Chapter 40: Returning the Favor

As the young Daoist nun took the little girl's hand and stepped off the back of the azure ox, with the spiritually attuned white deer following closely behind, not only the young Daoist disciple of the same sect found it unbelievable, but even the military strategist, bearing a tiger tally at his waist and a long sword on his back, revealed a look of astonishment.

When he saw the young Daoist nun approaching slowly, Chen Pingan felt a headache coming on. The youth really didn't want to deal with these deities from afar.

Because Chen Pingan knew that their simple affections and aversions could determine his life, death, honor, and disgrace.

Moreover, Chen Pingan knew that his luck had never been good, so he was even more afraid of provoking them.

However, Chen Pingan wouldn't run away because of this. On the contrary, he even took a symbolic step forward, which, in the eyes of others, was considered proper.

The white deer slightly quickened its pace, trotting over and circling the straw sandal-clad boy once before lowering its head, proactively nudging the poor youth.

The white deer returned to its master's side, who gently stroked its back. In the next moment, it transformed into the form of a horse.

Calling a deer a horse.

The young Daoist nun looked at Chen Pingan, sighed softly, and said a sentence with a smile before looking down at the little girl in the red padded jacket.

The little girl then translated it into the local dialect of the town, saying timidly, "Sister He said, 'You are a person who cherishes blessings, but unfortunately, our karmic connection is shallow, and we cannot become Daoist companions.'"

The youth was speechless, unsure of what to say to avoid being impolite.

Carrying a bamboo basket, wearing straw sandals, and with his trouser legs rolled up, the youth's appearance seemed particularly comical.

The Daoist nun asked with a smile, "You also know the wondrous uses of these stones? Chen Pingan, don't worry, I'm just asking casually."

The little girl repeated the explanation verbatim, speaking quickly and clearly.

Chen Pingan hesitated for a moment and nodded, saying, "A Daoist priest reminded me that I could often come to the stream to pick up stones and catch fish."

Even though Chen Pingan felt a good impression of this young female Daoist, he cautiously didn't even reveal the surname of Daoist Lu. Moreover, the one who truly revealed the secret, the one who pointed out the value of the snake gallstones, was Ning Yao.

The Daoist nun smiled and said, "You also know our Little Martial Uncle Lu?"

Chen Pingan was stunned.

The Daoist nun smiled knowingly and explained roughly, "Strictly speaking, Little Martial Uncle Lu is not of the same lineage as us. However, Daoist Lu visited our sect many years ago and became acquainted with one of our martial uncles as equals, staying for many years. We, as his juniors, are familiar with him and naturally became accustomed to calling him 'Little Martial Uncle.'"

Chen Pingan grinned, completely letting go of his guard.

The straw sandal-clad youth was grateful to that Daoist Lu and would never forget him in this lifetime.

He remembered something, bent down, put down the bamboo basket, picked up one of the stones that had captivated him at first sight, as large as a chicken egg, green and translucent like ice, different from the other snake gallstones, and handed it to the young Daoist nun with a refined air, asking, "Daoist nun, if you see Daoist Lu in the future, could you please help me give him this stone?"

After listening to the little girl's explanation, she pondered for a moment, took the stone, and said slowly, "Before coming here, I happened to encounter Little Martial Uncle leaving. He is going to Nanjian Kingdom to attend an important ceremony of a Daoist sect. It's hard to say when we will meet again, but as long as I see Little Martial Uncle Lu, I will definitely help you pass it on to him."

Listening to the little girl's words, Chen Pingan smiled brightly and bowed to the young Daoist nun, who had given him a very good impression, to express his gratitude.

Regarding the goodness or badness of strangers, the youth always believed in his intuition.

Like with Fu Nanhua and Cai Jinjian, and like with Daoist Lu and Miss Ning.

Chen Pingan took out another snake gallstone and handed it to her again.

This Daoist nun, who was known as "the most fortunate" among the younger generation in Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent, didn't refuse, accepted it with a smile, and didn't forget to thank him.

The little girl in the red padded jacket twisted the corners of her clothes with both hands and said softly, "I want a stone too."

