Chinese New Year

  The child understands a lot, it's not just a little bit of medicine.

  Later, Autumn found that Shi Er understood many things. Many of the difficult questions she didn't understand and was too embarrassed to ask Master and Shifu were unintentionally answered by Shi Er. He wasn't big in stature, but he was like a living encyclopedia of cultivation knowledge.

  The weather is getting colder day by day, autumn has passed quickly and winter has arrived.

  The good news is that the illness on Xiao Er's body has not relapsed again.

  Bad news is that Fang Zhenren sent a crane with a letter, first thanking the master and then instructing him to take care of everything and rest assured while recovering from his illness. He had originally planned to visit before the New Year, but now cannot make it due to unforeseen circumstances and can only come after things have settled down. The crane also brought a spatial ring with the letter, which was filled with all sorts of spiritual herbs, elixirs, and secret manuals. Some were for the master, while most were for Zuo Er.

  This autumn knew where the knowledge of picking up children came from. Can't do strenuous exercise, almost all the time staying in the house, except for practicing, she spent most of her time immersed in books.

  This is not the most important thing, what's important is that this guy has a talent for remembering everything he reads, no matter what book it is, as long as he reads it once, it's like it's carved into his brain and he'll never forget it. Not only that, even if he occasionally hears something, he'll remember it firmly.

  Is this kind of person what they call a genius? Born with good looks, and having such an enviable talent that makes people jealous.

  But Autumn thought that heaven was also fair, Di'er had so much, but suffered from a serious illness. She couldn't enjoy anything that ordinary people could enjoy. Her life didn't have any fun at all - if someone told Autumn that they could give her Di'er's looks and talent, but she would have to trade her health for it, would she agree?

  No no no, she wouldn't agree, it's not worth it at all.

  A heavy snowfall, both far and near are a silver dress. The sky is cold and the ground is frozen, even the birds and beasts that occasionally appear are gone, it's really a thousand mountains with no bird flying, and ten thousand paths with no human footprints.

  Although Qiū Qiū had been practicing for a few years and was no longer afraid of the cold or heat, as an ordinary person's psychology and habits couldn't be changed overnight, she definitely wouldn't wear just one thin shirt in this kind of weather. Lù Gūgū made her a set of cotton-padded clothes, pink satin with white fluffy trim on the collar, cuffs, and hem, and even tied two white pom-poms to her head. Qiū Qiū looked like a fat rabbit when she put it on - not just Jìng Xīn Shī Jiě couldn't help but laugh at her for a while, even Yù Xiǎo Zhēn Rén with her good upbringing couldn't resist pointing and laughing.

  Qiu Qiu was annoyed for a while, but circumstances were stronger than people. This could be considered as having fun with her relatives in colorful clothes.

  Lu's aunt didn't have a daughter, so dressing her up like this might be a way of vicarious satisfaction. It's rare for Master to laugh heartily like this once a year, let them enjoy themselves.

  Although the mountain is not as lively as the foot of the mountain during the New Year, it's still different from usual. The windows are pasted with bright red window flowers, and the trees in front of the door are also draped with red silk, reflecting the light of the lanterns, adding a lot of festive atmosphere.

  In the evening, several disciples sat together and had a meal. Of course, before eating, they first paid respects to their ancestors' portraits, and Yu Xia Zhen Ren briefly talked about the origins of their sect again. Jing Xin and Jing Yi already knew this, so it could be said that she was telling it just for Qiu Qiu's benefit.

  The result was indeed somewhat unexpected for Qiuqiu.

  She also thought that their sect was like the ancient tomb sect, and there were only four of them, including her master. Her master didn't go out, and no outsiders came to their place either. Qiuqiu had only heard the name of the sect once and couldn't even remember it clearly.

  But now that Master has mentioned it, I realize it's not like that at all. The Liushui Sword Sect is a large sect with its headquarters in Xiuyuan Mountain thousands of miles away. Although the sect isn't top-notch, it still has thousands of disciples from top to bottom, and five generations living together under one roof. It can be said that the sect is prosperous and has a solid foundation. However, Master lives alone outside, taking in three apprentices, which is equivalent to leaving home and starting her own branch. She hasn't explained the reason for this.

  Qiu's mind suddenly ran wild, thinking of all sorts of melodramatic scenarios like power struggles and love triangles, the more absurd the better.

  Because she was distracted all along, although Aunt Lu had prepared a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, Qiuqiu didn't eat much. Fortunately, there were still desserts after the meal to make up for it.

  "Let's see what Aunt Lu has left for us..." Qiuqiu lifted the bamboo steamer, and a hot white mist suddenly filled her face. Qiuqiu waved her hand to fan it away, exclaiming in surprise: "It's crab roe soup buns!"

  The girl's attention was not on the wontons, but on Qiū Qiū.

  Because it was warm in the house, Qiuqiu didn't wear her down jacket with the windproof layer, but only wore a small red vest, pouting her mouth to sip and savor the soup dumplings, first drinking the broth, then taking a bite, eating very seriously and solemnly, as if completing a very important task.

  "Aren't you going to eat?"

  The child gently shook his head.

  At first, I didn't quite understand. Cultivators have already transcended the mundane world, so logically speaking, they shouldn't need to eat grains and staples anymore. But Autumn is probably still young, so she always craves delicious food. However, after a long time, it doesn't seem strange anymore. After all, cultivators are still human, not immortals. Some people love music, chess, books, or painting, while others like mountains and rivers. This child just likes to eat good food, no big deal.

  And... this unadorned and genuine emotion is really straightforward and lovely.

  "Try some." Shi Er's gaze was discovered by Qiu Qiu, but she thought that Shi Er must also want to eat the soup dumplings, only being too embarrassed to ask for one, so she specially picked one up and placed it in front of her.

  The boy looked at her for a moment, then slowly picked up his chopsticks.

  Yes, it smells really good.

  "How did you spend Chinese New Year in the past?"

  The child shook his head.

  "Haven't you had a New Year's celebration?" Qiuqiu suddenly felt that Shi'er's life was quite bitter. But thinking about it, Shi'er and Fang Zhenren were probably just two people living together as master and disciple, so even if they did celebrate the New Year, there wouldn't be much of a lively atmosphere, and it would only make things seem more desolate instead?

  "I remember when I was still young and hadn't gone up the mountain, New Year's at home was so lively. There were new clothes to wear, dumplings to eat, and on the first day of the Lunar New Year, half-grown kids from the village would go door-to-door to wish people a happy new year, and they'd get peanuts, candies, or other treats to eat. Some wealthy families would even give out lucky money, although it was only one or two copper coins. My brother's money would be spent right away on firecrackers and whatnot, but my sister's wouldn't be spent, she'd save it up and tie it into a knot, treasuring it."

  Qiuqiu spoke with great enthusiasm, and the child quietly listened for a while before asking: "Do you miss home?"

  Qiu Qiu was stunned for a moment.

  Do you miss home?

  Maybe...

  Although the time spent with family is not long, the feelings should not be deep. But in the still of the night, I still think about it. How's my mother doing? How's my sister doing? Are they thinking of me? It's been a few years since I went up the mountain, and my sister may have already reached the age of marriage. Is everyone at home okay?

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  Having a cold is no fun - turning on the air conditioner makes me uncomfortable, but not turning it on makes me even more uncomfortable.