Su Chan’s eyes flickered as she looked up at Li Yundong, her bright crimson lips slightly parted as if a multitude of thoughts were trying to escape, yet she swallowed them back.
Li Yundong gently pinched the tip of the little girl’s upturned nose and chuckled, “What’s wrong? Just say whatever is on your mind. We haven’t been together for such a short time; is there anything you can’t say to me?”
Moved by Li Yundong’s tenderness, Su Chan mustered her courage and asked, “Yundong, do you perhaps think I’m useless?”
Li Yundong looked puzzled. “Why would you say that?”
Su Chan murmured dreamily, “Sister Ziyuan is so powerful; not only does she manage all the household chores, but she’s also an expert in the tea ceremony. Without her this time, none of us would have figured out how to get money. Zhou Qin can also manage your business and offer advice, but me... I... I don’t know how to do anything...”
As the little girl spoke, her eyes welled up with tears from sadness and feeling slighted. Li Yundong’s heart ached with tenderness and pity. He drew her into his embrace and whispered softly, “You truly are a silly girl. Of course, you aren't useless.”
Her eyes still misty, the little girl asked, “What can I do?”
Li Yundong laughed, “You can certainly cause me trouble!”
Su Chan let out a small laugh, but her mouth quickly pouted again, her eyes filling with even more tears. She choked out, “With you saying that, I really must be useless...”
Li Yundong chuckled, holding her as if comforting a child. “I was just joking with you. You know how to do many things.”
Su Chan wiped away her tears. “Tell me what they are?”
Li Yundong then took the little girl’s delicate, snow-white hand and began counting on her fingers one by one: “Look, first, you understand cultivation. Didn’t you teach me my cultivation techniques initially? You were the one who brought me into this path; you are my foundational teacher. That alone is remarkable.”
The little girl blinked, watching Li Yundong intently. A warmth spread through her heart as he spoke of the past, and she was slightly delighted. “You were so dense back then, even more so than me, knowing nothing. Teaching you exhausted me to death.”
Li Yundong quickly nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, I was the clumsiest. Without you, heavens, I might have died from my own stupidity!” Then, Li Yundong suddenly laughed, “Do you know how pigs die?”
The little girl recalled the joke they had shared the first time they ate at McDonald’s together, and she immediately giggled, “They die from being too dumb!”
Li Yundong chuckled, “Exactly! You finally understand? See, even though I was so dense, you managed to bring me along this far. Don’t you feel a sense of accomplishment?”
Su Chan was initially pleased, but then her mouth puffed out again, and she said gloomily, “You were so dense and yet you’ve become so formidable. If I’m still stuck in the same spot now, doesn't that make me even denser than you? You were tricking me just now.”
Li Yundong hurriedly placated her. “That’s not right. Precisely because I was dense, the slow bird must fly first! You, the dignified Fox Immortal, only took a short nap, and you’ll catch up to me in no time.”
Su Chan knew Li Yundong was only saying that to soothe her. She was even more certain that given Li Yundong’s innate talent, she would never surpass him in this lifetime if he continued his practice.
However, what truly brought the little girl joy was seeing Li Yundong become stronger, far more than her own growth. It was just that Li Yundong was now surging ahead in cultivation, leaving behind all the areas where she could once assist him. She felt like she had become superfluous, and this sense of loss was what truly saddened her heart.
Su Chan looked pleadingly at Li Yundong and said, “Alright, you don’t need to coax me anymore. I know everything. I can’t do housework, I can’t cook, I can’t do anything. The only thing I knew, cultivation, you’ve already surpassed me in. I’m completely useless now...”
Li Yundong shot her a mock glare and scolded softly, “Nonsense! How could you be useless?”
Su Chan pouted, twisting the corner of her clothing. “What use could I possibly have? When other cultivators see you with me, they say you’ve fallen into decadence. I feel terrible hearing that.”
Li Yundong let out a hearty laugh. “What others say has nothing to do with us! My little lady is incredibly capable; they are just consumed by envy, jealousy, and hatred!”
Su Chan looked up. “What capabilities do I have?”
Li Yundong smiled. “In the future, when we open a shop, I can be the proprietor, and you can be the proprietress! Now I am the leader of the Fox Zen Sect; in the future, you can be the wife of the Fox Zen Sect Leader! Later, when I take on many disciples, you can be the Sect Mother!
Li Yundong happily painted a picture of the future: “Think about it, once we open our first store, if business is good, we can open a second, then a third, a fourth! Wow, by then, we’ll have a chain! You’ll be the grand Proprietress, commanding millions of fierce lions at your beck and call. Everyone will respectfully call out ‘Proprietress’ when they see you. Ah, how majestic!”
Su Chan giggled, pressing her cheek against Li Yundong’s broad, solid chest, her eyes glittering as she listened to him speak with infatuated devotion.
Li Yundong waved his hand and continued, “What? Still not majestic enough? Fine. Later, I’ll take on a huge swarm of disciples, and those disciples will take on disciples, and their disciples will take on more. By then, they will branch out, and wow, my influence will spread like peach and plum blossoms across the entire country! When they see you, a crowd will call you Sect Mother, a whole host will call you Ancestor Mother, and... hmm, what should they call the wife of their master’s master’s master?”
Su Chan’s cheeks flushed slightly. She hid her face in Li Yundong’s embrace, revealing only one eye curved like a crescent moon, giggling, “I don’t know either.”
