Ghost Pot

Chapter 34

Opening the title page, the book was filled with ancient, traditional Chinese characters in clerical script. Chen Cai pondered for a long time but still couldn't recognize a single character. So he focused on the handmade illustrations in the book, which depicted some messy footprints with symbols from the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching next to them.

Shen Caihua stood up, holding the secret manual in his hand. He imitated the steps drawn in the book, jumping from the Kan position in the due north to the Shi position, then Meng-Lin-Sheng (leaping through the air)-Da Guo to the Dun position, and with a "plop" he fell to the ground.

Sigh, it still doesn't work... Chen Cai sighed, lay down on the ground, and looked at the deep night sky, thinking, if only Dudu were here with me, it knows so much.

With a yawn, Shen Cai stretched, closed his eyes wearily, and lay down fully clothed in the poppy field, falling asleep.

Under the moonlight, there was a slight movement in his pocket, followed by a small head peeking out. Seeing that no one was around, it tiptoed out.

The spirit fetus lay naked on the manual of "Zhu You Lightness Skill," rubbed its eyes, and its bright white pupils instantly became radiant, its eyes shining brightly. Then, by the moonlight, it greedily began to read the book...

Chapter 47, Part 2

The rooster crowed three times, and the east began to lighten with the first light of dawn. The spirit fetus finally finished reading the secret manual, closed the book, and grinned, letting out a silly "hehehe" laugh. Then, with a "whoosh," it leaped into the air, using the footwork of the "Zhu You Divine Skill," running, jumping, and leaping among the blooming poppies. Its white figure was like a phantom, like lightning, as if it were a naked little elf, freely soaring through the sea of flowers.

"Hush..." A long, soft whistle came from the coffin inside the wooden house, indicating that the Hakka nanny had recovered her vitality.

Upon hearing the sound, the spirit fetus suddenly flew down and quietly slipped into Shen Caihua's pocket, where it remained motionless.

The Hakka woman stepped out of the wooden house and walked to the poppy bushes. She picked up the secret manual that had fallen to the ground, gently picked up Shen Caihua, and carried him back into the house. She placed him in the spirit coffin, silently watching over him, and murmured, "Child, entering my Zhuyou sect means you are destined to be alone for the rest of your life..."

"Dudu..." Little Caihua was still muttering about the big parrot in his sleep.

"Alas, he's just a child after all," the old woman sighed, shaking her head.

Shen Caihua suddenly opened his eyes and mumbled, "Master, teach me 'Lard Kung Fu'."

The old woman smiled and sighed, "Alright, Master will make some breakfast first, and then I'll teach you after we eat."

The master and apprentice quickly drank some porridge, and the Hakka grandmother began to teach him the basics of the I Ching and how to recognize the obscure characters in the clerical script in the book.

The Hakka nanny discovered that Shen Caihua had an excellent memory. She could remember what she said after only one time, which was much better than He Wuxing's back then.

The sun rose and set, and before they knew it, another day had passed. Chen Cai looked at the suction tube; its injuries had basically healed. Han Qing's medicine was truly miraculous.

After dinner, as night fell, the Hakka matron instructed Chen Caihua, "My disciple, you wait at home. Master will go find that white-haired old monster and bring Dudu home."

"Master, I want to go too," Shen Caihua pleaded, his eyes brimming with tears.

The Hakka woman thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let me show you how Master deals with that white-haired old monster. Come on, climb onto Master's back." With that, she carried Chen Caihua on her back, used her Zhuyou lightness skill, and flew down the mountain.

Little Caihua, riding on her nanny's back with the secret manual tucked in her arms and the suction cup in her hands, felt as if she were floating on clouds under the moonlight, with the wind whistling in her ears and the trees and forests on both sides rushing past.

Perhaps having heard rumors that the military government of U Ne Win and the former 93rd Division of the National Revolutionary Army were going to attack the base, there were few pedestrians on the old streets of Kokang, except for a few People's Army soldiers patrolling the streets with their guns on.

