books44 Chapter 42 I think you're just looking for trouble, deliberately asking for a beating.
Chapter 42 I think you're just looking for trouble, deliberately asking for a beating.
The three of them finally stopped in front of a teahouse.
This is a very inconspicuous vegetarian tea shop. There are almost no people in the shop. In front of the door, there is only a little girl with her hair in a bun, drawing words on the ground with a twig. When she sees someone walking up to her, she slowly raises her little head.
Li Tingyun saw that her eyes were very clear and bright, her eyelashes fluttered up and down, but her mouth was wide open and she couldn't speak, making strange "ah ah" and "uh uh" sounds from her throat.
"Is he a mute?"
Li Tingyun said "Never mind," and went to find another place. Unexpectedly, the girl suddenly grabbed the corner of the belt tied around his wrist and pulled it off.
Mei Shiyu walked over and happened to see this scene. Seeing that the belt that used to be wrapped around his waist was now being kept close to his disciple's body, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. "Why are you keeping this? It's no longer usable, why don't you throw it away?"
Li Tingyun took the sash back from the girl, rewound it around her wrist, and gave a reasonable explanation: "The sleeves are too wide and inconvenient, so I'm using this to tie them up. It's not useless."
Just then, an old man with a hunched back came out of the teahouse. He deftly propped up the two shaky wooden doors that were about to collapse and called out, "Gentlemen, it's almost midnight. Why don't you come in and make do for the night, and set off again at noon tomorrow?"
An old man and a young girl stared at them expectantly. They had finally gotten this "business" and they certainly couldn't let it go. Although the little girl couldn't speak, she knew to smile at people, especially good-looking ones.
Mei Shiyu was captivated by her bright and adorable silly smile.
He couldn't help but reach out and stroke her round head.
Li Tingyun crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. He recalled that when they first met, Li Tingyun had rubbed his head in the same way and blurted out, "Master, since you like children so much, why don't you just have one yourself?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Shiyu paused, then said unhappily, "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
"Haha... I didn't say anything."
Li Tingyun spread his hands, turned around and swaggered into the teahouse, "Old man, bring four servings of tea and snacks, all the best and most expensive kind!"
Wang Wu, who arrived late, followed him across the threshold. "There are only three of us, why do we need four portions?"
"Oh, I forgot about you. Old man, we'll have five servings!"
Li Tingyun sat at the well-worn, patina-covered octagonal table, easily wiping away any tea stains with his sleeve. He didn't care much about cleanliness.
"No, I want six servings."
Another clear voice came from outside.
Mei Shiyu was still standing at the door, her gaze shifting from the glaring red line around the girl's neck to the uninvited guest who had followed them.
His brows were furrowed.
This was the man who had been following them ever since they entered the market.
They are inseparable, and it's impossible to tell whether they are friend or foe.
The newcomer brushed past Mei Shiyu, exuding a probing aura that was extremely aggressive. Even the naive little girl felt uncomfortable, clinging to Mei Shiyu's clothes and shrinking behind him.
Li Tingyun rested his chin on his hand, looked at the passerby, and reminded the old man who had just entered the kitchen: "We need six servings now! We have a new customer."
The passerby was wearing half a Nuo mask, which covered his face. But coincidentally, this half of the mask was taken from the Nuo mask that Li Tingyun had thrown away.
Seeing him walk towards her, Li Tingyun did not approach him but instead turned to sit at another empty table. After that, he did not make any further noise.
Sensing something, Li Tingyun had already guessed who he was.
Their eyes met, and the man nodded slightly to him.
Suzaku City, Xia Changfeng.
Li Tingyun smiled and thought to himself: Wangcai is a fast runner, and his efficiency is really high.
only……
Mei Shiyu led the little girl into the teahouse, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.
Just then, Wang Wu, who had gone out to patrol around the teahouse, returned. He was a bit dim-witted and didn't notice anything strange. He started rambling on and on.
They were just random chatter, which conveniently masked the tense atmosphere.
Wang Wu said, "No wonder this vegetarian teahouse isn't doing well. Several of the places next door are 'pornographic' establishments! Even the storytelling halls are singing lewd songs. These damn bastards really know how to have fun! That young lady's voice, oh my, it almost melted my bones. Why don't you guys go check it out? Maybe you'll want to find another place to have tea and rest..."
"Don't go."
Li Tingyun's two simple words put an end to his eagerness to try.
Wang Wu sat at the table with little interest.
When the vegetarian refreshments were served, Mei Shiyu suddenly pointed to the red thread around the girl's neck and asked the old man, "Uncle, why is this child wearing a red thread around her neck?"
