Chapter 61: A magical past (3)

Who is he? My master was very confused, but the old man Li was even more extreme. Without explanation, he put my master down again and said, “Wait for me here. Don’t go anywhere.” Then he went back to his business.

My master was puzzled. This person is too domineering. Where are you going? What about the cows today? If you don’t let the cows out, you won’t have any food.

At this point, Master Zhao walked over to my master and said, “Jiang Xiaorou, you can stay. I’ll pay you today’s wages and give you a little extra. What do you think?”

Before my master could reply, he saw the two handsome young men walk over. The younger one smiled at my master and said, “My name is Chen Liren. You will be my junior brother in the future.”

Chen Liren was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the older boy next to him, who said, “Liren, have you forgotten what your master said? Everything follows its own course. Don’t use your own heart to arbitrarily influence anything. Where our hearts are, that is us. What is this little brother Jiang’s heart? You should follow him. How can you arbitrarily influence others?”

Then, he bowed slightly to my master and said apologetically, “After Master and Brother Jiang have talked, everything will be according to Brother Jiang’s wishes. You don’t need to worry about anything. My master doesn’t like to explain things, so I hope Brother Jiang will forgive him.”

My master was stunned by this scholarly way of speaking. How did a city person suddenly appear? Then a scholar apologized to him, and even called him a junior brother?

“Right, my name is Li-hou.” The more mature of the two boys introduced himself again.

In fact, Li Lihou had a free and unconstrained manner of speech that was convincing, while Chen Liren was easy to get along with. Master was quite impressed with these two, and with the encouragement of Master Zhao, he agreed to stay.

However, when the old master heard about the younger brother, he looked at my master with a different expression.

My master didn’t care about that. He was quickly attracted to everything about the old Li in the courtyard. At this time, the old Li was drawing a strange rune in the courtyard. The rune looked peculiar. In the middle, the old Li dug a small hole. After the rune was finished, he casually threw a piece of jade into it, then patted his hands and said, “You can go in freely, but remember to keep your mouth shut and be careful. Don’t mention anything about me, and don’t show any signs of abnormality. That thing is easy to deal with, but the trouble is that it is too cunning. Remember?”

Everyone present, except for my master, were all Zhao family members, as well as Zhao family servants. After hearing this, they all nodded in agreement, but they still couldn’t help but feel a sense of horror in their hearts. What kind of thing is it? And cunning?

“Everything will be clear tonight.” After that, Old Li didn’t explain any further, but walked straight to my master, looked at him deeply, and then said, “Follow me.”

At this point, my master understood that this person in front of him was not a bad person, but rather a capable master. Thinking about the hatred in his heart, my master did not resist this person named Lao Li, but obediently followed him.

The Zhao family had long ago prepared a clean room for the three of them, and Master Li brought him to this room.

“I’m here to find a disciple. You are the one who has the fate to become my disciple. Do you want to?” As soon as he sat down, Lao Li looked at my master and said these words.

“Do you have any real skills?” At this point, my master had a little bit of confidence. However, there were too many swindlers in the world, and even my master, who was a cowherd in the village, knew that. He was thinking about his own thoughts and asked with a kind of expectation.

“My master is very capable.” The one who spoke was Chen Liren.

“Don’t be rude,” said Li Lihou.

My master just looked at Mr. Li stubbornly.

“Are you carrying a great grudge?” Old Li did not answer my master’s question directly, but instead asked an irrelevant question.

At this point, my master was really taken aback, but he was quick-witted and soon came up with a possible answer. He asked, “Have you heard about this from someone in the village?”

“Nonsense, I don’t know you, where would I have heard about you? There is a murderous aura between your eyebrows and your eyes lack blood, if you don’t have a great grudge, what else could it be? Well, to tell you the truth, you still have to see for yourself before you will agree to be my disciple?” Old Li was not angry, and he said what he thought directly.

“If you can avenge me, I’m willing to be your slave, not to mention being your disciple.” My master said his thoughts with clenched teeth.

He didn’t know why, but he had an instinctive sense of trust in this person. In the village, my master had always been careful in his words and deeds, for fear of being seen by Liu San and his henchmen and ruining his big plans. Today, however, he said it very directly.

“I don’t want a cow or a horse, I want a disciple. Your revenge will be discussed after I finish my business here. You can stay here, since you want to see real skills.” After saying that, Old Li didn’t say anything else, but sat cross-legged on the bed and soon seemed to have lost his breath.

Li Li-hou took out a book from his luggage and sat quietly next to Lao Li, opening it up.

Only Chen Liren was a child, and he quickly started talking to my master.

