translator: baumkuchen  editor: ellabells

Although Wu Xiao’s dream of being able to hear the tree spirit talk had come true, he had somehow gained a treekind as a partner . Lu Qingjiu’s mood was incredibly complicated . He didn’t know what he should say . When he called Wu Xiao back, Wu Xiao had already calmed down . He asked him if he had any solutions .  

Lu Qingjiu replied that as of now, there wasn’t… After finding out the truth of the matter, he’d pre-emptively asked Bai Yuehu if this marriage contract could be dissolved . Bai Yuehu’s reply had been that treekind had always married for life . When one got married to one of them, they should just give up on wanting to leave . There was only widowing, no divorce .

So Lu Qingjiu braced himself and relayed this answer to Wu Xiao . After hearing this, Wu Xiao despairingly declared: He would just have to make do, it’s not like he could leave .

Lu Qingjiu wanted to laugh, but didn’t think it would be appropriate . He could only do his best to hold back, even trying to console him a little, saying that Old Tree actually had a really great personality, after interacting with him more, who’s to say that he wouldn’t fall in love…

He and Wu Xiao’s enmity ended in this way . Lu Qingjiu didn’t really know what to say so he could only get Zhu Miaomiao to help him privately hand Wu Xiao a big red envelope to express the slight regret hidden deep in his heart .

When Zhu Miaomiao asked him why he wanted her to pa.s.s him the red envelope, he didn’t dare to answer her, simply brus.h.i.+ng it over with a vague excuse .

When Wu Xiao asked him what he meant by this after receiving the red envelope, Lu Qingjiu said, “Isn’t it for your new marriage…”

Wu Xiao hung up with a slam . This time, Lu Qingjiu couldn’t hold back, letting out quiet laughter on the other end of the line .

The August weather was unbearably hot, the sun so strong that even the chickens in the courtyard weren’t willing to move around . After half a year, the chicks had already grown into half-matured chickens . It was  just that these chickens looked a little different from the others . No matter if they were roosters or hens, the colour of their plumage was incredible, looking very beautiful . He just didn’t know how their taste would be… Lu Qingjiu thought that when they had the time, they could get Bai Yuehu to slaughter one to have a taste .  

Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have grown at all . The size they were when they came here was the size they were now . Yin Xun suspected that they were faulty goods, they spent their days eating and sleeping yet didn’t get any fatter .

When Xiao Hua heard Yin Xun say this, he rolled his eyes so hard they almost popped out of their sockets .

Upon seeing this, Yin Xun, this thing, even made a fuss, “What the h.e.l.l, Lu Qingjiu, control your family’s pig, it actually rolled its eyes at me . ”

Lu Qingjiu said, “Before you speak ill of others, can you move your face away from their belly first . ” 

Yin Xun refused, unyielding, “No . ”

Xiao Hua almost hoofed him in the face .

Ever since Yin Xun, this thing, had discovered that Xiao Hua’s cool belly was an effective tool for relieving the summer heat, he began to carry Xiao Hua around all day . Sometimes when he went out to harvest his vegetables he’d even bring Xiao Hua with him on his back . After a few fruitless struggles, Xiao Hua had helplessly given up, thoroughly becoming Yin Xun’s exclusive ice bag .

Seeing his expression, Lu Qingjiu felt that if not for the fact that he couldn’t speak in Yin Xun’s presence, Xiao Hua might have given him a verbal thras.h.i.+ng long ago .  

Yin Xun really should be grateful for his ident.i.ty as an ordinary person…

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The little fox also liked to eat frozen food, but Lu Qingjiu feared its body was too weak and if it ate too much it would get diarrhea . So, he would control the amount every time .

Today, the three of them were in the house eating the fresh liangxia Lu Qingjiu had made . Liangxia was a local unique dessert . Rice paste made from glutinous rice was dipped into water with a spoon and formed into a small shrimp-shaped rice ball, then placed into thick red soup with sweet and sour hawthorns . It felt soft, sticky and cool, with a strong fragrance of rice . It was met with a lot of welcome from the people in his house . When Lu Qingjiu ate them, he felt it was lacking a bit in sweetness . Just as he was planning to go to the kitchen to add in another spoonful of red soup, he heard the sound of knocking from the courtyard — someone was at the door .  

“Who is it?” Lu Qingjiu called over .

