NEBM Chapter 28: The Sound Cultivator

The child, who wasn’t even tall enough to reach Shen Zhixian’s waist, looked up with a chubby face, childishly calling “Daddy” again and again.

His cries had shocked Shen Zhixian senseless, to the point that he feared he had somehow bred this little person back when he was still young and inexperienced.

Fortunately, Yan Jin’s “Sui Xian” had startled him back to his senses.

The little guy was still talking. Shen Zhixian raised his hand to rub his eyebrows. Then, he bent down half anxiously and rubbed the little guy’s fluffy head. “Ok, don’t shout.”

He hadn’t coaxed anyone before, except little Yan Jin. This kid was still a child, while Yan Jin was already a youth at that time. Now that he’d grown up, except for the occasional nagging, Shen Zhixian didn’t have to worry about such trivial matters anymore.

The little guy stared at him with watery eyes that looked as if they’d been coated with a layer of mist. His fleshy little hands held on to Shen Zhixian’s sleeves, unwilling to let go.

Shen Zhixian was at a loss for a while. Finally, he awkwardly tried to coax the child. “You mustn’t call me daddy. I’m not your daddy. The sky’s already dark so why are you still out playing? Do you know where I can send you back?”

Out of these words, there were none that would actually coax a child.

As Yan Jin silently listened to him, he suddenly realized that, in these past years, when Master had given him all kinds of good food and magical treasures, he probably expended a lot of thoughts to do so.

Sure enough, the little guy didn’t hear the answer he wanted and began to cry loudly, calling “daddy.” He cried and cried until he began to hiccup.

Shen Zhixian was protected from a face full of tears by the sleeves of his garment. He took a deep breath, even as his head began to throb in pain. He was stiff and helpless and could only continue to dully say, “Don’t cry.”

He wanted to ask Yan Jin to help him, but Yan Jin just silently stood beside him, with absolutely no intention of speaking. This terrible plight drove Shen Zhixian near tears. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and lifted the kid up into his arms.

Startled, the little guy reached out with chubby hands to hold Shen Zhixian’s neck. His cries abruptly stopped. His face flushed red, and he seemed to be holding his breath.

Shen Zhixian held him with one hand and patted his back with the other. The little boy sucked in a breath and began to hiccup, as if finally understanding. He rubbed his fluffy head intimately against the side of Shen Zhixian’s jaw.

Yan Jin’s originally calm and placid expression shifted slightly. A pair of eyes looked intensely at the little guy, whose eyes quivered at he looked back. His hold around Shen Zhixian’s neck tightened. “Daddy.”

Seeing that the little guy had stopped crying, Shen Zhixian was relieved. He no longer cared about being called “daddy” and whispered, “At last, he’s finally quiet….”

He noticed that although the child was crying, his clothes were neat and tidy, indicating that he must have been naughty and ran out while the adults were busy. Shen Zhixian told Yan Jin, “Let’s go and see who lost a child.”

After he said this, he held the little guy and took a few steps forward. When he didn’t hear the sound of Yan Jin following, he stopped and looked back, only to see Yan Jin looking at him thoughtfully. “You seemed to be very skilled at holding a young child.”

Shen Zhixian didn’t pay attention to his words and merely wanted to boast. As he walked forward, he said, “It’s not difficult to hold a child. I’ve done it before. I used to…”

He suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence, stuck. His footsteps halted.

When Yan Jin caught up to him in two to three steps, he saw that Shen Zhixian’s brows were furrowed, a confused expression on his face. “But I haven’t held a child before…?”

Children who were four to five years old loved to cry and be noisy. Shen Zhixian was most afraid of their tears and their noisiness. Whenever he sees a young child approach, he would quickly run away.

But, somehow, children were very attracted to him and were always chasing after him. He could only wretchedly run away, much less even think of taking the initiative to hug or carry them.

Shen Zhixian turned his head to look at the little guy he was holding in his arms. The little guy smiled at him, and a little snot bubble came out.