With someone to keep me company, the time passed quickly. My master was invited by Old Li and was considered a guest of the Zhao family. On this day, I ate good food that I had never eaten before, and the day passed leisurely.

Old Li woke up an hour after everyone had finished eating. Today, the Zhao family invited him several times to eat, but Li Lihou stopped them, saying that Master was practicing and could not be disturbed. This behavior made my master even more curious. He had been sitting still all day and had not eaten anything. It was hard to say that he did not have real skills.

After waking up, Old Li just drank a glass of water and said, “You guys come with me. The ‘guest’ has already arrived.”

After that, he walked ahead with long strides, followed closely by my master and two others. Li Lihou and Chen Liren were Li’s disciples and naturally followed him, while my master was there to see if Li was really capable.

Old Li walked around the courtyard, and his destination was Zhao Gongzi’s room.

The light was still on in Zhao Gongzi’s room, and faint voices could be heard. Compared to the other rooms, this place was very lively.

It was because the villagers went to bed early, almost immediately after dinner.

Lao Li stopped at the door of the room and made a gesture to the three masters who followed him to keep quiet. Everyone dared not speak, and for a moment, the courtyard was unusually quiet again. The voices in the room were clearly heard, but it was only Zhao Gongzi who was talking to himself.

“My father thinks I’m sick, and he hired someone to come and look at our house. I don’t know if it was to drive away evil spirits or to exorcise demons. It’s really funny.”

“I think he’s probably a fraud. He spent half the day in the courtyard making gestures and said he’d see if there were any ghosts that night. By then, he’ll probably say we didn’t see any ghosts and try to extort money from us.”

“What? Maybe he’s harming you. No, I’m going to my father’s house and have them get rid of that person…”

The tone of the Zhao boy’s voice suddenly became anxious. It sounded like he was about to take action, but at this time, Old Li kicked open the door with one foot and walked in with a relaxed look on his face. He looked at the Zhao boy and said, “Forget it, I don’t blame you. You’re pretty obsessed.”

The Zhao family’s son panicked, and said with a forced calm, “What do you blame me for? My family treats you as a guest everywhere, and treats you well. After the matter is settled, there will be no shortage of money. Why are you targeting me everywhere?”

“I’m not against you, I’m saving you, you idiot!” Old Li was laughing and cursing in a natural way.

But as soon as the words fell, Old Li suddenly opened his eyes wide and shouted loudly at the side of the Zhao young master: “How dare you!

The voice was like thunder rolling, and it scared my master’s back hair standing up. Chen Liren was smiling, and the two had been talking and playing for a day, and they had already become somewhat friendly. He whispered to my master, “Master, this voice implies power, and ordinary little demons would have been scared to death.”

Li Li-hou, however, was solemn and stood by without saying a word.

At this time, the young master Zhao did not know what he saw in his eyes, and shouted, “Shu’er, run! This old Taoist is not acting in good faith. I will protect you.”

“Fool! Then take a good look at what your Shu’er is!” Old Li snorted, took a small bottle from his bosom, opened the stopper, and quickly poured the contents of the bottle towards the window.

Old Li’s technique was extremely accurate. The bottle originally contained a blood-red liquid, which was all shot towards the window without a single drop missing.

When it reached the window, it seemed to be blocked by something, and the red liquid that had originally been in a straight line splashed onto the ground with a ‘plop’.

But at that moment, something shocking and frightening happened. A huge weasel suddenly appeared on the windowsill, its fur still stained with the red liquid, dripping down.

“Wang Shu, weasel, Shu’er, Shu’er, you still don’t understand?” My master shouted at Zhao Gongzi, and Zhao Gongzi, who had already been stunned, suddenly came to his senses, sat down on the chair, and his eyes still didn’t believe it.

After half a moment, he suddenly rushed towards Lao Li, grabbed his lapel and shouted, “You evil Taoist! I knew you were going to harm my Shu’er, and you actually turned her into a weasel.”

Old Li did not explain, but just pushed away Zhao Gongzi and said, “Seeing is not necessarily believing. Why don’t you give up your lust for beauty? Next time, I’m afraid no one will be able to save you.”

“Master, the weasel has escaped, and it’s a lame one.” Chen Liren is a man who is afraid that the world will not be in chaos, and immediately shouted.

“I have set up a formation here, and no one can escape. Come with me.” Old Li turned to leave, but Zhao Gongzi suddenly found the strength to grab Old Li and shouted, “Give me back Shu’er!”

“Fine, if you want Shu’er, I’ll give her back to you. Go.” Old Li snorted and easily shook off Zhao Gongzi, but instead grabbed his wrist and walked straight towards the courtyard.

Such a big commotion had already alerted the Zhao family, and everyone came out in a hurry.