After Zhong Wuxi steadied himself, the vines retreated to their original place. He had not fallen, and his Master had not caught him; therefore, the little creature did not appear.
Zhong Wuxi coughed with a touch of guilt. “Master, can you control these vines?”
“Reach out.”
Zhong Wuxi extended his hand, and Yin Jiuli lightly tapped his fingertip. A flow of true energy circulated through his meridians. Following the guidance of this energy, Zhong Wuxi mobilized the spiritual power within his body.
Half an hour later, a small, pale green flame flickered in his palm. The light was weak, but it was enough to melt the surrounding snowflakes into tiny water droplets.
“Master, look! I succeeded!” Zhong Wuxi ran excitedly to Yin Jiuli’s side, holding up his palm to show off his progress.
As he got closer, he noticed a flake of snow stuck to his Master’s sleeve. Carefully holding the weak flame in his palm, Zhong Wuxi tried to melt the snowflake into a water droplet, but the droplet only ended up soaking his Master’s sleeve.
Zhong Wuxi felt a little frustrated. He stood on tiptoe and, after much effort, managed to dry the soaked area. However, his cultivation was still too low, and his skill was limited; he accidentally burned a small hole in his Master’s pristine white sleeve.
Yin Jiuli lowered his eyes, noticing his little disciple tugging at his sleeve. He lifted his hand slightly, and the young boy stretched up to reach it. He then reached out and patted his little disciple’s soft, silver hair.
Zhong Wuxi had been feeling a bit dejected, but since his Master was not angry and had even patted his head, he became happy again. “Master, I, I little, little ball!”
“I mean I want to play with the little cloud ball,” Zhong Wuxi stammered, unable to resist sneaking a peek at the ball that had appeared out of thin air on his Master’s shoulder.
The little ball cupped its chubby cheeks, watching Zhong Wuxi with a smile.
Following his Master’s instructions, Zhong Wuxi used the flame in his palm to manipulate the vines. The little ball stood on the vines, blinking its large eyes and continuing to stare at him.
His Master was meditating with his eyes closed, so Zhong Wuxi grew bold enough to reach out and poke the little ball that looked exactly like him. Not only did the ball not dodge, but it even mimicked Zhong Wuxi by stretching out a tiny finger. However, it was just a phantom and could not actually touch Zhong Wuxi. The little ball sighed while cupping its face, its large eyes filled with unhappiness.
Aw, the miniature version of Master is just too cute.
Zhong Wuxi turned back and saw that his Master was still meditating. He leaned over, moved closer to the ball, and touched its head through the void.
Zhong Wuxi had very long hair. As he leaned over, his fine, soft strands draped over the vines, and the ball’s eyes lit up. It lunged forward and sat down on Zhong Wuxi’s hair.
Zhong Wuxi remained silent.
Although the little ball was just a phantom, for some reason, he dared not stand up straight and had to stay bent over, locked in a gaze with it. Three minutes later, Zhong Wuxi could no longer hold the position. He took a pair of scissors from his qiankun bag, cut off a strand of hair, placed it in front of the ball, and stood up straight, thumping his sore lower back.
The ball’s attention was immediately drawn to the strand of hair. After playing with it for a while, it braided the hair into a tiny, soft, little pigtail.
Zhong Wuxi remained silent.
He could not help but imagine himself wearing two pigtails and immediately felt awful. The ball, however, was delighted, even holding the pigtail up to compare it against Zhong Wuxi’s ear.
Zhong Wuxi remained silent.
He tried his best to ignore the ball’s actions and focused his attention on the ball itself. Why could this little creature touch his hair? Was it because cut hair had no life?
“Do not be lazy.”
Zhong Wuxi was startled and immediately began manipulating the vines to cultivate. However, having wasted too much time on the ball, the weak flame in his palm had gone out.
Zhong Wuxi stood at a loss, staring blankly at his own palm. Yin Jiuli remained unresponsive, but the little ball floated into his palm, circling anxiously several times. Fearing his Master’s anger, Zhong Wuxi carefully approached and tugged on the snow-white sleeve. “Master, this disciple was wrong. I will definitely work hard to cultivate tomorrow.”
Yin Jiuli lowered his eyes to look at his little disciple standing on tiptoe and gave a faint nod. Zhong Wuxi had expected his Master to ignore him, so he was immediately overjoyed. Even if, in his Master’s eyes, all living things were mere grass and trees, his Master was still very gentle toward grass and trees.
Since he did not have to cultivate for the rest of the day, Zhong Wuxi ran back to the snow hut, lay on the bed, and prepared to get some rest. The little ball followed him everywhere, playing happily with the silver pigtail in its arms, forgetting even the lotus flowers it had previously liked.
Zhong Wuxi tilted his head, looking at the little ball’s appearance, which was identical to his Master’s. Could this little creature be his Master as a child?
“What are you looking at?”
A cold voice rang out, and Zhong Wuxi straightened his body instantly, feeling a layer of cold sweat break out. He was so startled that he felt dizzy, and it took a long while for his consciousness to clear. His Master had noticed his anomaly; if he made up a random excuse, his Master would not believe him and would only become angrier.
Ultimately, Zhong Wuxi decided to tell the truth. “Master, I think I saw something strange.”
