Who Stole My Eggs?

Back in the small courtyard, Shi Yuan entered the kitchen first and got stuck inside, while Huo Yao went to fetch water.

Xie Zuo walked into the bedroom and sat at the table when no one was around. He recalled Huo Yao’s penmanship, then picked up a pen and drew a vertical line on the paper.

Looking at the crooked ink marks, Xie Zuo blew out a breath of disgust, and the paper crumpled and rolled down.

He tried a horizontal line again, and it was even uglier!

Xie Zuo turned the pen over, trying to identify the issue. Huo Yao used the same pen; why did his handwriting look beautiful?

“Pah!” Another paper ball flew to the door.

Xie Zuo didn’t give up and made a few more strokes. He felt the writing was empty and weak, and he couldn’t control it. Annoyed, he pressed the pen down forcefully, leaving a big mess of uglier ink marks and another piece of waste paper.

Xie Zuo threw the paper ball out and stopped writing.

‘I am the demon king; why should I deign to practice such a small skill in the human world?’

The paper ball was grabbed by Huo Yao. He opened it and walked into the room. “You want to learn to write? I can teach you.”

“I don’t want to learn,”

Huo Yao knew Xie Zuo’s usual aversion and didn’t push him. Gathering all the paper balls, he remarked, “Practicing calligraphy isn’t an overnight accomplishment. It takes years of practice. I can teach you how to use the pen first, and you can practice slowly when you return.”

Xie Zuo didn’t want to trouble himself. Returning to the abyss meant enduring lightning strikes daily, and now, under Huo Yao’s supervision, he must practice calligraphy every day? Not his preference!

Dismissing the idea, Xie Zuo declared, “I said I don’t want to learn, and I don’t want you to teach me!”

“Then who do you want to teach you?” Huo Yao sat beside him, unfolding the paper balls one by one.

Seeing the crooked lines, Xie Zuo blushed.

Huo Yao smoothed the paper and said, “Don’t waste it. Pick up the pen, and I’ll teach you how to hold it.”

Despite ink-stained hands, especially a messy tiger’s mouth, Huo Yao extracted a handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped off the ink stains for him, and corrected Xie Zuo’s pen-holding posture.

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After Huo Yao’s guidance, Xie Zuo’s pen posture was already in good shape. “Try writing a stroke,” Huo Yao instructed.

Xie Zuo was about to write when Huo Yao stopped him, “You’re not applying the right pressure.”

Standing up, Huo Yao held Xie Zuo’s hand from behind, saying, “Let me guide you through one, so you can feel it.”

Huo Yao led Xie Zuo and skillfully wrote the word ‘Xie’.

Xie Zuo found the pen’s touch peculiar. Although it had a soft tip, the varying pressure allowed it to penetrate the paper.

“Well,” Xie Zuo admired the word, “My surname is quite domineering.”

Huo Yao suggested, “Lao Luo’s place probably has many rare writings style. When we return, you can copy them daily, and eventually, your own style will emerge.”

“Why bother Lao Luo? Your handwriting is beautiful. Could you write a set of copybooks for me, and I’ll mimic yours?”

Huo Yao hesitated, then softened his tone, “Sure.” Still holding Xie Zuo’s hand, he stood behind him with a half-hug gesture.

Turning around, Xie Zuo saw Huo Yao’s slender neck up close. Licking his lips, he called, “Great Thunder Deity.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Every time I look at you for a while, I get hungry. Why is that?”

Huo Yao suddenly relaxed, opening his hand, and said seriously, “Go eat when you’re hungry.”

“Ugh!” Angrily, Xie Zuo turned back and resumed practicing penmanship.

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“Boom!”

A loud noise echoed from the kitchen, startling both Huo Yao and Xie Zuo.

“What happened?” Xie Zuo peered at the collapsed small kitchen, a twinge of sympathy crossing his face. Living in such a poor state, losing one of their only houses must be a significant blow!

“Cough, cough, cough!” Shi Yuan crawled out in disgrace. “Help!”

Huo Yao assisted him, questioning, “What were you doing?”

“I just wanted to make space for you, and while hurrying to build the new bed, I thought of using a bit of divine power to speed things up. But I couldn’t control my strength…”

Shi Yuan looked ashamed.

“One big bed isn’t enough for you to sleep on? What kind of bed do you need to build?” Xie Zuo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shi Yuan suspected that this little demon was pretending to be innocent while harboring impure thoughts!

Huo Yao sighed, patting Shi Yuan’s ashes. “Stop dwelling on questionable ideas, and no more reckless use of divine power.”

Shi Yuan was gloomy, muttering, “To think that I, a great divine being, ended up like this…”

“Go rest; I’ll handle the repairs.” Comfortingly touching Shi Yuan’s bald head, Huo Yao rolled up his sleeves and began restoring the small kitchen.

Xie Zuo lowered his face, “I don’t even have the right to take a good bath. What kind of training is this?

He could soak in the blood pool from time to time in the abyss to relax his muscles, but now he couldn’t even take a bath here?

Huo Yao said: “You go play.”

Shi Yuan glared at Xie Zuo.

Xie Zuo didn’t care, “Little monk, if you have time to glare at me, why not think about how to improve your life? You can’t stay poor forever.”

Shi Yuan said angrily: “This is cultivation and experience, not for enjoyment!”

Waving his hand, “No, no, no, I am here to enjoy the beauty of the human world with the Great Thunder Deity, not to accompany you to endure hardships.”

Shi Yuan also wanted to criticize Xie Zuo, but Huo Yao stopped him, “Tomorrow I will find a way from the hot springs to here by diverting the water. This way, we can solve the problem of insufficient hot water.”

Shi Yuan couldn’t believe his ears: ‘What? Who just said you can’t use divine power? Are you going to lure the hot springs from the mountains down in the blink of an eye? Huo Er, do you want to touch your face? Does it hurt?’

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After taking a comfortable bath, Xie Zuo spread his long hair on the kang to dry. He felt warm and comfortable from the inside out, from head to toe.

Shi Yuan, who was on the side, looked at the way he was laying crookedly, and then looked at the small kitchen next door. Huo Yao poured out the bath water in the tub and started to boil new water.

He couldn’t help but shook his head, “Life is emptiness.”

Huo Yao naturally did not have the luxury like Xie Zuo. He simply scrubbed and returned to the bedroom.

The lights were still on, but Xie Zuo and Shi Yuan were already asleep. These two people would quarrel whenever they met. They looked very similar to each other when sleeping, with their arms and legs spread out, one taking up more space than the other.

Huo Yao turned off the light and laid down between them.

After waiting for a long time, Xie Zuo still fell into a deep sleep. He was very honest and did not come to Huo Yao’s side.

There was some cool and thin moonlight tonight, and the room was not too dark. Huo Yao could see Xie Zuo more clearly.

There were countless people in the Six Realms with extremely beautiful skin and bones, but Huo Yao would never be fooled by their appearance. But this person was the only one in front of him…

After waiting for a while, Xie Zuo finally moved, but turned over and moved to the wall with his back towards Huo Yao.

Huo Yao then moved closer to the wall, stretched out his long arms to hug Xie Zuo from behind, and finally fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, Xie Zuo got up quickly, his eyes bright and frightening: ‘Hungry, so hungry, he is going to starve to death!’