The night at Qingxu Temple was utterly silent, save for the rhythmic footsteps of patrolling disciples and the faint roars of beasts and chirping of insects echoing from distant mountains. Moonlight cascaded like liquid silver, casting a chilly glow over the bluestone paths. Xiao Qi lay in bed, his stomach emitting clear rumbles. Having practiced cultivation diligently all day, then helping in the kitchen to practice fire control and wok tossing, his physical exertion was immense. The meager clear porridge and plain water from supper had long been digested. Hunger clawed at his stomach like tiny talons, making him toss and turn. After much hesitation, his craving for food ultimately triumphed over rules. He quietly rose, slipped out of the servants' quarters like a nimble cat, and made his way toward the kitchen, familiar with the route. Under the cover of darkness, his slender frame nearly merged with the shadows. The kitchen door wasn't locked, merely ajar. Xiao Qi gently pushed it open a crack and slipped inside. It was pitch black inside, only the occasional spark from unburned firewood in the stove hearth illuminating faint outlines. Relying on memory, he groped his way toward the corner where leftovers and pickled vegetables were stored. Just as his hand was about to touch the familiar ceramic jar, a very faint rustling sound suddenly came from deep within the kitchen, near the shelf storing spiritual plants!
Xiao Qi froze, his heart leaping into his throat. A thief? Or... a patrolling senior brother? He held his breath, not daring to move, and squinted toward the source of the sound, aided by the dim red glow from the stove hearth. There, he saw a furry, white figure about the size of two palms, standing upright beside a low shelf. Its long ears twitched alertly, and a pair of ruby-red eyes, especially bright in the darkness, warily scanned the surroundings. Its little paws clutched a 'Jade Ginseng' root, thicker than its own body, emitting faint spiritual energy, which it was happily munching on! A rabbit? Xiao Qi was taken aback. The back mountains of Qingxu Temple did have small animals, but this was the first time he'd seen one daring to sneak into the kitchen and steal spiritual plants. Moreover, this rabbit's gaze... was too lively, unlike an ordinary beast—more like... a spirit creature that had gained intelligence?
The rabbit spirit obviously noticed Xiao Qi as well. It paused, clutching the ginseng root, and retreated a step warily, its red eyes wide open, staring eye-to-eye with Xiao Qi. After a brief standoff, the rabbit spirit seemed to judge that Xiao Qi posed little threat and turned to flee with its 'spoils,' moving as fast as lightning. 'Stop! That's for Steward Li's medicine preparation!' Xiao Qi instinctively shouted in a low voice, forgetting his fear as he quickly gave chase. Though the Jade Ginseng was only a low-grade spiritual plant, it was temple property. If Steward Li discovered it missing and launched an investigation, Xiao Qi, who had sneaked into the kitchen at night, wouldn't be able to escape blame either.
Thus began a rather comical 'kitchen chase.' The rabbit spirit, small in size, moved with extreme agility, nimbly weaving through piled baskets, firewood stacks, and table legs, leaving white trails as it darted into corners and leaped onto low cabinets. Although Xiao Qi's body had grown somewhat more flexible after cultivation, the kitchen was cluttered with objects and dimly lit. He stumbled along, either bumping into table corners and grimacing in pain or tripping over suddenly appearing low stools. 'Don't run!' Xiao Qi whispered, trying to cut off its escape while chasing. The rabbit spirit seemed to find it amusing, occasionally stopping to wiggle its furry bottom at Xiao Qi or lightly pat the ground with its paws, emitting soft 'thump thump' sounds as if taunting. It never let go of the Jade Ginseng root in its mouth.
Xiao Qi grew both angry and anxious. Seeing the rabbit spirit about to dart toward the ventilation window, in desperation, he grabbed a thin wooden spatula used for spreading pancakes that was leaning against the wall and threw it ahead of the creature, hoping to block its path. The spatula landed with a 'thud' not far in front of the rabbit spirit. The sudden noise seemed to startle it; it abruptly halted, and the ginseng root it was holding slipped from its mouth, rolling on the ground with a 'gurgle.' The rabbit spirit glanced at the root on the ground, then at the approaching Xiao Qi, a hint of human-like 'annoyance' flashing in its red eyes. Suddenly, it stood upright on its hind legs, its front paws rapidly rummaging through the furry, seemingly built-in 'pocket' on its chest, then flung something toward Xiao Qi!
Several shiny stones of varying sizes came flying straight at Xiao Qi's face! Instinctively, he raised his arms to shield himself. The stones struck his arms and the ground, producing crisp sounds but causing no pain. He looked down and saw several irregularly shaped stones rolling on the floor, some glowing faintly with earthy yellow light, others bearing a metallic sheen. In the faint stove light, he could barely make out that they were poor-quality spirit stones or mineral fragments containing almost no spiritual energy—likely insufficient even for sect missions. While Xiao Qi was momentarily stunned by this unexpected 'rain of stones,' the rabbit spirit swiftly picked up the Jade Ginseng root from the ground again, kicked its hind legs powerfully, transformed into a white streak, and instantly slipped through the gap in the open window, vanishing into the thick night.
The kitchen returned to silence, leaving Xiao Qi alone, standing there, looking at the shiny 'toll payment' on the floor, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He bent down to pick up the stones; they felt cold to the touch, their spiritual energy so thin it was almost negligible. This rabbit spirit... knew to 'pay' for stealing? Though this 'payment' was rather shabby. He glanced again at the window where the rabbit spirit had disappeared and shook his head. Tonight's snack raid had utterly failed. However, encountering such a peculiar and clever spirit creature could be considered a strange adventure. He tucked the few poor-quality stones into his robe; though useless, they were 'souvenirs' left by that unusual rabbit. Then, he quietly cleaned up the traces of scattered soil on the floor to avoid arousing suspicion the next day. After finishing all this, his hunger seemed somewhat alleviated by the earlier chase. He sighed, patted his still-empty stomach, and stealthily slipped out of the kitchen, returning to the servants' quarters. Lying in bed, his mind replayed the rabbit spirit's lively, cunning red eyes and its pained, reluctant expression when it threw the stones. Qingxu Temple seemed more interesting than he'd imagined. And this midnight kitchen, aside from being his 'cultivation' ground, might just have some unexpected 'visitors.'