Chapter 139 Old and New Friend
Lin Luoran is covering the root of the peach tree with earth and her shoes are stained by mud. Lin looks up and sees a comely young man peeping at the door. She didn’t notice his presence until he is standing in front of her, which means that he is a cultivator—
“Sorry, I don’t actually deserve being called a Sister, but my last name is indeed Lin… Master, are you here to look for me?”
Lin Luoran checks on the man naturally. His baby face stops her from guessing his actual age, but from the robe he is wearing, Lin Luoran is sure that he is from the Qingcheng Taoist Temple on the back mountain.
“Sister Lin, I am not equal to the t.i.tle of master. Just call me An.” Young master An is just like Li Xi’er. He grows up at the temple where tourists are not allowed to go near though most parts of the mountain have become scenic spots. An hasn’t seen many young women except for Baojia. Now, seeing that Lin Luoran is smiling at him gracefully, his baby face blushes.
An? He doesn’t have a Taoist name? While being surprised that An doesn’t call himself a “Taoist monk”, Lin Luoran makes a bow in return though this question flashes in her mind.
After making sure that this woman is Lin Luoran, An offers the little wooden chest in his hand to her. He says, “Hearing that Sister Lin is out of danger, the Superior asks me to send this humble gift to you. Hope you will like it.” Young master An here is actually embarra.s.sed by all the words his master told him to say. An was reluctant to talk so seriously, yet his forehead still hurt because his master hit him before, and he had to say these words like he was reciting an article.
A humble gift?
Lin Luoran blushes. The Superior of the Qingcheng Taoist Temple has helped keep her family safe. She didn’t have time to send some gifts to the temple to express her grat.i.tude, and the Superior has already sent a gift to welcome her back — these seniors she has met are genuinely kind to her though they always have their own plans at the same time.
Thinking about this, Lin Luoran hurries to accept the wooden chest.
Seeing that Lin Luoran is easygoing, young master An stops acting so seriously. He says jauntily, “Sister Lin, the Superior has informed the others that you are back. Please don’t blame us for being nosy.”
Lin Luoran forgets about this because she is occupied. She has been “missing” for over two months, and Wen Guangjing and Li Xi’er must worry about her. Also, Goldie is with them. Lin wonders whether Goldie has been a troublemaker when she is not around… Last night, her mom mentioned that Sister w.a.n.g and her husband have been calling frequently to say hi. Out of the concern of Mr. and Mrs. Lin’s safety, Baojia didn’t tell anyone about their current address. Now Lin Luoran is back home, it is time to invite the couple to come here and have a reunion.
“Young master An is here?” Hearing people talking, Mrs. Lin comes out of the kitchen wearing an ap.r.o.n. She smiles gladly after seeing that An, the person she is desperate to show her culinary skills to, is here. Mrs. Lin insists that An must stay for lunch.
Since her mom is so happy, Lin Luoran calls w.a.n.g Miao’e and invites w.a.n.g and her husband. The couple lives in R City and it won’t take them too long to drive to Mount Qingcheng.
Young master An finally shows his childish self after meeting Luodong. The two of them go to pick peaches from the peach trees. Lin Luoran just lets them do this — in her s.p.a.ce, ripe peaches will be fine even she doesn’t pick them, while in yard, the peaches will rot if no one eats them soon.
w.a.n.g Miao’e is glad to hear Lin’s voice. w.a.n.g sounds like she is about to cry, which makes Lin worry that something bad may have happened. Yet, w.a.n.g sounds so happy at the same time. This is so confusing.
Fatty Cui promises on the phone that they will arrive in an hour. Lin Luoran laughs and goes to help her mom in the kitchen.
Today’s lunch in Lin’s house will definitely be fancy.
Young master An has more love for food than all the family members of Lin’s. Hearing that more friends are coming, he leads Luodong and goes into the mountain. Half an hour later, they return with two rabbits and a colorful wild chicken. Luodong is also carrying some wild mushrooms with his coat. Turns out that An not only found some protein but also prepared the garnish.