He certainly could not say he saw a tiny, big-headed, small-bodied ball that looked exactly like his Master, but he was not technically lying. After all, this ball that appeared out of thin air was truly strange.
His little disciple’s eyes were red, his face pale, and his voice trembled. Yin Jiuli paused and said, “Do not be afraid.”
Zhong Wuxi blinked in a daze, tears still clinging to his eyelashes. His Master had not only refrained from questioning him further but had even comforted him.
Zhong Wuxi sniffed. “Thank you, Master.”
The little ball floated in front of him and extended its short arms. Zhong Wuxi instinctively dodged, then realized the creature only wanted to wipe his tears. Zhong Wuxi was not actually sad; he had just been scared. Since transmigrating into a child’s body, he had been unable to control his tears. But the little ball looked distressed, pursing its lips and frowning as it stared at the teardrops on Zhong Wuxi’s cheeks.
Zhong Wuxi wiped his tears with his sleeve and smiled at the ball. The ball was instantly delighted, cupping its face with both hands to flash a huge grin at Zhong Wuxi before running off to play with its pigtail again.
Zhong Wuxi remained silent.
Although the little ball looked exactly like his Master, it did not cling to his Master at all; instead, it followed him everywhere.
Zhong Wuxi recalled when he broke into the Ascension Staircase Secret Realm—everyone else had come out covered in wounds, while he alone had been completely unharmed. If it was because his awakening of the mutated Light Spirit Root had caused the Secret Realm to go easy on him, then for what reason did the little creature show such unusual closeness to him?
After thinking for a long time without reaching a conclusion, he only felt more confused. Zhong Wuxi decided to let go of his three-year-old intellect and fill his stomach first.
He took two dishes out of his qiankun bag, paused, and put them back. Zhong Wuxi ran out of the snow hut and retrieved fresh ingredients and seasonings—salt, sugar, ginger, and pepper—sent by his Senior Brother from the cold jade box.
Every winter before he transmigrated, people loved to gather friends to eat hot pot. Zhong Wuxi had eaten it once with classmates, but due to health issues, he never had the chance again. Jimo Peak was exceptionally cold, making it the perfect place for a steaming hot pot. Zhong Wuxi did not know how to cook, but he could make a basic hot pot broth using salt, sugar, ginger, and pepper.
He carried the ingredients into the house and took out a knife from his qiankun bag. But his hands were too small, and the knife was too big.
Zhong Wuxi stared blankly at the ingredients on the table.
Suddenly, a wind blew, bringing a cool sensation to his cheeks. Zhong Wuxi looked up to see snowflakes, light as willow catkins, drifting in through the window. They suddenly turned fierce, savagely pouncing on the ingredients and tearing them into shreds.
Zhong Wuxi turned pale and shrank his neck, finally able to imagine the tragic scenes of others breaking into the Ascension Staircase Secret Realm. He felt a sudden, pious urge to kneel and kowtow to his Master.
The snowflakes processed the ingredients perfectly. Zhong Wuxi took a large pot from his qiankun bag, dumped all the ingredients and seasonings in, and threw in a medicinal herb that looked remarkably like a chili pepper.
The fire-starting talisman sent by Senior Brother Xuan Mu was extremely effective; before long, the steaming fragrance of the hot pot drifted from the pot.
Zhong Wuxi picked up a bowl and handed it to Yin Jiuli. “Master, would you like to taste this? The hot pot is very fragrant.”
“No need.”
Yin Jiuli refused, but the little creature eagerly clutched the edge of the pot, its large eyes filled with longing. His Master would not eat, and the creature wanted to eat but could not.
Zhong Wuxi felt a touch of regret and muttered to himself, “If only I had met Master much, much earlier. I would have taken Master to taste all the delicacies in the world.”
Yin Jiuli paused, closed his eyes, and returned to his meditation.
Because he had not cultivated properly yesterday, Zhong Wuxi climbed out of bed early the next morning and sat in the courtyard to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Yes, besides the glazed windows and night-luminescent pearls, the snow hut on Jimo Peak now had courtyard walls and railings. Although he knew his Master could have done all this with a single incantation, Zhong Wuxi still could not imagine his Master decorating the snow hut.
There was also that little creature, which had vanished without a trace once again.
Every time I meditate, my mind wanders. What if I fall into qigong deviation?
Zhong Wuxi simply stood up, took a small shovel from his qiankun bag, and began to build a snowman. Thanks to the talisman paper from Senior Brother Xuan Mu, he rolled the snowflakes into snowballs with great ease. He built a snowman in his own image first, carved the facial features, and drew the shape of a qiankun bag on its waist.
He had intended to build one for his Master next, but his Master was too tall; Zhong Wuxi could not even reach his Master’s leg height on tiptoe. In the end, he decided to build a “Little Master” based on the creature’s appearance. After all, it looked exactly like his Master.
Once finished, Zhong Wuxi placed the Little Master on the shoulder of the snowman Zhong Wuxi, gazed at them with satisfaction, and promptly forgot about the whole affair.
Yin Jiuli walked out of the snow hut to find his little disciple cultivating in the courtyard. His gaze rested on Zhong Wuxi, then turned to see the two snowmen at the door.
After a moment of silence, Yin Jiuli cast a spell, enlarging the snowman that resembled him. He then bent down and gently shifted the little snowman so that it leaned against the leg of the big snowman.