The old monk had hidden behind the fat monk for some time, revealing only his two arms which were held with their palms together in an apologetic manner towards Wen Xiaoyi.
Wen Xiaoyi sniggered as she asked Shui Jing, “Hey monk, why are you so sincere to let him hide behind you?”
The fat monk chuckled, “Little grandaunt, with that powerful weapon of yours, what difference would it make if one were to hid behind or stand in front of it?”
Now, who said that the monk was foolish?
Fourth Elder Wen’s brows were wrinkled into a strange and eccentric expression. Wen Shulin’s big-muzzled weapon which is now in Wen Xiaoyi’s hands had a limited firing range. Also, its power was only slightly stronger than a double-bang firecracker (something that the author was extremely fond of when he was younger) so how could it terrify the two so badly?
Ji Fei too finally understood the principle and emerged from behind the fat monk with raised eyebrows. His face bore a flattering smile, “Little grandaunt, from now on matters of the Wen family will also become the manners of us two siblings…”
Wen Xiaoyi shook her head with a great effort, “No way, the Wen Bucao’s matters are ours alone, why would we need the two of you to interfere?” She then wrinkled her cute little brows and contemplated for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes twinkled with an idea, “Since you keep telling the others that Wen Leyang has officially acknowledged the both of you as his masters, why don’t you kneel and kowtow to him now and formally accept him as YOUR master teacher instead!”
The old monk could be threatened with a beheading and he’d still not agree to this term. Though he knew that Wen Xiaoyi was obviously only jesting with them, he had no other choice than to abide as the big-muzzled weapon was in her hands. He could only keep a straight face as he shook his head with all his might.
Suddenly, a blur appeared before everyone’s eyes and a charming and smiling human figure materialized before them.
Wen Leyang was both surprised and joyous, “You…why are you still here?”
The person who had appeared suddenly was Chang Li and she laughed as she replied Wen Leyang, “I was worried about the two rabbits so I sneakily stayed behind to check on them.” She extended her arm and patted Wen Xiaoyi’s forehead as she said reproachfully, “Why didn’t you shoot them in the beginning? From now on, if anyone were to even goggle at you, you will immediately aim directly at them and shoot them!”
Wen Xiaoyi nodded shyly.
Chang Li greeted Little Chili Pepper and then turned her attention to the old monk, “Formally acknowledge him as your master teacher, now!”
The fat monk and the old monk’s old faces crumpled, they wore a distressed expression and dared not speak even one word.
Wen Leyang roared with laughter as he took a few steps forward and said to the two monks, “Then you should start running away now!”
The fat monk was delighted as he turned around to leave but Ji Fei grabbed and held onto him. He looked at Wen Leyang with a complicated expression in his eyes and asked, “Start running away now? What…what do you mean?”
Wen Leyang looked at Chang Li who nodded once in reply. Her gaze was warm and sincere, meaning that it was all up to Wen Leyang’s decision now.
“You should start running now, I will give you a three-day head start before I come looking for you. If I manage to catch the both of you within a month, then you shall formally acknowledge me as your master teacher. If I were to fail at catching you then we shall call it even, if the both of you were to come to the Nine Peaks Mountain, I’d even buy you a drink!”
The old monk was stunned for a moment before looking at Chang Li with a frightful expression, “A month’s time…that’s a little too long, isn’t it?”
Chang Li’s charming expression began to change, “Make it ten years then!”
The old monk and the fat monk both leaped up immediately, “One month’s time, so be it, one month’s time. We’ll leave now…” Before their voices have died away, the two monks took huge strides and employed all their ability to gallop away. After a few rise and falls, they disappeared into the boundless mountain.
Chang Li said to Wen Leyang, “After three days, I’ll help you catch them!”
Wen Leyang roared with laughter, “Why bother catching them? I was only trying to intimidate and frighten the both of them into hiding for one month. To me, that’s already a fair deal.” He hasn’t turned twenty yet so he still had a youthful temperament in his bones. This prank was meant to poke fun at the two old thieves and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing over it.
Chang Li too started laughing elegantly as she patted him on his shoulder, “You really are much stronger than he was. I’m leaving for real this time…” She disappeared from their sight, leaving only the echo of a melodious voice and the scent of orchids…
Wen Leyang talked nonstop during the way back. He recounted his encounters from the Red Leaves Forest to Mount Emei, filling the story in for his four grandfathers. At the same time he did not try to hide the facts from the Luo family, and anyways Luo Wangfu was present as well for some of those encounters so even if he’d wanted to embellish the details, he could not do so.
The four grandfathers stared in bewilderment, not only was Wen Leyang’s circumstances in acquiring his powers shocking, even the story of Chang Li and Grand Master Tuoxie was equally inconceivable. In comparison, Wen Xiaoyi’s terrifying big-muzzled weapon and the rabbit demon at the ancient temple deep within the mountains became less astounding.
