Chapter 22 - Grandfather?!

Jing Yi hurried back to the shrub, he had hid in back when Qiu Ling found him. He sat down and looked around, as if waiting for the old man to appear.

Qiu Ling watched him from behind, sighed and transformed once again. His perfect plan had somehow been thwarted. He had to get it back on track. And … he had to tell Jing Yi, that waiting in the forest like this wouldn't be of help, if he was looking for a person. Who knew if a normal passer-by would still be there after a whole day?

"Oh!" Qiu Ling stopped hiding his presence and like the day before, he bent down and peered into the shrub. "What's in there today? A little animal?"

Jing Yi turned around, his face lighting up, as soon as he saw Qiu Ling. He didn't stay hidden in the shrub this time, but instead came over and looked up at him.

"What is it, little boy? Did something happen?"

"My mommy said, she was a girl, too!" His gaze was accusing. Qiu Ling felt a stab in his heart. Why did I plan something like that? See how he looks at me now? How will he look at me, when he wakes up in the nine heavens and remembers everything, that happened in the mortal realm? He'll certainly blame me for being heartless!

"Uh … and?" Pretending like he didn't understand was certainly for the best! He had to mislead him and then adjust his tale a bit. There was no turning back now, anyway.

Jing Yi pursed his lips. The old man didn't seem to understand? "Mommy can't be a mud monster!"

"Of course not!" Qiu Ling pretended to be surprised, he'd even think about that.

"But …" Jing Yi furrowed his brow. "You said, all girls were mud monsters! Mommy was a girl, too. But mommy can't be a mud monster!"

Qiu Ling blinked innocently. "Did I say that?"

Jing Yi looked thunderstruck. The old man didn't say that?

"Er … I must have misspoken." Qiu Ling hung his head. "I'm really sorry! What I meant was: Every mud monster can transform into a human girl! Of course, not every human girl is a mud monster. Your mommy certainly isn't one!"

Jing Yi perked up. So it was like that! Everything was really just a misunderstanding! The old man didn't lie!

Qiu Ling pressed his lips together. Why did that expression look so familiar? Had he really tricked him successfully already? No need to give any proof? That was really too —

"Then how do I know, which one is a mud monster?"

"Uh … Through … careful observance." Qiu Ling looked away. "Why do you ask?"

"Mommy said, if father hadn't played with her, I wouldn't be here. So if I don't play with the girls, will I disappear?"

Qiu Ling looked at him, stunned. How did he arrive at that conclusion? He slowly shook his head. "No, you won't." The boy looked at him questioningly, clearly not understanding, why. Qiu Ling frowned. How to explain that? "It's like this: You are here, because your father married your mother. Whatever you do, won't change that."

"Then I don't have to play with the girls?"

"You don't. In fact, I would advise you not to do so. You know, they could be mud monsters, after all. And even if they aren't: If you always play with one of them, your mother might just take a liking to her! Then you wouldn't be as important to her."

Jing Yi imagined his mother liking another child. He scrunched up his face, ready to cry the next moment.

Qiu Ling patted his head. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen, if you're cautious!"

"Oh."

"Mn … Maybe you should try finding out, which of the girls is a mud monster. Just to be sure …"

Jing Yi looked at him expectantly. Qiu Ling coughed. He was about to lie to his beloved again. Hopefully, that wouldn't become a habit. Ah, Jing He, I promise, when you grow up, I'll never lie to you again!

"It's really easy! A mud monster has to return to his natural environment now and then. A place, they'd love to go to, would be the river bank or the path near the edge of the forest."

"So if they go there, they're mud monsters?"

Qiu Ling nodded. "Yes, indeed. And you'll see: They'll transform back, if they go there! You basically can't be wrong with this method! Just go and have a look."

Jing Yi nodded eagerly and stood up.

"Ah, one moment!" Qiu Ling gripped his hand and held him back. "There is another thing. You know, running into the forest all alone again isn't good. Not even mentioning, that your mother would worry about you, what would you have done, if I wasn't here anymore?"

Jing Yi drooped his head.

"There, there." Qiu Ling patted his head again, his hands twitching again to pull him into his arms, but he held back. "You had luck this time. And for the next time …" He took a jade bracelet out of his inter-spatial ring and handed it to Jing Yi. It was too big for him to wear now, but when he grew up, that would be different. "This is a magical artifact. When you ever want to ask me something or need my help, you just have to hold it between your hands and call for me. Then I'll immediately hurry to where you are."

