[Advance Notice: This timeline is ninety-six years before the current main story.]
“Valley Master, this is the income and expenditure report for the Hundred Flowers Valley for the past year. Please review it.”
In the elegantly decorated hall, a black-haired woman wearing a cyan silk dress handed the Jade Slip to the old woman in the main seat.
Silver strands were mixed into the old woman’s sandalwood-red hair, giving her a kind and benevolent appearance.
“Mm, let me see.”
Hua Yuheng took the Jade Slip from Protector Liu, and her Divine Sense quickly scanned it.
While reading, she picked up a cup of floral tea with her wrinkled hands and took a sip.
“Mm, not bad. This year, our income and expenditure are steady and improving. The profits from the Heavenly Clothing Pavilion are also quite considerable. Good, good.”
Hua Yuheng was already well-acquainted with every matter in the Valley. She was only glancing over it now.
Seeing that the content didn’t differ much from her estimates, she set the Jade Slip aside and looked out the window.
The Hundred Flowers Valley was located in the southwest of Shenzhou. The climate was warm, and even in winter, it rarely snowed.
However, it had snowed all through New Year’s Eve last night.
Today, a thin layer of pure white covered the halls and pavilions deep within the Valley.
“It’s a pity those two didn’t come back again this year. Honestly, their son is already this big, yet they don’t visit often—just look at what a rascal Hua Yan has become.”
Hua Yuheng sighed and shook her head.
“By the way, where is that brat? He ran off after getting his red envelope. He isn’t going to cause trouble for me again today, is he?”
She suddenly remembered something and frowned at Protector Liu.
“The Young Master said he was going to set off some fireworks and firecrackers. He should still be in the Valley and hasn’t gone far.”
Hearing this, Hua Yuheng felt a bit more at ease.
As long as Hua Yan hadn’t run far, even if he caused trouble, it would only be within the Valley. It was better than him causing trouble outside…
Wait, what did Protector Liu just say? He was going to set off fireworks and firecrackers?
Based on her understanding of her grandson, Hua Yuheng keenly sensed that the “fireworks and firecrackers” Hua Yan spoke of likely weren’t the ordinary kind.
Her Divine Sense quickly swept through the Valley and accurately captured that red-haired figure.
After seeing the scene there, her face darkened, and she flew out.
*
Before this—on a withered, snow-covered lawn within the Hundred Flowers Valley, a handsome young master with flame-red hair and a face like white jade was leading a Zao Hong Spiritual Horse.
He was showing off triumphantly to the surrounding disciples.
“Young Master, didn’t you say you were taking us to see a new kind of firework? What is this spiritual horse for?”
A female cultivator in a pale yellow dress tilted her head curiously.
“Sister, you wouldn’t understand—this is the Year of the Horse. These fireworks and firecrackers naturally have to be set off by a horse to bring good luck! Don’t you all agree?”
Hua Yan raised the reins in his hand and explained with a smile.
“Speaking of horses, you naturally can’t do without ‘patting the horse’s butt’! Whether it’s ‘success upon the horse’s arrival’ or ‘taking the lead on a horse,’ it all stems from this meaning!”
Hearing this twisted logic, the surrounding crowd looked at each other and nodded as if they halfway understood.
“And today, I am going to combine ‘patting the horse’s butt’ and ‘the horse setting off fireworks’ into one to double the celebration! Everyone, look—”
With that, he pulled a large bunch of talismans tied together from his storage pouch.
He skillfully tied them to the tail of the Zao Hong Spiritual Horse, which was still chewing grass with a dazed expression.
He formed a circle, wrapping the horse’s buttocks tightly.
The Zao Hong Spiritual Horse shook its tail uncomfortably. Realizing it couldn’t shake them off, it ignored them and continued to chew its grass.
Then, a ball of fire ignited in Hua Yan’s hand, and he slammed it against the horse’s butt, which was covered in low-level Explosive Flame Talismans!
“NEIGH!!!”
The Zao Hong Spiritual Horse’s eyes widened instantly as its butt was ignited, and it galloped out at full speed!
The crowd erupted in a chorus of gasps.
“NEIGH! NEIGH!—”
The startled spiritual horse wailed, trailing the crackling Explosive Flame Talismans behind it.
Like a flaming arrow released from a bow, it vanished into the distance in an instant, leaving behind a trail of sparks.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
The culprit stood in the middle of the stunned crowd, hands on his hips, laughing loudly at his “masterpiece.”
He didn’t notice that the spiritual horse, running further and further away, had blindly charged into the medicinal garden.
crash
The horse smashed through the fence and burst inside.
Hua Yan’s smile instantly froze on his face.
At the same time, a pair of hands gently rested on his shoulders.
A familiar voice, now sounding sinister, echoed in his ear.
“Hua Yan, I’ve only looked away for a short while, and on New Year’s Day, you’ve already come up with something new? Hmm?”
“Grand… Grandmother… let me explain… my intentions were good, it’s just that the horse took it upon itself to…”
Hua Yan wanted to cry but had no tears as he turned his head tremblingly.
