Paimon asked, "Old home? But I heard Shenhe say that she didn't..."
Lumine shook her head at Paimon. "Paimon, don't ask about things you shouldn't."
Su Ming smiled. "It's fine. It's just about going back to say a proper goodbye to the past."
Lumine looked left and right. "Where's Shenhe? Didn't she come back with you?"
"An elder she knows got injured, so she accompanied him to Bubu Pharmacy. Later, she has to stop by Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, so she'll likely be back a bit late."
Lumine's eyes widened. "Eh? Is that person's injury so serious? They have to go to the funeral parlor already?"
Paimon was also shocked. "How can that be... if that's true, Shenhe is just too pitiful!"
"...What are you two thinking? Alright, I suppose I didn't explain clearly."
Su Ming organized his thoughts and said, "It's like this: Shenhe and I went to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor this morning. The business Director Hu is running is actually Shenhe's business."
"She plans to build a cenotaph for her parents and hold a proper funeral for them."
"In short, there is no cause and effect relationship between her going to the funeral parlor and her taking an elder to Bubu Pharmacy."
"She's only going back to the funeral parlor later to discuss the steps and procedures of the funeral with Director Hu."
Paimon let out a long sigh of relief. "You guy! You can't even speak clearly, you made me worry for nothing!"
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. By the way, where is my master? Hasn't she come out?" Su Ming asked, looking at Lumine.
Lumine shook her head. "Do we look like we've been back for very long? We haven't seen Cloud Retainer since we returned. However, there's been constant noise coming from her room."
Just as Lumine finished speaking, Cloud Retainer walked out of the room. In her hand, she held a fishing rod that looked no different from an ordinary one.
"Hmph, unfilial disciple! This Immortal has finished the item you requested!"
Seeing this, Su Ming hurriedly stepped forward with a smile. "Thank you, Master! You're the best, Master. Do you want to eat anything? I'll go buy it from the street for you right now."
Cloud Retainer, seeing Su Ming's sycophantic behavior, felt a wave of irritation. "Hmph, look at you! Just take the thing and go!"
"Yes, Master!"
Su Ming quickly took his "artifact for laziness" and ran to the pond in the courtyard to test it out.
Mm, it was incredibly easy to use.
Although he still had to bait the hook and cast the line himself, Cloud Retainer had actually managed to figure out an automatic reeling function.
As long as the rod sensed a change in weight on the hook, it would instantly trigger the internal mechanisms. Those mechanisms would then activate the sigils and scriptures Cloud Retainer had inscribed inside the rod.
After that, the sigils would burst with Adeptal Energy, completing the automatic reel.
"Aha! This way, I can read novels, eat snacks, and fish all at the same time."
"I'll go try it out tomorrow. Hmm... before I leave, I should head to Wanwen Bookhouse to see if there are any interesting books."
Su Ming put the fishing rod away, feeling thoroughly satisfied.
Next came dinner time.
Cloud Retainer didn't eat much. Instead, she spent the meal casually asking Su Ming about Shenhe's situation.
Knowing his master's temperament, Su Ming simply told her everything in one go. He wanted to save her the trouble of pretending to be indifferent while clearly dying to know the details.
After listening to Su Ming's narration, Cloud Retainer let out a long sigh.
Although she had adopted Shenhe, she didn't actually know much about the specifics of what had happened to the girl. Hearing about Shenhe's life story today, she couldn't help but lament.
"Sigh... the world is full of suffering. Some matters are simply beyond the reach of mortals."
"But is life and death a boundary that only mortals cannot touch? Whether they be Adepti or Gods, when faced with death, they are no different from mortals."
"That poor child, Shenhe, has suffered far too much..."
Lumine and Paimon also felt a weight in their hearts after hearing about Shenhe's past. Paimon even ate two bowls less than usual, which was a testament to her low spirits.
While they were discussing, Shenhe pushed open the door and entered.
Compared to her usual cold and icy demeanor, there was now a faint smile on her face. Though it wasn't obvious, for those familiar with her, it was a staggering transformation.
"Master, I'm back."
"Sit down and eat. If you had come any later, the food would have been cold."
Seeing Shenhe return, Paimon did something rare. She flew up and handed her a prized snack from her private stash. "Shenhe, here! This is delicious, you have to try it!"
Lumine also beckoned Shenhe to sit beside her.
Shenhe was stunned for a moment, then she began to smile from the bottom of her heart.
After so many years... she had finally found a place where she belonged.
A home. A place to return to when she was tired or weary.
A warm place where people cared for her.
A place in her heart for when she felt the world was too vast and had nowhere else to go.
In this moment, she remembered the words her mother spoke on her deathbedthe hope that she would live a good life.
She remembered the regret and guilt her father had felt at the very end, as recorded in his notes.
She remembered Uncle Mingjun's care for her and his guilt for failing to stop the tragedy back then.
She thought of the care she received from her master and her martial uncles.
Perhaps her two martial uncles weren't good at expressing themselves, but Shenhe knew that their concern for her was no less than that of her master.
As for her master... as Su Ming put it, she was a typical "tsundere" with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Although she didn't quite know what "tsundere" meant... she assumed it wasn't a bad word.
Finally, she looked at Su Ming, who was quietly smiling at her. She returned the smile.
This was one of the few truly sincere smiles she had shared in her life so far.
"Young lady, I see your relationship with this young master is anything but ordinary."
"You'd better be careful. A man like this is very much in demand. You must make sure to hold on tight!"
For no apparent reason, Chef Mao's words from that morning suddenly echoed in Shenhe's mind.
She suddenly became alert. The smile on her face vanished as she turned a wary, slightly hostile gaze toward Lumine, who was currently chatting enthusiastically with Su Ming.
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