Wen Leyang had reached the part of the story of Mount Emei’s nameless mountain slope where seventeen of his clansmen were bewitched and buried alive. The four elders of the Wen family simultaneously exclaimed, “What?” as they exchanged glances amongst themselves. They were deeply sorrowful but also intrigued at the same time.
The other thing the elders were pondering on was the earlier incident of when Wen Leyang had managed to absorb all the Wind Poison which had been set by Fourth Elder Wen with seemingly very little effort. The four elders did not dare to make a conclusion about it now and will deliberate on it after they’ve returned home.
Grand Elder Wen laughed proudly as he pointed towards his three aged brothers, “Back then when I used to boast…every time I’d talked about the Grand Master’s supernatural powers all of you would laugh at me! You can laugh now all you want but I bet you’d never expect that our Grand Master was an immortal!”
Wen Leyang had shed his old self and was now reborn into a new person. He’s forging a path with wide strides which couldn’t be comprehended by a normal person. Nobody can tell whether in the future this path was a straight highway lit with golden light or a treacherous and difficult road. Regardless, his ability is now at a formidable level and the four elders were full of relief and they looked at the Luo family with eyes brimming with pride.
The two elders of the Luo family were deeply concerned with something else as they repeatedly chastised Little Chili Pepper, “Why did you tell them your name!”
Grand Elder Wen laughed uproariously, “This little girl’s name is very pleasant to the ears and I think that both our families should become relatives by marriage!” Upon saying that he immediately diverted the topic so that Grand Elder Luo would not become hostile, “What say you, why did the group of Miao clansmen not come to the mountain? Both our families had received the same information so according to common practice they too should know about the information regarding our Grand Master which was revealed at Zhanyan Peak.”
Grand Elder Luo snorted and replied, “Maybe the Miao clan had forgotten their roots after over two thousand years! Or perhaps they’ve even forgotten the name of our Grand Master!”
Grand Elder Wen shook his head and said lightly, “That’s highly unlikely, the Seven Maidens Mountain, hey…if all of you aren’t occupied, why don’t you come and visit the Nine Peaks Mountain? Our two families could get to know one another and you can take it as our way of apologizing for whatever transgressions we have caused! Moreover, I can also tell you about the matters which had happened on the Seven Maidens Mountain. In the past, our three families were isolated from one another but now since a clue about our Grand Master has been revealed, and there was also the presence of that cat…that elder. Maybe, in the future, all three families might move and stay together.”
Grand Elder Luo considered the offer for a little while. He then made a call to his family to let them know that he was safe and to make sure that all was well in their village. Once that was done, he nodded, “We’ll go pay you a visit then, I want to see how poor your Wen family is now!”
Wen Leyang hastily called his eldest uncle Wen Tunhai and informed him of the situation. Wen Tunhai laughed heartily upon learning that the four elders were safe and sound and gave the order to his family members, “Prepare scrambled eggs and lamb stew, tonight we will all feast like a king!”
The two families left the mountain together. First, they retrieved the seventeen Wen clansmen’s remains. The four elders of the Wen family checked each of the deceased meticulously while an expression of comprehension passed through their faces.
Almost a hundred people marched forward in a great contingent. Once they’d left the mountain, they immediately hired two huge coach buses as neither the Wen or the Luo family were hard for cash. After traveling for a day and a half, the two buses arrived at the foot of the Nine Peaks Mountain.
Wen Tunhai, who had been injured severely a few days ago in the attack by the Sun Dynasty Palace, insisted upon waiting at the foot of the mountain to greet his returning family members. Ever since Wen Leyang had left for Mount Emei, he had activated another prohibition spell which had been left behind by a previous Wen ancestor. However, the past few days have been relatively calm and quiet. No one from the Sun Dynasty Palace came to cause any more trouble so he deactivated the spell early that morning. The Luo family is visiting and the Wen family should not embarrass themselves.
The few masters of the Wen family looked at the mountain’s peak and heaved a relieved sigh. Grand Elder Wen took good care of the Luo family as he led them up the mountain. Wen Leyang and Wen Xiaoyi walked beside Mumu and pointed out the mountain’s scenery to her with enchanted expressions.
Little Chili Pepper pursed her lips, “It’s empty and desolate during the winter, what’s there to see?” As she said that Ah Dan, which had been cradled in her arms, suddenly struggled to free himself from her hold. It walked unsteadily towards an empty patch of land at the side of the foothill and squatted down. It studied the ground in detail for a little while before he turned to Little Chili Pepper and babbled at her. He abruptly leaped upwards, shifted all the weight towards his little buttocks, and rammed himself forcefully onto the ground!