The way he picked up the child was just too smooth.

Most children were fragile. People who’d never held a child before would usually hesitate at first. However, he just thought about it and then did it. His hands seemed to carry the memories, knowing how to hold comfortably.

Probably this was also…an innate talent?

This was not an important event. Shen Zhixian only wondered for a moment and left it behind. He was about to speak to Yan Jin when a screech sounded. “Qiuqiu!”

Because she ran too fast, the woman was heavy with sweat. She turned around the street corner and saw her lost son at once. She immediately ran over, anxiously shouting, “Qiuqiu!”

The woman ran so fast that she left a shoe behind, but she didn’t seem to notice it.

The little guy heard the familiar voice and childishly yelled “Mama.” He loosened his hold on Shen Zhixian’s neck and turned to greet her enthusiastically.

Shen Zhixian hurried forward a few steps and hastily pushed the little guy back into the woman’s arms, feeling relieved.

The woman was also relieved and poked at the little guy’s head in anger, not willing to use any strength. The little guy just thought that his mama was playing with him. He giggled and the chubby little hand pointed at Shen Zhixian. “Daddy, Daddy!”

Shen Zhixian leaned slightly to the side, avoiding his finger, so as not to disrespect and take advantage of the woman.

Seeing his actions, the woman bowed her knees slightly in gratitude. “Thank you, sir. My child is naughty and created trouble for you.”

Shen Zhixian said, “No problem.”

The woman thanked him again and turned around to go.

Seeing this, the little guy’s mouth flattened, and he immediately began to cry again and again, crying even more miserably.

The woman holding him tried patting him on the back but even that didn’t seem to work. He only cried louder.

The woman panicked and called nervously, “Qiuqiu? Qiuqiu! Wake up quickly and look at Mama! Mama’s here!”

The child was clearly awake and crying, but the woman constantly shouted for him to “wake up.” When the little guy looked at him, still crying, Shen Zhixian found that his eyes had begun to look empty.

No, this couldn’t merely be because the boy was just “naughty.” Shen Zhixian frowned and turned to look at Yan Jin. Yan Jin also noticed that something was wrong. As they were just about to step forward to take a look, a soft female voice came from behind them. “Oh, Auntie. This child…I’m afraid he’d lost his soul.”

Shen Zhixian looked back, realizing he didn’t know when a tall woman had come up to them from behind. She walked gently and elegantly toward them, wearing a blue dress with a xun instrument hanging at her waist.

Her facial features were gentle and gracefully delicate, but a thin scar ran horizontally across her face to her chin, destroying her beauty.

The words “lost his soul” probably jolted the woman’s mind. She turned her head sharply, repeating, “… lost his soul?”

Upon saying this, the woman became excited, “Yes, Qiuqiu lost his soul……”

The blue-clad woman nodded her head, raised her hand, and condensed a small group of white silvergrass on her fingertips. She brushed them calmly against the crying child’s forehead.

As the white silvergrass brushed against the child’s forehead, his cries gradually weakened. He leaned against the woman’s shoulder, cried softly, and soon drifted into sleep.

Discovering hope, the woman’s knees softened nearly to the point of collapse. “I beg Daoist immortal to save my child!”

With tears in her eyes, she suppressed her voice for fear of waking up the child, adding, “Qiuqiu is naughty and likes to run out secretly when I’m not looking…”

Her husband had died prematurely, leaving her widowed and her children fatherless. She had managed to set up a small shop, taking in some manual labor in exchange for money. She was so busy that it was easy to be inattentive to the little ones.

This particular child was naughty and always sneaked out when an adult was not paying attention. Fortunately, the townspeople were born with simple natures and were familiar with her. Sometimes when they see the child running out, they would help send him back.

A few days ago, late in the evening, the little guy sneaked out once again when his mother was busy negotiating business.

This time, something unexpected happened.

