Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 221 The He Xi Family

Nighttime in Queqiao Village.

In this idyllic village, a family living at the entrance of Magpie Bridge Village had lights shining through their windows, accompanied by the screams of a child.

"He Jie! He Hong! You two brats have really gone too far! I taught you magic so you could play tricks on mortals?!"

"Did you see that? You smeared that family's faces with ebony ink, and they still can't wash it off! All five of them have had five big black faces all this time!"

"Now look what's happened! It will take my mother three days to prepare the elixir. The whole village is laughing at the Liu family. They don't even dare to leave their house now!"

"Pfft~"

"Still laughing!" *Slap!*

"Ah!!! Mother, I was wrong!! I'll never do it again!!"

"I was wrong too, Mother!!"

"Snapped!"

"what!!!"

He Xi stood in the corner with his youngest daughter, watching his wife raise her whip and circle around the dining table, chasing after their two sons and lashing them!
Six-year-old He Xiaoxia held her father's hand, wanting to step forward and plead for her two older brothers, but He Xi held her firmly.

He Xi knew perfectly well that pleading for him at this point would be useless; if his wife got angry, she would punish him for failing to discipline his children properly.
Fortunately, his house was protected by a magic array, so no sound could be heard. Otherwise, the neighbors would have come to see what was going on long ago.

The commotion didn't end until midnight. The two boys, clutching their bottoms, limped back to their house with their younger sister.

He Xi sat beside the ordinary-looking woman, who also appeared to be in her thirties, and was fiddling with a leather whip in her hand, and comforted her:
"My dear wife, please calm down. The children were only teasing that family to stand up for their sister."

The woman glared at him, continued twirling the leather whip in her hand, and said:
"So you think they did the right thing?"

He Xi quickly shook his head and said:

"Of course not! Those two brats really went too far this time. Once the ebony ink touches the skin, it will immediately blend into the flesh. Although it won't harm the body, for ordinary people, it means they'll have to wear a black face for the rest of their lives. How can they face people like that?"

"After all, this was just a quarrel between children. Even if Erhu's mother said a few words to Jie'er and Hong'er, it shouldn't have ruined their family's life, especially Erhu's sister. How will she ever get married in the future?"

"However, the two boys didn't go looking for us. Instead, they stood up for their younger sister. I think they did a good job in that respect. They showed the responsibility of boys and older brothers."

The woman turned to look at He Xi, but glared at him again and said:
"Okay, okay, everything you said is right."

"But I'm angry because these two children used their magic on mortals. There's a difference between immortals and mortals. Anything a cultivator uses can have a huge effect on a mortal. If used improperly, it can even kill someone!"

"Now that we live in Queqiao Village, we must take good care of Jie'er and Hong'er. How can you act so recklessly! In short, when I take care of the children in the future, you should remain silent, just like you did today."

Looking at the woman's face, He Xi quickly nodded in agreement.

That night, He Xi and his wife lay in bed, but neither of them slept; they were both sleepless. He Xi didn't know what was wrong with him. Tonight, the image deeply imprinted in his mind kept surfacing from the depths of his thoughts, making the longing in his heart grow heavier and heavier.

As He Xi looked at the roof beam, the image of a young man in a blue robe seemed to appear in his eyes—a figure who, to him, was like a close older brother.
It has been many years since I last saw my senior brother. With his talent and abilities, he must be doing very well. In these hundreds of years, he must have gotten much closer to the Great Luo realm.

I wonder if my senior brother is angry with me for not going to see him.
But it will be soon. After he comprehends the Great Dao of Wood in a few decades and cultivates to the Taiyi Realm, all of this can end, and he can go to see the person he has been longing for.

Inside the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain.

Niu Yi was chatting with Taiyi Zhenren about the interesting stories he had with his junior brother in Queqiao Village back then.

After Niu Yi finished speaking, Taiyi Zhenren nodded with emotion and said:

"Fellow Daoist treats his junior brother so well, he must regard you as a father or brother. If there were no important matter, he would not have gone hundreds of years without coming to see you."

Niu Yi nodded with a smile and said:

"He has indeed caused some minor trouble over the years, such as abducting a favored daughter of heaven who had been reincarnated and rebuilt nine times in the lineage, but that's really not a big problem."

This was indeed not a problem for him. Although the other party was from the lineage of True Lord Yousheng, He Xi was also his junior brother. If his Divine Doctor Daoist avatar were to step in, this matter would be easily resolved.

But that kid was really afraid of troubling him, so he didn't introduce himself or go back to the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave. He insisted on dealing with this matter after breaking through to the Taiyi Realm, which is why it has been delayed until now.

He probably understood what the kid was thinking.

After all, He Xi was someone he had taken care of since childhood. Now, it was only natural for him to want to prove that he could stand on his own and to come to see him with his wife, head held high.

As a fellow disciple of Bodhi Patriarch, He Xi also had his own pride.

However, judging from his calculations, things probably won't turn out the way that kid He Xi wants.
Niu Yi smiled and changed the subject with Taiyi Zhenren, drinking peach blossom wine together and discussing the Five Elements and the construction of the prototype of the world.

"In my opinion, unless you use great magical power in conjunction with the five innate treasures, the Five Elemental Pearls, you can accomplish this. Otherwise, even if that world is constructed, it will only be a mirage."

"Besides, your method of letting the pure qi rise and the turbid qi descend, thus creating a world within the chaotic aura, is truly ingenious. If this world takes shape, as you continue to fill it with the Great Dao in the future, it will surely become more and more perfect."

Niu Yi nodded in agreement and said:

"Regarding the Five Elements Spirit Pearls, I now have four in my possession, thanks to the help I received from Fellow Daoist Taiyi back then."

Niu Yi looked at Taiyi Zhenren, who waved his hand dismissively, and laughed:
"As for the Fire Spirit Pearl, the last of the Five Elements Spirit Pearls, I imagine there will be a result in the heavens soon, which will take about seven years in the mortal realm."

"Hahaha, that's wonderful! Come, fellow Daoist, let's drink!"

"It's a pity that Nezha is busy out there subduing demons; otherwise, with my good disciple's progress on the Path of Fire, he could definitely be of great help to you, fellow Daoist."

(End of this chapter)