Chapter Seventeen: Yun Tai Guan

  Just as the atmosphere was becoming awkward, Wang Mengfan coughed lightly and stepped forward to pull Zhou Jinping aside, saying: "Brother Zhou, Shui Sheng is still young and doesn't understand things, being competitive is a child's nature, no need to make a big fuss. As for this happening, it also has a lot to do with me as his master, if you want to blame someone, you can only blame us adults for not teaching him well!"

  After saying that, he took a glance at Shui Sheng's red and swollen face, but his expression was like a small fighting cock. He pulled Shui Sheng's small hand and dragged him far away from the crowd until they were separated by a considerable distance. Only then did he ask: "Shui Sheng, Master is asking you, do you think what happened just now was wrong?"

  "No, she scolded me first, and besides, I just wanted to scare her a bit, didn't do anything to her!" Shui Sheng was still fuming with indignation.

  Wang Mengfan smiled slightly and said, "Oh, so you just wanted to scare her? But everyone didn't know that? Not only did Xintang not know, but even Tie Furen didn't know, and even Shifu thought you wanted to drown Xintang in the water!"

  Shuisheng shook his head repeatedly and explained: "It's not like that, it's not like that. I really just wanted to scare her a bit, Master must believe me!"

  Wang Mengfan stared at Shuisheng's eyes, unblinking, and after a moment, said: "Alright, Master will believe you this once, but why did you do such a thing?"

  "I just wanted to scare her, I really didn't mean anything else!" Shui Sheng said anxiously.

  "Frightened her, why frighten her? Do you think General Iron Wing is a bad person? He recommended that the three of you siblings and Wang Long go to Yuding Gate to cultivate immortality, it can be said that he has great kindness towards the four of you. Do you think Madame Iron is a bad person? She is knowledgeable and reasonable, with a gentle nature, she has also been obstructing. If they, as a couple, thought that you wanted to harm their precious daughter, what would they think? What would they do? Would they feel that we are repaying kindness with enmity, would they refuse the four of you from cultivating immortality at Yuding Mountain?" King Mengfan said slowly.

  Although Shuǐ Shēng was young, he also knew that things would be troublesome if they were to become like this. Cold sweat suddenly flowed from his forehead as he stuttered: "I really didn't want to drown Tiě Xīn Táng, I just wanted to win against her and make her not look down on us?" His heart was immediately filled with anxiety, fearing that everyone would not believe him, fearing that it would cause himself and his siblings to be unable to join the Yù Dǐng Gate.

  Wang Mengfan saw that Shuisheng had already lost his composure and knew that this remark had struck at his weak point. He said, "Can your swimming skills surpass those of Tie Xin?" Shuisheng shook his head.

  Wang Mengfan said, "Since you can't beat her, what's the harm in admitting defeat? Will a simple apology really make it impossible for you to hold your head up forever? Of course not! You're only ten years old this year, but Xintang looks like she's two or three years older than you. It's normal that she's stronger than you. If you want to beat her in swimming, all you need to do is practice diligently. Your coach believes you can definitely surpass her. But what about you? You're using such a foolish method! Even if you win, it won't be glorious. She won't admire you; instead, she'll look down on you from the bottom of her heart and think you're a despicable person who will stop at nothing to achieve your goals!"

  Jian Shui was born with a low head and did not speak, continuing to say: "Your parents' martial arts are better than yours, and your master reads more books than you do. These are all the things we accumulate day by day. As long as you work hard, it's just a matter of time before you surpass us, and it's not difficult at all. If you go to Yu Ding Men, there will be countless masters with higher and deeper magical powers than yours. Can you lose face because you can't compare to them and kill them one by one?"

  "No, won't it?" Shuǐ shēng loudly exclaimed.

  "There are many children older than you who can't run as fast as you, can't climb as high as you, and aren't as strong as you. They can't beat you, so won't they hate you, be jealous of you, and secretly harm you?"

  Shuǐ shēng's face turned pale instantly, and he was drenched in sweat. He said in a low voice: "Master, I was wrong. I shouldn't have done this!"

  Wang Mengfan smiled faintly, stroking the little water-born brain, and said: "Even if it's a god in heaven, there are places that aren't as good as others. Xintang isn't your enemy, just your companion. If you really want to surpass her in something, then study hard, work hard to exceed her, instead of secretly doing evil things. Do you understand?"

  Shuǐ Shēng nodded slightly. Wáng Mèng Fán patted Shuǐ Shēng's head and said, "Since you know you're wrong, what should be done?"

  Shuǐ Shēng bit his lip, bowed to Wáng Mèng Fán and said: "Master, I know what to do now." After that, he turned around and ran towards Tiě Xīn Táng, came to the front, deeply bowed down and saluted Tiě Xīn Táng loudly saying: "Tiě Xīn Táng, I was wrong! I shouldn't have pulled you underwater to scare you. You swim better than me, I'm a little dog, I'm a black charcoal head, hit me!"

  Upon hearing this, and seeing Shui Sheng's honest and humble appearance, with his head hung low and not daring to look up, Tie Xin Tang couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Haha" and tears of joy streaming down his face.

  Although Mrs. Tie still had many unpleasant things in her heart, seeing that her daughter had stopped crying and Shui Sheng was seriously apologizing with a sincere attitude, she didn't say anything else and handed the silk handkerchief she had been holding to Tie Xintang.

  Shuǐ shēng què yī rán wān yāo zhàn zài nà lǐ, fǎng fú shì zài děng zhe tiě xīn táng fā luò yì bān.

