There is a town on the west coast, the name of the town is Sihai City. Sihai City is prosperous and bustling, most of its people come from all over the world, and there are also monks who like to travel in the mortal world.
Pei Yunshu brought Xiao Zhuyou to an inn and sat down. After asking the waiter to serve some signature dishes, he picked up some water and fed Xiao Zhuyou a sip.
Xiao Zhuyou held his father's hand and drank water obediently. He sat on a stool next to Pei Yunshu with an upright posture, but leaned towards Pei Yunshu little by little.
The appearances of the two, one big and one small, were extraordinary. People around them couldn't help but take a few glances at them, then turned around to listen to the strange stories the cultivators were talking about.
Sitting in the middle was a table of young casual cultivators, whose highest level of cultivation was only the foundation-building stage. Among them, a young man in a blue shirt was talking incessantly about the cultivation competition that had ended not long ago.
"I heard that among the last ten people, four were from the Dan Shui Sect alone?" someone asked curiously.
The man in blue nodded, "That's right. But for some reason, the Shanshui Sect disciple Yuncheng, who was supposed to get the first place, changed his attitude halfway through the competition and almost killed a fellow Taoist by accident. So the masters pushed his ranking down again and again as a punishment, and that's why he missed the first place."
Others said with pity: "It's a pity that he missed this one."
"It's a pity for him, not for Shanshui Sect. The first place winner this time is still from Shanshui Sect, and I heard that he is a disciple of Lingye Zhenren," another person sighed, "In today's cultivation world, Shanshui Sect is the only dominant sect."
The man in blue shirt said, "In addition to the Shanshui Sect, there are many young talents from other sects. The third one is Wu Jiu from the Yuanling Palace, and the fourth one is Bian Rong from the Xuanyi Sect... Compared with them, my ability is really far from enough."
Pei Yunshu wiped Xiao Zhuyou's hands and poured himself a cup of tea. He listened to the conversation without changing his expression. He just listened leisurely and felt happy for Wu Jiu and Bian Rong. To him, it was like listening to someone else's story.
"Daddy," Xiao Zhuyou finally moved to Pei Yunshu's side, legs touching, "Daddy, where are we going after dinner?"
He raised his little head and looked at Pei Yunshu. His eyes were extremely pure and dark, avoiding the light. These eyes should have looked very strange, but they looked quite beautiful on his cute little face.
Pei Yunshu tilted his head like Zhu You and asked him, "Where do you want to go?"
Xiao Zhu You thought about it and said, "Zhu You and Daddy won't stay in Sihai City."
She is so young, but she has so many ideas. Pei Yunshu laughed and pretended to be hesitant, "Doesn't Zhu You like it here?"
Everything here is good, except that there are too many people.
Xiao Zhuyou still remembered what the silver dragon said, that it would let Dragon Father come here to find him and his father. How could he allow his father to be found
Xiao Zhu You hugged Pei Yunshu's hand, rubbed his face against Pei Yunshu's palm, and said obediently: "Zhu You doesn't like crowded places."
"Okay," Pei Yunshu was so moved by his coquettishness that he softened his heart. He rubbed Zhu You's black hair with his five fingers, "Zhu You can go wherever you want."
A sudden noise came from among the wandering cultivators, interrupting the conversation between the two. The people in the inn looked in the direction of the wandering cultivators curiously and saw that they looked excited.
"Are you serious?!"
"Did you really see a powerful person in the East China Sea?"
The person who was speaking had flushed red in the face. He stood up, his hand holding the teacup trembling.
The person being questioned said, "Why would I lie to you? A month ago, I wanted to exchange a roll of dragon silk with the mermaid, but I saw the mighty man sitting on the edge of the East China Sea. I only dared to take a look from afar and didn't dare to look again. A few days ago, I went to the East China Sea again, but I didn't expect that the mighty man was still sitting on the edge of the East China Sea. I saw it clearly this time, and I can't be wrong."
"Then he stayed in the East China Sea for more than a month?"
The others said with regret, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? No, I'll go to the East China Sea and take a look now. Even if I can't get guidance from the mighty, just taking a look is good."
One of them walked out of the inn in a flash, and the others looked at each other and hurriedly followed him out.
After listening to their words, Pei Yunshu frowned slightly, but before Xiao Zhuyou looked over, his brows relaxed in the blink of an eye.
