Chapter 15: Prenatal Education for Raising a Prodigal Child

After leaving the Hengxue Sect, Xie Jing had the intention to compare himself with Meng Baixu. The Xie family also had money. How could he let Meng Baixu humiliate him with gold leaves?

“Today, all food and drink here will be paid for by this gongzi.”

Xie Jing pointed at the entire lamb stall, as well as the two nearby wheat-food stalls.

When the nearby diners heard this, they all raised their heads and flattered him. “Gongzi is generous!”

There were even guests from farther away squeezing over, trying to coax Xie Jing into giving them some money. They surrounded him like tigers and wolves catching the scent of meat.

Xie Jing was immensely pleased with himself. He walked up to Meng Baixu and said to the wonton and dumpling vendor who was reheating buns, “All of these—”

“Xie Jing.”

Situ Nanchun turned back and reminded him after hearing this, “When you are away from home, you represent the face of the Xie family. Senior Xie was frugal by nature. You must not disgrace your family tradition.”

Since childhood, Xie Jing had respected this eldest uncle of his, Xie Tongchen, very much. Bringing up Xie Tongchen was equivalent to reciting a tightening spell, so he obediently settled down.

Seeing this, the people surrounding Xie Jing scattered regretfully. Some who were greedy and unsatisfied even cursed softly, “Prodigal son.”

Prodigal son?

Meng Baixu had sharp ears. His beautiful, cold face immediately revealed the expression of someone who had “benefited greatly from your words.”

He had almost forgotten that he wanted to give birth to a prodigal son!

This sect leader had to become extravagant by nature and do proper prenatal education.

His dark, round eyes swept around everyone present and found that the ordinary vendor looked the most pleasing to the eye.

Meng Baixu was somewhat surprised, then he understood. It seemed this sect leader had already reached the point of hating goodness as if it were his enemy. Even if every cultivator present had upright brows and proper eyes, as long as they were disciples of the Hengxue Sect, they could not compare to a dumpling seller.

“You. What is your name?”

“Li Changye.”

“Another surname Li?”

Meng Baixu muttered. Before he went to the Hengxue Sect, the Li Hengnian he met was also surnamed Li. He had sold steamed buns and soy milk. Was selling wheat foods the traditional craft of the old Li family?

Meng Baixu knocked on the table. “From now on, be my cook. One thousand taels a month.”

See, cub? Being extravagant is that simple.

Shizun was not here anyway, and the dry rations would run out sooner or later. Hiring a cook meant he could eat one meal of dry rations every day and have someone cook two meals for him, so the food could last a little longer.

“One thousand taels?!”

Xie Jing stared at the unremarkable cook. “You have money with nowhere to spend it?”

Meng Baixu said, “Yes.”

Xie Jing repeated Situ Nanchun’s words. “Meng Baixu, when you are away from home, you represent the Sect Master’s face. The Sect Master has no desires and no wants. You must not disgrace your sect.”

Meng Baixu’s goal was precisely to disgrace the sect. “Doesn’t the Sect Master have his own face? Why does he need me to represent him?”

Xie Jing said, “Situ-shixiong, look at him!”

Situ Nanchun could only mediate. “Da-shixiong, what Xie Jing said is not without reason. Besides, according to the market price, one tael a month is enough.”

Xie Jing said, “It’s not like he’s the Sect Master cooking. Is he worth one thousand taels?”

Meng Baixu said, “I just want to give him one thousand taels.”

Not to be outdone, Xie Jing said, “Then I’ll also hire a cook for one thousand taels.”

Situ Nanchun’s head hurt.

Fortunately, the cook was a sensible adult and took the initiative to step forward. “I only set up my stall outside the city. I do not become a servant.”

Meng Baixu’s brows furrowed slightly. Why did every single one of them refuse to move? Had their feet grown roots?

“Two thousand taels.”

Li Changye, who was actually Wen Tingshu’s puppet, lowered his head and said, “My apologies.”

It was not that Wen Tingshu did not want to follow Meng Baixu, but that he could not.

The puppet was only a mortal body. At critical moments, it could not help and would only become a burden. Moreover, it was an extremely yin object and easily attracted the world’s malice.

