Chapter 23: Expulsion

  In the study room, the young men of Yelin Town surrounded Xia Qiu and Fang Fang, determined to get to the bottom of things.

  "There must be a trick." Shen Hao said enviously in a loud voice, "Quickly tell everyone and share it with us."

  "Yesterday when we were practicing boxing together, Little Autumn was about the same as us, how did he change so much overnight?" Dazed Mufei Huang searched around Little Autumn's body, trying to find something special.

  Xiao Qiu dodged and laughed, "What kind of trick is this? I don't know why either, after sleeping for a while, many moves suddenly became clear, the more I didn't think about anything, the smoother my fist techniques were."

  "Where's Fangfang?" Shen Hao was very dissatisfied with this explanation. "She didn't even practice boxing yesterday."

  "I practiced boxing in my own room last night." Fangfang hid behind Xiaqiu, her face red as she said it softly. Although she was Mr. Qin's daughter, she had been strictly taught from a young age and had very little contact with the boys at school, so even now she still felt embarrassed often.

  "No, no, this definitely isn't something you can practice into shape." Erliang Shenyu Wei hadn't eaten enough breakfast and was particularly concerned about the boxing techniques. "You guys went to the Mei's house, did he teach you two some secret tricks?"

  "No, Mei Chuanan finally said a five-word spell, which is..."

  "Don't say it, whatever you do, don't say it out loud." The young men simultaneously took a step back, and Dumbfounded Mu Fei Huang stared with wide eyes, "Little Autumn brother, how dare you still chant spells? Didn't Zhang Daoshi tell you to forget?"

  Zhang Lingsheng deliberately scolded Xiao Qiu and Fangfang outside the bedroom last night, and the young people in the house heard it clearly.

  "Just five words, how can I just forget? Besides, it doesn't seem to have any bad effects, at least I haven't felt anything, who knows, maybe I'll be able to master the Iron Bone Fist thanks to it. Fangfang, what do you think?"

  "It's possible, I'm not sure." Fang Fang hesitated for a moment and added another sentence, "If it's really the effect of the curse, it's a bit strange..."

  Xiao Qiu was just about to ask where the strange thing was, when Zhang Lingsheng pushed open the door and came in, looking coldly at the young men. "In two days there will be new people moving in. Since you've come a few days early, don't idle around, help tidy up the lodge."

  The young men were already tired of the dull life in the temple, and when they heard that a new person was coming, they were all excited. Only Shen Hao frowned, thinking that cleaning up the temple was not something he should be doing.

  Zhang Lingsheng assigned tasks, and it didn't take long to revive. Fangfang stayed in the study room to continue sorting books, while others were doing some simple wiping and cleaning tasks. Xia Qiu and Da Liang Shen Xiuming were sent to clean the main gate.

  Xiao Qiu almost asked Zhang Lingsheng if he would be considered to have broken the rules established last night by taking a step out of the door, but in the end he endured it. He had already greatly offended this person and didn't need to add fuel to the fire.

  Half a time later, Xia Qiu found that he had thought of Zhang Lingsheng too well, and he was actually sent to the gate for a reason.

  It's almost noon, and Xiao Qiu and Shen Xiuming are about to finish wiping the gate. Jinghu Village is a very clean place, with not much dust on the door. Just then, a group of people walked in from outside the village, catching the attention of the two boys.

  The adult villagers of Jinghu Village seemed to have all come out, with a total of four or five hundred people, both men and women, taking big strides, and their angry shouts could be heard from afar, which was vastly different from the polite impression Xia Qiu had.

  The villagers quickly approached, and Xiao Qiu saw Mei Chuan'an's mother in the crowd.

  Grandma Mei was short and stout, surrounded by a group of excited women, and outside that layer were serious and gloomy men, who were relatively quiet. If Xiao Qiu hadn't been standing on the steps, she would have hardly seen her figure.

  Old Lady Mei was crying out loud, but her voice was very loud and didn't have a hint of pleading, "My son has been wronged, I want to see the Sect Master, I want to see the Head of the Forbidden Secret Hall, why...".

  A sharp female voice shouted: "Mei Pozi, your son is dead and everyone is very sorry, but you can't be so confused because of this. Can the Master and the First Seat be seen at will? Your behavior has lost face for the whole village."

  "But my son is innocent, he has not gone mad, he really has come up with a new magic technique. The Sect Master and the Head of the Forbidden Secret should know about this matter, only they can judge the value of this technique."

  A man on the periphery shouted in a loud voice, "Aunt Mei, it's not that we're being too demanding, you know very well why our Mirror Lake Village has been blessed with good weather and no disasters year after year, without having to pay imperial taxes or suffer from bandits? It's all because of the protection of the Taoist masters on Mount Peng. The gods are powerful and don't need us to repay them, so how can we go disturb them and cause trouble for them? Even if your son died, even if half the people in the village died, we still can't go to Laozu Peak making a racket and letting outsiders hear about it and laugh at our Mirror Lake Village for not knowing how to repay kindness.

  Although he was dressed as a farmer, his words were very logical and immediately won the approval of all the villagers.

  "You don't understand, my son has made great contributions to the Pongshan Taoist sect!" But Grandma Mei didn't listen to a single word and didn't yield. Her voice was almost frantic as she tried to turn around and rush back towards Laozu Peak, but under the pushing and shoving of the women, she was instead getting closer and closer to the village.

  Xiao Qiu and the other person stood at the door, gazing at this scene, forgetting to wipe the gate.

  "You're all wrong!" Old Lady Mei shouted hoarsely, "My son is not possessed and he didn't cheat anyone, don't believe me? I'll read it out to you!"

