Lord Lao pursed his lips and glanced at her. "There are plenty of great immortals who could do such things—why single out Lord Lao? That Monkey is just ignorant, that's all."
A gentle breeze stirred the clouds and mist. In the courtyard, shadows of trees swayed as Lord Lao sat quietly at a stone table.
Opposite him, a girl in blue, beautiful as a precious jade, lowered her head and, with unfamiliar hands, held a brush to carefully write on a bamboo slip.
After a long while, the girl in blue handed the bamboo slip to Lord Lao.
"Grandpa, I'm finished writing."
Lord Lao reached out to take the bamboo slip, stroking his long beard as he read, and chuckled, "Why do you call me Grandpa?"
The girl replied, "Back when I was still a Canary, I often heard humans use that term, so... I just called you that."
After a brief silence, Birdie snuck a glance at Lord Lao and slowly drew out her words: "Old Gentleman, who are you really? An immortal? Or a demon? Why did you help Birdie? Do you know Monkey? Did he ask you to?" (Birdie sometimes refers to herself in the third person, a trait from her days as a caged canary.)
"You should call me 'Old Gentleman' instead."
"Why?"
"Because I'm used to hearing it that way."
"Oh."
Spreading the bamboo slip in front of Birdie, Lord Lao rolled up his sleeve and pointed to a passage across the table. "You've memorized it, but the character is still wrong. The character for 'increase' should have a horizontal stroke here."
Soon, a Daoist boy attendant approached Lord Lao, glancing at Birdie—perhaps intentionally, perhaps not—and respectfully reported, "Master... Second Martial Uncle plans to hold a lecture in his residence tomorrow. The person you've been watching is also on the invitation list." (Here, 'Second Martial Uncle' refers to Lord Genesis, as per the glossary.)
"He's doing well now. If fate allows, you'll meet again in due time—there's no rush."
Birdie fell silent, though only in expression. Lord Lao could clearly read her inner grumbling: "If you don't want me to see him, just say so. Why be so mysterious? You always say the same thing—can't you come up with something new?"
"That's a move neither warm nor cold," Lord Lao said, clapping his hands. "Any word from my Third Martial Brother?" (Third Martial Brother refers to another high immortal, as per the glossary context.)
After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked, "Old Gentleman, are you Taishang Laojun?"
Birdie listened in confusion. After a long pause, she craned her neck and asked, "Old Gentleman, do you and your fellow disciples scheme against each other?" (Birdie, newly transformed from a canary, is still learning human ways.)
"No one. But Monkey once said that Taishang Laojun has elixirs that can make you immortal with a single bite... Old Gentleman, you resurrected me and gave me human form. Could you be Taishang Laojun?" As she finished, she blinked her big eyes and studied Lord Lao closely.
Lord Lao pursed his lips and glanced at her. "There are plenty of great immortals who could do such things—why single out Taishang Laojun? That Monkey is just ignorant, that's all."
Birdie furrowed her brow, pouted in silence, clearly displeased. After holding it in for a while, she retorted sourly, "Monkey isn't ignorant—he's very clever."
"Are you defending him now?" Lord Lao couldn't help but laugh. He sighed, "You little rascal, if nothing else, you sure know a lot about humans. 'Ignorant' is a pretty rare word—if you'd been transformed for years, I'd understand, but you just gained human form and already know what it means?"
"My first owner was a disappointed scholar-official. He spoke to me like that every day—how could I not understand? After he passed away, the young master finally let me out of the cage."
"Ah, no wonder you learn so quickly. So you remember your past?"
"I do remember."
In fact, she remembered more than just her old life. For some reason, her mind was filled with hazy images about Monkey—unclear, as if from a long dream, impossible to distinguish truth from illusion.
After a brief silence, Birdie snuck a glance at Lord Lao and slowly drew out her words: "Old Gentleman, who are you really? An immortal? Or a demon? Why did you help Birdie? Do you know Monkey? Did he ask you to?"
The one question she kept in her heart, unspoken, was: "Or are you up to something bad?"
Her barrage of questions left Lord Lao chuckling helplessly.
This little girl, though newly transformed, was far more cautious than most—more troublesome even than Belle.
Helpless, Lord Lao could only purse his lips and nod. "It's good that you remember."
With that, he pretended not to hear any of her other questions.
Soon, a Daoist boy attendant approached Lord Lao, glancing at Birdie—perhaps intentionally, perhaps not—and respectfully reported, "Master... Second Martial Uncle plans to hold a lecture in his residence tomorrow. The person you've been watching is also on the invitation list."
"Oh?" Lord Lao chuckled, thoughtfully stroking the stack of bamboo slips and books beside him. "If even he's invited, there must be a lot of people. Can his hall fit them all?"
"Master, he only invited those of the same rank as that person. No one higher or lower. He calls it: 'Dispelling Doubts.'"
"That's a move neither warm nor cold," Lord Lao said, clapping his hands. "Any word from my Third Martial Brother?"
"No news yet."
Birdie listened in confusion. After a long pause, she craned her neck and asked, "Old Gentleman, do you and your fellow disciples scheme against each other?"
"Not against each other—it's always them scheming against me."