Chapter 007 Me and My Enemy Father and Brother
Ming Shaotu's cooking skills were indeed outstanding. He made a big fish into three dishes and a soup, including braised, steamed and fried dishes, catering to all tastes.
The fish was delicious, and what was even more rare was that he cooked it without any earthy smell. Paired with Ning Bufan's homemade rice wine, the lunch was a great enjoyment for both the host and the guests.
After the meal, Chen Yunli offered to wash the pots and dishes. Ning Bufan couldn't refuse, and Ming Shaotu was not feeling well and couldn't clean up, so he had to agree.
There was a well behind the kitchen, with two wooden basins and a row of cleaning tools beside the well. Chen Yunli put the dishes in one of the basins, then rolled up his sleeves to fetch water.
As soon as he touched the well rope, a beautiful hand reached out from the side and grabbed it before him.
Chen Wenjian gently pushed Chen Yunli aside, picked up the wooden bucket for drawing water and threw it into the well. He skillfully lowered the rope in his hands, and even tied up his sleeves in advance so as not to affect his movements. He had a lively and honest look in his eyes.
Chen Yunli was stunned and scratched his hair.
He didn't ask Chen Wenjian to wash the dishes with him just now, probably because he was too deeply influenced by his future self in the plot, and always felt that he was not the type to do this kind of "human work".
But Chen Wenjian could quietly sweep the entire mountain road with a broom. If he hadn't stopped him, he could have swept all the way to the foot of the mountain. He was also willing to accompany him to stroll around the village and was willing to listen to him and save people.
Today's big devil is just an ordinary person, no different from others except that he looks a little colder than others.
If we treat him differently because of future events, we will not be helping him avoid that fate, but will be counterproductive.
Well, many film and television dramas and literary works are written this way.
Chen Yunli smiled when he thought of this, and moved two small stools from the side. He sat on one of them, and after Chen Wenjian finished fetching water, he patted the other one and motioned him to sit down.
The two sat side by side, washing dishes together. Chen Yunli made small talk, and Chen Wenjian responded one by one. This scene, in the eyes of others, had a sense of familiarity and intimacy.
That other person was Ming Shaotu, who had gone back to his room to rest under the pretext of feeling unwell. He stood at the window of the second-floor room, watching the two of them interacting from afar.
It was already afternoon when Ning Bufan came out. Ning Bufan liked these two new friends very much. He told them several times to visit each other often when they were free before he reluctantly sent them out the door.
There are slanting beams of light in the woods at noon. Walking in it is like being in a painting, with the clear chirping of birds and the faint sound of the wind in your ears, which makes you feel peaceful.
"Mr. Chen, please calculate the time. If we set out now, can we get back to the mountain before nightfall?" Chen Yunli asked.
After working with Chen Wenjian twice, Chen Yunli's attitude towards Chen Wenjian became much more relaxed. Although he tried hard to get close to him before, he was always cautious and embarrassed, but now he is very casual.
Chen Wenjian raised his eyes and glanced at him. He was actually counting with his fingers in a serious manner, with the tip of his thumb flicking back and forth on the pads of his four fingers in a disorderly manner. Combined with his serious and focused expression, he was much more impressive than the fortune tellers on the street corners who charged three yuan for a fortune and ten yuan for three fortunes.
Chen Yunli couldn't figure out if he was teasing her on purpose, so he laughed honestly, "I asked you to calculate the time, not your fortune. Why are you pinching your fingers?"
"It's time, luck, and fate. The three are connected." Chen Wenjian's eyes flickered, like a clear stream under the sun, and the faint ripples were full of smiles.
Now Chen Yunli was sure that he was teasing her, so he asked with a smile, "So, what did you figure out, sir?"
"Calculated..." Chen Wenjian looked ahead. "If we leave now, not only can we go up the mountain at night, but we can also have dinner at a restaurant at the foot of the mountain and bring some for Master."
