translator: baumkuchen

After managing to b.u.m a meal at Lu Qingjiu"s house, only then did Jiufeng unwillingly make her leave. From how reluctant she looked, probably if not for her fear of Bai Yuehu, she would really want to stay in Lu Qingjiu"s old home for a very long time. Lu Qingjiu had a good, refreshing sleep. When he woke up the next day, Jiufeng was already gone. Outside was still a sheet of dazzling white, which actually made him slightly miss the hot weather where Jiufeng lived.

With the chicken soup they"d specially saved from the stewed snake the day before, he made chicken noodle soup. After feeding the two mouths at home, seeing that the weather seemed to be pretty good outside, Lu Qingjiu let the little animals in his home out into the courtyard to let them move around freely. After all, they had been staying in the house since the start of winter. After a while, it really did feel a little unbearably stifling.

Dressed in the little cotton jackets made by Lu Qingjiu, Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua rushed out into the snow, leaving behind rows of adorable little footprints. The little fox was a little more delicate, curling up in Lu Qingjiu"s arms for a long time, unwilling to move. Only when Bai Yuehu reached out a hand towards Lu Qingjiu, wanting to hold it, did the little fox let out a few chirps, and carefully jump onto the thick layer of snow, freezing its little paws and making them curl up.

After the snow had stopped, so had the wind. The bright sun hung high in the sky. Lu Qingjiu, dressed in thick clothes, ran around in the snow. He was soon covered in a layer of sweat on his body, but he didn"t feel any cold. Seeing that all the little ones were having a grand time playing around, he went into the house and got out a pom-pom which he had often used to play with the little fox. The way they played was similar to fetch, he threw the ball out, and then the little fox would happily retrieve it.

The entire family was happy and getting along well, the mood especially harmonious.

Because the number of people who went outside during the winter was particularly small, Lu Qingjiu let them out of the courtyard, telling them to stay nearby the courtyard, that they were absolutely not to go too far away or else they might be kidnapped and killed for their meat, and that they had to come back for dinner before it turned dark.

Hearing this, Yin Xun found it very funny. He said that Lu Qingjiu sounded just like a mother. Lu Qingjiu, "This is how you"re going to speak to your father?"

Yin Xun, "……" You"re ruthless!

Most of the food that was eaten in winter was on the lighter side. After eating too much of that, some would have the urge to taste something with a slightly stronger taste. Lu Qingjiu also felt like he was getting a little sick of light food, so he planned on making chicken feet with pickled peppers. The chicken feet had been bought beforehand and kept in the fridge, and just needed to be taken out to defrost. The pickled peppers were then pulled out of their jug by Lu Qingjiu. He placed the cooked chicken feet and the pickled peppers into the same gla.s.s jar, then added in an appropriate amount of salt and some wine. After a day, the chicken feet would be done absorbing the flavour. When he was sitting on the Kang and reading, or chatting with the others, he could casually munch on a few. It was not only delicious, but also a good way to while away the time.

Lu Qingjiu made steamed pork ribs with glutinous rice and a pot of meat and cabbage soup for lunch. When the rice was almost done cooking, Lu Qingjiu got Yin Xun to go out and call back the ones outside, saying that it was time for lunch.

Yin Xun went out, and brought back with him three little guys. He said, "I brought Xiao Hua, Xiao Hei and the little fox kit back, but I didn"t see Bai Yuehu."

"Oh, he has something to do, so he won"t be having lunch at home today," Lu Qingjiu said, "Let"s eat first."

After Jiufeng came to their house and b.u.mmed a meal off of them the day before, Bai Yuehu hadn"t been in a good mood ever since. He seemed to be thinking about something. Today, he"d left the house early in the morning. Before he left, he had told Lu Qingjiu that he didn"t need to prepare lunch and dinner for him.

This was a very rare occurrence. Ever since Bai Yuehu had come to live in his old home, he had practically never left for more than a day before. He also didn"t know what he had gone out to do.

Xiao Hua, Xiao Hei and the little fox had already obediently seated themselves in the living room, looking up as they waited for Lu Qingjiu to come feed them. The three of them were actually very obedient. Before entering, they had wiped off the snow and water on their feet on the mat at the door. When they saw Lu Qingjiu coming, they even lifted their little feet to show that they had washed their hands.

Usually, they had their meals with Lu Qingjiu. Whatever Lu Qingjiu made, was what they would eat. Originally, Lu Qingjiu had been a little worried about whether Xiao Hei and Xiao hua could eat pork, but after Xiao Hua firmly expressed that they weren"t related to pigs, he fed them pork with the rest of them.

The three little ones buried their faces into their bowls, and began to happily eat their lunch.

Lu Qingjiu then sat at the table with Yin Xin to eat their steamed pork ribs and glutinous rice. As they were eating, Lu Qingjiu suddenly noticed something. He asked, "Yi, where did that straw doll come from?"

