The Eldest Senior Brother asked in confusion, “Master, why do you say that?”
“This child began cultivating at the age of three and possesses a photographic memory. Now, at just five years old, she has already mastered most of what I have to teach, even surpassing you, her Eldest Senior Brother.
While she is still young, you all only find her adorable. But in a few more years, I fear your Daoist hearts will shatter.”
With that, Daoist Xuansong stroked his beard and leisurely walked away.
Leaving the Eldest Senior Brother standing alone in a daze.
Master, you might as well just admit you have nothing left to teach her.
On the mountain path, Xiao Qingxuan also asked the black bird.
“Qingyu, why did Master ask me to go down the mountain to find my family?”
The little fox chimed in first.
[It’s because you’re always causing trouble on the mountain!]
The white tiger followed closely behind.
[Because you’re always slacking off in the back mountains.]
The black bird scoffed before finally answering.
[You’re both wrong. It’s because you all eat too much, and you insist on having meat with every meal. The temple can’t afford to keep you anymore! I heard your birth parents are wealthy, and the Daoist is hoping you’ll go down the mountain to help out financially.]
Daoist Xuansong never expected the black bird to spill all his secrets in just a few words.
He had only worried about money a few times at night, and even that had been noticed by this bird.
“I understand,” Xiao Tuanzi said solemnly, clenching her fist. “Qingqing will definitely go down the mountain and eat them out of house and home, then bring their meat back up the mountain to treat my senior brothers to a feast!”
“Lingfeng, you often go down the mountain. Is the Shen Family far away?”
She asked the little fox.
[It shouldn’t be too far. Just cross a few mountains, then ride an iron box to get there.]
Lingfeng wasn’t too sure either, but he spoke carelessly, relying on his frequent trips down the mountain.
[That iron box moves incredibly fast, even faster than Qingyu flies.]
Xiao Tuanzi’s eyes widened.
“Faster than Qingyu? That must be so much fun!”
As they were talking, a whimpering sound suddenly came from the grass by the roadside.
She stopped and listened carefully.
[Wuwuwu, my leg is caught in a trap. It hurts so much.]
It was the voice of a little hedgehog.
Xiao Qingxuan pushed aside the grass and indeed saw a hedgehog with its hind leg caught in an animal trap, blood dripping from its spines.
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll help you.”
She put down Xiaobai, whom she was holding in her arms, and carefully tried to pry open the trap.
The trap had been set by hunters from the foot of the mountain and was clamped tightly.
[This trap has barbs on it!]
The little fox warned.
Xiao Qingxuan nodded, took out the medicinal ointment her master had given her from her bamboo basket, and applied a little to the trap.
Gritting her teeth, she exerted force, and with a “click,” the trap opened.
She quickly picked up the little hedgehog and wrapped its wound with a clean cloth strip.
“There, it doesn’t hurt anymore,” she soothed gently.
[Thank you, kind person.]
The little hedgehog nuzzled her palm.
“You’re welcome, little hedgehog. Do you know where the Shen Family is?”
Unexpectedly, the little hedgehog stomped its feet in anger.
[Of course I know! Those bad people stole my winter nuts to sell as daily snacks!]
Xiao Qingxuan was quite surprised. Hadn’t she heard that her birth parents were wealthy?
“Then how did you survive the winter?”
The little hedgehog replied proudly.
[I naturally stored nuts in three different places. A clever hedgehog like me always has multiple hideouts.]
“You’re amazing! Do you know how to get to the Shen Family?”
[Just head east. All the people who stole my nuts went that way. But why are you looking for them?]
Xiao Qingxuan rubbed the tip of her nose. “Naturally, to get your nuts back for you.”
The little hedgehog’s eyes lit up.
[Really? Thank you so much!]
The three little ones beside her simultaneously rolled their eyes.
[She herself doesn’t even know how many she’s messed with, and she still expects this little demon pill to uphold justice for her?]
Xiao Qingxuan placed the little hedgehog in the grass. “Rest well and recover. I’m off now.”
Watching the little hedgehog limp into the bushes, the group had already been there for a while.
Something unusual began to stir.
Lingfeng suddenly let out a soft “Huh?”
[Something’s off. Why is there Yin Energy nearby?]
Xiaobai also pricked up his ears, letting out a low growl from his throat.
Qingyu circled twice in the air before swooping down, pointing with his claw toward the fork in the road ahead.
