After the Stand-in Hugged the White Moonlight's Thigh Tightly - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: “Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow”

The years on the mountain were peaceful and leisurely. Ruan Mingyu’s life was quite relaxed, except that refining elixirs was costly. Since he wasn’t famous yet, his elixirs couldn’t be sold widely. He could only occasionally treat minor ailments for other Junior Brothers and Sisters in the sect to earn a little money, making his life quite tight.

Winter arrived quickly, and it snowed heavily down the mountain. The last time Ruan Mingyu saw such heavy snow was when he was trapped at Shen Yanyuan’s residence, desperately trying to get out.

If Shen Yanyuan came out of seclusion and found him missing, would he capture him and drag him back? Ruan Mingyu shook his head. There was no point in worrying about that now.

It was almost the New Year, and the pill furnaces were all empty.

This wasn’t because people were lazy due to the cold weather, but because the internal demand for elixirs within the sect had decreased. Although they were cultivators, they were not truly immortal, and they also took a break for the New Year.

The few disciples of Yuantai Peak gathered together and lit a pill furnace. Instead of refining pills, they stuffed a roasted duck into the furnace.

Ruan Mingyu sat on a small stool by the furnace, holding his hands out to warm them by the fire.

“Senior Sister, do you think Master will punish us if he finds out?”

Cen Tao held her cat. The cat was cold, burrowing into the blanket Ruan Mingyu had gifted. She said: “Don’t worry, if the sky falls, Senior Brother will hold it up for you.”

Ji Ying glanced at her and said, “I can’t hold it. Let your Senior Sister hold it.”

He wasn’t idle; he was still embroidering. His embroidery skills were truly good. It was said that when spiritual energy was injected into the thread while embroidering, the finished pattern could appear to move.

It wasn’t that he liked to embroider, but that this craft was rare and highly priced. His technique was superior, and he had no trouble selling his embroidery, earning more than he did from refining pills. Seven Stars Sect primarily focused on sword refinement, and Yuantai Peak’s pill refining was at the bottom rung of the sect. The peak had few people and received little funding. Old Man Sanqing spent all his money on pill furnaces, not even willing to repair an extra room.

Therefore, the pill furnace was his life. If anything happened to the pill furnace, he would probably be dealt with according to the sect rules. If he found out that the siblings were using the precious pill furnace to cook, wouldn’t he expel them from the sect?

While chatting, the group completely forgot about the roasted duck in the furnace until they smelled a burnt odor. Ruan Mingyu immediately jumped up, lifted the lid of the furnace, and retrieved the roasted duck inside.

The few of them stared wide-eyed at the black, charred thing. Cen Tao waved her hand: “Throw it away. How can we eat it when it’s like this?”

“Don’t waste it.” Ruan Mingyu cut away the outer layer of charcoal. The inside was barely recognizable as meat.

He cut a small piece, pretended to chew it in his mouth, and then cut two large pieces of dry meat for his dear Senior Sister and Senior Brother.

“It’s edible, try it.”

The two hesitantly put it into their mouths. Ruan Mingyu immediately took off running. The thing tasted bitter and was inedible.

Realizing they had been tricked, Senior Sister dropped the cat, and Ji Ying put down his embroidery. They both scolded him:

“You little rascal, you’ve learned to lie! We’re going to tell Master on you!”

Ruan Mingyu was shameless: “Go ahead! All three of us will be expelled from the sect!”

Cultivators generally didn’t celebrate the New Year, considering it something only mortals would do. However, the sect did grant leave during the days leading up to the New Year. Ruan Mingyu didn’t consider himself a true cultivator. He bought some Spring Festival couplets and New Year’s goods and brought them up the mountain, intending to decorate his residence to make it look festive and enjoy the holiday atmosphere.

He put up a couplet outside his room that read, “A Thousand Years Welcome the New Spring, Auspicious Snow Promises a Bountiful Year.” Since he was putting up couplets, he went all out and also put up several ‘Fu’ (Fortune) characters on his windows. When Cen Tao saw his room decorated so festively, she asked him for a few extra couplets and put them up outside her door too. Since there were still many left, she said not to waste them and put them up outside Master’s and Senior Brother’s doors as well.

The entire Yuantai Peak was adorned with big red ‘Fu’ characters and festive couplets. Although there weren’t many people, it looked lively and bustling. Ruan Mingyu said: “I feel like something is still missing. Did we forget something?”

Senior Sister’s black cat suddenly ran past. Ruan Mingyu remembered: “I almost forgot about you, little fellow.”

He thought for a moment and wrote a couplet to put on the door of the black cat’s house.

The first line: “Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow”

The second line: “Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow”

The horizontal inscription: “Meow Meow Meow Meow”

Ruan Mingyu was very satisfied with his “masterpiece,” nodding contentedly.

He said to the cat in the grass: “Little Hei, how is it? Isn’t it much more festive? Are you satisfied? When are you bringing your wife home? The little white cat on the next peak is quite nice, cat-like and proper.”

Little Hei meowed twice.

Ruan Mingyu: “Don’t blame me for speaking too much. I’m letting you feel the pressure of being urged to marry by relatives during the New Year.”

The cat couldn’t understand human words. Thinking he wanted to play, it scampered over to have close contact with him. Ruan Mingyu was afraid of it and quickly ran away.

