Chapter 172 Telling Jokes:

Tell me a joke? In a situation where failure means certain doom?

This is absolutely terrifying!

Given Xie's naturally dull personality—it's better to ask him to recite a difficult classical Chinese text than to make him tell jokes to make people laugh!

But wait, there are also many jokes in ancient books, vulgar, elegant, sarcastic... all kinds are included, and they have all been tested by the people. If they are not the most popular jokes at the time, they cannot be found in those joke books.

However, he could only tell one joke, and that joke had to make Elder Hong laugh. He didn't know what Elder Hong's sense of humor was, or what kind of jokes he liked. How was he supposed to choose? What if he chose the wrong one and Elder Hong didn't laugh at all, and they were kicked out?

Rong Xie was having a mental battle, and he was sweating profusely, but Shen Bingsi said quickly, "Then I'll tell you one first."

Rong Xie immediately looked at Shen Bingsi. Shen Bingsi's expression was calm, with a faint smile on his lips. He obviously thought the joke he was about to tell was very funny. Rong Xie wanted to stop Shen Bingsi and discuss a solution, but seeing his confidence, Rong Xie refrained from stopping him. He silently prayed for him and released his spiritual sense to approach the bamboo building, carefully listening to the sounds inside.

“I was out exorcising demons before, and I happened to pass by a county government office. I saw a case being heard inside. Cases in small places are always so strange.” Shen Bingsi had a strange smile on her face, as if she was having a hard time suppressing her laughter. “There was a plaintiff who got into a fight with the defendant. He knocked out two of the defendant’s teeth. You must be wondering, since the defendant was the one who got beaten up more, why didn’t the defendant sue, but the plaintiff did? It turns out they were good friends. After finishing their work, they ate together. That day, the plaintiff’s favorite dish was stir-fried cabbage with vinegar. They were enjoying their meal when the defendant let out a stinky fart!”

"..." Rong Xie wanted to laugh, but the joke was too low-level! He listened carefully to the sounds inside the bamboo building, thinking that Elder Hong might be caught off guard by this low-level joke—but no, there was no sound from inside the bamboo building.

Fortunately, Shen Bingsi hadn't finished speaking: "That fart was so smelly it ruined the plaintiff's mood. Not only could the plaintiff not eat at the time, but even the thought of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar was accompanied by the shadow of that fart. The more the plaintiff thought about it, the angrier he became, and finally he couldn't help but grab the defendant and beat him up. Although the defendant felt wronged, he didn't expect to leave such a shadow on his good friend, so he let it go. He thought this small conflict between friends was over, but unexpectedly, the plaintiff's shadow became more and more serious, and he couldn't even eat."

"..." Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi. This plaintiff was making a mountain out of a molehill; it was pointless. There must be more to come.

Fortunately, Shen Bingsi did not disappoint him and continued, "When the magistrate heard this, he thought, 'What a trivial matter! Why bring it to court?' But if he were to let it go so easily, the plaintiff would certainly be dissatisfied. So he stood up and rebuked, 'You're suing the wrong person! Your friend's fart on the day it bothered you was indeed his fault, and you've already hit him, so that should be considered settled. But in the following days, the stench continued to bother you, and that wasn't your friend's fault, it was the fart's fault! You should sue the fart, not your friend!'"

"..." Rong Xie wanted to laugh again, but there was still no movement from the bamboo building. The fearsome protector standing to the side was also expressionless. He couldn't help but wonder if it was because he liked Shen Bing Si that he found Shen Bing Si's jokes particularly funny.

"The plaintiff, upon hearing that the case was reasonable, immediately left. The magistrate thought there was nothing to it. Half a day later, the plaintiff returned, rewrote his complaint, and was truly determined to sue the scoundrel. By then, the case had become a sensation, and people from all over the county came to listen in. Even I, a passerby, couldn't help but overhear. Seeing that things had escalated, the magistrate really wanted to throw the plaintiff out with a stick, but in front of everyone, he had to proceed with the proceedings according to procedure. In his anger, he dumped the mess on a minor constable and ordered him to fetch the defendant."

"A stinky fart, and it was released half a month ago. How can the clerk retrieve it? But it's a task assigned by the magistrate, and he can't leave without completing it. The clerk scratched his head and called the friend who farted aside, asked him a few questions in a low voice, and then the two of them left the county office one after the other, no one knows where they went to look for the fart."

"..." This time, Rong Xie's curiosity was piqued. He hadn't expected the joke to have such a twist. He couldn't help but stare at Shen Bing Si, "And then what happened?"

Shen Bingsi smiled and said, "Of course, the magistrate didn't expect the bailiff to actually catch the criminal. He just wanted him to come back and say that he couldn't catch the person, so he would declare the criminal on the run, fine the bailiff some of his monthly wages, quell the plaintiff's anger, and the case would be closed."

"To everyone's surprise, the young constable returned quickly, carrying a box in his hands. He ran up to the magistrate's desk, presented the box to the magistrate, and loudly proclaimed: 'The criminal has escaped, but his family has been apprehended. Please, Your Honor, interrogate him!'"

Shen Bingsi deliberately paused, building up the anticipation. Rong Xie finally heard the sound of clothes rustling coming from inside the bamboo building, and the fearful protector also looked in this direction.

The magistrate was surprised. He opened the box, his face changing drastically. Inside was a lump of dried excrement. The bailiff explained, "This was excreted by the plaintiff's friend on the day the culprit committed the crime. Fortunately, the culprit is honest and didn't try to escape. I and the plaintiff's friend apprehended him in the outhouse. Please interrogate him thoroughly, Your Honor, and be sure to find out the culprit's whereabouts."