When he used the identity of Li Hengnian, he had set up a breakfast stall in Yongzhou City. It was rare that an entire month had passed peacefully.

At that time, the carefree little gongzi had just entered the city and ate at Li Hengnian’s breakfast stall for three consecutive days.

On the morning of the third day, a woman angrily carried over her dead grandson and made a scene, saying, “This morning, my grandson ate meat buns from your stall, and in less than a shichen, he was vomiting and having diarrhea. Give me back my grandson’s life! Give me back my grandson!”

As she spoke, two strong men beside her began smashing the stall.

With one glance, Wen Tingshu could tell that the dead child had drowned. The woman wanted a scapegoat and wanted to extort money.

Such was the world’s malice toward puppets. As long as someone needed a scapegoat, mortals’ evil thoughts would instantly entangle him.

Just as Wen Tingshu was preparing to end this puppet’s work in the mortal world, Meng Baixu suddenly stood up and said with a smile, “I’ve eaten breakfast at his stall for three days straight. Buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, steamed buns—I ate everything. Why am I fine, but only your grandson died?”

The two strong men were fiercer than the other. “Don’t meddle! He poisoned my nephew! Be careful, or we’ll report you to the authorities too!”

Meng Baixu said, “He isn’t the murderer.”

The strong man said, “You say he isn’t and that makes it so—”

“Because I’m the murderer.”

Meng Baixu pushed Wen Tingshu, telling him to hurry and leave, while he crossed his arms.

“Your whole family are thieves and whores. I thought it was a pity for this child to reincarnate into your family, so I drowned him. Everyone, go up and look. Wasn’t he drowned?”

“You—you—”

The woman was frightened. She had wrapped her grandson tightly. How could he tell that the child had drowned?!

“He really drowned. His clothes are still soaked!”

Seeing Meng Baixu dressed in fine silks, the woman switched to extorting him. “Everyone heard it! So it was you who drowned my grandson. Come with me to see the authorities!”

Meng Baixu sneered. “Your child just died, and I spent the whole morning sitting here eating. Everyone saw it. What does it have to do with me? You still want to extort me?”

“How could you possibly spend the whole morning eating here?”

“Because Master Li’s food is delicious.”

The onlookers also understood that this family wanted to extort money. As if only now reacting, someone said, “Master Li has sold buns here for a month. The skin is thin, the filling is generous, and each only costs one wen. He often helps beggars too. You really have no conscience, trying to extort him!”

Meng Baixu pulled Wen Tingshu and ran. “Come with me. Make buns for me.”

Along the way, Meng Baixu always helped him. If things could be explained, he explained. If they could not, he simply accepted everything and said he did it.

“How can there be an unlucky person like you? The people outside are too bad. There are more good people in the Hengxue Sect. It’ll be better once we get there.”

Meng Baixu said he was going to Hengxue Mountain to seek a master, and Li Hengnian agreed to go with him and open a bun shop at the foot of the mountain.

In the end, they did not make it all the way to Hengxue Mountain together. Li Hengnian and Meng Baixu provoked a local tyrant, who sent archers after them. In the crisis, Li Hengnian blocked an arrow for Meng Baixu.

The arrow was poisoned.

The puppet died, and one strand of Wen Tingshu’s hair turned white.

At that time, they were already at the border between the mortal realm and the cultivation world. After Li Hengnian died, Meng Baixu pretended to be injured and fled. Once he lured dozens of people to the cultivation world, he directly began killing, leaving none alive.

The puppet could not follow Meng Baixu. It would only bring him trouble.

Wen Tingshu only wanted to make Meng Baixu one hot meal at every place he stopped.

***

Meng Baixu failed to be extravagant and was somewhat annoyed.

Xie Jing immediately came over, itching to be scolded. “See? Your reputation still isn’t loud enough. If it were my eldest uncle here, the people willing to be his cook would line up from the east of the city to the west.”

His eldest aunt had told him to mention his eldest uncle in front of Meng Baixu and observe his attitude.

Wen Tingshu: “…”

Don’t provoke him.

Meng Baixu said, “Xie Tongchen was a hypocrite!”

Xie Jing bristled. He did not allow anyone to insult the eldest uncle he respected most.