Jing Yi turned the bracelet in his hands and examined it from all sides. He had never seen something this beautiful! With sparkling eyes, he looked up at Qiu Ling. "Thank you, grandfather!"

Qiu Ling grabbed his chest. My love … what did you just call me?!

He masked his hurt with a cough. "Well, that's only natural. We met two times here in the forest by chance. That means, there must be fate between us."

"Fate?" Jing Yi didn't really know, what the old man was talking about. But he put the shiny bracelet away and he intended to use it, to talk to this friendly grandfather again some time.

Qiu Ling nodded. "You know … In fact, I'm a master of the dao. As a daoist master, it's my duty to help other people."

"Oh, so it's like that!"

"Mn." Qiu Ling wanted to spent more time with him, but he still motioned to the village. "You should return now. Your mother's probably worried about you."

Jing Yi nodded and turned around. He ran some steps, then turned around, lifting his small hand to wave goodbye. At this time, Qiu Ling, who had stood just right behind him, had already hidden his figure. It seemed as if he had vanished on the spot.

Jing Yi stared at the place he had been at, turned in a circle to look if he could find him somewhere else, but came up with nothing. He thought a bit, then took out the jade bracelet. He placed it between his hands and called out: "Grandfather!"

Qiu Ling had black lines running over his face, but he still appeared with a smile in front of Jing Yi. "What happened? Didn't you want to return to your mother?"

Jing Yi nodded and put the bracelet away again. "Goodbye, Grandfather!" He waved at him, then ran away.

Qiu Ling sighed. "Ah, just grow up a little faster. I don't know how long my heart can take being called 'grandfather' by you …" He shook his head, hid his presence again and followed after Jing Yi.

When the boy reached home, he found his father kneeling in front of the door step and admitting his fault to his mother.

"My wife … I … I lost our son again!" He had searched everywhere around the paddy, even asking the other men, but no one had seen Jing Yi and he just couldn't find him.

Madam Zhong whacked him over the head, just like the last time. "What are you talking about? He's standing right behind you!" She ignored her husband and picked up her son. "Where have you been, Jing'er?"

"I went to look for the friendly grandfather!"

"Oh?" Madam Zhong carried him into the house. "Did you find him?"

"Mn!" Jing Yi took out the jade bracelet and showed it to his mother. "Look, he gave me this! I can call him with that."

"Call him?" Madam Zhong took the bracelet and turned it around just like her son before in the forest. The bracelet was made out of white translucent jade and immaculately carved. Selling off the whole of their family's property wouldn't amount to even one finger's breadth of this bracelet and somebody had just gifted it to her son.

Before she could ask further, Jing Yi looked up at his mother curiously. "Mommy, what's a daoist master? Does he really help all people?"

Madam Zhong smiled. She had seen Qiu Ling's true face the night Jing Yi was born and she had seen the altered face some weeks later, when Qiguan Cheng Da came. She didn't know much about those deity sects or cultivation, but she understood, that this man had somehow taken a liking to her son and would probably help him for the rest of his life.

So the old man from before, who found him, when he was lost in the woods, was him, too.

She patted Jing Yi's head and nodded. "That's true! You know, on the day you were born, a daoist master came to our village, too. If not for him, the two of us might not even be here anymore. So, when you see a daoist master in the future, be sure to be respectful to him!"

"Mn!" Jing Yi nodded serious. If a daoist master had saved his mommy, of course he would be respectful! He didn't want anything to happen to his mommy!

On that day, Zhong Jing Yi heard of daoist masters for the first time and he decided, that when he grew up, he also wanted to help people! Unfortunately, until then, a lot of time would be needed and who knew, what would be his fate until then?

Anyway, in the village of the Zhongs a new story soon made it's way around: Somehow, all the girls had fallen into mud holes, that magically seemed to appear at the riverbank and near the path to the forest. But nobody else than the girls fell in and when people went to look, they never found any holes.

Zhong Jing Yi saw all of them falling in, so nobody said anything, when he avoided the girls from this day forth. The women with daughters or nieces his age, just hoped, that he'd soon forget about it and would still marry one of them, when he grew up.

Well, even if he forgot, somebody would certainly make sure he remembered. Though, tricking him would be increasingly difficult with each passing year.