The Mystic Lucky Baby is Five and a Half Years Old - Chapter 8

The master and disciple whispered back and forth for quite a while.

Just as Niannian’s little figure was about to disappear from sight, they finally ended their discussion and hurriedly followed after her.

After walking for about half an hour, both of them began to sense that something wasn’t quite right.

They had originally assumed it was just that Niannian’s unreliable parents hadn’t kept an eye on her, letting her sneak out to wander the streets.

But Niannian’s behavior didn’t seem to match that theory at all.

For instance, when the little dumpling passed by a cake shop, she stopped and stared through the glass display case, swallowing drool like crazy.

When she saw a fried chicken stand on the street, she stood still for ages, her arm lifting to wipe away the saliva at the corner of her mouth.

Neither master nor disciple had ever seen Niannian like this before.

Back on the mountain, everyone, her senior brothers and even Taoist Qingyun, had spoiled the little one to the heavens.

Aside from being strict about learning the Dao, they gave her anything she wanted.

And starving her? That had never happened.

“Old Fourth, I feel like something’s wrong with your little junior sister. She was never this greedy before. These snacks can’t be better than what Second made, can they?”

Taoist Qingyun frowned in confusion, restraining his impulse to go up and ask, muttering to the youth beside him.

“Maybe things down the mountain are just new to her? But… why did Niannian come out here? She never wanders around like this.”

Liu Chuchen began to have a bad feeling, one that fit perfectly with what he was seeing, though he didn’t quite want to believe it.

The Yu family was rich and powerful. They had finally found their long-lost daughter and brought her home. There was no way they’d let her go hungry, right?

That would be outright neglect.

If her parents were the kind of people who’d mistreat a child, then his master would never have trusted them enough to send Niannian back.

“Let’s keep watching,” said Taoist Qingyun, still puzzled, deciding to observe a bit longer.

Niannian wiped away another string of drool at the fried chicken shop door, then resolutely turned away. She knew these delicious things all belonged to someone else.

Her master had said that if something belonged to others, you had to use money to exchange for it. She didn’t have any money, so she couldn’t trade for food.

Her stomach rumbled louder and louder. Daydreaming about food wasn’t helping, she needed to keep exploring this strange “world” and find something edible soon.

Before she knew it, Niannian had wandered into a park.

There, elderly men were practicing Tai Chi, middle-aged women were dancing to loud music from portable speakers, and children were laughing and playing on the playground.

The moment she entered, her eyes lit up at the sight of a small stall. It was a square wooden table, behind which sat an old man with graying hair.

Next to him stood a flag that read, “Divine Fortune Teller — One Divination Worth a Thousand Gold.”

Niannian could read the words, but what truly caught her attention wasn’t meeting a fellow practitioner, it was the bronze bell resting on the table.

The bell was engraved with ancient, simple patterns and faintly radiated spiritual energy, there was even a trace of yin energy drifting over it.

There was no doubt, it was a magical tool.

There were only three things in the world Niannian loved most: ghosts, magical tools, and food. And whenever she saw a tool she’d never encountered before, she had to study it herself.

Her curiosity immediately overpowered her hunger. She trotted over on her little legs and politely greeted the old man, “Hello, Grandpa. May I take a look at that bell?”

Chu Dacheng had been sitting idly, waiting for customers. When he suddenly heard that soft, milky voice, he instinctively looked down.

There stood a tiny girl, exquisitely cute and dressed in a Taoist robe. Her big watery eyes blinked under long lashes like a delicate porcelain doll.

Faced with that pleading gaze, Chu Dacheng felt his throat tighten, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. “You can look, but don’t touch. If you break it, you’ll have to pay for it.”

He smiled kindly. He had lived alone his whole life, no wife, no children. When he was young, he didn’t mind, but now that he was older, he found himself especially fond of children.

And this one, so cute and well-mannered, was impossible to resist. Besides, she wasn’t interrupting his work.

In his line of business, days could pass without a single customer, and then one reading might feed him for months.

Setting up in the park was mostly for luck. If business was slow, so what? If this adorable little girl wanted to hang around quietly, he didn’t mind at all.

Receiving permission, Niannian nodded obediently and gave a sweet, beaming smile, one so pure that Chu Dacheng’s heart nearly melted.

At that exact moment, her little stomach let out another loud grumble. Niannian’s face flushed as she pressed a hand to her belly, embarrassed.

“Hungry?” Chu Dacheng chuckled softly, but inside, he was already cursing the child’s parents. Who would let a child get so hungry that her stomach growled out loud?

Niannian, honest as ever, nodded shyly. Thinking of her still-empty belly, her expression fell again, looking utterly pitiful.

“Here, have this first.” Chu Dacheng’s heart softened completely. He rummaged through his bag and handed her a loaf of bread and a carton of milk.

He always carried food since he stayed in the park all day. Sharing with a child was nothing. He just couldn’t help silently roasting the parents again in his heart.

“Thank you, Grandpa.” Niannian was truly starving, so she accepted it immediately.

Children didn’t fake politeness, they accepted kindness with open hearts.

She tore open the bread and milk and devoured them in a few bites, even letting out a tiny satisfied burp afterward.

From behind the park shrubs, Taoist Qingyun’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. At this point, there was no denying it, Niannian had been hungry earlier, not greedy.

“Humph! So these are the parents you so painstakingly found for her?” Liu Chuchen couldn’t hold back his sarcasm anymore. He was so furious he dropped the formalities.

Taoist Qingyun was equally livid. He wanted nothing more than to call Yu Shanhe right that second and scold him senseless. And that’s exactly what he did.

Yu Shanhe was in the middle of a meeting when his phone rang. He answered it, only to be met with a barrage of furious shouting.

“…???” What on earth was happening?

He looked at the caller ID and swallowed back the instinctive “Are you insane?” that almost slipped out.

This was the man who had helped him find his daughter. The same person who had raised her for five years, healthy, chubby, and unharmed.

He’d never met him in person, but because this man had kept his daughter alive and well, Yu Shanhe felt he owed him deeply.

So he endured the scolding patiently until the man finally paused for breath. Then he cautiously asked, “Sir, why are you yelling at me? Did you call the wrong number?”

“Wrong number, my foot! Your daughter, my disciple, is so hungry she’s begging along the street! If you were too poor to feed her, you should’ve said so! I’d have helped you out myself! What’s the meaning of starving my disciple like this, huh? Can’t afford to raise her? Then send Niannian back to me immediately!”