577 Mu's family, Tomb's family

of rental rooms, and you had to climb a rickety metal staircase to get there.As soon as we stepped onto the second floor, a thick haze of foul smells filled the air. I immediately took out my compass..."East Kitchen Deity Nine Spirits Yuan Wang Dingfushenjun..." My brother looked at the things Lao Su had bought back, his mouth twitching.

This title sounds very grand, but it's actually just what we commonly call the Kitchen God or Kitchen King.

Is the god of the kitchen, one of the Five Saces.

Lao Su was very particular about these traditions. He said, "Our family must properly worship the Kitchen God, otherwise, when he reports to heaven, he might say bad things about our little mistress! If he snitches and says that our little mistress looks gentle and harmless but is actually quite capable... what if he gives a bad impression of our family to those great deities"

My brother burst into laughter: "That's right, buy more tangyuan and maltose so they stick to your teeth, let the Kitchen God in our house have no say, and we can also buy some rice wine and rice lees."

There's a saying about offering rice wine lees to the Kitchen God, called "drunk the god of life." The common people hope that after the Kitchen God drinks too much, he'll write less bad reports to heaven.

There is no household without a bit of trouble, so the common people's worship of the Kitchen God represents a wish for blessings and peace.

This isn't about superstition, but rather a tradition. Lao Su especially likes to make a big fuss on these traditional days, so he's making quite a commotion getting ready.

I glanced silently at the slightly ajar room door—Jiang Qiyun hadn't left yet. He had just been about to disappear when Yu Gui started crying, and now she was still clutching his sleeve tightly.

Yunan was calm and quiet, unassuming, but with a sharp mind; while Yu Gui... Perhaps she had been spoiled too much at home, she was particularly sensitive and delicate. Sometimes I would say loudly: "If you climb out any further, you'll fall! Your mother will beat you!"

Whenever she uttered these harmless words, she would pout her little mouth and look at me with a wronged expression. Her big round eyes even held a hint of accusation, forcing me to soften my voice and coax her.

Jiang Qiyun was also speechless. Last night, the two children slept in bed, I lay on my side in the middle, and he slept on the outermost edge, always reaching out from behind to hug me.

Today, as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Yu Gui smiling with his big eyes wide open. He looked past me and made little "ah, ah" sounds, asking for a hug.

Jiang Qiyun held her for a while, and when he was about to leave, just as he turned to disappear, Yu Gui started crying. Then she turned back and hugged him, and she burst into laughter again.

Repeatedly successful, it made the Heavenly Emperor unable to work!

He's still being soothed, I originally planned to leave after putting him to sleep. But this little guy was clutching Jiang Qiyun's sleeve, sucking his thumb and staring with bright eyes, not even a hint of sleepiness.

I held You Nan and slowly ate breakfast. My brother, after hearing what I said, laughed and ran into the room to rescue Jiang Qiyun.

After crying a few times, I was soothed by my brother. He laughed and said, "Actually, Jiang Qiyun is quite patient. You never saw him get angry with the two children... But when are you two planning to have a second child The whole country is busy having second children now, aren't you two in a hurry"

"...No, no need to worry." I was speechless.

"If it's inconvenient, you can have each of us take one child."

Wouldn't that mean you all guessed what he and I were doing How embarrassing!!

I thought we could live peacefully for a few days, but then Lin Yanqin brought news that stunned my brother.

As the year draws to a close, Lin Yanqin and Lin Yanhuan's father—the mastermind behind the scenes who we've only heard of but never met—has concluded his research work abroad and returned home!

And the first thing she did when she got home was to inquire about Lin Yanqin's "personal issues."

It's probably that Mrs. Lin complained to her husband about this a lot, and Mr. Lin knows my brother almost like the back of his hand. So at the first family dinner after he returned home, he directly asked Lin Yanqin about this matter.

Lin Yanqin carefully explained that she was dating my brother. Mr. Lin didn't say anything, just said he would have dinner with us sometime to get to know each other.

Want to grab a meal Meet up Catch up

This carefree attitude puts a lot of pressure on my brother.

I whispered, "...Good luck. Being a son-in-law of the Dragon King isn't easy. There's nothing we can do to help."

Looking at her brother's helpless expression, Lin Yanqin pursed her lips and said softly, "Yunfan, why don't you tell Dad to postpone it for a while"

"No." My brother sighed. "It's only a matter of time before we meet. The elders said they want to see me, so I can't say I'm busy. Can you be busier than Dad You arrange it, just let me know the time and place."

Lin Yanqin's eyes were complex. She probably really wanted her father's approval, but she also didn't want to put too much pressure on my brother.

I decided to help my brother out. When Jiang Qiyun came over in the evening, I pestered him into taking me back to our hometown.

"Your hometown Is it where Mu Yi'ko is from" Jiang Qiyun directly called his grandfather by name.

I nodded, tucking both You Nan and Yu Gui safely inside, and asked, “Would you like to use a sling to carry the child We’ll be back in a little while.”

Jiang Qiyun saw me bind Younan in front of me, covering him with a small cotton cloak. He twitched the corner of his mouth and said: "Just hold him, why do this"

"I'm holding onto him tightly, I can't let go. What if something happens and he falls" I explained.

Jiang Qiyun bent down and picked up Yu Gui, saying softly, "There will be all sorts of things when you're with me...Come on."

Yu Gui sat nestled in his arms, wearing a small cotton cloak. Her plump little face was pressed against Jiang Qiyun's chest, her eyes almost closed. Her little head bobbed like a chick pecking at grain.

I lowered my head to look at Younan on my chest, who had already fallen asleep.

It was my first time bringing my children back to my hometown, and I never expected this kind of situation. Thankfully, both kids could follow Jiang Qiyun's method to travel through the dimensional channel with me. When we appeared in the ancestral house, it was eerily silent, not a single sound could be heard.

I didn't dare to look for Aunt Zhang late at night. Ever since I discovered she was a paper person, I always felt creeped out.

I came to my usual courtyard. Everything in the room was ready-made, so I left Jiang Qiyun to watch the two children and walked alone to the backyard.

It's creepy walking around this deserted old mansion late at night.

When I got to the backyard, a face as white as death suddenly appeared in the moonlit doorway, scaring the wits out of me.

“Oh, it’s Miss Zhang,” Aunt Zhang’s voice was a little choked. “Why didn’t you say anything when you came back”

"I came back on a whim, you don't have to worry about me. The kids' dad and the two children are in my yard. Just make some tea and boil some hot water and send it over." I rubbed my arms, calming the goosebumps all over my body.

I walked all the way into the cellar and down to the main tomb chamber, until I reached the coffin inside—something I was terrified of before. Now, I actually dare to enter these places alone. Thinking about it just feels both absurd and pathetic.

"Grandpa, it's Xiao Qiao. I'm here..." I knocked on the coffin floor and called out to him below.

There was no reply from the grandfather. Instead, a hollow and eerie voice came from the grandmother: "Little Qiao… come down…"'re helping outsiders against me!"Liang Xiaoge retorted, "Don't deceive yourself, Chúlíng. This is the wife of the Witch King, the future mistress of Wucheng Mountain City. How could she be an outside...