Fantasy Farm

Chapter Ch32.2 - Cause

translator: baumkuchen  editor: ellabells

In the end, Bai Yuehu agreed. He and Shui Feng left the room, finding a place shaded by the grapevines in the courtyard to talk privately.

“Say, what relationship do you think Bai Yuehu has with this person?” Yin Xun quietly asked Lu Qingjiu.

“I don’t know,” Lu Qingjiu said, “They’re probably friends.” From the way they talked, it seemed like they were old friends of many years. It was just that they didn’t know what this man had come here for, not to mention, Bai Yuehu had that kind of attitude towards him. However, from Shui Feng’s tone, he shouldn’t belong in the category of human beings.

Bai Yuehu and Shui Feng talked in the courtyard for a long time, only up until the sun was about to set behind the mountains did the two of them finally reach a consensus.

The Bai Yuehu who returned to the house had a slightly unhappy look on his face, clearly his conversation with Shui Feng hadn’t been pleasant. There was also no smile in Shui Feng’s eyes, rather, it now had a complicated look that Lu Qingjiu couldn’t decipher. However, this complicated look only lasted for a moment. In the next moment, it was covered by the usual smile.

“Aiya, what are you guys eating tonight?” Shui Feng said, “Yuehu, let me bum a meal.”

Bai Yuehu didn’t say anything, simply getting up and leaving. Seeing this, Shui Feng laughed loudly, showing off his broken tooth.

Lu Qingjiu hurriedly called after him, “Yuehu, where are you going?”

Bai Yuehu pointed at the door. “I’m going to go fix the door.”

Shui Feng’s smile froze on his face.

“Oh, okay,” Lu Qingjiu said, “It’s alright, I’ll make a little more for tonight.”

Bai Yuehu nodded and went off towards the door.

In a small voice, Shui Feng said, “Sorry ah, big bro, I broke your door.” He reached into his pockets and fumbled around for a moment, before bringing out a tiny sachet. “I don’t have any money, so just take this as compensation.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “No need, really. My door already needed to be changed.”

“Take it,” Shui Feng smiled, “It’s nothing of value.”

Lu Qingjiu still wanted to refuse, but seeing his firm attitude, he could only take it, thinking of asking Bai Yuehu what exactly all this was about later that night.

Lu Qingjiu prepared a little more than usual for dinner. He made glutinous rice with steamed ribs, fried up some yuxiang shredded pork, and even steamed a large bowl of eggs. Their family’s chickens had already began laying eggs one after another. But these eggs were much bigger than ordinary eggs, and the likelihood of double-yolks were very high. After being steamed, they became especially fragrant. In addition, Lu Qingjiu had added fresh water inside, making it especially delicate and smooth in one’s mouth.

Having finished cooking, they sat down at the table.

After an afternoon of work, Bai Yuehu had fixed the door. He had acquired a black wooden door from who knows where, and then inlaid it in the original door’s position. Upon seeing this door, Lu Qingjiu wanted to laugh. The wooden door was imposing and bold, and even had dragon designs carved on to it. It was completely incompatible with the simple style of the rest of the courtyard. But since it was already put in place, what’s done was done. It wasn’t a big problem, it just looked a little bit abrupt, that’s all.

Shui Feng ate very seriously. The entire time, his eyes didn’t move from his food. It was just that his bad luck hadn’t stopped. When he ate the glutinous rice with steamed pork ribs, he would always find a way to eat three or four rocks with the rice.

Lu Qingjiu was struck dumb. “How did all those rocks get into the rice?”

Yin Xun said, “Right, how come I haven’t gotten even one?”

Shui Feng was already used to it. He nonchalantly waved his arm, “It’s nothing, just keep eating, keep eating, I’ve long since gotten used to this. You guys don’t know this, but one time I was eating an apple, after I took a bite, I saw half a worm squirming around inside…”

Lu Qingjiu, “…” He silently put down his chopsticks.

Yin Xun copied Lu Qingjiu’s actions.

After finishing dinner, Shui Feng said his goodbyes. Lu Qingjiu watched him hobble off into the distance. In the end, as soon as he left their courtyard, he seemed to have once again stepped on something, immediately face-planting hard on the ground. He lay there for a long time, not getting up. Just as Lu Qingjiu was planning on going out to help him up, Bai Yuehu spoke, “Don’t bother about him, he brought it on himself.”

Lu Qingjiu, “Oh…” He could hear that Bai Yuehu was serious.

After Yin Xun went back, Lu Qingjiu got a fan and some melon seeds and sat down next to Bai Yuehu. As he ate his melon seeds, he chatted with his family’s fox spirit.

Even though Bai Yuehu usually looked hard to approach, Lu Qingjiu could always have a pleasant time talking with him. Every time he asked him something, he would always patiently answer.

“This afternoon, Shui Feng gave me a bag.” As Lu Qingjiu fanned himself with one hand, he drew out the bag Shui Feng had given him that afternoon from his pocket with the other.

With one look at the bag, Bai Yuehu immediately knew what was inside. He was silent for a moment, then said, “Keep it.”

“What is it?” Lu Qingjiu had been busy the whole afternoon and hadn’t had the time to take a look inside. With soft, quick movements, he opened the bag, and saw that there was actually a lock of fur inside. This fur was black and yellow, both coarse and stiff. Clearly, it wasn’t human hair, rather, more closely resembling the fur of a wild beast.

“Fur?” Lu Qingjiu took a strand of fur out of the bag. He exclaimed in surprise, “This… does it do anything?”

“Keep it on you,” Bai Yuehu said, “It has some benefits.”

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment, “Is this his fur?”

Bai Yuehu nodded.

“He’s a tiger spirit?” After careful examination, Lu Qingjiu felt like the fur’s colour most resembled that of a tiger. His imagination began to run wild. “Or maybe a leopard?”

