The two embraced, and their kisses lingered endlessly, moving from the living room to the bedroom.
A night passed.
The eastern sky showed a sliver of dawn.
In the bamboo loft, Cheng Xiaofan had a simple meal of grilled earthworm silk noodles with Wu Shengnan before having the Sky-Breaking Eagle escort her back to the capital.
By the time the Sky-Breaking Eagle returned, the sky had officially brightened.
“Sky-Breaking Eagle, from now on, stay in this back mountain and go nowhere. Wait patiently for your breakthrough!” Cheng Xiaofan instructed upon seeing the Sky-Breaking Eagle.
“Chirp!”
The Sky-Breaking Eagle immediately responded, “Master, I understand.”
“I have a premonition that I will break through at midnight these coming days. During the daytime, Master can attend to your own affairs!”
In truth, the Sky-Breaking Eagle already sensed that this breakthrough was different from any before. It was a matter of life or death. If it survived, it would be a completely new being.
It couldn’t conceive of any emergency preparations for what might happen.
Its only feeling was that as long as its Master was by its side, it had a sliver of security.
Cheng Xiaofan nodded and said, “Your premonition is the same as mine.”
After chatting with the eagle for a while, Cheng Xiaofan bid farewell to the Sky-Breaking Eagle.
Today, Er Huang and the other spirit eagle were to lead over a hundred monkeys to the terraced mountains to harvest the rice, and he had to show his face there.
Returning home.
It was just time for breakfast.
Cheng Xiaofan had already eaten in the bamboo loft in the back mountain. When Bai Yiling served him a full bowl of old hen soup with dumplings, he still accepted it and began to eat.
“Xiaofan, Grandpa Luo called early this morning. Mayor Mei and the provincial leaders will arrive at Zhuxi Village precisely at nine o’clock!” Bai Yiling said. “He also asked me to represent you and give a speech on rice cultivation.”
“This is really pushing me into a corner. I know nothing about this rice cultivation technique, so how can I give a speech?”
Cheng Xiaofan laughed heartily and said, “Goddess Bai, just say that my man cultivated this rice strain using a special spiritual energy from heaven and earth.”
“Nowadays, experts tend to use this sort of vague rhetoric when they speak. Whether others understand it or not, you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Just let others guess!”
Bai Yiling chuckled, “Will this really work?”
“It will, I think it will!”
Tang Guoxing chimed in from the side, “Some things are difficult to explain specifically. Giving a general explanation is the best explanation.”
After all, Bai Yiling had also entered the ranks of cultivators.
She naturally understood what Cheng Xiaofan and Tang Guoxing were saying.
Indeed, there were some things that couldn’t be clearly explained to others.
She immediately nodded and smiled, saying, “Alright, I’ll do as you say!”
After finishing the bowl of dumplings, Cheng Xiaofan wiped his mouth and got on his motorcycle, heading towards Nanshan Lake.
At the foot of the terraced mountain, a stage had already been set up.
Red and green balloons, along with banners, hung on both sides of the road.
A red carpet was laid out on the ground near the stage.
It seemed the village committee had already advertised widely, as there were a lot of tourists today, bustling like a market.
“Master, you’re here!” Cheng Xiaofan heard a greeting from behind as he was strolling.
He turned his head and saw Long Xingyun and his fiancée, Jiang Xueyan.
Cheng Xiaofan smiled, “You’re here too!”
Long Xingyun said, “Master, there are a lot of people at Nanshan Lake today. Xueyan and I were worried someone might cause trouble, so we came specifically to maintain order.”
Cheng Xiaofan nodded and smiled, “Then I’ll trouble you both.”
Jiang Xueyan quickly asked Cheng Xiaofan, “Master, I heard that monkeys are coming to harvest rice today. Is that true?”
Cheng Xiaofan laughed, “Of course, it’s true. Two spirit eagles will lead them here shortly.”
Jiang Xueyan exclaimed, “That sounds so fun! No wonder there are so many tourists today!”
After parting ways with them, Cheng Xiaofan walked a short distance and encountered Tang Guihua, the village women’s director, leading a group of villagers with sickles and baskets.
“Xiaofan, where should these things be placed?” Tang Guihua asked eagerly upon seeing Cheng Xiaofan.
Cheng Xiaofan smiled, “Just place them at the foot of the terraced mountain. When it’s time to start harvesting, we’ll move them up the mountain from here.”
Tang Guihua called out to the villagers, “Listen to Xiaofan. Everyone, place the sickles and baskets at the foot of the mountain.”
Cheng Xiaofan asked, “Sister Guihua, how many sickles did you bring?”
Tang Guihua replied, “Over sixty sickles. Is that enough?”
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled, “It’s enough, about that many.”
After everyone had placed their things, Tang Guihua asked with a smile, “Xiaofan, can these monkeys really cut and gather the rice?”
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled, “Don’t worry, they certainly can!”
“Chirp—"
As they were speaking, the long cries of Er Huang and the other spirit eagle echoed from the sky.
On the ground, over a hundred monkeys came hopping and jumping.
The tourists who were watching nearby immediately let out shouts of amazement.
“Wow, these monkeys are so cute!”
“We’re going to watch these monkeys perform today!”
“It’s not a performance. I heard that the rice on these terraced mountains will be harvested by them!”
“This is amazing! I’ve never heard of monkeys doing such things before!”
“These monkeys must be descendants of the Great Sage, Equalling Heaven, who migrated to Zhuxi Village. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to do this!”
The tourists busily took out their phones to take pictures while constantly discussing.
After all, such a rare scene was hard to come by, and no one wanted to miss the opportunity to capture it.
Just then, Luo Changsheng arrived.
“Xiaofan, can you please take these monkeys to the venue first!” Luo Changsheng, looking at the surging crowd of tourists, panted as he spoke to Cheng Xiaofan. “Mayor Mei and the provincial leaders and reporters will be arriving soon. We can’t let the venue seem empty.”
“Otherwise, the leaders will have to speak to the air, won’t they?”
Cheng Xiaofan thought that this made sense. It would be too awkward for the arriving guests.
He immediately waved to Er Huang, who had landed on a nearby tree, and called out loudly, “Er Huang, come here quickly.”
The two spirit eagles heard him and immediately flew over.
Cheng Xiaofan gestured and said to them, “You two, lead these monkeys to the erected stage. Form a neat line, don’t run around.”
“Wait until the ceremony over there is finished, then bring them back!”
“Chirp—”
The two spirit eagles shrieked and immediately flew towards the stage.
Evidently, the over a hundred monkeys had understood the eagles’ language.
As the two spirit eagles flew towards the stage, the monkeys also turned around, formed neat lines, and hopped and ran in that direction.
“Wow, this scene is spectacular!” Xu Man arrived and said to Cheng Xiaofan, “Mr. Cheng, did you train these monkeys?”
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled and said, “Do you see those two eagles flying in the sky? They trained these monkeys.”
Xu Man’s face was filled with astonishment, and she said in a sweet voice, “Wow, besides the Sky-Breaking Eagle, you’ve got two more divine eagles?”