Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Little Hua Jinyan
In the forest, Tao Bin scrambled about like a young monkey. His senior brothers were variously helpless, some rubbing their bald heads, others sighing as they touched their flat tops, and still others tenderly combing their bangs with a small comb.
Underneath an ancient tree that was a hundred years old sat a boy, his skin as white as snow and his lips red. He lowered his eyelids as if resting his mind. His eyelashes were thick and long, casting shadows on his eyelids. He was so still and quiet that even the surrounding wind seemed to slow down, as if entering another realm of stillness.
Suddenly, a long vine swung back and forth, bringing with it a person who roared wildly.
Tao Bin imitated the roar of Mount Tai as he caught the vine and swung over, his foot landing on the trunk of the ancient tree, causing it to tremble under his weight as leaves fluttered down.
The boy who had been sitting quietly beneath the tree now had his head covered in fallen leaves. He finally opened his eyes, which were deep and seemed devoid of vitality. He looked up at Tao Bin with an expressionless face and said, “On your head, there’s an old monk missing one eye perching, and your two feet are being pulled by two fat monks; it looks like they are playing tug-of-war.”
Tao Bin was completely taken aback, shaking his body in horror as if trying desperately to shake off lice crawling all over him.
“Little junior brother, don’t scare me!”
Hua Jinyan lowered his eyelids, his mood downcast.
Jinyan, a name given for caution and consideration, was named by the abbot of the temple his parents prayed to, as he cried incessantly from birth.
From a young age, he had been able to see things ordinary people could not, and was treated as an anomaly. Fortunately, his parents cherished him and did not consider him a monster, showering him with love.
However, as he grew older, he became numb to those things he saw and no longer reacted with fear or tears like before.
This greatly displeased some twisted evil spirits, who took joy in his expressions of fear and panic. They started to congregate around him, and the evil spirits harassed him daily, even opening their mouths as if to bite him, treating him like Monk Tang’s flesh.
Initially, these evil spirits couldn’t harm him physically, but as their numbers grew and some became more capable, they found ways to inflict actual harm on him.
With no other choice, he had to take refuge in the temple.
In the temple, there were ghosts, but these were not evil spirits; most were vengeful spirits with unfulfilled wishes or with pitiful lives, and they didn’t harm him.
Tao Bin leapt down from the tree and sat down next to Hua Jinyan, leaning against the big tree, clearly in a good mood: “My sister is coming to the mountains to see me!”
The other senior brothers became interested and gathered around, chattering excitedly.
“Your sister? The one you’re always talking about, Little Yin Yin?”
“I think I’ve seen her picture, to be honest, she doesn’t look much like you.”
“Although she’s quite cute, she wasn’t as cute as you were when you were little.”
“When you first came to the mountain, I thought you were a little girl!”
“Speaking of which, the one among us who looks most like a little girl isn’t Xiao Bin anymore; it should be the little junior brother!”
“Exactly, exactly, Jinyan is the one who looks like a little girl the most. Look at that face; not even little girls are as fair and tender as him!”
Tao Bin took out a photo from his pocket. It was Little Taotie’s signed picture.
He boasted, “Look at this, this is my real little sister, beautiful isn’t she? Definitely prettier than the little junior brother, the epitome of a fair and soft young girl!”
“Eh? How come it’s different from the last picture?” Bald Senior Brother widened his eyes and nodded, “This little girl is truly pretty, her big eyes seem as if they can talk, so bright and expressive!”