Chapter 25: Going to Hengxue Mountain to Find Wen Tingshu

The one-and-a-half-year-old little masters had their sleeves rolled up. Their tender lotus-root arms and round cheeks were streaked with smears of dough.

Every time Meng Baixu broke open a steamed bun and the stone inside fell out, the two babies who knew how to steam buns would simultaneously reveal expressions expectant of praise.

Those stones were treasures they had dug out one by one while playing in the sandpit! Meng Nangnang was responsible for wrapping them into the dough, while Meng Wowo was responsible for pinching the dough into the shape of small steamed buns.

Meng Baixu silently stuffed the steamed bun he had broken open and removed the stone from into his mouth.

“Baby made it very delicious.”

At that moment, he seemed to understand Wen Tingshu’s feelings when he had eaten the bamboo-worm porridge Meng Baixu made.

Meng Wowo and Meng Nangnang curved their eyes at the same time. Their four glass-jewel-like eyes were clear and bright.

“Tomorrow, Baby will make little steamed buns again!”

Meng Baixu said, “But you can’t put stones inside the steamed buns. If someone eats them, their teeth will fall out.”

The food sent by the demonic sect should have been carefully inspected once by Zhongli Yun and once by Wen Tingshu. Wen Tingshu probably would not close his eyes and gnaw straight into it, right?

Wen Tingshu wouldn’t think he had deliberately teased him, would he?

…Even if he did tease him a little, so what?

Meng Wowo was somewhat disappointed. “Can’t put stones?”

Meng Nangnang also stared at Daddy. A steamed bun without stones was not a good steamed bun.

Wen Tingshu’s unique gold-coin-falling method had really suited the taste of one-and-a-half-year-old children.

Only children liked blind boxes. Adults did not like them, and stubborn old things accepted them even less.

Meng Baixu said, “You can’t, oh.”

“Oh!”

The two little cubs were disappointed.

“Can we still make little steamed buns tomorrow?” Meng Nangnang asked.

Meng Wowo said, “Tomorrow, make cornmeal buns.”

Meng Nangnang said, “Little steamed buns.”

Meng Baixu said, “Neither. Tomorrow, you’ll study meditation with Elder Grandpa.”

For a cultivator, a firm temperament was an especially important condition for breakthroughs. Wowo and Nangnang had already reached late Golden Core. In terms of cultivation, they could break through at any time. In terms of temperament, however, they were still far behind.

He Shangxian specially chose the most suitable meditation spot for the saint babies—a lake.

Two wooden basins floated on the lake. If the little cubs were placed inside them, they would not be able to run away.

“Bend your knees and cross your legs. Place both hands on your knees.”

He Shangxian taught from the shore, sitting upright and proper. “Close your eyes. This is not for sleeping, but for using your yuan core to sense your surroundings.”

The little cubs copied him quite well, but then discovered that their legs were too short. No matter what, they could not arrange them properly. They could only close their eyes in confusion.

He Shangxian said, “Remember, you cannot fall asleep.”

Wowo and Nangnang said, “Okay, oh.”

A quarter of an hour later, Meng Nangnang fell asleep. With a pa-ji, he spread out like a lump of dough at the bottom of the basin. The wooden basin rocked on the lake like the most comfortable cradle.

Meng Wowo quietly opened his eyes.

Mm. Little brother had fallen asleep.

He Shangxian opened his eyes to check on them. Seeing that only one little dumpling was obediently meditating, and with three meters between them, he suddenly had some difficulty telling Wowo and Nangnang apart.

“Are you Wowo?”

Meng Wowo’s eyes were innocent. “Grandpa, I’m not Wowo.”

He Shangxian did not suspect him. Looking at the other sleeping baby, his heart softened at once.

Forget it, forget it. As long as they accumulated one shichen in total, that was enough. If they wanted to sleep in the middle, then let them sleep.

The two saint babies were rather well-behaved too. They took turns sleeping. Every time he checked on them, the awake baby was not the same one.

This was the benefit of twins. The brothers took turns standing guard, neither tired nor lax.

Half a day later, Liu Xishi came over carrying two bowls of tofu pudding to fill the children’s stomachs.

Great Elder, really. Just because he had undergone bigu himself, he no longer cared whether the children were hungry.

As soon as he came, he saw one cub awake and one cub asleep. He said to He Shangxian, “Your students are sleeping, and you don’t care?”

