Thank you, quayA, for the ko-fi~
Feng Yuan’s sobbing, milky voice was broadcasted to every corner of the temple through the speakers.
Sounds could also be heard from the road outside.
The announcement played several times before the person in charge finally turned it off.
“Little Yuan Yuan, don’t cry anymore.”
The person in charge handed a piece of candy to Feng Yuan.
Feng Yuan glanced at his grandfather and only reached out his small hand to take the candy after seeing his grandfather nod.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
Feng Yuan handed the candy to his grandfather, asking him to put it away for him.
He no longer trusted his own pockets.
Li Heng patted his little head, unwrapped the candy directly, and fed it to him.
If it were candy from a stranger, Li Heng wouldn’t have let his grandson eat it.
But the person in charge of the broadcasting station was also a monk.
He was a monk from this temple. The candy he offered was handmade by the temple itself and sold in limited quantities to the public.
There was nothing wrong with this candy.
Tears were still streaming down Feng Yuan’s chubby little face. He opened his mouth to eat the candy only when his grandfather brought it to his lips.
The sweet candy was Feng Yuan’s favorite flavor.
But at this moment, as he ate it, he felt no joy at all.
He was still thinking about his 50 yuan.
Several adults waited with Feng Yuan. Before long, someone actually claimed to have found the money.
The person brought a single 50-yuan bill.
Feng Yuan shook his head, his milky voice still trembling with sobs: “This isn’t the money Yuan Yuan lost.”
What he had lost were two 10-yuan bills, four 5-yuan bills, and ten 1-yuan bills.
The visitor who brought the money tried to force it into Feng Yuan’s hands when he refused to take it.
But though Feng Yuan was small, he was stubborn.
He didn’t want this money.
After that man left, more people came one after another to return the money.
Many people came to return money, but none of them had actually found Feng Yuan’s money.
These people had recognized Feng Yuan.
They were trying to cheer him up.
Some even asked to take photos with Feng Yuan after finding him.
Seeing the broadcasting station turning into a check-in spot for Little Yuan Yuan, the person in charge spoke up helplessly.
“If you keep waiting here, this place is going to be completely blocked.”
“How about this: you go somewhere else for a while, and I’ll screen the people here for you.”
The person in charge’s words made Feng Yuan nod tearfully.
He had also realized that many people just wanted to see him, not because they had actually found his money.
If he stayed here any longer, he would only cause trouble for the monk uncle.
“Yuan Yuan won’t stay here anymore.”
Feng Yuan wiped his tears and asked his grandfather to carry him away.
While climbing the mountain earlier, he had been moving around constantly. Although some people recognized him, he hadn’t encountered this kind of crowding situation because he was always on the move.
Now that he was staying in one place, many people wanted to come and see him.
“Li Heng, let’s go to the backyard. We can stay here overnight.”
“We can wait here for one night before leaving.”
Fang Fang was more familiar with this place. It wasn’t her first time here.
The temple offered lodging, but the meals served here were strictly vegetarian.
Fang Fang had tried the vegetarian food here before and thought it tasted even better than some private restaurants outside.
Fang Fang led the way. The group went to the back to complete the lodging registration process.
Seeing that Feng Yuan had left, the person in charge of the broadcasting station issued another announcement.
This time, the announcement stated that Yuan Yuan was no longer waiting at the broadcasting station.
After the notice was issued, the number of visitors noticeably decreased.
The person in charge finally had a bit of peace and quiet.
Time slowly passed. Feng Yuan’s 50 yuan still hadn’t been recovered.
He seemed listless in everything he did.
The pilgrims’ accommodations were set in a tranquil environment. Fang Fang and Frida were chatting under the bamboo grove.
Li Heng was brewing tea, while Yu Lian sat opposite him, setting up a chessboard.
“Yuan Yuan, would you like to play a game of chess with Grandpa?”
Yu Lian spoke to Feng Yuan: “Grandpa will teach you.”
Feng Yuan was sitting next to Li Heng.
Yu Lian called him twice before he finally responded.
