
