Chapter 189
Chapter 189
Hu Qingshan smiled, raised his cup to Old Sixth Hui and Chang Huaiyuan, and recounted what had passed between them.
Upon hearing the story, Deaf Granny immediately pulled Hua Jiunan to his feet and bowed to the three Immortal Spirits.
Her expression was deeply solemn.
“The three of you, stay seated. Don’t move! You deserve this bow. With all of you protecting Xiao Jiu from now on, this old woman can die at peace!”
Hua Jiunan bowed deeply.
“Our forebears taught us that the kindness of a single drop of water must be repaid with a gushing spring. The three of you have treated me with such devotion that I, Hua Jiunan, will remember it till death!”
Chen Daji’s face flushed and his blood ran hot. Overcome with emotion, he spat out the food in his mouth and shouted, “Same here! I’ll repay you with a gushing spring! I’ll remember it till death!”
Then the impassioned look on his face abruptly became an embarrassed grin. He scratched his head.
“Big Brother, what does ‘remember it till death’ mean?”
Eighth Master Chang chuckled.
“It means you little brat aren’t allowed to fight me for instant noodles anymore. Oh, and you can’t sit on my face again… or hit my seven-inch weak spot…”
Chen Daji looked deeply suspicious. He turned to Zhao Fei, who was shoveling down rice.
“Fatty Zhao, is Eighth Master lying to me? ‘Remember it till death’ is only four words. How can it mean so much? What, was that saying invented especially for Eighth Master?”
Zhao Fei was about to answer when he looked up and met Eighth Master Chang’s threatening gaze.
He swallowed the words on his tongue and meekly said, “Everything Eighth Master said is right…”
Chen Daji plainly remained unconvinced. He secretly resolved to look it up in a dictionary later.
“Granny, why are Sixth Brother Hui and the others so good to us, while the other two Old Immortals…”
Deaf Granny cut him off.
“Don’t talk nonsense, you brat! Every family has its own troubles. In this life, you must learn to put yourself in other people’s shoes and consider their circumstances.”
Her words educated not only the three boys but also Old Sixth Hui.
Once he understood, a smile appeared on his face. Even his cultivation seemed to advance slightly.
“Daji, the Five Immortals of Spirit Mediums in our Northern Lands have very different temperaments because each is limited by their innate origins. Different temperaments naturally lead to different ways of doing things.”
Old Sixth Hui paused and looked toward Hu Qingshan and Chang Huaiyuan.
Chang Huaiyuan nodded with a smile.
“Sixth Brother, there are no outsiders here. Speak freely.”
Only then did Old Sixth Hui continue.
“The Hu Immortals possess the highest cultivation and the greatest compassion. Their hearts are vast as the sea, and they cherish loyalty and affection. There was once a Hu Immortal who forced his way into the Netherworld to save his disciple. He acted despite knowing it was impossible and was ultimately destroyed in body and soul.”
Hearing Old Sixth Hui praise his lineage so highly, Hu Qingshan raised his cup in thanks.
Old Sixth Hui drained his cup and went on.
“Yellow Immortals love running errands, repeating whatever they hear, and stirring up trouble. They calculate every gain and loss. They never fear that a situation will get out of hand-the livelier, the better. When arts are being pitted against each other or a brawl breaks out, a Yellow Immortal is usually involved.
“Yellow Immortals also love boasting, and they always make the grandest claim they can. They even dare call themselves the Jade Emperor or the Queen Mother of the West. A rare few achieve high cultivation, and naturally become much quieter once they do.
“Overall, Yellow Immortals are like mischievous old children. They have plenty of faults, but they devote themselves fully to investigating strange affairs and saving people. At heart, they are still good.”
Hu Qingshan and Chang Huaiyuan exchanged a glance and laughed heartily.
“Old Sixth speaks truly. That is exactly how they are.”
Old Sixth Hui laughed with them.
“The Immortal Spirits of the Chang Family specialize in killing and battle. They are decisive, rather reserved, and rarely show happiness, anger, sorrow, or joy.”
As he spoke, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Eighth Master Chang, who was cooking noodles.
“Old Eighth is an exception, of course…”
Everyone burst into laughter again.
Eighth Master Chang had no idea why they were laughing and hurriedly divided the freshly cooked instant noodles among them.
He gave none to Chen Daji or Zhao Fei.
Old Sixth Hui shook his head helplessly and continued with a smile.
“The Immortal Spirits of the Bai Family excel at healing illness with medicinal herbs. They generally avoid ritual combat and could be considered recluses. So it is perfectly understandable that the Bai Family and Huang Family do not wish to become too close to the young master physician.”
Even after hearing all that, Chen Daji could not suppress his curiosity.
“Sixth Brother, you talked about every other family. What about your Gray Family?”
“The Gray Family?” Old Sixth Hui chuckled.
In a flash, he stuffed a huge handful of black soil into Chen Daji’s mouth.
Chen Daji retched and choked.
“Aw, damn it! The Gray Family holds grudges worst of all! Sixth Brother, that wasn’t fair. You promised you’d shovel less down my throat…”
One pen may write the tale, but it cannot tell of two households at once.
On Huimu Mountain, Master Numu abruptly stopped as he walked barefoot through the snow.
He pressed his palms together and slowly turned around.
“Namo Amitabha Buddha. Since Master Ghost Buddha is behind this humble monk, why not show yourself and speak with me?”
No sooner had the Chief of the Arhat Hall spoken than yin winds began to gust around him.
The scene before him changed.
A young monk holding a bloodstained letter knelt before a collapsed statue of the Buddha, laughing wildly.
More than a hundred gnawed human skeletons lay scattered around him in disarray.
A blood moon hung overhead, and the stench of corpses filled the air. Buddhist chanting seemed to rise all around, mingled with the wails and howls of ghosts.