Humans couldn't hear the voice, but the two demon cultivators from the Kong family could hear it clearly.
"Who's there?"
"So the idiot finally realizes I'm cursing the idiot."
Kong Yang and Kong Yue searched around, finally casting their gaze onto the large Chinese elm tree in the courtyard. Kong Yue sneered, "So it's a tree demon who has developed sentience but unable to take form. Although our bird clan hasn't seen any bird take form in nearly twenty years, we're still stronger than your tree clan. What right do you have to speak here?"
"Hehe." The tree spirit rustled its leaves. "I'm cursing idiots. If you insist on wearing that label, how is that my fault?"
Kong Yue had been doted on in the clan since childhood, and had always looked down on the insignificant tree clan, immediately thought to teach this ignorant tree a lesson.
"Excuse me, young folks, may I ask how I can help you?" Du Zhonghai stroking his round belly and wearing an old coat, slowly descended the stairs while holding a teacup in his hand. Upon seeing Kong Yang and Kong Yue, he quickly said, "We've finished work for the day. If you don't have urgent matters, you can come back in the afternoon. I..."
"Hmph!" Kong Yue retracted her hand and glared at the Chinese elm tree. "Consider yourself lucky today." The world had changed, unless absolutely necessary, demon cultivators couldn't reveal their identities in front of humans.
"Let's go." Kong Yue didn't even spare a glance at Du Zhonghai as she turned to leave.
"Youngsters these days have quite a temper," Du Zhonghai, holding his teacup, muttered while slowly making his way out, completely unaware that he had just brushed past two little demons.
Having been mocked by humans and seen by Liu Mao harassing Shen Changan, the image-conscious, punishment-fearing Kong Yang and Kong Yue went home without saying a word, sulking in their rooms.
But before they could sulk for long, a clan demon came to summon them, saying that the oldest and most respected tree demon, the mulberry tree demon (Sangshu) , wanted to speak with them.
The two demons were puzzled. Why would the mulberry tree demon want to see them?
They hurried to the main hall and saw the elder of the peacock clan sitting solemnly, while the mulberry tree demon sat in the seat of honor, wearing a gloomy expression. Seeing this scene, Kong Yang and Kong Yue felt a sense of fear and respectfully approached the elders and bowed deeply.
"So, you are the two troublemakers who bullied my clan's junior?" The mulberry tree demon looked at them askance, then turned to the peacock elder. "Old Kong, what does this mean? Does your bird clan think you can casually bully our tree clan just because we have fewer demons?"
"You wretched fools, why haven't you apologized to the Elder Sangshu yet?!" The peacock elder couldn't help rubbing his temples. Because it was especially difficult for plant-based demons to take form, so they were especially protective of each other. Not only were they very sensitive, they were also shameless. A thousand years ago, a brainless idiot from the aquatic clan, relying on their greater numbers, bullied a tree demon who had just taken form less than a hundred years ago. Since that day, the great demons of the tree clan went to the Dragon Palace everyday to complain, resorting to all sorts of tantrums and hysterics, causing the aquatic demons to develop a psychological shadow whenever they encountered plant-type demons afterwards.
Thinking of the aquatic clan's past ordeal, the peacock elder felt his head spin. These two kids were still too young and didn't understand how annoying tree demons could be.
Wherever there were plants in the world, their incessant nagging could be heard. If you offended them, forget about cultivating; and instead focus on how to avoid going insane.
At this moment, Kong Yue and Kong Yang deeply felt the powerlessness of being unable to defend themselves even with a hundred mouths. Kong Yue said aggrievedly, "Elder, we didn't actually do anything to the tree demon. It was clearly the tree demon who cursed at me and my brother first."
"My junior who was bullied can't even take form yet, how could he dare curse at you two?" The mulberry tree demon said coldly. "If the bird clan is unwilling to give me an explanation today, I will have no choice but to seek justice from Lord Dao."
The peacock elder's face stiffened. A few days ago, Kong Ying went to cause a ruckus at Lord Dao's place. They were already afraid that Lord Dao would be displeased. Now, the tree clan was going to lodge a complaint, how would Lord Dao view their bird clan, especially their peacock group?
"Old Sang, we've been friends for thousands of years. How could we bother the Lord over such a trivial matter concerning the juniors?" The peacock elder said with a smile. "I will have these two ignorant juniors personally apologize later. What do you think of that?"
"That junior in my family is timid......"