Chen Pingan smiled, turned around, and picked out a stone from the bamboo basket for the little girl.

The little girl ran to his side and said carefully, "I want a bigger one, okay?"

Chen Pingan smiled and said, "As long as you can carry it, I'll give you the biggest one. But it's not a short distance from here to the town and then to home. And I think the big ones in the basket are not as good as the small ones."

She thought for a moment, then rested her hands on the edge of the bamboo basket, "Okay, then I'll pick a small, pretty one."

Chen Pingan then picked out a lotus root powder-colored small stone for her, which was moist and lovely. The little girl held it in her palm, very satisfied.

She suddenly tilted her head, grinned, pointed to her teeth, and then smiled at Chen Pingan, her face full of pride.

Presumably, she was showing off that her teeth had grown back.

Chen Pingan said happily, "Next time, let's go catch crickets together."

The little girl's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed, and she nodded with a forced smile.

Chen Pingan carried the bamboo basket on his back, said goodbye to the young Daoist nun, waved to the little girl, and trotted back to the town alone.

Also an immortal maiden, the value of this young Daoist nun was far from comparable to Cai Jinjian of Cloud Glow Mountain, almost like immortal gold essence versus mundane gold.

She took the little girl and the white deer back to the back of the azure ox. The young Daoist priest withdrew his gaze from the back of the straw sandal-clad boy and concluded, "A shallow karmic connection means a thin blessing, naturally not of great use."

The Daoist sects of Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent were as numerous as hairs on an ox. Every thirty years, a pair of "golden boy and jade girl" would be selected. He and his elder sister, He Xiaoliang, were this generation's natural Daoist couple. However, a surprising thing had appeared: the golden boy's aptitude was no less than in the past, but the jade girl's fortune was simply unbelievably good. At birth, the white deer, one of the auspicious omens, took the initiative to come out of the mountains and wilderness to recognize her as its master. After that, she stepped onto the path of cultivation as if without any obstacles, proceeding smoothly all the way. Some even claimed that she would only encounter her first bottleneck after reaching the upper five realms.

Regarding his younger brother's contempt for the straw sandal-clad youth, she was noncommittal, dismissing it with a smile.

At this moment, a short youth came from the deep pool under the covered bridge all the way to the puddle under the back of the azure ox, holding only a snake gallstone in his hand, shining brightly in the night like the white deer before.

The taciturn youth held the stone, standing on a rock exposed above the water, like a heaven-supporting immortal, holding a miniature round moon in his hand.

The young Daoist priest's two red and blue large fish, raised by him, did not enter the water, but slowly swam above the stream.If Chen Ping'an were to see this young boy, he would recognize him as the grandson of Granny Ma from Apricot Blossom Lane.

The boy had been simple-minded since birth, and his parents had disowned him at a young age. Granny Ma had taken him in herself. The boy was unsociable, often climbing onto the roof alone to watch the clouds.

From childhood, the boy, who took Granny Ma's surname, Ma, was bullied to the point where people felt even stepping on him would dirty their shoes. The pitiful child seemed to only ever smile at the maidservant Zhi Gui from Mud Bottle Lane.

That was why Granny Ma especially resented the maidservant, believing her to be a shameless vixen who had seduced her precious grandson.

The young female Daoist approached the man carrying a long sword on his back and asked, "Regarding Ma Ku Xuan, is there truly no room for negotiation?"

The man said coldly, "If your junior martial uncle truly wanted to take this child as his first disciple, why didn't he come himself? What does it matter how renowned his name is? He hasn't even fought me. Why should I concede to him? If he's not satisfied, he can come to True Martial Mountain and find me. If he wins, he can take the child."

The young Daoist smiled. "It would merely require our junior martial uncle to make an extra trip. Why bother?"

A veiled barb.

The man with the sword and talisman narrowed his eyes. "Oh?"

The young female Daoist felt somewhat annoyed, glancing at her fellow disciple. The young Daoist laughed and refrained from further confrontation, instead raising his head and saying, "The moonlight is truly beautiful tonight."

She felt helpless.

Whenever their sect's junior martial uncle was involved, not only she and her fellow disciple, but likely all the young Daoists within the entire continent, felt a sense of shared glory.