It was 3 in the afternoon, the hottest time of day . The sunlight was eye-searingly bright . The entire world seemed as if it had been enveloped in a huge, fiery steamer basket . If someone went out for even less than a minute, they would come back covered in sweat . Usually, if Lu Qingjiu were to hear a knock at the door, he would go over and open it without asking any questions, but today, it was truly too hot . The three of them all glanced at each other . Clearly, none of them wanted to move .

“Bai Yuehu, Bai Yuehu!” From outside came a man’s voice, calling Bai Yuehu’s name . He knocked loud and hard on the wooden door, which was already not very strong . “I’m f.u.c.king dying of heat, quickly come and open the door for me!!”

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So he was looking for Bai Yuehu . Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun both let out a sigh of relief, then moved their gazes to Bai Yuehu . Since he wasn’t looking for them, then they didn’t need to leave the air-conditioned room to open the door in the heat .  

Who knew that Bai Yuehu would just open his eyes, very shamelessly change the tone of his voice and answer the person outside the door with a, “Bai Yuehu isn’t here . ”

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingjiu, who was next to him, almost did a spit-take . Yin Xun’s reaction was about the same as Lu Qingjiu’s . They were clearly both shaken by Bai Yuehu’s shamelessness .

“f.u.c.k, Bai Yuehu isn’t here? Then who are you?” The person outside was angered by Bai Yuehu’s answer . He began pounding on the door . “Quickly open the door, I’m really going to die out here—”

Just as Bai Yuehu was about to say something, suddenly, there was a loud noise at the door . Lu Qingjiu watched with wide eyes as his fragile door fell to the ground with a “bam” . With the door fell the sorry figure of a man . He also seemed to have never considered that the door would be so weak towards knocking, his entire person falling into the courtyard, flat on his face .   

“Ah! s.h.i.+t!” The man fell rather heavily . He laid on the ground for a long time without reacting before letting out a painful groan, “Aiya… f.u.c.k…”

Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu hurried over, asking, “Brother, are you alright?”

The man raised his head . Seeing his face, Lu Qingjiu let out a puff of laughter . The man’s face was covered in green and purple, these wounds forcibly destroying a face that could originally be considered handsome .

The man looked towards Lu Qingjiu with a bitter expression . Just as Lu Qingjiu wanted to ask him if he was alright, he saw him spit out something — from his mouth fell out half a tooth .  

“f.u.c.k,” The man cursed, “I’m f.u.c.king—”

Lu Qingjiu thought inwardly that this person was really too unlucky . He hurriedly helped the man up . The man’s leg appeared to be hurt . He hobbled into the house .

When Bai Yuehu saw him, there was a look of disdain in his eyes .

Bai Yuehu asked, “How’d you know I was here?” 

“I heard about it from the Su home . ” The man sat down, rubbing his leg . “You really are…”

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Bai Yuehu drank a mouthful of liangxia, not sparing him even a glance .

The man’s gaze fell onto the liangxia . He swallowed down a mouthful of saliva . “What is this, does it taste good?”

Bai Yuehu said, “It’s delicious . ” Then he finished it all in one gulp .  

The man, “…”

Watching from the side, Lu Qingjiu found this hilarious, but in the end, he wasn’t as calm as Bai Yuehu . Feeling like this man seemed truly too wretched, he turned and went to the kitchen to make a bowl of liangxia for him . He even added in a little more brown sugar, thinking of helping the man recover some blood .

The man almost wept when he saw him set the bowl of liangxia down in front of him . He kept harping on about how Lu Qingjiu was a good person, and in the future he’d definitely be very lucky, then began to eat happily .

Bai Yuehu said, “Shui Feng, why are you actually here?” Then man’s name was Shui Feng .  It sounded a little strange .  

“I came to ask you for help,” Shui Feng said, “My darling fox…”

Bai Yuehu shot him an ice-cold gaze . Shui Feng hurriedly corrected himself, “Mister Bai!”

“I already said, I can’t save you,” Bai Yuehu said lazily, “Didn’t I already tell you before . ”

Shui Feng, “…I feel like I can still be saved . ” After saying this, he used his spoon to scoop up a big spoonful of liangxia and shoved it into his mouth . Just as he was about to pull the spoon out of his mouth, Lu Qingjiu, sitting next to him, heard the crisp crack of porcelain . Then came a sharp screech . The man yelled out “ah ah ah”, and spat out a mouthful of blood — the originally perfectly-fine ceramic spoon had actually broken in his mouth .  

“s.h.i.+t!” Next to him, Yin Xun was shocked by the image before him . His voice was full of panic, “Big brother, even if you’re hungry, you can’t eat the spoon, that’s ceramic — you can’t eat that!”

Shui Feng was in tears from the pain, his mouth full of broken ceramic pieces . He staggered into the outer courtyard, then tried to turn on the tap to wash out his mouth . Who knew that the moment he turned on the tap, and placed his mouth under it, there was yet another incomparably pained scream .

Lu Qingjiu was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what had happened . Their tap and pipes had all been left under the searing sun . Their surface temperature was nearly seventy degrees Celsius . Thinking about it, the water coming out of the heated tap wouldn’t be anywhere near cooling… To Shui Feng, this was simply just salt on his wounds .

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The man was in so much pain that he looked like he was about to keel over, but he still forced himself to carry on, using the water to rinse out the shattered ceramic in his mouth with great difficulty .  

As Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun watched on from by the door, they both seemed as if they couldn’t bear to watch any further . This image was truly too tragic . Using the phrase “cold water getting stuck between one’s teeth”to describe Shui Feng’s luck was putting it lightly .

Shui Feng roughly cleaned out his wounds, then returned to the house with tears in his eyes . Lu Qingjiu originally thought he was going to say something . Who knew that he would just lift up the bowl of liangxia and drink it all down in one gulp . He even gave Lu Qingjiu a ‘like’, “Big brother, your cooking is really good . ”

Lu Qingjiu, “…Buddy, are you alright?”

Shui Feng said, “I’m fine, I won’t die . ” 

Bai Yuehu said lazily, “Don’t mind him, he’s used to it . ”

Sure enough, Shui Feng seemed used to it . He recovered very quickly from what would have been extremely painful to an ordinary person . After finis.h.i.+ng his liangxia, he wiped his mouth and said to Bai Yuehu, “Yuehu, let’s go out and discuss this, okay?”

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Bai Yuehu shot him a look, not saying a word .

“Yuehu,” Shui Feng said, “Just help me out a little . ” 

Bai Yuehu looked at Shui Feng, not speaking, but his expression already gave Shui Feng his answer . Shui Feng was about to try to persuade him further but heard Bai Yuehu asked in a frosty voice, “How much longer are you going to be like this?”

Shui Feng, “…”

Bai Yuehu said, “Even if it doesn’t irritate you, it irritates me . ”

Shui Feng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then realized that Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun were sitting next to them . He said, “Let’s talk about this somewhere else . ” 

In the end, Bai Yuehu agreed . He and Shui Feng left the room, finding a place shaded by the grapevines in the courtyard to talk privately .  

“Say, what relations.h.i.+p do you think Bai Yuehu has with this person?” Yin Xun quietly asked Lu Qingjiu .

“I don’t know,” Lu Qingjiu said, “They’re probably friends . ” From the way they talked, it seemed like they were old friends of many years . It was just that they didn’t know what this man had come here for, not to mention, Bai Yuehu had that kind of att.i.tude towards him . However, from Shui Feng’s tone, he shouldn’t belong in the category of human beings .

Bai Yuehu and Shui Feng talked in the courtyard for a long time, only up until the sun was about to set behind the mountains did the two of them finally reach a consensus .

The Bai Yuehu who returned to the house had a slightly unhappy look on his face, clearly his conversation with Shui Feng hadn’t been pleasant . There was also no smile in Shui Feng’s eyes, rather, it now had a complicated look that Lu Qingjiu couldn’t decipher . However, this complicated look only lasted for a moment . In the next moment, it was covered by the usual smile .

“Aiya, what are you guys eating tonight?” Shui Feng said, “Yuehu, let me b.u.m a meal . ”

Bai Yuehu didn’t say anything, simply getting up and leaving . Seeing this, Shui Feng laughed loudly, showing off his broken tooth .

Lu Qingjiu hurriedly called after him, “Yuehu, where are you going?”

Bai Yuehu pointed at the door . “I’m going to go fix the door . ” 

Shui Feng’s smile froze on his face .

“Oh, okay,” Lu Qingjiu said, “It’s alright, I’ll make a little more for tonight . ”

Bai Yuehu nodded and went off towards the door .

In a small voice, Shui Feng said, “Sorry ah, big bro, I broke your door . ” He reached into his pockets and fumbled around for a moment, before bringing out a tiny sachet . “I don’t have any money, so just take this as compensation . ” 

Lu Qingjiu said, “No need, really . My door already needed to be changed . ”

“Take it,” Shui Feng smiled, “It’s nothing of value . ”

Lu Qingjiu still wanted to refuse, but seeing his firm att.i.tude, he could only take it, thinking of asking Bai Yuehu what exactly all this was about later that night .

Lu Qingjiu prepared a little more than usual for dinner . He made glutinous rice with steamed ribs, fried up some yuxiang shredded pork, and even steamed a large bowl of eggs . Their family’s chickens had already began laying eggs one after another . But these eggs were much bigger than ordinary eggs, and the likelihood of double-yolks were very high . After being steamed, they became especially fragrant . In addition, Lu Qingjiu had added fresh water inside, making it especially delicate and smooth in one’s mouth .  

Having finished cooking, they sat down at the table .

After an afternoon of work, Bai Yuehu had fixed the door . He had acquired a black wooden door from who knows where, and then inlaid it in the original door’s position . Upon seeing this door, Lu Qingjiu wanted to laugh . The wooden door was imposing and bold, and even had dragon designs carved on to it . It was completely incompatible with the simple style of the rest of the courtyard . But since it was already put in place, what’s done was done . It wasn’t a big problem, it just looked a little bit abrupt, that’s all .

Shui Feng ate very seriously . The entire time, his eyes didn’t move from his food . It was just that his bad luck hadn’t stopped . When he ate the glutinous rice with steamed pork ribs, he would always find a way to eat three or four rocks with the rice .

Lu Qingjiu was struck dumb . “How did all those rocks get into the rice?” 

Yin Xun said, “Right, how come I haven’t gotten even one?”

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Lu Qingjiu, “…” He silently put down his chopsticks .

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Yin Xun copied Lu Qingjiu’s actions .  

After finis.h.i.+ng dinner, Shui Feng said his goodbyes . Lu Qingjiu watched him hobble off into the distance . In the end, as soon as he left their courtyard, he seemed to have once again stepped on something, immediately face-planting hard on the ground . He lay there for a long time, not getting up . Just as Lu Qingjiu was planning on going out to help him up, Bai Yuehu spoke, “Don’t bother about him, he brought it on himself . ”

Lu Qingjiu, “Oh…” He could hear that Bai Yuehu was serious .

After Yin Xun went back, Lu Qingjiu got a fan and some melon seeds and sat down next to Bai Yuehu . As he ate his melon seeds, he chatted with his family’s fox spirit .

Even though Bai Yuehu usually looked hard to approach, Lu Qingjiu could always have a pleasant time talking with him . Every time he asked him something, he would always patiently answer .  

“This afternoon, Shui Feng gave me a bag . ” As Lu Qingjiu fanned himself with one hand, he drew out the bag Shui Feng had given him that afternoon from his pocket with the other .

With one look at the bag, Bai Yuehu immediately knew what was inside . He was silent for a moment, then said, “Keep it . ”

“What is it?” Lu Qingjiu had been busy the whole afternoon and hadn’t had the time to take a look inside . With soft, quick movements, he opened the bag, and saw that there was actually a lock of fur inside . This fur was black and yellow, both coa.r.s.e and stiff . Clearly, it wasn’t human hair, rather, more closely resembling the fur of a wild beast .

“Fur?” Lu Qingjiu took a strand of fur out of the bag . He exclaimed in surprise, “This… does it do anything?” 

“Keep it on you,” Bai Yuehu said, “It has some benefits . ”

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment, “Is this his fur?”

Bai Yuehu nodded .

“He’s a tiger spirit?” After careful examination, Lu Qingjiu felt like the fur’s colour most resembled that of a tiger . His imagination began to run wild . “Or maybe a leopard?” 

“No, he’s a G.o.d,” Bai Yuehu said .

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“G.o.d?” Lu Qingjiu responded, surprised, “There are G.o.ds as unlucky as him?” From the very moment he saw Shui Feng, he’d seen his constant misfortune .

Bai Yuehu sighed, then said, “He’s an exception . ”

Lu Qingjiu clearly felt that Bai Yuehu didn’t seem to want to talk more about this Shui Feng . But speaking of this, it seemed like this was the first time he’d ever heard Bai Yuehu sigh with the sorrow of like sympathising with like .   

Since Bai Yuehu had said it was useful, Lu Qingjiu hung the sachet off of his keychain to carry it on him . That night, before he went to bed, he flipped through The Cla.s.sic of Mountains and Seas again, carefully searching for a G.o.d that matched with what Bai Yuehu had said . Just flipping around, he found a fact that shocked him . In The Cla.s.sic of Mountains and Seas, there was indeed a G.o.d which was relatively in line with Shui Feng’s behaviour, but he was the complete opposite of Shui Feng . He should be an out-and-out lucky guy .