"I recently obtained a bottle of Ling Dan. I'll also have them bring it over as compensation." [Ling Dan - miraculous cure elixir]
"Ai." The anger on the mulberry tree demon's face dissipated significantly. He earnestly said to the elder peacock, "Old Kong, I know your peacock clan has a unique advantage. Once you successfully transform, your cultivation surpasses that of other demon cultivators. But think back to the glorious days of the phoenix clan back then, now there are only a few of their kin left. If you keep indulging these juniors blindly, it's not love, but harm."
Heh. The peacock elder sneered inwardly. This old tree demon couldn't utter a single kind word.
"Fine, considering our long friendship, I won't make a fuss over such a minor issue." The mulberry tree demon stood up and glanced at the Kong siblings. "If something like this happens again, I will have no choice but to aid Elder Kong in educating the juniors."
No one but the tree demons could make bullying the young sound so elegant and justified.
When arrogant meets shameless, they all become pathetic in combat.
"Dao Nian."
Dao Nian sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, hearing Shen Changan's call, he turned his head to the door. The hurried footsteps could be heard from outside, the person had yet to arrive but his voice came before him.
A few seconds later, Shen Changan strode in. Their gazes met and without hesitation, Shen Changan walked over to Dao Nian's side, beaming brightly at him. "Dao Nian, good noon ah!"
This smile was too dazzling, dazzling to the point of being blinding. Dao Nian closed his eyes slightly. "Wash your hands, let's eat."
"Okay, wait for me for a while." Shen Changan dashed into the kitchen and saw Uncle Zhao cooking sweet and sour fish. As he washed his hands he asked, "Uncle Zhao, do you need any help?"
"No need, it's ready." Uncle Zhao took out a platter of sliced fruit from the cabinet and handed it to him. "Have some fruit first, I'll have the dishes brought to the table."
"Thanks!" Carrying the fruit, Shen Changan walked out and sat down beside Dao Nian. "Have some fruits to fill your stomach."
Dao Nian looked at the things on the plate, they were all good things suitable for humans to eat. It seems that Old Zhao specially prepared them for Shen Changan.
After the meal, Dao Nian remembered that Shen Changan still had to go to work, so he let Liu Mao drive him there.
"I still have an hour before work, so there's no rush." Shen Changan pushed Dao Nian into the flower room outside and awkwardly fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a keychain.
"You gave me the keys to your main gate and home, I don't have anything to give you in return, so here are the keys to my house." He placed the key in Dao Nian's palm. "I lost my family when I was very young, so although there are several keys to the house, no one else has ever used them besides me."
"This..." He blushed a little. "Although my house is small, with this key, you can come over without knocking in the future."
"These are keys to your home?" Dao Nian finally understood the significance. He looked at Shen Changan with complicated emotions, then slowly closed his palm over the keys and his emotions settled down. "I accept your sentiments."
Shen Changan heaved a big sigh of relief. He thought Dao Nian might refuse to accept the keys, but he didn't regret his gesture.
"Since I've accepted your key, I will take responsibility for you." Dao Nian reached out and tousled Shen Changan's hair. "There's too much fish at home for us to finish. Will you come over tonight?"
Shen Changan scratched the spot on his head where Dao Nian had touched, feeling a bit itchy. "Then... I'll come over directly at night?"
"Mm." Dao Nian placed the keys in his chest pocket and lazily closed his eyes. "Go to work. I'm going to rest for a while."
"Okay, I'll go to work then." Shen Changan pulled up the blanket on Dao Nian's knees upwards and left the flower room with light steps.
After a long while, Dao Nian opened his eyes and looked at the twin brothers standing guard outside the flower room. "Shen Cha." [This shén is different from shěn in Shen Changan's name.]
"Master?" Shen Cha entered the flower room and respectfully looked at Dao Nian.
"I have accepted his key."
"Master?!" Shen Cha looked at Dao Nian in shock. "You, what did you say?"
Dao Nian glanced at him without saying a word.
"But Mr. Shen is just a human. Humans have short lifespans, and aging and death are inevitable. You..." Seeing Dao Nian unmoved, Shen Cha bowed and said respectfully. "As long as you're happy."
Keys were very private items. If a god or demon gave their home keys to another, it was an invitation for dual cultivation. But the Master was different from ordinary gods and demons, representing supreme authority from birth. He had no emotions or biases, so naturally no one would dare offer him their keys.
But today, a human gave him a key, and he accepted it.
At that moment, Shen Cha even thought that perhaps Shen Changan had no idea what giving away the key signified.
