Taoist Master and the Cat - Chapter 240

He drew a miniature Babu bed for Su Miaomiao with birds, butterflies, swimming fish, and flowers on the bed frame, and made the patterns to be embellished with gems.

What he drew for Gu Jialing was an improved version of a bird’s-nest-shaped stepping bed, which was divided into two layers.

Since Xu Shou was very satisfied with the kennel he lived in, Xie Jingyuan kept the kennel as it was and only added carvings.

“Why do I feel that each of these three pictures is more perfunctory than the other?”

Gu Jialing carefully compared the three pictures. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that Su Miaomiao’s Babu bed was the most delicately drawn, as the butterflies and swimming fish were all drawn lifelike.

Xie Jingyuan said, “Your nest is hung on a tree, and pilgrims can see it when they come and go, so it shouldn’t be too extravagant outside.”

Xu Sho agreed with him, “Yes, if gems were exposed outside, there would be pilgrims climbing up to steal them.”

People couldn’t withstand the temptation of the gems that were at their fingertips.

That made sense, and Gu Jialing reluctantly accepted it. In addition, although his nest wasn’t the most exquisite, it wasn’t the ugliest either. It was prettier than Xu Shou’s kennel anyway.

“Early tomorrow morning, you follow me to the back of the mountain, I have something to say, “Xie Jingyuan said to Xu Shou and Gu Jialing while looking outside the window..

Gu Jialing asked, “What can’t be said here?”

Su Miaomiao nestled in Xie Jingyuan’s arms and raised her head curiously.

Xie Jingyuan patted her head, and revealed in advance, “The two of you have taken a demon’s core, and your cultivation base has greatly increased, but your foundation is not stable. I will teach you the method of strengthening your foundation tomorrow morning.”

Xie Jingyuan simply washed up, sat on the bed and prepared to meditate, while Su Miaomiao was lying on his lap, staring at his face.

He hadn’t settled down yet, felt her gaze, and asked, “Do you have something on your mind?”

Su Miaomiao had something on her mind, but she was still not very happy.

She wanted to hug the Taoist master and say it, but her legs were not long enough, so there was no other way. Su Miaomiao turned into a human again, wrapped her arms around his neck skillfully, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Taoist Master, you are so talented, will you ascend to immortality like the patriarch?”

Xie Jingyuan lowered his eyes, and said, “It depends on my good fortune, I could become immortal if I want to.”

Su Miaomiao hugged him even tighter and said, “If you become immortal, what should I do? Xu Shou and the bird have higher cultivation bases than me, so they might ascend with you, but I can’t.”

The difference of one or two hundred years in cultivation was not something she could catch up with casually.

He wanted to touch her head, but he raised his hand, and suddenly remembered that she was not in a cat form.

After putting down his hand, Xie Jingyuan said in a low voice, “If there is a day, I will take you to soar together, if the law of heaven does not allow, I will stay in the world to accompany you.”

Su Miaomiao was very happy. She always believed in what the Taoist master said.

Early the next morning, Xie Jingyuan took Xu Shou and Gu Jialing to the back mountain. Asfor Su Miaomiao, she squatted on his shoulder and followed to watch the excitement.

There was no shortcut to cultivate. Xu Shou and Gu Jialing absorbed the core, so they had to pay more to make up for that opportunistic trick.

“From now on, you will live in the back mountain, keep your human form every day, and you cannot change at will.”

“Run for an hour every day from dawn, rest for half an hour in the morning, climb the mountain after breakfast, and go back and forth from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain a hundred times. Rest for half an hour at noon, fight with each other in the afternoon, and run for another hour. In the evening, following the mantras I imparted in meditation until dawn, so in three years, your foundation can be solidified.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Jialing slumped on the ground.

Xu Shou was as calm and stable as ever, and said, “Don’t worry, Taoist Master. We will practice hard and will never disappoint your painstaking efforts.”

Gu Jialing’s eyes moved wildly, and before he could speak, Xie Jingyuan said coldly, “If you find it hard, you can leave now, but if you leave today, don’t even think about relying on Qingxu Temple in the future.”

Gu Jialing looked at him, then at Su Miaomiao, who was gloating, and Xu Shou, who was solemn, and suddenly fell to the ground and burst into tears.

If the Taoist master had tortured him like that when he first came to Qingxu Temple, Gu Jialing would definitely run away.

But he had lived in Qingxu for so long, and he was so familiar with him, the cat and the dog, and so was uncomfortable to let go.

Xu Shou said with distaste, “There’s nothing to cry about. The Taoist master is doing this for our own good. How can you cultivate if your foundation is not stable?”

Gu Jialing understood the truth, but he just felt that the future was bleak, and said, “Do we have to practice hard every day for three years?”

Xie Jingyuan paused, and then said, “You can go back to the temple to rest at the end of every month.”

Gu Jialing seemed to see a ray of light in the dark clouds.

“Okay, but the day we go back, the Taoist master will prepare something delicious for us.”

Xie Jingyuan agreed.

“And…” Before he made his second request, Xie Jingyuan turned around and left without looking back, only Su Miaomiao tilted her head with her face full of gloating.

Gu Jialing shouted furiously, “You wait for me!”

Su Miaomiao also turned her head, only wagging her tail at him happily.

The two demons practiced hard, and Xie Jingyuan also asked Su Miaomiao about her training progress when building the Babu bed, and gave her some pointers.

When it came to cultivation, Su Miaomiao listened very carefully, but when watching Xie Jingyuan tinkering with a pile of wood every day, she occasionally found it boring. 

She started running to the back of the mountain, and watched Gu Jialing being threatened by Xu Shou to insist on running or climbing the mountain, or being beaten up by Xu Shou during sparring. 

In the first few days, Xie Jingyuan would deliberately go to the back of the mountain to look for her, but after confirming that Su Miaomiao would not leave the area of ​​Qingxu Temple and go to other places, he let her run around with confidence.

Of course, no matter how Su Miaomiao ran during the day, every time the sun went down, she would return to Qingxu Temple and sneak into Xie Jingyuan’s room.

That morning, Su Miaomiao came to see her two companions again, and climbed the mountain with them on a whim.

“This mountain is not high, it’s easy to climb up!” At the top of the mountain, Su Miaomiao squinted her eyes comfortably, enjoying the mountain wind blowing her fur.

Both Xu Shou and Gu Jialing were human, Xu Shou looked at Qingxu Temple at the foot of the mountain, while Gu Jialing who was laying on the ground on his back said bitterly, “Of course it won’t be tiring to run once, why don’t you try running a hundred times?”

Su Miaomiao was not so free, so she followed them down the mountain, and then slipped away.

There was still a long mountain road from the place where they practiced to Qingxu Temple.

Su Miaomiao wandered happily. Suddenly, a few human voices came from ahead, Su Miaomiao got curious, and she approached quietly while lurking in the grass.

As she got closer, she saw Xuan Cheng and a girl with almond eyes and peach cheeks standing under an old tree in front of him.

Su Miaomiao recognized the girl. The hairpin that Xuan Cheng kept privately was given by that girl. Of course, she had stolen the hairpin a long time ago, and Xuan Cheng didn’t dare to say anything.

“Do you really not like me?” The girl glared at Xuan Cheng with tears in her almond eyes.

Xuan Cheng avoided her gaze, lowered his head and said, “Qingxu Temple has its own rules, and this poor Taoist dare not violate them.”

“I didn’t tell you to go against the rules. I just asked you if you like me or not. If you like me, I will never marry for the rest of my life. If you don’t have me in your heart, then I will find someone to marry when I go back, lest my parents, brother and sister-in-law worry about me.”

Xuan Cheng turned his back to her and said, “Young lady, you’re already old enough to marry if you meet the right one.”

His tone was so flat that the girl burst into tears.

However, Su Miaomiao saw that Xuan Cheng also shed tears.

She didn’t understand love in the world, but she had seen Xuan Cheng tossing and turning in the night holding the hairpin. She had also seen him walking toward her, as if he wanted to get the hairpin back, but changed his mind temporarily, with a complicated look on his face. 

Xuan Cheng actually liked this girl, right? Would he be willing to let her marry someone else?

They obviously like each other, so why say something against their will?

Su Miaomiao rummaged through her personal treasure.

Each demon had a similar space where they could put their collection.

Xuan Cheng’s hairpin was under Su Miaomiao’s newly bought jewelry, and when she took out the hairpin, the girl had already walked a few steps.

Su Miaomiao hurriedly used a spell to throw the hairpin to Xuan Cheng’s feet, and deliberately let the hairpin hit a small stone, making a crisp sound.

Hearing the sound, Xuan Cheng looked at his feet, and the girl also looked back.

Xuan Cheng was startled when he recognized the hairpin, and raised his head subconsciously, only to see a white cat sticking her head out from the grass. She seemed to smile at him, and then ran away in a hurry.

Xuan Cheng went stiff all over.

The white cat indeed stole the hairpin in the temple, but she never returned it. What did she mean by returning it then?

“Didn’t you say you lost it, why is it still there?” The little girl smiled through tears, ran over to pick up the hairpin first, and then interrogated Xuan Cheng with tears in her eyes.

“I knew you liked me too!”

The little girl rushed over and hugged the sweetheart who had saved her life tightly.