Chapter 34
“What?!”
Audrow’s casual remark was like a bombshell. Before the stunned young man could react, Qu Banqing rushed out of the kitchen, spatula in hand, his face surprisingly lit up with joy.
“Come in, come in, please…” Qu Banqing greeted him enthusiastically, then kicked Ning Zhixia’s butt and said, “Go, clean up the room.”
Ning Zhixia rubbed his butt in confusion: “Oh…”
As soon as Qu Banqing turned around, he pushed the suitcase, sidled up to Audrow, and asked eagerly, “Tell me, what happened?”
Audrow looked down at him, then leaned closer, his eyes narrowed as he observed the young man’s expression, and asked slowly, “Not welcome?”
“No, no…” Ning Zhixia shook his head, seeing the amusement in Audrow’s eyes, and immediately bumped his shoulder, changing the subject. “Hmph, I even offered you a place to stay last night, but you insisted on leaving, so of course I’m surprised!”
“A generous offer, to sleep on the sofa.” Audrow paused for a few seconds, then added, “Even the cats have beds.”
Ning Zhixia chuckled dryly: “…Isn’t there another room, hee hee.”
But if Audrow was staying long-term, they needed to find another place. The only spare room in the house was the storage room, which was relatively clean, just filled with some clutter that needed to be cleared out.
Ning Zhixia pulled open the curtains, and the bright sunlight filled the room. Audrow, who had just entered, frowned slightly, shielding his eyes from the bright, warm light.
“Don’t you like it?” Ning Zhixia noticed his action and asked, turning around.
Audrow: “Hot.”
Ning Zhixia looked at him, said “oh,” and obediently closed the curtains, blocking out the sunlight.
With Audrow around, he didn’t have to clean himself.
Ning Zhixia sat on the dark red cabinet, watching Audrow wave his hand, and the clutter and cardboard boxes were neatly piled outside, the floor instantly spotless as if it had been waxed.
While Audrow was cleaning the storage room, Ning Zhixia learned from him that the Lord God believed that more and more planes would connect to number 19, which meant encountering more non-human beings with different temperaments, like the troublesome centaurs from the Barrenlands.
To prevent such incidents from happening again, the Lord God had arranged for Audrow to move in, as a form of protection.
Ning Zhixia suddenly understood why Qu Banqing was so happy.
“The Lord God is quite thoughtful, I think He’s somewhat reliable.”
Ning Zhixia muttered, looking around the empty room, then suddenly slapped his forehead, “Oh no, you’re moving in today, but there’s no furniture!”
“I brought some.”
Audrow pointed at his small suitcase, which seemed to have no capacity, but it opened by itself, revealing a dark, empty space.
Just as Ning Zhixia thought he was joking, the suitcase shook violently, and bedding, clothes hangers, a carpet, a decorative cabinet… emerged one after another, like an interdimensional space, and Ning Zhixia’s eyes widened!
Audrow picked up a fish-shaped pillow that had landed awkwardly, looked around, and placed it on the bed.
Then he tilted his head and stared at it for a while, seemingly dissatisfied, and patted it a few times until it inflated like a balloon.
A corner of the room remained empty, perhaps for some other purpose.
Ning Zhixia didn’t ask, his attention completely captured by the unassuming little suitcase.
He circled it like a puppy that had discovered a treasure, then squatted down and peered inside.
Ning Zhixia murmured, “Tsk, tsk, it’s like Doraemon’s pocket…”
Audrow asked, “What’s that?”
Ning Zhixia chuckled: “A cartoon, I’ll show you tonight!”
Audrow: “Okay.”
In no time, the storage room on the first floor became Audrow’s bedroom. However, he went to the Bureau during the day and wasn’t usually home, only returning around seven in the evening.
Ning Zhixia, seeing the room always closed, wanted to open the windows for ventilation, since the plants in the courtyard kept the insects away.
He opened the door and found the room, which had no air conditioning, was cool.
The bed was neatly made, untouched, only the little fish pillow lying quietly in the center. Apart from a faint, rippling blue light in the corner, it looked like a model room.
Ning Zhixia blinked in confusion, heard Qu Banqing coming downstairs, and quickly closed the door.