Yu Lian had set up a game of Chinese chess.
Feng Yuan didn’t want to learn it.
He glanced at the bamboo grove, wanting to go play inside.
This bamboo grove was enclosed, meaning that if you walked to the end, you would only see the temple walls.
So, with his little hands clasped behind his back and his head drooping, Feng Yuan went alone to the bamboo grove to clear his mind. The adults weren’t worried about him getting lost.
The little guy didn’t want any adults following him.
He wandered alone through the grove, where there were many insects and ants, as well as spiders spinning webs.
Feng Yuan wasn’t afraid even when he saw a big spider.
At the moment, he was feeling utterly dejected.
He thought his money might never be found.
The deeper part of the grove was even more serene, with a lot of unmelted snow on the ground.
Unlike the city streets, where snow was promptly cleared, the snow that fell into the grove was left to melt naturally.
Feng Yuan crouched in front of a snow pile, poking at it with his chubby little fingers.
He was drawing.
He was drawing his money.
“Sigh.”
After doodling aimlessly in the snow, Feng Yuan let out a sigh, his chubby little face full of melancholy.
For the first time in his life, he had suffered such a significant financial blow.
This blow saddened him more than being in massive debt.
Just as Feng Yuan was still grieving over his money, a tender little voice suddenly emerged from the snow pile.
“Hi, hello there, little friend.”
“Do you have any troubles? I can help you solve them.”
The sudden voice made Feng Yuan freeze in surprise.
He looked around in all directions but saw no one.
“I’m buried under the snow.”
As if aware that Feng Yuan was searching for him, the little voice spoke again: “If you dig open this snow pile, you’ll be able to see me.”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Feng Yuan wasn’t the least bit scared of the voice from the snow pile.
He leaned in, pressing his little ear against the snow.
“As long as you dig me out, I can fulfill all your wishes!”
For Feng Yuan at that moment, the voice held great temptation.
He rubbed his chilled ear and said seriously in his childish voice, “I’ll go call Grandpa to dig you out.”
“No, don’t!”
“Don’t let anyone else come. You and I are the most connected.”
“Only you can hear my voice, and only you can see me.”
The voice continued to tempt Feng Yuan incessantly: “If you want me to help you fulfill your wishes, hurry up and dig me out.”
Feng Yuan: “Alright then.”
Feng Yuan agreed.
He ran out of the bamboo grove and found a shovel in the house.
Frida saw him running into the bamboo grove with the shovel and reminded him, “Yuan Yuan, you can’t dig up the bamboo here.”
Feng Yuan replied without turning his head: “Yuan Yuan knows!”
With the shovel in hand, Feng Yuan started digging the snow pile.
The temple had no air conditioning or heating.
Feng Yuan was still wearing thick clothes.
After digging for a while, he was already sweating profusely.
“You’re almost there. Keep digging!”
“You want money, right? As long as you dig me out, you’ll have money.”
The voice from the snowdrift kept echoing.
Feng Yuan huffed and puffed as he dug for a long time, finally clearing away the snowdrift.
Inside the snow, he found a small white bottle.
And the voice he had heard was coming from the bottle.
Feng Yuan stared at the bottle, his chubby face thoughtful for a few seconds, before he pulled out the stopper.
As soon as the stopper was removed, a wisp of white smoke drifted out.
A moment later.
The smoke dissipated, revealing a small creature resembling a white horse but with a shimmering, iridescent horn.
The creature was only the size of an adult’s palm, translucent and crystalline, appearing almost unreal.
As soon as it emerged, it circled Feng Yuan a few times.
“Little phoenix.”
While inside the bottle, the creature’s voice had been soft and childlike, but after coming out, for some reason, its tone suddenly changed.
Though it still had a child’s voice, its manner of speaking had abruptly matured.
It had also sniffed out that Feng Yuan was a young phoenix.
Feng Yuan didn’t recognize it, but he felt an inexplicable closeness to it.
“Who are you? Why were you in the bottle?”
“Ahem, I’m an unknown mythical beast, nothing compared to you phoenixes.”
