Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 47 A Happy New Year

For the first time in her life, Yueya was in charge of the household affairs and had some extra money, so she spent lavishly on everything, enjoying a prosperous New Year. Master Gu also had some income; although he couldn't afford a diamond pendant yet, he decided to have a new fur robe made for Yueya. Yueya never imagined she would actually wear fur, and was overjoyed. When the tailor delivered the robe, she closed the door and tried it on repeatedly. The robe was very fashionable, and the size was perfect. Looking at herself in the mirror, Yueya saw that the robe blatantly accentuated her curves, making her look large-breasted and with a very thin waist—she looked like a gourd come to life.

So Crescent Moon was a little troubled and asked Wuxin in a low voice, "The tailor is really something, he wants to make the fur robe as tight as possible. Do you think it's okay to wear it out?"

Wuxin, the only spectator, reached out and squeezed the leather robe to check its tightness: "As long as the size is right, it's fine. Straight-cut cotton robes aren't fashionable on the streets anymore."

Crescent Moon spun around again: "Doesn't look like you're having a good time?"

Wu Xin shook his head firmly: "I think it's fine."

With a determined look, Crescent Moon decided to emulate the modern women in the theater and cinema, and also show off her curves: "If you don't care about me, I'll dare to wear it!"

On New Year's Eve, Wuxin and Lord Gu squatted in the courtyard setting off fireworks. Since changing his name, Lord Gu's spirit had changed; he walked with a resounding gait, exuding a confident and spirited air. Yueya stood to the side, covering her ears, watching the festivities with a mix of laughter and chatter. Only when she finally shut her mouth did she realize her teeth and tongue were completely frozen. She covered her mouth with her hand, suddenly remembering her family home—if she hadn't run away, she would be spending the New Year in the Ma family's house now. Was the old man easy to please? Was being a concubine easy?

Crescent Moon smiled at Wuxin, who was wearing a thin cotton-padded jacket and earnestly trying to snatch firecrackers from Lord Gu. Judging from his appearance, he could be Lord Gu's younger brother; if only women were a little short-sighted and muddle-headed, he would truly be the most lovable and endearing husband.

Lord Gu, drunk and utterly intoxicated, accidentally pushed Wuxin a considerable distance away. Turning back, he saw Wuxin sprawled on the snow and, in a moment of mercy, turned and pulled him up. Wuxin, unaware that he'd landed on a pile of snow, had to be patted on the back of his pants by Yueya: "Always causing trouble! If you keep this up, go back inside. If you two start fighting on New Year's Eve, I can't stop you!"

Lord Gu's mood changed drastically; without warning, he rekindled his friendship with Wuxin. He put his arm around Wuxin's shoulder and chuckled at Yueya, "Hehehe!"

A few minutes later, the three of them squatted in a circle. Lord Gu took a deep drag of his cigarette, then used the orange-red butt to light the fuse of the central firework. Multicolored sparks shot out, not high, but the iridescent light lasted a long time. Lord Gu, his ears and nose red from the cold, asked smugly, "Pretty, isn't it?"

Wuxin tucked his hands into his sleeves, his eyes fixed intently on the fireworks, his large, dark pupils filled with the dazzling, iridescent light: "Beautiful!"

Crescent Moon had been breathing warm air into her mouth, but then stopped, smiling bright red at the fireworks: "It's beautiful!"

Fine snowflakes fell softly, turning the heads of the three young men white. When the last spark extinguished in the low sky, Lord Gu let out a satisfied sigh: "Good, that was interesting. The money wasn't wasted."

Yueya knew that Lord Gu always bought the most expensive fireworks, and was about to answer when Wuxin suddenly reached out and took one of Yueya's hands in his own, while holding Lord Gu's hand in the other. He pulled both hands to his cheeks and, imitating a male protagonist in a movie, solemnly whispered, "I love you both."

Crescent Moon chuckled silently, revealing a set of small, white teeth. Lord Gu paused for a moment, then said to Crescent Moon, "Did you hear that? You didn't watch the movie for nothing; you've learned how to be shameless and slutty!"

Crescent Moon didn't know what to say, so she simply suppressed her laughter and remained silent; while Wuxin didn't bother arguing with Lord Gu, and happily closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the two men's palms.

Crescent Moon's hands were soft, but Lord Gu's hands were hard. Wuxin loved them both to death, wishing she could bite them both. Crescent Moon smiled and remained silent, while Lord Gu stared at Wuxin for a long time, finally raising his eyes to meet Crescent Moon's gaze, sticking out his tongue and making a face.

The New Year went very smoothly. From the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, nothing unpleasant happened. Even Lord Gu's tone was much sweeter than usual. On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Lord Gu praised Yueya with a kind smile: "Yueya may not be good at anything else, but her cooking skills in the kitchen are truly excellent."

When Crescent Moon heard him praising her, she first laughed, but then she realized something was off: "What can't I do? Wuxin doesn't care about anything, but I manage everything at home and outside. Don't think I'm still a young wife; with my abilities, even an old wife can't compare!"

Wuxin, leaning against the doorframe, felt slightly uneasy upon hearing this, suspecting that the flames of war were about to spread to him. Sure enough, Master Gu turned his attention to him: "Master, you said I'm in charge of important matters, busy from morning till night, needless to say; Yueya is only seventeen or eighteen, managing the household isn't easy either; and you're just an idle person, shouldn't you be doing something too? In broad daylight, under the clear sky, what are you pretending to be, a carefree hermit?"

