Chapter 74 Overcoming Tribulation and Calling Him Father
Zhu Shi'an was puzzled. It was already evening; the scholar should have returned by now.
As for whether his presence was exposed because of his spider, he thought it was impossible. The spider looked no different from an ordinary spider and would not have revealed his presence.
Surely a scholar can't be a womanizer?
Could it be that he spent the night in a brothel?
Zhu Shi'an could only guess at this, so he simply jumped up the tree and waited for the scholar to return. At the same time, he didn't forget to hide a spider in the room when no one was around.
We waited from darkness until dawn, and from dawn until darkness again.
Zhu Shi'an finally realized that something was wrong.
He jumped down from the tree, pushed open the door and went inside. He walked around the screen, and the things on the bed were still there. He reached out and opened the wardrobe, only to find it empty, with no clothes inside.
His face immediately turned ugly.
After thinking for a moment, he took advantage of the fact that it was not completely dark yet and knocked on his neighbor's door to inquire about the situation. He then learned that the two scholars living next door had already left yesterday.
Zhu Shi'an closed his eyes and checked each of the places where the spiders had been placed. The scholars he was monitoring were reading their books as usual, and there was nothing unusual about them.
He wasn't sure if there was a culprit among them, nor was he sure if the two scholars who left were the culprits; he felt extremely frustrated.
If it weren't for Chief Minister Gu's instructions before leaving not to make too much of a commotion during this operation, he would have already eliminated the suspects.
Now that the most suspicious scholar has left Jiangzhou City, he needs to find him as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he really lets the culprit escape, how will he return to the capital?
Thinking of this, he suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of red appearing and disappearing in them.
Zhu Shi'an returned to the place where the two scholars lived. After entering their room, he took a spider from his sleeve and placed it on the bed.
The spider's eight legs had barely touched the bed when it quickly strode across it, taking nearly a quarter of an hour to return to Zhu Shi'an's hands.
The originally black spider developed a red ring around its abdomen after crawling across the entire bed.
Zhu Shi'an took the spider and rode his horse to the city gate of Jiangzhou. After showing his token to the guards, he was allowed to pass.
He rode his horse forward for a while before stopping at a fork in the road and placing the spider with the red ring on the ground.
The spider slithered back and forth on the ground, eventually stopping at a certain intersection.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Shi'an bent down, picked up the spider, and rode his horse onto the road.
At each fork in the road, the spider would guide them. They continued on their way, stopping and starting, until dawn broke, when they finally stopped at the foot of Baiyue Peak.
The environment here is complex, and the spider had exhausted itself overnight. It needs to rest and eat before it can continue.
Zhu Shi'an put the spider on the ground and let it find its own food.
After a night had passed, and having not eaten the previous night, he was starving. He tied up his horse, then took his knife and went into the woods, intending to find some prey to fill his stomach.
The fox clan chief closed the courtyard gate, intending to check if the traps he had set had caught any prey.
Shao Yanzhe was clearly very attentive to Xiaobai's teaching. In just a few days, Xiaobai had learned more than a hundred more characters. At this rate, although he might not become a top scholar, he would certainly become a learned scholar.
As for repaying the debt of gratitude, or how much more gratitude one owes, that's not important now. Anyway, Xiaobai will be able to pay it all off sooner or later.
The clan chief had heard that studying was very mentally taxing and required good nutrition. If the trap failed to catch any prey, then she would have to catch one herself and put it in the trap.
She entered the mountains outside the village at a speed far exceeding that of an elderly person.
She set the trap on the outskirts of the woods because almost no one from the nearby village would be so brave as to venture in there. The wild animals in the woods were plentiful and foolish, and had no intention of avoiding the trap, making them easy to catch.
As soon as she reached the trap, she saw a tall figure take a wild rabbit out of it.
"You thief! How dare you steal my prey!"
Anger flared in the chieftain's eyes. With a forceful pull on the tree trunk, the thick trunk snapped in two and crashed down on the man who had stolen her prey.
Zhu Shi'an was carrying the rabbit, feeling quite lucky, when he heard a furious shout, followed by something flying over with the sound of wind.
He immediately pushed off with his foot and dodged to the side, finally landing on a protruding rock nearby.
He looked at the person who dared to attack him with some annoyance, and saw an old man with gray hair and a wrinkled face.
Zhu Shi'an: ? ? ?
He glanced around, confirming that it was indeed the old man in front of him who had attacked him. He glared at him angrily and asked, "Old man, why did you ambush me?"
The chieftain, hands on his hips, pointed at him and yelled, "You shameless brat! You stole my prey and then accused me of ambushing you!"
Poaching?
