The Unruly Immortals

Facing Master Wu's words, his wife didn't respond but walked straight outside, picked up a dustpan, and deftly climbed up the bamboo ladder to gather radishes from the roof.

Master Wu sluggishly dressed himself and then turned to go have dinner. It was only when he saw the chicken egg placed in the noodle soup that his complexion finally improved.

After dinner, he threw the bowls and chopsticks onto the table, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked out.

At this moment, it was just dusk outside, the yellow sunset illuminated his face, making it look even more yellow.

A cool, crisp radish strip was thrown down from the roof, sliding down his neck into his collar. "Wash the dishes! What are you standing there for?"

"Ow, ow!" He fumbled inside his garment while he hurried toward the courtyard entrance.

He walked all the way to the left side of the Bai Family Ancestral Hall and snorted toward his own dwelling. "Hmph! The sage was indeed correct, 'Women and villains are hard to raise.'"

Master Wu calmly straightened the wrinkles on his robe, and just as he was about to turn around, he was startled by a fawning old face.

"Hehehe~ Master Wu, off to give a lecture? Let's go together," said Top Scholar Lv with a grin, holding his grandson.

Master Wu eyed Top Scholar Lv with a tinge of contempt and walked toward the private school.

"Give a lecture? That's giving them too much credit; what I do can only be called enlightening them! Each one has such poor comprehension, like playing the lute to a cow every day."

"Hehehe, precisely, precisely. They're all past the suitable age, none of them are fit for studying or striving to become top scholars. Our young student here, however, is at the best age to learn reading and writing!" Top Scholar Lv proudly lifted the infant boy in his arms and bounced him.

"How many times must I tell you, do not bring infants who have not yet reached their first birthday to the school! They cannot understand a word I say!"

"Ai, Master Wu, this is precisely the time when a child is just learning to speak; listening to the sage books is beneficial. What if they happen to grasp something?"

"Alas, playing the lute to a cow, playing the lute to a cow," Master Wu said, shaking his head as he continued toward the direction of the school.

By the time he arrived, the others were already waiting, and they fell silent upon seeing the master arrive.

Master Wu looked toward the corner of the room where a person wearing a straw hat and a raincoat sat and his brows furrowed slightly.

Compared to before the disaster, this person seemed taller and more robust, and even though they stood motionless, the presence they emitted made him feel extremely wary.

What's more, during the disaster, he was not blind; he saw the divine skills displayed by those people.

Thinking back to those, Master Wu dared not ponder what could be beneath that raincoat.

The sage once said, a scholar should respect ghosts and spirits, but keep them at a distance.

He also wanted to keep his distance, but he did not dare; he feared that if he disobeyed their instructions, he would meet a terrible fate.

He had lived a long life, and he had read in storybooks about many evildoers with divine skills who, after obtaining their powers, committed all kinds of crimes, bullied men and women, and had no regard for life.

Just thinking about the terrifying scenes from the books befalling him sent shivers down his spine.

Therefore, at present, he could only live day by day like a monk tolling the bell each day. The only consolation was that the silver kept coming, and the villagers' attitude toward him wasn't bad.

After swiftly scanning the room, Master Wu furrowed his eyebrows, "Eh? Why are there fewer people today?"

"Master, Gao Zhijian is recruiting militia; they heard that those selected will get sugar, so they've all gone there."

"However, Gao Zhijian has strict standards, and many are unqualified. Most likely, they will all be back soon," someone replied.

Looking at Zhao Wu, the only one among these people who could truly be considered studious, Master Wu's tone softened a bit. "I see, so why didn't you go?"

Zhao Wu's face was bitter as he patted his feeble legs, "Master is joking. With this body of mine, I know without even trying."

Master Wu nodded in understanding, and with a light cough, he began teaching.

Now and then, someone would come to or leave the private school, but no matter whether they grew tired of listening or needed to relieve themselves, Master Wu paid them no mind and focused on his own work.

Before he knew it, the time had reached deep into the night, and Master Wu, whose mouth had grown dry from talking, glanced at the yawning faces below and waved his hand.

"Let's stop here for today. Remember, to review the old to understand the new. Tomorrow, I will have a pop quiz."

After finishing the day's work, Master Wu, carrying his lantern, walked towards his home.

In the dead of night, on the deserted streets, Master Wu, to be honest, felt somewhat uneasy, especially in light of the recent natural disasters.

However, he dared not show it, for fear that his display of cowardice would be seen by his dumb ox students, as he was a scholar.

As he walked, he approached the Bai Family Ancestral Hall, and his step became much lighter.

Living in the village, it was inevitable to hear rumors, and he'd heard that many had met violent ends within that ancestral hall.

"I am a learned man, endowed with an abundant rightness of spirit. I do not speak of strange powers and chaos of spirits; all evils are easily dispelled!" Master Wu uttered this disjointed reassurance, comforting himself in his heart.

Just as he had passed the Bai Family Ancestral Hall and let out a sigh of relief, a wooden mask suddenly leaped out from the darkness.

A bizarre cry had barely begun to escape Master Wu's lips when it was abruptly muffled by a hand made of redwood. "Quiet, I'm not planning to kill you. I'm here to find someone. Do you know where Er Jiu lives in this village?"

Seeing the petrified Master before him, Liu Zongyuan asked again, "What, you don't know? He's the one who wears a red Taoist robe. Always likes to carry two swords on his back."

Observing the trembling hand pointing him in a direction, Liu Zongyuan cast a disdainful glance at the wetness soaking through his trousers and turned to walk away.

It hadn't been long since Liu Zongyuan had left when he saw that the second-floor window of a large courtyard was open, "Brother Liu, I cannot move easily at the moment, come in for a chat."

Liu Zongyuan moved like a nimble monkey, quickly stepping on the wall and hooking his hand, he dived right in.

As soon as he entered, he saw the red-robed Taoist sitting broadly, while a horrifying flayed beast crouched quietly at his left hand, its lidless eyes staring intently at him.

"Brother Liu, are you unharmed?" Hearing Er Jiu's inquiry, Liu Zongyuan then came back to his senses and looked at his eyes covered with white gauze.

"What happened to your 'hooks'?"

"Some things happened during the natural disasters, so I went blind. It's no big deal, just a minor injury. I'm just surprised to see Brother Liu here again."

"Well, I rushed over as soon as I got your letter. You wouldn't know this, being holed up here, but it's chaos out there."

"Indeed, I had guessed as much. About this natural disaster, do you have any news, Brother Liu? Two disasters in as short a span as two years might be an ominous sign."

"Ah..." Liu Zongyuan sighed, sitting down beside Li Huowang, "Isn't that obvious? Even a blind man could see. What I've found out is that the high officials in the Astrological Bureau knew about it long before it happened."

"They knew in advance? Isn't the Astrological Bureau supposed to forecast such things? If they knew, why didn't they prevent it? Or could they only do as much as they did before?"

"Slap!" Liu Zongyuan slapped his hands together in frustration, "Do you think they didn't act? Do you think the grand preparations in the Capital City were meant for child's play? Ah! But wasn't it all ruined by those damn followers of the Oblivion Path?"