When the woman managed to find the little child, he was staring at the wall, his expression blank. It was only when he saw his mother that his mouth trembled, and he began to cry.

In fact, that time, he’d only been gone for a quarter of an hour. The alley that he was found in was a dead end. With night quickly approaching, no one would enter there. The woman didn’t know what had happened to the child. When she’d manage to coax his tears away, she realized that something was wrong.

The little guy seemed to have become stupid.

In the past, the little guy had been a clever child. Although he was naughty, he was still very smart. But now, he was often drowsy and his eyes would often take on an empty, blank expression. He cried easily and was hard to coax. What’s more, he developed a bad habit. When he saw someone he liked, he would happily pounce on that person and insist that the person was his father, creating a great commotion.

The woman wiped her tears away. “The old people around said Qiuqiu might have knocked against something and his soul was frightened away…”

The blue-clad woman slightly supported the woman, not allowing her to kneel down. She mumbled irresolutely to herself for a moment and then said, “I’m a sound cultivator from Qianyin Pavilion. My name is Duan Yuan. Although I’m not an expert in the soul path, this simple thing such as a frightened soul…If you’re willing to trust me, I believe that I might be able to help.”

The woman saw her spiritual strength just now and this, combined with her gentle demeanor, made her believe completely. She nodded her head in a hurry. “I beg Daoist immortal to save my child!”

The woman in blue took out two talisman. Shen Zhixian glanced at the red tracing on the talisman and recognized that they were the soul-fixing talisman and the soul-seeking talisman.

She skillfully and neatly folded the soul-fixing talisman into a triangle. Then, she stuffed it into the little guy’s arms. After pinching the soul-finding talisman with two fingers, she warmly said, “Please take me to see the alley the child was on that day.”

The two gradually disappeared with the child. Shen Zhixian’s brows furrowed slightly in contemplation. Finally, he got it! The xun instrument! The damaged appearance! Sound cultivator!

Duan Yuan!

He remembered now!

Wasn’t this the sound cultivator who was Yan Jin’s suspected female lead in the original book?

Shen Zhixian was shocked, and pulled Yan Jin’s sleeve without thinking. “That sound cultivator…”

This was Yan Jin’s first time coming across an incident relating to the soul. He was thinking about the little fellow’s situation and, after realizing that Shen Zhixian was pulling his sleeve, he turned back a little and tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?”

Shen Zhixian was exuberant with excitement. “What do you think about that sound cultivator…? You saw her, right?”

Yan Jin took a moment to carefully think about it, then he thoughtfully said, “The child was frightened and easily lost his soul, causing this abnormal behavior. That sound cultivator must look for the missing soul. Once she finds the soul, she would be able to resolve the situation.”

Shen Zhixian: “???”

He was asking Yan Jin about what he thought about the sound cultivator. Who asked about the situation regarding the child’s soul?!

Shen Zhixian looked at Yan Jin’s oblivious expression, realizing that he really didn’t notice anything else. He sighed, hating iron for not becoming steel. “Forget it. Let’s walk on and find something to eat.”

The sound cultivator was taking care of the situation with the lost soul. Shen Zhixian was hungry and was too lazy to join in. He pulled Yan Jin to sit down inside a restaurant that was still open.

The restaurant had a faint, lingering fragrance. Shen Zhixian recognized the unique scent of lotus seed. His mouth watered, and he asked, “Are there lotus seeds to eat? It smells very fragrant.”

“It’s because Big Brother made lotus seed soup and lotus seed cake.” A sixteen to seventeen year old youth came out from the house and stopped at their table, skillfully reporting the dishes. “We’re about to close for the night. These are the only two dishes left. Would the two people want these?”

Yan Jin was normally uncommunicative and Shen Zhixian was used to it. He only nodded and said, “Bring the lotus seed soup and the lotus seed cake here.”

“Okay!” The teenager responded. He turned back to the kitchen and soon came out to serve their food.

Behind him, a tall, strong man, who looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, came out with his hands partially covered in flour.

