Chapter 20 The Lies of the Three Pure Ones

I know you're reluctant to part with that girl, and to be honest, I am too, but we need to save our lives first.

If we don't bring any food, we'll starve to death and become a pile of bones by the roadside. Your apprentices aren't here, so there won't even be anyone to collect our bodies.

You tell me you don't even know what you're after?

You usually have so many apprentices causing a ruckus on the mountain, but when trouble comes, you send them all away beforehand, leaving you with no one to show filial piety.

People often say, "Raising children is for old age security, and taking on apprentices is for filial piety." Now that we have neither children nor apprentices, we're just waiting to starve to death!

The Three Pure Ones Daoist Master snorted coldly.

"How can we, two perfectly healthy people, starve to death?"

"The hardship will only last for these next couple of days. Once we leave the border and head south where it's not so dry, there will be living things in the mountains. Then we can go straight into the mountains. With my skills, we definitely won't starve there."

Hearing that Master Sanqing was talking about going into the mountains, Lao Fan perked up.

"Going into the mountains is great, there's meat to eat there."

Wait a minute, didn't you always tell the chubby girl that Taoist priests should eat less meat and more vegetables?

Ha! Only a naive little girl would believe your nonsense, that Taoist priests eat less meat?

"You're really something, saying something like that. I've seen you sneaking off to the back mountain to roast pheasants behind Ningbao's back quite often. When I see Ningbao, I'm definitely going to tell her you've been eating alone behind her back."

Master Sanqing was taken aback by Lao Fan's words.

"Who...who said that? I didn't say that."

Besides, do you think that girl didn't eat?

I only said to eat less meat, I didn't say she couldn't eat it at all. She's naive and easy to fool, but her fellow disciples aren't. They already told her that Taoists can eat meat.

Seeing Lao Fan's questioning look, Master Sanqing scratched his head awkwardly.

"Hehe, it's because that girl eats too much. I can't even afford to feed her with just vegetables and steamed buns every day. If she eats meat, with her appetite, she could eat several chickens in one meal. I couldn't afford to feed her even if I sold my old bones."

So, I simply cut off the cost of raising my child at the source by getting her used to eating vegetarian food from a young age. Look, now even when I put good meat in front of Ningbao, she hardly eats it.

Meat is much more expensive than mixed grains, see how clever I am.

Anyway, with those unfilial disciples around, they always spoil Ningbao. Whenever Ningbao wants to eat meat, she goes to her senior brother, and she always manages to eat until her belly is round and full.

...

Speaking of Ning Bao, the Three Pure Ones Daoist glanced reluctantly in the direction where he had parted ways with Ning Bao.

"Oh! I wonder how that little girl is doing now? I wonder if her family treats her well? Is she eating enough?"

…………

"Burp!" Ning Bao, who was worried that the Taoist priest Sanqing would go hungry, was lazily lying next to Mu Dasheng, basking in the sun, rubbing her little belly and burping.

The autumn sun was quite pleasant, and the people of Shanglin Village finally got ready and set off.

"Help! Help! Please, please give us some food, this is all we have left..."

Suddenly, a loud cry of pain came from the side. This was the first time the people from Shanglin Village had encountered such a scene since they set off. Most of them were very curious, and some even wanted to run over to see what was going on.

The village chief gave a cold glance to the people who wanted to run off to see what was going on.

"You'd better think this through. If you fall behind, we won't come back for you."

Look again at those people who are weeping…

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the crying. A middle-aged couple was protecting a tattered sack and a chubby little boy, while two thin little girls beside the boy were ignored and huddled together, shivering.

Several burly men surrounded the family, one of them pointing a chipped kitchen knife at the middle-aged woman.

"If you know what's good for you, hand over your water and food, or don't blame us for being impolite."

The middle-aged woman hugged the child and the cloth bag tightly in her arms.

"Grandpa, please have mercy, we really have no food left."

The burly man gave the boy in the woman's arms a cold look.

"No food? Are you treating us brothers like fools?"

"What's in the hands of that chubby little boy in your arms if there's no food?"

Everyone followed the burly man's gaze and saw that the chubby boy in the woman's arms was holding a half-eaten cornbread.

The woman's husband quickly snatched the cornbread from the child's hand and gave it to the burly man.

"Brother, we only have this half-eaten cornbread left. It was originally meant for the children, but we're giving it all to you. Please, brother, spare us."

The burly man glanced at the half-eaten cornbread, but without a second thought, he put it into his pocket. However, he had no intention of letting them off the hook.

"Stop talking nonsense and bring over the rest of the food and water."