Chapter 028: Lickspittle x Scoundrel x Saintly Syndrome (10)

Chapter 028: Lickspittle x Scoundrel x Saintly Syndrome (10)

Si Jinghua's money-printing machine has started up.

Each time he prints, the amount isn't much—sometimes two or five points, at most ten or twenty points.

Keding finds this quite comforting.

—At least it adds up to the eighty points that Monkey almost spent; not easy to do.

Rong Zijin is meticulous in her work, treating all the children as her own, personally sewing clothes for them and brewing medicinal porridge.

As a sword cultivator, she isn’t very adept at taking care of others; her talent lies more in comprehending sword intent. She has even cut her fingers a few times or been scalded by steam from boiling water.

But she learns quickly and gets better with each attempt.

The finished products, accumulated from these small efforts, are eventually noticed by Si Jinghua, causing him distress and restless nights.

Si Jinghua is acutely aware that he has fallen out of favor.

The fragrant sachets and soft pillows are not for him.

The medicinal porridge and hearty soups are also not for him.

Rong Zijin’s palace has five disciples, endless chores to attend to, and Si Jinghua has been forgotten, receiving no affection.

Sometimes Rong Zijin would bring soup to see him, and Si Jinghua would drink it with a sullen face.

He can’t help but ask himself, "Zijin, am I only worthy of leftovers?"

Those orphaned children are treated far better than me. Zijin, what do you take me for? Just entertainment?

Rong Zijin sneezes several times, attributing it to catching a chill.

A child runs over to drape a coat on her. “Master, it’s cold!”

“Thank you, Chunhua,” Rong Zijin pats the child’s head. “I’ll sew some bean bags for you today, and we can play together!”

While entertaining the children, she discusses plans with her two senior disciples.

“Though it’s spring, shouldn’t we prepare some summer clothes for them?”

“The summer bedding should be made of mulberry and hemp. Should we also get them little bamboo beds?”

Feng Qinqin, hesitantly, says, “Master, sleeping on small wooden beds is fine too.”

Rong Zijin thinks deeper and starts planning. “They can’t keep sharing rooms with you. We need to clean up the side hall and give them separate rooms.”

“If we clean the side hall, we should also repair the main courtyard where they practice swords. We can’t let splinters or pebbles hurt them.”

“After making summer clothes and bedding, we should also prepare autumn and winter outfits. Wait, what will they wear when going out? They need boots too.”

“Should the three children ride horses or fly swords? Perhaps we should raise a few more ponies.”

Xiao Baiqiong says, “Master, Master! That’s enough!”

“The current cultivation manuals are too difficult, and Chunzhu can’t even read yet,” Rong Zijin muses aloud. “There’s so much to do, I can’t handle it alone.”

“Oh right, they’re still growing. We need to bring in two milking cows or sheep!”

Turning around, Master looks at her senior disciple for help.

“Baiqiong, I can’t manage this alone…”

The golden monkey darts off into the depths of the mountains.

“Squeak! Squeak!! Quack!”

“How could you run away at the first sign of work?” Rong Zijin sighs, then turns to Feng Qinqin hopefully. “Qinqin, you’re the most understanding—”

The silver monkey swings through the trees and disappears two miles away in an instant.

“Quack! Squeak quack!!”

The golden monkey swings through the vines and sees her junior sister turn into a monkey and run off, waving at her from afar.

“Quack!”

“Quack!”

The two monkeys travel through the valley, letting out joyful cries above the forest.

“Wah wah!! Wah—”

System: “Um, what are you talking about?”

Keding says, “I don’t know.”

Jokes aside, as August approaches, the disciples secretly prepare gifts to thank their Master for her care.

With Mid-Autumn Festival just days away, they want to make lanterns and mooncakes to cheer their Master up!

Feng Qinqin speaks too quickly, and the news soon spreads to other palaces, attracting the attention of other young disciples.

“Uncle Yiyue has also taken care of me. I want to make something for both my Master and Uncle!”

“I couldn’t remember the law chants and cried alone. Uncle Yiyue taught me several times! Count me in!”

