Zuo Xiaoduo declared that his health bar was empty and he had no strength left for snark. As though coughing up blood, he said, "We just finished moving a whole truckload of goods... Wouldn't it be nice if everyone took a break... Ah."
Amid the laughter, everyone dispersed.
Zuo Changlu had an excellent temperament and almost never got angry. Zuo Xiaoduo could take a joke too, and everyone got along very well. Joking aside, though, the shop owners truly felt it was a pity that Zuo Xiaoduo couldn't cultivate.
They had watched this child grow up from a young age. He was like one of their own.
Though they laughed, several shop owners sighed inwardly. "Such a good kid. Why can't he cultivate?"
"Exactly. When we were unloading just now, Xiaoduo kept grabbing more to carry and wouldn't let us or his dad carry the heavy stuff, yet he never said a word about it... Ah, my boy can't cultivate either, but where's that thoughtfulness in him? If he were this considerate, even if he still couldn't cultivate, I'd be happy enough to die."
"That's true. Let's all think of something and quietly hunt around for folk remedies."
"What a shame for this child. Filial, honest, kindhearted, hardworking, and able to endure hardship. Heaven has no eyes..."
Zuo Changlu gave his son a sidelong look. "Filial... I'll grant you that. But with your habit of never getting up early unless there's something in it for you, how did you manage to build this image of being honest, kindhearted, hardworking, and able to endure hardship?"
Zuo Xiaoduo's face fell. "Dad, I'm your own flesh and blood..."
"Spit it out or get lost. Would you come help me work without an ulterior motive?" Zuo Changlu knew his son's rotten ways very well. His face full of disdain, he said, "Tell me. What do you want?"
"Ahem... Just a piece of Star Soul Jade... Ahem. Palm-sized will do. Bigger would be better, and if it were a sky-blue piece the size of a tabletop, that would be even better..." Wearing a fawning grin, Zuo Xiaoduo scurried behind his father like a lackey and diligently massaged his shoulders.
Smack!
Picking up a piece, Zuo Changlu hesitated, then set it down. Then he simply slapped a shimmering piece of Star Soul Jade onto the table. "Take it and go!" As the owner of a Star Soul Stone shop, he had no shortage of polished Star Soul Jade. And its quality was very good.
The very finest!
"Many thanks for your reward, Imperial Father!"
Zuo Xiaoduo snatched it up in a flash, his face blooming into a smile. "Your son takes his leave."
"Scram!"
Fine, I'll scram.
Everything's ready.
"Dad, give me a call the next time you unload a truck. Don't shoulder it all yourself."
Zuo Xiaoduo called out.
Zuo Changlu froze for a moment, a faint smile creeping unwittingly onto his lips. He scolded, "As if I need you. Get lost!"
Watching his son's retreating figure, Zuo Changlu shook his head.
Looks like Xiao Nian gave him money again... Fine, I'll gamble with him one more time. The last time!
Then he couldn't help laughing at himself.
How many 'last times' has this been?
"Ah, I owe him. No wonder they say your children are your creditors from a past life..." Zuo Changlu shook his head and murmured, "A creditor... Then a creditor he shall be..."
Zuo Xiaoduo headed home in triumph, merrily cradling the large piece of white jade cut into a perfect circle, with the Star Soul Jade tucked against his chest.
All set!
Chapter 4: The marks of a Celestial Person
He walked all the way back.
Zuo Xiaoduo's heart was even surging with excitement.
Dad was so generous today, so generous I could hardly believe it. He just casually handed over the Star Soul Jade that was the treasure of his shop, and even looked impatient about it...
For a moment, the feeling that a father's love was like a mountain, forever silent, surrounded Zuo Xiaoduo like a tide.
Heh heh... Dad, I know you love me!
"Though you never say it, your son knows it well; once your son makes money, I'll get you new wives as well; however many you need, just tell me straight, old man; if one is too few, even ten won't overfill the span; find eighty or a hundred, send them out to earn our keep; a thousand each will bring a hundred thousand monthly in a heap; let them work for decades, all for Zuo Xiaoduo to keep..." Humming his song, Zuo Xiaoduo headed home with carefree swagger.
His parents weren't home that afternoon, and neither was Sister Xiao Nian. It was the perfect opportunity for his experiment. The broken jade pendant against his chest seemed to sense Zuo Xiaoduo's haul and actually began to grow faintly warm.
He arrived home.
Zuo Xiaoduo took everything out and arranged it on the table. He settled his mind for a moment, washed his hands, then used an ink brush to carefully draw two yin-yang fish, which existed only in the world of his dreams, on the white jade.
He compared them painstakingly with the dreamscape in his memory. Only after finding no differences did he finally take a deep breath and mercilessly slice open the tip of his right middle finger with a dagger.
Blood streamed out.
"That really hurts."
But the pain was very much secondary. Zuo Xiaoduo immediately pressed his bleeding middle finger onto the white jade and shuddered. Forcing himself to endure it, he smeared his own blood over the yin-yang fish pattern he had drawn.
He applied it bit by bit, coating one yin-yang fish entirely in blood and leaving only its eye blank. On the other, he colored only the eye with blood, leaving the rest of its body blank and merely tracing its outline in blood.
Halfway through, the blood clotted, so he made another cut...
At last, the two yin-yang fish became two blood-red fish.
Afraid it wasn't enough, Zuo Xiaoduo sliced his finger again and dripped all the blood onto it, making the coating as full as possible.
Then he waited an hour. When the blood on it showed signs of drying, he cut his finger open again and dripped more blood onto it. After doing this three times, when the blood was at its fullest, he placed the Star Soul Jade directly between the two yin-yang fish.
Then he placed the broken jade pendant he wore onto the Star Soul Jade. At that very instant, the white jade suddenly emitted a dazzling blood-red light that rose up, instantly enveloping the Star Soul Jade, then the broken jade pendant.
With a boom, the light abruptly spread three feet outward, enveloping Zuo Xiaoduo's body.
Then the white jade rose into the air with the Star Soul Jade and the broken jade pendant, spinning in midair. The blood-red light grew denser and denser as the Star Soul Jade visibly disintegrated, finally turning to powder and vanishing. Then, with a whoosh, two yin-yang fish appeared in the air, shaking their heads and swishing their tails as they circled once, before turning into a streak of light and plunging into the space between Zuo Xiaoduo's eyebrows.