April 13 Astrological Shift Day

"You've thrown a difficult problem at me, a huge life decision is laid out before me. Can you give me some time to digest it?"

Chang Ye smiled, "Of course! You still have a chance to change your mind before you step into the civil service exam hall."

"Have some tea. This is Tashan tea. It's not famous, and it's not pretty because it's handmade, but it's quite fragrant…" Lin Xiaosu raised his teacup and gestured towards Chang Ye.

Chang Ye took a gentle sip of the tea, her gaze drifting towards the quiet mountain village outside. At this moment, though the village was quiet, it was also filled with the warm glow of a hundred homes.

Chang Ye remarked, "There are quite a lot of people in your little mountain village."

"That's probably the advantage of a village on the outskirts of the city. Villages on the outskirts of the city have some means to support their residents. People in the countryside don't really ask for much. As long as they can survive, no one wants to leave. But it's different for the villages further down. Young people have to go out to work. Usually, besides three old men and a dog, you won't see anyone else. This is the helplessness of life. The hometown cannot accommodate the body, and the foreign land cannot shelter the soul…"

"The hometown cannot accommodate the body, and the foreign land cannot shelter the soul… That's a profound statement!" Chang Ye's gaze slowly turned back to him. "So you'll be struggling for the next week, deciding whether to shelter your body or your soul in your life? Is that right?"

Lin Xiaosu chuckled softly, "There's a question I've wanted to ask you for a while."

"Ask away."

"The weather is getting warmer. Don't you feel uncomfortable being wrapped in a layer of human skin all over?"

Chang Ye stared at him, her eyes sparkling.

Lin Xiaosu looked at her, very calmly.

Chang Ye sighed softly, "You're the first person I've encountered who could see the human skin on me."

"Would you be a little disappointed if I couldn't see it? After all, I'm different from others. The tool I rely on is probably just these eyes."

"That's true!" Chang Ye said, "It's not that I deliberately hide my true appearance, but I have no choice. I am a toxic person. If I don't wear this skin, and you accidentally touch my skin, you will die."

Lin Xiaosu's heart leaped, "This is the other side of genetic modification, isn't it?"

"Yes, genetic modification breaks the laws of nature. You gain some things, but you will definitely lose some things…"

"Xiaosu…"

His mother's voice called from downstairs.

Chang Ye lowered her voice, "Your mom?"

Lin Xiaosu nodded gently.

"Should I slip away?"

"Slip away? She's already at the door. Where would you slip away to?"

"Then what should we do?" Chang Ye was anxious. She glanced at the window, but the iron bars outside made it impossible to escape through it.

"Say I'm your classmate."

"What if she misunderstands and thinks I'm your girlfriend and gives me a red envelope of ten thousand and one yuan?"

"You wish! You got ten thousand from me last time, and now you want it back?" Lin Xiaosu glared at her and opened the door.

When the door opened, his mother's eyes widened in disbelief.

She never expected him to be hiding a lover!

And not just any lover, but one with such a face, such a figure, so stunning…

"Hello Auntie, I'm Xiaosu's classmate. I heard he was taking the civil service exam, so I came to see him…" Chang Ye said with a sweet smile.

A faint blush spread across his mother's face, turning into a rosy glow. "That's wonderful! You haven't eaten yet, have you, dear? Auntie will make you something to eat. You two chat, you two chat…"

She happily retreated from the room, even thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

A moment later, Lin Xiaosu's phone buzzed with a text message. Chang Ye glanced over and saw the message from his mother: Should I give the girl a red envelope?

"Yes, yes! Ten thousand and one, 'ten thousand miles, one choice' is a good omen!" Chang Ye said.

"Your stingy attitude is a bit low-class. Aren't you afraid it will affect my choice?" Lin Xiaosu glared at her and replied to the message with two words in front of her: No!

Despite the small farce, it had brought them closer. The mysterious and unimaginably high-end organization, Qianlong, suddenly seemed to have a touch of warmth.

Perhaps this was Chang Ye's true intention.

The next moment, Chang Ye and Lin Xiaosu went downstairs. His mother lingered for a while, but Chang Ye insisted on returning to the city. His mother asked Lin Xiaosu to see her off. Chang Ye told her she had driven herself and her car was parked around the bend. Lin Xiaosu walked her to the corner. Chang Ye smiled at him gently, then with a slight push of her toes, she was on a treetop, and with a bounce of a branch, she vanished without a trace.

This was the second time she had displayed her skills in front of Lin Xiaosu.

Perhaps in this truly thrilling way, she was telling him, Come on, our group has endless excitement…

The next day, April 13th.

As the sun set, the sound of cattle bells echoed through the old Tashan village, clear and melodious.

Lin Xiaosu walked up the mountain path, listening to the sounds of chickens and dogs – the sounds of human life. A sense of emotion welled up in his heart.

The rural life his parents spoke of had changed in his perception.

The familiar sounds of chickens and dogs, which had been a part of his ancestors' lives, had actually become a luxury in modern rural areas.

Only in the villages on the outskirts of the city did the most primitive scenes of rural life remain.

In the villages further down, there were no young people anymore.

Only a few elderly people, leaning on their large walking sticks, ambled from the east end of the village to the west end. When night fell, even the dogs wouldn't bark.

Some say that the countryside is aging and slowly walking towards its death.

