Chapter 41: I Only Caught You Because You Were in Such a Hurry (Bonus Chapter)

"Sister Xiaoqian, you've really kept Grandma waiting impatiently."

A woman in a purple dress stepped into the room, glancing at Xiaoqian with a barely perceptible trace of schadenfreude at the corners of her mouth.

This woman in purple was called Xiaoqing, and she was Grandma Tree Demon's most capable assistant second only to Xiaoqian.

Because Xiaoqian was usually more valued by Grandma, Xiaoqing harbored a great deal of jealousy toward her.

She was constantly plotting to take her place.

"Hmph~ Xiaoqian, tell me, what happened today? The yang energy over at Lanruo Temple was so intense, yet you didn't even ring the bell once."

Grandma Tree Demon suddenly spoke up.

The other female ghosts nearby hurriedly bowed and retreated to both sides.

Grandma Tree Demon was dressed in gorgeous, pure black attire edged with gold.

Though dressed as a woman, she possessed masculine facial features.

Her voice alternated between male and female, making her extraordinarily bizarre and eerie.

Nie Xiaoqian's expression had been quite normal at first.

Yet the moment Grandma Tree Demon spoke, the look of terror on her face became utterly impossible to conceal.

Among all the female ghosts present, not one did not fear Grandma Tree Demon, who held absolute power over their lives and deaths.

Fortunately, Xiaoqian was, after all, a seasoned female ghost.

She quickly regained her composure.

"Grandma, it's not that I didn't want to find a man for you, look..."

As Nie Xiaoqian spoke, she bared the wound on her abdomen to Grandma Tree Demon.

"A Taoist priest's magic! You provoked a Taoist?"

Upon seeing Nie Xiaoqian's wound, Grandma Tree Demon relaxed her previously knitted brows slightly.

If she had run into someone cultivating the Tao, then it was somewhat excusable.

"It's Yan Chixia. He is right there at Lanruo Temple. When I was about to strike, he injured me."

Everything Nie Xiaoqian said was true, yet she also omitted certain details.

To hear it told, it sounded as if Nie Xiaoqian had been eager to work hard, and her failure was entirely due to the presence of Yan Chixia, which resulted in her injury.

"So it was that troublesome fellow! Normally we mind our own business, I never expected him to suddenly make a move against you today."

Grandma Tree Demon was also well aware of Yan Chixia's formidable reputation.

Although the two had never directly crossed paths, they did indeed harbor a certain mutual wariness.

After pondering for a moment, Grandma Tree Demon instructed, "Xiaoqing, go apply medicine for your sister."

"Yes!"

Xiaoqing immediately acknowledged the order.

She quickly fetched the medicine and applied it to Nie Xiaoqian.

Though the two did not get along, with Grandma Tree Demon present, Xiaoqing still did not dare to act too presumptuously.

Watching Xiaoqing apply the medicine to Xiaoqian, Grandma Tree Demon continued, "Yan Chixia has been at Lanruo Temple for fifteen days now, and normally he hasn't stepped in to stop us from feeding on the vital essence of those men."

"Perhaps this time was just an accident..."

"Xiaoqing, tomorrow you will go along with Xiaoqian. No matter what, you must bring a man back for me."

Grandma Tree Demon intended to let her subordinate ghosts try once more.

Although Xiaoqian and Xiaoqing were decent enough,

in the end, they were merely minor ghosts under her command, to be discarded at a moment's notice.

Furthermore,

although that Yan Chixia possessed a towering reputation, his true strength remained unknown.

As a millennium-old tree spirit, she was not necessarily afraid of him!

Having issued her commands, Grandma Tree Demon flickered her wide, flowing sleeves.

A violent gale instantly whipped up inside the Waterside Chamber room!

A massive flurry of leaves spun and danced through the air!

Xiaoqian and Xiaoqing were startled, immediately raising their arms to shield their faces.

When the wind subsided slightly and they lowered their delicate hands, Grandma Tree Demon and her ghost handmaidens had all completely vanished.

"Sister Xiaoqian, it seems we'll have to act together tomorrow~"

A cold smile crossed Xiaoqing's face. Without bothering to finish applying the medicine for Nie Xiaoqian, she directly tossed the jar into Nie Xiaoqian's lap.

Nie Xiaoqian was already accustomed to this attitude of Xiaoqing's.

Indifferently picking up the medicine bottle, she let out a sweet, charming laugh. "Sister Xiaoqing, why be in such a rush? This room will be yours sooner or later."

At these words, Xiaoqian could not help but feel a pang of melancholy in her heart.

Indeed.

They were merely captive ghosts helping Grandma Tree Demon harvest the lifeblood of men.

How could they ever hope to attain a peaceful end?

