My family tree hollow connects to the modern era : Chapter 6

The East City Division didn’t have any fancy office space. They were in a small courtyard down an alleyway.

On the way back, Lin Xiaoyang was giving Bai Zhizhi a crash course. “We used to work under the main headquarters. Later, as more and more energy fields appeared, the small headquarters couldn’t accommodate too many people, so they split up the management. Lots of people wanted to follow our Brother Jiang, but Brother Jiang couldn’t be bothered with all that fuss, so he only took a few people. Naturally I was included among those few.”

He said this with a proud lift of his chin, then continued. “Before, we were mixed in with the neighborhood committee. Later we found it inconvenient, so Brother Jiang just used his own alleyway courtyard as everyone’s office.”

Lin Xiaoyang leaned close to Bai Zhizhi and deliberately lowered his voice. “Do you know what this means?”

Bai Zhizhi blinked at him.

Lin Xiaoyang chuckled. “This means our Brother Jiang has capital. You just came out and don’t understand anything yet. Once you get deeper into human society you’ll get it.”

Bai Zhizhi didn’t understand other things, but he did understand what having capital meant. So he glanced at Jiang Lin who was driving. So this person’s cultivation in the secular world counted as very impressive?

When he followed them back to the division and saw the so called capital, Bai Zhizhi kept a blank face, not knowing what expression to make.

The courtyard seemed to be two alleyway courtyards knocked through into one. The front one was smaller and used for office work. A back door opened connecting to the courtyard behind, which was used for living.

The entire place wasn’t even as big as his sleeping chamber, let alone the tree hollow he often played in. The key thing was it looked run down and shabby. The main gate was all weathered and peeling.

Bai Zhizhi reached out and pushed the gate. The weathered red gate let out an aged creaking sound, looking even more dilapidated.

Before Jiang Lin could enter, Lin Xiaoyang rushed ahead inside, making a racket. “We’re back! We’ve got a new little buddy, everyone come out and meet him!”

Jiang Lin said to Bai Zhizhi who was still sizing up the gate, “We don’t have many people here, just about a dozen or so. I’ll introduce you to everyone shortly. They’re all very easy to get along with.”

The first person to run out of the house was a girl who looked quite young. She was very cute, with a round face and big eyes, clear pupils and a very sweet smile.

The moment she saw Jiang Lin, the smile on the girl’s face became even brighter. Seeing Bai Zhizhi behind Jiang Lin, her eyes became even more sparkly. But she didn’t speak, instead making a sign at them.

Jiang Lin smiled and said, “This is Bai Zhizhi. He’ll be staying with us temporarily. He just arrived and doesn’t understand many things yet. Look after him more in daily life.”

Yue Zhihuan nodded vigorously, continuing to look at Bai Zhizhi with bright eyes and a smile, completely unabashed in her curiosity about his ears.

Jiang Lin said to Bai Zhizhi, “Her name is Yue Zhihuan. She mainly handles various chores around the courtyard. She’s not a cultivator. She was born unable to speak, but she can hear, see, and write. She also has an older brother named Yue Yanting. Her brother is a cultivator. He’s out on a mission right now and not home.”

Hearing that a new little buddy had arrived, everyone in the courtyard put down what they were doing to come meet him.

Jiang Lin introduced them to Bai Zhizhi one by one. “This is Uncle Bi. The vegetables in both courtyards and all the flowers and plants are Uncle Bi’s responsibility.”

An old man holding a teacup, his face full of wrinkles but very spirited, greeted Bai Zhizhi with a smile.

Bai Zhizhi sensed spiritual power fluctuations on him, but very weak. He was probably also a cultivator, but unfortunately his limit was probably approaching, his aura constantly draining away.

Jiang Lin pointed to a girl with a ponytail beside him. “This is Wu Yue, our East City Division’s vice captain. When I’m not around, everything here goes by her word.”

Bai Zhizhi, “And when you are around?”

Wu Yue smiled without speaking. Jiang Lin, “Also goes by her word.”

Wu Yue was clearly more mature and older than Yue Zhihuan. Her temperament was very gentle, but also a bit serious.

Looking at Bai Zhizhi’s ears that hadn’t been put away, she didn’t need to ask to guess his identity.

Since Jiang Lin had brought him back, regardless of the reason, once he stepped through the courtyard gate he was one of their own. So she smiled warmly and said, “Your living quarters have already been prepared. You should go take a bath and change clothes too. Most people from the courtyard are out. There’s also Head Chef Gao. Uncle Gao went out to buy groceries. Once you’re settled you can eat.”

The situation of the East City Division could be understood slowly later. Jiang Lin first took Bai Zhizhi to the room prepared for him to get his bearings.

“I live in the room next to yours. If you need anything you can come find me directly. The rooms in the back courtyard all have occupants. Most are cultivators. But don’t be afraid. As long as you don’t do anything harmful to the human world, no one will hurt you.”

Bai Zhizhi listened from behind, shaking his head without speaking.

In Qingqiu, bathing was done in pools, soaking in spiritual spring water. At worst, a dust cleansing spell would get you clean. Looking at the bottles and jars Jiang Lin was introducing to him, Bai Zhizhi sniffed and curiously examined them while human bathing was actually this troublesome.

Smelling one bottle with an intensely strong fragrance, he was even stimulated into sneezing.

Jiang Lin who was explaining their use paused, then said, “If you don’t like these you don’t have to use them. Do as you please. I’ll go buy you an unscented one tomorrow.”

