The second book in the Oolong Wizard series, titled The Normal Mind

Chapter 10

Xiaoyue glanced at it and said with a smile, "Old Xu is my uncle's disciple. He became a monk halfway through his life. He treated me with great courtesy because he had something to ask of me. There is an evil spirit that he cannot exorcise."

“These are just small things to do, don’t spoil our fun. Come on, I’ll take you to my favorite place.” I took her hand and ran towards the riverbank, where there was a 500-year-old camphor tree. Its branches and leaves were lush, but it was deformed like a giant rooster’s comb, standing on the riverbank.

I climbed the tree first and waved triumphantly at Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at me, and to my astonishment, she climbed the tree on all fours like a mischievous little girl, showing me another side of her.

Behind a huge tree trunk, I pointed to a small box-like hole and said, "Moon, this camphor tree is the wishing tree for marriage in my hometown. This little hole was one of my proudest discoveries when I was a child. I called it Pandora's box. If you write your name on it, your dreams will come true."

Then it reached inside and finally found my name. It said happily, "It's still here. I remember when I was eight years old, I often dreamed of a girl, but I would forget her when I woke up. My grandma said that she was my future wife, so I came here to pray. I also dug up a cute little grass to plant back home."

But fearing the tree spirit might forget, I climbed up to this spot and carved my name there. "Now," I said, gazing at her tenderly, "my wish has come true."

Xiaoyue blushed, her eyes sparkling with happiness. She silently focused her senses for a moment, then shook her head and said, "You may be disappointed. This tree has not become a spirit. It stands by the water, in a place with loose soil. It is already struggling to survive, so how could it have the energy to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?"

I don't care about her. I carved her name next to mine with a knife, because what I need is not a tree, but two hearts, and heaven.

Next, I took Xiaoyue to visit several scenic spots, including Zixia Guangge, Huizhao Nunnery, and Jinhua Hall, and we climbed Wangxiang Peak, where we sat on the top of the mountain and overlooked the entire town.

The town has shrunk, the world has expanded, the mountains are at our feet, the mountain breeze is blowing, and the sun is setting.

Xiaoyue waved her hands, and a swarm of fireflies materialized, carrying a faint floral fragrance, fluttering around us in a romantic and warm atmosphere. In the firefly light, she nestled quietly against my shoulder, her beautiful eyes closing happily, as if entering a blissful dream.

As I felt Xiaoyue's body temperature, her delicate skin, and her faint yet wonderful fragrance, I murmured, "The green hills remain, and the setting sun has reddened many times." May every blade of grass and every tree in my hometown bear witness to the happiness we have at this moment.

As the sun set, we walked hand in hand back to town.

My old house is located on the south side of Tai Lane. It consists of three courtyards, with two side rooms used as kitchens. The two lower courtyards are currently empty. They were originally allocated to my uncles, but they have moved to new homes. The old house is only occasionally maintained and repaired.

Only the four-room house with two side halls, belonging to my father, was completely renovated by my uncle, making it exceptionally clean and elegant. The side rooms, living room, courtyard, small hall, and corridors were symmetrical, with carved beams and painted rafters, bright and spacious, and beautifully designed. The interior furniture was rich and luxurious, made of precious and sturdy nanmu and sandalwood, including elegant lacquered beds, dressing tables, eight-immortal tables, study chairs, large wardrobes, and bookshelves, all adorned with carvings and painted in vermilion. Every year, for a few days during ancestral worship or the Spring Festival, our whole family would stay in this old house.

When we got home, my dad was already anxiously waiting for us. When he saw us return, he pulled us into the small hall, away from my mother, and asked as soon as he saw us, "What happened? That Master Xu is the most famous sorcerer in Ruli County!"

Xiaoyue calmly replied, "My cousin's name is Xiaochunwen, and he's an old friend of yours!"

The father's eyes widened again. This seasoned businessman and social expert, pointing at Xiaoyue, was speechless. After a long while, he swallowed a mouthful of tea and stammered, "You, you, you... could you be...?"

"Dad, are you alright? Look how scared you are. Isn't Xiaoyue the leader of a sect?" I said with a smile, thinking to myself, if I told him that his son was also a great wizard, wouldn't he faint?

My father thought about it for a while with mixed feelings of joy and worry, and finally sighed. He knew that the days ahead would no longer be peaceful, but since he had made the choice, he had to face it to the end. This was my father's character, and I inherited it from him.

