Chapter 34 Strange
Chapter 34 Strange
Liu Jiao frowned and thought for a while: "What's wrong?"
Chen Xin made a gesture and continued to walk slowly forward. Liu Jiao quickly followed and felt her heart begin to beat rapidly.
"Didn't I tell you that I met an immortal master before we got married?"
"...Boss, are you serious? I thought you were kidding me?"
"Alas, the immortal master wanted to take me in as his apprentice, but after I followed him for two months, he said that I didn't have the aptitude, so he left." Chen Xin sighed, "Don't interrupt me, just listen to me slowly--"
"That man kept me with him because he thought I was smart. As you know, when I was young, I was not in good health. The immortal master said that I couldn't practice cultivation in that condition and needed to replenish my body first. I ate well during that period and had meat every day. I followed him and ate for a month. He said that my foundation was almost there and I was young, so I could try to replenish my innate energy."
"He gave me something to eat. It looked like black dirt residue. I had to dissolve it in wine and drink it every day. He said it was the residue of the elixir and could replenish my spiritual energy, so I drank it. How can I describe it? It worked better than any medicine. Once I drank it, I felt like I had endless energy all day long—"
Liu Jiao exclaimed: "If you say that..."
"Right. Have you realized it now? Do you feel better after Zhao Qi came to our house? I noticed that your asthma has improved a lot these days. I tell you, it should be Zhao Qi who put elixir residue in our food. I've seen him have that thing. Doesn't he raise a big rooster in the backyard? He doesn't want you to feed it, only he feeds it, and he feeds that. The taste of elixir residue is light, you two can't taste it, but I still remember it clearly, it has a slight medicinal smell--"
"Then... Taoist Zhao is a really good person? That's not right, he's not that kind of person, right?"
"Yes. I originally thought he was a cold-faced but warm-hearted person, but later I felt that he was not such a person. But I didn't mention it, because there is no harm in eating it. I have been slowly thinking about what Zhao Qi wants to do these days." Chen Xin shook his head slowly, "This is the first time that our family has worshipped a Qi cultivator, but I have also heard about the Qi cultivators worshipped in other towns."
"These people need money to practice. When they come to a place like ours, they stay here to take charge of the area, accept offerings from the master, and keep the area safe. They stay for a few years or even more than ten years and practice slowly. This is the normal way. But think about this man in our family. He is particular about food, clothing, and shelter. But he has been here for so long and has not asked for anything extra, nor has he asked for any precious offerings from us. He only asked for tiger bones, and he asked for them urgently. Look at his room, the backpack is still hanging on the wall, and he looks like he is ready to leave at any time. In my opinion, he does not plan to stay in Jinshui for a long time. So, why did he come to us?"
Liu Jiao frowned: "He...he..."
He hit Chen Xin on the shoulder again: "Why don't you tell me?"
"I was thinking about it, too. I didn't figure it out before, and I didn't want to make you worry in vain. Now that it's today, you should help me think about it - he accepted that kid as his apprentice yesterday, saying that he looked smart. But you also know that he is arrogant. How could he accept a disciple just like that? I think even if he really wanted a smart person to serve him, according to his personality, he would try to be a servant first, hoping to temper his character. But he just accepted him in a hurry." "As soon as he accepted a disciple, I felt that the food didn't taste right when we were having dinner today, so he didn't give us the elixir residue. I think that the thing he fed us before..." Chen Xin slowly let out a breath, "Maybe he thought it would be useful to use us."
The words "can he use us" made the two of them feel cold. After a moment of silence, Chen Xin took Liu Jiao's hand and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, he must have used the child now. Think about it again. After he came to us, he didn't ask for anything, but what did he ask us to do?"
"First, he asked us to renovate the Kitchen God Temple and remodel a statue. Then he said some houses blocked the Feng Shui and asked us to demolish them. I don't know what he did in private. I didn't learn any skills from that immortal master, but I did hear some other things from him. Zhao Qi said he was from the Ranshan Sect. If he didn't hide it from us, I remember that all their sects worshipped the Eastern Emperor. Why would he care about our Kitchen God Temple? I thought about it, thinking about the big rooster and tiger bones he raised, and now I think... he might want to perform some ritual."
Liu Jiao clenched her hands: "What ritual?"
"Then I don't know." Chen Xin sighed, "Otherwise, why did I invite that kid to dinner at home today? I just wanted to ask him. But the kid was tight-lipped, so I didn't get anything out of him. That's why I said this kid is no good. Zhao Qi doesn't need us now, but he likes him. Zhao Qi is so sneaky, it can't be a good thing, we can't get involved anymore."
Liu Jiao held him back: "Then we are pushing him into the fire pit!"
Chen Xin shook his head and sighed, "Is it us? A few days ago, this kid showed up in our shop. Don't you understand what he was thinking? I think what he said must be true. He has let it go and doesn't want any wealth. He knows there is an immortal master in the town and wants to become his disciple. Jinshui is such a small place. If I didn't ask Zhao Qi, he would either find Zhao Qi himself or Zhao Qi would find him himself a few days later, and the situation would still be like today."
"Ah, I also think he's a good kid. I'm not... Let me put it this way, this is what I think, Xiuxiu is infatuated with him, so let Xiuxiu go to him more often and get closer to us, while we keep an eye on Zhao Qi and drag the tiger bone matter, see if we can get anything out of him. If what Zhao Qi wants to do is really not a good thing, it's helping us, and it's also helping him."
Liu Jiao took a few breaths and lowered her voice: "If something bad happens, the boss, more than 40 people in our family will rush into the house and chop him up."
Chen Xin nodded: "Like I said, these Qigong practitioners will also grow old, get sick and die. If it really comes to that, we won't be afraid of him. But he has a legitimate master... Well, if we can avoid making a big fuss, losing some money, or hurting some people, it would be best if we can send him away properly."
The two walked in silence for a while, and Liu Jiao sighed, "We've had a good few years, with no evil spirits or monsters, but now we have to deal with this... Oh, I know, you don't have to tell me, our Jinshui is still relatively peaceful. You said these people are going to die anyway, so why bother cultivating immortals? I heard that those people in the Dharma Sect have become inhuman, so why bother?"
Chen Xin shook her hand and said, "Let's live our lives well."
(End of this chapter)