Zhu Shi'an subconsciously looked at the rabbit he was holding, but he didn't think he had stolen it.
"This is not prey that I stole from you; it is prey that I caught."
The prey caught in the trap is his prey!
"Hey! You little brat, you really deserve a beating!"
The clan leader immediately flashed to Zhu Shi'an's side and grabbed his neck with his right hand.
Zhu Shi'an's pupils shrank sharply; he hadn't expected the old man to be so fast.
He immediately drew his long knife with his right hand, and with a flick of his wrist, the blade was about to strike the old man's right wrist.
The blade stopped one centimeter away from the old man's right wrist, unable to go any further.
He turned his head and saw the old man pinching the tip of the knife between his left thumb and forefinger.
The old man's left hand was no longer like old tree bark, but had become as white as fine mutton fat jade, with delicate, round, and shiny nails, which was extremely mismatched with his old face.
Immediately, Zhu Shi'an felt a suffocating sensation as his neck was forcefully pressed down, and his vision began to go black.
With a thud, the rabbit slipped from my grasp and fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The clan chief tightened his grip on the tip of the blade, and the long sword instantly broke into several pieces, sliding down the mountainside with a sound of steel colliding and rubbing against stone.
Then, she slowly reached for the rabbit that was shaking its head on the ground and grabbed it, and the rabbit was sucked into her hand.
She weighed it and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, she looked at the person she was choking, unsure of what to do with him.
Let's just kill him!
A hint of killing intent flashed in the clan leader's eyes.
Sensing the murderous intent, Zhu Shi'an suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her: "Don't kill me, I have a use!"
The clan chief became interested: "Oh? What use are you?"
Zhu Shi'an said with difficulty, "I can do everything except give birth. Whatever you need me to do, I can do it perfectly!"
His eyes were full of confidence.
The clan chief's eyes lit up: "Can you cook?"
Zhu Shi'an: "Yes!"
The clan chief released his grip, and then a surge of demonic power entered his body: "Very good, from now on you will be my cook."
Zhu Shi'an's legs went weak and he knelt on the ground, clutching his neck and coughing violently. He lowered his head, his eyes filled with coldness, but he possessed the demonic power of the monster in front of him. If he dared to resist, he would be blown into a cloud of blood mist.
When did Jiangzhou come to have such a powerful demon?
He carefully recalled in his mind that the mountain was called Baiyue Peak, and apart from the legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox worshipping the moon, there was nothing else.
etc!
Nine-Tailed Fox Worshipping the Moon?
Could it be that the person in front of me is the legendary fox demon?
Zhu Shi'an tried hard to suppress the murderous intent in his heart. Now he was the fish on the chopping block, and the old man was the knife and chopping board. Once he got the chance, he would definitely tear the old man to pieces.
He slowly raised his head, a hint of ingratiation on his face: "I don't know how to address you?"
The clan chief paused, thought for a moment, and casually said, "My surname is Bai. From now on, you will be my son who is returning home from a trip. You will call me Father."
Zhu Shi'an: ...
The veins on his forehead throbbed, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a sound.
The clan leader didn't mind. It was fine in private, but if she didn't shout it out in public, then she shouldn't blame her for being impolite.
"Let's go, we've caught a wild animal, let's take it back and stew it for Dad."
As she spoke, she handed the rabbit in her hand to Zhu Shi'an.
Zhu Shi'an reached out and took the rabbit, bowing his head and saying, "Yes, I understand."
After walking for a while, he stopped and said, "Um, I forgot to lead my horse."
The clan chief stopped and said, "Wait for me here, I'll be right back."
After she finished speaking, she vanished from the spot in a flash.
Zhu Shi'an struggled with his emotions, but in the end he obediently waited in place.
Soon, the clan chief returned on a horse, carrying a chicken that she had tied together with a rabbit using straw rope.
"You lead the horse."
"yes."
Zhu Shi'an, holding the reins, followed the clan chief's directions back to the village's residence.
"Huh? Grandpa Bai, you're back?" Little Bai noticed that his clan leader had returned and quickly ran to open the door.
He heard from the chieftain that she went out to hunt for them, and when she came back, they would be able to eat meat!
As a result, they saw a strange man following behind their clan leader.
"Little White, I'm back." The clan chief greeted Little White with a smile, and then, with Zhu Shi'an's help, dismounted from his horse. The whole process was very slow, and he looked like a man in his fifties or sixties with the stamina he should have.
"Is it Grandpa Bai back? Why did he go out alone again?" Shao Yanzhe heard Xiao Bai's voice from inside the house and came out to check the situation.
Then, seeing Zhu Shi'an, who was honestly supporting Old Master Bai, a fleeting look of surprise crossed his eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm in good health!" The clan chief patted his chest, looking defiant.