Inside the mango grove, the Hakka woman put down her heavy talent and pointed to the solitary stilted bamboo house with its light shining through, whispering, "This is the White-Haired Monster's house. Let's go up."

"Halt!" With a clang of a gun bolt, two armed guards emerged from under the bamboo building.

"Don't you recognize your mother-in-law?" the Hakka nanny said coldly.

"So it's Granny Mi Nang? Old Master Ao isn't home." The guard recognized her as Granny Mi Nang from West Mountain, having visited many times before, and said respectfully.

"Where did he go?" the Hakka woman asked.

"I don't know. Old Master Ao left this morning without saying anything," the guard replied.

"Did he walk alone?" the old woman asked.

"No, he went with that blind eccentric," the guards said truthfully. They knew that Elder Ao always held this mysterious Granny Mi Nang in high esteem.

"Where's that big parrot?" Shen Caihua asked anxiously.

“They ran away,” the guard replied.

Chapter 47, Part 3

The Hakka woman was stunned, then said sternly, "Ran away? What happened? Tell me the truth quickly!"

The two guards looked at each other, then stammered, "Grandma, we...we don't really know either."

The Hakka woman swayed, and before the two guards could react, their Tianzhu acupoints on the back of their necks were struck. This is one of the nine major acupoints on the human body, which can instantly paralyze a person, causing them to lose sensation in their hands and feet, but leaving them still conscious.

"Grandma Mi Nang never asks twice before doing things, so why don't you tell me?" the Hakka nanny said calmly.

The guard, sprawled on the ground, felt numb as if being electrocuted, itchy as if being bitten by ants, his hands and feet trembling slightly but unable to move, causing him unbearable pain. Upon hearing this, the two quickly said, "The big parrot was rescued by Elder Ao's orderly, Nai So. I heard that Nai So's home is in Mae Salong, and I guess he and that talking parrot have already escaped back there."

“Mae Salong? That’s the 93rd Division’s territory…” the Hakka woman muttered to herself, then asked sternly, “Are you two telling the truth?”

"Grandma, that's all we know. Please forgive us." The guard pleaded incessantly, his face contorted with grief.

"I ask you, did you see Naisuo rescue the parrot with your own eyes?" the Hakka woman asked.

“Yes, we saw it with our own eyes. We were even injured by that big parrot,” the guards answered vyingly.

"So, the big parrot can move around freely now," the old woman asked again.

"It was Naiso who untied the tape binding the parrot..." the guard explained.

Now that Dudu is free to move around, it is very likely that it will go to find Shen Caihua, rather than go back to Mae Salong with a stranger, even though that person saved it. Dudu the parrot is a sentimental animal... The Hakka grandmother pondered to herself.

“Talent, if Dudu were free to move around, where would it look for you?” the Hakka grandmother asked, bowing her head.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Caihua replied, "I got separated from it on the banks of the Nmaikah River..."

"Then it will definitely go there to find you, my disciple, let's go." The Hakka old woman carried Chen Caihua on her back, kicked the two guards twice with her toes to release their pressure points, and then leaped up and disappeared in a few bounds.

"Ouch, what bad luck! I was so itchy, I couldn't reach it to scratch it." One of the guards reached into his clothes and scratched desperately.

As the other guard got up, he sighed and said, "Brother, if Old Ao comes back, we're better off not saying anything more."

Shen Caihua leaned on the Hakka nanny's back and said, "Master, let's go find Dudu."

"Yes, we'll get there after crossing a rainforest. Let's go find Dudu now." The old woman looked at Xiao Caihua with affection and agreed.

Under the hazy moonlight, the Hakka grandmother carried Shen Caihua on her back and walked along the road. After more than an hour, she entered the rainforest and finally arrived at the Nmai River in the early hours of the morning.