But whether he knew or not, the moment the Master accepted the keys, it didn't matter anymore.
"Master." Liu Mao hurried in. "The clan leaders of the bird and beast clans have brought their juniors to pay their respects."
"Why are they here again?" Dao Nian slumped into his wheelchair and closed his eyes, pretending not to hear anything.
"The elders of both the clans saw that the Master has been in the human realm for some time and worried you may find it inconvenient here in the long run. So they sent a few juniors who have been mingling in the human world since childhood to come and help." Liu Mao said, "If you don't want to see them, I'll send them back."
"What can they do?" Dao Nian opened his eyes. "Let them in for me to see."
Soon, the elders of the two clans entered, followed by two young men and two young women, all with pleasing looks, especially when they smiled, they were the type that elderly humans would like.
Dao Nian raised his finger, signaling Liu Mao to ask the question.
"I wonder what the specialties of the juniors from both clans are?"
Specialties?
The two elders were a little confused. They had selected juniors from their clans based on the human favored by the lord, to serve by the lord's side. They had only sought an opportunity to get closer, but they never expected that the lord would really treat these juniors as servants.
"My Lord, this junior is most skilled in planting." A cute, white-dressed rabbit demon with dimples spoke up with a charming smile, she had no flaws on her face.
"I haven't taken on any disciples, so you shouldn't refer to yourself as a junior in front of me," Dao Nian said expressionlessly. "How do you compare to the descendants of the Ji family?"
"This little demon's cultivation is still shallow. How dare I compare myself to the descendants of Shennong?" The rabbit demon's face flushed and she dared not raise her head to look at Dao Nian.
[T/N: Legend has it that Shennong (神农), or 'Divine Farmer', born Jiang Shinian, was one of the Three Sovereigns, was a mythological ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity from ancient China (2852 to 2070 BC) who established the Chinese life-arts. "Shennong" can also be taken to refer to his people, the Shennong-shi (Chinese: 神農氏; pinyin: Shénnóngshì; lit. 'Shennong Clan') and here in the above text, it was Ji-shi (Chinese: 姬氏; pinyin: jīshì; lit. 'Ji Clan'.]
Dao Nian waved his hand.
Liu Mao then turned to the fox demon standing next to the rabbit demon and asked, "And you? What can you do?"
Fox demon: "..." What else could he be good at other than bewitching people's hearts? But he didn't dare speak the truth before Dao Nian. Rackings his brains, he said, "This little demon is skilled in calming and focusing the heart and mind. If the Lord wills it, the little demon is willing to sing to relieve the Master's worries."
Dao Nian was about to wave him away, but then suddenly remembered that Shen Changan sometimes suffered from insomnia. So he nodded slightly at Liu Mao: "Have him play for Changan at night."
Fox demon: "..."
He was here to seduce lord, not to serve as a slave for lord's concubine.
"You are unwilling?" Seeing the fox demon's silence, Dao Nian said, "Then forget it..."
"It would be this little demon's fortune." The fox demon gritted his teeth and reluctantly agreed. In this world, there are only shovels that don't work hard, and no wall corners that can't be pried open.
The elder of the bird clan noticed that a younger member of the beast clan had stayed behind and became a little anxious. "My lord, when it comes to singing, who can compare to our bird clan? This is our clan's Skylark demon, capable of singing the most beautiful melodies in the world."
What's the point of singing the most beautiful melodies? Is it to attract Changan's attention right under my nose?
Since he had taken Changan's key, he had no intention of letting other demons or humans have any designs on Changan. Dao Nian lowered his eyelids and remained silent, adopting an attitude of 'I'm already tired, so please speak quickly.'
Bird clan elder: "And this is our clan's parrot demon, skilled in amusing people and can lift your spirits."
Dao Nian considered how Changan often worked overtime. He had heard some humans jumped to their death from work stress. Keeping a parrot to lift his spirits wouldn't be bad. He flicked his finger and the parrot demon instantly took its original form. Dao Nian nodded in satisfaction. "That will do."
How can it bewitch the lord in its true form?
The elder of the bird clan suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes. He didn't expect the bewitching skills of the human sent here to be so powerful, making the lord only focus on him. They would have to proceed cautiously to have a chance to win the esteemed one's favor.
The little demon, now in the form of a parrot, flapped her wings, timidly tucking her head beneath them. Her ideal was to blend into human society and become a cross-talk performer. Bewitching the wise lord was a difficult task that didn't suit her. But she couldn't defy the orders of the clan elders, so she reluctantly brought herself here as a parrot.