“No, he’s a god,” Bai Yuehu said.

“God?” Lu Qingjiu responded, surprised, “There are gods as unlucky as him?” From the very moment he saw Shui Feng, he’d seen his constant misfortune.

Bai Yuehu sighed, then said, “He’s an exception.”

Lu Qingjiu clearly felt that Bai Yuehu didn’t seem to want to talk more about this Shui Feng. But speaking of this, it seemed like this was the first time he’d ever heard Bai Yuehu sigh with the sorrow of like sympathising with like. 

Since Bai Yuehu had said it was useful, Lu Qingjiu hung the sachet off of his keychain to carry it on him. That night, before he went to bed, he flipped through The Classic of Mountains and Seas again, carefully searching for a god that matched with what Bai Yuehu had said. Just flipping around, he found a fact that shocked him. In The Classic of Mountains and Seas, there was indeed a god which was relatively in line with Shui Feng’s behaviour, but he was the complete opposite of Shui Feng. He should be an out-and-out lucky guy.

That god’s name, was Tai Feng, the god of luck, Tai Feng.

Legend had it that Tai Feng had a human body and a tiger tail. He was in charge of the world’s luck. Those who were close to him would be cared for by fate. No matter what they did, it would always go smoothly. Tai Feng had a gentle nature and lived on Harmony Mountain. Compared to Shebishi from before, he was the type that was much more in touch with the people.

It was just that this lucky god Tai Feng, when compared to the Shui Feng who could get water stuck between his teeth every day, the difference was just too big. Could it be that that Shui Feng was the lucky god Tai Feng’s younger brother, unlucky god Shui Feng? Lu Qingjiu pinched the fur in his pocket, thinking that their world of non-humans was truly complicated.

The next day, the first thing Lu Qingjiu saw after getting up was Bai Yuehu sitting in the courtyard.

“So early?” Lu Qingjiu checked the time. It was only a little past 5. Usually, Bai Yuehu only got up after 6.

“En, I’ll be going out,” Bai Yuehu said.

“When will you be back?” Lu Qingjiu asked.

“Might be at night,” Bai Yuehu said, “What time is it?”

“It’s half past five,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Do you want to have breakfast?”

Bai Yuehu said, “There’s already no time.” He thought for a moment. “I’m going to the hospital in the city, would you like to come with me?”

The moment Lu Qingjiu heard ‘hospital’, he immediately began to worry. He asked, “Hospital? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, it’s to visit someone.” Bai Yuehu once again invited Lu Qingjiu along, “Let’s go together.”

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment, “Alright.” Bai Yuehu would rarely invite him out, since he’d taken the initiative to do so this time, he probably had his reasons. So he casually grabbed some cookies and took the pickup truck with Bai Yuehu towards the direction of the city.

Lu Qingjiu had even found some time so send a message to Yin Xun, letting him know to prepare his own lunch today.

They were driving to town. Driving along the mountain roads took about two hours because they were on mountain roads, completely surrounded by sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces. If one wanted to be safe, they could only drive a little slower. And the trip from town to the city needed another hour. That was to say, by the time they got to the city, it would be about eight o’ clock.

As Lu Qingjiu drove, he watched Bai Yuehu sitting beside him eating cookies. Bai Yuehu’s mood didn’t seem to be very good. Although his expression didn’t change very much, Lu Qingjiu could tell his current mood from the corners of his eyes and the tips of his eyebrows.

“What’s the matter?” Lu Qingjiu asked, “Is it that the person you know is sick?”

“En,” Bai Yuehu replied.

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “It’s not Shui Feng, is it?”

Bai Yuehu said, “That one’s just sick in the head.”

Lu Qingjiu broke out into loud laughter. He said, “Are all gods so approachable? I feel like… he’s just an ordinary person.”

Bai Yuehu thought it over. “The current him is no different from an ordinary person. No, he still is different, he’s unluckier than an ordinary person.”

Thinking of Shui Feng’s miserable state yesterday, the corners of Lu Qingjiu’s mouth rose rather unkindly.

The pickup truck drove onwards and soon left Shuifu village and onto the highway leading to the city. The moment it past seven o’clock, the entire world began to wake up from their dreams. There were many more cars and pedestrians on the road. To an ordinary person, it was another ordinary day.

Hospitals woke up earlier than other places. The hall was already crowded with all kinds of patients before six o’clock.

Lu Qingjiu parked his car in the underground parking lot and walked together with Bai Yuehu towards the inpatient department.

“The person’s here.” Bai Yuehu passed a piece of paper to Lu Qingjiu.

Lu Qingjiu took a look, it was Ward 102 on the 15th floor of Block A. He said, “That’s over there.”

Bai Yuehu nodded.

When Lu Qingjiu walked over to Block A, he turned back and looked at Bai Yuehu. He didn’t know if it was his misconception, but he felt that since going into the hospital, Bai Yuehu didn’t seem to know his way around, just following along behind him. But if so, that might explain why Bai Yuehu had invited him to come with him. Thinking up to here, Lu Qingjiu then thought he was probably thinking too much.

They reached the downstairs floor of Block A of the inpatient department as he was thinking. Lu Qingjiu pressed the button for the elevator. After waiting for Bai Yuehu to enter the elevator with him, he pressed the button for the 15th floor.

The author has something to say:

Lu Qingjiu: I realised Shui Feng is actually really useful…

Bai Yuehu: ?

Lu Qingjiu: When betting on sports we can just pick the opposite of what he chooses…

Bai Yuehu: …You’ve got a point.

Glutinous rice with steamed ribs:

Yuxiang shredded pork:

Steamed eggs:

The god of luck, Tai Feng: (….lmaooo)