Tai Zhu Xuan Xiang: Me and My Eight Golden Gourd Sisters

Chapter 24 The Birth of the Giant Golden Gourd

Recalling last night, when the first little golden gourd struck the red-maned jackal repeatedly like a giant hammer, Cai Xuan couldn't help but become curious.

He stood under the first small golden melon, bent his index finger, and gently tapped the melon.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The sound was dull and solid, not much different from that of an ordinary golden pumpkin.

But why was it so powerful last night, killing so many red-maned jackals in one go? With this question in mind, Cai Xuan started knocking again, and it made the same sound again. He brought his nose close to smell it, and a sweet, unique scent of a golden pumpkin filled his nostrils, without a trace of the cold, metallic smell.

But where did that devastating power from last night come from?

Cai Xuan was completely baffled, and couldn't help but reach out and touch the little golden melon again, from the stem to the navel, examining it over and over.

The first little golden gourd got impatient from being touched so much.

The melon swung violently, hitting him lightly in the face. Caught off guard, Cai Xuan instinctively leaned back, slipped, and fell off the chair with a thud, landing sprawled on the platform.

"Hehehehe—"

The other seven little golden gourds saw this and burst into laughter. They laughed so hard their gourd bodies trembled, they were overjoyed.

Cai Xuan got up from the ground, dusted himself off, his face dark, stood back on the chair, glared at the first little golden gourd, and threatened, "Dare to bump into me? Believe me or not, I'll eat you up!"

The words had barely left his mouth—

The entire platform suddenly fell silent.

The wind stopped, the leaves stopped swaying, and even the laughter of the seven little golden gourds came to an abrupt halt.

Then, the first small golden gourd struggled and fell from the vine, its body suddenly emitting a beam of eight-colored light. The light burst forth from the gourd's navel, like the first ray of sunlight piercing through the clouds at dawn, shining brightly for miles, extremely intense. Within the light, the gourd trembled violently.

"Click—"

A tiny crack appeared on the melon rind.

Gradually, the cracks spread in all directions like a spider web, and the cracking sounds continued. Then, eight-colored rays of light burst forth from each crack, like lava gushing from the ground, so dazzling that Cai Xuan could hardly open his eyes.

The melon rind slowly split open, revealing an infant surrounded by colorful rays of light.

The baby had its eyes closed, its body curled up, its hands clenched into tiny fists, its entire body exquisitely beautiful, white and tender, like a lump of glowing glutinous rice.

Suddenly, the baby's body grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.

First, the fingers and toes stretched out like spring buds breaking through the soil; then the limbs grew longer and thicker; finally, the whole body grew taller inch by inch in the colorful glow of the sunset, like a seedling bathed in the morning sun, growing strong and rapidly.

A moment later, the eight-colored glow gradually faded, and a little girl of about ten years old appeared in front of Cai Xuan.

She had dark eyes and black hair, her long, flowing black hair cascading down her shoulders with slightly curled ends. Her round face had a touch of baby fat, her cheeks puffed out like two red apples. Her body was as sturdy as a young calf, her arms and legs round and plump, clearly showing her strength.

She wore a small dress made of golden gourd flower stamens, stood barefoot on the platform, clenched her fists, craned her neck, and stared straight at Cai Xuan with her large, clear black and white eyes. She asked, word by word, in a cute yet fierce tone:

"You're going to eat me?"

Cai Xuan was completely dumbfounded, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground, his mind a complete blank. The little golden gourd landed and turned into an infant, and the infant instantly grew into a little girl—what kind of divine operation was this?!

"Well……"

Cai Xuan felt uneasy under the gaze of those large eyes, and his mind raced.

What do you mean by "eat"? You can't recognize the character for "eat" here. His eyes darted around, a sudden inspiration striking him, and he frantically searched his mind for a homophone. "Eat, teeth, foot, red, resign, stab, bestow..." He'd got it!

He quickly forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and said in an utterly sincere tone, "No, no, you misheard! I just said—'Give!' I will give you strength! Yes, I will give you strength!"

"real?"

The little girl tilted her head and asked innocently, the fierce light in her eyes gradually turning into curiosity.

"It's definitely true! I never lie!" Cai Xuanyi patted his chest solemnly, but a bead of cold sweat involuntarily trickled down his forehead. To quickly turn the page, he hastily changed the subject, saying, "You...you popped out of a little golden gourd?"

"Um."

The little girl stood with her arms crossed over her chest, chin slightly raised, and snorted haughtily, looking every bit like a little queen.

"Then... are there... people in the remaining golden gourds too?" Cai Xuan cautiously glanced at the trellis and asked in a low voice.

"The sisters will be out a little later." After saying that, the little girl suddenly glared at Cai Xuan and said with dissatisfaction, "I didn't want to come out so early, but you made me angry, so I came out."

Cai Xuan guiltily touched his nose, coughed twice, and quickly changed the subject: "Do you...do you have a name?"

"no."

Cai Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Then you'll be called Xi'er from now on! You were the firstborn, so you're the eldest sister. When the others are born, they'll be called Second Sister, Third Sister, and so on, in order..."

"It has a name! It has a name!"

Before the words were even finished, the seven little golden gourds on the trellis erupted in excitement, swinging back and forth on the vines and shouting joyfully, "Big sister! Big sister! Big sister, big sister, big sister—"

The sound was crisp and melodious, like a wind chime swaying in the wind.

Xi'er turned around, looked up at her younger sisters on the trellis, waved her little hand, and said in a childish but authoritative voice, "Sisters, continue your cultivation up there. I will take good care of you."

"Thank you, big sister! Thank you, big sister!"

The seven little golden gourds responded in unison and began to shake happily.

Cai Xuan watched this scene, his heart filled with mixed emotions, unable to tell whether he was surprised, delighted, or bewildered. He looked down at Xi'er; although the small garment made of golden gourd flower stamens covered her private parts, it was still not proper clothing. He, a grown man, couldn't very well let her run around like this, could he?

Helpless, Cai Xuan could only take off the sleeves of his own clothes and sew two pairs of underwear for her.

Then he took out the red-maned jackal skin that he had tanned earlier and used it to make two small animal skin clothes.

But animal hides aren't breathable, and they're stuffy to wear in hot weather. He thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and took the outer layer of his own fleece-lined, thick canvas work jacket to make her a canvas outfit.

Looking at the clothes that had been torn to shreds, Cai Xuan didn't know how to feel. He felt that his weaving plan had to be brought forward.

This is just for one person. If the remaining seven little golden gourds all pop out, he doesn't know what to give them to wear.

Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

He finally understood the struggles of parents raising children—and that's not even considering feeding and changing diapers; just the clothes alone were enough to worry him about.