That G.o.d’s name, was Tai Feng, the G.o.d of luck, Tai Feng .

Legend had it that Tai Feng had a human body and a tiger tail . He was in charge of the world’s luck . Those who were close to him would be cared for by fate . No matter what they did, it would always go smoothly . Tai Feng had a gentle nature and lived on Harmony Mountain . Compared to Shebis.h.i.+ from before, he was the type that was much more in touch with the people .

It was just that this lucky G.o.d Tai Feng, when compared to the Shui Feng who could get water stuck between his teeth every day, the difference was just too big . Could it be that that Shui Feng was the lucky G.o.d Tai Feng’s younger brother, unlucky G.o.d Shui Feng? Lu Qingjiu pinched the fur in his pocket, thinking that their world of non-humans was truly complicated .  

The next day, the first thing Lu Qingjiu saw after getting up was Bai Yuehu sitting in the courtyard .

“So early?” Lu Qingjiu checked the time . It was only a little past 5 . Usually, Bai Yuehu only got up after 6 .

“En, I’ll be going out,” Bai Yuehu said .

“When will you be back?” Lu Qingjiu asked .  

“Might be at night,” Bai Yuehu said, “What time is it?”

“It’s half past five,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Do you want to have breakfast?”

Bai Yuehu said, “There’s already no time . ” He thought for a moment . “I’m going to the hospital in the city, would you like to come with me?”

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The moment Lu Qingjiu heard ‘hospital’, he immediately began to worry . He asked, “Hospital? Are you feeling unwell?” 

“No, it’s to visit someone . ” Bai Yuehu once again invited Lu Qingjiu along, “Let’s go together . ”

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment, “Alright . ” Bai Yuehu would rarely invite him out, since he’d taken the initiative to do so this time, he probably had his reasons . So he casually grabbed some cookies and took the pickup truck with Bai Yuehu towards the direction of the city .

Lu Qingjiu had even found some time so send a message to Yin Xun, letting him know to prepare his own lunch today .

They were driving to town . Driving along the mountain roads took about two hours because they were on mountain roads, completely surrounded by sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces . If one wanted to be safe, they could only drive a little slower . And the trip from town to the city needed another hour . That was to say, by the time they got to the city, it would be about eight o’ clock .  

As Lu Qingjiu drove, he watched Bai Yuehu sitting beside him eating cookies . Bai Yuehu’s mood didn’t seem to be very good . Although his expression didn’t change very much, Lu Qingjiu could tell his current mood from the corners of his eyes and the tips of his eyebrows .

“What’s the matter?” Lu Qingjiu asked, “Is it that the person you know is sick?”

“En,” Bai Yuehu replied .

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “It’s not Shui Feng, is it?” 

Bai Yuehu said, “That one’s just sick in the head . ”

Lu Qingjiu broke out into loud laughter . He said, “Are all G.o.ds so approachable? I feel like… he’s just an ordinary person . ”

Bai Yuehu thought it over . “The current him is no different from an ordinary person . No, he still is different, he’s unluckier than an ordinary person . ”

Thinking of Shui Feng’s miserable state yesterday, the corners of Lu Qingjiu’s mouth rose rather unkindly .  

The pickup truck drove onwards and soon left Shuifu village and onto the highway leading to the city . The moment it past seven o’clock, the entire world began to wake up from their dreams . There were many more cars and pedestrians on the road . To an ordinary person, it was another ordinary day .

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Hospitals woke up earlier than other places . The hall was already crowded with all kinds of patients before six o’clock .

Lu Qingjiu parked his car in the underground parking lot and walked together with Bai Yuehu towards the inpatient department .

“The person’s here . ” Bai Yuehu pa.s.sed a piece of paper to Lu Qingjiu .  

Lu Qingjiu took a look, it was Ward 102 on the 15th floor of Block A . He said, “That’s over there . ”

Bai Yuehu nodded .

When Lu Qingjiu walked over to Block A, he turned back and looked at Bai Yuehu . He didn’t know if it was his misconception, but he felt that since going into the hospital, Bai Yuehu didn’t seem to know his way around, just following along behind him . But if so, that might explain why Bai Yuehu had invited him to come with him . Thinking up to here, Lu Qingjiu then thought he was probably thinking too much .

They reached the downstairs floor of Block A of the inpatient department as he was thinking . Lu Qingjiu pressed the b.u.t.ton for the elevator . After waiting for Bai Yuehu to enter the elevator with him, he pressed the b.u.t.ton for the 15th floor .