Chapter 571 - 468: Twins

Although Tushan Jing Ci didn’t know what kind of dish sweet and sour carp was, she thought cooking was great fun. So, she happily skipped forward to help Xiao Mo.

"This..." Xiao Mo hesitated. "How could I possibly let you do such menial work, Miss?"

"That’s right, Miss." Yue Shi hurried forward to persuade her. "I can handle starting the fire. You can just wait on the side until the food is ready, Miss."

"No! What’s wrong with starting a fire? I know how, too! I’ve watched Xiao Mo start the fire plenty of times, and I’m going to help him!"

Tushan Jing Ci pouted, showing a hint of her stubbornness.

Seeing Tushan Jing Ci’s determined expression, Xiao Mo and Yue Shi, both knowing her stubborn streak, knew better than to argue. They could only let her have her way.

Seeing that they had relented, Tushan Jing Ci hurried over to the stove and got busy, with Yue Shi helping at her side.

Soon, flames ignited in the firebox, their light dancing across the little girl’s fair, tender face.

The little girl watched the flames in the firebox, poking them every now and then. She thought it was tremendous fun.

Although the carp from Bright Moon Lake weren’t precious Spirit Fish, they weren’t ordinary carp, either. They had almost no fishy smell, so Xiao Mo didn’t need to do anything to mask it.

After scoring the fish, dusting it with starch, and mixing the batter, Xiao Mo poured oil directly into the wok.

Holding the fish’s mouth in one hand and its tail in the other, Xiao Mo first lowered its body into the hot oil for a few seconds to set the scored flesh so it fanned out. Then, he slowly bent the fish into an arch.

He placed the arched fish into the wok, with its head and tail held up. He then continuously ladled hot oil over its body, carefully propping open its mouth, gills, and belly to ensure it was cooked through.

Standing to one side, Yue Shi watched Xiao Mo cook with great curiosity.

It was the first time she had ever seen such a style of cooking.

Xiao Mo placed the fried fish on a plate and poured the sweet and sour sauce over it. The presentation was beautiful.

"Wow, Xiao Mo, the fish is so pretty!" Tushan Jing Ci reached out a small hand and poked at the carp, which had now become a finished dish.

"It turned out alright. Looks like it was a success this time." Xiao Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Judging by its appearance, it ought to taste pretty good. "Would you like to try some, Miss?"

"Yes!"

Tushan Jing Ci nodded emphatically.

Xiao Mo broke off a piece of the fish, mixed it with the sauce, and Tushan Jing Ci picked it up with her chopsticks and took a bite.

The moment the fish was in her mouth, Tushan Jing Ci’s pretty eyes crinkled in delight.

"Is it delicious?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Mhm, it’s delicious!" Tushan Jing Ci said happily. "I’ve never had fish this delicious before!"

"I’m glad you like it, Miss."

Xiao Mo also took a bite.

’I actually did a pretty good job,’ he thought, ’but it wasn’t quite as amazing as Jing Ci claimed.’

’But then again, this was the fish Jing Ci had "caught" herself, and it was cooked over a fire she’d started. That sense of involvement was bound to make it taste better.’

Just as Tushan Jing Ci was happily eating, Xiao Mo took a bracelet from within his robes.

Tushan Jing Ci blinked at the emerald-green bracelet and asked curiously, "Xiao Mo, what’s this?"

"This is another birthday present for you, Miss."

Xiao Mo scratched his head, slightly abashed.

"I’ve been saving up some of my wages, and I had Master Niu help me buy a rough bracelet blank. We happened to have a polishing wheel in the kitchen courtyard, so I’ve been grinding it down every day."

"It might not be very pretty... and the jade is extremely common. It’s alright if you don’t like it, Miss. If I get the chance, I’ll give you a better one in the future."

"That’s not true! It’s beautiful!"

Afraid Xiao Mo would put it away, Tushan Jing Ci quickly snatched the bracelet. She cupped it in her palms and studied it intently, liking it more and more the longer she looked.

"Xiao Mo, put it on for me." Tushan Jing Ci held out her plump, little arm.

"Alright."

Xiao Mo picked up the jade bracelet and gently slipped it onto her wrist.

"So? Is it pretty?"

Tushan Jing Ci happily held up her arm. The emerald-green bracelet and her fair wrist complemented each other, glowing softly in the faint moonlight.