Chapter 48, Part 1

Under a clear blue sky, golden sunlight shone on the rolling mountains of the Shan State plateau, the vast and desolate forests, and above the ancient and ancient Nmai River. A large blue parrot flew alone... This was Dudu, searching for its little master. For several days now, it had been eating nuts from the rainforest when hungry and drinking from the river when thirsty, but Chen Caihua was still nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. Heartbroken and exhausted, Dudu's feathers had lost their former brilliance, and it even doubted that it might never see its little master again.

It swooped down and landed on a wild durian tree that was forty meters tall by the river. Over a hundred golden durians, as large as washbasins, hung from its canopy, gleaming enticingly in the sunlight. Dudu had accidentally eaten this unfamiliar wild fruit a few days ago and unexpectedly became addicted. It smelled strange, like a mixture of rotten cheese and onions, but tasted incredibly fragrant and sweet; the more she ate, the more she loved it.

The durian tree, an evergreen tree of the Bombacaceae family, grows to 15-40 meters tall. Its fruit is as large as a football, with a hard rind covered in dense triangular thorns. The flesh is pale yellow, sticky, juicy, soft, and sweet, with a texture similar to ice cream. Initially, it has an unusual smell, but subsequent bites are cool and sweet, leaving a pleasant aftertaste, hence the saying "unforgettable (durian) experience." In Southeast Asia, durian is considered the "King of Tropical Fruits." A Thai proverb says, "When durians are in season, sarongs are sold," meaning that women would rather sell their sarongs than miss a delicious durian.

The large parrot's massive, curved beak struck the durian's hard shell, creating several cracks. Then, it inserted the tip of its beak and twisted it forcefully, breaking the durian open with a "snap," revealing the golden flesh inside. Dudu couldn't help but drool with delight...

"Squeak squeak..." After a few screams, the branches shook, and several tawny macaques stood on the horizontal branches, staring at Dudu menacingly, their eyes blazing with anger. The large parrot had invaded the macaques' territory and stolen their food.

Several male macaques bared their teeth in a threatening manner, but dared not attack rashly. They had never seen such a large parrot before. They looked at each other, waiting for further instructions from the macaque leader.

As the branch suddenly sank, a plump male macaque leader with a tuft of white hair on his forehead appeared majestically before them, his dignified gaze carefully scrutinizing the large blue-feathered parrot.

Dudu was starving. Ignoring the ill-intentioned monkeys around him, he devoured the delicious, pungent-smelling fruit in a flash, and then set his sights on another huge durian.

"Squeak squeak squeak..." The macaque leader let out a shrill whistle, and the monkeys swarmed forward, their blood-red eyes wide and their yellow-white teeth bared, and they viciously pounced on Dudu.

Chapter 48, Part 2

Up in the durian tree, Dudu remained calm under pressure. He spotted the first reckless macaque that charged forward, and with a sudden, powerful sweep of his wings, knocked it to the ground with a "thud." Then, he leaped into the air, his fists clenched, and with two quick kicks, struck two other monkeys squarely in the chest, breaking their ribs and sending them crashing down as well. The other macaques were immediately intimidated, hesitant to approach, merely baring their teeth and claws in a show of bravado, their fearful eyes fixed on their leader.

Just then, the fat and strong macaque leader stepped forward...

The leader, holding a huge durian in his arms and with a fawning smile on his face, carefully approached Dudu and offered it to her with both hands.

Dudu watched the macaque leader with wary eyes. Through its recent experiences, it had gained a deep understanding of the dangers of the world and matured a lot. So it silently kept an eye on the leader's every move and did not relax its vigilance in the slightest.

The leader grinned, slammed the durian against the tree trunk, then pried open the hard shell with both hands, took out the flesh, and handed it to the large parrot.

Dudu cautiously extended its huge beak, snatched it, and slowly swallowed it.

The leader immediately and eagerly offered more durians, and soon the whole durian was gone. Dudu was completely full, and even his burps smelled like stinky tofu.

"Alright, I should go now." Dudu patted her belly, then leaped up with both feet, flapping her wings and soaring straight into the sky.

