Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 494 - 152 - Wine at the Foot of the Mountain (1/2)

Wang Anfeng had never expected to suddenly encounter Zhang Tingyun on Mount Great Liang.

He was quite fond of this little girl who was very close to him, and he was highly protective of her.

Thus, when he realized that the young man in the Taoist robe was none other than Qin Fei's brother Qin Xiao, he instinctively stepped forward, raising his right arm, and directly shielded the little girl behind him.

Wang Anfeng had a good memory.

He still remembered that this youth, tainted with the air of rouge, had harbored inappropriate thoughts towards Zhang Tingyun, who was still just a little girl, three years ago.

Qin Xiao's lips twitched slightly.

The words he hadn't yet spoken died in his belly.

From those eyes full of wariness, he seemed to see yesterday's Zhang Weiran, seated high in his hall. One was the father of Zhang Tingyun; the other, a remote youth from Great Liang Village. These two fundamentally disconnected individuals stood united in this moment, their spirits in perfect agreement.

And beside this front line, there were three generations of the Taoist Sect; their cultivation spanning from unranked up to the peak of Middle Third Rank, along with three hundred sword-bearing disciples. Additionally, there was the brawny cook from Zhang's household, wielding a kitchen knife and a spatula.

This path was as difficult as reaching the blue heavens.

The old Taoist, holding his wine jug and gulping down the wine, watched a man and a bear now docile and submissive. After taking a sip, he burst out laughing, proclaiming that in the world, everything has its nemesis. Qin Xiao of the Taoist Sect, who hardly listened to anyone, now looked just like frostbitten eggplant.

He felt quite pleased watching this.

Wang Anfeng had long seen this old man with graying hair and a face as ruddy as a baby's. He shifted his gaze, and pulling Zhang Tingyun behind him, away from Qin Xiao's side, he stepped forward to salute with cupped fists and said,

"Senior, are you Tingyun's mentor?"

The old Taoist casually hung his wine gourd at his waist, returned the salute, and then waved his hand, chuckling,

"Oh, what mentor?"

"This old Taoist is merely a caretaker of children."

"With my limited Taoist skills, how could I possibly teach this child anything."

Amidst the laughter, before Wang Anfeng could speak again, an angry neigh of a steed and the muted roar of a bear erupted behind them, causing the dry branches to tremble.

Turning around, they saw the scrawny red horse that Wang Anfeng had knocked over and scared half to death earlier had now leapt up and was neighing furiously, as if in a rage.

With its large hooves raised, it smashed down squarely on the nearby bear.

The huge bear had no power to fight back.

Qin Xiao watched, dumbfounded.

He had been briefly distracted just now and had only seen the bear approaching the red horse, seemingly ready to assert its dominance by thumping a nearby tree trunk with its paw, but in a blink, the situation had reversed.

Wang Anfeng held his forehead and sighed.

This horse's temper was even more volatile than he'd imagined.

Since their arrival on the mountain, Zhang Tingyun had been following closely behind him, her palms clutching his shirt hem just as tightly as she did when she was a child.

Thinking she was somewhat frightened, Wang Anfeng raised his hand to gently rub the little girl's black hair, preparing to order the temperamental horse to stop.

The old Taoist put down his wine gourd, stared blankly at the red horse for a moment, and momentarily forgot to continue drinking.

Then, turning to Wang Anfeng, he examined him from head to toe and said,

"Lad,"

"does your horse need to use staff techniques when it fights, no, when it beats a bear?"

Wang Anfeng's face stiffened a bit; looking at the scrawny horse again, he noticed the hoof strikes were clearly derived from staff techniques, comprising a few moves repeated adeptly enough to leave the bear in dire straits.

The strikes were sharp like spear thrusts, and the pounding was fierce, exhibiting a mastery not necessarily found even among martial masters in martial arts schools.

Wang Anfeng felt a real headache beginning.

Master...

It's really just a horse, please spare it, no…

Spare me.

Clenching his teeth, he slid three Copper Coins from his sleeve. Wang Anfeng summoned a trace of Thunder Vigor, and flung the hidden weapons, but only heard a crisp sound. The red horse that had been provoked into ferocity by a bear's paw stiffened, its red mane bristling, and had to stop its assault.

