Zhang Chen relied on the faint light to look over, and what met her eyes was a little Daoist child of four or five, with a Daoist hairstyle, rosy lips, and white teeth looking at her. His eyes were clear as a pristine lake, only with ripples forming and water vapor gathering.
But still, full of grievance, he raised his finger to Zhang Chen, made a shushing gesture at his lips, and carefully shrunk into the corner.
Zhang Chen saw this and couldn’t help but be stunned. Footsteps approached outside the door, and she heard those two figures standing in front of the offering table, looking at the mess upon it. Elder Wu couldn’t help but furrow his brows: "These disciples are becoming increasingly unruly."
"The disciples will definitely be punished later, so they can learn a proper lesson," said another heavy-set middle-aged man.
Upon hearing this, Elder Wu nodded: "As for the rebellion I asked you to prepare earlier, how have you arranged it? You must know that this uprising is about gathering incense. If our Yellow Heaven Dao can amass a large amount of incense before the court reacts, pile up a Twelfth Tier deity, our Yellow Heaven Dao will have a place in this world. Especially that damned Prince’s Mansion, we may also have the chance to overthrow it and grant our Northern Land people justice."
Elder Wu, saying this, instinctively touched his chest. Previously chased by Zhang Shicheng, his days were far from pleasant, nearly ending him. Fortunately, he mastered the Secret Technique to evade Zhang Shicheng’s pursuit.
Ultimately, he delayed long enough that Zhang Shicheng had to reincarnate. Yet, once he returns in the future, Prince Pingbian’s Mansion will surely spare him no forgiveness. Thus, it is better to strike first, destroy Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, cutting off that old man’s destiny, thus easing his pressure somewhat.
Upon hearing Elder Wu’s words, another person said: "It’s not ripe enough yet. There’s still grass roots and tree bark in the mountains; the people can still manage to survive. The disciples are still waiting for a time and place to complete the grand endeavor."
While speaking, suddenly there was a rumbling sound from under the offering table, startling Elder Wu and the other person. Elder Wu, in a voice like a thunderclap, angrily rebuked: "Who? Who is there?"
Elder Wu’s figure directly retreated, stepping back to the doorway, while the other person drew an iron ruler from his waist, sweeping it towards the table curtain, revealing two figures.
"Observatory Master." The little Daoist child crawled out from under the table directly, kneeling on the prayer mat, his voice full of pleading: "The disciple didn’t mean to overhear."
The Observatory Master ignored the little Daoist child and turned his eyes on Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen also looked at the Observatory Master, all astonishment, because the person before her was a familiar figure, the old farmer who used to buy game from her, visiting Blacksmith Cui’s house.
Zhang Chen remembered the man was surnamed Liu.
He transformed into the Observatory Master.
The Observatory Master saw Zhang Chen and himself, and quickly reprimanded: "Ill-fated brat, why don’t you hurry up and come out."
At this moment, Zhang Chen’s scalp tingled; he roughly knew he had probably caused trouble, and a colossal trouble at that, with a slight mistake leading to his death today.
"Kneel." The old farmer looked at Zhang Chen, desperately signaling with his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen hesitated slightly but chose to obediently kneel down.
No choice, facing Elder Wu, this ancient monster, he couldn’t run away!
Not to mention Elder Wu; his primary Skill, Water Control Technique, wasn’t in its prime location, making it extremely difficult to mobilize.
Usually, drawing groundwater on land to water vegetables, cook a meal, or take a bath is fine, but wanting to draw groundwater into a decisive battle, with that speed, before the water flow comes out, he’d probably already be done for.
Looking at Zhang Chen’s tattered clothes, the Observatory Master turned to Elder Wu: "Master, one is a child from the observatory, and the other is a disciple I recently recruited from the foot of the mountain. He just came up from below the mountain, unaware of the rules, just look at his current pathetic state, even ignoring the rules to steal offerings in the grand hall, simply preposterous. After returning, the disciple will surely punish him well, so he learns a proper lesson."
Upon hearing this, Elder Wu’s eyes swept over the little Daoist child, but didn’t linger on him, instead landing on Zhang Chen, revealing a thoughtful look: "Since they are your disciples, you must teach them well. Over the next three years, neither should take a single step down the mountain."
"Disciple obeys." The Observatory Master quickly and respectfully responded.
Elder Wu nodded slightly towards the Observatory Master and then, with hands behind his back, slowly walked away.
The Observatory Master glanced at both, and the little Daoist child immediately looked at him with grievance: "Master~, will this disciple not see tomorrow’s sun?"
"What nonsense is this! Fortunately, you’ve met Elder Wu, a man with a compassionate heart; otherwise, neither of you would stand a chance of leaving the grand hall alive today." The Observatory Master turned his eyes to Zhang Chen, with a hint of puzzlement in his eyes: "Why are you here?"
How could Zhang Chen dare tell the truth? Upon hearing the Observatory Master’s question, he quickly said: "A drought disaster occurred at home, making survival impossible. I wanted to hunt in the mountain, but unexpectedly encountered a wolf pack, stumbling around the mountain for days without rice or water. Happening to come across the Daoist Temple, I thought to seek some food, but who knew I’d stumble upon such a matter."
As Zhang Chen spoke, he opened his eyes to study the old farmer, yet found no mysterious aura surrounding him, secretly puzzled why Elder Wu displayed such heavenly capabilities while the Observatory Master remained an ordinary mortal?