Zhao Xi almost responded with a "hey," but then she heard her voice coming from inside the Hundred Beasts Garden.
"Sigh~~~~"
Slow, hoarse, and old.
"...?"
Her hair was white, her face was wrinkled, she had no teeth, and her mouth was sunken.
She walked out with the small, unsteady steps of an old woman, her toes pointing outwards.
She was wearing a wide-sleeved dress over an apron that she only wore in the kitchen.
The most outrageous thing was that she was holding a huge piece of beef leg in her left hand and a knife in her right hand, slicing the meat non-stop like she was making knife-cut noodles.
The meat slicing was quite quick.
Hoshino, Koko, Shanshan, and many other unfamiliar half-human, half-demon cubs stood in front of her, heads held high and mouths open, waiting for the slices of meat to fly into their mouths.
"Oh haha~" Linche teased.
Zhao Xi wanted to facepalm, pointing at the mountain gate: "What's that?!"
"He was extremely unwilling when the dog demon leader took him away from the Beast Garden, and that became his inner demon. Decades later, when he returns, you will probably no longer recognize him..."
He turned his head, his teasing gaze lingering on her face for a few moments, then suddenly cupped her chin, examining her closely. "She does look quite like her."
"Ouch?! I'll bite you to death!"
Zhao Xi tried to lower her head to bite his hand, but Lin Che pulled his hand away to avoid it.
He scratched at his dark blue clothes.
He cut out the pattern of a pearl, and it landed in his palm, becoming a huge purple mermaid pearl.
"Eat this mermaid pearl, and you will stay young forever."
"Who wants your mermaid pearl? I can't be with you anymore, you're just saying I'm too old!" Zhao Xi wanted to get angry. "I won't be this young and beautiful in a few years, you should like someone else as soon as possible!"
"Alas, this water god is immortal and cannot grow old with you." He patted her head, like coaxing a kitten.
Zhao Xi wanted to grin: "You old geezer!"
"..."
Lin Che was speechless after being rebuked, so he sighed and tapped her on the forehead as punishment.
Zhao Xi wanted to open her mouth and bite him, but then she heard Xiao Ding roar at the mountain gate.
"Headmistress, don't you recognize me? I'm that giant dog monster...Headmistress, you made so many delicious things for me in the Beast Garden, but then my father took me away...Little Jia, Xingye, Shanshan... Waaah..."
The young boy, Xiao Ding, cried his heart out, but he couldn't get in despite standing at the mountain gate.
The mountain gate's defensive array was activated, and two little fairy children stood on either side of the entrance, holding wind and vines in their hands and pointing at him.
“Master! Come and be my witness! You taught me how to cultivate, though I didn’t understand at the time, I remember it all. I followed your instructions on breathing and exhalation, and now I have successfully formed my core and even ascended to the Middle Immortal Realm…”
Sigh...
The old man, Lin Che, rode the water vapor and arrived at the mountain gate in a flash, before slowly replying.
He was still wearing a mask, still in that elaborate, wide-sleeved robe, his back hunched, his hands behind his back, and he shakily descended from the steam with a cane.
I tripped over the clothes when I came down.
Lin Che's smile froze on his face.
Zhao Xi thought, "Pfft."
The old man, Lin Che, squinted and scrutinized Xiao Ding for a while, then turned to ask the old woman, Zhao Xi, "Does the headmaster recognize this boy?"
Old woman Zhao Xi thought, "Huh? What did you say?"
Old man Lin Che: "I won't eat it~ I mean~ I don't recognize him~"
Old woman Zhao Xi thought, "I don't recognize them either."
The children shouted in unison, "We don't recognize him either!"
"Leave the zoo!"
The little fairy boy soared into the air, and several wind blades attacked Xiao Ding.
He leaped into the air on his broadsword, while several dog-headed demon cultivators behind him were cut in half at the waist and rolled down the mountain.
The scene suddenly became grotesque and terrifying.
Even the spot where Zhao Xixiang and Lin Che were standing was swept by a strange wind.
Xiao Ding stared in astonishment at the blood slowly flowing down the steps, then looked incredulously at the crowd at the mountain gate: "I am Xiao Ding... The Hundred Beast Garden has a demon register, and I am Xiao Ding."
Xiao Jia stepped forward and pulled out the little puppy covered in dog hair beside her: "He's not Xiao Ding, Director. That's Xiao Ding."
Xiao Ding shook his head, astonished: "He's already dead. After you found me, you were worried that Uncle Director would kick me out, so you had me impersonate him... He died on that mountain not long before I came to the Beast Garden, and no one claimed his body. You even buried him, and the tombstone is still there."
After entering the sect, everyone must abandon their previous names. The previous heads of the sect were very lazy and did not take the disciples seriously. They used simple words such as the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (甲乙丙丁) and words like "truth, goodness, and beauty" to name them.
The demon register that recorded names was destroyed once by Luo Haiqing, but later Feng Xiaoxiantong recompiled it.
But when Zhao Xi thought of it, there were only a few animals in the Hundred Beasts Garden, and they were completely unnecessary.
Feng Xiaoxian Tong casually took out the demon register, flipped through the names, and asked the dog demon Xiao Ding beside him to verify the common names.
The verification is correct.
"He's a fake, he must be a bad guy!"
He wanted to eat the meat the headmistress made, but she wouldn't let him.
"Even if he came before, we won't remember him, let's just pretend he never came!"
The old woman, Zhao Xi, said with a hideous expression, "You are not a member of my Hundred Beasts Garden!"
Zhao Xi clenched her fists: "I'm not like that! That's too much."
Lin Che: "Calm down, this is just a mental illusion."
The old man's voice was hoarse: "Quickly throw him out, don't let him interfere with my teaching!"
Lin Che couldn't stand it any longer. When Feng Xiaoxian Tong unleashed another wind blade at him, he snapped his fingers.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