The waiter brought hot dishes from the back. Pei Yunshu washed the chopsticks and handed them to Xiao Zhuyou. The two ate slowly. Xiao Zhuyou's hands were covered with oil. He picked up a shrimp and put it into Pei Yunshu's bowl. He smiled at his father and said, "Dad is too thin. You need to eat more."
Pei Yunshu's wrist emerged from his sleeve. He placed his hand next to Zhu You's wrist and said, "Daddy's arm is thicker than Zhu You's."
Zhu You stretched out his hand, wiped it with a handkerchief, and then carefully grasped Pei Yunshu's wrist.
His hands were so small that he couldn't even hold Pei Yunshu's wrist, but he tried very hard to go around Pei Yunshu's wrist bones and touch his own small fingers.
"Daddy is still too thin," he compared, "After a while, I will be able to hold daddy's wrist. When Zhu You grows up, his hands will be bigger than daddy's. With one hand, I will be able to hide daddy's hand in my palm."
As he spoke, he grabbed Pei Yunshu's entire hand.
Pei Yunshu said with a smile: "Then Zhu You will grow up slowly."
Xiao Zhuyou glanced at him and asked slowly, "Then Daddy, before I grow up, you are not allowed to let anyone hold your hand."
This expression made Pei Yunshu think that he had seen the adult Zhu You. He nodded subconsciously and said, "Daddy promises you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he realized that something seemed to be wrong.
But Xiao Zhuyou smiled at him with great joy, and he put the matter behind him.
*
A new family moved to Nanxi Town and they rented a house on the first day they arrived.
There are only two people in this family, a father and a son. The father is handsome and the son is also very good-looking. On the first day they moved to Nanxi Town, the older people in the town would take a curious look at them when they passed by.
Pei Yunshu and Xiao Zhuyou just moved to Nanxi Town yesterday. They both had a good sleep and woke up only when the sun was high in the sky.
Zhu You is now at the age where she loves to play. Pei Yunshu hasn't relaxed for a long time, so he is happy to accompany Zhu You. After waking up and eating something, he took Zhu You to make a swing in the yard.
Xiao Zhuyou had never made these things before. He squatted on the ground with his back to Pei Yunshu, looking at the wood and rope on the ground expressionlessly, feeling that he had lost face in front of his father.
"Zhu You?" Pei Yunshu said from behind, "Hand Dad a rope."
Xiao Zhuyou picked up a rope and handed it to Pei Yunshu. Pei Yunshu smiled and praised him, "Zhuyou, have you never seen this thing before?"
The child shook his head and looked at Pei Yunshu pitifully.
Pei Yunshu said: "This thing is very interesting. When Daddy finishes it, I will teach Zhu You how to play with it."
He didn't use any magic, he just did it bit by bit. In this warm sunshine, he didn't have to worry about anything else, and slowly passing the time was also an exceptionally beautiful thing.
By the time Pei Yunshu had finished setting up the swing, Xiao Zhuyou had already fallen asleep on the stone table beside him.
Pei Yunshu smiled, leaned over to pick him up, and slowly walked back to the room along the path in the courtyard. Just as he put Zhu You on the bed, little Zhu You woke up, rubbing his eyes, and said softly, "Daddy."
"Daddy is here," Pei Yunshu simply took off his shoes and went to bed, sleeping with him, "Zhu You, sleep a little longer."
Zhu You lay in Pei Yunshu's arms, pouting for a kiss, then hugged Pei Yunshu and fell into a deep dream.
*
Pei Yunshu and Zhu You adapted well to Nanxi Town. Because Zhu You's name was extremely strange in the mortal world, Pei Yunshu gave him a name, Pei Yunjiao.
Today they went fishing, tomorrow they went on an outing, and they played for several days in a row. One day when the sun was setting in the west, when Pei Yunshu was returning with Zhu You, he saw a student who had just graduated from a private school on the side of the road.
There were also young children among those students. Pei Yunshu couldn't help but feel moved when he saw them walking together.
The next day, he also sent Zhu You to a private school.
Zhu You does not understand the ways of the world, nor does he know propriety, righteousness, and shame. Taking this opportunity to let him read a book, he can not only meet some people of the same age, but also understand some principles. It is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone.
On the first day Xiao Zhuyou was sent to the private school, he watched Pei Yunshu's back as he walked away, his face changing from gloomy to happy. After he could no longer see Pei Yunshu's shadow, he turned around and followed him into the private school with a sullen face.