Foxes are also canines, with a very developed sense of smell. These things mixed with human chemical fragrances were probably a bit too stimulating for them.

Bai Zhizhi didn’t like the smell of artificial fragrances, so he directly reached out and pushed the pile of bottles and jars aside.

Jiang Lin didn’t force him. For a little fox demon who had never set foot in human society, you couldn’t ask for too much. Anyway, Bai Zhizhi wasn’t dirty. Just washing casually and changing clothes would be fine.

After teaching him how to use the bathroom, Jiang Lin walked out of the room.

Lin Xiaoyang and Yue Zhihuan were sitting on the doorstep. Clearly only Lin Xiaoyang was making noise, yet he could chat with the liveliness of a whole group of people talking. Zhihuan’s sign language couldn’t keep up with his chatting speed.

Seeing him come out, Lin Xiaoyang and Yue Zhihuan both turned their heads together. “Brother Jiang, I was just discussing something with Huanhuan.”

Jiang Lin responded casually, “What thing.”

Lin Xiaoyang, “Should we take Zhizhi to get a rabies vaccine?”

Jiang Lin looked at him, “You take him?”

Thinking of Bai Zhizhi’s claw striking speed, Lin Xiaoyang shook his head repeatedly. Can’t mess with that, can’t mess with that.

Jiang Lin didn’t bother with the two of them and went to the front courtyard to find Wu Yue. Regarding Bai Zhizhi’s matters, he needed to talk carefully with Wu Yue, so that if anything happened while he wasn’t around, Wu Yue would know how to handle it.

After quite a while, Bai Zhizhi finished bathing, changed into the clothes Jiang Lin had prepared for him, and came out from inside.

The two on the doorstep turned their heads again, and Lin Xiaoyang let out a wow. “Zhizhi, your short hair looks great! But how did you become short haired? Did you cut it yourself? Such beautiful long hair, cutting it is such a shame. Your ears? You can put them away after cutting your hair?”

Bai Zhizhi after bathing was wearing a set of loose linen clothes. His long hair like black silk was gone, and even those fluffy white ears were gone too. The ethereal little fox demon instantly became a delicate and pretty youth.

Bai Zhizhi, “It’s just illusion magic. You guys can’t do it?”

Lin Xiaoyang, “…” This was a bit impolite. Not all cultivators knew magic arts.

Yue Zhihuan beside him made some gestures at Bai Zhizhi, and Lin Xiaoyang translated. “Huanhuan says you’re really good looking, the best looking person she’s ever seen, even better looking than Brother Jiang.”

Bai Zhizhi had always been confident about his appearance. Facing the compliment, he accepted it gracefully. “Thank you.”

Yue Zhihuan waved at Bai Zhizhi, and the two on the doorstep became three.

Lin Xiaoyang was quite curious about Bai Zhizhi. “You came down from Moyun Mountain, right? Is your home up there? Is it one of those cave dwellings with restrictions? Can you still go back?”

Although his home wasn’t actually up there, whether he could go back or not Bai Zhizhi really didn’t know. So he shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe I can, maybe I can’t.”

Yue Zhihuan gestured some more, and Lin Xiaoyang translated. “Huanhuan asks if you can’t go back, will you be very sad?”

Bai Zhizhi shook his head. If he couldn’t go back, his mother, father, and older sister would definitely find a way to locate him once they discovered he was missing. His mother and father were both high immortals. Such a tiny little world couldn’t stop them. He just needed to protect himself and wait obediently.

Thinking his family had no relatives so not being able to go back didn’t make him sad, the two tacitly changed the subject. “You’re pretty lucky, running into Brother Jiang right after coming out.”

Seeing Bai Zhizhi’s puzzled expression, Lin Xiaoyang chuckled. “You’ll understand later. I just heard Brother Jiang call Uncle Gao saying to buy a chicken back. You foxes should like eating chicken, right?”

Bai Zhizhi was puzzled. “What’s so good about chicken?”

His Qingqiu was vast with abundant resources and rich spiritual energy. What good things didn’t they have? Chicken had never made it onto his menu.

Lin Xiaoyang, “Huh, don’t foxes like eating chicken? What do you like to eat?”

Bai Zhizhi, “I don’t even know what you have here.”

Yue Zhihuan also turned and gestured, and Lin Xiaoyang translated. “She asks what you ate on the mountain before.”

Bai Zhizhi bared his little white teeth. “People.”

Hearing this, Yue Zhihuan giggled straight away, and Lin Xiaoyang was amused by him too. If this little fox had actually eaten people, he wouldn’t be brought back by Brother Jiang right now. He would have been directly locked up at headquarters.

When Jiang Lin came over, what he saw was three little ones under the eaves. Lin Xiaoyang’s little mouth was chattering away. Zhihuan’s sign language couldn’t keep up with his talking speed, so she simply reached out trying to cover his mouth. Bai Zhizhi sat to the side smiling as he watched them fool around.

The little fox demon who had changed to short hair and put away his ears had lost some of his untouchable ethereal air, but became even more delicate and lively. When his brows curved in a smile it was like early spring sunshine, carrying a kind of warmth where flowers bloom and everything comes back to life.

He had caught some demons before. Although their natures weren’t bad, they naturally maintained some beastly habits, fierce and guarded. Compared to them, this little fox demon was soft and harmless like a baby animal.

The big tree outside was rustling in the wind. Brilliant sunlight filtered through the green leaves in dappled patches. Jiang Lin stood in the scattered light and called out to them, “Time to eat.”

The three turned their heads together, and in the gentle spring breeze they replied with grins, “Coming!”