She really couldn't understand what the elder was thinking, trying to use a honey trap to seduce the dispassionate, desireless esteemed one. Why didn't they consider that the esteemed one has watched all things come to being, has quietly watched all the springs and autumns, then what difference can there be in his eyes between all the living beings in the world?
Yet the elders seem to have lost their minds, insisting that whatever humans can do, their demon clan can do better. Humankind has prospered greatly for so many years, even creating spaceships to reach the moon with their own abilities. What can't they do?
The Great Dao encompasses fifty, Heaven's Path extends forty-nine, leaving to grasp just one part for humankind. The human race's fortune is at its peak, and even the esteemed one cannot fully control the vitality of humans. Their demon clan's fortune is like that of a stepmother's child so why bother comparing ourselves to humans and competing with them?
Ai, being born a demon, the most fearful thing is being embittered.
Thinking of the delicious food awaiting at Dao Nian's home at night, Shen Changan's work enthusiasm was high all afternoon. The moment it was time to clock out, he couldn't wait to leave.
"Everyone, hold on." Du Zhonghai stopped Shen Changan, who was about to slip out the door. "Tomorrow our local Yue Lao Temple (matchmaking temple) is hosting a temple fair, and there will be a large number of visitors. You four young people will have to work hard tomorrow to maintain order at the scene."
After saying this, Du Zhonghai looked meaningfully at Shen Changan and the others. "Just right, none of you four have found a partner yet. Tomorrow, take some time to go pray there in your free time, and you might just find one."
"Director, we are a government department and cannot believe in superstitions," Chen Panpan said. "Didn't the Yue Lao temple fair used to happen in December before? Why is it happening so early this year?"
"Maybe because Singles Day (11/11) has become so popular nowadays, many elders hope their children can find a good match before it." Du Zhonghai said with a smile as he held his teacup. "It's better to have it early. If we wait until December, won't it be even colder when you're on patrol?"
"Director Du don't worry, I will definitely rush over on time tomorrow." Shen Changan threw down this sentence, turned around and ran downstairs.
Rarely did Du Zhonghai see Shen Changan leave work so eagerly. He waved his hand to the others. "You can all go home now. Tomorrow will be a bit tough, get some rest and wake up early."
On the way, Shen Changan met an old man pushing a cart selling roasted chestnuts. He bought a bag and wrapped it with his jacket before driving back to Dao Nian's neighborhood with a gust of wind.
"Dao Nian." Shen Changan walked in with big strides, shoving the jacket in Dao Nian's hands. "Quick, eat while it's hot."
Opening the jacket and looking at the chestnuts in a paper bag, Dao Nian raised his hand to Shen Changan. "My hand hurts."
"Why is your thumb still red?" Shen Changan took Dao Nian's hand and looked carefully, there was no wound on it, nor any thorns stuck in the flesh. He wondered why it hadn't healed after so many days.
He peeled a roasted chestnut and put it into Dao Nian's mouth. "Hurry and eat. It won't taste good once it's cold."
In the corner, the fox demon, who was bent over mopping the floor, thought with resentment - what a sly human using such methods to please the master, it's just roasted chestnuts, what's so special about them?
"Huh?!" Shen Changan noticed a bird stand in the corner with a parrot perching on it. Its chest had a tuft of red feathers, making it look very beautiful. "How come there's a parrot at home?"
"It was given by someone else. If you like it, keep it, and if you don't, then we'll send it back." Dao Nian pointed to the chestnuts, signaling Shen Changan to continue peeling them.
Shen Changan didn't notice his action and walked up to the parrot, asking Liu Mao, who was standing nearby, "Does this parrot have a name?"
Liu Mao smiled and said, "Mr. Shen, why don't you give it a name?"
"Fei Ying, Fei Ying." The parrot flapped its wings and spoke its own name.
"So, you can talk," Shen Changan had heard since young that parrots could speak human language, but he had never seen a living and talking parrot before. Now he finally saw one and felt a sense of novelty. "This name sounds very nice."
"Thank you for the compliment." The parrot bent one wing, as if bowing.
"Dao Nian, this parrot is so smart!" Shen Changan took some bird feed from Liu Mao and put it in the parrot's feeder.
"Thank you, thank you." The parrot hopped a few times on the bird perch, performed a "dance," and then lowered its head to eat the food Shen Changan had fed it.