If they didn't perish at the hands of righteous cultivators upholding the Tao, perhaps one day they would simply die at the hands of Grandma Tree Demon herself.

"Hmph~"

Without a retort, Xiaoqing turned and walked away.

Since the two loathed the sight of each other anyway, there was no need to force themselves to stay together.

Early the next morning,

Xu Wang and Ning Caichen of Lanruo Temple were already awake.

Unlike the movie's plot,

because he was staying at Lanruo Temple alongside Xu Wang this time, Ning Caichen felt quite a sense of security and seemed to have slept rather well.

The two simply washed up using charcoal.

Xu Wang then pulled Ning Caichen along to do broadcast gymnastics in the courtyard of the ancient temple.

He said he was going to start exercising, and he was dead serious about it.

Don't let Xu Wang's eccentric demeanor fool you.

He had always been a man of relentless execution.

After all, as the saying goes, ever since he went crazy, he felt a whole lot better!

"Come on, follow my lead!"

"The Second National Set of Middle and Primary School Broadcast Gymnastics: 'The Call of the Times'!"

"Ready! Begin!"

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! Two, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... Stretching exercise... Limb exercise... Shoulder exercise... Chest-expansion exercise...!"

Spending just over six minutes, Xu Wang led Ning Caichen through the entire routine of broadcast gymnastics.

Since it was his first time doing it, Ning Caichen appeared a bit flustered and clumsy.

No matter, the more unstandardized the broadcast gymnastics, the more standard broadcast gymnastics it truly was.

Xu Wang showered Ning Caichen with praise for this.

It was just a pity

that broadcast gymnastics could only be considered movement, not yet true physical conditioning.

Perhaps on account of yesterday's lodging fee,

Yan Chixia ultimately did not stay at Lanruo Temple, and nobody knew offhand where he had wandered off to.

This left Xu Wang feeling somewhat disappointed.

If he could have learned some real skills from a professional, he wouldn't have had to resort to broadcast gymnastics for his morning workout.

"Let's go, let's go! To the streets!"

Having finished his workout and eaten breakfast at Lanruo Temple,

Xu Wang hurriedly dragged Ning Caichen onto the road.

As they walked toward Guobei County, Xu Wang said, "You go collect your debts, and I'll take care of my business. When you finish, you can leave if you want, or head straight back to Lanruo Temple."

"Alright."

Ning Caichen nodded, as that was precisely what he had in mind.

Their primary purpose in coming to Guobei County this time was indeed to collect debts.

Yesterday, it was only because the rain had soaked the account book that his debt collection had failed.

He had rewritten a ledger himself last night and secretly cheered himself on—today he absolutely had to succeed in collecting the debt!

Yet, after the span of a night,

when Xu Wang and Ning Caichen returned to Guobei County once more, they discovered that the gazes the townspeople cast upon them had noticeably changed!

It was an expression blending astonishment with a faint hint of terror and incomprehension.

Ning Caichen didn't understand why the people of Guobei County looked so strange, but he didn't care to dwell on it too deeply.

Passing by the debtor's tavern once again, Ning Caichen waved goodbye to Xu Wang.

Xu Wang headed straight toward the pawnshop he had visited yesterday.

Since both Yan Chixia and Xiahou had vanished,

he had no choice but to initiate Plan B: sell the ancient zither from his ancestral home, and use the money to find a martial arts instructor to learn some boxing and kicking techniques.

That was the plan, at least.

Yet upon arriving at the entrance of the pawnshop, Xu Wang discovered that the shop was actually closed today.

"Old man, what's going on here?"

Xu Wang casually grabbed an old man who looked like he had a bad stomach and was rushing urgently toward the outhouse.

"Hey, hey, hey! You lunatic! Can't you see I'm in a huge hurry?!"

The old man had already bolted halfway past when Xu Wang yanked him back, leaving him bewildered and hopping mad!

"Old man, I just wanted to ask, when does this pawnshop open?"

Xu Wang wore an extremely amiable expression, yet the hand gripping the old man never slackened its grip, terrified that the fellow might run away.

Hearing that Xu Wang had grabbed him solely for this question, the old man glared furiously at him and cursed, "Such a simple matter, can't you ask someone else?! Why grab me of all people!"

At this, Xu Wang looked at the old man as if staring at an idiot and replied, "I grabbed you precisely because you looked the most rushed. Since you're in a hurry for the latrine, you're bound to give me the answer the fastest; anyone else might make me pay for the info."

"I'll be damned!"

Hearing this, the old man's eyes widened in disbelief.

It made so damn much sense!

He was utterly speechless in rebuttal!

"Here, stuff this in just in case, don't want any leaks."

Being a kind-hearted soul, Xu Wang felt a twinge of pity looking at the white-haired old man's predicament, and even produced a small wooden plug to hand over to him.