Chapter 691: Chapter 691

“So humans, when they’re little, can’t walk either? They just crawl on the ground?” Lady Calico said. “I always thought humans were born able to stand up and walk!”

“Like when cats are little?”

“Hmm…” Lady Calico studied little Jiang Han’s clumsy crawling, then decisively shook her head.

“Not the same at all!”

“So humans need to learn to walk?”

“They don’t need to learn.”

“Really?” Lady Calico stared at him suspiciously.

“I wouldn’t dare deceive you,” Song You replied. “When humans are young and can’t walk, it’s because their bodies haven’t developed enough, and their legs aren’t yet strong. Forcing them to learn at that stage won’t work, and being too eager to teach can actually harm their growth. In truth, once a child grows enough, she’ll naturally stand up. When she sees others walking, she’ll naturally learn how to walk as well.”

Song You paused for a moment.

“It’s like how a kitten, seeing a big cat hunt, groom its fur, or sharpen its claws, will naturally learn to do the same. Adults only need to watch over her when she’s still unsteady, and correct her if her movements or posture are wrong.”

“Naturally…” Song You said to her with genuine sincerity.

As for the baby girl still crawling on the wool mat, the Daoist only glanced at her once before withdrawing his gaze.

In this world, fate brought people together, and events followed their own ordained patterns. The successor of Hidden Dragon Temple would have her own destiny. Was this what the old Daoist had once thought about him?

The thought crossed his mind, and his thoughts began to drift far away.

Rustle! A soft sound came from beside him.

Lady Calico, having finished her meal, set down her bowl and chopsticks, transformed into her original form, and told the Daoist to call her when he was done so she could wash the dishes. Then she ran over to the wool mat to play with the baby.

There were few children in the world who would dislike a beautiful, fluffy cat. But to little Jiang Han, Lady Calico might seem stricter, a bit more forceful. She would block the baby with a paw if she tried to pounce forward, speak in human words to correct her mistakes, and teach her how to behave properly. She was more like an elder than a pet kept for amusement.

The infant was still too young to understand, too young to remember, unable even to distinguish the boundary between human and cat. She simply assumed cats were , and sometimes even felt she herself was a cat.

The Daoist silently ate his konggan rice.

The rice was perfectly separated grain by grain, with oil, salt, and the browned aroma of cured meat and Swallow Beans. Without any side dishes, it was still deeply satisfying.

Warmth spread quickly in his stomach.

Occasionally, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the calico cat crawling on the wool mat, a not-quite-one-year-old baby imitating her, following right behind. The cat reached a satchel lying on the mat and leapt over it lightly. The baby crawled up, looked down at the satchel, then looked up at the cat ahead, tried to jump, but with no leaping ability, she toppled right onto the satchel instead.

Hearing the sound, the calico turned her head to look, paused to wait for her, and thought nothing of it.

The baby also thought nothing of it, didn’t even seem to feel pain, simply clumsily got back up, looked again at the satchel, then at the cat ahead, and crawled after her once more.

It really was like a big cat leading a kitten. The Daoist kept eating and paid no attention.

When he scraped up the last grain from his bowl, he stood, picked up the pot, bowls, and spoons, and was just about to head to the river to wash them when the cat suddenly darted over to block him, transformed into human form, and took them from his hands.

“I will wash them! You focus on healing!”

The wool mat was left with only the baby girl lying on its edge, looking up at the young girl running toward the river, raising her hand then pulling it back. She turned her head instead to look at the Daoist beside her.

“Eat well and grow strong, and you’ll be able to stand up and walk like a person,” Song You told her calmly. “When you grow a bit more, you can start learning Lady Calico’s skills and techniques.”

“Lady Calico also has excellent character. You should learn from her, especially her diligence and eagerness to learn.” Song You, determined to ensure that after returning to Yin-Yang Mountain he could live as leisurely as the old Daoist before him, or even more so, had decided to start training her from infancy.

“That one, don’t learn.”

The baby didn’t understand a word. She simply stared at him with those black-as-night eyes, hesitated briefly, then crawled toward him.

The Daoist stayed still, letting her crawl into his arms and curl up. His Daoist robe was already old, the fabric worn soft by the years. Combined with his body warmth, it seemed to please the little one greatly.

The Daoist looked down at her with a faint smile.

Cats were clean creatures, and unusually willing to help keep their companions clean. Lady Calico had scrubbed the baby thoroughly; her cheeks were white and tender, with no trace of the purple frostbite from half a month ago, and not a speck of dust. Paired with those round, shining eyes, she looked especially adorable.

“Rat…” The baby murmured indistinctly.

“…” The Daoist’s smile faded into calm.

Not long after, Lady Calico returned from washing the dishes.

“My injuries have mostly recovered now. Though the scenery here by the river is beautiful, the damp chill is too heavy. It’s not a good place for a child to stay long,” Song You told her. “From today, we can begin making our way slowly toward Mount Ding.”

Lady Calico held the pots and bowls, tipped them over, and drained them one by one, staring straight at him.

“It’s not exactly close from here to Mount Ding. Even by the shortest route, it will take some time to get there. By the time we arrive, I imagine I’ll be nearly fully recovered.”

“And what about this little one?”

Lady Calico, holding the emptied pots and bowls in one hand, extended the other hand and pointed. Where her spiritual power reached, her magic followed.