When Xiao Baiqiong returns to the kitchen with materials, he sees a dozen young faces covered in flour and glue, all huddled together.

Feng Qinqin laughed awkwardly. "Um, there seem to be a lot of people here, huh?"

A dozen children turned their heads in unison. "Senior Brother Xiao!"

"Senior Brother!" "Senior Brother!" "Senior Brother is here!"

The room felt like it was filled with twenty dancing cacti. Help, why were there echoes everywhere?

Xiao Baiqiong sent half the children to the side hall to focus on making lanterns, then grabbed a small stool and continued carving mooncake molds. Midway through, he remembered something and turned to Feng Qinqin.

"Did Luoyueyuan know about the gifts?"

"I told Sheng Jun, and he will definitely tell Senior Uncle Si."

Although Feng Qinqin had done this, she couldn't help but sigh.

She hoped that Si Jinghua and his disciples would show some gesture to make her Master's festival pleasant, yet she didn't want those two to get too close to her Master.

In recent days, Master had been spending all his time in Suyuzhai, taking care of the little disciples, teaching them scriptures, and playing games like kickball and beanbag toss with them.

Si Jinghua, that person, had such a narrow heart. Even after months of recuperation, he still seemed gloomy and petty, which was tiresome.

"Senior Brother, do you hope they surprise Master?"

Xiao Baiqiong thought for a moment and said, "I do hope so."

"Even though Master has been sad many times, seeing him sad makes me uncomfortable too."

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Immortal Sect held a grand banquet, inviting not only many old friends from nearby sects but also several mountain villagers to drink and admire the moon together.

After a few rounds of drinks, Feng Qinqin clutched her stomach in a somewhat exaggerated manner.

"Ouch, I'm not feeling well."

Xiao Baiqiong looked over silently.

Act more naturally! You're almost laughing!

Rong Zijin, unaware of the act, asked concernedly, "Is it your period? Where does it hurt?"

"Master, I feel terrible," Feng Qinqin said with a pained face. "Could you accompany me back?"

The other children chimed in understandingly, "I'm full, Master, let's go back together."

"I am too, I'm full!"

Rong Zijin supported Feng Qinqin as they walked back, followed quietly by a group of children, growing from three or four to a dozen.

Under the night sky, Xiao Baiqiong held a lantern in front.

Above, a bright full moon; below, a splendid lantern.

Rong Zijin gripped Feng Qinqin's hand tightly, fearing she might have an emergency.

As the main hall door of Suyuzhai opened, dazzling lights spilled out.

Dozens of different lanterns hung high, depicting rabbits bowing to the moon, magpies carrying flowers, and golden-red paper cut into adorable shapes, illuminating the night.

At the entrance stood a small square table with plates of various stuffed mooncakes.

Feng Qinqin, no longer hunched or in pain, jumped up excitedly. "Master! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! May the moon always be full and people live long!"

The children behind her echoed in unison, "Master! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"

Rong Zijin stared at everything before him, fighting back tears as he looked at the lanterns made by the children.

The bright light flickered and changed, like continuously blooming flowers and moons.

"These... did you all make these?"

"We wanted to give you some small tokens of appreciation," Xiao Baiqiong said. "Master, thank you for being here."

Rong Zijin instinctively rubbed his eyes, trying hard not to cry.

A child ran up to him, holding a plate of homemade mooncakes.

"Master, don't cry! Try the mooncakes we made!"

"Eat mine first! Mine!"

"Wow, you guys beat me to it!"

The master and disciples gathered around the table, tasting each other's creations and critiquing the lanterns.

"The yellow rabbit looks fierce, must be made by my sister."

"Xiao! Bai! Qiong!" "Master, look at the monkey lantern he made! What is that thing!"

Rong Zijin couldn't help but laugh, gently kissing each child as he recognized their work.

He had lived for hundreds of years, lonely for a long time, even seeing Xiao Baiqiong as just a child.

Once everyone's work was identified, Xiao Baiqiong and Feng Qinqin exchanged glances, looking uneasy.

Among these... there was no sign of any work from Si Jinghua and his disciples.

Even Sheng Jun, Si Jinghua's senior disciple, who had received much care during his foundation-building breakthrough and many elixirs from Master.