It was evening, the most lively time for visitors, and Su Qiushui and Yin Fuliu were in the work area, looking towards the living room with complicated expressions.
“Tonight’s schedule is…” Ning Zhixia announced, hands on his hips, “Two episodes of Doraemon, then two episodes of My Little Pony! And then we’ll play games!”
“Yay~” A row of fox cubs, hugging bags of chips, replied in unison.
Audrow didn’t eat chips. He sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, his expression lazy and indifferent, as if attending a concert, his fingers toying with the fox cubs’ ears to the rhythm of the cartoon theme song.
“Ugh, Audrow gege, my ears are itchy.” Baizhu mumbled, squirming.
Audrow looked down, said “oh,” retracted his hand, and picked a tail to play with.
“Waaah…” Baizhu pouted and looked at his sisters pleadingly.
Su Qiushui and Yin Fuliu’s faces froze, and they turned away awkwardly, pretending not to see.
The fox cub, failing to get help, shifted his target, his eyes watery as he reached out to Ning Zhixia: “Ning gege, hug…”
His pitiful expression was too adorable to resist. Ning Zhixia ruffled his ears and lifted him up.
“By the way, I bought some children’s clothes, you can try them on.” Qu Banqing came downstairs with some packages.
Shorts, T-shirts, and little rain boots. The season in the Yokai world was similar to here, so they could use them.
“Oh, oh…” Baizhu touched the soft fabric of the T-shirt, turning it around, unsure where to put his head.
Ning Zhixia told him to raise his hands and pulled the T-shirt over his head, his fox ears flattening against his head.
The fox cub immediately yelled, “Ears, ears… gege, my ears are stuck!”
Ning Zhixia quickly helped him, pulling his soft, pointy ears through the neckline.
“Hmm.”
Baizhu poked his head out, shook his messy hair, and grinned at his reflection in the mirror.
The T-shirt was milky white, embroidered with a cartoon fox, and Qu Banqing had thoughtfully added two extra tails. There was a semi-circular pocket on the belly, perfect for holding his hands or snacks.
Ning Zhixia asked, “Do you like it?”
Baizhu, grinning, revealing his small fangs, nuzzled against Ning Zhixia: “Happy, happy!”
The news of Audrow moving in had made the non-human visitors anxious. After several days of covert observation, they found that he only ate cake, watched cartoons, and occasionally played with the fox cubs, so they gradually relaxed.
It wasn’t the hottest time of year in Yucheng yet. A thunderstorm suddenly arrived one night, washing the moss a vibrant green, and in the morning, the leaves were still covered with dew, a faint glow on the horizon, and a slight chill in the air.
Ning Zhixia packed the packages to be shipped early in the morning and handed them to the courier.
After all the work, he was sweating slightly, pulling at his collar to cool down.
The ground outside was still wet, so the kittens couldn’t go out. They sat by the window, tilting their heads and looking at their panting owner.
Sensing the confusion in their round eyes, Ning Zhixia paused and closed his mouth.
In this weather, no matter how much water he drank, he still felt thirsty. Fortunately, Qu Banqing had made a refreshing herbal drink with honey, sweet and delicious.
Ning Zhixia happily poured himself a cup, slumped on the sofa, and sipped it slowly. Fatty Orange immediately jumped onto his lap, its paws wrapping around his wrist, trying to get closer.
The door to the storage room opened and closed. Audrow, curiously watching the young man trying to reason with Fatty Orange while holding his cup tightly, walked towards him.
Ning Zhixia, seeing him approach, without thinking, handed Fatty Orange over and poured himself another cup.
Audrow paused slightly, holding the heavy Golden Toast, and made eye contact with the green cat eyes.
Fatty Orange meowed sweetly: “Meow~”
Audrow paused, placed the heavy cat back on the young man’s lap, and said directly, “I want some too.”
“Oh, oh, you should have said so.” Ning Zhixia reacted, took another cup, filled it halfway, and handed it over.
Audrow took a sip, pursed his lips, seemed to like it, and finished it in one gulp.
Ning Zhixia chuckled: “Good, right? But don’t drink too much, twice a week is enough.”