“Little phoenix, why are you crying?”
The white creature immediately noticed the tear streaks on Feng Yuan’s face and his swollen eyes from crying.
The little one looked utterly pitiful.
Feng Yuan sniffled and explained how he had lost his money.
He hadn’t forgotten the promise this mythical beast had made—
To grant his wish.
“Whitey, please help me find my 50 yuan.”
Feng Yuan didn’t know the creature’s name, so he gave it one based on its color.
“Who are you calling ‘Whitey’?”
The creature, who had been begging Feng Yuan to dig it out just moments before, suddenly adopted a haughty demeanor.
It even took on the air of an elder, lecturing Feng Yuan: “Call me Uncle. I’m older than you.”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Feng Yuan knew when to yield.
He made his request again: “Uncle, please help Yuan Yuan find the 50 yuan.”
This time, Feng Yuan got the form of address right.
The white creature also had two wings. But unlike Feng Yuan’s short, chubby wings, its wings were functional and could fly.
The white beast continued to circle Feng Yuan.
Feng Yuan, watching it fly in circles around him, felt dizzy.
“Uncle, when will you be able to find it?”
“Right away!”
The white beast closed its eyes, as if concentrating.
After a moment of effort, it suddenly opened its eyes.
“Done.”
As soon as the words left the beast’s mouth, stacks of banknotes began to rain down.
Feng Yuan stared in shock at the money falling from the sky.
The bills were all red 100-yuan notes.
Feng Yuan recognized the 100-yuan bill.
It was the biggest, most valuable money!
“Uncle, no, this isn’t right.”
Feng Yuan, nearly buried under the 100-yuan bills, stammered: “This isn’t Yuan Yuan’s money. Yuan Yuan doesn’t have this much money.”
“Didn’t you want money? The more, the better.”
The white beast said, “Gather it all. It’s all yours now.”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Terrified by the sheer amount of money, Feng Yuan turned and ran out of the bamboo grove.
As soon as he stepped out, he heard his grandfather’s voice.
“Strange, why is the money in my wallet gone?”
Li Heng had a habit of carrying his wallet whenever he went out.
His wallet, which had been full of money, was now empty.
After Li Heng finished speaking, Yu Lian asked if he had dropped it.
Li Heng insisted it was impossible: “The money was in the wallet. There’s no reason the wallet is still here, but the money is gone.”
Yu Lian also thought it was very strange.
He reached into his pocket and checked his own money.
At that moment, he froze.
“Hey, where’s my money?”
All the money Yu Lian had brought with him was gone, too.
Fang Fang and Frida, hearing the commotion, immediately checked their own wallets.
Upon checking, they found their wallets were also empty.
The grandparents’ expressions changed. They decided to go find the temple’s abbot.
For a moment, none of the adults noticed Feng Yuan’s small figure.
After seeing that the grandparents’ money had disappeared, Feng Yuan suddenly understood where the money from earlier had come from.
His chubby little face darkened, and he ran back.
The white beast was still in the same spot, lying on a pile of money.
“You’re back.”
The white beast was not at all surprised by Feng Yuan’s return.
He urged Feng Yuan to gather all the money.
After all, it was the result of his hard work collecting it.
While urging Feng Yuan to collect the money, the white beast also mentioned Pixiu.
“Pixiu once asked me to make money for him, but I never did.”
“Little Phoenix, aren’t I good to you?”
Feng Yuan puffed out his chubby cheeks and placed his hands on his hips.
“Yuan Yuan doesn’t want your kindness!”
“This is someone else’s money, not Yuan Yuan’s.”
“Give it back right now!”
The righteous little chubby Yuan didn’t want this money, nor did he approve of this method of “making” money.
This wasn’t creating money. It was stealing!
“You’re a liar!”
“You can’t help Yuan Yuan fulfill his wish at all!”
Feng Yuan said angrily, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have dug you out.”
His palms were sore from digging in the snow earlier.
Hearing Feng Yuan’s scolding, the white beast paused for a moment.