How could this be.

They kept their thoughts to themselves, continuing to chat with their Master with smiles on their faces.

Rong Zijin motioned for the children from other halls to return early so as not to worry their Masters. She repeatedly looked at the lanterns and mooncakes, then stood up and said, "Stay here to enjoy the moon. Master will go to Luoyuyuan."

"Take some mooncakes with you," Feng Qinqin said. "I made plenty! Master, take whatever you want!"

Rong Zijin nodded with a smile, simply picking a few items, and left with a lantern in hand.

Keding snapped back from his role and asked, "Did Si Jinghua prepare any surprises for him?"

System: "Not at all. It's going to go badly."

Keding asked again, "Didn't Sheng Jun tell him?"

"Yes," the system replied. "The Immortal Venerable is about to be heartbroken."

"Sigh." Keding let out a soft sigh. "I really want to stop him from going."

System: "Come on, I'll stream it for you. Take a look at what happens next."

Rong Zijin walked through the night, passing through mountains and pine forests, her outer robe dampened by dew.

She didn’t mind, carrying the food box to find Si Jinghua.

The man had just returned from a banquet and was drinking a pot of warm tea.

"Here?"

"Mm."

For a moment, Rong Zijin didn’t know what to say, lowering her head as she placed the food box in front of him.

"I brought some mooncakes made by the apprentices. There are flavors you like."

"I don't want to eat them." Si Jinghua smiled faintly. "Who knows what those kids have touched?"

Rong Zijin lowered her head in silence for a while, then said, "So you think they're dirty."

"Yes."

Rong Zijin forced a smile and said, "They prepared a surprise for me and made many lanterns."

"At that time, I was looking everywhere, wondering if there might be something from you hidden somewhere, hoping not to miss it."

"No." Si Jinghua looked at her and asked with a smile, "How could I intrude on your reunion dinner with the apprentices? I wouldn't dare spoil your fun."

"Rong Zijin, how much warmth have you given those children? You always carry them in your heart and mention them every time we talk."

"Now you come here pretending, showing off these gifts. Is it amusing?"

"What do I have left in front of you? Just a bit of forced concern, is that it?"

Rong Zijin stared at him blankly.

"I haven't even touched a fraction of your true feelings. How could I possibly give you anything in return."

Si Jinghua lazily sat up, glancing aside.

"Take that food box away; it’s unlucky to look at."

In response, only silence.

The elegant immortal slowly pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and unfolded it.

"In fact, I wrote an entire set of longevity scriptures for you."

Si Jinghua suddenly turned around, seeing this thirty-foot-long longevity scripture floating in mid-air, stretching from one end of the house to the other, unable to fully display all its words.

Each character glowed crimson, drawn from the blood of the immortal's fingertips.

Rong Zijin lowered her eyes and softly recounted the past.

"This scripture has twelve thousand and forty-one characters, which I wrote over four seasons."

"I wrote so slowly because with each word, I silently prayed for your health, longevity, and the fulfillment of your wish to become an immortal."

Flames ignited between her fingers, spreading across the long scroll.

Si Jinghua couldn’t even apologize or beg for mercy, rushing over to try to blow out the flames, his face turning pale.

"Rong Zijin! Leave it! Don’t do this foolish thing!!"

No one had ever done such a thing for him, writing such a long heart sutra for him. This was his, this should be his!!

The flames grew more chaotic and fierce, engulfing the thirty-foot-long characters in an instant, scattering like red leaves on the ground.

"No—" Si Jinghua cried in despair, "Zijin!!"

"I am so foolish, only realizing today." Rong Zijin shook her head. "Someone like you doesn’t deserve it."

Keding watched, forgetting to breathe, as the system suddenly beeped twice.

"Holy crap! Si Jinghua lost 280 points in one go!"

"That tightwad finally broke down so hard!" The system wiped away tears. "What a huge income, my treasure! I’m so happy!"

"I'm happy too," Keding continued watching the resolute figure on the screen. "I’m truly happy for him."

The man finally realized that he had long been deeply loved by many people and that he already had a way out.

Master, come home quickly; we are here.