---janeadam

Reply [19]: Chapter Nine Ghost

Spring arrives at Changmen, the spring grass is green, the red plum blossoms are just beginning to open, not yet fully bloomed. Azure clouds shroud the scene, turning jade into dust, leaving behind a morning dream, startling a bowl of spring. Flower shadows press against the heavy gate, sparse curtains spread the pale moonlight, a beautiful dusk. Two years, three times I have failed the Lord of Spring, but now I return, determined to cherish this spring.

—Li Qingzhao, "Drunken Flower Shade"

That night, Xiaoyue and I stayed in separate rooms and went to bed early.

I had a strange and romantic dream. I dreamt of the girl I vaguely saw at noon, only this time she was wearing a long green ancient costume, her flowing sleeves dancing, reciting a poem:

"Having finished playing on the swing, she lazily straightened her slender hands. The dew was heavy, the flowers were delicate, and her thin clothes were soaked with a light sweat. Seeing someone coming, her socks slipped and her hairpin fell off, and she ran away shyly. Leaning against the door, she turned back and smelled the green plums."

That wasn't so strange, but the strangest thing was that I was also dressed as an ancient scholar, playing the flute to accompany her singing and dancing. I felt a strange joy as I sang and danced with this seemingly familiar girl.

Isn't it Xiaoyue I love?

I tried desperately to ask her who she was, but I just couldn't control myself and kept blowing and blowing...

The second day of the ancestral worship ceremony was a lively affair. The clan association paid for several well-known local folk lion dance troupes to perform first in the square in front of the gate. At 8:30 a.m., the association president, my father, and nearly a thousand other clan members paraded through the streets carrying clan flags. The lion dance troupes then performed singing and dancing all over the streets.

An hour later, the clansmen who had paraded through the streets returned to the ancestral hall to gather, and at 9:30 a.m., the ancestral worship ceremony began.

The entire town was enveloped in the sounds of firecrackers and smoke, with thousands of onlookers. It was the most lively celebration in Kuokou Town in more than a decade.

With the sound of bells and drums, and the master of ceremonies' calls, three hundred adult male members of the clan, gathered in the inner courtyard, led by clan head Luo Zhongsheng and his father, walked in unison to the shrine in the main hall and kowtowed one by one.

I felt incredibly lonely in the crowd.

During this time, Xiaoyue used the excuse of needing to do something for Master Xu to avoid participating in the festival activities. After her father learned of Xiaoyue's identity, he became more polite and cautious in his speech, and he listened to Xiaoyue's every word, just like he did to me.

The noise, the sound of cannons, and the drums blended together, and at the most depressing moment, a clear and melodious flute sound entered my ears, like a heavenly melody, and seemed to have a magical power to expel all the noise of the mundane world from my ears and even my heart.

"Sigh—" A girl's plaintive sigh seemed to echo in the empty hall, yet it was nowhere to be seen. I looked around in search of her.

"The cherry blossoms have all fallen, spring has gone, butterflies flutter lightly in pairs. The cuckoo cries under the moon in the west of the small building, jade hooks and silk curtains, melancholy evening smoke hangs low."

The alley is deserted after the people have left, only the lingering smoke of smoke hangs low in the air. The incense burner idly emits phoenix-shaped curls. Holding only a silk sash, I turn back, filled with lingering regret.

The classical and melancholic song began again. Although it was different from yesterday's joyful tone, I immediately recognized it as the voice of the girl I had met at the crossroads yesterday. I calmed my mind and focused my spiritual energy, and finally sensed that the voice was coming from the riverbank to the east.

At that moment, I frantically pushed through the crowd and ran towards the river.

Among hundreds of people, in that instant, I saw that green figure, like a stalk of green bamboo, standing gracefully by the river, staring at me blankly, her expression a mixture of joy and sorrow, making her all the more endearing.

I almost leaped over the crowd, sprinting through the dense throng like a bullet. In just one minute, I covered over a hundred meters and arrived at the riverbank where the girl stood.

Then, at some point, she disappeared again, leaving only the faint smell of river water and the fragrance of grass.

I was prepared. Although I couldn't tell who she was, she was definitely not human. I had already used my spiritual power to sense her natural and unpredictable spiritual energy.

She flew away like the wind, and I chased after her desperately.

Suddenly, that inexplicable, clear spiritual energy vanished, and the place where I was standing was precisely that deformed camphor tree. No matter how hard I tried, I could no longer find that grass-like spiritual energy.

As the wind rustled the leaves, a bad feeling crept over me, and a sense of unease welled up inside me.

I leaped up the tree, parted the leaves, and found the "Pandora's Box." My hand instinctively reached inside and touched it, and what I found horrified me: