Chapter 40: A miserable day

“Ah… Master! Master!” This was my first reaction when I woke up and saw my situation. I started to cry and wail.

To be precise, I was awakened by an itch. As I fell asleep, I felt an itch on my face, so I couldn’t help but scratch it, and then I slapped it, and that’s how I woke myself up.

When I first woke up, I wasn’t quite awake and didn’t realize what was going on. But when I subconsciously opened my hand to take a look, I suddenly felt like I was going crazy, with ants all over my hand.

My face was still itchy, and I wanted to wash it off with water, but when I looked down, I saw a dark layer on the surface of the water in my bathtub. I didn’t know how many ants had died on it.

I looked around in a panic, and there were so many, so many, so many ants on the ground that I was dizzy and seeing double as they struggled to climb into my wooden tub!

Are these ants trying to eat me?

This strange thing is even more strange than hungry ghosts and insects. I had no choice but to shout at the top of my lungs for my master.

The mountain was quiet, and my shout carried far and wide. The first person to come running was the little girl Ling Ruyue. I had wanted to stand up, but when I saw it was her, I sat down immediately, leaving only my head above the water, shouting, “What are you doing here?”

“Serves you right.” Ling Ruyue stuck out her tongue at me and ran off, skipping and jumping. Her back was really happy.

I was so angry that my temples were throbbing. I suddenly remembered her strange behavior, slapping my towel and then slapping me. Could it be her?

My master said that there are countless magical arts in the world. Even in Taoism, each school has its own unique method. Outside of China, there are also Nanyang magical arts, and in the West there is also its own magical system.

It’s just that technology has developed too quickly there, and there are fewer and fewer clergymen who know pure magic. Instead, they are more inclined to develop the various potentials of the human body, such as supernormal capabilities.

Just as I was thinking about this, my master came, and Ling Ruyue’s grandmother followed.

My master immediately saw the ants all over the floor, and his expression was strange and helpless. Ling Ruyue’s grandmother looked more serious.

My master smiled helplessly and turned to her and said, “Ling Qing, your granddaughter is afraid of turning my place into an ant nest.”

It turned out that Ling Ruyue’s grandmother was called Ling Qing, and her granddaughter and grandmother had the same surname. But I couldn’t do anything about it, and the ants were crawling on my face again.

Grandma Ling Qing didn’t say anything, but she walked up to me with a serious look on her face. I don’t know how she did it, but I smelled something, and the ants stopped crawling on me.

“I’m going to find Ruoyue.” Grandma Ling Qing said this and was about to leave.

My master looked at her strangely and suddenly said, “Isn’t Ru Yue like you? When I had stomach pain, it was so bad that I thought I was going to die.”

Grandma Ling Qing glared at my master and turned and left.

At this time, my master walked up to me with a smile on his face and said, “Sanwa, how was it?”

“When I get up, I’m going to teach that girl a lesson with my magic.” I gritted my teeth. I’m not stupid. From this conversation, I knew that what happened to me today was the work of Ling Ruyue, but I really didn’t understand what she did or what method she used to harm me.

“Teach others? With your three-legged cat skills? If you don’t want to suffer more, just forget about it.” Old man Jiang gave me a sideways glance, his expression was really hateful.

“Is she more powerful than Taoism?” I was really unconvinced.

“Haha, she said that the art of the gu is easy to learn, at least some of the introductory things are easy, unlike our hard work of cultivation, accumulating power, at least you should give up now.” Old man Jiang said in a neutral tone.

Guzhu? I got goosebumps all over my body, and suddenly I remembered the hungry ghost worm, which was cultivated by a master of Guzhu. It was simply…

Thinking about what happened to me just now, I decided that revenge is a matter of ten years.

“Master, how did she get the ants to find me?” I was still a little curious.

“I’m not too good at this kind of thing, but I know what that little girl is capable of. She doesn’t have much power now, so she’s using the lowest level of the art. She just pats you and the ants come. For example, if you have a queen ant on your body, it will give off a strong smell when it’s threatened?” Old Jiang suddenly smiled, looking quite gloating.