“It’s fine, I’m not human.” Audrow, as if exploiting this loophole, held the empty glass against the young man’s cheek and urged, “More.”
Ning Zhixia: “…”
The nail salon was closed today, and Audrow wasn’t going to work either, because they had decided to visit the Taoist temple on Biluo Mountain.
After the incident with the centaurs, Qu Banqing was still shaken and insisted on going to the temple to pray for safety amulets.
Ning Zhixia didn’t think it was necessary, but then he remembered that he had prayed to the God of Fortune before opening the nail salon, and now that his business was booming, it wouldn’t hurt to offer thanks.
Biluo Mountain was lush and green, shrouded in mist, like a stroke of green painted by the gods. The Biluo Temple halfway up the mountain was quite famous in Yucheng. Ning Zhixia and the others drove up the mountain after breakfast.
Perhaps it was the overwhelming pressure of modern life, but even on a weekday, there were many visitors, as if they could relax and be themselves in front of the benevolent deities.
The scent of sandalwood filled the air, and the ginkgo trees lining the stone steps were lush and green, their branches covered with wooden plaques inscribed with auspicious words, clinking softly in the wind.
If the kittens were here, they would definitely be thinking about snatching a plaque as a scratching toy.
The Hall of the God of Fortune was bustling. Ning Zhixia told Audrow to wait by the incense burner, and he and Qu Banqing would be back soon. They quickly went inside, raised incense sticks to their foreheads, and showered the God of Fortune with praises, their eloquence far surpassing their graduation presentations.
Offering thanks didn’t take long. After lighting the incense, they took Audrow to the Patriarch Hall for safety amulets.
This hall was much quieter. A courtyard surrounded a plane tree, and a young Taoist boy was sweeping the fallen flowers from last night’s rain. A ginger tabby cat suddenly darted out from the bushes, making the visitors chuckle.
“Here, the incense.” Qu Banqing handed Ning Zhixia three incense sticks and told him to hurry up and pray while there weren’t many people, trying to have a good chat with the Patriarch. “Go ahead, be confident.”
“…Okay.” Ning Zhixia, under his concerned gaze, entered the hall.
Wisps of smoke curled around Audrow’s indifferent eyes. He leaned against the door, not kneeling, as if no being in this world was worthy of his obeisance.
His tall figure blocked some of the sunlight falling on the stone floor. He stood there silently, watching the young man kneeling on a cushion, his eyes closed as he raised the incense sticks to his forehead, looking from afar like a red dot between his eyebrows.
A wooden table with brushes, ink, and yellow talismans was placed beside the statue, and a white-haired Taoist priest sat there, giving out safety amulets to those who had finished praying.
Ning Zhixia went to get one too, gave his birth date, and the Taoist priest, after looking him up and down, instead of writing a talisman, pushed a bamboo container towards him: “Draw a fortune stick first.”
“Okay.”
Ning Zhixia paused for a moment, then smiled, and shook the container like a bartender.
A small wooden stick clattered onto the floor. Audrow picked it up, and the black inscription revealed an ominous “worst luck” fortune.
“Indeed…” The old Taoist priest pondered for a moment, then said, “Your birth chart is weak, you won’t live long.”
Ning Zhixia’s expression froze.
“What are you talking about!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qu Banqing slammed his hand on the table, attracting the attention of the surrounding visitors.
The old Taoist priest smiled helplessly: “If you don’t believe me, try again, you’ll get the same result.”
“Fine, we’ll try again.” Qu Banqing put the stick back into the container and handed it to Ning Zhixia. “Here, draw another one!”
Ning Zhixia scratched his head, hesitated, and shook the container slightly. Suddenly, Audrow, standing behind him, leaned closer silently.
A cold sensation enveloped his hand, but Ning Zhixia didn’t pull away, letting the other man gently hold his hand as he rummaged through the sticks.
A carefully selected “best luck” stick was placed on the Taoist priest’s table with a snap. Audrow looked at him triumphantly, a hint of provocation in his eyes.
The old Taoist priest was dumbfounded: “Huh?”
Ning Zhixia pursed his lips and burst out laughing.
The onlookers sighed in unison. Such a display of “I control my own destiny”!