"It’s beautiful." Xiao Mo nodded.

"Hee hee hee..." Tushan Jing Ci happily ran over to the maid, Yue Shi, and asked, "Sister Yue Shi, look! Do you like the birthday present Xiao Mo gave me?"

"Mhm." Yue Shi smiled faintly. "Anything you wear looks beautiful, Miss."

Tushan Jing Ci happily ran back to Xiao Mo, her voice light and cheerful. "See, Xiao Mo? You think it’s beautiful, Sister Yue Shi thinks it’s beautiful, and I think it’s beautiful! So this bracelet isn’t ugly at all. It’s more beautiful than any other bracelet in the world! I’ll treasure it forever!"

"You’re too kind, Miss," Xiao Mo said with a smile. "It wouldn’t even matter if it broke. It’s just an ordinary bracelet."

"It is not ordinary! I won’t let you say that about it!"

Tushan Jing Ci puffed out her rosy cheeks, looking a little bit angry.

"But it really is just a common bracelet you could find anywhere," Xiao Mo said.

"So what?"

Tushan Jing Ci lifted her chin, hugging the wrist with the bracelet to her chest.

"You made it!"

"So it’s not ordinary at all!"

...

In the northern part of the Demon Race’s World lay a certain region.

Within this region were tens of thousands of mountains, large and small, stretching for countless miles.

Among these tens of thousands of peaks, one mountain stood in the heart of the range, seemingly secluded from the rest of the world.

The mountain’s name was Seeking Immortal Mountain.

Atop the mountain peak stood a Daoist temple.

The temple was named Seeking Immortal Temple.

The temple did not have many disciples.

Including the Temple Master, there were no more than fifty people in total.

As for patronage, the temple certainly couldn’t be called popular.

But it wasn’t deserted, either. During festivals, some villagers would come up the mountain to worship, bringing offerings of rice and meat and leaving small donations to thank the temple for its everyday acts of kindness.

Most of the time, however, it was the temple’s disciples who went down the mountain to help the villagers, performing exorcisms, delivering babies, and practicing medicine.

The villagers had no idea just how powerful the Daoists on the mountain truly were.

They only knew that the Temple Master had been there since the time of their great-great-grandfathers...

That night, just as the villagers were settling into their homes to rest, a rosy light suddenly shot up from Seeking Immortal Mountain and vanished into the clouds.

"Husband, wake up! Look, what is that?"

In the village, a woman urgently shook her husband awake.

"Holy heavens!"

The husband groggily opened his eyes and looked out the window, feeling as if he were dreaming.

The colorful radiance rippled through the clouds, ring after ring expanding outward until it vanished completely.

In the main hall of the temple, a woman in Daoist robes slowly opened her eyes, her gaze turning toward the source of the radiance.

"Master, has something happened to Junior Sister?"

The eldest disciple ran into the main hall, speaking to her master with a worried tone.

"It is nothing. Just focus on your own duties."

The Female Temple Master shook her head. She slowly rose to her feet and took a single step forward.

With that single step, the woman vanished from the main hall, reappearing before a courtyard halfway down the mountain.

In the courtyard, a little girl who had just turned six sat cross-legged on the ground.

Various Arrays were set up around her, both to protect her cultivation and to help her gather Spiritual Power.

As the Spiritual Power in the courtyard gradually subsided, the little girl slowly opened her eyes.

"Master."

Seeing her master, the little girl hurried forward and bowed respectfully.

"Not bad," the Temple Master said, nodding in satisfaction. "To reach the tenth level of Qi Cultivation right on your sixth birthday, and to cause such a phenomenon... A talent like yours is truly rare, even in the entire Demon Race’s World."

"It is all thanks to Master’s excellent guidance," the little girl said.

"It is because you yourself are diligent enough."

As she spoke, the Temple Master took a mirror from within her robes and handed it to the little girl.

"Today is your birthday. I have little to give you as your master, but this mirror may help you in comprehending your Dao Heart."

"Thank you, Master."

The little girl accepted the gift and happily gazed into the mirror from her master.

The girl in the mirror had delicate features, rosy lips, and pearly teeth—unquestionably the makings of a peerless beauty.

It was just that her reflection was identical to another little girl of the same age in Xianhu City.