Some say this is progress, that urbanization is the future direction…

Lin Xiaosu had traveled to and from the city, and now he was back in the small mountain village. To be honest, he enjoyed this rural life, but his future path ultimately didn't lie here…

Willow Forest Temple was quiet, as quiet as ever.

Second Uncle came out from inside and saw Lin Xiaosu. His eyes lit up a bit: "Don't tell me your Second Aunt is sick again."

Lin Xiaosu gently shook his head: "Second Uncle, do you only come home when Second Aunt gets sick? Even ancient doctors knew prevention was more important than treatment."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'll keep watch tonight, you go back and spend time with Second Aunt."

Second Uncle looked at him with disbelief: "I don't quite believe you're suddenly so considerate."

"Then I'll leave?"

Second Uncle's expression became lively: "Since you're already here, why leave? You're keeping watch tonight! But…"

"But… what?"

"Tonight is Astrological Shift Day again. What exactly are you planning, kid?"

"Alright, alright, I'll get straight to the point. I suspect Hu Ya's incredibly strong body is due to the qi penetration from Astrological Shift Day. So, whenever it's Astrological Shift Day, I go up the mountain. I want to try my luck with the qi penetration opportunity too."

"That's more like it!" Second Uncle's old face bloomed like a chrysanthemum: "This girl's physical condition, it's really not something an ordinary person can handle. It makes Second Uncle very pleased that you have this intention. Good, Second Uncle will give you this opportunity to get a good body to handle her…"

Having stated his position, he reiterated the procedure to Lin Xiaosu and happily went down the mountain to meet his Second Aunt.

Lin Xiaosu stood on the platform of Willow Forest Temple, rubbing his nose.

Second Uncle, isn't your understanding a bit off?

It's true I'm seeking an opportunity, but I really don't have the intention of 'handling' your daughter.

Handling your daughter isn't difficult.

I don't fight with her.

And there's a secret I don't know if I should tell you. I personally feel your daughter has been playing hard to get with me. As long as I use a few small tricks, a bit of firm action, everything will become unclear with you…

Tonight, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse. Tonight, azaleas dot the mountainside.

One spring has passed, and the birds and insects chirp, perfect for their nocturnal rendezvous.

Lin Xiaosu sat on the platform, his Heavenly Dao Insightful Eye observing the spring scenery all over the mountain. It wasn't just the seasonal spring scenery, but also spring in a metaphorical sense. For example, in the deep pool below the platform, he saw two toads mating. The toads' croaks were probably the equivalent of human grunts and groans…

His gaze lifted. The night seemed to not exist. He could see ten miles away, to the small river west of the village. Anna appeared right on time. Her husband was truly diligent, carrying vegetables with a shoulder pole during the day and standing guard for his wife with the same pole at night. After Anna finished bathing, he would probably have to work hard and happily again…

The crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, the life of the human world, unfolded scene by scene, day by day…

"Hi!" accompanied by Hu Ya's habitual call, signaling Hu Ya's arrival.

Her father went down the mountain, and she came up the mountain.

Her father accompanied her mother, and she came to accompany Lin Xiaosu.

This seemed to carry some special meaning, as Hu Ya's cheeks were slightly flushed.

She brought dinner, and it was quite a feast, with meat, fish, and wine.

The meat was proper cured meat, the fish were small river fish from the Yishui River, the vegetables were grown in their own fields, and the wine was a local sorghum spirit, Chuxiang Chun.

Hu Ya ate and drank with him. Although Lin Xiaosu didn't drink much, she drank heartily. At least eight taels of the wine went down her throat.

What a capacity for drink…

"In a few more days, you'll have your exams, right?" Hu Ya said.

"Yeah, six days!"

"Can you really get in?"

"I don't know. Anyway, my mom found a lot of influential people. I don't know if it'll work."

"Tch! You just found Guanyin Bodhisattva, didn't you?" Hu Ya scoffed: "If that worked, I would have gone to university with you back then."

"No way? You prayed to Buddha back then too?"

"I didn't. My mom did. She dragged your mom along. Your mom prayed for you to get into a key university. My mom couldn't tell which universities were good or bad, so when she made her wish, she pointed at your mom and told the Bodhisattva… 'Make my daughter like her son!' The monks nearby almost burst out laughing…"

Lin Xiaosu laughed.

Hu Ya looked a bit dejected: "I highly suspect the Bodhisattva at Qingyuan Temple misunderstood. My mom wanted me to be like you, and the Bodhisattva might have interpreted it as having the same physical constitution, so they went all out to build up my body, making me less and less like a woman…"

"Who says you're not like a woman? I think you are quite like one…" Lin Xiaosu grabbed her hand and pointed: "Like here…"

As his finger pointed, Hu Ya shivered violently. This gesture seemed to hit the mark…

The atmosphere in the Taoist temple became a bit unusual.

Hu Ya's eyes subtly narrowed: "You really want to make a move on me?"

"I just want to correct your thinking, so you don't always feel like you're not like a woman. It's purely good intentions."

"We're this close, and you're going to make a move?"

"Is there any obstacle to that? Your dad and mom are even closer than we are. Why don't you ask your dad if he feels awkward making a move on your mom…"

"That actually makes some sense... Should we try it?"

Lin Xiaosu got excited...

Hu Ya sprang up, "Oh my god, his eyes are practically glowing green. I'm out!"

Interrupted again, then idle chatter resumed. Amidst the gossip, the moon rose high in the sky.

Tonight was April 13th. The moon was already quite full, making the solar-powered lights in the Taoist temple seem to lose some of their brightness.