A burst of flame appeared out of thin air, drying the last trace of water from the bowls.

The baby girl, curled in the Daoist’s arms, turned her head and stared unblinking. The fear she had felt the first time she saw such a thing was gone; now accustomed to it, she found it amusing and laughed out loud.

“I can simply carry her on my back,” the Daoist said.

“I will carry her! I will carry! I can carry!” Lady Calico’s expression was serious, a sense of responsibility clear between her brows.

“Won’t that tire you out?”

“Then I’ll trouble you with it.”

“It’s no trouble at all!!”

Song You glanced at her expression, smiled, and added, “Lady Calico, you’re becoming more and more responsible, and more and more reliable.”

Lady Calico’s face suddenly stiffened. Just then, the baby girl saw her return, and with her arms now free, crawled out of the Daoist’s embrace toward her. Lady Calico looked down and felt a strange, unnamable feeling well up inside.

After a brief tidying-up, they set off toward Mount Ding.

The Daoist still leaned on his bamboo staff, with a satchel and embroidered pouch slung over his shoulder, walking slowly along the mountain road. If one ignored the weathered look in his eyes, his steps were almost the same as they had been nineteen years before. Behind him followed a half-grown girl in a tri-colored dress, carrying on her back a little baby girl in a carrier skirt. The baby was clutching a dried fish in her hand.

Ahead lay a city called Shuying. The Daoist stayed there for a short while, purchasing some infant clothes and other necessities before continuing on.

Lady Calico’s cultivation was solid, her Daoist training considerable. Though she was still young herself, the weight of a baby was no burden at all to her. Still, with a baby along, there were many more little inconveniences than if they traveled alone, and their pace slowed noticeably.

Every gain comes with a loss; yet bringing the baby also made the journey far more interesting for Lady Calico.

Unknowingly, winter was nearing its end.

The bitter cold seemed to have reached its peak long ago; now it was receding. After several sunny days, there was a distinct warmth returning to the world.

From along the mountain road came voices.

One was a clear, delicate young girl’s voice precise in enunciation, serious in tone. The other was the indistinct babble of a toddler, speaking unclearly but trying earnestly.

“Say ‘Daoist priest’!”

“Anything else you can say?”

The last word was the clearest of them all.

The little girl, dressed in tri-colored clothes and also leaning on a bamboo staff, turned her head toward the Daoist.

“Daoist priest, do you think I’m amazing?”

The Daoist’s tone was as brief as could be.

Flutter, flutter, flutter…

A swallow flew past, alighting on a treetop, peering down at the travelers on the road. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NoveIꜰire.net

“Sir, ahead is Fuguang County. In fact, if we find a small hill now, we could already see Mount Ding. Should we go to Fuguang first, or head straight for Mount Ding?”

“Let’s find an inn in Fuguang first.”

Song You kept walking forward.

Though he had left a safeguard while repairing the paths to heaven, allowing himself to ascend by it as well, the Heavenly Palace still could not accommodate Lady Calico. Now, with the addition of a little one in their party and the outside world still bitterly cold, it was naturally out of the question to make her wait with Lady Calico and the swallow in the open at the foot of the mountain as before.

It wasn’t long before they entered the city.

Fuguang County was a small city, but thanks to Mount Ding it was lively enough, often visited by travelers from all over who stayed for a time. Being a midpoint between the Guanzhong Plain and Yidu, it also saw much merchant traffic, so inns were plentiful.

The Daoist casually chose one, took a room, and went upstairs to set down his belongings.

Lady Calico placed the baby on the bed, letting her crawl about freely, first ordering her not to climb down, then scooping her back up whenever she disobeyed and tried to get off.

Since finding her, the baby had yet to learn to walk, but her crawling skills had become more and more refined.

“Lady Calico, wait for me here. Take good care of this little one, don’t let her die on you.”

“Got it!” The girl nodded earnestly, then looked at him. “Are you healed?”

“When will you be back?”

“Alright!” Lady Calico declared confidently. “By the time you come back, Little Jiang Han will be saying more words! Maybe she’ll even be walking!”

The Daoist gave a faint smile, took only a bamboo staff, and went out the door.

The last time he had come to Mount Ding, he’d arrived on a crane’s back. Though not in a rush, there had still been no time to linger, and he hadn’t visited the county at the mountain’s base. Now, passing through, he had planned to take in the local sights, only to hear that the town still kept alive the legend of his crane-borne arrival.

Strictly speaking, it had been Lady Calico who arrived riding the crane.

This place, situated in Angzhou at the heart of Great Yan, was eight hundred li from Changjing and not far from Zhuyu County, the ancestral home of General Chen.

Perhaps because many officials had hailed from here, the air was thick with political talk. People liked to discuss the great affairs of the realm and the winds of the mortal world. As Song You strolled along, he passed many teahouses and taverns, and whenever a snatch of interesting conversation drifted to his ears, he would pause to listen for a few moments.

He heard, for instance, that in the north the northern garrison was stockpiling grain, seemingly only a step away from rebellion, and that the Chen family of Zhuyu County had vanished overnight, no one knowing how or why.

Elsewhere, word was of demons causing havoc, being slain, or of some hero with a certain name who enjoyed great renown locally and in the surrounding lands.

These scattered words sketched the winds and storms of the realm, just one corner of the ever-changing world.