“You’re the hypocrite!”

Those three words were harmless to Meng Baixu. They even counted as praise. He smiled and continued cursing, “Xie Tongchen fished for fame and reputation.”

Xie Jing said, “You’re the one fishing for fame and reputation!”

Meng Baixu curved his lips, completely unharmed. “Your eldest uncle, your father, your aunt, your whole family are sanctimonious.”

Xie Jing was also angry. He discovered that Meng Baixu was extremely thick-skinned, and attacking him was useless. So he attacked his elders too. “Your father, your mother, your whole family are full of evil!”

Meng Baixu said calmly, “Yes.”

Seeing that Meng Baixu did not care even when his father and mother were cursed, Xie Jing had a flash of inspiration. “And your Shizun deceives the world and steals his reputation!”

Meng Baixu gripped his sword. “Say that again.”

Xie Jing said, “You’re anxious now. Your Shizun deceives the wor—ow.”

Meng Baixu beat Xie Jing with the hilt of his sword. Cursing anyone was fine, but cursing his Shizun was deliberately asking to be hit.

Wen Tingshu: “…”

Situ Nanchun had already learned to pretend he was deaf. He smoothed things over. “Stop arguing. Pack up. We’re going into the city to stay.”

Meng Baixu stood up with a swish and stared at Li Changye. “You won’t earn three thousand taels either?”

Wen Tingshu said, “I have to wait here for someone.”

Meng Baixu gripped his sword with a small thunderstorm of anger and walked ahead first.

Seriously. He could not even spend money properly.

If he could not give birth to a prodigal son, this stubborn little stall vendor would bear the primary responsibility.

Once they entered the city gate, the inside was even more prosperous than outside. Restaurants stood one after another. Situ Nanchun led the team to a place called Lingshan Inn.

“This is the Hengxue Sect’s property. In the future, if you pass through Yongzhou City while traveling, stay here. Just show your Hengxue Sect token.”

Meng Baixu wanted to stay at the Fuguang Sect’s inn across the street. It was larger and more comfortable, and there was even a storyteller in the main hall.

Situ Nanchun said, “No private actions allowed. Otherwise, I will send a message to the Sect Master and report it.”

Was he secretly pointing that at me? Meng Baixu raised a brow. The mountain is high and the Sect Master is far away. What can you do to me? Once you all fall asleep tonight, I’ll sneak out.

***

At the hour of Hai.

The night was deep and quiet inside a dim, hidden underground teahouse.

The storyteller slapped the table, spittle flying.

“Last time, we spoke of the cold Shizun being imprisoned in the City of Darkness by his wicked disciple. Outside, three thousand sect disciples searched like mad, unable to find Shizun’s whereabouts.”

When the story reached the exciting part, the storyteller’s voice grew lower and lower, as if someone were gripping his throat.

Dozens of people sat in the room, all of them fully focused.

Respecting teachers and honoring the Dao was still mainstream in the mortal world. This kind of rebellious storybook could only be found in underground teahouses.

Before Meng Baixu became a disciple, he had already discovered this precious place and often patronized it. Later, after he met the overly upright Li Hengnian, he had stopped coming.

Returning to an old haunt, Meng Baixu gained new insight into the topic of imprisoning one’s Shifu, and he could not wait to patronize it again.

He secretly climbed down from the window of Lingshan Inn, familiar with the route.

Behind him, a shadow quietly landed and followed.

Before long, Meng Baixu slipped into the lively underground teahouse, found a good seat, ordered a pot of tea, and casually tipped two pieces of broken silver.

The disciple was treated as an honored guest, but Wen Tingshu, who was following him, was not so lucky.

He did not have enough money, so he could only stand at the very back, barely able to see the back of his disciple’s focused head.

The storyteller’s dramatic voice drilled into his ears, and the content was even more unbearable to hear.

Wen Tingshu frowned. How could Lanshe come to this sort of place? Who brought him here?

Unfortunately, he could not appear and take Meng Baixu away. Wen Tingshu could only watch from afar, completely unable to understand what was so fun about this.

Brilliant!

Meng Baixu felt as if he had found a soulmate. A cowardly, old-fashioned old thing like Wen Tingshu should be locked up by him and made to reflect properly.