Near the covered bridge, at the foot of the steps, stood a barefooted monk. His face was square, with an expression of resilience and determination.

This ascetic monk did not look up at the golden inscription, but instead looked at the ground where Song Ji Xin had planted incense sticks. He pressed his palms together, bowed his head, and said with compassion, "Amitabha."

The small boy waded ashore, came to the green ox's back, looked at the two ethereal young Daoists, and then at the stern-faced man with the sword. Finally, he stared intently at the latter, who wanted to hang a tiger talisman, and said through gritted teeth, "I don't want to learn any path to immortality. Can you teach me how to kill?"

The man laughed proudly. "I am a military strategist swordsman, and since ancient times, our killing power has been unrivaled!"

The young Daoist countered with a smile. "Oh?"

The young female Daoist shook her head, knowing that the matter was settled, and felt guilty for failing to fulfill her junior martial uncle's request.

For a moment, the atmosphere on the green ox's back by the creek was tense and strained.

The little girl in the red cotton-padded jacket from the Li family quickly hid behind the immortal sister.

The girl in green had just finished her last piece of pastry and was in a bad mood. She said irritably, "If you have the guts, go fight my dad!"

The man who had a deep connection with the girl and her father no longer kept a stern face and smiled, "How should we fight?"

The young Daoist joked, "Ruan Xiu, that's a bit unfair. Your father is the next sage to succeed Mr. Qi, like the master of this world."

The girl in green pouted and said nothing.

The monk slowly approached and stepped onto the green ox's back.

The young female Daoist said, "Your Buddhist sect's Thunderclap Pagoda, our Daoist sect's Celestial Master Seal, plus the military strategists' small sword mound, and the Confucian scholars' Mountain Jade Tablet. The four suppression objects left by the earliest four sages. Not to mention the internal strife within the Confucian scholars themselves, just the three of us taking back our respective items, although it's rightful and justifiable, wouldn't it be inappropriate if we didn't even inform Mr. Qi?"

The monk remained silent.

The young Daoist worried, "It is a bit insensitive, but the orders from above are difficult to disobey. Senior sister, it's best not to overdo it."

The military strategist sneered, "I'm not here to curry favor with anyone."

In the town, Chen Ping'an returned to the alley where Liu Xianyang's family lived, only to find Mr. Qi standing at the entrance.

The boy quickly ran over. Before he could ask anything, Qi Jingchun handed him two private seals and smiled, "Chen Ping'an, these aren't a free gift. I have a favor to ask. In the future, if Cliff Academy is in trouble, I hope you can help to the best of your ability. Of course, you don't need to deliberately inquire about the academy's affairs."

The boy only said one word, "Okay!"

Qi Jingchun nodded and said earnestly, "Remember what I told you before about 'a gentleman not saving', those were my heartfelt words, not a test of character."

The boy grinned. "Teacher, I can't guarantee that."

Qi Jingchun hesitated, but in the end, he didn't say anything and was about to leave.

He had originally wanted to say that if Cliff Academy was truly in a great predicament in the future, Chen Ping'an, you don't need to feel regret if you change your mind, just pretend you didn't see or hear anything, and don't force yourself to do it.

But Qi Jingchun didn't know why, deep down, he held a sliver of hope, even he himself couldn't understand it.

After much thought, the master of Cliff Academy could only come to one conclusion. It was only because the boy before him was named Chen Ping'an. He seemed different from everyone else.

If you entrusted him with something, it would be extremely difficult, even if you knew that the boy wouldn't be able to do it even if he tried his best. But you could be absolutely certain of one thing, as long as he agreed, he would definitely do it. If he couldn't do it with ten units of strength, he would grit his teeth and use twelve units of strength.

This was something that brought a sense of peace.

This was something that Qi Jingchun had sought for many years without success. This scholar, who had voluntarily requested to be demoted here, originally felt that the world was a foreign land.

Just as Qi Jingchun was about to turn around, the boy, still carrying his basket, hurriedly and laboriously bowed in salute.

In the alley, the Confucian sage returned the boy's salute in a formal and precise manner.