Chapter 34: This is Too Unfortunate
The cold war with my Master didn’t last too long. After a few days, as the heat of the stinky ditch incident gradually faded in my mind, Xiang Jiannan remembered that he was a Taoist priest. Under Gao Yu’an’s constant nagging, he finally agreed to go see Li Yuanwai.
It was truly a helpless move. Judging from the progress of the investigation these past few days, Xiang Jiannan was purely indulging in wishful thinking. Trying to find out the truth by himself was indeed as difficult as ascending to heaven. Continuing like this was really not a solution.
You know, life is like this: if you want to quickly escape from a vexing matter, the best way is to enter another vexing matter. Rather than struggling with one thing, it’s better to find two more to numb yourself. Once the number of such things increases, maybe one day you’ll suddenly see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Of course, this was just a psychological activity that Xiang Jiannan forced upon himself. How could he possibly forget what happened by the stinky ditch? The main reason for temporarily giving up the investigation was a move by his Master.
Yesterday, after dinner, he suddenly took out a few taels of silver from his sleeve, stating simply that it was the expense money for going to Li Yuanwai’s house. This kind of direct and crude monetary temptation instantly made Xiang Jiannan see his Master’s ugly face. He felt insulted. While sneering at it, he couldn’t help but think a lot.
Then, after a few breaths of careful consideration, he finally decided to endure the humiliation for the time being.
As the saying goes, of all virtues, filial piety comes first. His Master was already so old, and as a disciple, he really couldn’t keep making him angry. The matter of the stinky ditch couldn’t be investigated clearly in just a day or two. When there were no clues, it was still necessary to consider the harmony within Ping’an Temple.
Isn’t it just going to see Li Yuanwai? What’s so difficult about that? Being young, one should travel and see more.
So, after clearly stating that he was not doing it for the money, he left the temple gate and went straight onto the main road the next day.
Li Yuanwai lived in another town adjacent to Ping’an Town. The journey was long, so he would just walk around first and see if he could hitch a ride.
Wearing his Taoist robe, he walked at a leisurely pace. Xiang Jiannan would hum a few tunes from time to time. Recalling the extreme research of the past few days, he felt that sometimes he was indeed too stubborn.
Some things might not need to be known immediately. If his Master didn’t say, there must be a reason he couldn’t say it. However, judging from the generosity of his Master’s offer this time, the stinky ditch incident must have a hidden story. Those two high-level people who were only heard but not seen might have even higher cultivation than his Master.
If only he could find the White-Faced Scholar. It was all his fault for being so confused at the time. He didn’t know when they would meet again. If he appeared again, he must not let the opportunity slip away.
Looking at his face, he didn’t seem like someone who couldn’t be persuaded.
“Little Taoist Priest, going to the county town again?”
Passing by flowers and plants while letting his mind wander, Xiang Jiannan quickly encountered the first person who seemed useful after leaving the house today. This person was named Wang Yixing. He drove a donkey cart around the vicinity all year round. The reason he was called Yixing was firstly because he was the eldest in his family, and secondly because it came from his father, Old Master Wang’s, beautiful wish.
He hoped that this eldest son would achieve something in a certain industry in the future, preferably study and embark on an official career.
And because Ping’an Town hadn’t produced a high-ranking official for many years, Old Master Wang was actually very unsure in his heart when he fantasized. So, he had a flash of inspiration and chose this name with profound meaning.
Any industry is fine, as long as it can improve the life of our Old Wang family.
But heaven didn’t fulfill his wishes. After growing up with the name “Yixing” for decades, Wang Yixing, who was once highly expected by his family, did not successfully achieve anything according to his father’s original plan. Instead, he was good at nothing and gradually became idle and lazy. He had nothing to do every day. His greatest hobby was driving his donkey cart around the town. He usually relied on occasionally helping the residents of the town to pull some things for a little benefit, and he just got by day by day.
“No, I’m going to the neighboring town.”