“No trouble along the way?”
"No."
"That's good!"
Chen Yunli didn't know whether Chen Wenjian had learned physiognomy, but since the future number one demon cultivator said so, he, a mortal, had no choice but to believe it. He strolled around happily, attracting birds and playing with squirrels.
There are many fruit trees growing along the road. In early autumn, the branches are full of fruits. Although they look ugly, they taste very good.
"Hey!"
Chen Yun jumped up from his spot, grabbed the branch of the peach tree and plucked two nectarines. He threw one to Chen Wenjian, rubbed the other one with his sleeve, and took a big bite.
Mm, so sweet!
"Hey, let me ask you a question." Chen Yunli walked in front, and Chen Wenjian followed slowly behind him. He didn't even look back when he spoke. "Did the Sealing Sword Tower recruit menial workers in the past?"
Chen Wenjian nibbled the peach slowly and calmly: "Hmm."
"What are they responsible for? Sweeping the mountain roads like me?"
"Cooking, fetching water, chopping wood, cleaning the house, and going down the mountain to buy supplies are all menial tasks." Chen Wenjian looked at Chen Yunli's back. "There are a lot of things to do, but I will help you."
Chen Yunli nodded: "Have all those errand boys before me been fired? They are ordinary people too?"
“…”
Chen Wenjian lowered his eyes calmly: "Yes."
Chen Yunli somehow sensed something was amiss in his calm words. He paused and turned to look over. "Did they go home after being fired?"
“…”
Chen Yunli's face gradually turned pale, and the fruit in his mouth became sour and bitter that it cut his tongue. "Where did they go?"
Chen Wenjian said calmly, "Didn't you see them last night?"
With a "pop", half a nectarine fell to the ground. Chen Yunli looked at him blankly, as if he didn't understand what he meant.
"Those... black ones..."
Chen Wenjian did not comment, but just waved his sleeves forward, and dozens of wild jujubes fell down like dumplings, and were rolled back in front of Chen Yunli.
Chen Yunli stared at the dates floating in the air for a while, then randomly picked them up with his sleeves and held them in his arms.
"Is it from the main trunk of the tower?" Chen Yunli chewed the crispy and sweet mountain dates fiercely.
"No, it was done by the servants who died in the past. The vengeful spirits of those who died unjustly linger in the mountains, coming out at night to hunt for the living. The wooden house is protected by a formation set up by the master. As long as the servants who come later don't go out at night, they will be fine."
Chen Wenjian spoke the longest paragraph since they met.
"Master just doesn't care."
Don't care about the resentful spirits or the menial tasks.
No matter how powerful the vengeful spirits were, they couldn't harm him anyway. As for the servants, they were just ordinary people. Their death wouldn't bother him. On the contrary, eliminating the vengeful spirits would consume his energy and waste his time, so he naturally didn't want to bother with that.
Chen Yunli paused, and the sound of chewing the dates became louder.
"How did the first servant who became a vengeful spirit die? I saw so much last night... there must be a source."
"I don't know." Chen Wenjian shook his head. "That happened before I went up the mountain. On the day I went up the mountain, the servant who came before you was devoured by a vengeful spirit in front of me. That's why Master told me about it."
"In other words, if you hadn't seen it, he wouldn't even talk to you about this? Isn't he afraid that you would also be attacked by the vengeful spirit?" Chen Yunli stopped and said angrily.
Chen Wenjian looked at him. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes and expression said it all.
The Lord of the Sword Sealing Tower is indeed not afraid.
He actually didn't care about this incredibly talented disciple.
Chen Yunli felt it was ridiculous and didn't know how to react, so he forced himself to laugh angrily.
He had thought the Sword Sealing Tower Master had brought him, the "son of an old friend," up the mountain to shelter him and give him a chance to survive, and that he was a good person. But it turned out he had no such conscience at all. He had probably brought him up the mountain simply because too many servants had died and there were no more willing workers to work there.
