Zanxing

Chapter 41 - Breaking the Golden Egg (1)

A beam of sunlight slipped through the gaps in the wooden building's windows, accompanied by the loud crowing of a rooster.

"Knock knock knock—" Early in the morning, the wooden door was knocked loudly. Zanxing got up to open the door and asked, "Who is it?"

As soon as the door opened, Tian Fangfang stood at the threshold, holding something in his arms. Upon seeing Zanxing, he immediately shoved the item into Zanxing's hands like it was a hot potato: "Junior Sister, here's the thing you asked me to keep for you; it's time to return it to its rightful owner!"

Zanxing looked down and saw a golden egg lying in her palm, radiating a familiar warmth.

Tian Fangfang clung to the door frame, half of his body hiding outside, eyeing the golden egg as if it were a formidable enemy.

"What's wrong, Senior Brother? Is there something wrong with this egg?" Zanxing asked.

"...Not really. It's just that this egg moves; it kept me up all night and even woke me up this morning," Tian Fangfang said, rubbing a bruise on his forehead. "I figured this egg must be homesick, so I hurried to bring it to you." Tian Fangfang looked distressed, "Junior Sister Zanxing, what's inside this egg? It has such a temper!"

"I don't know either." Zanxing was perplexed, but seeing the egg behaving well in her arms, she thought for a moment and said, "Well, I was just about to find Sixth Uncle; he can take a look at it."

Upon arriving at the Miaokong Hall, she found Xuanling, who was reading. When he saw Zanxing coming, he waved to her and said, "Zanxing, you're here to face the punishment for yesterday's fight in the sect, right? Zi Luo has already told me. Considering you were startled and confused, the penalty will be light. You are to clean the outer courtyard of the sect for seven days starting today and copy the 'Qingjing Sutra' ten times."

Before Zanxing could respond, Xuanling took out a white silk pouch from his robes and said, "By the way, Huayue found your Qiankun bag in Gufeng Mountain; take it back quickly and don't lose it again."

Zanxing thought to herself, "...That scoundrel Huayue."

"I know you're feeling wronged, but rules are rules," Xuanling said, his tone holding a hint of deeper meaning. "Consider this your lesson for entering the mountain for the first time. I believe you've grown a lot because of this incident."

Zanxing looked up; Xuanling still wore a somewhat unserious expression, as if what he just said was merely casual talk. After a moment of pause, Zanxing clasped her hands and said, "I understand, thank you for your guidance, Martial Uncle."

"Now that you understand, you can go back," Xuanling waved his hand. "The autumn leaves are plentiful; cleaning won't be easy."

Zanxing turned to leave but suddenly remembered something. She turned back and pulled out the golden egg from her robes, asking Xuanling, "Oh, Sixth Uncle, I found this egg in Gufeng Mountain. It's not recorded in the 'Qiandian Catalog', and I'd like you to help me see what it is."

Was it her imagination, or did the egg tremble slightly in her hand?

Xuanling stepped forward, took the golden egg, stroked it a few times, and then examined it seriously for a long while. He shook his head and said, "Its shape does resemble that of a Rakshasa bird's egg, but the color is completely different. Moreover, there's no aura of evil within it."

After a while, he looked at Zanxing and said, "There are many strange objects in Gufeng Mountain, and I've never seen this one before. Your Qiankun bag was lost at the start, and besides the night vine branch, you've found nothing else this trip. Since you've found this egg, it must be your opportunity. Just take this egg back; I can see the spiritual energy on the eggshell is about to overflow. Something inside might be about to hatch."

"In no more than three days, we'll know what kind of creature it is."

Zanxing took the golden egg back with her. Because of Xuanling's words, she specifically found a wooden box, lined it with some soft cloth, placed the golden egg inside carefully, and covered it with a handkerchief. When Tian Fangfang came over and saw this, his expression was quite interesting; he probably thought Zanxing was a bit crazy but didn't know how to say it directly. In the end, he only remarked, "Junior Sister Zanxing, you're quite affectionate, even treating an egg with such care."

Zanxing replied, "After all, it's my opportunity."

This thing is like opening a blind box; until the day it hatches, no one knows what will come out. Just thinking about it is quite exciting, but given her luck, she guessed it probably wouldn't yield any hidden treasures.

After this, she delivered the night vine branch to Li Danshu's Hall.

This time in the mountain, the other disciples returned with their Qiankun bags filled with spiritual herbs and fruits, having reaped great rewards. She alone had her Qiankun bag stolen, narrowly escaped with her life, and besides picking up a blind box... the golden egg, all she had was that night vine branch. It was fortunate that Zanxing hadn't let go while falling into the black swamp; after so many twists and turns, she at least didn't make the trip in vain.

Li Danshu happily instructed the disciples to store the night vine branch and smiled at Zanxing, saying, "Good girl, this night vine branch is very fresh. I'll refine that Pure Skin Jade Face Pill for you today; come back in seven days to collect it."

Zanxing bowed, "Thank you, Fourth Uncle."

"Don't mention it," Li Danshu waved his hand, revealing a corner of his sleeve that had been singed by the elixir fire, and said kindly, "We're all family; no need to be formal."

Zanxing thought, "I can't trust him at all. If he knew that I nearly lost my life for this night vine branch, he wouldn't be so casual about it."

In the following days, Zanxing was busy facing her punishment—cleaning the outer courtyard of the sect.

Because it was autumn, the leaves fell abundantly. After sweeping once, a gust of wind would blow through, covering the ground anew with golden leaves. That scoundrel Huayue secretly bribed their fellow disciples and deliberately practiced swordplay beside her while she was sweeping, causing sword energy to scatter the fallen leaves everywhere, unnecessarily adding to her burden.

After working hard for three days, on the fourth morning, Zanxing woke from her sleep to a commotion in the room.

Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she noticed that the rooster hadn't crowed yet, and the sky was just beginning to lighten. In the dim morning light, she saw her bedding and cups scattered all over the floor, looking like it had been swept up by a storm.

The wooden box at the foot of her bed was empty, the handkerchief had fallen to the ground, and a heavy object pressed against her stomach. Zanxing looked down and saw that the golden egg was right in front of her, gleaming blindingly.

She picked up the egg and set it aside, planning to get out of bed to pick up the cups on the floor when she suddenly heard a "crack—."

Turning her head, she saw a crack appear on the smooth surface of the golden egg, which quickly widened and elongated. Then, with a crisp sound, the golden egg split open in two.

Is it about to hatch? Zanxing suddenly felt a rush of excitement.

Within the eggshell, a vague white mass was wriggling. After a moment, a soft, fluffy paw poked out, accompanied by a soft, milky cry.

Zanxing stretched her neck to look closer and was stunned to meet a pair of emerald-green eyes.

A cat?

The creature that hatched from the egg was, unexpectedly, a pure white kitten.

Cultivating immortality is great because not only do you have a house, but you can also have a cat.