Chapter 72.2
translator: baumkuchen
After Lu Qingjiu walked a distance away, he looked back, but saw that umbrella just obediently lying there, seeming to have no reaction whatsoever . Inwardly, he let out a sigh of relief . Just as he was thinking that he might have been overly sensitive because he’d seen too much of such things, he saw that black umbrella slowly, slowly, lift off the ground, as if there was someone holding it . Then, with a swish, the umbrella opened . Lu Qingjiu clearly saw, inside the umbrella, hung countless eyeballs, hanging from blood red optic nerves, their black pupils staring straight at Lu Qingjiu .
“Ah!!” Lu Qingjiu was scared into screaming . With quick reflexes, he threw the basket to the side and ran away .
From behind him came a strange noise . Lu Qingjiu looked back and found that the black umbrella was rolling towards him like a wheel . The nerves pasted to the interior of the umbrella formed a circle with the umbrella’s rolling .
“Bai Yuehu, Bai Yuehu! Help, help!” Faced with the desire to survive, Lu Qingjiu ran even faster than a rabbit . Fortunately, their field was very close to their home . Lu Qingjiu ran the 100 metre sprint to the entrance of his home, then rushed, gasping into the courtyard . Only when he saw Bai Yuehu did his heart finally calm down .
“What’s wrong?” Bai Yuehu asked upon seeing Lu Qingjiu so out of breath .
“I saw an umbrella by the roadside——” Lu Qingjiu forced out, “Inside the umbrella were entirely eyes . It even chased after me . ”
Bai Yuehu said, “Eyes?” He considered it for a moment . Seeming to have thought of something, he frowned . “Where?”
Lu Qingjiu, “Right outside . ”
Bai Yuehu got up and walked over to the door, but didn’t see anything . There was neither the umbrella nor the eyes Lu Qingjiu spoke of on the empty village path .
Lu Qingjiu stood behind Bai Yuehu and stuck out his head . “How did it disappear?”
Bai Yuehu turned to look at Lu Qingjiu, “Want to go out to take a look?”
Lu Qingjiu, “Let’s go…… and take a look . The vegetables I just picked are still on the path after all . ”
Bai Yuehu strode out of the courtyard . However, what Lu Qingjiu couldn’t understand was, the black umbrella that had been chasing after him had disappeared, and not only that, the vegetable basket he had thrown to the side had disappeared as well .
“It’s gone,” Lu Qingjiu said, “What was that thing?”
Bai Yuehu shook his head . “I don’t know . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “What did it chase me for?”
Bai Yuehu sighed, “It chasing you could never be a good thing . ”
That was true, looking at that umbrella’s terrifying appearance, no matter how he looked at it, it couldn’t be anything good . Even though the umbrella was gone now, Lu Qingjiu still had some lingering fear .
Bai Yuehu said, “You should go back to the courtyard, I’ll pick the vegetables . What do you need?”
Lu Qingjiu said, “I’d better go back with you . ” He didn’t want to see that thing again on the way back .
After picking the vegetables once more, the two headed back home . The entire way back, Lu Qingjiu kept an eye on his surroundings, but clearly, that thing didn’t want to run into Bai Yuehu . All the way until they entered the courtyard, Lu Qingjiu still didn’t see that thing again .
“Gbc’a ub bea obg atf cfza ofk vjsr . ” Coafg ufaalcu tbwf, Djl Tefte egufv Oe Hlcuple .
Oe Hlcuple cbvvfv, jmdelfrmlcu ab Djl Tefte’r egulcu . Lf vlvc’a tjnf Djl Tefte’r bnfgqbkfglcu mbwyja jylilalfr . Po tf gfjiis vlv gec lcab rbwf ragjcuf atlcur, gecclcu kjr tlr bcis kjs bo regnlnlcu .
In the afternoon, Yin Xun also heard about what Lu Qingjiu ran into . He was a little worried, but still comforted Lu Qingjiu, saying that with Bai Yuehu around, he would definitely be fine .
Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “I know, I’m just curious about what exactly it was, and what the eyeballs inside were . ”
Yin Xun said, “No matter what, it definitely won’t taste good . ”
Hearing this, the corners of Bai Yuehu’s mouth twitched .
With nothing to do that afternoon, Lu Qingjiu steamed the pumpkin he had brought back, then took out the salted duck eggs he’d prepared in winter, planning on making pumpkin egg yolk pastries . Yin Xun was next to him, helping him knead the dough, kneading the pumpkin and the dough together . The method of making the pastry part was rather complicated . The number of times it was folded and the amount of heat was key . This was Lu Qingjiu’s first time making it, so the pastry he ended up making was a little thick, but it was fortunately still crispy enough . With one bite, the fats in the egg yolk would ooze out . Paired with the tasty bean paste, it tasted deliciously salty .
Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu were always very enthusiastic about these kinds of little desserts . As the three ate the delicious sweets, they quickly forgot about the unhappiness of that morning .
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Lu Qingjiu had originally planned on going to town the next day to buy some lemons and passion fruits to make lemon chicken feet, but because of the matter that had just happened, he had no choice but to delay those plans . After he told Bai Yuehu about it, Bai Yuehu thought for a moment, then said that he’d go to town to help Lu Qingjiu buy them, Lu Qingjiu could just stay at home .
Lu Qingjiu trusted Bai Yuehu very much . After watching him get onto the pickup truck, only then did he return to the courtyard .
Yin Xun had just eaten a lot of egg yolk pastries . Right now, he was sitting in the courtyard to rest . Lu Qingjiu looked up at the sky, and found that the still-sunny sky of that morning was currently covered in dark clouds . It looked like it was about to rain .
The spring rain was as valuable as oil . This was the heavy rain that everyone had been waiting for for a long time now .
Lu Qingjiu put the things he had been drying in the courtyard away . Taking advantage of the fine spring weather, he’d bought a few cowpeas, kelp, and other such things, planning on storing them after sun-drying them . As long as you kept such things well, they could be kept for a very long time . They would be really useful for making soup in the winter .
This season, the tangerines had also matured . Lu Qingjiu bought a few to eat at home, and after eating them, he left out the peel to dry . It could be used to make dried tangerine peels . The dried tangerine peels could be used to flavour water, and could also be used as a spice . Just by placing a bit in the food, he could get rid of most of the fishy smell and greasiness .
Just as Lu Qingjiu was about done putting everything away, the rain began to fall .
Unlike the intense rains of summer, the spring rain was as soft as silk . Even the sound it made was soft . As it gradually fell on the ground, it made a slight pattering noise .
The air began to fill with the smell of dirt . Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun sat in the house, watching the rain outside and chatting .
“Did Bai Yuehu bring an umbrella?” Lu Qingjiu thought of something .
“Doesn’t he not need an umbrella?” Yin Xun said .
“No,” Lu Qingjiu said, “He’s buying stuff in town, so he can’t just repel the rain like last time . ” If it were to be seen by humans, Bai Yuehu might end up surrounded by spectators .
“Ai, that’s true . ” Yin Xun hadn’t thought of that . He rubbed the back of his head . “But the rain is light, it won’t be a big deal if he gets rained on . ”
Lu Qingjiu didn’t speak, simply getting up and going to the bathroom to get a dry towel . He placed it on the table, thinking that when Bai Yuehu came back, he’d give it to him to dry his hair .
The rain gradually grew heavier, and the dry dirt became dark with dampness . In dips in the ground, formed puddles . Lu Qingjiu suddenly thought of something . “Hey did we forget to cover the beehive in the inner courtyard with an oiled cloth?” Before, in order to clean it, he’d taken off the oiled cloth on top of the beehive to wash it . In the end, he’d forgotten to hang it back up . Now, it was raining, and the wooden beehive would easily become wet .
“I’ll go,” Yin Xun said, “Is the oiled cloth in the kitchen?”
“En,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Take out a grid of honey while you’re at it, I’ll use it to make cake tomorrow . ”
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Yin Xun nodded . He casually grabbed an umbrella and left . Lu Qingjiu was still thinking about if there was anything he’d forgotten to put away, when he heard a miserable screech from Yin Xun .
