"Ah, it's you. I knew you'd come again."
Lin Zhishui carried his breakfast takeout as he walked toward the shop entrance, casually glancing at the long-legged beautiful young girl standing by the pine tree.
"You knew I would come back?" Yan Shanshui asked in astonishment.
As expected of a celestial expert, his calculation abilities truly were extraordinary. He could even figure something like this out.
"Of course." Lin Zhishui smiled and nodded.
Last night, this young girl had stayed in his shop until the rain stopped before going home. Judging by a youth's... no, a normal person's curiosity, she had a good chance of having looked at the calligraphy behind the screen. She didn't have much interest in calligraphy, but she had at least studied it before, so she should have been able to understand just how high his skill level was.
And most importantly-
He was quite confident in his own good looks.
The young girl had clearly been playing in the rain last night, even splashing in the puddles. Her clothes were soaked through long ago, yet the moment she saw him, she suddenly claimed she wanted to come inside to escape the rain. Her attitude change was far too obvious.
He wasn't some dense hunk like certain stars, so of course he could tell that this young girl had obviously discovered how handsome he was, and thus used such a poor excuse to enter the house so she could get to know him.
The uncontainable smile after coming inside, along with her calling him a sweet big brother left and right, also pointed to this.
Young girls basically all judged people by their looks.
You couldn't really blame her, either-if anyone was to blame, it was his own excessive handsomeness.
For a big brother like him who was good-looking, possessed a gentle and jade-like personality, and commanded extremely high calligraphy skills, being infatuated with by a young girl in the spring of her youth was completely normal.
If she hadn't come today, Lin Zhishui might have thought he was overthinking things, but since she had come, it undoubtedly confirmed his guess!
"My attitude wasn't very respectful last night. This senior wouldn't happen to hold a grudge, would he..." Thinking of this, Yan Shanshui couldn't help saying with some apprehension, "Um... Senior, last night it was me..."
"Senior? Why aren't you calling me big brother anymore? You called it out so sweetly last night."
Lin Zhishui stopped in his tracks, looking at her with a half-smile, then shook his head and laughed with a chuckle, "Don't worry. Although you and I walk the same path, you don't need to be so rigidly bound by convention here with me. Just address me normally."
As expected of someone who had studied calligraphy, this young girl knew to address him as a senior upon meeting a calligraphy master like her.
However, being continuously called "senior" like that by a pretty young girl with great legs always tended to make him think of certain adults-only Japanese films, making him feel as though some plot he had seen before might unfold later.
Forgive me, forgive me. Fifteen or sixteen might be legal, but I can't wrong my own little snake.
"Uh... Big brother... Never mind, I'll just keep calling you senior..."
Yan Shanshui found it a bit difficult to adapt to the "big brother" address.
If the senior before her were merely a mortal, she could pretend to be young, act like an innocent girl, and call him big brother.
However, knowing full well that the other party was a celestial expert, whose realm was higher than she could count on any staircase, and whose age was likely far greater than her ancestors... by mortal standards, she was also an auntie in her forties...
She simply couldn't force out that "big brother".
Besides, this senior clearly knew everything yet still insisted on acting young. As expected... the longer one lived, the easier it was to become a pervert...
Still, what else could she do? She could only smile along like a pathetic little sister, dying to kneel right there and call him dad.
"Have it your way then. Though you don't need to address me formally as 'you'." Lin Zhishui didn't force the issue.
Yan Shanshui uttered an "oh," then tentatively asked, "Then... I'll just pretend I don't know anything and keep treating you as an ordinary calligraphy and painting shop owner?"
"Of course." Lin Zhishui smiled faintly.
After all, his current persona was that of a reclusive expert. On the surface, he appeared to be merely the owner of a small calligraphy and painting shop, but in reality, he was a deeply hidden calligraphy master.
He could afford to have fewer fangirls, but his persona could not collapse.
"Then... Senior, how should I address you? My name is Yan Shanshui." Yan Shanshui inquired.
"Yan Shanshui? What a coincidence. My name is Lin Zhishui."
Lin Zhishui smiled and said, "The word 'fate' truly is wondrous. So it turns out you had too much water and wanted me to help you dam it. No wonder you came to my place to hide from the rain last night."
The moment those words left his mouth, he felt a bit dazed: What am I talking about?