“I caught you red-handed with the evidence, and you still dare to make excuses!”
Hua Yuheng shouted angrily, and Hua Yan’s body was suddenly flipped over.
smack!
“Ouch!”
A familiar ruler landed heavily on Hua Yan’s buttocks.
“How old are you now, yet you still cause trouble every single day! When you grow up, I’ll definitely find you a wife who can control you, just so you don’t lead your own children astray!”
“Grandmother, how old am I even? You’re already in such a hurry to find me a wife? At the very least, wait until I’m 1,000 years old, right?”
Hua Yan was in so much pain that tears welled up, and he looked back at Hua Yuheng with a wronged expression.
But Hua Yuheng, who was in the middle of her anger, didn’t care about that. She raised the ruler and gave him a few more strikes.
“You still dare to talk back! 1,000 years? Once you reach 100, I’ll send you out! Whichever girl is willing to take you, she can lead you away as early as possible!”
“Ow, ow, ow! Grandmother, I was wrong! I’ll never talk back again!”
—
On a winter New Year’s Day, the Xiaoyao Sword Sect was always covered in pure white. This year was no exception.
Snow had fallen all night on Mianyun Peak, and a few snowflakes were still drifting in the air.
“Xuechang, why are you standing by the pond? Have you finished your sword practice for today?”
A handsome woman in a pure white cloak, carrying a wine gourd and a black fish with a long sword on her back, returned from outside.
As soon as she landed, she saw the white-haired girl squatting on the ground, staring blankly at the pond.
“Master, I was thinking—after the pond in our courtyard freezes, why are there patterns and bubbles?”
The white-haired girl stood up and turned around.
She had an almost perfect, cold face with an oval shape and crimson eyes. At this moment, she was looking at Jiang Changge seriously.
“When Junior Sister Zhang performs ice spells, her ice is nearly transparent and doesn’t have these patterns or bubbles. I want to know why.”
‘Hiss… where did you get such a strange question from this time?’
Jiang Changge put the wine gourd and the fish on the snow and scratched her head.
If anyone asked her what was the biggest headache in raising a child, she would never say it was changing diapers or feeding rice soup.
She would answer—how to deal with Yun Xuechang’s bizarre questions.
Questions like why birds in the sky can fly, why there is a rainbow after the rain, and if the rainbow is connected to the Immortal Realm…
Such questions, big and small, appeared endlessly.
Her little disciple didn’t speak much, but she had an extraordinary number of strange questions.
In times like these, Jiang Changge would usually find an excuse to stall.
Then she would privately run to Wendao Peak to ask Elder Wen, and return to tell Yun Xuechang the answer while acting impressive to earn her worshiping gaze.
However, this time, she actually knew the answer to the question.
“Ahem, the reason is actually very simple. These patterns and bubbles are just the air present in the water.”
Jiang Changge cleared her throat.
“When the pond water freezes, this air doesn’t have time to be completely expelled, so it forms bubbles. Your Junior Sister Zhang’s ice spells directly generate ice from Spiritual Power.”
“Ice and water formed from Spiritual Power naturally wouldn’t have the air that exists in nature. Does your Master’s explanation make sense?”
“Mm.”
Yun Xuechang nodded, then immediately asked again.
“Then Master—what exactly is this ‘air’? Why is it in natural water but not in water made of Spiritual Power? What is its relationship to the Noble Spirit of Confucian cultivators and the Spiritual Qi we cultivate?”
“Ahem, I see that it’s getting late. Xuechang, it’s time for us to have our New Year’s Eve dinner. Your Master will explain these questions to you slowly in the future.”
Jiang Changge, stumped by her disciple once again, hurriedly changed the subject.
“Let’s take the fish inside now. Making a good dish is the priority.”
“Yes, Master.”
Yun Xuechang replied obediently. She picked up the black fish and the wine gourd, which were already covered in a thin layer of snow, and followed Jiang Changge into the house.
“Xuechang, Happy New Year.”
The master and disciple sat across from each other at a small square table. A steaming fish hotpot sat on the table.
Jiang Changge raised her glass and smiled at Yun Xuechang.
“Mm. Master, Happy New Year.”
The white-haired girl sitting opposite her held her sweet wine in both hands and lightly clinked her glass against her master’s.
—
“Happy New Year, Grandmother, hehehe…”
In a hall within the Hundred Flowers Valley, Hua Yan diligently offered a toast to Hua Yuheng in the main seat.
The other woman gave him a sharp look, but she still clinked her glass with his.
At the same time, fireworks rose outside the window, blooming into brilliant colors in the night sky.
“Happy New Year, you brat.”
Hua Yuheng muttered and downed the wine in her glass.
That night, Hua Yan lay in his bed with a smile still on his lips.
How should he put it? Although he still got a beating during this year’s Spring Festival, he was still very happy, wasn’t he?
The smile on his face grew even brighter.
He only wished—that every year would be like today, and every year would have this moment.