His Gaze, His Gaze

"Master, are you all right?" Lin Yu walked into the room and saw Uncle Nine clutching his head in pain.

"Where are those two little brats?" Uncle Nine looked angrily behind Lin Yu, searching for Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng.

"Ahem, I didn't see them either, Master." Lin Yu gave a guilty laugh.

"Hmph! Don't let me catch you, or I'll break your legs!" Uncle Nine deliberately shouted as if he were angry.

Wen Cai, who was hiding behind the wall and eavesdropping, shuddered in fright.

"Master, try this. It should ease the pain." Lin Yu took a talisman from inside his robes and handed it to Uncle Nine.

"What is this?" Uncle Nine examined it closely, but he still couldn't tell what kind of talisman it was.

Uncle Nine thought back over the compendiums of talismans he had read, but couldn't find a match. He had never seen a talisman drawn this way before.

"I just learned this one. It's a Healing Talisman." Lin Yu had given the talisman a simple name.

That was right. Lin Yu had created this talisman himself, using his heaven-defying comprehension and the Way of Talismans.

"Master, channel your spiritual power like this and stick the talisman on the injured spot. It'll be better in no time." Lin Yu took the talisman back and demonstrated.

"Mm, not bad." With the talisman on his forehead, Uncle Nine blinked contentedly and looked at Lin Yu approvingly.

"Keep it on, Master. I'm going to rest. Bye-bye!" Seeing that his master's anger had subsided, Lin Yu hurried away. He still hadn't figured out how to explain where he'd learned the talisman.

Meanwhile, Qiu Sheng's background music had already started playing.

"His gaze, his gaze"

"Gleamed, gleamed like shining stars"

"I see, I see, I see... my heart flutters"

Qiu Sheng had made a mistake that day, and he hadn't been back to his aunt's house in a long time, so he had decided to pay her a visit.

As it turned out, he ran into Dong Xiaoyu on the way. She had been waiting to intercept him.

Dong Xiaoyu spotted Qiu Sheng riding toward her from a long way off. She waited for the right moment, then leaped through the air and landed squarely on the back of his bicycle.

She didn't forget to wave goodbye to the ghostly sedan chair that had brought her there.

Dressed in bridal robes, Dong Xiaoyu sat shyly behind him, hoping to follow Qiu Sheng home.

Luckily, Qiu Sheng had good fortune.

As they passed an Earth God temple, whether the Earth God had intervened or she had taken physical form to sit on the bicycle, a crooked tree knocked her right off.

Dong Xiaoyu rubbed her aching head and watched dejectedly as Qiu Sheng rode farther and farther away.

She had landed right in front of the Earth God temple. When she turned her head, she saw the Earth God enshrined inside.

The Earth God let out a mocking sound.

It was as if a wandering ghost had overestimated herself, daring to dream of marrying a mortal man right before the Earth God.

Frightened, Dong Xiaoyu turned and vanished.

"Bang~" In the middle of the night, Grand Master Ren could no longer bear being burned by the glutinous rice and tried to push open the coffin. But as soon as he reached out, the inked carpenter's line burned his hand, and he pulled it back.

The noise startled Uncle Nine awake. With a zombie around, he took an oil lamp outside to investigate.

Naturally, he found nothing. He did give Wen Cai another scolding, then tucked him in and went back to sleep.

Early the next morning, at the Ren residence.

With his head wrapped in bandages and one arm in a cast, A Wei was still sounding Ren Fa out, trying to find out whom Ren Fa wanted Tingting to marry.

Ever since A Wei had gone back the day before, his luck had been terrible. He had tumbled down the mountain on his way down, gotten water stuck in his teeth, farted on his hemorrhoids, and nearly suffocated while snoring.

Naturally, Ren Fa kept his lips sealed about A Wei's question. Whenever A Wei asked, Ren Fa changed the subject.

"Master, Uncle Nine is here." A servant interrupted their conversation.