"Old bitch." Chen Yunli's lips moved, uttering the three silent words of mantra.
"Are you unhappy?" Chen Wenjian asked, "You think Master is not a good person, and you hate him?"
Chen Yunli nodded with a stern face.
It was more than disgust. If it weren't for the mission, he wouldn't even want to change the fact that Chen Wenjian killed the Lord of the Sealing Sword Tower with his own hands. After all, strictly speaking, this could be considered as eliminating harm for the people.
"Master is very powerful. No matter how much you dislike him, you must not show it on your face."
Chen Wenjian reached out and patted his back gently, just like Chen Yunli had done to comfort him when they were at Ning Bufan's house just now.
"But a little revenge is still okay."
After hearing the first half of the sentence, Chen Yunli felt disappointed, even though he knew it made sense. But when the second half came out, he immediately perked up and asked expectantly, "How do you want revenge?"
Chen Wenjian smiled. "There are two restaurants at the foot of the mountain. The one I said I'd take you to is the one Master likes, with its light flavors. The other one is heavy on oil, sauce, and spicy food, which Master doesn't like. Master doesn't come down the mountain easily, especially not for something as trivial as food. We'll bring him a meal he hates tonight, annoy him, and let him go hungry for a meal, just to vent his anger. What do you think?"
"I think—this is a brilliant plan! Very brilliant!"
Chen Yunli slapped him hard on the shoulder, feeling that his method was exactly what he wanted. His steps became unstable, and he wanted to fly to the restaurant he mentioned immediately, order a plate of extra spicy and numbing boiled pork slices for the Lord of Fengjian Tower, and throw it hard in his face.
Seeing him regain his spirit, Chen Wenjian felt inexplicably in a good mood and continued to eat the remaining half of the nectarine.
At this time, the Master of the Sword Sealing Tower, who was far away in the mountains, had no idea what he was about to encounter.
…
"Add more chili oil. Oh, right, put it in there! Don't worry about whether people can eat it or not. This isn't for people to eat. Just put it in there generously. At worst, I'll pay double the price!"
In the restaurant, he watched the chef make a dish of extra spicy boiled fish fillet and urged him to put in a lethal amount of chili peppers. Although Chen Yunli came out sneezing and coughing non-stop and his eyes were red from the smoke, he had a happy smile on his face.
He hooked his finger at Chen Wenjian, who leaned over and whispered, "Do you know how to perform illusions? The kind that changes the appearance of an object into something else."
Chen Wenjian was a clever man. Upon hearing this, the corners of his lips curved slightly, and he pointed at the boiled fish fillet in his hand. "You want me to transform this dish into something like the ones Master often eats, so that he can be tricked into eating it?"
"Smart!" Chen Yunli gave a thumbs up. "This illusion doesn't need to last too long, as long as he doesn't see through it in advance. If he takes a bite--"
Chen Yunli patted the oil-paper bag that wrapped the porcelain bowl of fish fillets and said, "All my efforts on this fish and these peppers have not been in vain!"
Chen Wenjian chuckled: "Okay."
He agreed readily and moved swiftly. With a pinch of his fingers, he cast an illusion on the boiled fish fillets, turning them into steamed river shrimps. Even the pungent and eye-irritating smell was changed, making the color, aroma and taste so real that they were indistinguishable from the real thing.
Chen Yunli said with satisfaction, "We'll go up the mountain later. If he hasn't come out of the tower yet, I'll put the food in his room and go back to sleep. You should also hurry up and practice, and try not to meet him face to face. That way, if he asks about it later, I can say that I bought the food and I don't know his taste, and he can't attack me because of a dish."
Hearing the word "practice", Chen Wenjian's eyes darkened, but his smile immediately deepened: "Okay. After you go back to the house, don't go out again, and rest early."
"clear!"
The two of them sat close together, whispering to each other all the way up the mountain.
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