I didn’t say anything. I suddenly felt that this kind of magic was quite advantageous. As long as you know the key, anyone can use it. I’d better not make any rash moves for now.

Of course, I didn’t realize how naive my understanding of the art of bewitching was until much later.

“Master, look at me, I’m like this. Can you make me a fragrant bath?” Since there was no hope of revenge, I would take advantage of the situation first.

“You little brat!” my master scolded.

In the hall of the Bamboo Grove Villa, my master, Ling Qing, and Ling Ruyue were all there.

My master and Grandma Ling Qing were sitting, of course, and I was standing proudly next to Ling Ruyue with water still dripping from my hair, while the little girl pouted and looked unconvinced.

“Ru Yue, if there is another time, I will take away your belongings. Have you forgotten the rules?” Grandma Ling Qing scolded Ru Yue, and I was smugly watching from the side. See, this is revenge.

“Grandma, I didn’t mean to do it. He bullied me first,” said Ruoyue, pouting, and tears immediately began to fall.

This time, the old man Jiang was not calm, and he immediately felt distressed. He said to Grandma Lingqing, “I said you can let it go. Children can just say it.”

I thought to myself, you think you can just say that to me? I haven’t tasted your iron palm.

Then, the old man pulled Ru Yue over again, wiped her tears, and asked her, “Why is Sanwa bullying you? Grandpa Jiang will help you vent your anger.”

Ruyue made a very sensible look and said, “Grandpa Jiang and Grandma are talking about things, so Ruyue went to play by herself. When she saw her brother practicing kung fu, she went to play with him, but he told her to go away, saying that Ruyue just had bigger eyes and fairer skin, and he didn’t like her at all.”

I was stunned. This little girl is amazing. She made herself sound so innocent in just a few sentences. Although that’s how it was, how did it change when she said it?

Under the protection of Grandpa Jiang, Grandma Ling Qing didn’t dare to scold Ru Yue too much. She just looked at Ru Yue’s pitiful appearance very seriously.

But the old man slapped me on the head, and I took the full force of it.

“Sanwa, you’ve really come a long way. You bully a 11-year-old girl. She’s not good, but are you good? If you’re so capable, you should have bigger eyes and fairer skin. You look like a monkey!”

I was so angry. After my mother, my master became a staunch traitor.

I glared at Ruoyue. This little girl is quite capable of pretending. I was not at all graceful. I really wanted to beat her!

“Ru Yue, you have to get along with your third brother. The day after tomorrow, Grandma Ling Qing and Grandpa Jiang are going to go do some things, so you and your third brother will have to wait for them on the mountain. You still have to let your third brother take care of you.” Grandma Ling Qing’s words were like dropping a bomb.

“How could that be? I’m supposed to take care of her?”

“No, I want to go with Grandma!”

Ru Yue and I said almost at the same time.

Old man Jiang slammed the table and stood up, yelling at me, “If you don’t take good care of Ru Yue, and I have to come back, if Ru Yue loses a single hair, you’ll have to copy the Tao Te Ching 10,000 times for me.”

And Grandma Ling Qing only said lightly, “Ru Yue, if you don’t listen this time, I will confiscate all the charms on you, including your pets.”

I didn’t want to give in. I absolutely had to fight back.

But Ru Yue whispered, “Including my pet, Flower Feifei?”

“Yes.” Grandma Ling Qing looked very calm but serious.

Ruyue didn’t say anything, but the old man Jiang had something to say: “Sanwa, the little girl is so sensible, if you say no to me, you will have to copy the Tao Te Ching tonight!”

“Who’s going to cook the rice?” A woman can’t possibly ask me to cook, can she? I’ve been cooking for Old Jiang for years, ever since I was 11.

“You!” Old Jiang didn’t hesitate.

“Who will wash the clothes?” I was about to cry. I still had a little hope, because as the saying goes, “division of labor and cooperation.”

“You again!” A voice without emotion.

I was crying with a sad face, and in the corner of my eye I saw the little girl, Ru Yue, with a smile on her face, but her eyes were clearly full of pride!

It turned out that I was right about her. In the following days, I was actually “seditiously” persuaded by her to do something extremely crazy with her!