Li Yundong pondered for a moment and declared decisively, “Then they shall call you the Old Buddha! Wow, look how awe-inspiring you are! When you step out, disciples and grand-disciples will clear the way ahead, and the attending disciples nearby will loudly announce: ‘The Old Buddha is setting off!’ Tsk tsk, with such an entourage, even the real Old Buddha won't be as imposing as you!”
Su Chan burst into delicate, trembling laughter, playfully scolding, “Stop it, you’re the Old Buddha! No, you are this Old Buddha’s Little Li Zi!”
Li Yundong froze inwardly: Good heavens, that’s quite fitting, as his surname is Li!
Seeing Li Yundong looking bewildered, Su Chan felt a sudden joy. She deliberately straightened her expression, coughed, and stated crisply, “Little Li Zi, the Empress Dowager is about to depart!”
Li Yundong chuckled, “Silly girl, nobody announces their own departure like that. That’s what others say about you.”
Su Chan was clearly deep into the role, placing her hands on her hips and pouting, “Are you the Old Buddha, or am I the Old Buddha?”
Seeing the little girl so rare happy, Li Yundong decided to play along. He adopted a subservient posture, his face full of forced flattery, “You are, of course, you are the Old Buddha!”
Saying that, he dramatically whipped his sleeve and mimicked the eunuchs from Qing Dynasty dramas, his voice high-pitched: “The Old Buddha is setting off!”
Su Chan laughed so hard her delicate body shook.
Li Yundong noticed Su Chan hadn't moved from her spot and asked curiously, “Old Buddha, why are you not moving?”
Su Chan deliberately adopted a stern look and asked in a dramatic tone, “Moving? Where is the carriage?”
A thought struck Li Yundong. He quickly crouched slightly in front of the little girl, turned to her with a smile, and said, “Coming, coming! Little Li Zi will carry you back to the Cining Palace!”
Su Chan let out a burst of laughter. She skipped gleefully onto Li Yundong’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck, and whispered like fragrant breath near his ear, “My Lord, you are so good to your little girl!”
Seeing the little girl drop the act, Li Yundong chuckled, “Naturally. If I’m not good to you, who should I be good to?”
Su Chan smiled wryly, resting her head on Li Yundong’s shoulder, greedily inhaling the strong scent of his virility. Thinking of everything Li Yundong had done for her, the little girl suddenly became lost in thought. Her eyes grew moist, and she murmured, “Did I accumulate some great virtue in my past life to deserve meeting you?”
Li Yundong knew these were the sentimental ramblings of a young girl, so he chuckled, “Wrong. I must have struck 300 wooden fish in my past life to meet you.”
Hearing this, Su Chan was immediately amused. “I told my Master the same thing last time.”
But as soon as she mentioned her Master, her expression clouded over again. Su Chan said in a low voice, “I wonder how Master is doing now. I am so happy here, but she doesn’t know where she is, suffering.”
When Li Yundong heard the little girl mention Ao Wushuang, his heart also grew heavy, and he couldn't help but sigh, “Speaking of this matter, it’s so tangled, I don’t know where to begin. The world is so vast; where do we find Yan Fang? Even Ziyuan doesn't know her whereabouts. For this woman to endure silently in the Fox Zen Sect for nine years, I truly cannot imagine how long she will remain hidden this time.”
Su Chan listened and fell silent, her brows tightly knit. After a long moment, she sighed softly, “I worry about Master so much. The thought of it makes my chest feel tight, like I can’t breathe. It’s so painful.”
Li Yundong gently stroked the little girl’s hair. “How about this: I’ll make inquiries everywhere. Logically speaking, I am now the leader of the Fox Zen Sect, and Ao Wushuang is a senior within the sect. For reasons of propriety, emotion, public duty, and private obligation, I should rescue her as soon as possible.”
Su Chan sighed softly. “If only someone had the power of Sū-mìng Tōng (Destiny Clairvoyance), that would be wonderful.”
Li Yundong started, “Sū-mìng Tōng? One of the Five Great Spiritual Powers of Buddhism?”
Saying this, Li Yundong suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed loudly, “That’s right! How could I not have thought of that!”
With the slap of his thigh, Su Chan, who was on his back, cried out loudly, clutching her leg, and complained, “Why did you hit my leg?”
Li Yundong shifted Su Chan on his back closer to him and laughed, “Sorry, sorry. It’s inconvenient to hit my own leg in this position, so I had to hit yours.”
Su Chan huffed petulantly, “Inconvenient? You clearly did it on purpose!” She suddenly remembered something and asked, “You know about Sū-mìng Tōng?”
Li Yundong chuckled. “Of course, I do. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra states that Buddhism has five great spiritual powers: Clairvoyance (Heavenly Eye), Clairaudience (Heavenly Ear), Mind-Reading (Other Minds), Supernatural Power (Divine Feet), and Destiny Clairvoyance (Sū-mìng Tōng), as well as the Power of Exhaustion. Sū-mìng Tōng refers to the ability to see through the past karma of all sentient beings, allowing one to perceive the unknown and the future.”
Su Chan looked at Li Yundong and couldn't help but exclaim, “You used to know nothing when asked, but now you’re so knowledgeable.”
Li Yundong laughed heartily. He said, “I actually know someone who possesses the power of Sū-mìng Tōng. Perhaps he can help you find the whereabouts of your Master.”
Su Chan’s joy was immense, and she quickly pressed him, “Who is it?!”