Uncle Nine walked in with Lin Yu and Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng, who had dressed themselves up.

Ren Fa took the opportunity to get up and get away from A Wei, then went to receive Uncle Nine.

"Uncle Nine, let's talk in the study." Ren Fa only wanted to get away from A Wei now, so he invited Uncle Nine to the study on the second floor.

"Xiao Yu, keep an eye on those two. Don't let them cause trouble." Uncle Nine glared at Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng.

"Uncle, I still..." A Wei refused to give up and wanted to make his position clear.

"We'll talk later." Ren Fa paid him no attention and went upstairs with Uncle Nine.

"Oh, Xiao Yu, you're here!" Tingting, who had been arranging flowers, saw Lin Yu and put them down with a broad smile, gesturing for him to come over.

"Hey, Tingting and Junior Brother get along so well. If I ask him to put in a good word for me, do you think Tingting and I might get together?" Wen Cai watched Lin Yu and Tingting getting along and came up with a good idea.

"Hey, we agreed on fair competition. It's not right for you to seek outside help." Qiu Sheng put a hand on Wen Cai's shoulder, looking at him as if he were cheating.

"Oh, please. Don't tell me you don't want to ask Junior Brother for help." Wen Cai didn't believe Qiu Sheng would compete fairly.

"Hey! What are you three doing here? Are you trying to steal something? Especially you, kid. You're so clumsy. If anything goes missing, I'll hold you responsible!"

A Wei had been fretting over his lack of opportunity when he turned and saw Lin Yu chatting and laughing with Ren Tingting. Ren Tingting even pinched Lin Yu's cheeks from time to time, making A Wei furious.

He went over, shoved Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng aside, and pushed Lin Yu away from Ren Tingting.

"Cousin..." Ren Tingting looked at A Wei with a grim expression. He was really embarrassing her.

"Hey, my cousin wants to get away from you too, but she's too embarrassed to say it." Before Ren Tingting could speak, A Wei hurriedly said it for her.

Qiu Sheng gave Wen Cai a meaningful look, then glanced at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu covered his eyes, indicating that he hadn't seen anything and they could do as they pleased.

Having received their instructions, the two nodded, went behind A Wei, and plucked out a strand of his hair.

"Ow!" A Wei rubbed the top of his head in pain.

"Wow, going gray before your time! Is this yours?" To keep A Wei from making trouble over it, the two spoke first.

"No! How could it be mine? How could I possibly have gray hair?" How could A Wei admit to having gray hair in front of Ren Tingting?

"Ah, all right. We really don't belong here. Let's just go to the garden." Seeing that their trick had worked, the two turned and walked out.

Lin Yu wanted to follow them. With A Wei there, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist hitting him.

He had already treated A Wei to a Bad Luck Talisman last time. He was afraid another might be the death of him, so it was better to keep him out of sight and out of mind.

"Hey, Xiao Yu, don't go! I made some pastries especially. Would you like to try them?" Seeing that Lin Yu was leaving too, Ren Tingting hurriedly called him back. She didn't want to be alone with A Wei.

She was rather fond of Lin Yu. She had always wanted a younger brother, and Lin Yu gave her that feeling.

Seeing their pleasant time alone together interrupted by Lin Yu, A Wei's face grew so dark it could have dripped water.

"Sure! Thank you, Sister Tingting." Lin Yu's eyes lit up. The pastries really were delicious.

With no other choice, A Wei fetched another stool and sat down on the other side.

"Cousin, just now, your father and I..." As soon as A Wei sat down, he fawningly began to tell Tingting how he felt.

"Cousin, have a pastry first. Don't talk."

He was only halfway through when Ren Tingting interrupted him, stuffing a pastry into his mouth to stop him from speaking.

Lin Yu, meanwhile, was busy eating pastries. Uncle Nine was stingy, and the pastries were expensive. They couldn't afford them.