Zhang Xiaoman saw his expression and naturally understood what he was thinking. However, he didn’t want to tell him about the Alien Species and the Great Fusion just yet.
Although Master Liu had already seen monsters twice, once was the Fog Heart in the Fat Fish Villa District, and the other was the Parasitic Spirit at the Cultivation conference. But Zhang Xiaoman didn’t want to lay it all out directly as, after all, knowing less meant a smaller chance of encountering them again in the future.
"Master Liu, I know you are curious," he said, "but it’s not the right time to tell you about these things. Because if you know too much about that type of monster from last time, they are very likely to come after you again..."
Zhang Xiaoman explained a bit about the reasoning, and upon seeing the other’s puzzled expression, he couldn’t help but add, "I’m not joking with you. Just trust me, when the time is right, I will tell you the truth."
He pointed to the Star Alliance waymark on the shelf, saying, "If you encounter any strange events or danger, call me or send a message immediately. As long as you’re within 50 meters of this area, I will arrive instantly."
Hearing this explanation, Pei Laoliu nodded his head and suppressed his curiosity, continuing to eat the food on the table.
Zhang Xiaoman furrowed his brows in thought, eventually spending 10 points in the store to buy a bottle of Holy Water, and handed it to Master Liu.
"This is some Holy Water I’ve prepared for you. It can restrain some monsters. Keep it close to you. If you find yourself in an emergency or are not at home, use it to splash on the monster. It might buy you some time...", he said.
Master Liu silently took the Holy Water and put it in his pocket, his expression shifting from contemplative to his usual carefree demeanor.
"That’s enough, let’s continue our meal. Usually, you’d have finished it in less than two minutes, but today it has managed to last until now, which is quite rare."
The two of them stopped discussing transcendent matters and returned to talking about the routine amusing anecdotes they had before.
After the meal, as usual, Master Liu dismissed him from cleaning up, urging him to leave early so as not to waste electricity by staying longer.
Zhang Xiaoman had known since he was a child that Master Liu was particular about these things. If you tried to compete with him to do the dishes, he would certainly get irritated. As a child, he always thought Sixth Grandpa liked doing the dishes until he grew up and understood why...
After leaving 20,000 yuan behind, Zhang Xiaoman left Sixth Master’s House straight away. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stay longer, but he knew Master Liu well, and knew that if he left too much, Master Liu would certainly refuse to take it. Even this 20,000 yuan required a lot of persuading, and he only managed to get Master Liu to reluctantly accept it by claiming it was a "token of respect for an elder".
After leaving Sixth Master’s House, Zhang Xiaoman checked the time, which was just beyond the mealtime. He had planned to use the Starry Stone to return to the Original Realm for today’s "closed-door cultivation" right from Master Liu’s house. But after detecting Lin Sisi, he suddenly wanted to visit her home to ask for pointers on painting techniques.
"Knock, knock, knock."
He knocked on the door, standing quietly outside waiting.
"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"
(Someone’s here! Someone’s here! Someone’s here!)
A series of barks immediately resounded from inside the house.
But after a while, the front door remained closed, not opening as expected. Zhang Xiaoman thought she might not have heard and knocked again.
"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"
(Open the door! Open the door! Open the door! Someone’s here!)
The dog’s barks rose again, sounding even more anxious.
"Huh? Isn’t this girl supposed to be at home?"
Seeing that no one was opening the door, Zhang Xiaoman was somewhat puzzled. He then called out the other’s name a couple of times and knocked on the door again.
The dog’s barking resumed, with it seeming to be the most urgent of all.
At this moment, Zhang Xiaoman couldn’t help recalling a phrase:
Cats are all neurotics, dogs are all crazy when people come.
However, this time there finally was a response from inside the house—Lin Sisi’s crisp voice, along with a somewhat surprised tone.
"Brother Xiao Man... is that you?"
"Yes, it’s me, I’ve come to see you."
Perhaps seeing its owner heading out, the dog in the yard barked even more excitedly.
The wooden door was opened from the inside, revealing the delicate face of the girl behind it.
"Brother Xiao Man... I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you who came, so I didn’t come to open the door just now..." Lin Sisi lowered her head, saying apologetically.
Zhang Xiaoman closed the door for her and, hearing her say this, was slightly stunned at first but then quickly realized the reason for it. The girl was blind, lived alone, and didn’t have friends, so naturally, she was afraid to open the door when someone knocked, something he had overlooked before.
("Let me smell! Let me smell!")
A large Golden Retriever in the yard wagged its tail and ran over, about to sniff Zhang Xiaoman’s pant leg with its nose.
"Tutu, be good, go back to your nest."
Lin Sisi heard her dog running over and, fearing it would trouble someone else, quickly coaxed it away.
Zhang Xiaoman, however, smiled and said, "No problem, if it wants to smell, let it smell. I quite like Golden Retrievers."
Hearing this, Lin Sisi didn’t stop the dog anymore. Tutu looked at its owner, hesitated, walked a couple of steps in their direction, and seeing no further obstruction, wagged its tail and approached, sniffing Zhang Xiaoman.
("I remember you! It’s you! I remember you!")
Tutu suddenly barked twice more and even licked the latter’s hand, looking delighted.
Lin Sisi’s large eyes glanced in the direction of the man and the dog, suddenly as if struck by a thought, asked with some surprise, "Brother Xiao Man, can you understand what it’s saying?"
Zhang Xiaoman smiled and replied, "Yes, I can understand some animal language, but usually, they don’t express themselves clearly. Sometimes they even call a car a monster, so it’s actually quite difficult for me to understand them."
While saying this, he glanced at the Golden Retriever still eagerly wagging its tail and running around the yard and couldn’t help expressing his surprise, "This Golden Retriever must be the guide dog you bought, right? It seems quite... lively... I thought guide dogs were very calm..."
The two chatted as they walked inside, but because the girl was blind, they moved slowly.
When passing a small table, Lin Sisi even picked up a bag of pet treats, took out a few bone-shaped biscuits, and then placed the bag back in its original spot.
Seeing her actions, the Golden Retriever immediately wagged its tail and ran over, an expression of excitement on its face as it waited for its owner to feed it.
"Actually, guide dogs aren’t like what you imagine. When they’re not working, they’re quite active at home, just like normal puppies."
Zhang Xiaoman didn’t really understand these things. It was his first time hearing such a statement, and he found it quite fascinating.
He looked at the girl beside him feeding the Golden Retriever. The sunlight spilled onto her face, shining into her eyes, but it brought not a shred of light. The sight stirred a sense of compassion in him, and an idea that he once had resurfaced in his mind.