Raising the unfamiliar
No wonder Hu Tu was grinning from ear to ear; although she and Jing Dan grew up together, chances to hold her were pitifully scarce. Now with the national treasure in her arms, she felt so delighted she could almost burst with joy.
“What’s the matter? Have you been living like an immortal these days?” Hu Tu looked down at Daidai in her arms, smiling so wide her eyes nearly disappeared.
Recently, she hadn’t stopped scrolling through Jing Dan’s videos online. She had watched the entirety of the show, even going so far as to request all the unedited raw footage from the production team, delighting her so much that she was nearly reported by the neighbors for disturbing the peace.
Jing Dan didn’t speak. Though she didn’t voice her thoughts, Hu Tu’s comment triggered memories of her recent times with He Ying. Indeed, they had been quite heavenly…
Each day began with delicious food, and apart from being somewhat stingy with her milk, she was almost utterly indulgent towards her.
Now, suddenly without this sort of treatment, she felt a bit lost and started to have some difficulty adjusting.
Hu Tu’s embrace wasn’t as comfortable as He Ying’s, and even the scent wasn’t as pleasant as what she was accustomed to with her; not to mention the lack of He Ying’s meticulous care. This contrast made her mood unavoidably drop a notch.
Not even the joy of being able to transform back into her human form soon could lighten the sudden gloom that had come over her.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Can’t bear to part?” Hu Tu noticed her listless state, her drooping fluff, and was momentarily baffled.
Surely not, right? It was only a month they had spent together, how could she have been so swayed by someone else?
Jing Dan remained silent, even she found herself at a loss with this abrupt surge of emotion.
Seeing her in such a state, Hu Tu didn’t tease her anymore. After bringing her back to her home and setting her on the couch, she said, “Alright, go ahead and change.”
But what greeted her words were the glossy black eyes of a baby panda.
Hu Tu: “…” What’s going on?
Seeing Hu Tu’s silent, bewildered expression, Jing Dan said somewhat gloomily, “I need to gather myself a bit more.”
What the heck! She had been in her original form for a month; why did she need to “gather herself” to transform back into her human form now?
Hu Tu: “…” Throw away this spiritual nonse.
She held her forehead, unable to stop herself from asking, “What’s actually going on with you? Haven’t you found a solution yet?”
Jing Dan: “…” If she knew the solution, would she still be like this?
Moreover, she had also noticed that whenever she got close to He Ying, the odds of her reverting to her original form seemed to dramatically increase…
Hu Tu sighed, feeling that her question was rather superfluous.
Before long, a flash of white light on the sofa turned the panda cub into a breathtakingly beautiful person with an icy countenance, looking as though brooding over some annoyance.
Seeing her like this, Hu Tu hesitated before suggesting, “How about I take you to meet someone? His medical skills are quite impressive.”
When Jing Dan looked up, there was resignation in her gaze—meet someone? Why did she have to meet people looking like this?
Hu Tu’s expression suddenly turned to one of irritation and displeasure, as she said, “Let’s just go see him and hear what he has to say.”
Her demeanor was akin to someone about to meet a despised enemy.
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Jing Dan was taken aback; this was the first time she had ever seen Hu Tu like this.
“If you really don’t want to see him, we don’t have to go. My issue isn’t that serious,” Jing Dan didn’t want to pressure her.
Hu Tu took a deep breath and explained, “It’s okay, just endure it, and it’ll be over.”
What she truly couldn’t stand any longer was Jing Dan’s ability to transform at the drop of a hat. Initially, she thought it was just a temporary lapse in controlling one’s cultivation, but after so many years, it was clear it wasn’t about cultivation at all.
Jing Dan was silent for a moment before finally giving a resigned “Okay.”
She really wanted to figure out what was going on with herself.
Having agreed, Hu Tu immediately made contact to arrange a meeting. Jing Dan listened as she made the call, the chill in her voice so intense that even Jing Dan couldn’t help but give her a few extra glances.
After hanging up, Hu Tu said, “Let’s go.”
Surprised, Jing Dan asked, “That fast?”
She thought they were in for a longer wait…
Hu Tu raised an eyebrow: “Or what? We’ll go whenever we’re free.”
Jing Dan: “…”
Is this the attitude one should have when asking for a favor?
Resigned, the two who had just sat down for a short while got ready to set out to the place Hu Tu mentioned.
Space twisted briefly, and when the two reappeared, they found themselves deep in a secluded forest.
Jing Dan furrowed her brows; could this possibly be a hermit’s retreat?
Led by Hu Tu, they walked ahead and after a short distance, they quickly came upon a few thatched huts and a fence haphazardly assembled from branches, all very much in the style of a reclusive sage.
Hu Tu didn’t bother with niceties. She kicked open the already ajar fence gate and pulled Jing Dan inside.
Jing Dan: “…” Although there was much she didn’t understand, she knew this behavior was inappropriate.
She hurriedly tugged at Hu Tu’s arm, fearing she might tear down the place in a fit of excitement, especially since these huts really looked like they couldn’t withstand rough handling.
Perhaps alerted by the commotion, a person from inside the house came out and saw the two tugging at each other.
Facing this person, Hu Tu’s face was set in a cold expression, devoid of any friendliness.
She remained silent, and Jing Dan, not a particularly outgoing person herself, couldn’t find any words to say either. So, there they stood, Jing Dan with a taut expression, silently watching the man who had come out of the house.