Just as Pei Yunshu had thought, Zhu You soon got to know many children of his age. Those children were very lively and bold. Sometimes they would come to Pei Yunshu's yard in groups to find Zhu You to go out and play together.
Zhu You would sometimes agree and sometimes refuse, but Pei Yunshu was very pleased because he could see that Zhu You was very popular and those children were very convinced of little Zhu You.
More than half a month passed in this leisurely time. One day, Xiaozhu seemed particularly uneasy during dinner.
Pei Yunshu couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Zhuyou looked up at him with a conflicted look on his face. After a while, he finally put down the bowl and fell into Pei Yunshu's arms.
"Dad, Hu Zi's mother asked me if my mother had passed away."
The voice was muffled and not happy.
Hu Zi's mother is a woman who is well-known in this area for her love of matchmaking.
Pei Yunshu was speechless. After a moment, he finally thought of what to say: "Zhu You has no mother."
"… "
He was so embarrassed that he couldn't say the words "You have a dragon father".
The little Zhu You in front of me is Zhu You. Saying this in front of Zhu You, wouldn’t it sound very embarrassing if Zhu You recovers in the future
Xiao Zhu You: "Then Long Fu is Zhu You's mother?"
Pei Yunshu hesitated and hesitated, thought again and again, and then nodded hesitantly.
Xiao Zhuyou clutched her father's robe tightly.
He lowered his head and it was impossible to see the expression on his face.
"Then Daddy...will he not want Zhu You?"
Pei Yunshu quickly hugged him and coaxed him, "How could it be? Zhu Youmo, don't let your imagination run wild. I am your father, how could I not want you?"
Little Zhu You finally revealed some tears in his voice, "Then Daddy, Daddy, don't let Zhu You marry a mother."
Pei Yunshu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "What on earth are you thinking about? When am I going to get married?"
He coaxed Zhu You with kind words, and no one knew why he suddenly said these words today. But two days later, when Hu Zi's mother came to the house and kept talking about the good girl in the town, Pei Yunshu knew what Zhu You meant.
He rejected Hu Zi's mother's kindness and said with a smile: "It's enough for me to have Yun Jiao."
"How can having a son be enough?" Hu Zi's mother glared at him, "You are still young and so good-looking. What will you do if you don't get married now? When your daughter Yun Jiao grows up, you will still be alone. How pitiful."
"Miss Xu from the south end of the town, Miss Zhao from the north end of the town, many people have come to me to ask about you secretly, tell me, Master Pei, these are all good girls from good families."
Pei Yunshu looked helpless, "They are all good girls, but I am not a good man."
Hu Zi's mother was anxious and tried to persuade him for a long time. When it was time to leave, Pei Yunshu still refused to speak. She could only sigh and pretend to be angry and said, "Wait, I'll bother you again tomorrow."
As soon as Hu Zi's mother left the room, before she got home, she saw Zhu You waiting on the roadside. Zhu You looked at her quietly, and the little person looked even more extraordinary in the dim sunset.
Hu Zi's mother said, "Yun Jiao, it's late now, why don't you go home?"
Zhu You looked up at the sky, then looked at Hu Zi's mother, and said, "My father will not marry anyone."
Huzi's mother laughed and said indifferently: "You are still young and don't know the benefits of women. When you reach your father's age, you will understand the good intentions of your aunt. This is for the good of you and your father. If there is no woman in the family, will you not be able to eat?"
Zhu You said calmly, "Auntie, don't go looking for my father again."
There was a wave in his eyes, his vertical pupils appeared and disappeared, and on his skin, hideous dragon scales were faintly visible. The sound of the surging waves was getting louder and louder. When Hu Zi's mother looked in the direction of the sound, she saw water flowing out through the cracks in the tightly closed house, and the house was bulging, as if it would burst in the next moment.
When he turned around again, Zhu You had disappeared. Hu Zi's mother walked into the house with weak legs. As soon as she entered, she was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground.
She saw that the whole yard was filled with water that was higher than half of her calves. The water was filled with couples she had once brought together. Their faces were hideous, and they were about to pounce on her in the blood.
Hu Zi stood under the eaves and called out in confusion, "Mom?"
His mother shuddered, and with that, all the blood in the yard disappeared in an instant, as if the previous scene was just an illusion.