By Xiao Hei"s feet lay a doll made of straw, about the size of a palm, looking very roughly made.

"Straw doll?" Yin Xun thought for a moment, then said, "I think Xiao Hei brought it in."

"My sister found it in the snow." Off to the side, Xiao Hua helped his younger sister who was still immersed in her food reply, "She was digging around in the snow for a long time, then suddenly picked up this doll."

Lu Qingjiu walked over and picked up the doll. He found that the eyes off the doll were made from sewn-on red beans, as well as its mouth and nose. It was wearing a gorgeously coloured jacket. It looked like a simple toy. At first glance, the doll looked very crude, but after picking it up and taking a closer look, Lu Qingjiu felt like this doll was actually made very well, its features vivid and lively, which was a little interesting.

"Where did it come from?" Yin Xun took the doll from Lu Qingjiu"s hands. After a short inspection, he then lost interest. "Maybe some kid from the village lost their doll."

The people here weren"t very well-off, and didn"t have the spare cash to buy expensive cloth dolls from the city, so when their kids kicked up a fuss about wanting a toy, most were made by their parents. There was a high chance that this type of straw doll was a village kid"s toy.

"Maybe." Lu Qingjiu handed the doll back to Xiao Hei. "You can play with it first, when spring comes, I"ll go ask the people in the village about it. If no one wants it, it"ll be yours."

Xiao Hei let out a few happy snorts, then used her front hooves to happily hug the doll, even forcefully rubbing her face against it.

After lunch, Lu Qingjiu went to take his usual afternoon nap. Yin Xun let Lu Qingjiu go off to sleep, saying that he wanted to clean up the snow in the courtyard while the weather was still good. There was a chance that there would be strong wind and snow for the next few days, so it would be best to do all the prep work in advance, so as to avoid the snow building up so much they couldn"t even open the door when the time came.

As a mountain G.o.d, Yin Xun"s weather predictions were very accurate. Lu Qingjiu nodded, then turned and went into the house to sleep.

Lu Qingjiu slept very deeply. Usually, he would wake up on his own after about an hour, but today, he actually slept for the whole afternoon. When he woke up, the sky outside had completely gone dark. Lu Qingjiu, who"d opened his eyes in his warm bed, was a little dazed. He felt like his enter body had gone soft. Because he"d slept for too long, his mind had become a pile of mush, taking a long time to start back up again.

After his brain started up again, Lu Qingjiu felt like there was something a little off. He"d spelt for so long, Yin Xun would definitely have come to wake him, but now, the area outside the house was completely silent. Even after he called out for Yin Xun several times, no one replied.

"Yin Xun, Yin Xun, are you there?" As Lu Qingjiu pulled on his clothes, he called out his best friend"s name, but there was still no response.

After putting on his thick down jacket, Lu Qingjiu pushed open the front door and felt a strong cold wind rush in. there was no moon in the sky, and the courtyard was completely dark, and terrifyingly silent.

"Yin Xun?? Where are you??" Lu Qingjiu"s bad feeling began to grow stronger. He knew that something had to have happened. If Yin Xun was going to go out, he would have definitely told him in advance, but now, he had disappeared just like that.

Lu Qingjiu hurried back to the house to find a flashlight, but as he pa.s.sed by the living room, he saw Yin Xun"s coat on the sofa, and his mobile phone on the table. Clearly, Yin Xun hadn"t left of his own volition. He hadn"t even had the time to put on his coat. And disappearing along with him, were the Xiao Hua and Xiao Hei who had been playing in the courtyard in the day.

"Yin Xun, Yin Xun??" After grabbing a flashlight, Lu Qingjiu returned to the courtyard. As he called Yin Xun and Xiao Hua and Xiao Hei"s names, he walked over to the inner courtyard, wanting to see if they were there. But just as Lu Qingjiu pa.s.sed through the pa.s.sage between the inner and outer courtyards—— the withered grape vine trellis, he suddenly tripped on something beneath his feet.

Lu Qingjiu stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He pointed his flashlight at the ground, illuminating it. When he saw what the thing in the snow was, his expression froze for a moment.

He saw a bunch of straw, which had been buried in the snow. They didn"t plant any straw in their home, so there naturally wouldn"t be any straw, and Lu Qingjiu had even walked past here in the morning, and very clearly remembered that this thing hadn"t been here before.

Lu Qingjiu slowly approached the straw. He reached out a hand, and brushed away the snow burying it. As more and more of the snow was brushed away, the thing buried beneath it finally revealed its true face.

It was a giant straw man, a full 1.7 meters tall. It had been buried in the snow in a crawling position. But that wasn"t the reason why Lu Qingjiu lost his composure… What threw Lu Qingjiu into despair, was that, on this giant straw man"s body, he saw the clothes Yin Xun had been wearing that day.

Yin Xun, had turned into a straw man.