Chapter 42
Yun Xing was the first to notice the alert on the watch. He immediately yanked his hand away from Tan Xu's grasp and grabbed the other man's arm in concern. "Your watch suddenly beeped! Are you feeling unwell?"
Tan Xu looked down at his empty hand, then up at Yun Xing's worry-filled face, and shook his head.
The brightly lit screen of his watch slowly dimmed. He felt like a traveler who had been trekking through a desert for far too long, his throat dry and tight. "I'm fine. It's not a flare-up."
Yun Xing blinked at him. "Really?"
"Yeah," Tan Xu finally found his voice again. "Ever since you healed me that one time, I've been much better."
Hearing this, Yun Xing puffed out his chest proudly. "Told you so! My spiritual power doesn't wear off that easily."
Still, he figured he should ask his grandpa and the others if there was a way to completely cure Tan Xu's illness.
However, there was no telling when the mountain god temple on Mingwu Mountain would actually be demolished. After all, they had very few believers left, and it was understandable that the tourism bureau wanted to replace them with a temple that brought in more foot traffic.
Was there any other way to make people believe in them again? Would they have to do marketing like those commercialized temples? Or would their only option be earning spiritual power through the internet from now on?
In just a few minutes, a storm of thoughts raced through Yun Xing's mind. Finally, he shook his head to clear them and looked at Tan Xu. "Let's go back first."
Tan Xu gave a slight nod. As they walked back, both were preoccupied with their own thoughts, and conversation was sparse.
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Tan Xu was a junior in college this year and was planning to take the postgraduate entrance exams. After his classes ended today, he stayed late to discuss his major and potential schools with his professor.
It wasn't until he pulled out his phone that he saw Yun Xing's messages.
[Bow Before King Yun Xing]: My class is over!
[Bow Before King Yun Xing]: Tan Xu Tan Xu Tan Xu! I'm coming to pick you up from school—
He clicked on the location Yun Xing had sent. The fact that the boy had actually managed to find his way here without getting lost was nothing short of a miracle.
When Yun Xing had walked out of the literacy center earlier, he saw the message Tan Xu had sent saying he had something to do and would be a little late picking him up.
With a grand wave of his hand, Yun Xing decided that since Tan Xu usually picked him up, today, he would be the one to pick Tan Xu up!
Relying on his memory, he walked to the entrance of their neighborhood, spun in a circle, and finally decided to head left—because whenever he watched Tan Xu leave from the window, this was the direction he always took.
Not long after, he reached a fork in the road, and this time, he truly had no idea which way to go.
Just as he crouched down by the intersection, ready to text Tan Xu to come get him, a pair of sneakers appeared in his line of sight. Yun Xing followed the shoes upward and saw a young man with tanned skin. Seeing Yun Xing look up, the man smiled, revealing a hint of his canine teeth.
Zhong Hongyang, a student at Guangcheng University, had seen someone squatting by the crossroads and walked over. "Hi there, are you a student at Guangcheng University?"
Seeing a sudden savior descend from the heavens, Yun Xing hesitated. Tan Xu had warned him not to talk too much to strangers outside, but he quickly nodded. "Yep, yep!"
"Are you lost?" Zhong Hongyang naturally assumed he was a newly arrived freshman.
Yun Xing gripped his phone, pondering how to answer. "Just a little bit."
Zhong Hongyang couldn't quite understand why the boy wasn't using the phone in his hands to navigate. Confused, he asked, "Why aren't you using GPS?"
"GPS?" Yun Xing repeated the unfamiliar word. Tan Xu had never taught him how to use that. But if this "GPS" could find directions, he had to ask: "Where is it?"
This left Zhong Hongyang stunned. Has this freshman never used a smartphone before?
Seeing the man stay silent, Yun Xing assumed he was acting too weird again. He hastily stood up and declared, "I know what GPS is! I was just testing you."
Zhong Hongyang actually laughed out loud at that. "Alright, then how about I take you to campus?"
Seeing someone willing to help, Yun Xing nodded furiously. See? There really are a lot of good people out in the world!
The two of them barely spoke on the way there. Feeling the awkward silence, Zhong Hongyang tried to strike up a conversation. "Um, my name is Zhong Hongyang. What about you, junior?"
Yun Xing was busy stealthily inspecting Tan Xu's university. It’s so big! Way, way bigger than the place he went to school, and it even had fake mountains and ponds! Hearing Zhong Hongyang's question, he paused. He had just done something that sounded incredibly dumb, and he didn't want anyone to know his real name.
He pursed his lips and tentatively replied, "My name is Tan Xu."
Zhong Hongyang nodded. "Tan Xu... Tan Xu..."
He repeated the name twice. It sounded a bit familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Just as he was about to say something else, he noticed another student walking straight toward them.
After seeing the message and location ping, Tan Xu had headed right over. Even from a distance, he spotted Yun Xing—dressed up like a flashy butterfly again—standing with another guy. He quickened his pace and closed the distance in a few strides.
"And this is...?" Tan Xu looked at the guy who was slightly shorter than him, then turned to ask Yun Xing.
Yun Xing habitually bounced on his toes. "His name is Zhong Hongyang! He brought me here to find you!"
Understanding the gist of the situation, Tan Xu smiled at Zhong Hongyang. "Thank you. I'm his older cousin."
"Oh, you're his cousin! Nice to meet you," Zhong Hongyang greeted him in return.
Who's your cousin? Tan Xu grumbled internally.