  The crowd had just reached the entrance of the building when they suddenly stopped in their tracks, falling silent as if they had really been put under a spell. Then a woman shouted: "Gag her mouth! We won't listen to a madwoman's curse!"

  "If you think my son's curse is useless, what else can be feared? Wrong..."

  Seven or eight hands were pressed over Grandma Mei's mouth, and even more arms waved behind her, she was completely unable to resist.

  "Expel!" someone shouted, and hundreds of people immediately echoed loudly, their patience had reached its limit.

  The men crowded in the middle and worked together to lift the short and stout old woman high up.

  Old Mrs. Mei turned her head and glanced at the gate of the building, coincidentally meeting Xia Qiu's gaze.

  Xiao Qiu's heart sank, her chest felt like it was blocked by a stone, and she felt an inexplicable suffocation. She thought Mei Po Po was pitiful, but also felt that the villagers' point of view was not wrong, and she was worried that Mei Po Po would ask for her help, such as asking her to recite incantations in public.

  That old and mediocre face only gave Xia Qiu a smile, then looked up at the sky and shouted: "My son's vengeful spirit will not disperse, he will curse all of you! All of you! Wronged or weak, wronged..."

  Someone stuffed a belt into the old woman's mouth to stop her from continuing to chant, and many people still showed fear, shouting "expel" even louder.

  Xiao Qiu watched as the crowd gradually moved away, really wanting to go forward and persuade the villagers to put down Grandma Mei, she was too heartbroken, and she remembered the wrong spell of Mei Chuan'an.

  Dah Lian Shen Xiu Ming grabbed his good friend in time, "Little Autumn brother, don't stir up trouble, we're not from this village."

  Xiao Qiu nodded silently, feeling that there might be a better solution to the situation than the current one: Granny Mei was being expelled from the village, and the villagers felt deeply humiliated.

  "There are rules in the village." Zhang Lingsheng appeared at the door without knowing when, standing behind the two people, expressionless. "Pangshan has its own rules, usually it's a situation where well water doesn't offend river water, do you understand?"

  Shen Xiuning hastily nodded, but Xiao Qiu didn't make any indication.

  "Don't think that just because you've learned martial arts, you're something special. Among people with a good foundation, you're considered slow. As for the others in Ye Lin Town, they're probably around the same level as you. In a few years, maybe one or two of you will be able to open up your seven apertures, while the rest can only go back to farming. So I suggest you all get along well with the villagers, because Mirror Lake Village might just be your best refuge."

  Shen Xiuning nodded even faster, a wry smile spreading across his face, but Xiao Qiu still didn't react.

  Zhang Lingsheng took a step closer, "The more tragic outcome is to go mad. You've seen the fate of the Mei family. Honestly, Mei Chuanan was lucky. Many people who had their magic cut off and their inner elixir taken away simply became idiots, unaware of shame, living naked in pigpens, and would die within two or three years."

  "You're too close to me." Xia Qiu finally spoke up.

  "What?"

  "You set the rules last night, not letting me get within five steps of you, now it's you who came over."

  Zhang Lingsheng's face suddenly changed, and after a moment of contemplation, he only let out a cold laugh and turned to leave.

  Shen Xiuning's face also changed, and as soon as Zhang Lingsheng's back disappeared, he said: "Xiao Qiuge, why do you have to oppose Zhang Daoshi? If Pengshan is not willing to take us in, we won't have anywhere else to go."

  Xiao Qiu looked in the direction where Zhang Lingsheng had left, looking around to her left and right, "Don't you think it's strange? Zhang Daoshi was originally quite gentle, why did he suddenly change his face?"

  "Because you didn't listen, you went with Fangfang to Mei's house."

  "Not right." Xia Qiu shook his head, he had thought so before, but now the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. "Two days ago when I invited Mei Chuan'an into the mansion, he wasn't happy, but his anger wasn't this great, there must be another reason."

  "Never mind, Little Autumn, let's just not provoke him and be done with it? Let's endure until November, then we'll go to Nurturing Spirit Peak to cultivate, and afterwards we won't have to deal with him again."

  This makes sense, and Xia Qiu also thinks it's unnecessary to waste time on Zhang Lingsheng. His goal is to work hard to cultivate himself and become a five-element master like Li Yuechi one day. Then, no matter where the demon species takes Ye Lin Town, he will find all the people in the town back, at least to clarify the truth of the matter.

  That evening, the high-cheekboned woman who delivered food excitedly told Xia Qiu in a tone of inviting credit: "Mei Pozi was driven out of Jinghu Village. She's a scourge, Mei Chuan'an's evil spirit must have been transferred to her."

  It was unclear whether it was due to the encouragement of Xia Qiu and Fang Fang, or if Dao Gen had finally taken effect on everyone, but by the next morning, all the young men in Ye Lin Town had passed their fist examination, and even the picky Zhang Ling Sheng couldn't find many faults.

  Xiao Qiu originally suspected that her and Fang Fang's enlightenment was related to Mei Chuan An's curse, but now she doesn't think so, because other young people refused to listen to those five words, and also practiced the fist method.

  Three days later, the new disciples recruited by Pangshan this year arrived at Jinghu Village one after another. The young people were busy comparing their strengths and making new friends, and their contact with Zhang Lingsheng became less and less.

  Zhang Lingsheng did not easily forgive Xia Qiu's rudeness, and he fulfilled his previous "threat": He invited several Taoist priests from the mountain to re-examine the young people of Yelin Town, especially Xia Qiu and Fangfang, who were examined twice.

  So, all the new kids knew the secret of the Wildwood Town boys - they had been invaded by the Devil's Breed before.

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)