Lu Qingjiu’s heart jolted in shock . He called out, “Yin Xun!” He didn’t even bother to grab an umbrella, rushing straight over to the inner courtyard, grabbing a wooden plank he’d placed in the corner as he did so as a weapon for self-defense .
“Ah ah ah——” Yin Xun was still screeching miserably .
When Lu Qingjiu arrived at the inner courtyard and saw Yin Xun, he sucked in a cold breath . He saw Yin Xun’s head had actually been enveloped by a black umbrella . That umbrella was as if it was alive, keeping Yin Xun’s head completely enveloped within it . No matter how Yin Xun struggled, he had no way of getting out .
Lu Qingjiu put down the plank and began to try to help Yin Xun tear off the black umbrella, but no matter how hard he tried, that black umbrella remained firmly stuck to Yin Xun’s head . In the beginning, Yin Xun struggled vigorously, but afterwards, his movements gradually became smaller, as if he’d lost his strength .
Lu Qingjiu was so panicked he was going crazy . He rushed over to the kitchen and grabbed some scissors, but found that this umbrella couldn’t be pierced by the scissors .
“Yin Xun, Yin Xun, hold on, I’ll call Bai Yuehu right away, hold on a little longer . ” Lu Qingjiu’s entire face was damp . It wasn’t clear whether it was from the rain or his panicked sweating .
“Wait a minute,” Yin Xun’s muffled voice could be heard from inside the umbrella, “I just realised that this thing doesn’t seem to be doing anything to me . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “……Huh?”
Yin Xun said, “Other than not being able to see . ” He reflexively wanted to scratch his head, but his fingers met the surface of the black umbrella . “Anyways, I don’t need to breathe . It seems like there isn’t any problem with being wrapped up like this . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “……You’re really alright?”
Yin Xun stood up from the ground . “I’m really fine . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “But can’t you not see now?”
Yin Xun, “I’m at least a mountain god . Actually, as long as I want to, I can see even without my eyes . It’s just that I don’t usually like to use this ability, after all, I tend to see a few things I shouldn’t . ”
Lu Qingjiu, “Then are you feeling anything else?”
Yin Xun, “……Feeling? There isn’t any feeling . ” It wasn’t painful or itchy .
Lu Qingjiu breathed in a deep breath . “Then why were you shouting like a fucking chicken being slaughtered?”
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Yin Xun was embarrassed . “Isn’t it because I was shocked . ” He then firmed up again . “If your head was suddenly covered by this thing, wouldn’t you cry out?”
Lu Qingjiu thought I wouldn’t have the opportunity to cry out, after all, after at most two minutes I’ll have suffocated to death .
Yin Xun said, “So now what do we do? Do we just let it stay on my head?”
Lu Qingjiu sighed . “Make do for a while . After Bai Yuehu gets back, have him help take it off for you . ”
Yin Xun said, “Alright . It’s still raining, you should go back inside first, I’ll place the oiled cloth over the beehive . ”
Lu Qingjiu said, “No, let’s go in together . ”
His heart really couldn’t take any more shocks .
Yin Xun neatly covered the beehive with the oiled cloth, proving that he could indeed see . After getting the beehive in order, only then did he and Lu Qingjiu go back into the house together . Lu Qingjiu picked up the towel and wiped his face, then looked at Yin Xun, whose head had turned into an umbrella .
Yin Xun, “What are you looking at me for? Does this umbrella look good?”
Lu Qingjiu, “……” Friend, why is the thing you focus on always so strange .
After Bai Yuehu finished buying everything, the moment he stepped into the home, his expression stiffened . He looked at Lu Qingjiu, then looked at the umbrellheaded person next to him .
Lu Qingjiu seemingly knew what Bai Yuehu was thinking . He introduced, “This is Yin Xun . ”
Bai Yuehu, “……What’s going on? Water got into his head so you put an umbrella over it?”
Lu Qingjiu, “……”
Yin Xun, “……”
Bai Yuehu, you really are a talent .