Chapter 36: Going Home

Seeing that I was a bit dazed, Old Jiang put down the empty bowl, rubbed my head twice, and then said, “Are you happy and stupid? You can ‘let the sheep run wild’ for a month.”

I am happy, but I have spent too little time with my family over the years. I feel that I can’t let go of my family, and I always feel that my family is not complete without Old Jiang.

And he went to the dangerous Hungry Ghost Tomb. How could I not be worried?

“Chen Chengyi, you have to listen to me carefully.” Old Jiang suddenly became serious.

I stood up smartly. It’s been many years, and I’ve never been called Chen Chengyi so seriously. How could I not be serious?

“You can’t fall behind in your studies. When you’re done with the Hungry Ghost Tomb, I have to check it, understand?”

I nodded. I actually had the thought of being lazy, but after so many years of doing it, it was almost a habit. Sometimes I didn’t feel comfortable not doing it.

“Wait for me.” While he was talking, the old man went back to his room. I didn’t follow him in, he told me to wait.

When he came out of the room, he gave me a cloth bag and said, “This is what you need to add to the tonic you take every night. I’ve already divided it up in the past few days. Use it once a day. There’s a list inside. It’s the ingredients you need for the tonic. Tell your mother to go buy them. They’re not rare things. They’re just some meat, but you have to buy them fresh.”

I took the cloth bag, a little moved, and a little sad about the parting, not knowing what to say for a moment.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to take a bath in fragrant water for a month, but you’re getting older anyway, so you can still take care of yourself. You don’t need to take a bath in fragrant water every day. Hey, even if I wanted to, your mother wouldn’t be able to do it.” Old Jiang went on and on.

I lowered my head in silence. Old Jiang laughed and scolded, “You little brat, that’s it. You take things too seriously. You’re indecisive and indecisive. Nothing in this world is perfect, and it doesn’t revolve around you. You’ve really been too dependent on me these years. You’re a man, and you have to change this problem, otherwise you won’t be able to cultivate your heart.”

I don’t care about the “heart of the Dao” at all. What I find most annoying is the theory of cultivating the heart. If a perfect heart of the Dao requires one to see through, break through, and transcend the world, and be as ruthless as the laws of the Dao, I think I definitely can’t do it. Who says I have talent? This is simply a display of no talent at all.

“You are my master, I don’t rely on you, who else can I rely on?” After all, I was blushing, so I had to find an excuse.

“I’m not the kind of person you can rely on for the rest of your life. This world, this path of cultivation, you’ll have to walk it alone.” Old Jiang looked at me and said in a calm voice.

I was nervous and immediately asked, “Master, are you going to leave me in the future?”

I can’t blame myself for this, because my master is over 300 years old. I think my master will be fine too. As long as he lives a long life, he won’t leave me. That’s what I think.

“You little brat, don’t act like a girl, okay? It’s so cheesy.” Old Master Jiang looked like he was laughing in spite of himself, and a standard Beijing accent came out.

Hearing this, I breathed a sigh of relief. This is the Master I know. I felt safe and at ease again.

“Okay, I’m going down the mountain. Remember to come home early tomorrow.” After saying that, the old man Jiang left without looking back.

When the car stopped at the parking lot in the county seat, I looked around, but I didn’t see my father.

That’s right, it’s not the weekend, so how could my father know that I was suddenly back?

I still knew the way home, so I simply walked out of the bus station with my bag.

The county seat is still bustling. In the past two years, I always felt that every time I returned, the county seat would have a little bit of new changes, which was really refreshing.

Just look at the people on the street. They are wearing more and more colorful clothes. I even saw something new, jeans. I was a little envious. When I was studying in the countryside, I saw Guo Er’s child had one, and it was like a treasure.

At this moment, a song drifted into my ears. It turned out that I had already walked to the most prosperous street in the county. The song was: “Shaolin, Shaolin, how many heroes and heroes have come to admire you. Shaolin, Shaolin…”

This immediately reminded me of the image of the old monk Huijue. The Shaolin Temple is full of monks, and Huijue is also a monk. I don’t think I admire him very much.

I walked a few steps forward, and then a beautiful song came into my ears: “Sunrise on Songshan Ridge, the morning bell scares the birds…”

I couldn’t help but listen in awe. The song was so beautiful, and the woman singing had such a soft voice. As a result, I stood there listening with my bag in my hand.

I have no choice. I am a “hard-fated” child. Every day, except for going to school, I have to do “homework.” Where can I find time to listen to songs? Old Jiang is happy to hum a little tune, but unfortunately he is tone deaf, so listening to him hum is a torture.

As for the old man Huijue, his mountain songs, gee… sung by his brother and sister, he doesn’t think about the fact that he is a Buddhist, and his voice is on a par with that of the old man Jiang. If the two of them were to let out a howl, it is estimated that even dogs would listen and foam at the mouth.

While I was listening to the song, a young man came out of the store. He was wearing jeans that made me jealous. “Go, go, go… which country did you come from? Don’t block people from doing business.”

I looked at the blue coat that had been washed a little pale, and the khaki pants, and realized that I really couldn’t compare with the fashion of others. I smiled at him and turned and walked away.

This kind of thing is not worth getting angry about. I just wanted to go home and see my family as soon as possible. I had forgotten about it while listening to the song.

When I arrived at the alley where my home was located, I found that the small grocery store was still open. In the past few years, the store has expanded its scale. Originally, there were two storefronts downstairs, one of which was used, and the other was rented to someone else. Now it has been taken back because the business is so good that more and more goods need to be imported.

Who can blame it for being in such a good location? It is right next to the best school in the area, the county middle school.

There is a long table in front of the store, with some vegetables on it, mostly ingredients, and next to it is a pot, bubbling away with a rich soup base. What is this?

I haven’t been home for a while because of the hungry ghost, and what is my mother cooking?

I walked up quickly and found that there was no one in the store. After all, it was winter vacation, and it was still morning, so business was slow.

I took a look at the long table, and next to it was a sign鈥攕picy hot pot. The neat handwriting was clearly my sister’s.

Huh, this is not much different from my vegetarian pot. The smell of the food made my mouth water. I yelled at the inside, “Boss, how much is a string of spicy hot pot? I’ll eat it myself if no one is here!”

At this point, a voice from inside the shop said, “Huh?” Then a person came out of the container, followed by a surprised cry!

“Sanwa, Sanwa, Dad, Mom, Ermei, our Sanwa is back!”

The person who came out was my eldest sister! She was smiling with surprise, her eyes squinting with joy. After shouting, she rushed to me and, without caring that I was 15 years old, hugged me.

“Sanwa, I’ve missed you so much,” she said.

Hugged by my sister, I felt warm and comfortable. I didn’t feel awkward at all. I missed my sister too. I hadn’t seen her for more than half a year.

Then I heard a clatter of footsteps, and my mother, father and second sister all came downstairs.

“Sanwa, why didn’t you tell us you were coming back?” It was my father. He was trying to sound serious, but he didn’t think about how to notify us. Write a letter?

“Oh, oh, come here and let me see you. Have you lost weight? You’ve been gone for over a month. That’s my mother.

When I looked back, my second sister was smiling with two dimples.

I felt a wave of comfort, the kind you can only feel when you’re with your family. I turned back to my mother and said, “Mom, I’m hungry. You won’t charge me for the spicy soup, will you?”