"Yes, yes, yes! You're in great health!" Shao Yanzhe said with amusement, then looked at the person next to him and asked casually, "This is...?"
The clan chief then seemed to remember something and proudly introduced him: "This is my son, Bai Dafa. He used to be out there doing nothing. Now that I'm old, I've asked him to come back and see me off in my old age. After I die, he can do whatever he wants. I can't control him anymore."
As she spoke, she reached out and took Zhu Shi'an's hand, asking, "Don't you agree, child?"
A tingling pain shot through Zhu Shi'an's hand as she held it, but he forced himself to endure it, managing to twitch his lips as he said, "Yes, Father!"
Unexpectedly, the clan chief slapped him hard on the back of the head, his face full of displeasure: "Hey! You unfilial son! Are you cursing your father to die sooner or later?!"
Zhu Shi'an: ...
hateful!
Die!
However, he could only say, feeling utterly aggrieved, "I didn't, I didn't, you can't wrong me!"
"Hmph! You deal with this chicken and this rabbit! We'll eat one at noon and one at night." After saying this, the clan chief angrily walked into the yard and into his house with his hands behind his back.
Xiao Bai curiously sized up the person, wondering where the clan leader had come from to kidnap him as a cook.
Shao Yanzhe watched the scene unfold, which looked like a father disciplining his son. He wasn't quite sure about the traditional father-son relationship, but it seemed to be working out fine.
The people from Tianluozhao looked angry but dared not speak out, which suggests that Old Master Bai must really be their father. Otherwise, given Tianluozhao's style of doing things, they probably would have already killed him.
Thinking this, he cupped his hands in greeting to the person in front of him and said, "Thank you for your help, Brother Bai."
Zhu Shi'an glanced at the scholar, surprised that he was hiding here. It was truly an unexpected stroke of luck.
Ptooey! Ptooey!
It took no effort, but he ended up being a free servant!
"snort!"
He snorted coldly at Shao Yanzhe, glared at him, and then strode into the courtyard leading his horse, looking extremely impolite.
Shao Yanzhe retreated repeatedly, but despite being treated this way, he didn't feel angry. Instead, he chuckled softly.
"Brother, are you alright!" Xiaobai quickly reached out to help him up, then glared at Zhu Shi'an, "This person is far too rude!"
"I'm fine, Xiaobai. Shouldn't you be writing calligraphy right now? Are you done?" Shao Yanzhe turned to Xiaobai and asked.
A guilty look flashed across Xiao Bai's face: "Um, I'll go continue writing now!"
As he spoke, he turned and rushed back to his study, sat down in his seat, frowned, and continued writing with his brush.
Zhou Jiming, who was sitting opposite him, glanced at him and let out a sneer, which drew an angry glare from Xiao Bai.
Finally, both of them frowned and focused intently on the large characters and articles in their hands.
At the gate, Shao Yanzhe shook his head at Xiaobai's behavior. He turned around and was about to close the gate when he saw an elderly man with gray hair standing not far away watching him. After meeting his gaze, the man quickly looked away and left, leaning on his cane.
Shao Yanzhe's eyes flickered. He seemed to have seen fear in the old man's eyes, but he shook his head, thinking he must have been mistaken.
After all, he was just an ordinary scholar; how could he possibly frighten that old man?
With that thought in mind, he closed the courtyard gate, went inside, and continued reading.
"Dad, what's wrong? Why do you look so frightened? Did that fox spirit threaten you again?" The village chief's son came out of the dilapidated house and saw his father returning in a panic, so he quickly went to help him up.
The village chief shook his head, gesturing for them to go inside and talk.
As soon as they entered the house, the village chief's son said angrily, "It's one thing to kick us out of our home, but why do you keep threatening us!"
"Alright, stop talking! I just saw a scholar dare to teach that fox spirit brat a lesson. The fox spirit even turned into an old man to cook for the scholar, and now it has even captured someone to be the scholar's cook!" the village chief said.
"What! Who is that scholar? How could he make the fox spirit so humble?" the village chief's son exclaimed in surprise.
"Shh! Keep your voice down! It'll be bad if they hear you! Don't worry about who that scholar is. If you run into him, just get away. If you can't get away, just treat him like an old ancestor."
"Yes! No, I have to tell the others to be careful too."
"Alright, hurry up and go! What if that scholar gets provoked by the villagers and slaughters the whole village in a fit of rage?"
"I'll go right now!"
While reading at home, Shao Yanzhe felt a tickle in his nose and sneezed twice.
Shao Yanzhe: Who's talking bad about me?
Rebound!
Everything rebounded!
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