Chapter 564 — Meeting an Old Taoist

"Congratulations, you got it right." Jiao Yazi nodded. "I'm a ghost. Does that frighten you?"

"..." Wei Zhao was at a loss for words.

He had no idea how much time this breakthrough had taken, but Wei Zhao was suddenly startled by the sound of footsteps outside his room. Alarmed, he hurriedly emerged from the jade pendant's space back into reality. A glance at the alarm clock on his bedside table showed it was already half past six. He was always up by this hour every day; today, because of the breakthrough, he'd been delayed for a while.

Wei Zhao threw on his clothes and pushed open the door, only to find Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu whispering to each other over by the kitchen and dining area.

"How come Arrow-Brand Bro didn't make breakfast today?" Shen Yushu asked, one hand rubbing her lower belly while the other groped around the dining table. "Did he make it and hide it somewhere?"

"That's enough, Xiaoshu. Wei Zhao hasn't gotten up yet. He rushed back to save us, and he's been exhausted these past couple of days. Let him sleep a little longer — we'll eat breakfast at school," Gu Mengyao said with a shake of her head.

"Ooh, Sister Yaoyao, are you feeling sorry for Arrow-Brand Bro?" Shen Yushu blinked in surprise, then looked at Gu Mengyao with a curious gleam in her eye.

Gu Mengyao's face flushed red. She cleared her throat and said, "Feeling sorry for him? What are you talking about? He's our savior — we ought to treat him a little better!"

"Oh, all right." Shen Yushu nodded. "But the school breakfast is awful. We should tell Uncle Chu to replace the cafeteria manager!"

"That manager happens to be a relative of my family. I don't think we can replace him..." Gu Mengyao said. "Anyway, we're about to graduate — we won't be eating there many more times."

Standing in the doorway, Wei Zhao let the corners of his mouth curve into a faint smile. Heh — the young lady was just the same as ever, always caring about people behind their backs while acting cold as ice to their faces.

"There's still time. I'll fix something for you two to eat." Wei Zhao stepped out of his room and headed for the kitchen.

"You... you're awake?" Gu Mengyao jumped in fright and stared at him wide-eyed. Had he overheard what she'd just said? Flustered and embarrassed, she glared at Wei Zhao fiercely. "How do you not make a sound? Are you trying to scare people to death?"

"Heh..." Wei Zhao said nothing and simply got busy in the kitchen.

Ever since he'd moved into the villa, Uncle Qing had stocked the freezer with plenty of ready-made food. Wei Zhao opened the freezer and spotted some frozen soup dumplings; he took out a bag and put them in the steamer. Then he pulled some fresh daylily buds and enoki mushrooms from the refrigerator's crisper drawer, washed them clean and cut them into sections, poured in Sichuan pepper oil, salt, sugar, and chili, and gave it all a stir — and just like that, a plate of tasty pickled vegetables was ready.

Meanwhile, the soup dumplings were done too. Wei Zhao quickly lifted them out of the pot and set them on the dining table alongside the pickles. "All right, time to eat."

"Wow, as expected of Arrow-Brand Bro — so awesome!" Shen Yushu, who had been hungry for a while, reached out to grab a dumpling.

"Xiaoshu, how can you eat like that? You didn't even wash your hands, did you?" Gu Mengyao stopped her.

"Uh... I don't think I got any pee on my hands..." Shen Yushu said, blushing a little.

"Don't think?" Gu Mengyao asked.

"Uh... just a tiny bit. I got some on my hand when I was wiping..." Shen Yushu stuck out her tongue.

"Then what are you waiting for? Go wash your hands!" Gu Mengyao shot her a glare.

"Then this dumpling... here, you can have it, Sister Yaoyao." Shen Yushu tried to hand the dumpling to Gu Mengyao.

"I don't want it!" Gu Mengyao waved her hands again and again.

"Arrow-Brand Bro, then it's a gift for you!" Shen Yushu set the dumpling on the plate in front of Wei Zhao.

"..." Wei Zhao's face was instantly streaked with black lines.

By the time Shen Yushu finished washing her hands and came back, Wei Zhao was still staring at the steamed bun before him, speechless. It wasn't that he was disgusted by Shen Yushu—on the contrary, he felt a faint stir of something peculiar and excited inside. It was just that Wei Zhao's taste for mischief wasn't strong enough; he couldn't bring himself to reach out a hand, much less open his mouth.

"Just throw it away," Gu Mengyao said, glancing at Wei Zhao.

"I'm not hungry. You two eat," Wei Zhao sighed. Living under the same roof as Shen Yushu meant summoning up the courage of a man in training.

Shen Yushu seemed to realize only then what was off about Wei Zhao. She looked at him, then at the steamed bun in front of him, and burst out laughing: "Haha... Brother Arrowhead, I picked up the bun with my left hand just now. The right one's the one that went to the toilet..."

With that, Shen Yushu took the bun back from in front of Wei Zhao, bit off a huge mouthful, and ate it with particular relish...

Wei Zhao and Gu Mengyao exchanged a glance, and each saw the deep helplessness in the other's eyes...

After breakfast, Uncle Qing came to pick up Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu for school, while Wei Zhao drove his beat-up old van. Having just broken through from the Yellow Rank into the Mystic Rank, Wei Zhao was feeling pretty good about himself. A Mystic Rank expert was probably a rare sight indeed in the secular world, wasn't he? The next time he ran into Wu Gonggao, he wouldn't have to fear him either. An externalist expert would always be a notch below an internalist expert; the gap might not be large, but in the end a gap remained.

Wei Zhao was still gloating when he turned his head and nearly jumped out of his skin! For in the van, which was supposed to hold only himself, an old man had somehow appeared in the passenger seat! The old man was dressed sharply—a T-shirt, jeans, sunglasses, and slicked-back hair.

"Whoa!" Wei Zhao slammed the brakes in fright and brought the van to a stop on the road. "Who are you?"

How this old man had gotten in, and when, Wei Zhao had not sensed in the slightest! The delight he'd been nursing over his breakthrough to the early Mystic Rank plummeted straight to the bottom.

"This poor monk is Mo Kongwu," the old man said, nodding at Wei Zhao. "Boundless Life Buddha."

"Boundless Life Buddha? Are you a Daoist or a monk?" Wei Zhao was rather baffled. Just what was this old man's background? Could he be an expert? And yet Wei Zhao could not sense the slightest ripple of energy from him.

"Neither," the old man said, shaking his head.

"Then why do you call yourself 'this poor monk'?" Wei Zhao was taken aback.

"My honored surname is Poor Monk; my given name is Mo Kongwu," the old man said.

"..." Wei Zhao was speechless. The old man was obviously talking nonsense. "I don't know you. Get out of the car."

"Benefactor, you are too full of viciousness, and an omen of misfortune hangs above your head—this is an ill portent..." the old man rattled on without pause.

Wei Zhao reached over, opened the passenger door, and kicked the old man right out of the car. Then he swiftly started the engine, stamped on the gas, and sped away.

So he was just an old swindler after all! Wei Zhao had barely breathed a sigh of relief when he heard someone knocking on the car window. He turned his head and saw that Mo Kongwu was sprinting along outside the van, one hand rapping at the glass.

Wei Zhao glanced at the speedometer and his eyes went wide! Sixty miles an hour—how was this old man keeping up?

"Benefactor, I can help you dispel that ill omen for you..." the old man said as he ran.