Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 489 - 147: The Little Girl Riding a Bear (2/2)

Wang Anfeng had not slaughtered a pig for a long time, but this time, he realized that his skills had not diminished at all, steady, accurate, and ruthless, straightforward and efficient.

Wang Hongyi watched with a sigh of lament, remarking, "Luckily Wang Anfeng went out to venture; otherwise, how could there be any days for me, Wang the butcher, to get by in Great Liang Village?"

Hearing this, Wang Anfeng merely smiled, his movements swift as he bled the pig.

He stayed at Wang Hongyi's house until the afternoon, had a dinner full of the flavor of Great Liang Village, and then got up to leave. As he was leaving, Wang Hongyi stuffed a large strip of pork belly into his hands, and Wang Anfeng simply expressed his thanks without refusal.

This time in Great Liang Village, he intended to stay for about a month, planning to leave only after the New Year's festival was completely over.

Although it was possible to solve eating and drinking at Shaolin Temple, and his second master's cooking tasted much better than his own,

being such a grown man, it was unlikely for him to not cook for a month. If he did so, it would inevitably draw the villagers' attention, creating a moderate-sized hassle.

The village had added some houses, and also several unfamiliar faces; some changes had occurred.

Some joyful, some sorrowful.

Home, however, was still the same as ever.

Wang Anfeng pushed the door open and entered; the house, in which he had lived for over ten years, had not changed at all since he last left.

Wang Anfeng casually hung the pork on an iron hook in the kitchen, entered the back room, then threw himself onto the bed, producing a dull thud.

A young man stretched his limbs and comfortably squinted his eyes.

Speaking of which, back when he was poorer, the bed was just a hard wooden board, uneasy to sleep on. Yet compared to those soft and comfortable accommodations outside, Wang Anfeng still found the hard bed that caused back pain more comfortable.

The young man stretched out his body.

"A bit sleepy…"

"Just a short nap."

Murmuring a couple of phrases, Wang Anfeng closed his eyes; the room gave him a very comforting feeling, and he unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.

In Shaolin Temple, Mr. Ying glanced at the sleeping Wang Anfeng, withdrew his gaze, and did not wake him.

A night of good sleep.

Wang Anfeng woke up the next day to a loud and spirited crowing of roosters.

He blinked his eyes, a bit bewildered. About three breaths later, his eyes cleared up, and Wang Anfeng's body suddenly stiffened, cold sweat forming on his forehead.

He remembered… Yesterday he seemed not to have gone to Shaolin Temple to practice, and now hearing the rooster crowing, which normally might crow a couple of times at night but definitely not this vigorously, one after another.

Upon quickly assessing that his third master, even in boredom, would not imitate a rooster crowing right by his ear, Wang Anfeng reached a conclusion.

He seemed to have stood up the ancient Taoist and Mr. Ying...

Thinking about Mr. Ying's eyes, cold as knives, and the white-haired Taoist's gently smiling lips, Wang Anfeng's scalp tingled.

But, after thinking it through, he realized that he only had the choice to return to Shaolin Temple and apologize to the two elders now.

Just like the pigs in the pen yesterday.

Feeling truly uneasy, Wang Anfeng looked at the Buddha Beads on his wrist, clenched his teeth, and said:

"I must go back to Shaolin…"

............…

Zhang Weiran's mood, to be honest, was quite delicate, but it couldn't be described as pleasant either.

He was indeed very happy that his daughter had come back, even though she had brought with her a large black bear, and even though following the black bear was a tall, white-haired old Taoist, he was still very happy.

However, the problem was that, aside from the black bear and the old Taoist, there was also a dainty little Taoist boy twiddling along behind them.

A boy, twelve years old.

One and a half years older than his own daughter.

Zhang Weiran sat at the head of the table, sipping his tea leisurely with a calm demeanor while his eyes stealthily glanced below at the docilely seated little Taoist boy.

Despite being called a Taoist boy, he was really just dressed in a Taoist robe.

Total effeminacy.

Zhang Weiran took a sip of hot tea, gathering his thoughts before speaking slowly:

"Young Taoist, we have met before, haven't we?"

The little Taoist below seemed a bit shy as he scratched his head, hopped off the stool, and respectfully saluted Zhang Weiran with a fist and palm, saying:

"Mr. Zhang is correct, the little Taoist had indeed met Mr. Zhang once, three years ago."

Zhang Weiran's hand trembled, nearly causing the tea in his cup to spill.

He stared at the charming and naive face of the little Taoist below, almost shouting in his heart.

It was indeed this brat!

That End of Year Festival three years ago was unforgettable for him in this lifetime.

His daughter had always been indifferent towards him, but she was still relatively close. However, at that End of Year Festival, Zhang Tingyun had actually gone with three men to roam the festival, including this little Taoist boy.

The old maidservants in the clan who followed along knew that the daughter was closest to a person called Wang Anfeng, and the youngest one was named Qin Xiao.

After guarding against all possibilities, he had not expected to guard against the wrong person.

A surge of energy rose in Zhang Weiran's stomach, yet being someone who had been an official for years, he restrained himself from erupting on the spot. Zhang Weiran took two deep breaths, his gaze shifting from the well-behaved Taoist boy below to the courtyard.

In the courtyard stood an elderly but tall and sturdy white-haired Taoist, his face rosy and smiling as he watched a little girl teasing a black bear.