The fox demon mopping the floor sneered, truly worthy of being a bird race with lots of hair and no brain, actually acting so submissive, groveling like this in front of a human, it really disgraced the face of the demon race.
Uncle Zhao poked his head out of the kitchen and shouted, "Hu Ming, come in and wash the dishes."
The fox demon: "..."
As the most handsome member of the younger generation of the Fox clan, how did he fall to the point of washing dishes and mopping the floor?
"A farmer is hoeing the grass under the noonday sun, the sheep and pigs are out to play." [chú hé rì dāng wǔ, xiǎoyáng hé xiǎozhū]
"No, it's 'his sweat drips on the ground beneath the seedlings'." Shen Changan burst into laughter at this silly and cute parrot, then turned to frowning Dao Nian. "Dao Nian, this parrot is so fun." [hàn dī hé xià tǔ, so the correct line of the poem is chú hé rì dāng wǔ, hàn dī hé xià tǔ]
"Fun also requires eating." Dao Nian looked at his empty bowl in front of him. Humans really don't cherish what they have. As soon as he received the keys from Shen Changan, his status became lower than that of a parrot.
Seeing Dao Nian's sulky expression, Shen quickly picked out a piece of fish and removed the fish bones for him: "I've never seen a talking parrot before. Don't be angry with me. Here, have some fish."
Dao Nian still didn't speak. Humans always like to take liberties once given an inch, so acting coquettishly is useless.
"Want shrimp?" Shen winked at him. "I'll peel them for you."
"Yes." Forget it, he's still young and playful, just let him have his way.
After the meal, Shen Changan didn't want to make Dao Nian unhappy, so he didn't play with the parrot anymore. Instead, he watched TV with Dao Nian for a while, then remembering that he had to wake up early the next day, he went to bed early.
He thought he wouldn't be able to fall asleep so early, but then a beautiful singing drifted in from somewhere, lulling him to sleep unknowingly.
Hu Ming lay flattened on the grass outside, exhausted and transformed back into his original form. He had been here all day, mopping the floor, washing the vegetables, washing the dishes, doing chores and even lulling someone to sleep. But in the end, the master didn't even spare him a glance. This was simply a disgrace for a fox demon like him.
The next morning, Shen Changan was so sleepy that he couldn't even open his eyes. Liu Mao had to drive him to the outside of the Yue Lao Temple. Tightly wrapped in his coat, he groggily got out of the car. Just as he was about to respond to someone calling him, Liu Mao suddenly patted his shoulder. "Mr. Shen, I'll come pick you up tonight."
"Oh, okay." Shen Changan nodded. "Thank you, Liu-ge."
Since last night, his address to Liu Mao had changed from the formal "Mr. Liu" to "Liu-ge" out of familiarity.
He looked around. Other than some vendors setting up their stalls, no one seemed to have called him. Only after some time did Ding Yang and the others finally arrive. Seeing Shen Changan arrive so early, Ding Yang asked, "Changan, it's getting colder these days, how'd you get up so early?"
"Someone wrapped me up in warm clothes and dropped me off," Shen Changan yawned, "It's not even dawn yet, no one should come over to join in the fun, right?"
"The young really do have too little experience." Ding Yang pointed at the Yue Lao Temple ahead. "Come, let me show you around."
When they reached the temple, they found that there were already quite a few people inside. The uncles and aunts held incense sticks and candles in their hands, kowtowing and worshiping before the statue of the Yue Lao. The whole temple was wreathed in spiraling incense smoke.
"These are all seeking marriage for their children." Ding Yang coughed from the incense smoke, "They believe that the earlier they come to burn incense, the easier their wishes will come true. Some people even come to pray right after midnight."
Chen Panpan walked through the gate, "I'm going to pray too, would you like to join?"
She didn't buy any incense or candles, but stood outside the hall and made a few bows towards the statue of Yue Lao a few times.
"Panpan, do you really believe in this?" Ding Yang pulled Shen Changan and Xu Ze inside, "Come on, let's worship together."
"Whether we believe it or not, there's nothing wrong with paying respects to the gods." Chen Panpan stepped aside, giving space to the three, "Today is the temple fair, we call this being close to the life of the masses."
Shen Changan stood still, looking up at the slightly smiling statue of Yue Lao. Perhaps because he had woken up too early and wasn't fully awake, he inexplicably felt that there was a hint of fear and panic in the statue's smile.
As if... as if it was afraid of him bowing down.