Chapter 564 — Meeting an Old Taoist
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"..." 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.