He Shangxian said indulgently, “They only sleep for a while. After a quarter of an hour, they obediently climb back up to meditate.”

Liu Xishi said, “Why does it look to me like Nangnang has been sleeping the whole time?”

He Shangxian said, “I called names.”

Liu Xishi teased, “There wasn’t any case of someone answering under another name?”

He Shangxian looked at Liu Xishi with disdain. A dirty-hearted person saw dirt in everything. He actually suspected the saint babies.

“He’s only one and a half. Can he lie?”

Meng Wowo guiltily pursed his lips.

But Nangnang wanted to sleep, oh.

Liu Xishi said, “Meng Nangnang, wake up and eat tofu pudding.”

“Baby’s awake!”

Meng Nangnang immediately climbed up. He moved too fast and nearly overturned the wooden basin. He hurriedly pressed all four limbs against the basin to steady its swaying.

***

That month, Meng Baixu woke from a dream in shock.

He had a dream, but it also did not feel like a dream. It was as if, in the unseen world, some consciousness was telling him: Meng Fuguang was not dead.

And his father was trapped somewhere, waiting for him to rescue him.

It had to be a secret realm!

Meng Baixu had never had such a strong intuition before. Perhaps more than ten years ago, when Meng Fuguang and Xie Tongchen fought their final battle, Meng Fuguang, unable to defeat Xie Tongchen, had wanted to drag the other man into a secret realm with him. In the end, the original owner of that secret realm had been too strong, and he became trapped inside.

Back when Meng Baixu wanted to sleep with Wen Tingshu but could not beat him, had he not subconsciously borrowed the Renxu Secret Realm too?

The Renxu Secret Realm was a recorded secret realm, known and with controllable risks. But unknown secret realms existed in the world.

The Fuguang Sect leader was not omnipotently lying on a treasure hoard of secret realms earning money. Entering a large secret realm for the first time had always carried danger. The Great Elder and the others had not allowed Meng Baixu to inherit his father’s business.

Meng Fuguang and Xie Tongchen had disappeared at Xiling Mountain. If they had entered a secret realm, it must also be near Xiling Mountain.

Meng Baixu decided to personally make a trip.

This was a major matter. Meng Baixu immediately gathered the demonic sect higher-ups to discuss it.

The Great Elder, the Left Protector, Liu Xishi, Shi Wumi… they were all Meng Fuguang’s old subordinates. Hearing this possibility, they were extremely emotional.

“Father and son are connected by heart. Since Sect Leader has this intuition, you won’t be satisfied unless you search. I’ll accompany Sect Leader to Xiling Mountain,” Liu Xishi said.

Shi Wumi said, “I’ll go too.”

He Shangxian said, “But Wowo and Meng Nangnang are only a little over one year old. They have never been separated from Sect Leader. I’m afraid they’ll cry.”

Meng Baixu said, “There’s no need for this many people. I alone can go investigate. You all stay in the sect and watch Wowo and Nangnang.”

The Left Protector said, “But—”

Meng Baixu said, “I’m only going to look first. As long as I don’t enter the secret realm, there won’t be any danger.”

He would find the entrance to the secret realm, look at the situation inside from the entrance, and then make plans.

“As for Wowo and Nangnang, I’ll talk to them.”

At times like this, the benefit of twins appeared. The two of them could play with each other.

Meng Baixu planned to set out ten days later, leaving enough time for the little cubs to accept it.

“Ten days from now, I’m going out to buy Wowo and Nangnang the most delicious sesame naan. You two stay properly at home and listen to Grandpa.”

Wowo and Nangnang had no concept of “ten days from now.” They only knew Daddy would not leave for a while, so they nodded.

Understood, oh.

The next day, Meng Baixu continued the announcement.

“Nine days from now, I’m going out to find Wowo and Nangnang the most delicious raisin naan to reward you for cultivating seriously. It’s something you haven’t eaten before.”

Wowo and Nangnang licked their mouths. It sounded very delicious, oh. They started to look forward to it a little.

He kept announcing it until the day before. Meng Baixu said to the little cubs, “You two stay home and make steamed buns and cornmeal buns. Make two hundred and seventy each. When I return with the most delicious sweet naan, trade them with me. Otherwise, I won’t let you eat.”

Two hundred and seventy?

Meng Wowo and Meng Nangnang took out all their fingers and toes and still could not count that high. The task was extremely difficult. Their two little faces became unusually solemn as they nodded.

