"Hurry and eat. Don't ask where this came from, and don't you dare mention it to anyone outside. This has to be our secret, you understand?" The old woman had no idea her daughter had brought the fish home, so she'd spent the morning letting her imagination run wild. In the end, she told herself that as long as there was food to eat, it was best not to ask questions.
She never even considered the possibility that her daughter was the one who'd brought it home. After all, just look at her daughter's slight build—she was hardly bigger than the fish itself. There was no way it could have been her.
And just like that, Yuan Si was ruled out as a suspect.
She blinked her large eyes. 'This is really unexpected. I thought I'd have to waste my breath explaining everything, but it turns out I don't even have to say a word. Mom came up with a perfectly reasonable explanation all on her own.'
Under her mother's proud gaze, Yuan Si slurped down the entire bowl of fish porridge until it was sparkling clean. "Mom, I want more." She hadn't had a full meal since she'd come back. Normally, there was nothing to be done about it, but now that they had fish, it wasn't too much to ask for a little more, right? She kept her mother's lessons in mind—to be savvy, perceptive, and able to read the situation.
The old woman's expression stiffened. Just like Li Yuan'ai. They really were her mother's daughters—they both had the exact same reaction.
"Fourthie, my dear, we have to be sensible and make things last," the old woman began, her tone painstaking. "Even if we have a little fish, we can't eat it all at once, can we? This is already so much better than usual."
"But Mom, isn't that fish huge?" Yuan Si put on a troubled expression. "The weather is getting warmer. If it's just the two of us eating, it'll spoil if we don't eat it quickly. What a waste that would be."
The old woman froze. After a long moment, she stammered, "F-Fourthie, what did you just say? Say it again for Mom. You've seen the fish? Did you see who came to our house?"
"Well, I didn't see anyone come to our house, but I'm the one who caught the fish, so of course I've seen it." Yuan Si had already planned to reveal some of her abilities to her mother. Otherwise, she would constantly be held back in everything she did. Besides, she needed plenty of time to absorb the Spiritual Pearl and increase her spiritual power. Since she and her mother lived together, her mother was bound to find out a few things sooner or later. She just wanted to say as little as possible, picking and choosing what was safe to reveal, trying not to be too shocking.
Most importantly, through her observations these past few days, she felt that Zuo Daya was an old woman with a certain degree of resilience, so showing off a few unusual skills probably wouldn't frighten her to death.
"How... how is that possible? That fish was huge." The old woman still didn't believe her, using her hands to show how long the fish was.
Yuan Si was speechless. Nowadays, no one believed you even when you told the truth.
"I know. I caught it last night in the lotus pond below our house. But I didn't use any strength. I just have this thing." Yuan Si pretended to pull a bee sting from her pocket, but in reality, she took it from her space. "I just gave the fish a light poke with this, and it went belly-up."
"What's that?" the old woman asked, puzzled. 'This thing looks just like the needles that old doctor uses for acupuncture.'
"It's a needle. Mom, don't touch the tip. If you get pricked by accident, you'll be asleep for a whole day and night," Yuan Si said, quickly stopping her mother's outstretched hand.
The old woman snatched her hand back, hiding it behind her back in fright.
"If it's that dangerous, why are you holding it? Throw it away, quickly!" she cried, her face pale with alarm.
"It's fine, as long as I don't touch the tip. Mom, this thing is really useful. Catching fish with it is effortless. As soon as I see a fish, I just give it a little poke, and it goes belly-up instantly. So, Mom, you don't need to be so frugal. When we finish this one, I'll just go catch another." After speaking, Yuan Si held up her empty bowl again, her meaning clear: 'Can I have more now?'
Of course, she had already given up on the small pond below. Once she finished this fish, she planned to go check out the reservoir. It was hundreds, even thousands of times bigger than the small pond; there had to be plenty of fish in there.
"Where did you get this needle?" The old woman ignored the bowl, now only wanting to know where her daughter had gotten such a thing.
"Mom, listen to me. Here's what happened. Remember last time when someone from our hometown brought me back from my second sister's place on the train? Well, on the train, I saw this poor old man. You have no idea how pitiful he was, dressed in rags. When mealtime came and other people took out their flatbread and pickles to eat, his eyes would just be glued to them..." Yuan Si had prepared this story long ago, so she launched into a tale about meeting a beggar on the train. She, being kind-hearted, saw how pitiful he was and gave him half of her steamed bun. Then, as the beggar was getting off the train, he gave her the needle as a thank-you gift. It wasn't until later that she discovered the needle had a paralyzing effect and started using it. It was a case of a good deed being rewarded.
The old woman's emotions rose and fell as she listened, her triangular eyes growing wider and wider. She stared at her youngest daughter for a long time without speaking.
Yuan Si felt a little uneasy under her mother's gaze. She really wasn't cut out for lying. 'Is there something wrong with the story I made up?'
There was nothing wrong with the story she had woven. In fact, it was very down-to-earth and fit the trends of the era perfectly. You see, although becoming a spirit was supposedly forbidden after the founding of the nation, and the government promoted the idea that such things were feudal superstitions, the older generation still held a deep-seated reverence for ghosts and gods.
And Zuo Daya was a prime example of this generation. As a child, she had personally witnessed the tragedy of a family in her village who had offended the Weasel Immortal and all died unnatural deaths overnight (it was carbon monoxide poisoning). She had also seen a neighbor, a powerful shaman, become possessed by an Immortal mid-sentence at her own house, suddenly able to command the wind and rain (it was just a shamaness putting on an act). Because of this, Zuo Daya had been a staunch believer in ghosts and gods since she was young.
"Fourthie, my dear, tell Mom everything. What did the Immortal who gave you the needle look like? Did he give you anything else? Or did he say anything to you?" The moment her mother heard Yuan Si's story about the beggar, she immediately picked up the scent of an "Immortal." She was now convinced her youngest daughter had received a great blessing. Her daughter's future would be limitless!
"Oh..." Yuan Si was at a loss for words, but with her mother staring at her, she had to come up with something. "He didn't say much. He just said I had a kind heart, kinder than most, and that's why he gave me this needle. He told me I mustn't use his gift to cause harm." Yuan Si wracked her brain but couldn't think of anything else to add. "That's all," she finally said.
"Did he say when he might come to take it back?" the old woman asked cautiously.
Yuan Si shook her head. 'This thing is mine. Who could possibly take it away from me?'
"Did he say when he might come to see you? The old immortal said you mustn't cause harm, so he'll definitely come check on you. Otherwise, how would he know if you're causing harm or not?" her mother said happily.
Yuan Si shook her head again. 'You're the one calling him an Immortal. Don't Immortals have divine powers? Why would he need to make a special trip just to check on me?'
"That's not necessarily true. He's an Immortal..."
"You don't have to explain. Mom knows. Mom understands everything," her mother interrupted, her face filled with knowing wisdom. "This is a secret between you and the old immortal. Mom won't ask any more questions. As long as you do as the old immortal says, I'll be happy."
Yuan Si was completely bewildered. 'What on earth is she talking about?!'