In the evening.

The whole family was sitting in the courtyard, drinking tea. Ning Tao was browsing through the financial report of Shenzhou Charity Company, which Bai Jing had given him. The report detailed how much they had earned and spent, as well as their employees' salaries, insurance fees and Housing Provident Fund. Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao were comparing their Heavenly Gem Garments by the side. Qing Zhui complemented Jiang Hao's track suit for looking good, while Jiang Hao praised Qing Zhui's qipao for making her look more feminine.

Beside them, Yin Molan was playing Chinese chess with Hu Xiaoji on a children's table. Hu Xiaoji was besieging and bombarding the former's pieces. Yin Molan was so anxious that his eyes glared.

Bai Jing propped her pretty neck on her hand. She looked at Ning Tao. “Our company has hired scores of workers. Our expenditure is huge. I've almost sold all your delicate perfumed creams. When will you give me more?”

Ning Tao said, “I will refine more delicate perfumed cream for you tomorrow. I will also refine some Fertility Pills. Try and sell them. If any magnate is suffering from infertility, get him to donate by giving him Fertility Pills. I'm sure you will succeed.”

Bai Jing squinted at Ning Tao and remarked coquettishly, “They are just aphrodisiacs, right? No need to give them such fancy names.”

Ning Tao was at a loss for words.

Bai Jing kicked Ning Tao's foot under the table. “You made my sister and Jiang Hao clothes. So when's my turn?”

Ning Tao said, “After I return from Mount Emei.”

“You're wonderful.” Bai Jing's foot had gone up his leg. Her shoe was off.

Ning Tao frantically put the report down before Bai Jing. “This isn't my company, so why should I read this report? Decide your company affairs yourself. In future, don't make me read such things.”

Jiang Hao s.h.i.+fted her eyes over, her gaze staring at Bai Jing as keen as a sharp blade.

Bai Jing's foot had returned to its former position, slipping back into her shoe. She smiled in the direction of Jiang Hao's eyes. “Jiang, my cup's empty. Get me some water.”

Jiang Hao smiled and glanced at Qing Zhui. “Qing Zhui, go and fill it with water.”

Qing Zhui did not know whether to go or stay.

Bai Jing had originally wanted to put Jiang Hao down as the primary wife. She had not expected Jiang Hao to retaliate, putting Qing Zhui in a dilemma.

The atmosphere immediately became awkward.

At this moment, the Howling Celestial Dog suddenly dashed in from the door. “Dad, that family's back.”

Ning Tao grabbed the opportunity to stand up. “I'm going over to invite that couple here for dinner. You people tidy the house.”

Hu Xiaoji also rose and raced after him. “Dad, let me go with you. I will invite Huang Xiaopeng to dinner at our house.”

Yin Molan gave a light sigh. His pieces had just escaped complete extermination.

Bai Jing t.i.ttered. “Senior Yin, you're a few centuries old and yet cannot defeat a little girl. You're useless!”

Yin Molan did not take her remarks to heart and answered mildly, “You know as well as I who she is. She's more than a few centuries old.”

Jiang Hao said, “Miss Bai, we can talk this among ourselves casually, but don't mention it before the guests.”

The corner of Bai Jing's mouth curled up. “Do I need you to remind me this?”

Outside the door, Ning Tao was waiting for the couple and their boy to come over. The Howling Celestial Dog was on his left and Hu Xiaoji his right. Before the family could approach, Ning Tao's face was already wearing a smile. The Howling Celestial Dog too wagged its tail in a friendly way.

Hu Xiaoji kept waving her hands at the boy, her face wreathed in excited smiles. “Huang Xiaopeng, you're back from school!”

Huang Xiaopeng also waved at Hu Xiaoji. “Xiaoji!”

Ning Tao sighed inwardly in his heart. Kids nowadays were so precocious. Children in Grade One had been in a relations.h.i.+p?

