Chapter 69: Thick-skinned

  The wooden heart is very uneasy.

  He is a very honest man, so he thinks that Lin Bei entrusting his home to him is a sign of trust. Now the 'little master' has run away, which means he failed in his duty to take care of him. Moreover, after the master left, he didn't bring back the 'little master', and it seems like he's very angry. Mù Tóu thinks it's all his own fault.

  Lin Bei didn't notice Mu Tou's self-blame, Mu Tou was usually quiet and expressionless, so Lin Bei overlooked it, but An Zhongzhi discovered it.

  Lin Bei is reading wooden slips in the house.

  This was Lin Bei's first time seeing the actual items, the wooden slips were made of a material he didn't know whether it was bamboo or wood, in long strips, then strung together. When opened, they rustled loudly, giving off an extremely thick and heavy feeling. This pile of wooden slips weighed at least several dozen catties, had been categorized by Master Bian, and there were quite a few types. Lin Bei recognized the Book of Songs, the Rites of Zhou, the Records of Ritual, the Analects, and the Changes of Zhou. He flipped through them diligently, many of the characters were somewhat blurry, and there was one that should be Master Bian's own writing, called "Bian Ji Za Ji".

  Lin Bei roughly scanned through it, and his heart skipped a beat. Many of the characters were familiar to him, but he didn't recognize them, and there were many that he couldn't understand either, because even punctuation marks were absent. If he hadn't known that ancient books are read from top to bottom, Lin Bei estimated that he wouldn't have even recognized those earlier ones. To put it bluntly, Lin Bei was not much different from an illiterate person. Of course, if Bian Fuzi had read out these characters, Lin Bei would definitely have understood seven or eight out of ten.

  "Afterwards, I'm afraid I'll have to go back to school again." Lin Bei thought with a slightly red face. "Or maybe just let Mr. Bian teach simplified characters, after all, many people don't have a foundation, learning classical Chinese and learning simplified Chinese are the same for them. In that case, Mr. Bian would be the one who needs to learn first. I feel like an illiterate when reading classical Chinese, and Mr. Bian should also be an illiterate when it comes to modern text."

  Actually, learning Simplified Chinese characters is very beneficial. At the very least, with Simplified Chinese characters, Traditional Chinese Medicine will not decline in modern society. During the Cultural Revolution, why was Traditional Chinese Medicine viewed as a monster? Because most people didn't understand it. Listening to all the mysterious and obscure terms, for a simple illness, they would come up with a bunch of vague phrases that even some modern PhDs and Masters might find confusing, let alone ordinary people who can't even recognize characters. Who else could they fool?

  "Is anyone there?" An Zhong shouted at the door.

  Lin Bei wanted to say "please come in", but couldn't make a sound, so he just closed the wooden door and crawled out, looking at An Zhong straight and asking what was going on.

  "Sir, is this the aura of a living tree?"

  Lin Beiming was inexplicably angry, with a fierce aura emanating from his body. Where did he get so much energy from?

  An Zhong straightened up and let out a sigh of relief, "Tell the young master to calm down, he thinks you're angry with him."

  Lin Bei asked: "Where does the energy come from?"

  "Isn't it the adults' job to take care of Mu Tou? Now that 'Little Adult' is gone, Mu Tou thinks it's his fault and feels he has let the adult down. Although I said the adult definitely wouldn't mind, Mu Tou doesn't believe me."

  An Zhongzhí was also helpless. In the past, as the head of the pavilion, he had the most prestige in Xishan Township. If there were any matters, after his mediation, they would often be resolved easily. However, now, the prestige of the dragon lord in front of him clearly surpassed his own. His words no longer carried weight because Mùtóu no longer trusted him.

  Lin Beixian sneered, "What's the big deal? They're not some 'young masters', they have nothing to do with me, just a few insignificant worms. From now on, you can kill them if you want, or catch them if you need to."

  "Let's talk to that grown-up about it, Mu is a very straightforward person, and he might have some emotional knots."

  Lin Bei was speechless, and he had to act as a psychologist. He still had to call Mu Tong over and have him repeat what he said earlier, emphasizing that he really wasn't angry. Only then did the look of relief appear on Mu Tong's face, showing that he indeed cared about Lin Bei's feelings.

  After Toki left, An Zhong straightened up and said in a low voice: "Sir, the hunters all have great respect for you."

  Lin Bei didn't speak, An Zhong thought for a moment and then opened his mouth with great difficulty: "Sir, the hunters are naturally kind-hearted, they will remember your kindness to them. I, Zhong, dare to say that if you really have ulterior motives, please don't let these hunters know about it, lest you hurt their hearts."

  Lin Beining was extremely painful: "I really have no ulterior motives, An Zhongzhi, don't think of me as so despicable, apart from my current snake body, you can actually treat me like an ordinary person. Have you heard a saying? You treat me with the courtesy due to a country gentleman, and I will respond with the loyalty due to a country gentleman. The hunters are kind and pure, and I will also treat them with a pure heart, so please put your mind at ease. I only say this for the last time, don't measure a gentleman's belly with a small person's heart."

  An Zhong straightened up and instead became more relaxed: "The adults are indeed very kind."

  Are you trying to test me? Lin Bei was speechless. Indeed, it wasn't easy for a demon to gain the trust of humans, no matter how good his actions were, there would always be people who thought otherwise.

  Lin Bei was not angry just now, but now he is somewhat annoyed, and cannot scold An Zhongzhi, so he can only hum and turn into the house.

  An Zhong straightened his smile, with a radiant glow on his face. Today's sights and sounds, combined with An Zhong's probing, had already confirmed that the Dragon Lord before him was not an evil monster. For Xishan Village, this was a good start. As the village head, he was delighted to see such a beginning.

  "Sir, if there's nothing else, may I lead the hunters back to the village first?" An Zhong shouted.

  Lin Bei had no choice but to climb out again and nodded his head.

  "That Master, we won't be needing the Shenggucao Master anymore, right? Can I take him back with me? If we bring him to the city's medical hall, we can also exchange him for some red gold." An Zhong smiled gleefully, his smile making Lin Bei want to punch him in the face.

  Lin Bei brought back five stalks of Zhong Sheng Cao, Ping San used three, leaving two remaining. Lin Bei threw the Zhong Sheng Cao at An Zhongzheng and wrote heavily on the ground: "Get out quickly."

  An Zhongzheng smiled and carefully put away the Shenggucao, saying: "Sir, the journey is long and there are many wild beasts. I hope you can escort us for a while."

  This guy's name must have been taken by himself with a thick face, Lin Bei can be absolutely sure.