Little Taiji

"Tingting, I'm back." Yang Xuan walked into the courtyard with a grin.

Ever since Yang Xuan and Tingting had gotten together, they had rarely been apart. Tingting immediately threw herself into Yang Xuan's arms.

Yang Xuan patted Tingting's head. "There, there. Uncle Nine and the others are watching."

Only then did Ren Tingting realize what she had done. Blushing, she hurriedly ran off.

The two single dogs were green with envy.

"Senior Brother, you took down a goat! Looks like we can change up our meals today," Jiale said, changing the subject.

"I went into the mountains today and ran into a brown bear. It was huge, but I couldn't take it down. I only managed to hunt this goat before coming back," Yang Xuan said.

Before Jiale could say anything, Ren Tingting spotted the black ball following behind Yang Xuan.

"Brother Xuan, look. What's that behind you?" Tingting asked curiously.

Yang Xuan helplessly shook his head. "It's a panda. I ran into it in the mountains. I didn't expect it to follow me all the way here, and I couldn't drive it off."

Just then, the little panda waddled inside. Its adorable appearance made everyone laugh.

Ren Tingting's eyes instantly turned into cute heart shapes. "Brother Xuan, if it refuses to leave, why don't we keep it?"

"You want to raise everything you see. This is a panda—a creature that eats both plants and meat. What if it goes berserk?" Yang Xuan said, worried.

"I'm already at the mid-stage of Ming Jin." Tingting's implication was that she wasn't afraid of the panda going berserk.

"Uncle, Jiale, what do you think? This is your home, after all. We're only guests." Yang Xuan turned to Four Eyes.

"Master, let's raise it," Jiale urged enthusiastically. He wasn't stupid. Seeing how much Ren Tingting liked it, he immediately figured that if they kept it, Qingqing would definitely come over more often too.

Four Eyes thought it over. "We can raise it. There's a large bamboo grove behind our house."

"Junior Brother, go process the goat." Yang Xuan set the goat down.

"Little panda, I'm taking you to have a bath. Don't bite me," Yang Xuan said playfully.

Everyone burst out laughing.

No one knew how it had gotten so dirty. It looked like a black ball. They found a small river, and Yang Xuan took out some shower gel from his spatial storage.

The river water around them turned black. Its belly was flat as a board, so it was probably an unfortunate thing that often went hungry.

"Look, is this okay now?" Yang Xuan returned to the house with the washed panda.

Tingting scooped up the little panda. "It's so cute after being washed. A-Xuan, have you given it a name?"

"Not yet. We could call it Little Black or Little White." Yang Xuan didn't really care.

Everyone was left speechless.

"Senior Brother, isn't that name a little..." Jiale said cautiously.

"A-Xuan, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're really terrible at naming things." Four Eyes shook his head.

Tingting looked up. "The little panda is black and white. Why don't we just call it Little Taiji? When I saw Uncle Nine checking feng shui, I noticed that the Taiji symbol on his Daoist robe was also black and white."

"That's not bad."

"Not bad."

"It rolls off the tongue."

Everyone discussed it among themselves.

Four Eyes clapped his hands. "Then it's Little Taiji. It's easy to remember and sounds good. Besides, we're all considered members of Daoist sects now."

"Hey, let me educate you all. Little Taiji's species is the panda, but it isn't a cat—it's a bear. Its attack power is still quite strong. It's an omnivore, which means it eats both bamboo and meat." Yang Xuan gazed at Little Taiji, who was busy acting cute.

Just then, Master Yixiu and Qingqing happened to pass by Four Eyes' house.

"What are you all doing?" Qingqing curiously ran over to the group.

"Wow, it's so cute! What is that?" Qingqing looked up and asked everyone curiously.

Jiale then sprang forward and began trying to curry favor with Qingqing.

"Master Yixiu, are you planning to go into the mountains?" Yang Xuan asked.

"Yes. I usually go into the mountains to gather some medicinal herbs. If I find any fruit, I'll pick some as well," Yi Xiu replied.

"Master, be careful in the mountains. I saw a brown bear yesterday," Yang Xuan said.

"Oh? There are brown bears in the mountains now? I haven't been back for a long time, and things have changed this much. In that case, Qingqing, you stay here. I can go alone," Master Yixiu said.

"Master, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you. I've recently been practicing medicine-making and brewing medicinal soups. I'll give you a list. Could you gather the herbs according to it? I'll split the soups I make between you and Qingqing. What do you think?" Yang Xuan asked.

