Chapter 74 - 73: Mom Is There to Hold Up the Sky

Chapter 74: Chapter 73: Mom Is There to Hold Up the Sky

The Monkey took the talisman and turned it over and over. It knew there was something tasty inside but didn’t know how to get it out. Growing impatient, it crumpled the talisman into a ball and stuffed the whole thing into its mouth.

The talisman dissolved on contact with its saliva, and the Evil Qi within instantly flooded out.

The Monkey’s eyes lit up, and it grabbed the Gathering Yin Talisman, stuffing it into its mouth as well.

After eating the two talismans, it let out a small, satisfied burp.

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow. ’He’s pretty easy to raise.’

The Monkey had never eaten so heartily. While it never lacked food, it had to hunt for a long time to gather enough for one meal. Besides, its usual fare was very hard and didn’t taste nearly as good as the two things it had just eaten.

Driven by survival instinct, the Monkey decided to follow Gu Qingyin with almost no hesitation.

Gu Qingyin was very pleased with the Monkey’s pragmatism. Smiling, she gave it a new name.

"From now on, your name is Mao Mao. Got it?"

The Monkey nodded repeatedly, having no objections whatsoever.

Gu Qingyin took a step back, frowning as she sized it up. "You’re a bit too conspicuous to take out. Stay here for now. I’ll come back for you when I’m leaving the island."

Mao Mao shook its head frantically, then scrunched its body down, shrinking significantly!

Gu Qingyin’s eyes brightened slightly. "Still too big."

Mao Mao continued to shrink until it became a palm-sized little monkey, endearingly clumsy and incredibly charming.

’Hmm... it’s just a little dirty.’

Huo Xinghai watched from the side, dumbfounded. ’Could this be a legendary spirit beast?’ he wondered.

Gu Qingyin was pleasantly surprised. "Not bad, not bad. This size is much easier to handle." ’Now I won’t have to hide it,’ she thought. ’I can take it out in the open and just say it’s a pet.’

At that thought, Gu Qingyin turned to Huo Xinghai. "Keeping a monkey as a pet isn’t illegal, is it?"

Huo Xinghai wanted to say it wasn’t, but unfortunately...

"Monkeys are a nationally protected species. You can’t keep them as pets." After a pause, he added meticulously, "At least, not in this country."

Gu Qingyin’s brow furrowed. Looking at Mao Mao, she said helplessly, "Looks like you’re destined to stay out of sight."

Mao Mao didn’t understand. Mao Mao was still very happy.

"You’ve lived here a long time, right? Is there anything you need to take with you? If not, we’ll head out now."

To be honest, Gu Qingyin had only asked casually to appear approachable and considerate... After all, they had been inside for a while and it was time to go.

Unexpectedly, Mao Mao actually chirped twice, hopped to the side, and then turned its head, gesturing for Gu Qingyin to follow.

Gu Qingyin was a little surprised, but she had already made the offer. If Mao Mao really wanted to get something, she couldn’t very well refuse, could she? She had no choice but to follow.

"One moment," Gu Qingyin said. She walked over to Lin Xiaoyun, pulled a yellow talisman from her bag, and bent down to stick it on her forehead. She did the same for the cameraman not far away.

Once both talismans were in place, Gu Qingyin took two steps back and, with a SNAP, snapped her fingers.

As if they’d received a command, Lin Xiaoyun and the cameraman stood up ramrod straight.

Huo Xinghai jumped in fright, scrambling behind Gu Qingyin and whispering, "Are they... reanimated?"

Gu Qingyin swatted him. "What nonsense are you talking about? How can a living person be reanimated? It’s just a Puppet Talisman. The path is difficult; did you want to carry them instead?"

Realization dawned on Huo Xinghai. "You can do that?!" He was both amazed and envious; the Puppet Talisman sounded incredibly useful.

Gu Qingyin was already leading the two freshly-made puppets, following Mao Mao.

Huo Xinghai stuck close to her, asking, "Mom, can you use the Puppet Talisman on yourself? Like, when you don’t want to dance, you could stick on a talisman to control your limbs. Or when you don’t want to walk, you could use one to make your feet move on their own..."

Gu Qingyin couldn’t listen anymore. She raised her hand and placed a Silence Spell on his mouth, saying gravely, "Stop daydreaming. The Puppet Talisman wasn’t created to help you be lazy. Besides, a person under its influence has no consciousness. You can’t control yourself with it—it just doesn’t work."

Huo Xinghai couldn’t open his mouth, but the disappointment in his eyes was obvious.

Gu Qingyin sighed. "If you think work is too tiring, take a vacation. If you just like singing, then just write songs every year. You can refuse the other things you don’t like. You have the luxury to be willful, so why are you running yourself ragged?"

Huo Xinghai’s eyes curved into a smile. Of course, he knew he had the privilege to say no to anything he didn’t like. But he couldn’t bear to, or rather, he was afraid. Afraid of disappointing his fans, afraid they would leave the fandom, afraid that the people who liked him now would stop liking him just because he was willful one time.

Everyone in the industry knew that he, Huo Xinghai, was a top-tier star who spoiled his fans the most. He would do his best to fulfill any request they had. Because of this, he had an especially large number of obsessive stalker-fans, which at one point began to affect his normal work and life.

In the end, his big brother, Huo Xingye, couldn’t stand to watch it anymore and helped him resolve the matter.

The incident had major repercussions. Most of his rational fans were happy for him, but a small portion accused him of "not being able to take it after talking big" and became anti-fans who trashed him online.

He read every single one of those hateful comments. It was agonizing. A mountain of anger built up inside him, and when Huo Xingye came to have a heart-to-heart with him, it all erupted.

It was the most intense argument the two of them had had in years.

Afterward, they gave each other the cold shoulder for a long time. All of Huo Xinghai’s activities were canceled; he had been blacklisted by Huo Xingye.

Huo Xinghai didn’t understand. He was trapped in a vicious emotional cycle, unable to tell good from bad or right from wrong. Unable to perceive any goodwill, he resented everyone around him equally.

Not until Jian Xilin woke him up with a single sentence—"Don’t hurt the family who truly loves you for the sake of people who aren’t worth it."

It might not have sounded like much, but to Huo Xinghai’s ears, it was like a clap of thunder.

The people who truly love you would never have the heart to hurt you. Only those who don’t love you will hurt you again and again in the name of love.

His big brother wanted him to quit the entertainment industry only to solve the problem for good, only to protect him. That was all.

Huo Xinghai finally understood, and he was filled with regret. He awkwardly went to Huo Xingye to apologize and then made a solemn vow, which was the only thing that made Huo Xingye relent.

Huo Xinghai felt a deep sense of contentment.

Everyone knew the head of the Huo Family’s word was law; once he made a decision, ten bulls couldn’t drag him back.

But for family, and only for family, would he yield again and again. With their parents gone, they were the closest people each other had in the world.

Seeing his mood was off, Gu Qingyin removed the Silence Spell. She reached out, pinched his face, and gave it a little shake. "Cheer up. If the sky falls, Mom’s here to hold it up for you."

Huo Xinghai’s handsome face was squished out of shape, and his voice came out muffled. "I know."

If the discovery of the Curse Doll had unlocked some of his shackles and allowed him to release a bit of his true nature, then now, he had completely let go of his obsession.

That was the kind of person Huo Xinghai was now. If his fans loved him, great. If they didn’t, screw it.

In any case, his family could give him lots and lots of love.