This Zhong Hongyang didn't seem all that sharp. Tan Xu gave a slight nod, dropped a quick "We have things to do, we'll get going now," and pulled Yun Xing away.
Zhong Hongyang had been about to say something else, but by the time he looked up, the two were already quite a distance away. He scratched his head, watching them leave.
"What things do we have to do?" Yun Xing tugged at his backpack straps.
Noticing this, Tan Xu took the backpack off Yun Xing and slung it over his own shoulder. "How did you end up chatting with someone else?"
"I told you, he brought me here to find you," Yun Xing said as they walked.
Tan Xu remembered that he had indeed mentioned that. "Next time, don't talk to strangers."
"Don't worry, I didn't tell him my name."
I told him yours, Yun Xing added secretly in his head.
Tan Xu nodded approvingly at Yun Xing's performance, suddenly feeling a surge of parental pride—my son is growing up.
Nowadays, the first thing Yun Xing did when he got home was no longer reaching for his phone; instead, he immediately took out his homework. Tan Xu was incredibly satisfied with this development.
The literacy classes seemed to be quite effective. Yun Xing could even pretend to recite a few poems now and then. At the very least, he wasn't completely illiterate anymore, and if he took a test, he'd probably pass at an elementary school level.
He didn't even need Tan Xu to read online comments for him anymore—a fact that actually left Tan Xu feeling a little disappointed.
Yun Xing worked on his homework for a while. His handwriting no longer crawled all over the page like a chaotic mess; horizontal lines were mostly horizontal, and vertical lines were mostly vertical.
Tan Xu brought the dishes to the dining table and called him for dinner.
Yun Xing turned to look at him. "Tan Xu, do you think math is easier, or English?"
Tan Xu had always been a good student and rarely gave anyone reason to worry. When it came to educational resources, He Yufen had never skimped. Even when it snowed, she would wake up early every single day to ride her bike and drop Tan Xu off at the farthest school in town, just because it had slightly better resources.
From fourth grade onward, he began commuting by himself. For high school, he left their small county to study in the city, and eventually, he made it all the way to Guangcheng.
"They're both alright," Tan Xu replied.
Yun Xing poked his cheek with the end of his pen. "Tan Xu, can I go to university like you guys? Today, my desk mate grandma said getting into university is really impressive."
Tan Xu thought about it. Right now, it was hard enough just trying to get Yun Xing registered on a household hukou, let alone getting him into university.
That thought reminded him—He Mi and Yun Hao had both started working. Logically, they must have found a way to resolve their documentation issues, right? Otherwise, how were they employed?
Tan Xu pulled out his phone. The last time He Mi had messaged him was ages ago. It seemed that once Yun Xing learned how to type, this mother chose to just chat with her son directly.
[X2.]: Auntie, I was wondering how you and Uncle managed to sort out your hukou registrations?
After refining his phrasing, Tan Xu hit send.
He Mi replied very quickly. She explained that they had gone through a local agency that specifically managed spirits and demons, and the process was highly efficient. She added that her current filming schedule would wrap up in a couple of days, and she could take Yun Xing to get it done then.
Tan Xu replied with a Thank you, sorry for the trouble, and put his phone away.
On the other end, He Mi was left with a head full of question marks. Yun Xing was her son, wasn't he? Why was Tan Xu thanking her for helping her own son get registered?
She had even taken a moment to think about how she would answer if Tan Xu asked her whether there were a lot of spirits living in the modern world, but he had ended the conversation just like that.
Seeing that Yun Xing still hadn't moved, Tan Xu walked over and checked his progress. The boy was in the middle of copying vocabulary words. "Time to eat."
Yun Xing finished writing the very last word, stood up, and brushed off his clothes. "I'm done writing anyway."
He gave today's dinner spread a quick inspection and nodded in satisfaction, but once he started eating, he didn't utter a single word.
Without Yun Xing chattering away, the entire apartment felt unusually quiet and empty. Tan Xu casually mentioned that He Mi would be coming in a few days to take him to register his hukou, fully expecting Yun Xing to chime in with some sort of opinion.
Instead, the little calico just looked up at him. "Tan Xu, do not speak while eating, and do not speak while sleeping. Didn't your teacher ever teach you that?"
It was the first time Tan Xu had ever been lectured by the cat, but he didn't feel awkward at all. He just smiled. "Alright."
Yun Xing practically inhaled his food in record time. In truth, he had been dying to ask Tan Xu some questions, but he needed to uphold his table manners—his teacher had taught him that now that he was human, he had to follow human rules.
"What you said earlier," Yun Xing slammed his bowl down, propped his chin on his fists, and stared at Tan Xu. "What does registering a hukou mean?"
Nobody online ever randomly talked about getting registered, and his teachers certainly hadn't taught him about it, so Yun Xing truly had no idea what a hukou was.
Tan Xu still hadn't finished his food. Seeing Yun Xing's anxious expression, he raised his bowl to his mouth, using it to hide the upward curl of his lips. Then, pretending nothing had happened, he set the bowl back down and picked up some food with his chopsticks.
"Tan Xu, say something!" Yun Xing was burning with impatience. He got up, walked over to Tan Xu's side, and squatted down. Gripping the edge of the table, he stared pitifully at the man who was still eating.
"Do not speak while eating, and do not speak while sleeping. I haven't finished my food yet," Tan Xu said leisurely.
Yun Xing, hearing his own words thrown back at him: ...
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