"That works. I still have plenty of dried herbs at home. I'll bring them all over to you as well. By the way, what effects do those medicinal soups have?" Yi Xiu asked curiously.

"I'm currently brewing Qiang Xue Tang, Qiang Shen Tang, Five Organs Soup, Yi Jing Soup, and Marrow Cleansing Soup. If taken regularly, they'll make one's foundation for cultivation extremely solid," Yang Xuan said.

"Young man, not bad. Not bad." After saying that, Master Yixiu headed up the mountain.

"Uncle, I'm providing Qiang Xue Tang and Qiang Shen Tang to you and Jiale for free. As for the other three soups, if you want them, you'll have to help me gather the medicinal herbs. Otherwise, even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without ingredients. I can't do anything about that." Yang Xuan spread his hands, looking as though Four Eyes would have nothing to eat if he didn't contribute.

In truth, the herbs for Yang Xuan's medicinal soups were very ordinary, and the soups Yang Xuan and Tingting consumed were enhanced versions. Accumulating knowledge of medicinal herbs was important, since there would be many more medicinal soups and pills in the future. It never hurt to stockpile some herbs.

Time passed bit by bit, like a white colt flashing past a gap.

After rising early to practice in the courtyard, Yang Xuan and Tingting stared curiously at the furious Four Eyes. The two exchanged a glance, both wearing puzzled expressions.

"Uncle, it's rare to see you up so early. Don't tell me you're going grocery shopping this early?" Yang Xuan teased.

"I'm going to buy a house," Four Eyes snapped furiously.

"Is Uncle's brain acting up again?" Tingting asked.

"He's annoyed because Master Yixiu's chanting is too loud. He plans to buy the house next to Master Yixiu so he won't be disturbed while sleeping. There'll be a good show later. We can watch it together," Yang Xuan said.

Ren Tingting stared at Yang Xuan with wide eyes. She always felt that Yang Xuan could predict certain things. Still, as long as her man was by her side, that was all that mattered. She automatically ignored everything else. It had to be said that women in love had negative intelligence.

Sure enough, before long, Four Eyes returned with a lecherous grin, a clay doll in his right hand.

Yang Xuan slapped his forehead. This old man was truly an expert at this sort of thing. Yi Xiu had only revealed the slightest opening, yet Four Eyes had already found a way to mess with him like this.

Four Eyes muttered viciously, saying things like "You're doomed" and "Serves you right."

He hurried into the house. "Jiale, set up the altar!"

"Master, it's only just getting light. You're setting up the altar now?" Qiu Sheng asked curiously.

"Do we need to pick an auspicious time to set up an altar? Go!" Four Eyes said impatiently.

"Tingting, why don't you go make breakfast? I'm already getting hungry." Yang Xuan rubbed his stomach.

"I know you can eat a lot, but if you keep eating like this, won't it harm your health?" Tingting asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. Once my strength gets higher, I'll naturally start eating less," Yang Xuan reassured her.

Tingting nodded and ran off to make breakfast. For a young lady from a wealthy family to make such sacrifices for a man was already quite remarkable, but what she gained far exceeded her expectations.

When Yang Xuan had watched the movie back then, he hadn't understood it. But now, seeing Four Eyes' opening movements, he finally realized it. What a bastard—he was actually using the Puppet Curse. No wonder Master Yixiu had been tormented so badly.

The opening movement was slightly off. Hmm, he was reciting the incantation too quickly, but the effect was still acceptable. Overall, when it came to talismans, Uncle Nine and Yang Xuan were both better than Four Eyes. Four Eyes was only superior to Uncle Nine and Yang Xuan at corpse driving and corpse cultivation.

Watching the straw man on the document rise and fall, Yang Xuan truly felt a chill for Master Yixiu. If Yang Xuan had been toyed with like this, Four Eyes would already have been hacked into four pieces. Yang Xuan wasn't particularly broad-minded, after all—he was a Scorpio.

While Yang Xuan was lost in his thoughts, the straw man could no longer stand. Smoke was even pouring from its body. Four Eyes cast the spell with all his might, but it still couldn't get back up. Yang Xuan had known from the start that the Puppet Curse had definitely been broken. Four Eyes had only been playing around; if he had used the Puppet Curse carefully, how could it have been broken so easily?