31: Chapter 31 The Fox Fairy Repays a Kindness

This shout was particularly clear in the quiet alley.

The old man suddenly stopped, his wooden stick clattering to the ground. He turned around tremblingly, muttering something under his breath.

"The Master does not speak of strange phenomena, feats of strength, disorders, or spiritual beings..."

Behind him, there was nothing but the stray dog. He had seen it clearly just a moment ago.

But people are like that; the more afraid they are, the more they can't resist their curiosity.

The old man turned around and rubbed his eyes.

"How strange..."

The dead dog was still lying on the ground; it hadn't gotten up and walked a few steps.

"Maybe I misheard."

He shook his head, smiled with relief, and bent down to pick up the wooden stick.

"Hey!"

Su Mo stretched out his small hand, pushing himself out of the wooden barrel, and called out again.

Actually, it wasn't the old man's fault for not seeing him; his figure was completely obscured by the two wooden barrels and was not at all conspicuous compared to the surroundings.

The old man heard the sound and looked up, only then noticing a corner of cloth moving behind the barrel. He limped over for a look and immediately recoiled in shock.

"Good heavens, who abandoned a child here!"

In these times, there were no natural disasters or man-made calamities, so no family would be so poor as to be unable to raise a child. Even if they couldn't, they would find a good family for the child, let alone abandon them in this freezing weather to die.

Seeing this, the old man carefully stepped forward, rewrapped the scattered swaddling clothes, and picked up Su Mo for a look.

"This child has a rosy complexion and no physical defects. How could he be left here unattended..."

He looked around; the surroundings were pitch black with no one in sight. There was only a faint light coming from who knows where.

Looking down at the child in his arms again, Su Mo stared back at him, neither of them speaking.

Only up close did he realize that the old man's eyes were bright and spirited, and his speech was refined, indicating he was an educated person.

"Alas~ so be it. For today, you'll come back with me. Afterward, I'll find you a good family."

With that, he picked up the wooden stick from the ground, embraced Su Mo, and limped off into the distance.

The snow fell thicker and thicker, accumulating an inch deep on the ground.

Su Mo was a bit confused. When he had just died, wasn't it almost summer? Why was it snowing now?

Could it be that this world was like Earth, and he had reincarnated from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere?

While he was pondering, the old man had already stopped inside a dark house.

Then Su Mo felt his body lighten, as if he had been placed on something soft.

The old man lit an oil lamp, carefully took off his soaked long robe, and hung it on a straw rope.

By the dim lamplight, Su Mo could make out the layout of the room.

Snow water occasionally dripped from the thatched roof, the mud walls were uneven, and the paper on the windows was yellowed and torn, rustling in the wind.

The furnishings inside were extremely simple: a set of weather-beaten tables and chairs, the wooden bed beneath him, and perhaps the most valuable items were the stack of well-worn books on the table.

"Little darling, you haven't eaten yet, have you~"

The old man revealed a kind smile, the wrinkles on his face scrunching into a chrysanthemum.

"No, I haven't. Do you have milk?"

Su Mo wanted to reply, but what came out was a series of wails.

Seeing Su Mo's response, the old man's smile grew even wider. He extended a slender finger and playfully poked Su Mo.

"Don't rush, don't rush. I'll get you something to eat right away."

He slowly walked to a clay pot in the corner, lifted the lid, and the millet inside barely covered the bottom of the pot.

"Alas~ I never thought that I, Song Wen, a mere Xiu Cai, would now be on the verge of starving to death..."

Song Wen gave a bitter smile, carrying the rice jar and walking outside, stopping with each step.

"This old man is a Xiu Cai!"

Su Mo looked at Song Wen's hunched back in surprise.

"Are Xiu Cais, chosen from ten thousand, so worthless here? How can he be even more miserable than oxen, horses, or college students?"

Before long, Song Wen brought a steaming porcelain bowl to the table. He picked up Su Mo, scooped a spoonful of yellow mushy substance, blew on it, and only when he felt it wasn't hot did he bring it to Su Mo's mouth.

As the white porridge entered his mouth, Su Mo was surprised to find that it tasted similar to overcooked millet.

Seeing him eat with relish, Song Wen couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, smelling the rice aroma.

Fortunately, Su Mo felt full after a few bites. There wasn't much left, and Song Wen finished it in a few mouthfuls.

He rubbed his belly, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

"It seems that after finding you a good family tomorrow, I'll have to see if there's any work copying books."

The oil lamp extinguished, and the room plunged back into darkness.

The old man was indeed an old man, unlike young people who could stay up. He held Su Mo in his arms and fell asleep within seconds of his head touching the pillow.

Su Mo, however, had no trace of sleepiness. His eyes were wide open.

He was pondering whether or not to let the old man send him away.

If he were sent away, there would inevitably be many eyes and ears, and if his secret were discovered later, it would be difficult to explain.

Unlike this old man, who might pass away in a few years anyway. As long as Su Mo could walk, he could be self-reliant. Once the old man died, he could go out and explore without any worries.

Having made up his mind, Su Mo slowly crawled out of the quilt, his bare body immediately shivering from the cold.

"Hiss~ it's really cold, there's no warmth in the room at all."

Thanks to a dog's five senses, he could now see clearly in the dark and immediately spotted the clay pot in the corner.

"Didn't you say there was no food? Then I'll give you food."

Clusters of white porridge appeared out of thin air above the clay pot, and in a blink of an eye, the fifty-centimeter-tall pot was filled.

Su Mo contentedly crawled back into the quilt. Babies are prone to sleep, and he soon fell into a deep slumber.

In his dream, he vaguely heard smacking sounds near his ear... The next morning, the heavy snow had stopped.

Su Mo was awakened by a gasp. After a comfortable stretch, he looked towards the corner.

Song Wen was holding the clay pot, his face full of disbelief.

"white porridge?! Why is the clay pot full of white porridge?"

White rice was not something a poor scholar like him could afford; only wealthy officials could eat it.

Common people could only afford millet, which cost five copper coins per catty, and many even ate chaff.

Song Wen suddenly remembered something and abruptly turned his head to look at Su Mo on the bed.

Their eyes met, which startled Su Mo.

After a long silence, until Su Mo felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze, Song Wen finally shook his head.

"No, no..."

As a scholar, he had read many Strange Tales and Anomalies in his leisure time. Most of them involved fox or snake spirits transforming into beautiful women to repay kindness, but none mentioned an innocent infant being able to conjure white porridge.

"This... could this be... Heaven-Bestowed Immortal Grain!"

Seeing the old man begin to overthink, Su Mo took advantage of his daze to spell out a few words on the table using flour.

"Hey!"

Song Wen snapped back to reality, thinking Su Mo had soiled himself, so he stood up to check.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pile of white characters on the table.

"Strange? When did this appear on the table?"

He walked over and saw that although the characters were somewhat different from what he had learned, he could still recognize them.

"Please help me raise this child. When the time is right, I will come to take him away. This food is the reward; more will be sent when it runs out."

"So that's how it is..."