His large, unintentional eyes darted left and right in their sockets. He stood with one foot in and one foot out of the doorway, his expression and posture resembling a bird caught in a net: "What do you want me to do?"

Lord Gu thought for a moment, but couldn't think of anything to make Wuxin do. Now that the world is at peace, the old marshal is easy to serve; he is basically carefree.

Just as the three of them were speechless, there was a knock on the courtyard gate. Wuxin and Lord Gu remained calmly in place, while Yueya ran out to open the gate without hesitation. When she saw the visitor, Yueya exclaimed in surprise, "Oh!" There was a shiny new black car parked in the alley outside the gate, with both the front and rear doors open. Two young Taoist priests were flanking a tall man with disheveled hair, who was none other than the Taoist Master Chuchenzi, dressed in plain clothes.

Seeing Chuchenzi was almost like seeing a living deity, Yueya was immediately speechless and frantically went to call Wuxin and Lord Gu. Wuxin came out first, beaming, and nodded to Chuchenzi: "Daoist Master, Happy New Year."

Chuchenzi was dressed in magnificent and dazzling attire, his long, jet-black hair cascading over his mink coat, the coat gleaming, his hair shining as well. He nodded calmly, lowered his eyes, and softly chanted, "May the Heavenly Venerable bestow boundless blessings upon you, Happy New Year."

Chuchenzi gave a slight nod to Lord Gu, who was rushing out from behind, as if to say hello. Then, he pulled an old envelope from his sleeve and handed it directly to Wuxin: "What is this rubbish you sent to me?"

Without noticing the change in his tone, Wuxin knew the old Taoist had probably come to throw a tantrum. With his hands in his pockets, he didn't take the envelope, but simply smiled and said, "Besides you, I have no one else to send your great-grandfather's remains to."

Chuchenzi flicked his sleeve: "The grudges of a hundred years ago have nothing to do with me!"

Without thinking, he asked, "Since it has nothing to do with you, why did you bother to come and see me?"

Chuchenzi sighed, "Do you think I wanted to see you? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have expected this..."

He hesitated, his words trailing off. Without pressing further, I asked, "What didn't you think of?"

Chuchenzi replied, "I never imagined... that she would be so close to me now."

Wu Xin invited Chu Chenzi into the main room to let him explain in detail. Chu Chenzi, as was his habit, sat cross-legged on the chair, adopted a meditation posture, and began with a sigh: "I did not see her with my own eyes, but I did see a brigade commander surnamed Ding."

Wu Xin immediately asked, "Ding Datou from Wen County?"

Chuchenzi nodded: "Yes, I never expected that my Taoist temple would welcome such a worshipper on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

Wu Xin leaned slightly towards him: "Commander Ding, what's wrong?"

Chuchenzi lowered his voice: "He...is already rotten."

Wu Xin nodded calmly, thinking that manipulating a corpse to impersonate a living person wasn't too difficult for Yue Qiluo. Of course, there was an invisible rope between her and the puppet; for example, if Xiao Chunzi went too far, she would no longer be completely obedient.

Chuchenzi continued, "Commander Ding has been going up the mountain to burn incense on the first day of the Lunar New Year for many years. After burning incense, he often has a vegetarian meal at the temple. I am not unfamiliar with him, so I was quite shocked when I saw his condition."

Wuxin picked up the hot tea on the table, lowered his head, and took a small sip. "Since it's already rotten, in a few more days, Commander Ding will likely be in a wretched state, and the people of Wen County will have no choice but to hold a funeral for him. But now that Yue Qiluo has lost Commander Ding, who will she manipulate next?"

Chuchenzi exhaled a cold breath from his nose: "I don't care who she's manipulating. I only know that even alone, her supernatural powers far surpass mine; if she were to have a fully armed army, the consequences would be unimaginable. As the saying goes, when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer. Let's not talk about where the city gate is; anyway, I don't want to be a fish. Of course, I'm not a coward, but Qingyun Temple is, after all, the lifeblood of my Grandmaster, and now that it's in my hands, I can't let it be destroyed by evil spirits."

Wu Xin thought Chu Chenzi's worries were quite reasonable. Qingyun Temple was a very considerable business. There were countless Taoist temples in the world, but abbots who could wear fur coats and ride in cars were rare. Chu Chenzi clearly intended to live comfortably until he ascended to immortality; he certainly wouldn't be willing to eat rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and stewed pig tails like Wu Xin.

"I've only copied three-quarters of your grandmaster's talisman," he said to Chuchenzi. "Could you finish the remaining quarter, Daoist Master?"

To show off his profound cultivation, Chuchenzi was too embarrassed to mention that he had suffered from insomnia for over a month while researching talismans, and had made no progress: "Grandmaster's talismans form a unique school of their own, and it is not easy to supplement them."

Wuxin smiled and nodded: "Daoist, put in more effort! If you can follow the example of your great-grandmaster and seal her up again, that would be the best outcome."

Chuchenzi then asked, "Are there any other methods?"

Wuxin stopped speaking, only smiling. He sensed that Chenzi was somewhat outwardly strong but inwardly weak, and unpredictable in his moods, so he held back and refused to tell the truth.

(End of this chapter)