37. Birthday

“Not yet. Jiuge’s temperament and cultivation aren’t sufficient to venture into the Nine Nether Realms. Old bookworm, you know well what it means to enter the Nine Nether Realms, and what it means to return from them,” Li Yun replied firmly.

“I understand perfectly. I guess I’m just impatient. Tell me, if Jiuge knew about their mission, do you think they’d rush straight into the Nine Nether Realms like you and me, leaving their junior brother behind?” Master Wudao teased with a lighthearted tone.

“Heh, it’d be ridiculous if all three disciples rushed into the Nine Nether Realms together,” Li Yun retorted habitually, never expecting his joke today to hit so close to home.

“Let’s go find the sect leader’s junior brother. Otherwise, I’m afraid Jiuge won’t sleep well tonight,” Wudao said.

Early the next morning, Li Yun heard crashing noises from the kitchen—clattering and banging—that made him wince. He wondered how to handle a disciple with such a temper.

Another round of crashing followed. Li Yun pondered how best to advise his disciple.

“Good morning, Uncle,” Lin Jiuci greeted.

“Well, little Fuzai, you’re dressed quite festively today,” Li Yun observed, noticing no troubles on Lin Jiuci’s face but feeling a chill at the thought of that unpleasant influence occupying the girl. No, that must never happen.

Lin Jiuci wore a bright red outfit, her two high pigtails tied with red ribbons adorned with little bells she had chosen herself. Her rosy cheeks and big eyes made her utterly adorable, and the gentle jingling with every movement was far from irritating—in fact, it eased Li Yun’s worries.

“My sister said little Fuzai should dress like this today,” Lin Jiuci said, clearly pleased with her own cuteness.

“Bang!” A loud crash from the kitchen instantly silenced their conversation.

“Has your sister been like this all morning, Fuzai?” Li Yun swallowed nervously, astonished at how terrifying his disciple’s outburst could be.

“Yes. Sister said we should eat noodles this morning,” Lin Jiuci replied, seeing nothing unusual.

Soon, Lin Jiuge brought over five bowls of noodles. This time, she handed Lin Jiuci’s bowl first, which had an extra egg.

“Jiuge, today you…” Li Yun started.

“Master, today is little Fuzai’s birthday. That’s the tradition in my family. The first bowl of noodles goes to the birthday child,” Lin Jiuge explained.

“And these noodles?” Li Yun asked further.

“It’s been a while since I made them. Master, these are hand-pulled noodles, stretched and slapped to give them that perfect texture. Please try,” Lin Jiuge said.

Though Lin Jiuge’s explanation seemed perfectly normal, Li Yun felt something was off.

“By the way, where are Uncle and Senior Brother? If they don’t eat soon, the noodles won’t taste good,” Lin Jiuge looked around but didn’t see Master Wudao or Zhou Yan, who usually arrived promptly at mealtime.

“Good thing we didn’t miss it. Hey, little Fuzai, you look really lovely today,” Master Wudao’s voice came from behind.

“Uncle, today little Fuzai is the birthday star,” Lin Jiuci remembered, though she didn’t understand what that meant. But she loved dressing up prettily, being the first to eat, and her sister even prepared an egg especially for her.

“Little Fuzai’s birthday, huh? I didn’t prepare much, but here’s a gift for you,” Master Wudao said, presenting a small bracelet adorned with several gemstones, similar to the one on little Fuzai’s left wrist.

“A storage bracelet. This is from Uncle to you, little Fuzai,” Li Yun added, selecting a few colored elemental stones.

“Thank you, Uncle!” Lin Jiuci was delighted. She hadn’t known being the birthday star meant gifts. She wanted to be the birthday star every day!

“Sister, can I be the birthday star every day?” Lin Jiuci’s radiant smile warmed everyone’s hearts.

Jiuge, who had been upset all night, lost her anger upon seeing her sister’s joyful expression. Li Yun clearly sensed Jiuge’s aura soften.

“Little Fuzai, happy birthday. This is a gift from your sister,” Jiuge said. She hadn’t slept all night, carving a protective talisman from a weak stone with her golden sword.

“Whoa,” all three inhaled sharply. Such a priceless item used as a birthday gift for a child—quite a sizable piece at that.

“Jiuge, won’t this be dangerous? If someone sees it, will Lin Jiuci be safe?”

“No, others would have noticed already,” Jiuge said confidently. This talisman was carved with an unknown sword’s internal pattern. No demon or monster would dare approach Lin Jiuci in the future.

Master Wudao recognized its value but doubted Jiuge had crafted it herself.

“Jiuge, did you carve this?” Master Wudao inquired. At a glance, it appeared to be a formation, perhaps even integrated with some inscription.

“No, it was left by the old ancestor. It’s just perfect for little Fuzai,” Jiuge shook her head, ready to blame someone else. After all, the old ancestor was slumbering in her mind palace and unaware.

The old ancestor, dormant in the mind palace, twitched slightly.

“Why would the old ancestor give you this?” The two looked at silent Zhou Yan in confusion.

“Senior Brother, did you not open the box?” Jiuge eyed Zhou Yan suspiciously.

“Didn’t I open it?” Zhou Yan was puzzled, wondering why the question was directed at him.

“There’s a layer beneath the box. I opened the top which had the inscription diagram, but little Fuzai’s had the formation diagram,” Jiuge explained.

Zhou Yan retrieved the box. Sure enough, there was a lower layer that could be removed. Inside was a talisman diagram. Suddenly, the talisman glowed briefly, turning orange, and the talisman characters floated directly into Lin Jiuci’s protective charm.

“So it’s integrated,” Jiuge suddenly realized. No wonder the unknown sword insisted on this.

Master Wudao reached out but pulled back his hand—he wanted to get a good look; this was an ancient talisman!

“Truly generous of the old ancestor,” Li Yun praised. Of course, even more generous was his disciple, who gave the talisman to her little sister as protection!

“Sister, how did you find this?” Zhou Yan was curious, having planned to keep the box as a collectible.

“I was just curious why something so old hadn’t decayed, so I opened the box,” Jiuge admitted. In truth, her limited knowledge fueled her curiosity, leading to the gift-making the previous night.

“Brother didn’t even realize today was little Fuzai’s birthday,” Zhou Yan finally admitted.

“Senior Brother already gave a gift,” Jiuge said. Who would have thought it was integrated and floated right into Lin Jiuci’s protective charm—almost as if forced to be given.

“That was an accident, not really my gift,” Zhou Yan shook his head. If Jiuge hadn’t said so, he would never have known.

“But I definitely won’t get it back. I made a rubbing of mine—if you’re interested, Senior Brother, you can study it,” Jiuge handed Zhou Yan the paper with the imprint.

“Ahem.” Master Wudao’s eyes gleamed. This was an ancient diagram after all; he was interested too.

“Uncle, you can look at it together with Senior Brother,” Jiuge quickly added.

“Jiuge, are you sure you don’t want it?” Zhou Yan asked.

“I can’t understand it anyway.”