[There’s something unclean over there!]
Qingxuan furrowed her brow, forming a hand seal to observe the energy.
Sure enough, at the end of the fork, a swirling mass of gray-black mist lingered, and faintly, the sound of a woman crying could be heard.
“Did someone run into trouble?”
Xiao Qingxuan recalled her master’s instructions. “Let’s go take a look.”
The Eldest Senior Brother still stood at the mountain gate, gazing in the direction where Qingxuan had disappeared.
Reluctant to part with his little junior sister, he pinched his fingers to divine her fortune.
In an instant, his expression changed drastically.
“Not good! Junior Sister is in peril!”
He turned and sprinted down the mountain, the Coin Sword at his waist humming as his figure quickly vanished along the mountain path.
Meanwhile, Xiao Tuanzi had followed the crying to the front of a dilapidated Earth God temple.
The temple door was slightly ajar, and the intermittent crying from inside sent chills down one’s spine.
[There’s a female ghost in this temple. I heard she died many years ago and has been haunting passersby ever since.]
Lingfeng whispered softly.
Xiao Tuanzi had never handled such a situation alone before. Excited, she pushed the temple door open directly.
Inside, cobwebs covered the walls, and the paint on the deity statue had mostly peeled off, clearly abandoned for a long time.
A woman dressed in white, facing away from her, hung upside down from a beam.
Yet, eerily, she was the source of the crying, sending shivers down one’s spine.
“Auntie, are you swinging on a swing?”
Xiao Tuanzi asked in her clear, crisp voice.
The woman abruptly turned her head.
Her face was a bloody mess, with one eye dangling outside its socket.
Upon seeing Xiao Tuanzi, the female ghost suddenly revealed a ferocious smile and lunged at her!
“Little child, come die with me!”
The female ghost’s long hair flew out like ink, carrying a bone-chilling cold as it rushed toward her face.
But Xiao Qingxuan didn’t retreat. Instead, her small hands swiftly formed a hand seal as she recited the Golden Light Incantation.
She chanted softly, “Heaven and Earth, the Mysterious Ancestor, the root of all energy. Cultivate widely through countless tribulations, manifest my divine power… Golden Light, appear swiftly, shield and protect my body. Swiftly as the Law Commands.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a faint golden light rippled from her fingertips.
The female ghost shrieked as if scalded, retreating three feet, white smoke sizzling from the bloody mess on her face.
[This little one is impressive. Her incantation is almost on par with that white-bearded old Daoist.]
The Mystical Bird circled above; it had seen Daoist Xuansong perform spells before.
But this fierce ghost’s resentment ran deep and was not dispelled.
Lingfeng, perched on her shoulder, bristled in alarm.
Xiaobai also leaped from her embrace, instantly transforming back into his half-grown white tiger form.
Baring his teeth at the female ghost, he let out a low, intimidating growl from his throat.
The white tiger embodied the purest Yang energy, and its roar shook the soul.
Even more so for this Yin-heavy fierce ghost.
The female ghost was intimidated by this display and momentarily dared not advance.
Only her venomous eyes fixed on the little girl before her. “Whose child are you?”
Qingxuan blinked her watery eyes, tilting her head as she recalled her master’s teachings.
“Auntie, grievances have their source, and debts have their debtor. If you have grievances, you can speak them. Haunting passersby is wrong.”
“My grievances? Who would believe the words of a lonely wandering ghost!”
The female ghost let out a piercing, mournful laugh that made Xiao Tuanzi’s eardrums ache.
“Why don’t you stay and keep me company? When your family comes looking for you, perhaps they’ll discover my bones too!”
[She’s lying! She doesn’t actually want anyone to find her bones—she’s jealous that Xiao Tuanzi has people who care about her!]
Lingfeng stomped her feet anxiously.
But Xiao Qingxuan pulled out a small compass from behind her back—something she had quietly taken from their master’s treasure chest.
She tapped the compass, and the needle spun several times before tremblingly pointing toward the back of the temple.
“Your bones are buried there, aren’t they?”
She pointed in the direction of the locust tree.
“Let me help dig them out and return them to your family, alright?”
The female ghost froze, a flicker of hesitation passing through her murky eyes.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded in the distance.
Eldest Senior Brother rushed over, longsword in hand. Seeing the scene before him, he raised his sword without a word and swung.
“Evil creature, how dare you harm my junior sister!”