Actually, his intention wasn't really to let Hu Xiaoji go to school. But Hu Xiaoji was so stubborn that he had no choice, After all, he was not her real father. If he were to obstruct her, Hu Xiaoji might really leave home in a rage. Then who else could he find to unravel the mystery of the Ancestor-seeking Elixir prescription? This was only one of the reasons. If Hu Xiaoji were to fall into the hands of villains who made use of her to do wicked deeds, he would be remorseful forever!

That couple brought the boy along, just like when they were leaving in the morning. They nodded at Ning Tao and smiled.

Ning Tao said with a smile, “I'm staying just opposite your family. My name is Ning Tao and I'm a doctor. We're neighbors and our children seem like good friends. Could I invite your family to dinner at my house? Let's get acquainted and be friends. What do you say to that?”

The couple exchanged glances and the man smiled. “That will be great. My surname is Huang. My name's Huang Donglin. This is my wife, Fang Min. Our boy is called Huang Xiaopeng.”

Ning Tao offered his hand to Huang Xiaopeng. “How are you, Student Xiaopeng?”

Huang Xiaopeng gave a slight start and touched Ning Tao's hand. Then he came to attention and saluted like a Young Pioneer.

Ning Tao smiled. “My, my, a Young Pioneer at such a young age. You're indeed outstanding.”

Huang Donglin said, “Doctor Ning, let us go back first and put down our things. We'll come after that.”

Ning Tao said, “Sure, I await your visit.”

Fang Min smiled. “Doctor Ning, since we are neighbors, let's not be too polite. It will be enough for us not to give your family trouble.”

Ning Tao answered with a smile, “No trouble, no trouble at all.”

The couple took Huang Xiaopeng back to their house. Ning Tao also brought Hu Xiaoji and the Howling Celestial Dog back into theirs.

Back in the courtyard, Hu Xiaoji hastily went to the square children's table and saw the pieces on the chessboard. She fumed. “Grandpa Yin, you're a cheat!”

Yin Molan answered her solemnly, “Who's cheating? You ran away when you were about to lose. Now you claimed that I'm cheating? You ought to accept your defeat graciously!”

“No, put the pieces back in its original positions!”

“I never touched them. So why should I change their positions?”

The old man and the young girl were quarreling, their necks flushed red in the dispute.

Jiang Hao said to Ning Tao, “Dinner's ready. But I don't get one thing. Why must we invite the couple over for dinner? It isn't like it once was. Neighborly ties don't count for much nowadays.”

Ning Tao drew near Jiang Hao's ear and whispered, “A family renting this place out of the blue, and their boy a good friend of Xiaoji. Don't you smell a rat?”

Jiang Hao was startled a little. “Now that you have mentioned it, maybe there's something not quite right about them…”

Qing Zhui interrupted them. “There really is something not quite right.”

Ning Tao said, “Therefore, we must test them out. It's better to be careful.”

Soon, Huang Donglin and Fang Min brought Huang Xiaopeng over. The couple also brought a bottle of red wine and some baked pastries.

Ning Tao advanced to meet them and smiled. “No need for such courtesy. You ought to come empty-handed. You shouldn't have brought things with you.”

Huang Donglin said, “There's nothing at home, just a bottle of red wine. My wife loves to bake. These are some cakes and pastries she had baked. We brought them here to let your family try them.”

“Thank you.” Qing Zhui went up and accepted the pastries in Fang Min's hands.

Jiang Hao also went up and took the wine from Huang Xiaopeng's hand. She said at the same time, “Please come in. We are serving dinner now.”

Hu Xiaoji scampered over and yelled, “Mama Jiang, just take the wine. Let Xiaopeng and I have the pastries, Mama Qing. I'm bringing Xiaopeng to my room to play.”

Qing Zhui asked, “Aren't you taking dinner?”

Hu Xiaoji scampered away, taking the pastries from Qing Zhui's hands. Then she pulled Huang Xiaopeng's hand and they raced into her room.

Jiang Hao exhorted them. “Don't run, don't make Xiaopeng stumble… What a girl.”