The young man smiled at them. “This is our chef, Big Brother Chang.”

He set their meal down and intimately stepped closer to the man next to him. “Is Big Brother Chang going to ask them about A’Lian again?”

The man laughed uneasily, then said hello to the two of them. He said with some embarrassment, “The lotus seed cake is still steaming and will be delivered later.”

After a pause, the man hesitantly asked, “May I take the liberty to ask these two guests…Where did you come from?”

Shen Zhixian raised an eyebrow and, without elaborating, only said, “Down from the north, heading south.”

The man’s face brightened. He seemed a little excited, and a hopeful light flickered across his eyes. “Then, in your travels, did you happen to meet a youth named A’Lian? Very tall, very thin…”

He gestured with his hands as he talked. But, Shen Zhixian shook his head. “We haven’t.”

The light in the man’s eyes dimmed. His smile became somewhat forced and brittle as he bowed slightly to them. After thanking them, he turned back to the kitchen.

The youth that came out with him didn’t follow right away. He stood motionless, watching the man leave with obvious disappointment. He bit his lip and entered after a while.

Shen Zhixian inadvertently glanced at his back and noticed that it carried a bit of loneliness and sadness.

But, this was other people’s business. Shen Zhixian, who was hungry, didn’t think about it anymore. He was about to dig into their meal when footsteps sounded by the door, followed by a gentle voice calling, “Shopkeeper.”

It sounded like the sound cultivator.

Shen Zhixian looked over and, sure enough, it was the sound cultivator who’d just helped the child find his lost soul.

At this time, it had completely grown dark outside. The only candlelight in the room flickered dimly. Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin were sitting at a corner table. She probably didn’t see them and picked a seat at random.

Then, still with the same gentle temperament, she lifted her skirt, sat down on the stool with legs spread, and boldly stretched her waist in a lazy manner, shouting, “Somebody?”

The delicate and graceful voice that had been used to greet the woman and child was now gone, replaced by a bold, exuberant yell.

From inside came the youth’s answer, “Coming!”

He hurried out, saw the sound cultivator, and looked a little embarrassed as he said, “Guest, we don’t have any more food. I’m afraid we can’t entertain you.”

The sound cultivator was disappointed. “It’s all gone?”

The youth nodded apologetically, explained that they were just about to close down for the night and that the food that had been left was served to the two guests, who were still waiting for the seed lotus cake.

From the corner of Shen Zhixian’s eyes, he noticed Yan Jin was silently looking at the sound cultivator. His heart moved and, putting down his chopsticks, he waved his hand, calling out, “Young Lady Duan.”

The sound cultivator suddenly heard her name being called. She was shocked and realized that there were actually two people sitting at a corner table. Then, almost instantly, she straightened her back, placed her hands on the table, and gracefully snapped her knees closed. Pasting a gentle smile on her face, she turned her head to look.

—Ah, these were the two ordinary people she’d met earlier.

She was relieved from the bottom of her heart and her dignified posture relaxed again. She said, “You are …”

Shen Zhixian thought about Yan Jin and deliberately wanted to explore her background. He sent out an invitation with a warm smile. “Young Lady Duan, our meals have not yet started. If you don’t mind, you can ask this little brother to add a pair of chopsticks…”

It stood to reason that a female cultivator, when meeting such an invitation from a stranger, would hesitate.

But, this sound cultivator was either too hungry or her innate temperament was naturally bold. Or, Jan Yin’s protagonist halo was just shining too brightly, thus attracting her. In short, she only paused briefly before standing up cheerfully. With a bright smile, she said, “In that case, I’ll trouble you.”

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Xixi: What do you guys think about Yan Jin’s possible “leading lady”? When I was reading this, I had a good first impression and was hoping she wouldn’t turn into a green tea or a white lotus. No spoilers, please.

Here’s a picture of a xun instrument that Duan Yuan was carrying. It looks pretty much like an oblong flute.