He sat there the whole night, even ordering another pot of tea. In the end, when the storyteller had to rest and the audience dispersed, Meng Baixu was still unsatisfied.

Meng Baixu did not follow the crowd out. Instead, he turned sideways to avoid them, his eyes fixed on the direction where the storyteller had left. His gaze flashed, and he quietly followed.

Wen Tingshu watched helplessly as his disciple intercepted the storyteller in a shabby alley.

“Robbery. Don’t move.”

What was he trying to do?

The storyteller was so frightened that his voice trembled. “Great-great hero, spare my life.”

Meng Baixu curved his lips wickedly. “I ask you, who wrote the storybook?”

The storyteller said, “I-I bought it from a bookstore!”

Meng Baixu said, “Not telling the truth?”

The storyteller said, “I wrote it myself!”

Meng Baixu said, “It was quite exciting.”

Thinking he had encountered a hero who could not tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes, the storyteller hurriedly said, “I won’t dare again!”

Meng Baixu was confused. “Why wouldn’t you dare? I want to ask you to help me write books. How many chapters can you write in a day?”

The storyteller trembled. “O-one?”

Meng Baixu said, “Hm?”

The storyteller said, “Two!”

Meng Baixu said, “Too few. Write ten chapters a day. If you can’t finish writing, dictate it and have someone else write it down. Aside from eating and sleeping, you must write. Understand?”

The storyteller said, “Understood, understood.”

Meng Baixu said, “My Shizun loves reading. He has already read every book under heaven. You have to write something new, something suitable for an elderly person to read. Understand? For each storybook, I’ll give you one hundred taels.”

In the dark night, Wen Tingshu’s expression froze.

Lanshe had entered this dangerous place for his sake.

He had misunderstood Lanshe.

The storyteller finally understood that he had not met a robber, but a noble patron.

“I understand. I’ll start writing immediately!”

Meng Baixu was still dissatisfied. “Can’t you write one book a day? My Shizun reads very quickly.”

The storyteller looked bitter. “Great immortal, spare me.”

Meng Baixu pulled out one thousand taels from his pocket. “This is the deposit. Once you finish one book, send it to Lingshan Inn. They’ll naturally know who to give it to.”

“If you slack off or play tricks, I’ll hang you on the demonic sect’s bounty list!”

The storyteller said, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. I will definitely write properly.”

After finishing his threats and temptations, Meng Baixu released the storyteller. “Go.”

When he had searched for books in the library, he discovered that Shizun had already read them all and remembered the location of every book.

Wen Tingshu refused to go out, so this sect leader could only search all under heaven for strange books for him. But the books in the library were far too complete, so Meng Baixu could only hire someone to write books.

This storyteller’s stories were full of twists and strange turns. They could serve to relieve boredom. Shizun would definitely like them.

Satisfied, Meng Baixu returned to sleep. After living on Hengxue Mountain for so long, he had lost the habit of closing windows. He left the window wide open and fell deeply asleep with the wind blowing in.

He slept in a daze until his nose caught the familiar fragrance of steamed buns fresh from the pot. Meng Baixu woke up from hunger all at once, thinking he was still on Hengxue Mountain.

“Shizun, I want to eat dumplings today.”

Meng Baixu poked his head out from the quilt, said this, then burrowed back in.

Downstairs, Wen Tingshu, who had set up the stall early, froze with his fingers on the steamer lid. He packed two baskets of buns in oil paper and handed them to Situ Nanchun, who had come to buy breakfast.

Once there were no more customers, Wen Tingshu lowered his eyes and examined this load of breakfast.

He had thought Meng Baixu would want to eat buns this morning. Was it still too late to change business?

Meng Baixu dozed for a little longer, then suddenly rolled out of bed and climbed to the window to look.

It was not Shizun.

It was not even the small vendor from last night.

So Wen Tingshu’s wheat foods were actually this common?

Disappointment spread through him. Meng Baixu took out a steamed bun, leaned against the window railing, and slowly took a bite.

Every bite made Wen Tingshu feel as if thorns were pricking his back.

Why did he not buy freshly made food?

Lanshe seemed to have lost weight.