Seizing the opportunity, the bear clumsily scrambled away.

The three Copper Coins twirled on the ground, lining up in a row.

With the senior by his side, Wang Anfeng felt it improper to retrieve them. He simply noted the surroundings, then turned to look at the ageless old Taoist, his thoughts racing to find a way to gloss over the incident.

The elderly man was eyeing the skinny red horse, his eyes filled with curiosity.

It wasn't until Wang Anfeng cleared his throat lightly that he reluctantly withdrew his gaze and looked at Wang Anfeng. The Taoist thought for a moment and, in a tone that suggested negotiation, said:

"Young brother, who trained this horse?"

"How about I discuss with you training that bumbling creature too?"

"The price is negotiable. If not, the Scripture Pavilion of the Taoist Sect has quite a few secret manuals. I know my way around there, and one of these days I could sneak a few out for you."

The old Taoist spoke in a warm and familiar tone, like an old man from the village selling cabbages, while pointing at the disgruntled-looking black bear, indicating that the bumbling creature he looked down on was that bear, which ordinary people might see as a mountain monster.

Wang Anfeng opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

The young man felt it necessary to have a serious talk with his third master.

Looking at the black bear, which was putting on a face of appeasement, he could almost see, three months later, its face turning defiant, and its bear paws, if given training, might well mimic the moves of the Shaolin Temple Vajra Palm.

He imagined a beast, larger than a normal bear, proudly roaring, raising a paw in the gesture of Vajra Worships Heaven, following up with Buddha's Light Roof Covering, and finishing with Myriad Images Prajna, declaring all is void.

That was almost a nightmare.

Ignoring the large black bear who was swinging his 'little tail' so briskly it furled the wind, Wang Anfeng solemnly withdrew his gaze and shook his head, saying:

"Predecessor, this horse was merely a fluke."

"There truly is no technique for taming."

The old Taoist clicked his tongue, expressing his disappointment:

"Does that mean it's undoable?"

Wang Anfeng firmly shook his head.

Spare me.

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No, spare this bear...

While myriad thoughts surged instinctively within him, in the next moment they were reined in, and Wang Anfeng's expression turned calm, or something a bit like, 'let's all pretend nothing happened', as he turned around and said:

"Predecessor, you came from afar and even took the trouble to climb up here to find me."

"I don't know if there's anything else you need on this mountain. If there isn't any pressing matter."

"Why not descend the mountain and have some light tea?"

Seeing Wang Anfeng's reaction, the elder could only regretfully set aside his idea, muttering a couple of times about how convenient the Taoist Sect's secret manuals really were, only to see Wang Anfeng completely ignore these words, he sighed, thought for a moment, and asked:

"Is there any wine?"

Wang Anfeng's home naturally had wine.

He himself did not drink, but couldn't resist an elder who was a heavy drinker.

During the holidays, he had prepared quite a lot of wine. The old Taoist, hearing there was wine to be drunk freely, was very pleased and led the way, while Wang Anfeng, holding onto Zhang Tingyun, followed behind, asking about experiences over the past three years.

The skinny red horse followed behind Wang Anfeng.

It seemed to have given the matter considerable thought, even stepping back half a step.

For some reason, the normally cranky horse was exceptionally well-behaved when facing Zhang Tingyun.

When the little girl touched its mane, it even stuck out its tongue and licked the palm of her hand, a privilege that even Wang Anfeng never had, as for the third master...

Wang Anfeng thought about it and then dismissed the thought.

After all, his third master Hong Luoyu had not met the most basic requirement of this behavior, no matter how good their relationship was, it was helpless.

Qin Xiao and the black bear listlessly followed at the back.

The black bear seemed to have swollen a bit more.

They say it is easy to ascend and hard to descend a mountain, but for those who practiced martial arts, there really was no difference. The group of several people took even less time to return to Wang Anfeng's somewhat worn small courtyard than it had taken them to ascend, but at this time, the courtyard was not empty.

An elderly man with wild hair and beard like a lion sat under the eaves, his feet beside several jars of wine.

Li Qidao's gaze shifted from Wang Anfeng and landed on the similarly white-haired old Taoist, seemingly with a sneer.

Yet the old Taoist was in a good temper, just smiling and nodding at him, seemingly quite familiar.

PS: Today's first update…