Huang Donglin and Fang Min looked at Ning Tao, Jiang Hao and Qing Zhui standing in a row. The expression in their eyes looked quite strange.

Ning Tao smiled and explained. “They are Xiaoji's adoptive mothers. I'm her adoptive father.”

Huang Donglin and Fang Min could not help but exchange glances. Although they said nothing, their eyes and expressions revealed that they were obviously trying to figure out the trio's relations.h.i.+p.

Ning Tao did not explain. He brought them into the dining room. “Mr. and Mrs. Huang, please follow me.”

Their dinner was rather inhibited. After all, it was the first time they had met. Neither party knew the other's temperament and personality.

At dinner, Ning Tao took the opportunity to ask while toasting them, “What is your esteemed profession, Mr. Huang?”

Huang Donglin gave a sheepish smile. “Nothing esteemed. I'm working in an export company, in charge of a warehouse.”

Ning Tao next asked Fang Min, “And how about you, Mrs. Huang?”

Fang Min said, “I am a schoolteacher in an elementary school in nearby Haidi. If Xiaoji would like to study there, I could help her.”

“Let me thank you in advance. Cheers!” Ning Tao drank up the wine in his gla.s.s.

The Howling Celestial Dog had appeared at the entrance. It did not go in, merely barking gently a few times and wagging its tail.

A snowy scene appeared in the Whisperer 2.0. Ning Tao's mind reverberated with the Howling Celestial Dog's voice. “Dad, Senior Yin has sneaked into the couple's house. Hu Xiaoji is playing games with that young boy, and they aren't doing anything else.”

Ning Tao gave a slight nod.

The voice of the Howling Celestial Dog surfaced in Ning Tao's mind. “Miss Bai asked you when you would finish your wine. She asked me to bring you a message: she wants a Body Cleanse Elixir. Would you please hand her one? She's waiting for you in the bathtub.”

Ning Tao could not help but give a wry smile. Bai Jing had always been a troublemaker at home. She dared to do everything before Jiang Hao. If Jiang Hao wasn't here, would she have gone up the roof and ripped the tiles off?

“What an adorable dog. Are you hungry? I'll give you some meat.” Fang Min picked up a piece of roast duck with her chopsticks and threw it at the Howling Celestial Dog.

The Howling Celestial Dog snorted, turned, and left.

Why would a cultivating dog eat such insulting alms offering?

“It is…” Fang Min seemed thoroughly shocked.

Ning Tao smiled. “It will only eat food I feed it. Don't bother about it, let's drink. It's a joyful gathering today, so bottoms up.”

The five raised their gla.s.ses and toasted one another.

Fang Min looked at Jiang Hao and asked with a smile, “Where do you work, Miss Jiang?”

Jiang Hao said, “I'm a policewoman.”

Fang Min turned to look at Qing Zhui. “How about you, Miss Qing?”

Qing Zhui thought for a brief moment and replied, “I'm a nurse.”

“The three of you…” Before Fang Min could finish her words, Huang Donglin had touched her foot under the table. She immediately corrected herself. “Wow, you two are so pretty. I've never seen such pretty ladies before.”

Both Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao smiled.

After dinner, Ning Tao saw Huang Donglin, Fang Min and Huang Xiaopeng to the door. Then he returned to the dining room.

Yin Molan was already sitting at the dining table, gnawing a roast duck. Without looking at Ning Tao, he said immediately, “There's nothing in their house. Everything's normal. I don't think we need to monitor them anymore.”

Ning Tao recalled the dinner table scene and frowned. “For some strange reason, I feel something's amiss. How about this: after I leave this place, would Senior Yin continue monitoring that family? Contact me at once if something crops up.”

“Sure,” Yin Molan said. Then he stuffed a piece of roast duck rolled in pancake into his mouth.

Ning Tao s.h.i.+fted his eyes and gazed in the southwesterly direction. He was looking forward to his trip to the southwest, but also a little worried.