Zhang Weiran had no recollection of this elder Taoist; when he had sent his child to the mountains that year, he had not seen him. He was unsure of which mountain or sect this elder belonged to. As for the black bear, he had a vague memory of it, recalling that it was already quite large when it accompanied them up the mountain.

Having stayed in the Taoist Sect for three years, the bear had grown even more ferocious, appearing like a wild and intimidating creature of the mountains.

It was said in Jianghu that ordinary Ninth Rank Martial Artists could wrestle lions and tigers, and run as swiftly as a strong horse. Yet observing the bear dozing in the courtyard, Zhang Weiran felt that for this bear, even a Ninth Rank Martial Artist might only serve as a meal.

Tingyun, wearing a white Taoist robe, was squatting in front of the bear, hand pale, feeding it peeled tangerine segments one by one.

Thus, in Zhang Weiran's eyes, even an Exotic Beast that could easily tear apart Ninth Rank Martial Artists had to obediently eat vegetarian, occasionally issuing a comical grimace and crazily sticking out its tongue if a sour segment was encountered.

The tongue was blood-red and intermittently revealing teeth sharp as daggers, exuding a savage wild aura. To say it was a usual black bear, Zhang Weiran absolutely could not believe it. His body paused involuntarily, preparing to call his daughter back.

However, as Tingyun passed over another sour segment, the extraordinary black bear merely continued eating obediently, its usually short tail wagging happily, reminding him of the pet dogs bred by wealthy families in the county city.

The old Taoist under the eaves turned around, smiling:

"You need not worry, layman."

"This black bear has been fed by Yun'er for three years, its ferocity has long been softened, and it will not pose any problems."

"You can rest assured."

Zhang Weiran nodded, took a sip of tea, and looked again at the bear's robust physique and sharp white fangs, feeling that the old Taoist's words were utter nonsense.

His wife, merely standing next to their daughter, was already frightened to the point of turning somewhat pale.

Great Qin, Great Yuan Era, third year, lunar December twenty-seventh.

On this day, the young miss of the Zhang family in Jinxian County returned from the Taoist Sect to visit her family, bringing back an old man who spoke nonsense like a woodsman rather than a Taoist, a black bear capable of tearing apart Ninth Rank Martial Artists, and a young Taoist boy harboring some form of intent.

This return made even the household chef pleased, for although Tingyun had always been quite cold, she was as lovely as a person drawn in paintings, cherished by everyone in the family from top to bottom.

After this visit, she seemed much more approachable, greeting everyone politely. Like a fairy descending to the mortal world, she became someone close by, losing some celestial aura but becoming more endearing.

Observing the young girl's well-behaved demeanor, several cooks felt their hearts melt; then glancing at the 'Taoist boy' Qin Xiao, who followed ten steps behind the young miss, their looks turned somewhat hostile, instinctively gripping the knives and spatulas in their hands tighter.

Qin Xiao, who initially intended to draw closer for a casual chat, wisely moved back a few steps, marking a cross over the seventeenth plan in his mind.

When dinner was laid on the table, Zhang Weiran sat at the head of the table, with his wife and daughter, content, yet the courtyard housed an additional bear, a chair occupied by a young boy inching closer to his daughter, and a slovenly old man who started drinking even before the feast began.

Zhang Weiran sipped his tea, hearing shouts of servants frightened by the bear outside, feeling somewhat melancholic.

The courtyard was rarely this lively.

Too lively.

He was almost unaccustomed to it...

............

Wang Anfeng stood with a large broom in hand, in the dilapidated courtyard.

When he returned to Great Liang Village yesterday, he checked other places as well, but the courtyard where his uncle lived remained uninhabited.

The elderly man had left quite abruptly, not even bothering to close the courtyard, turning it into a secret playground for village children over the past two years.

If not for Wang Hongyi occasionally managing it, the weeds in the courtyard might have grown waist-high.

The grass dried up in autumn; covered with a thick layer of snow in winter, the courtyard looked utterly desolate, almost resembling a wild field if not for its location within the village.

Truly, it was no small concern.

Wang Anfeng sighed inwardly, clutching the large broom, sweeping the accumulated snow in the courtyard. Despite the snow and weeds making it appear desolate, slowly, the courtyard began to show its original appearance, exactly as Wang Anfeng remembered it.

In his youth, he didn't know how many times he had sat here, listening to his uncle tell stories.

Stories of battlefields, stories of the world.

Tales of the bizarre and bloody Jianghu that were nevertheless thrilling and captivating.

He was now in that Jianghu.

Yet, the old man was no longer in this courtyard.

Wang Anfeng started sweeping from the entrance, moving slowly and meticulously, unwilling to overlook any corner.

Like the methodical process of slaughtering a pig, he was familiar with this task, having cleaned the courtyard for the old man every year since he was a child.

After cleaning the last of the steps, Wang Anfeng exhaled, looked at the now tidy courtyard, stood silently for a long time, forlorn, sighed, placed the broom aside, and muttered:

"It's time to leave..."

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.

With his back to the worn house, the young man slowly walked forward.

After seventeen steps, descending the steps, passing the large tree, walking past the slightly chipped stone table, he suddenly heard a faint snoring sound.

It came from behind him.

Wang Anfeng's body stiffened.

PS: Here comes the second update today...