On the durian tree, the macaques rushed forward, vying to pluck lice off their leader. They admired this resourceful leader who had easily lured away the powerful enemy, protected the monkey troop's territory, and safeguarded their vital interests and the stability of their harmonious life.

Dudu continued its search along the Enmai River, calling out its little master's name from time to time, its voice already a little hoarse.

Just then, a Himalayan vulture hunting high in the sky spotted it, wings outstretched, and silently approached...

Dudu's attention was focused on searching the water and the riverbanks on both sides, and it was completely unaware of the imminent danger high in the sky. Just as it was crying out sadly, the Himalayan vulture swooped down like lightning.

The Himalayan vulture is a high-altitude mountain eagle that can soar at an altitude of 10,000 meters and easily fly over the Himalayas. It is the highest-flying bird in the world and has a very wide hunting range.

Just as the vulture's powerful talons landed on the parrot's back, Dudu reacted instantly, somersaulting and tumbling down to avoid the vulture's fatal blow. A few scattered blue feathers drifted through the air... Dudu trembled with fear and plunged straight down into the rainforest on the riverbank below, with the vulture relentlessly pursuing it.

Chapter 48, Part 3

The lush, dense rainforest, with its intertwined vines and impenetrable canopy, is the perfect refuge from Himalayan vultures. Dudu rolled and somersaulted, plummeting straight down into the canopy of a giant fig tree. But the vulture, unwilling to abandon its prey, swooped down, its talons snapping at the parrot, seemingly about to strike…

Suddenly, the vulture's vision blurred, and countless Burmese cockatoos perched in the treetops took flight with a roar, enveloping the massive Himalayan vulture in an instant like a gray whirlwind.

Caught off guard, the vulture perched atop the fig tree canopy, trying to discern what was happening, when the small cockatoos launched a fierce attack, pecking at its eyes, pulling its feathers, and biting its flesh—a chaotic scene of carnage. Finally, unable to endure the mob attack any longer, the vulture flapped its wings forcefully and soared into the sky to escape.

Dudu collapsed onto the soft canopy, panting heavily. It had truly been a brush with death... Countless cockatoos gathered around, watching the peculiar blue-feathered parrot and chattering incessantly.

At this moment, Dudu was covered in sweat and looked extremely disheveled, with a strong durian smell coming from his mouth. However, the cockatoos were very friendly, and a few of the little parrots even came over to use their small curved beaks to groom Dudu's messy feathers.

"Thank you...you all, but I...I have to go." Dudu inadvertently spoke human language, but unfortunately the cockatoos didn't understand.

Dudu shook its head awkwardly, nodded to the local parrots, flapped its wings and took flight, circling once above the fig tree canopy in greeting before turning and flying close to the rainforest.

Dudu realized that she had been searching along the Nmey River for several days without finding her little master. She figured that continuing to search blindly would likely yield no results, so she decided to go find Brigade Commander Mangsa and the soldiers to ask them if they knew anything about Shen Caihua.

On the highway at the edge of the rainforest, soldiers stood guard anxiously in their bunkers. They had heard that the Burmese government army had joined forces with the 93rd Division of the Chinese National Army to prepare for an invasion. Everyone was in a state of panic. The government army was not to be feared, but the Chinese National Army was very strong in combat and had better weapons and equipment. They were afraid that they would not be able to resist them.

Everyone huddled in their bunkers, guns in their arms, smoking and chatting to ease the tension.

“Mang… Mangsa Brigade, Brigade Commander…” Suddenly, a stuttering voice called out from the air.

The soldiers looked up and saw a huge blue parrot calling out to them. Many of them had seen it before, so they shouted, "Hey, big parrot, what brings you here again? Did Old Ao let you out?"

Dudu was wary, so it just hovered above their heads and didn't dare to land, lest something happen.

A busybody went to inform them, and before long, Mangsa rushed over.

“Big parrot, are you looking for me?” Brigade Commander Mangsa called out loudly.