After a few seconds, he laughed.
“Your father raised you well.”
The white beast chuckled, “Alright, I’ll return all this money.”
“But aren’t you going to look for your money in here?”
“Your 50 yuan should be in here.”
Feng Yuan’s 50 yuan was rolled up, and on one of the 10-yuan bills, someone had drawn a red line with a pen.
Feng Yuan remembered his money clearly.
After hearing the white beast’s words, he crouched down and started searching.
And sure enough, he found it!
Amid the pile of money, there were a few bills rolled together!
This was his money!
Someone had picked up his money. The white beast had brought all the money here.
Finally finding his money, Feng Yuan clutched his recovered treasure, his little face on the verge of tears from joy.
The rest of the money was returned by the white beast.
The process was quick. Some people noticed, while others didn’t.
Many who had wanted to search for their money found it had already been returned before they could even start looking.
They were all astonished.
However, one teenager who had come with his father grew furious when he realized the money he had picked up was gone again.
This was bizarre.
He had clearly put the 50 yuan he’d found into his zippered pocket.
How could it have disappeared?!
Frustrated, the teenager unzipped his pocket and checked several times but found no trace of the money.
He was absolutely livid.
“Xiao Ming, hurry up. This is incense money. When you kowtow later, first put down a few coins, then bow to the Buddha.”
“Remember, you must be sincere!”
The boy’s father kept nagging: “You need to sincerely pray for the gods and Buddhas to protect your safety.”
“Dad will also pray for your safety.”
The boy’s father didn’t use to believe in these things.
But over the past two months, he discovered his son was being haunted by something unclean!
His son had always had a bad temper. Since elementary school, he frequently clashed with classmates. In middle school, he nearly got expelled.
Fortunately, the country has nine years of compulsory education. So no matter how much the school wanted to kick him out, they couldn’t.
This year, his son was about to enter ninth grade, a critical time for preparing for high school.
And at this crucial moment, his son became possessed.
His temper grew even worse than before, and his eating habits became very strange.
Last time, he took a few bites of the raw meat his mother had bought.
Also, strange noises started coming from his room late at night.
These abnormal occurrences kept increasing.
The boy’s father was genuinely scared.
He wanted to find someone knowledgeable to take a look, but his son had a bad reputation locally.
Every time he mentioned his son’s situation to local experts, they said his son was just playing tricks.
His son had previously been doing live streams online, wanting to become an internet celebrity and make money.
And the content of his streams was all about the supernatural.
Minors aren’t allowed to stream. The account his son used was his.
Later, someone recognized his son and reported him. His son’s streaming channel got shut down, and things quieted down for a while.
But the strange occurrences with his son started after the channel was closed.
“Xiao Ming, stop dawdling. Let’s finish praying early so we can go home sooner.”
“Your mom is waiting for us at home.”
The boy’s father kept chattering. The boy, annoyed by his nagging, snapped, “Shut up! You’re so noisy!”
“If you say one more word, I’m going back.”
“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more. Don’t go back. Let’s finish praying first.”
As the father and son walked toward the temple, the boy looked at the temple, feeling more than just irritated.
He was furious.
Just as his anger was peaking, a broadcast suddenly came on.
“Hello, everyone. I have an announcement to make.”
“Yuan Yuan’s missing 50 yuan has been found.”
After Feng Yuan found his money, he immediately rushed out and asked his grandpa to tell the monk at the broadcast station.
His money didn’t need to be searched for anymore.
Li Heng was very suspicious about the money being found so suddenly.
The little kid clutched the money, looked up, and saw the white beast still circling him.
The white beast was speaking to him.
“Your grandpa is an ordinary mortal. He can’t see me.”
“Even if you tell him about me, he won’t believe you.”
Feng Yuan’s eyes lit up as he spotted a loophole in that statement: “Then Yuan Yuan will try telling him!”
Before the white beast could stop him, Feng Yuan’s chubby little finger was already pointing at it, and he tattled to his grandpa.
“Grandpa, Yuan Yuan found a divine beast!”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152