However, Yan Shanshui didn't expect a senior expert to make such off-color jokes, nor did she harbor any crooked thoughts at all. She simply expressed her gratitude, "Speaking of which, Senior, thank you so much for letting me stay last night. I really don't know how to repay you..."
Listening to her words, Lin Zhishui somehow felt their conversation was a bit strange.
Water... damming water... staying the night... repaying...
He'd heard that Gen Z kids nowadays were quite open-minded. This young girl wouldn't happen to be thinking of offering her body in gratitude, would she?
"Don't mention it."
Lin Zhishui couldn't help coughing softly as he said, "It was just a trivial matter. You and I share a bond, so I simply lent a helping hand along the way. You're still young, don't take it to heart."
It was just the grace of hiding from the rain; wanting a physical repayment was going too far. This child's imagination was running far too wild.
Besides, this young girl was indeed a bit young.
He hadn't asked her age.
"In any case... I've remembered it. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely repay you." Yan Shanshui said earnestly.
This Senior Lin had tacitly allowed her to view that piece of "The Highest Good Is Like Water", which helped her find the opportunity for a breakthrough. It was enough to save her at least a few years of time, and even allowed her to faintly discern her future path.
Just as the senior had said, she was only a little over forty and still young, and she had only been cultivating for thirty years with a shallow foundation. She truly couldn't afford to repay this kindness right now.
"In the future?"
Lin Zhishui was slightly speechless, taking it to mean that she still wasn't willing to give up and wanted to wait until she grew up?
Age wasn't the problem, though; the problem was that you really weren't big... cough, no, the problem was that you came too late, young lady.
"Let's not talk about this."
Lin Zhishui directly changed the subject, searching for something to say as he pointed at the pine tree beside the shop entrance and smiled. "I heard your voice from far away just now. Were you talking to it?"
"Uh..." Yan Shanshui said with some embarrassment, "You caught me..."
Well, true. Even if this senior restrained his aura, locked away his divine magic powers, and disguised himself as a mortal, his hearing was definitely much stronger than a mortal's.
Chatting with the vegetation spirit he had enlightened without the senior's permission was indeed a bit improper.
"It's fine, I can understand."
Lin Zhishui shook his head with a smile, saying with some emotion, "After all, I used to be just like you back then, unable to even find a single person to confide my true feelings to. Instead, these flowers, plants, and little animals were the ones I communicated with."
Whispering secrets into tree holes, chatting with flowers and plants-many spring-bitten youths and maidens had experienced such strange behaviors of talking to themselves.
This young girl named Yan Shanshui was only fifteen or sixteen, right at that age. Last night she had even been out walking alone in the rain; at a glance, she looked like yet another lonely and rebellious adolescent girl. Who could say she hadn't fallen for him at first sight last night, which was why she acted like this?
It was completely understandable.
"Senior, thank you for your understanding. Actually, it's my first time having an experience like this, and it feels quite fresh..."
Yan Shanshui was somewhat moved, not expecting Senior Lin to be so open-minded and reasonable.
"The first time?" Lin Zhishui smiled faintly and said, "It's fine. In the future, you can often come and talk to it. I don't like talking to myself much, so when it's with me, it probably feels a bit bored too."
When educating young people, one should use more anthropomorphic methods. Innocence was the most precious trait in every child.
"Really? Thank you!" Yan Shanshui asked in pleasant surprise, "Then can I become friends with your pine tree? I really want to let it live well just like a human, and I'll take good care of it."
What a naive and pure young girl... Lin Zhishui couldn't help smiling as he nodded. "Of course you can."
Ah, true. He usually rarely tended to this pine tree that shielded him from wind and rain; he only poured some water on it when washing his brushes. Nature was humanity's friend, and he shouldn't be so sloppy.
Now that there was an affectionate and innocent young girl to take care of it, treating it like a human and a friend to confide in, nothing could be better.
How could he bear to use the cold reality to shatter her innocence?
"Thank you, sir." Yan Shanshui said gratefully, even secretly blinking at the pine tree.
She had decided that after going back today, she would start preparing the materials for the Heaven-Praying Altar, and tomorrow she would pray for the Heavenly Realm orthodoxy's bestowed Dharma Body for this little pine tree.
She wondered what kind of Dharma Body path a pine tree spirit would be suited for?
Before you continue