"Son, Happy New Year!"

Early in the morning, Su Ping groggily answered the phone, and Su Anyong's voice came through from the other end.

"Mhm, happy."

Su Ping muttered a half-asleep reply.

"Your dad is wishing you New Year's greetings! Get up quickly!"

On the other end of the phone, Su Anyong's voice suddenly erupted.

It completely dispelled Su Ping's muddled sleepiness.

"You little brat! I've been waiting all morning for you to wish me a Happy New Year, and you make *me* call *you* instead?"

Su Ping, somewhat dissatisfied, yawned and then replied, "Su Anyong, I know you feel bad because you can't come back for New Year's this year. But a couple of things: first, New Year's greetings don't start until after New Year's Eve. That means tomorrow, the first day of the New Year, and the days that follow. Secondly, I'm not blaming you for not being able to come back this year. Can't you let me get some proper sleep?"

Su Anyong was taken aback by Su Ping's words, but the darn kid was right.

He scoffed, "Who's the dad here, you or me? I'm reminding you, don't forget after twelve tonight, to offer a stick of incense for your grandpa's and mom's memorial tablets."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, anything else?"

"Nothing more. Damn it, I shouldn't have called you."

After hanging up, Su Ping glanced disdainfully at Su Anyong's contact name on his phone.

If you feel guilty, just admit it. Why beat around the bush?

However, having been awakened by Su Anyong's call, Su Ping no longer felt sleepy.

It was New Year's Eve, and although it was the first time he was spending the holiday alone at home, compared to previous years, Su Anyong's presence or absence didn't seem to make much difference, did it? Perhaps this year might even be a bit livelier?

He jumped up and stretched lazily.

After getting dressed and freshened up, Su Ping finally made his way to the living room.

The living room was empty. Even throughout the Heart of Woods and the entire Heart of Myriad Spirits base, aside from Su Ping, there was no one else around. All the staff had already gone on holiday, including Li Shu, Lao Guan, and Guan Lili.

The three of them hadn't wanted to leave, but Su Ping had shooed them away.

If they didn't leave, how could I carry out my own New Year's plans? Besides, on New Year's Eve, who wouldn't want a proper family reunion?

Su Ping let out a breath. Soon, the first figure appeared in the empty living room.

"Old Sha!"

"ROAR!"

Old Sha, who had already received Su Ping's command, immediately perked up his ears.

"Send out the word! All Pet Beasts of the Heart of Myriad Spirits are to gather in the Heart of Woods and prepare for assignments! Today's our New Year celebration! This is the New Year I'm spending with these little ones, and it's worth celebrating and commemorating!"

"ROAR!"

Old Sha acknowledged with a howl and quickly ran out of the Heart of Woods to convey Su Ping's orders.

At the same time, Su Ping began his preparations.

The most important task, undoubtedly, was hanging the New Year's couplets.

However, things had been too hectic recently, so Su Ping hadn't bought any. Guan Qianshan had purchased some earlier, but Su Ping had no intention of using them.

This was Su Ping's first New Year alone, and also his first year as a Beast Tamer.

Its significance was extraordinary. So, with a decisive wave of his hand, Su Ping decided to write them himself!

Qian Yi, the little Paperman skilled in this craft, had expertly cut two sheets of red paper, which now lay ready.

Qian Yi and Feifei, the two little ones, stood behind him, eagerly anticipating Su Ping's next move.

Feifei twirled, displaying various couplets for Su Ping to compare and appreciate.

Su Ping hummed. He had, after all, made thorough preparations for this day.

Just as he picked up the ink brush and was about to write, he paused, freezing on the spot.

Just an ordinary couplet seems a little uninteresting. Though this is mostly for good luck, a tradition, I've never been one to stick to conventions, have I?

Thus, chewing on the end of his brush, Su Ping began to ponder.

Then, the voice of that mysterious Fire Phoenix echoed in his mind.

Those four words, 'Hundred Birds Facing Phoenix,' were formed in ancient Serpentine Script and could be directly perceived by the mind.

Couplets like that would suit my idea perfectly!

He set to work without delay!

Copying Serpentine Script was troublesome, but after diligently studying the Five Elements manual for some time, Su Ping's mastery of the script had noticeably improved.

This was a special kind of writing, where characters were formed by infusing spiritual power into the brushstrokes. It was also a manifestation of spiritual power.

The only drawback was that Su Ping was only familiar with the Serpentine Script characters found in that manual. So, he had to search among those thousand-odd characters.

After mulling over the phrasing for a moment (and glancing at Feifei's displayed suggestions), Su Ping began.

His brush, saturated with ink and imbued with his spiritual power—not overwhelming, but quite pure—moved slowly across the red paper.

'Peace through the seasons, Heavenly Wolf howls.'

He wrote it in one go.

Just those seven characters consumed nearly half of Su Ping's spiritual power. The difficulty of writing in Serpentine Script was evident.

However, this kind of work valued momentum. Su Ping didn't waste time; he channeled his spiritual power again and began writing the second line on another sheet of red paper:

'Jiuzhou splendid, Divine Dragon flies.'

The couplets were barely passable but still neat. Su Ping looked at Qian Yi with pride, "Well? How is it?"

"WOW!?"

Qian Yi: [・_・?]

Then, the little guy's two-dimensional face suddenly changed:

[??????]

Su Ping gave the little thing a disdainful glance.

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