The surroundings were completely silent.

"Pfft..." Rong Xie couldn't help but burst out laughing. The fearsome protector also had a smile on his face. A series of coughs came from inside the bamboo building, clearly trying to cover something up...

"Well done!" Rong Xie nudged Shen Bingsi's elbow, and Shen Bingsi, in her smugness, couldn't help but cough again.

Rong Xie slightly increased the distance between them, bowed to the bamboo building, and said, "Bing Si has traveled all over the world and seen a lot. Although this joke is... cough cough a bit vulgar, it is also simple and honest. Since Elder Hong has laughed, please keep your promise and teach us how to change our cultivation path."

“Who said… Pfft… Who said I laughed?” Elder Hong’s shameless voice came from inside the bamboo building.

Rong Xie's eyes widened in astonishment: "You were clearly smiling... you were smiling even when you said that!"

"I didn't laugh!" Elder Hong vehemently denied. "You think this kind of joke can make me laugh? I want to hear something far more sophisticated, something you can't hear anywhere else..."

"You!" Rong Xie gritted his teeth. This old scoundrel, as the leader of a sect, actually cheated in public... And this was their territory. If he said he didn't laugh, the sect members wouldn't deny it. "If Elder Hong doesn't want to teach, he can just say so. There's no need to play tricks on people like this. If I told a joke and Elder Hong laughed, he could also say he didn't laugh. Then what's the point of me telling it?"

"Foolish man, you still don't understand what I mean," Elder Hong sighed. "How can you look so intelligent, yet have such a blockhead?"

"You old scoundrel! What nonsense are you spouting!" Shen Bingsi, who had been smiling, immediately became furious when she heard him mention Rong Xie.

Rong Xie seemed to understand something from Elder Hong's words. He wasn't sure, so he reached out and patted Shen Bingsi's shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

"Elder Hong wants to hear jokes that can't be heard anywhere else? So, are they jokes that only the two of us know?" Rong Xie asked tentatively.

"Not bad, you're quite clever." Elder Hong's voice held a hint of satisfaction.

Rong Xie seemed to know what joke Elder Hong wanted to hear, but... he couldn't quite bring himself to say it.

“Of course we will tell you what you want to hear, but… given your earlier reneging on your promise, we cannot tell you now.” Rong Xie paused. “You must first tell us how to change your path.”

"Drink!" Elder Hong was somewhat surprised. "Little fellow, you can even bargain now? You're the ones begging me now, not the other way around. How do you know I absolutely have to listen to that lousy joke?"

“Because only we know,” Rong Xie said calmly.

Elder Hong choked.

Shen Bingsi was still puzzled and asked Rong Xie in a low voice, "What kind of joke is it that only the two of us know?"

“…Elder Bai’s joke,” Rong Xie replied to Shen Bingsi in a low voice.

Shen Bingsi straightened up, suddenly enlightened, and her gaze towards the bamboo building became subtle.

That old scoundrel, tsk!

This twisted bond between former classmates!

"Hmph, so stingy." Elder Hong complained with dissatisfaction after hearing the conversation between the two. The door of the bamboo building opened and an old man wearing a pink robe embroidered with large red flowers walked out leisurely. The sapphire blue peacock suddenly took off and leaped onto the second-floor railing of the bamboo building, and began to frantically display its tail feathers at Elder Hong.

"Abao, it's Grandpa, look carefully, it's Grandpa." Elder Hong stretched out his arm to shoo away the sapphire blue peacock. "Grandpa wants to talk to the guests, Abao, please don't block Grandpa's way, okay?"

The sapphire blue peacock tilted its head and observed for a while, then tucked in its tail feathers and hopped onto the roof.

Rong Xie had never seen an elderly person dressed like this before, and was greatly shocked by the sight, remaining stunned for a moment.

The old man in pink turned around and looked down at Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi from the second floor: "Teaching you to change your cultivation path is not impossible, but not everyone can learn my method. I need to ask you some questions first."

Rong Xie's spirits lifted; it seemed there was hope: "Elder Hong, please ask!"

"When was the last time you two practiced together?" Elder Hong asked directly.

This question was too direct. Rong Xie immediately looked away, his neck and cheeks flushed. He had no desire to discuss this kind of issue with an old man dressed like a butterfly.

Furthermore, how did Elder Hong know their relationship? He didn't ask if they had ever practiced dual cultivation before; he immediately asked when their last dual cultivation was!

"Hehe, little brat." Elder Hong shook his head contemptuously. "You underestimate me too much. Didn't you two expose your little scheme when you were telling jokes just now? Poor Protector Seju is all alone, watching your performance for so long. He must be in a bad mood right now."

As he spoke, Elder Hong glanced at the black-clad protector, who crossed his arms and turned away, leaving Elder Hong with only a cold, indifferent back of his head.

"It wasn't a long time ago." Shen Bingsi coughed lightly, then coughed several more times as if she had thought of something.

“Youth is all about vitality,” Elder Hong sighed. “The shattering of one’s Dao heart isn’t a recent event, is it? To have a shattered Dao heart while still engaging in dual cultivation, this young man is truly… promising!”

Rong Xie wanted to cover his ears, but he couldn't ignore it. He stiffened his neck and asked, "Does the elder have any other questions? Perhaps we can go upstairs to talk?"

"No need, I've already asked." Elder Hong waved her pink sleeve. "You two can learn my method."