Lin Luoran takes out the salmon she bought at Norway from her s.p.a.ce. The salmon is so fresh and they look better than those in fancy j.a.panese restaurants. Baojia can’t help eating some before the lunch is prepared.
They make Stewed Wild Chicken with Mushroom, Spicy Diced Rabbit and Kebab Seal Meat. Baojia thinks that the table filled by game meat is just hard to look at.
For the vegetarian dishes, Mrs. Lin fries some eggs with the chives Lin Luoran planted in her s.p.a.ce. Now, Mrs. Lin is having a hard time deciding whether to make Eggplant with Garlic Sauce or Braised Eggplant.
Staring at the ingredients filled with Reiki, young master An wants to cook so much. However, Mrs. Lin refuses to let him step into the kitchen because she wants to show off her culinary skills. An feels itchy in his heart and he believes that looking at these fancy ingredients while not being allowed to cook is much more painful than being hit by his master.
Lunch is almost ready. Lin Luoran sneaks into her bas.e.m.e.nt. She has got an idea about what to send as a gift to the Superior of Qingcheng Taoist Temple but she doesn’t have a gift box. She has to hurry.
The raw stones she bought in Ruili and Panjiayuan Market are brought here by Baojia and stored in the bas.e.m.e.nt.
Lin Luoran picks a raw stone with a large piece of jade in the center. She doesn’t even need to start the cutting machine. The gold spells she can cast are much sharper than any machine.
Lin cuts the raw stone open neatly and carves the jade into three identical bottles. Mrs. Lin comes and asks her to have lunch.
Lin Luoran takes some Monkey Fruit Wine out of her s.p.a.ce and fills the three jade bottle with wine with different ages. She ties red ribbons on the bottle and makes them look valuable — though the quality of the jade is not the best, no one in the mortal world will use the jade to make wine bottles.
It’s not that Lin Luoran is willing to waste the jade because she owns a fortune. As we all know, Reiki on earth are restless. Reiki in the Monkey Fruit Wine will disperse gradually if they are not stored in jade bottles which can contain Reiki.
The gift sent by the Superior is in a wooden chest. Lin Luoran also makes a wooden chest by herself. She covers the bottom of the chest with silk and puts the three jade bottles in.
On second thought, Lin takes some willow twigs and makes them into a little basket, then she fills the basket with the peaches grow in her s.p.a.ce.
Lin Luoran comes out of the bas.e.m.e.nt to have lunch as her mom said so. Anyway, she has prepared the gift in return to the Superior, and she feels free to go and wash her hands.
The sound of the car engine comes. Through the steel barriers, Lin Luoran sees a familiar Hummer — Sister w.a.n.g and Fatty Cui are here.
Lin Luoran hurries to go outside and welcomes them.
Fatty Cui gets off the car from the driver’s seat. He is fat as usual. He runs over to the front seat of the car and opens the door obsequiously.
Lin Luoran is wondering why w.a.n.g Miao’e acts so ladylike today when a beautiful woman in her thirties gets off the car.
The woman is wearing a perfectly tailored beige dress. Her skin tone is definitely not dark. She is slim and charming… Is this Sister w.a.n.g?!
Lin Luoran is more surprised now than she was when she saw her parents become younger. w.a.n.g Miao’e has lost some weight and her skin becomes much brighter. Lin almost can’t recognize w.a.n.g anymore.
w.a.n.g Miao’e is embarra.s.sed by Lin Luoran’s surprising look. She says shyly with a little bit of her usual ferocity, “It is all because of the boluses you give me, sister. I’ve changed so much after taking the whole bottle…”
Lin Luoran suddenly remembers that her original intention of making the “Skin Beauty Bolus” was to give them to w.a.n.g Miao’e as a gift. Seeing Fatty Cui’s adulation to w.a.n.g, Lin believes that Sister w.a.n.g used to be beautiful as she is now, and she only became fat and dark because she took so many pills in order to get pregnant.
