"I..."
Wei Yingwu’s body trembled with anger, his eyes blazing with fury, yet he was helpless.
The Law Enforcement Elder holds all the disciplinary authority within the Daoist Temple. All matters of punishment are decided by the Law Enforcement Elder, so once he has spoken, there’s no chance to reverse it.
Everyone, no matter how much they were dissatisfied, had to grit their teeth and swallow their complaints.
Then, the crowd dispersed, leaving only Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding. At this moment, Xiaodouding was squatting on the ground, covering a bruised eye, grimacing in pain, "Damn Wei Yingwu, I’m just a kid, yet he mercilessly attacked such a cute and obedient child. This bastard deserves death! Absolutely deserves it a hundred times over! I was too merciful when I hit him. If I wasn’t afraid of him waking up, I should have broken both his legs!"
"You’ve already broken his legs; what more do you want from him?" Zhang Chen asked, speechless.
"I broke his legs because I’m skilled. He hit me because he has no respect for the old and young, that bastard deserves to die! His incompetence is his own fault!" Xiaodouding cursed in rage, his voice full of anger.
Zhang Chen looked at Xiaodouding and snickered inwardly, "No wonder she’s a girl; so young yet already understands double standards."
"Kid, you better help me with more chores. The main hall is huge; I can’t finish it alone." Xiaodouding pitifully said to Zhang Chen: "Zhang Chen, doesn’t your senior sister care deeply for you? Teaching you Martial Dao, taking such care... no wait, teaching you hand in hand, isn’t it the time for you to repay her now?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen was speechless, but he didn’t say anything. Xiaodouding’s chores were naturally his chores as well.
"Let’s go, time to work." Xiaodouding took a mop and led Zhang Chen to the main hall to start cleaning.
The main hall was vast, and wiping it clean was no easy task.
After a day of hard work, their limbs were sore, and Chengyu lay on the bed cursing again: "All blame that damn Wei Yingwu, a grown man beaten by a child, yet he had the face to complain. Can you believe him? What’s wrong with him?"
Chengyu’s tone was full of disdain.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen shyly smiled, not engaging with Chengyu’s remarks. After all, "She’s still just a child" is a truth that holds in every world!
"I want some meat." Chengyu lay in bed, looking at Zhang Chen.
"If you go to sleep now, maybe in the middle of the night there will be meat," Zhang Chen said, looking at Xiaodouding.
Upon hearing this, Xiaodouding scratched his head, then said irritably, "Forget it, let’s not bother! The Daoist Temple is strict nowadays, let’s just keep a low profile."
Xiaodouding settled down, clutching his grumbling stomach, and went upstairs to sleep.
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen sat in the room and summoned the Fox Spirit, directly instructing it to sneak into the kitchen to steal meat, "Make sure to use Illusion Techniques rather than brute force this time."
Zhang Chen instructed the Fox Spirit briefly before it leisurely left, soon returning with half a rack of ribs to Zhang Chen’s room. Zhang Chen extracted moisture to clean the ribs and began simmering them in a big pot, simultaneously sealing the aroma with moisture to prevent it from being detected by the hunting dogs’ noses.
"Did you notice anything strange about that girl?" Zhang Chen asked.
He was referring to Chengyu’s ability to see the Fox Spirit.
It’s known that the Fox Spirit is mysterious; how can a mere mortal body see it?
"I don’t know, can’t see clearly. Could it be her heart is like a child’s, too pure?" Fox Fairy Nannan was also puzzled.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen fell into thought, certainly not ruling out the possibility the Fox Spirit mentioned.
The stove was simmering ribs, and Zhang Chen held a stick, sketching symbols on the sand table, contemplating the drawing of the second rune.
He thought for a long time without finding the method. Stopping the stick, he took out the prepared cinnabar and began Talisman Drawing.
As Zhang Chen wielded the brush, a talisman was immediately drawn, and the charm on the yellow paper intermittently twinkled and eventually vanished from the paper.
"Third-tier Body-Stabilizing Rune! After I independently crafted the third-tier gold talismans, every casual drawing is a third-tier existence," Zhang Chen continued drawing a dozen runes before stopping, stacking the finished runes. These runes weren’t for his personal use but were intended for Xiaodouding’s protection.
Once the aroma of the simmering meat reached its peak, Zhang Chen set aside the stick, walked to the stove, inspected it, and saw the ribs were tender and falling off the bone. He then put away the Fox Spirit, picked up a stick, and tapped the attic.
Footsteps pounded down, and Xiaodouding ran downstairs with a delighted face: "Is there meat to eat again?"
"Of course!" Zhang Chen replied with a grin.
"Zhang Chen," Xiaodouding said, holding a bowl of rice, approached Zhang Chen: "If something goes wrong, just blame me. Now that I owe many debts, having fleas doesn’t make a difference."
Xiaodouding began eating heartily, picking up ribs to devour.
Zhang Chen looked at Xiaodouding, then took out the talisman paper, stuffing it into Xiaodouding’s arms: "These are runes I’ve drawn personally. Carry them carefully, if one day you face an opponent you can’t beat, stick them on your opponent to potentially turn the tides."
"Just these yellow papers, you talk about them like they’re so profound," Xiaodouding looked unconvinced upon hearing Zhang Chen’s words.
"I’ve already started Cultivating Immortality; these runes possess incredible power!" Zhang Chen said, half-annoyed but earnestly persuading.
"Cultivating Immortality? Are you crazy?" Xiaodouding looked at Zhang Chen with wide eyes, but seeing Zhang Chen’s sincere expression, recalling the meat he was eating, Xiaodouding had to reluctantly agree: "Alright, alright, I’ll carry them closely!"
Watching Xiaodouding’s indifferent expression, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but feel exasperated—how should he explain to Xiaodouding?
"I tell you, I’m truly cultivating immortality! I’m far stronger than you imagine! If you face trouble in the future, you can come find me!" Zhang Chen said earnestly to Xiaodouding.
Nom nom ~ nom nom ~
"Pfft~"
Xiaodouding took a bite of bone, spat out the bone chips, seeing Zhang Chen’s seriousness, Xiaodouding became serious: "Senior brother, rest assured, I’ll definitely carry these talismans with me! I’m convinced you’re truly refining Qi and Cultivating Immortality, and have made achievements in training."
Saying so, he waved his greasy hand: "Put the talismans on the table."
Seeing this, Zhang Chen nodded with satisfaction: "Good, you can be taught!"
But after finishing the meal and Xiaodouding departed, Zhang Chen looked at the talisman laid on the table, feeling helpless: "This girl still hasn’t taken my words to heart."
Zhang Chen didn’t move the talisman. He thought that after finishing the morning class tomorrow, he’d talk to Xiaodouding and surely, Xiaodouding would understand his earnestness. Then Xiaodouding would certainly carry the talisman.
It’s a life-saving treasure at critical moments!
Night passed, and the next day Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding completed the morning class. While cleaning the main hall, suddenly they heard a commotion from the distance. The noise quieted quickly, and next, the clattering of armor was heard. Hundreds of fully-armored samurai, with swords at their waists, rushed into the Daoist Temple and began evicting the Daoists within.
Standing in the great hall, Zhang Chen was stunned by this scene, a thought flashing through his mind: "What’s happening? It’s all over! Did Yellow Heaven Dao get exposed?"
"I knew Yellow Heaven Dao would cause trouble sooner or later. Did Wei Yingwu suffer injustice and sell us out? Should I escape now?" Zhang Chen’s heart trembled as he turned to pack his belongings.