“Okay, oh.”

Meng Baixu had to attend a meeting with the higher-ups, so he placed a basin of flour in front of the little cubs.

“Start making them now. You cannot put stones inside. Steamed buns must look like steamed buns.”

The two little cubs skillfully poured water into the flour basin and crouched beside the big basin, stirring and stirring with four little hands.

After a while, Meng Wowo thought aloud, “Where is Daddy going?”

Meng Nangnang said, “Going to buy naan.”

Meng Wowo asked, “Where is that, oh?”

Meng Nangnang shook his head. “Don’t know.”

The two little cubs looked at each other. They wanted to secretly listen to Daddy and Elder Grandpa talk. That way, they would know where Daddy was going.

But looking at the half-mixed flour basin, they were also troubled. They did not want Daddy to come back and see they had not properly made steamed buns.

The steamed buns and eavesdropping both could not be neglected.

Meng Wowo said, “Wowo will go listen. Nangnang will make steamed buns.”

Meng Nangnang said, “Nangnang will listen. Wowo will make steamed buns.”

The two little cubs refused to yield to each other and finally decided they would each listen to one sentence.

The adults were discussing matters behind a door.

Meng Wowo sneakily lay at the doorway and pricked up his ears.

Shi Wumi said, “It is perfectly natural for a son to look for his father. I have no objection.”

Look for Father?

In the next second, Meng Nangnang squeezed up.

It was his turn.

Meng Wowo ran back to knead dough.

Meng Nangnang pressed his baby-fat cheek against the door, squeezing it into an egg pancake, and heard Liu Xishi-gege say, “Sect Leader going to Hengxue Mountain—”

Going to Hengxue Mountain?

Meng Wowo returned and pulled his little brother away. It was Wowo’s turn.

Meng Nangnang ran back to knead dough.

Liu Xishi said, “…went undercover alone for three months and has enough ability to adapt to changes. Great Elder, you don’t need to worry too much. Sect Leader going to our own secret realm will definitely be easier than going to the righteous path’s capital.”

The moment Meng Wowo pressed close, he heard two words: “have fish!”

The Great Elder said, “I’m still a little worried. How about finding Wen Tingshu…”

If the former Sect Leader was trapped in a secret realm, then obviously, the little Sect Leader would not have a good solution either. He Shangxian placed his hope in Wen Tingshu’s profound, unfathomable cultivation.

Meng Wowo’s eyes showed confusion.

Find Wen Tingshu?

Meng Baixu said, “Wen Tingshu won’t come down the mountain. Why find him? What if he wants to avenge his good brother Xie Tongchen?”

Inside the secret realm, Meng Fuguang must have been stronger than Xie Tongchen. Maybe he had killed him inside.

When they opened the secret realm and saw Xie Tongchen’s corpse, would Wen Tingshu stand up for his brother or not?

Moreover, Meng Baixu had given birth to twin cubs, and who knew how much of Wen Tingshu’s cultivation had been absorbed. Most likely, Wen Tingshu could no longer split open the Renxu Secret Realm with one sword like before. He might even be injured by the secret realm.

Shi Wumi said, “Righteous and evil are different. Looking for Wen Tingshu to save the former Sect Leader is not as useful as asking him to make some naan for the little Sect Leader, so the little Sect Leader can eat and have more strength to find someone…”

Make naan flatbread?

Eat it and have strength?

Inside the room, the adults discussed arrangements.

Outside the room, the little cubs were eavesdropping busily. They fought over who got to lean against the door, neither yielding to the other, like little cats fighting for a spot by the fire. Before one could finish listening to a sentence, the other would push his face away and press his own ear to the door.

If one cub’s eavesdropping efficiency was eighty, then two cubs combined had an efficiency of zero.

After busying themselves for half a day, the two little cubs compared the keywords they had heard.

“Look for Father.”

“Go to Hengxue Mountain.”

“Have fish.”

“Find Wen Tingshu.”

“Make naan flatbread.”

“Eat it and have strength!”

Oh!

To look for Daddy, one had to go to Hengxue Mountain and find Wen Tingshu. Hengxue Mountain had fish, and Wen Tingshu knew how to make naan flatbread! If Baby ate it, Baby would have strength to knead dough!

Meng Wowo and Meng Nangnang quietly remembered Daddy’s destination in their hearts.

When they missed Daddy, they would go to Hengxue Mountain!

That place sounded very delicious, oh!