Though Fatty Cui and w.a.n.g Miao’e have a solid ground of love, Cui must enjoy the fact that his wife now becomes beautiful again. Fatty Cui clearly cherishes w.a.n.g Miao’e more than before. Lin Luoran is happy that she has done something to help her friend live a harmonious marriage life.
Lin Luoran walks closer to w.a.n.g Miao’e and holds her hand. She senses a strangeness in w.a.n.g’s vital energy and blood — “Sister w.a.n.g, are you…?”
Lin stares at w.a.n.g’s belly and can’t believe what has happened.
Fatty Cui can no longer hide his happiness of becoming a father. He says jauntily, “We got tested in the hospital two days ago. The doctor said that Miao’e has been pregnant for two months… Luoran, your Brother Cui is going to be a father, ha-ha.”
w.a.n.g Miao’e ignores Fatty Cui’s complacency and almost cries. She holds Lin’s hands and says, “Sister, I wouldn’t be able to have this baby without your help… I own you so much that I don’t know how to pay you back.”
Lin Luoran worries that being upset may be not good for the baby, so she answers at once, “Sister w.a.n.g, if you really want to pay me back, how about let me be your baby’s G.o.dmother?” Lin lowers her voice and adds, “In this way, my parents will stop worrying about when I will get married. They will just be occupied by their little grandson.”
w.a.n.g Miao’e is amused by Lin’s joke. She pokes Lin’s forehead with a finger and says,
“What should I say? You smart girl.”
The two of them walk while talking and Fatty Cui, who is now the biggest fan of his wife, follows right behind. He is still thinking about what Lin Luoran just said — Luoran can turn stone into jade and cure illness. She is also gorgeous like the beauties in paintings. What kind of man can be good enough for her?
Fatty Cui shakes his head and starts to have the same concern as Mrs. Lin.
In Lin’s house, the lunch table is set under a big tree in the back yard. Plates and dishes are coming up. Outside of the resort, two people are giving the doorman a headache.
He was scolded by the manager the minute he came to work this morning that he should never meddle in the business of the No.18 Villa. The manager also said that no security guard should run inspection tours there. However, these two visitors are just too strange.
A Land Rover is parked in front of the gate of the resort. Standing by the car, there is a pretty girl in ancient costume who has a nicer smile than actresses in TV shows. The man on the driver’s seat is young and he wears modern clothes. If these were all, the doorman would just think that rich people are so weird. However, what is that thing on the roof of the car?
Goldie is standing on the roof of the car with one foot, and the Land Rover almost can’t bear its weight. Dazzling sunlight s.h.i.+nes on Goldie’s golden feathers, making it look like a huge golden sculpture — if Goldie didn’t chirp now and then, the doorman might actually think that it is a gold bird statue some rich guy wants to put in the villa.
Li Xi’er complains with a pout, “I told you we should just ride on Goldie’s back and fly there, and you insisted to drive a car. This is so much trouble.”
Qu Yiren wipes the sweat off of his forehead. Sister Li is innocent and pure, but he is not. Everyone in the world of cultivation knows that the Superior of the Qingcheng Taoist Temple has a weird temper. Qu Yiren doesn’t dare to ride a golden hawk around the territory of a senior in the level of Laying Foundation… When Qu Yiren is explaining this to Li Xi’er who is grouchy and displeased, Goldie loses all its patience. It spreads its wings and flies up in the sky. The wind blows the doorman’s hat away. Circling around the resort, Goldie chirps loudly—
In the No.18 Villa.
Everybody has washed their hands. They sit by the table and wait to have a taste of Mrs. Lin’s dishes.
Lin Luoran, who is pouring wine, hears a hawk’s chirp and feels Goldie’s presence.
Thinking of cute little Li Xi’er, Lin Luoran smiles and raises her head. She says,
“Mom, help me take out more bowls and chopsticks. More guests are coming!”