Every time he saw Wang Yixing, he would automatically imagine Old Master Wang’s disappointed expression. Xiang Jiannan said that he was really poisoned too deeply.
He also heard the origin of Wang Yixing’s name from the old people in the town. As a well-known idler in Ping’an Town, this old brother was actually always a negative example in everyone’s mouths. The main reason why he was always talked about was because of his old man.
He had repeatedly scolded Wang Yixing in front of everyone for being useless. Over time, it was inevitable that people would use it as after-dinner gossip.
Actually, his nature wasn’t bad, just a little lazy. If you had to say he had any flaws, not being married was one.
People in the Great Zhou Dynasty married very early, especially in small places like Ping’an Town. Seventeen or eighteen years old was already considered late. For someone like Wang Yixing, who was nearly thirty, it was considered outrageous in the eyes of others.
“Get on, I’ll take you.”
As soon as Wang Yixing heard that Xiang Jiannan was going to the neighboring town, he happily understood that business was coming.
Early in the morning, he heard magpies chirping outside. It turned out they were telling him that there was work to be done. Going out with the Little Taoist Priest for a spin, the benefits would definitely not be small. The reputation of Ping’an Temple had been very loud recently. Didn’t the County Magistrate just come a while ago?
Getting a free lunch was definitely no problem, and maybe he could even get some copper coins.
“Is this, convenient?”
“It’s convenient, and I know the road very well.”
Seeing that Wang Yixing couldn’t wait for him to get in the cart immediately, how could Xiang Jiannan not know what he was thinking? Looking around and seeing no one else, he made a couple of perfunctory refusals and then got on. He wasn’t that petty. Today, going to Li Yuanwai’s, he would definitely be treated to a meal. If nothing else, just because the road was far, he definitely wouldn’t walk there on foot. Judging by the speed of the donkey cart, it would be fast if he could reach Li Yuanwai’s residence by noon.
Since he was going, there was no reason not to freeload a meal. Anyway, he didn’t have to pay for it. What was one more pair of chopsticks? Li Yuanwai definitely wouldn’t mind.
“Taoist Priest, sit tight, Giddy up!”
After Xiang Jiannan got on the donkey cart, Wang Yixing immediately cracked the whip. When he spoke, his mouth was almost splitting to the roots of his ears.
He believed his judgment. Following the Little Taoist Priest would definitely not be a loss for him. This was a kind of appreciation.
“Excuse me, where is Li Yuanwai’s house?”
Driving the donkey cart straight until the sun was overhead, Xiang Jiannan and Wang Yixing finally arrived at the town where Li Yuanwai lived.
This town was called Pingshun Town. It was a little larger than Ping’an Town where Xiang Jiannan was located. After the two arrived in the town and asked around for a while, they finally found out the approximate location of Li Yuanwai’s residence.
There were many Yuanwai with the surname Li in Pingshun Town. Fortunately, Xiang Jiannan knew the specific name.
“The one with the stone lions at the entrance is it. Are you from somewhere else?”
When he came near Li Yuanwai’s house for the last confirmation, Xiang Jiannan was pulled aside by the direction-giving old man who asked him an extra question.
It was just because he was wearing a Taoist robe and looked very young.
“We’re from the neighboring town.”
“The neighboring town, are you the Little Taoist Priest from Ping’an Temple?”
After thinking for a moment, he associated Xiang Jiannan’s identity. The direction-giving old man was therefore a little happy:
“Li Yuanwai has been possessed by evil these past few days. Little Taoist Priest, you came specifically for this, right? Good! Good!”
Why does it have to be so coincidental! This is too unfortunate.
Stunned by what the direction-giving old man said, Xiang Jiannan only felt that he was very unfortunate. Not coming with his Master this time was really too careless. Speaking of which, was it still too late to deny it now?
I didn’t expect Xiang Jiannan to be so famous, even the old man in the neighboring town knew about me. Now, it’s not even easy to run away…