  Translation:

  Water yet still bent waist standing there, as if waiting for Iron Heart Tang to make a move.

  Tie Xin Tang wiped away her tears and snot, threw the silk handkerchief aside, and said: "Alright then, since you admit to being a little dog, admit to being a black charcoal head, lift your head up!" Only then did Shui Sheng lift his head.

  Looking at Shui Sheng's dark face, Tie Xin thought to herself that if she let him off like this, wouldn't it be too easy for him and unfair to her own tears from earlier? Her heart stirred, and she said: "Since you're apologizing to me, from now on you have to listen to me obediently. Remember, I'm your sister and you're my brother. Whatever I tell you to do, you have to go do it. Otherwise... Hmph!

  Shui Sheng was afraid that Tie Xin Tang would tell General Tie Yi about what happened today, so he hastily said: "Okay, as long as you don't tell anyone else, I'll do whatever you want me to!" "You said it yourself, no backing out! Alright, I won't tell anyone else!" Tie Xin Tang agreed readily, but in his heart, he was thinking: "Such a humiliating thing, of course, I wouldn't tell anyone else, do I need you to remind me?"

  "Are you saying I should go kill people and set fires too?" Shui Sheng asked, his voice laced with unease. Tie Xin glared at him and said, "You want to back out now? Who told you to go kill people and set fires anyway? All I need is for you to follow me from now on, and if anyone dares to bully me, you'll help me fight them!"

  "Alright then!" Shuǐshēng finally let out a sigh of relief.

  "This is what you said, no taking it back! Come on, let's make a deal. Whoever goes back on their word will be a turtle for the rest of their life!" Tie Xin Tang said in a crisp voice, stretching out a small white hand and waving it in front of Sheng Shui.

  Seeing the two little ones pulling and being good, several adults finally put down their worries, each smiling to themselves. A not-so-big storm dissipated without a trace, Tie Xin Tang got into the carriage, changed his clothes again, and started playing with several little ones.

  That night, looking at the three siblings who were fast asleep due to exhaustion, Luo Xiuying let out a soft sigh and said: "Peng Ge, Xiaojuan is only seven years old, she's too young. Do you think we're being too heartless by letting her go on this long journey?" Zhou Jinping patted his wife's shoulder and said: "If it can really help her embark on the path of cultivation, what's a little hardship? If she's truly not destined for it, we can just bring her back home, isn't that right?"

  After saying that, he took a glance at Shuǐ Shēng and continued: "Actually, the one I'm most worried about is Shuǐ Shēng. This child is too stubborn, I'm afraid he'll suffer losses because of this in the future."

  Lu Xiangying sighed and said, "This child was born with a bitter fate. At such a young age, he was abandoned by his family and thrown into the river. I didn't want him to feel different from others, so I spoiled him and encouraged him to be stronger than everyone else. As a result, he became overly competitive and ended up like this today. However, this child is not inherently bad. If he really enters the Jade Cauldron Sect, with the guidance of his masters, he will likely slowly change for the better!"

  The couple covered their three children with a thin quilt and then went to sleep together.

  Four young children were originally much stronger than most children, and with sufficient preparation, they also had the help of General Iron Wing. After a selection, the four naturally entered the list of thirty people without any suspense.

  As they watched, the thirty children selected were led by General Iron Wing and escorted to a Taoist temple called "Cloud Platform Pavilion" by the Black Iron Army, with fifty Black Iron soldiers guarding outside day and night. Only then did Zhou Jinping and his wife, as well as Wang Mengfan, bid farewell to General Iron Wing and leave Longyang City with peace of mind.

  "Yuntai Temple" is located on Yuntai Mountain, thirty miles west of Longyang City. It has three main halls and six auxiliary halls, as well as over a hundred rooms for Taoist priests to live in. The temple covers a large area, but there are only more than twenty Taoist priests, and the incense is not prosperous. The vast Taoist temple is usually quiet and deserted.

  These twenty or so Taoists are also very different from those in other Taoist temples. Every day, they do not try to attract incense guests by all means, nor do they perform any Taoist rituals. Instead, they spend most of their time meditating and cultivating the dozens of hectares of thin fields outside the temple.

  The host of the Taoist temple was a middle-aged Taoist priest with a slender build, named "Wu Mu". He wore a half-old black Taoist robe, and on his messy and yellowish Daoist hair bun, he inserted a four-inch long Wu Mu hairpin. His eyebrows were thick and short, his eyes were triangular, his nose was flat, and his mouth was wide. His face was ugly and his expression was icy cold.

  Shui Sheng had an inexplicable feeling of discomfort from the moment she first laid eyes on Wu Mu Dao. She always felt that he wasn't a good person. The thought of having to live with Wu Mu Dao for almost two years made her heart feel twisted and uncomfortable.

  Wudao Daoren saw that General Tieyi was going to settle the children in the temple, and his expression changed. With a furious face, he called General Tieyi alone into the Sanqing Hall.

  The crowd of children outside the main hall couldn't hear what the two were discussing, but they could see that Wu Mu Dao Ren seemed to be very angry, pointing at General Tie Yi's nose several times and scolding him loudly. More than half a time had passed, but General Tie Yi still stood upright with a smile on his face, speaking calmly without any anger or impatience, completely unfazed by Wu Mu Dao Ren's dissatisfaction. Unexpectedly, the more Wu Mu Dao Ren spoke, the angrier he became, and in the end, he stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.

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