However, as she observed him, she found something peculiar—how come this man’s features resembled Hu Tu’s?
The man, noticing Hu Tu, seemed indifferent to her stern face. Instead, he responded with a gentle smile, then turned his attention to Jing Dan and said warmly, “You must be Jing Dan, right?”
Jing Dan harbored doubts in her heart, but she didn’t let them show on her face. She nodded in response to the man’s question and greeted him.
“Alright, then come in first. I need to understand the situation better before I can make any guesses,” said the man, stepping aside with a gesture inviting them in.
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Hu Tu snorted coldly and pulled Jing Dan inside.
The exterior looked simple, but the interior was even more spartan.
A bed was tucked into a corner, and in the hall, there was only an Eight Immortals table accompanied by four long benches, not even a teapot on top. Other than that, the entire hut was bare.
Jing Dan was silent.
The sparseness of the room was more severe than the peasant households she had seen depicted in historical dramas on television.
“Sit,” the man said.
Jing Dan obeyed and sat down.
Then the man asked her to extend one hand, which Jing Dan did. She watched as he placed his own hand over hers. Instantly, she felt a warm current beginning to flow from her palm, spreading to every limb and extremity.
Hu Tu, watching nervously from the side, kept her eyes fixed on the two, afraid of missing anything.
As time slowly ticked by, the smile that had been playing on the man’s lips gradually straightened into a serious line, and his expression turned extremely grave. He opened his eyes and withdrew his hand.
“What’s the matter?” Before Jing Dan could ask, Hu Tu questioned anxiously.
The man looked up at her, his face tensely said, “If I’m not mistaken, she might be suffering from ‘shao hun’.”
“‘Shao hun’?” Hu Tu exclaimed in shock, then immediately denied the possibility, “Impossible! If she were ‘shao hun,’ how could she still be alive and well up to now!”
People with ‘shao hun’ either die young or suffer from chronic illnesses, becoming foolish or dim-witted, but Jing Dan doesn’t seem to fit any of these descriptions at all.
The man shook his head and sighed softly, “It’s different; she’s not missing her entire soul.” As he said this, he looked at Jing Dan with a complicated gaze, then continued, “The part of her soul that’s missing isn’t much; it’s hardly noticeable on a cursory check, and the little that’s missing doesn’t much affect her physically—it just might cause some minor issues.”
“The reason she can’t control her transformation well could be related to the bit of her soul that’s missing.”
Jing Dan was slightly stunned. How could she be missing a part of her soul? Could it be that she was scared out of her wits when she was young, and when her little aunt performed the ritual to recall her soul, they didn’t manage to retrieve it all?
But that didn’t seem right either—her little aunt never mentioned anything about her losing her soul from fright.
Hu Tu was also confused by the man’s words, staring blankly at Jing Dan, “You’ve lost your soul before?”
Jing Dan: “…” How would she know?
“It’s my limited medical skills; I can’t detect anything beyond that,” the man said, shaking his head. Then he took out a piece of translucent white jade and placed it in Jing Dan’s palm, saying, “This jade has the property of nurturing the soul. Keeping it with you should be beneficial, and it might help reduce the frequency of you losing control and reverting to your original form.”
As soon as Jing Dan took the jade, she could feel a slight warmth. Holding it seemed to indeed make her feel a bit more comfortable…
“How much is it?” Jing Dan asked. The jade clearly looked very valuable; naturally, she wouldn’t feel right taking it for free.
“No need,” the man laughed heartily, glancing at Hu Tu and said, “Consider it a welcoming gift from Tutu’s father to you!”
Hu Tu’s expression changed instantly, “You are not my father! I only have one father!”
The smile on the man’s face faded slightly, the bitterness at the corners of his mouth grew more pronounced, but he said no more.
Jing Dan looked from one to the other, and finally decided not to meddle in affairs she didn’t understand. She left a card on the table and then pulled Hu Tu to leave.
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As they were leaving, Hu Tu still looked extremely indignant, while the man only went to the doorway and watched their departing figures, without following.
As Jing Dan led Hu Tu away, her mind was swirling with confusion. She knew about Hu Tu’s family, that her parents were perfectly fine at home, so how could there suddenly be a man claiming to be Hu Tu’s father? Moreover, judging by Hu Tu’s reaction—anger and disgust—it was possible that this man might indeed be her father…
What about the father back at Hu Tu’s home? Was he not her biological father?
Hu Tu, being led away, didn’t say much either, only glanced at the jade in Jing Dan’s hand and said, “Wear it, see if it’s of any use.”
Hearing this, Jing Dan nodded.
In her heart, Jing Dan actually wanted to ask Hu Tu what exactly was going on, but seeing her expression, she felt Hu Tu probably didn’t want to talk about it at that moment. In the end, Jing Dan suppressed all her questions, keeping them buried deep inside.
Upon returning to her place in Huaqing City, she looked down at the jade in her hand and an idea suddenly struck her.
Since being near He Ying seemed to significantly increase the chance of reverting to her original form, should she take the jade with her to do some testing? To see if it really was useful?
The author has something to say:
Wuu wuu, today’s scolding really scared the heck out of me; they were fighting so fiercely! I was already cowering, so why did they keep scolding me so harshly! (Indignantly!)
