As the end of the year approaches, even the usually quiet Underground Street has become lively.
Early in the morning, when the heavens were still asleep and unwilling to open their eyes, the crowing of a golden chicken suddenly echoed through the street.
Xu Qing, who was setting up paper and grinding ink, had a sudden sensation.
This excited crowing sounded somewhat familiar.
Inside the Funeral Shop, a sleepy Dream-Eating Gu worm suddenly jolted up, flopping off the counter and onto the floor.
Due to the worm's excessive fatness, when the big white worm fell, its round belly bounced a few times, like a soft jelly.
The Dream-Eating worm didn't have time to think, instinctively rushing towards Xu Qing.
When the silhouette of a golden chicken appeared at the shop's entrance, the worm was terrified, using all its strength to leap onto the coffin plank in front of Xu Qing before the chicken could charge at it.
The forty-pound rooster's eyes glowed green at the sight of the worm.
But before it could reach closer, Xu Qing had already seized its throat, halting its fate.
Its clucking abruptly stopped.
Xu Qing tossed the Golden Simurgh into a corner as if discarding trash, then wiped his hands on his clothes with disdain.
The rooster didn't seem to mind at all; it pranced up to Xu Qing with its golden feathers, but its demeanor was more dog-like and sycophantic.
Xu Qing clicked his tongue. He had quite a few pets in his Funeral Shop, but they could all fend for themselves. Only this dumb chicken ate more than anyone else and didn't work!
Xu Qing was too busy these days and had no time to walk it around Flower and Bird Street to look for bugs.
"Where's Daoist Yizhen? What are you doing here instead of being at the Five Elders Temple?"
"Also, that worm is the pet of the Profound Jade Immortal Family, don't even think about it!"
Disappointed, the Golden Simurgh averted its gaze from the big, fat worm, and then started clucking non-stop.
Xu Qing, proficient in bird and beast languages, heard the rooster complaining about how the Five Elders Temple was always shut, eating only vegetarian food, with no tasty treats aside from grains.
Finally, the forty-pound rooster spread its wings to show Xu Qing, implying that Daoist Yizhen had mistreated it and starved it skinny.
Xu Qing's eyelid twitched at the sight.
Thinking, where does it look skinny?
Although it was true that when the dumb chicken first stayed here, it grew to almost seventy pounds, but by then, it wasn't a chicken anymore, but a Maitreya with feathers.
In the Celestial Heart Sect, it could have been considered a Maitreya reincarnate, a future Buddha descending.
Xu Qing ignored the Golden Simurgh's grievances and directly asked, "Did Daoist Yizhen also come to the Jin Sect?"
The Golden Simurgh nodded repeatedly.
This gluttonous rooster, in a bid to find Xu Qing, its free meal ticket, didn't wait for the boat to dock at the wharf and instead flew ashore flapping its wings.
Meanwhile, Daoist Yizhen was still on the way.
Xu Qing asked why they had come to the Jin Sect.
The Golden Simurgh said the Temple Master of the Five Elders Temple wanted to meet him.
Who? Who wants to meet me?
Xu Qing's hand shook while writing couplets, startled and unsure, "Why does Yizhen's master want to see me? Am I that close with her?"
The Golden Simurgh explained that the old Temple Master occasionally heard Yizhen mention Xu Qing, and the Simurgh often reminisced about its days at the Funeral Shop, expressing its longing for Xu Qing whenever the Temple Master fed it coarse grains.
Over time, the old Temple Master naturally developed a great interest in Xu Qing, which the Simurgh figured was admiration attributed to its own flattering.
After saying this, the Golden Simurgh puffed up its chest, seemingly expecting credit.
Xu Qing resisted the urge to roast the chicken for the New Year, thinking this wasn't admiration at all, but rather an elder worried that his charge might be led astray by an outsider, making a special trip to investigate him!
"What is your Temple Master's cultivation level?"
The Golden Simurgh looked bewildered; the old Temple Master had always kept a low profile, and it really didn't know what level the old woman had attained.
Xu Qing shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it.
He had the Heaven Concealing Skill, a Divine Technique so profound it could even deceive an unknown old woman, so he wasn't worried about the Temple Master of the Five Elders Temple discovering anything amiss...
What Xu Qing worried about was Hu Baosong's past romantic entanglements, especially since Yizhen regarded Hu Baosong as half a mentor, making her nominally his senior sister.
If that old Temple Master pinned Hu Baosong's debts on him, how unfair would that be?
"That old fox has it easy, kicking the bucket and clearing all accounts. Now, it might end up causing trouble for me."
Just as Xu Qing finished writing a couplet, an unexpected figure of a lady Taoist that he hadn't seen in a long time appeared at the door.
With a dignified presence, her brows and eyes were cool, yet she possessed a unique allure. Daoist Yizhen stood demurely outside the shop's door.
"That old fox's daughter is really quite lovely."
Xu Qing cast his gaze upwards to see Daoist Yizhen carrying a wooden box on her back, offering him a graceful smile.
"Junior Brother Xu, this poor Taoist greets you."
"Did Senior Sister come alone?"
Xu Qing set down his pen and brush, stepping outside to look around.
"What are you looking for?" Daoist Yizhen asked, puzzled.
Xu Qing sighed with relief and turned back, replying, "I heard from the Golden Simurgh that your master is coming to assess me, which had me quite nervous..."
Daoist Yizhen seemed a bit baffled, "Assess? My master did mention wanting to meet you, but what's that got to do with assessing?"
Seeing there were no outsiders, Xu Qing spoke more casually, blinking with a teasing look, "Even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws. You've never made friends outside, so when your master hears news of me, she'd understandably come seek me out."
"..."
Hearing this, the lady Taoist's face reddened slightly, but more than that, she seemed bemused.
She gave Xu Qing a meaningful look, then took the wooden box from her back and placed it on the coffin plank covered in couplets, clearing her throat before saying: