Animate and Awaken Succeeds! Where's My Straw Figure?

Underground farmland.

Zhou Ning'e leaned closer, carefully watching the changes in Jiang Tu's expression.

At that moment, her husband did not react too strongly, but his entire bearing had clearly changed. It made her feel inexplicably unfamiliar with him—and a little afraid.

The couple had been married for more than a decade in the blink of an eye. They understood each other too well, and she knew exactly what kind of person her husband was.

Calm, composed, wise, gentle, watching fires from across the river, with a heart still as water. He never easily provoked trouble, always kept a low profile and acted with utmost caution. She rarely saw any great fluctuations in his emotions... Yet today, she had actually caught a trace of nearly imperceptible killing intent in his eyes!

Killing intent!

But that seemed to prove her place in her husband's heart as well... Her husband had actually harbored killing intent for her?!

"Husband, what... are you thinking?"

Jiang Tu did not answer immediately. He merely smiled without speaking, plans quietly forming in his heart.

Zhou Ning'e took hold of him and said, "Husband, don't worry. I didn't suffer any loss... Your wife is still somewhat fierce outside; I can bluff people well enough. Over the past few years, we've also made quite a bit from selling those cosmetics through the Old Zhou House. At worst, we can let the Old Zhou House handle the formulas and goods from now on, and we'll just take the dividends..."

"I won't go to Welcoming Wind City anymore. Then I naturally won't run into such filthy scum again. You absolutely must not break your worldly precepts because of me."

She had once heard Daoist masters chatting about how disciples of the Daoist Sect who descended the mountain to experience the mortal world could not reveal their identities, could not expose their cultivation, and especially could not kill fellow disciples.

Killing one another was an absolute taboo of the Daoist Sect!

Rong Yidao also came from the Daoist Sect. If her husband fought him to the death, and the Daoist Sect investigated in the future... it might bring disaster upon her husband!

Jiang Tu held her small fair hand, his fingertips gently stroking her soft, boneless fingers. "Wife, you need not concern yourself with this matter any longer. Leave it to your husband."

"Husband..."

"Your husband knows what he is doing. When have you ever seen me lose my head and act on impulse? I have always planned before acting. Don't overthink it. Just wait peacefully for the outcome."

Zhou Ning'e thought about it, seriously recalling the past for a moment, and deeply agreed.

That was right. Her husband truly was not the impulsive sort to fly into a rage for a beauty.

"Come to think of it, Husband never loses his head outside. You're calm and unruffled. But in bed, you often lose your head—especially when we try new tricks... You get so impulsive I can't stop you even if I try..."

Jiang Tu: "..."

He reached out and covered her cherry-red mouth, his expression unchanged.

"Broad daylight. No driving."

They said a woman at thirty was like a wolf, and at forty like a tiger. The ancients had truly not deceived him.

His wife was now at an age like wolf and tiger. She possessed the charm of a married woman without losing the slightest bit of a young girl's innocence and liveliness. When the couple was alone, her mouth had no gatekeeper at all—meat or vegetables, she shunned neither. She was even more tantalizing than in her younger days!

Everyone said youth was good, never knowing that married women were the real treasure.

Zhou Ning'e blinked, then suddenly stuck out her little fragrant tongue and lightly licked his palm.

Feeling that instantaneous, wondrous sensation, Jiang Tu rose to his feet in solemn tribute. He glared at Zhou Ning'e reproachfully, looking fierce but utterly without menace.

Zhou Ning'e smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. She said nothing, but the gloom that Rong Yidao had stirred in her heart quietly scattered by more than half amid their exchange.

The husband and wife had reunited after a brief separation, so there was no need to mention their night of wild passion.

The next morning.

After washing up, Jiang Tu took Zhou Ning'e into the quiet room.

Zhou Ning'e looked around. She rarely entered this room. It seemed to be where her husband secluded himself to cultivate the Dao, holding many secrets of the Daoist Sect that could not be passed on to outsiders.

Wooden boxes and books sat on the shelf against the wall. Green cloth was spread across the table, with needles, thread, scissors, and several miscellaneous materials resting atop it. She found it strange, unable to understand why Jiang Tu had brought her here so early in the morning.

Then she saw Jiang Tu take a palm-sized Straw Figure from one of the wooden boxes.

The Straw Figure was neat in appearance, its framework clearly defined and every joint of its limbs exquisitely carved. Within it, its five viscera and six bowels seemed to contain the universe and four seas; it possessed the complete imagery of heaven, earth, and mankind. The plant-fiber skin over its chest and abdomen had already been woven more than halfway, with only the last few rounds of stitching needed to close it up.

Jiang Tu solemnly placed the Straw Figure, wooden needle, and grass thread before her. "Wife, I wish to borrow your needlework skills to complete the final step for this Straw Figure and finish it perfectly."

Zhou Ning'e took the Straw Figure and lowered her head to inspect it for a long while.

In her confusion, she recalled the night the couple had laid all their cards on the table, when she had first seen little Jiang Liu. Enlightenment immediately struck her heart, and she realized something.

"This... could this be a magical artifact made by Husband's Daoist Sect? Such a precious treasure—if I interfere rashly and ruin your finished product..."

"Wife, say no more. If I cannot trust you, then there is no one in this world I can trust. Go ahead and do as you please!"

Zhou Ning'e took a deep breath and hesitantly accepted the needle and thread.

She could sense that every previous step in the Straw Figure's creation had been perfect, suffused with all of Jiang Tu's craftsmanship. Yet precisely because of that, she felt conflicted. Even her hands began to tremble slightly, and she could not bring herself to set the needle down.

"Treat it as you would sewing winter clothes or little garments. Do not worry about what magical artifact it is. Sew it however it should be sewn! Do whatever you want! If you think any part can be improved, do it according to your own thoughts. Don't worry. Even if you make a mistake and ruin it, I can simply make another... The reason I need you to finish it is precisely because I want to borrow that unique delicacy of a woman."

Zhou Ning'e nodded lightly. Rather than stitching immediately, she first traced the entire seam with her fingers, feeling the density and spacing of the stitches. Then she tried three or four thread colors for comparison. Finally, she chose a grass thread closest to the one he had originally used and twisted it through the needle's eye.

Swish! Sst, sst!

She set the needle down. Her hand was steady, threading the needle and drawing the line as nimble as a wandering dragon!

Standing beside her, Jiang Tu could not help holding his breath.

He discovered that the depth of every stitch she made was precise, exquisite down to the tiniest fraction. When she drew the thread tight, it was neither too loose nor too taut, her strength perfectly even.

That seam began to close inch by inch.

At that moment, she was completely immersed in the needle and thread, pouring her whole heart into every stitch. She was so focused that heaven and earth seemed to vanish from her awareness, as though she and her surroundings had become two separate worlds—yet also as though she had become one with the Straw Figure and the earth beneath her feet!

As Jiang Tu watched, his pupils suddenly contracted!

A faint trace of green quietly emerged from Zhou Ning'e's fingertips. The green spread along the path of needle and thread, coiling around the Straw Figure's waist and abdomen, then slowly winding up her wrist like spring grass emerging from the earth and all things returning to life.

That aura was thin and light, like flowers seen through mist—hazy and indistinct. Yet it truly existed, rising step by step with her movements, climbing ever higher, silently moistening all things as it surged through her limbs and bones.

The aura of the Agricultural Path!

An unmistakable sign of entering the Dao!

Jiang Tu instinctively held his breath.

He had seen signs of Awakened Wisdom many times, but the aura appearing around Zhou Ning'e at this moment was richer, smoother, and clearer than that of any Ninth Grade Farmer. It actually reminded him of little Tu Yun breaking through to Eighth Grade within her mother's womb right before his eyes!

Only little Tu Yun's awakening upon entering the Dao could compare to the profundity of this moment!

Could it be... that his wife's entry into the Dao was also far beyond the ordinary? That it would be a unique awakening that contributed a Dao Foundation to him?

No wonder her Awakened Wisdom had been so difficult to awaken before. Could it be that she had been nurturing an Agricultural Path Dao Foundation?!

This was truly an unexpected delight!

Jiang Tu's heart pounded wildly. Was there anything more wonderful in this world than attaining longevity alongside his wife?!

The green before his eyes continued to gather and emerge, breaking through the soil. It was almost there!

Only the final hurdle remained!

As long as it flowed through her entire body and broke through the innate threshold, Zhou Ning'e would awaken her rank on the spot!

But at this critical moment, the surging green abruptly stopped, then collapsed in a rout that could not be sustained!

Zhou Ning'e had finished her final stitch at that very moment, tying an exquisite knot and hiding the thread's end among the plant fibers. She lowered her head to inspect it carefully and confirm her work.

"Done. Husband, see if it can be used!"

The green faded away without a sound. No one knew whether it had completely dispersed between heaven and earth, or slipped silently into the depths of her body and heart.

Jiang Tu accepted the Straw Figure blankly, standing rooted in place for a long while.

It had been just a tiny bit short!

When his wife had been fully focused, earnestly invested in weaving the Straw Figure, it had been the best chance she had ever had to enter that state!

Damn it, why had he not left a few more stitches for her to sew a little longer?!

Still, he had not gained nothing from this. At the very least, he had successfully confirmed that Ning E could enter the Dao!

When she did, it would definitely be no simple Ninth Grade awakening!

"Wife, whenever there are matters like this in the future... I will need to trouble you. You must help your husband more often. Don't think me troublesome."

"What are you saying, Husband? When husband and wife are of one heart, raising trays level with their brows, this is only proper. Husband is willing to tell me such secrets of the Daoist Sect and even let me take part in them. I'm happy beyond measure! How could I dislike it? Husband, take a look... How is the finished Straw Figure?"

Jiang Tu lowered his head to look.

Not only had Zhou Ning'e finished the stitching with great precision, cleanly and perfectly, she had also embroidered a fluffy little cat over the finished seam. It tilted its head and looked utterly adorable.

He knew this was Ning E's habit.

The stitches where one finished sewing were inevitably dense and unattractive, so she would embroider some little thing to cover them. It made the area less conspicuous. Not only had it not affected the Straw Figure's integrity, it had instead added a touch of beauty, delicacy, and playful cuteness.

"Perfect!"

He drew a deep breath. By now, he no longer deliberately avoided revealing things to his wife. He immediately raised a finger, and Agricultural Path spiritual light flickered in his palm, as though gathering specks of heaven-and-earth spirituality into a single point!

"Animate and Awaken—! Wake up, my Straw Figure."

Standing beside him, Zhou Ning'e witnessed it with her own eyes. Holding her breath, her eyes slowly widened. Her heart was utterly shaken as she secretly marveled at the wonder of Daoist arts and the boundlessness of Daoist treasures. It could actually give life to an inanimate object—it was simply too astounding!

Swish!

Sst! Sst, sst, sst!

Two faint green ghostly lights suddenly lit up in the Straw Figure's hollow eye sockets. Its limbs slowly moved, accompanied by a series of crackling bone-like sounds, as it sluggishly stretched its body.

Supporting itself against the edge of the table, it swayed and staggered upright. Its movements were still stiff and unfamiliar.

At that moment, Jiang Tu sensed that his sole Straw Figure slot had been used. He also felt a subtle, mysterious connection with the Straw Figure before him, as though a bridge had been erected between them.

It worked! It truly worked!

But before Jiang Tu could lower his head to communicate with it and carefully inspect the Straw Figure's effects, green light suddenly flashed before his eyes in the next instant, green radiance rippling out!

Swish!!

Light scattered in every direction, and earth and stone heaved!

The Straw Figure was gone!

It had actually disappeared?!

Jiang Tu froze on the spot. "...?"

"...Where's my Straw Figure?"

Zhou Ning'e was equally bewildered. She looked around in confusion, unable to make heads or tails of it. "???"

"It's really gone?"

"Where... is my Straw Figure?!"

Thousands of miles away, at Green Mountain Lake.

At a stone table in the Qin Household's inner courtyard, Qin Tuo Yun raised her hand and finished her cultivation, letting out a long breath of stale air. She had finally completed the animation of the first Straw Figure of her life!

But in the next instant, her hands felt light, and her palms were empty!

It was gone!

The Straw Figure she had just finished Animating and Awakening had actually vanished?!

She stared blankly at her palms, confused and at a loss, her thoughts scattered in the lakeside breeze.

"Where's my Straw Figure? Where's my huge Straw Figure?!"

Could it be that the moment it had finished Animating and Awakening, it had run off with someone else's Straw Figure?!

Beneath the same sky.

The same silence, the same blank bewilderment. The atmosphere was strange and awkward beyond words...