The hunchbacked old man sighed, "This child, before he died, cut his own neck with a wood-chopping knife. After his soul left his body, he wore a red thread around his neck. I can't explain why."
Seeing that the girl looked to be only five or six years old, Mei Shiyu asked, "How could someone so young commit suicide with a wood-chopping knife?"
"That's a long story."
The old man said slowly, "I've been a bachelor my whole life. I found this girl, but when I found her, I was already over seventy years old. My family was poor, and I couldn't raise her. I wanted to give her to another family before I died, but no one in the village wanted a daughter, especially since she was mute..."
The old man had no other choice. Before he died, he called the girl to his side and said to her, "I have hidden my last bit of savings in a crack in the wall. Take this money and make a living on your own! If you can't survive, use the wood-chopping knife in the yard to kill yourself and come find me in the underworld. If there really is an underworld, I still want to raise you."
He no longer cared whether the girl could understand what he was saying, because he was about to die and had no time to make his own arrangements before he passed away.
No matter how much the girl pushed him, he wouldn't wake up. Suddenly, he became sensible and ran to the yard. Unable to lift the heavy wood-chopping knife, he turned the blade upside down and smashed his head against it.
And so, even underground, the two of them still depended on each other for survival.
After hearing this story, Wang Wu couldn't help but shed a couple of tears, and said with deep empathy, "What you're saying reminds me of my godson. He also lost his parents at a young age. No, not just his parents, but his whole family and the whole village were all gone, killed by enemies, not even a dog's life was spared... What kind of cannibalistic world is this! Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years!"
Li Tingyun became increasingly suspicious of his godson's background...
Could it really be such a coincidence that he was referring to Lingxi Village, and his godson is Yuan Che?! And is Wang Wu the same wandering immortal that Lao Liu mentioned at the beginning of the original text, the one who guided the protagonist to become an apprentice at Daoxuan Sect?!
In the original storyline, this character, who appeared briefly and then died, had a very, very, very low presence. Li Tingyun and Wang Laoliu even for a time forgot what his name was.
The name "Wang Wu" perfectly matches the character's traits—it's too common!
Readers will forget it as soon as they see it.
but!
Looking at the table full of food in front of him, Li Tingyun decisively shut down his brain's CPU.
Forget it, let's not think about that now, let's eat first!
Wang Wu sighed as he looked at the table.
The pastries on the plate were not steaming, and the tea was cold, making them unpalatable.
The things in the underworld are not meant for the living to eat!
It is said that the food, clothing, and daily necessities of the creatures in the mortal realm are either burned down by their relatives and friends in the mortal world or formed using demonic energy—this is no different from the cultivation world, where spiritual energy can be used to make food and conjure up clothes and houses.
The old man in the teahouse had no relatives or friends upstairs. These things must have been created by him using demonic energy. Not just anyone can recklessly swallow these things, and cultivators should avoid them even more.
Their purpose in going to the teahouse wasn't to fill their stomachs, but simply to rest. Since they were just resting and relaxing, where else could they go? Why choose such a deserted and shabby place? It's too boring.
Wang Wu was still thinking about spending his leisure time listening to music in brothels...
Then, he watched helplessly as the boy opposite him started the "clean plate campaign" without any hesitation.
Mei Shiyu said, "Yuanbao, these things have a lot of yin energy. Are you sure you'll be okay eating so much?"
Li Tingyun said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
So, Mei Shiyu habitually pushed her share onto him as well.
Wang Wu suddenly stood up, pointing at him in astonishment, and exclaimed, "You're actually a demon cultivator?!"
Mei Shiyu sighed, "Don't be impatient."
Li Tingyun emphasized: "I do not eat people."
Wang Wu: "..."
Because of his excessive movement, the fake "Lingguang Divine Technique" in his arms fell to the ground. Although he knew that it contained a voluptuous and unrestrained world, he couldn't bear to actually throw it away.
As soon as the book fell to the ground, he bent down to pick it up.
But before he could even touch the cover of the book, the "Lingguang Divine Technique" was snatched away by someone using magic.
Looking up at Xia Changfeng at the next table, she asked in bewilderment, "Hey, who are you? Why are you stealing my things?"
The other person ignored him and continued flipping through the book, wanting to find out what was going on...
Xia Changfeng turned only one page before his hand stopped.
An inexplicable anger rose within me.
In an instant, the tattered book was burned to ashes by the flames gathered in his palm.
Wang Wu shouted, "Hey! You're being unreasonable! You picked up what someone dropped, fine, but why don't you return it and instead destroy it!"
He picked up a stool and jumped over to settle the score, yelling, "Damn it, I think you're just looking for trouble!"