752 Amazing Fate Aquarium (1/2)
Zhang Zian thought Old Time Tea was really good at persuading children––maybe better than it was at martial arts. It had managed to get Sihwa under control with only a few words.
It was a pity that the regular folks could not hear Old Time Tea talk, otherwise it would be an awesome granddaddy.
Old Time Tea stroked its beard and smiled to respond. ”Good morning, Sihwa. I think your name is beautiful. I hope you can be just like your name, a bright and beautiful light in this world.”
”Wahahaha! I think it's pretty too!” Sihwa lifted her head with pride.
Old Time Tea waved secretly at Zhang Zian to call him to the side. It whispered, ”Zian, did you buy clothes for her? The type of clothing called swimsuits…”
”I did,” he answered. ”I ordered them last night and paid extra money for the courier. They should arrive today.”
”That's great.” Old Time Tea nodded gladly. ”The ancestors used to say: 'When there are adequate stores, they will know what are decorums. When the people have enough food and clothing, they will know what is honor.' Getting dressed seems to be a small thing, but it plays a long-term role in psychology.”
Some elfins got up and went downstairs, while some remained in bed.
Pi got up every day, including today. After it washed its face, it put on the pince-nez, turned on the computer, and flipped open the Book of Pi to get resources for today's chapter.
Zhang Zian walked over, grabbed a chair, sat down, and watched it type for a while.
Pi was getting more and more skilled in typing. It was typing faster than him. He had been using the phone more often, after all. He had not typed on a computer in a long time.
”Eek?” Pi paused and made a gesture, asking if there was something wrong.
Zian thought for a moment and said, ”Pi, regarding the Holy Cat statue… was the sentence 'as cats meow about the changing sky, an epic encounter is about to take place in the ocean of sand' the only clue? There was nothing else you could find?”
Pi typed, ”What are you worried about?”
”I'm worried, indeed.” He smiled bitterly. ”Isn't it strange? Even if that Holy Cat statue is kind of spiritual, it stayed in the shop for such a long time. Why did it disappear as soon as I flew to Germany?”
He was not an all-knowing god. He had been seeing the Holy Cat statue incident as an isolated event, without connecting dots with the other recent events.
Pi grinned and typed, ”Don't worry.”
”Oh? Why?” Zhang Zian asked.
Pi opened its book and pointed at a page, but it looked blank to Zhang Zian. He could not see words. The pince-nez was on Pi's nose, after all.
It typed again, ”I can't get more information on the Holy Cat statue, but a few other words may be connected with it.”
”What words?” Zhang Zian asked with interest.
He was eager to find out why Pi thought that there was nothing to worry after it knew the words.
Pi typed with a clacking noise,
”The Golden Monkey wrathfully swung his massive cudgel,
And the jade-like firmament was cleared of dust.
Today, we hail Sun Wukong, the wonder-worker
As a cat demon is once more rising.”
Zhang Zian gasped suddenly, then recited the poem repeatedly, especially the last verse. ”As a cat demon is once more rising…”
If the Holy Cat statue, which had been silent for two thousand years, had gathered enough Strength of Faith and became an elfin, it would surely fit the verse, ”a cat demon is once more rising.”
What was the meaning of the other three verses, then?
As Zhang Zian was meditating, he heard the shutter door open downstairs. Maybe Lu Yiyun just arrived for work. He had left the spare key with Lu Yiyun before going to Germany, as she was watching over the shop.
”Pi, go on with your writing. I'll head downstairs and leave you to it.”
As he spoke to Pi, he headed downstairs.