Little Hei chased him from behind. Ruan Mingyu screamed: “Stop chasing! I won’t rush you to bring a cat home! Be single, it’s great! Okay, stop chasing me! Great Cat King, please leave me alone! Wuwuwu…”

Soon, the New Year’s Eve arrived. It was Ruan Mingyu’s first time celebrating the New Year on the mountain, or rather, his first time celebrating the New Year in this world.

In the evening, the few of them gathered around the fire pit. Ruan Mingyu wrapped a pile of dumplings, with Senior Sister and Senior Brother helping out.

They had both come to the mountain when they were very young. Before Ruan Mingyu arrived, they didn’t even know what the New Year was, and they found it curious.

Was cultivating truly good? Ruan Mingyu couldn’t quite say. Once a person desires too much, their thoughts become less clear. It was better to just live in the present.

There were no pots on the mountain. The key to the pill refining room was with Ji Ying. He said nonchalantly, “Follow me,” and secretly led them into the pill refining room.

Ruan Mingyu opened the furnace and put the dumplings in. He deliberately chose the best furnace. That pill furnace was extremely precious, normally only used for refining high-grade elixirs.

“Pills refined in this furnace are the best quality, so the food cooked in it should taste very good too,” Cen Tao commented.

Ji Ying still looked like he was perpetually spaced out. After chatting for a while, he suddenly said: “Watch the furnace carefully. Do you want to eat roasted dumplings again?”

The few of them gathered around the furnace, not daring to chat anymore, staring at the furnace and waiting for the food. Before long, the dumplings were ready. Opening the furnace released an immediate fragrance.

Ruan Mingyu served a bowl to his two Senior Siblings.

Cen Tao: “It’s been years since I’ve eaten something like this.”

Ji Ying: “A little food is fine; it won’t delay your path to immortality.”

It took a great deal of effort to eat this bowl of dumplings. The group divided the dumplings. Ruan Mingyu thoughtfully saved a little for Senior Sister’s cat. However, he didn’t dare go near it, so he handed the salt-free cat dumplings to Senior Sister and let her feed it.

Soon, they heard footsteps. Cen Tao cried out in alarm: “Oh no, Master must be here.”

The group quickly scrambled to clean up.

Just as she finished speaking, Master appeared before them.

“What are you all secretly doing here?”

Cen Tao: “We were discussing pill refining techniques.”

Old Man Sanqing said: “Don’t hide it. Take out what you have behind you.” He mimicked Cen Tao’s high-pitched voice saying, “Oh no, Master is here,” and then said, “Here I am, Master, seeing what naughty things you are up to!”

The group shielded the furnace and brought out their bowls.

True Lord Sanqing’s face changed drastically, and he put on a fierce look: “You actually dare to use my furnace to cook food! According to the sect rules—”

The group nervously watched their Master, afraid he would say something about deducting spiritual stones, and their mood immediately turned sour.

But then the little old man stroked his beard, pointed at them, and said: “You are all secretly eating good food and didn’t even save a bowl for your Master!”

The group sighed in relief. Ruan Mingyu quickly scooped a bowl for him:

“Master, please accept this.”

“Now that’s more like it.”

Master first scolded them severely, heartbroken that his furnace was used for cooking. After scolding them, he started chatting about everything under the sun. As he talked, he started wanting to drink. He was tipsy from the wine. Ruan Mingyu took this opportunity to ask Master to refine an elixir in front of him. He finally saw firsthand how True Lord Sanqing refined the Vitality-Nourishing Pill that he sold him. Ruan Mingyu memorized the steps firmly, planning to replicate them the next day, which would save him a lot of spiritual stones each month.

The four people and one cat spent the New Year’s Eve this way.

The sky gradually darkened. As the stars revolved, a full moon hung high in the night sky.

Ruan Mingyu stepped outside and stood alone, gazing up at the sky. Compared to his previous world, the New Year’s atmosphere here was extremely faint, with no sign of fireworks in the sky. Fortunately, he had people around him; otherwise, he would be very lonely.

He suddenly thought of Song Chenxi. What would he be doing right now?

If Song Chenxi were here now, he would surely make a sarcastic remark first, asking why he was staring foolishly at the sky when there were no elixirs up there. Or perhaps, if he was in a good mood, he might use magic to conjure fireworks for him.

Cen Tao came out and asked him: “You look deep in thought. What are you thinking about?”

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t possibly say he was thinking about Song Chenxi, so he fobbed her off: “Nothing.”

Cen Tao: “Senior Sister here has eaten more salt than you, and walked more roads than you. If you have any worries, you can tell me, or if you feel uncomfortable telling me, you can tell your Senior Brother Ji Ying. He’s tight-lipped and won’t spread rumors.”

Ruan Mingyu smiled: “It’s really nothing.”

Cen Tao: “If you don’t want to talk about it, fine. Just don’t keep things bottled up; it will make you sick.”

Ruan Mingyu didn’t want her to worry. He rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips, and said: “Actually, I do have something. Senior Sister, can you lend me some money?”

Cen Tao cursed him as a rascal: “Some things are better kept to yourself.”

Ruan Mingyu’s gloomy mood vanished, and he laughed heartily, his eyes curving into crescents.

Soon, he stopped laughing. Cen Tao: “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. The moon in the sky is big and round, and the Junior Brother on the ground is looking at the moon and missing his lover boy!”

Ruan Mingyu: “…”

Slander! That was complete slander!