novelraw Chapter 273 - 151: There’s Something on My Mind—I Don’t Know If I Should Say It (Part 3)
Chapter 273 - 151: There’s Something on My Mind—I Don’t Know If I Should Say It (Part 3)
Lawrence Winters had just started grumbling in his mind when the old Daoist on the other side seemed to have psychic powers and looked over.He also happened to see Nick Zeller, tall and sturdy, standing next to Lawrence Winters.
The old Daoist’s eyes lit up instantly, showing a face full of happiness. He hurried over, carrying two large bags.
Nick Zeller also shouted excitedly, "Master!", and ran over quickly.
So, the master and apprentice happily reunited in front of the busiest train station in Capital City.
The busy crowd around looked at them curiously, and some even asserted that a movie was being filmed.
Lawrence Winters originally wanted to go over too, but the master and apprentice duo were too much of a show, he couldn’t handle it, and had to quietly stop and pretend not to know them.
The snakeskin bag and woven bag in the old Daoist’s hands were both taken by Nick Zeller. With empty hands, he held Nick’s arm, looked him over, and said with emotion, "Nick, you’ve really grown up!"
Nick Zeller laughed, "Master, I’m already over forty, how could I not grow up?"
He continued, "But Master, you don’t look old at all. Have you recently made progress in your practice? Have you formed your golden core?"
The old Daoist seemed to be hit where it hurt, and his face changed suddenly.
Splat!
He slapped Nick Zeller on the head and yelled, "I, the old Daoist, haven’t even laid my foundation! Form a damned golden core!"
"Huh? Master, you haven’t laid your foundation? But for the past ten years, you’ve looked ageless. That’s a skill in preserving youth!" Nick Zeller showered the old Daoist with compliments as if exhausting all his strength.
Only after flattering him with a torrent of words did the old Daoist’s anger subside.
The old Daoist mouthed towards where Lawrence Winters was standing and said, "Is she my grand-disciple? So pretty now... Can our Celestial Path Sect even accommodate her?"
"Master, you can’t just leave things be!" Nick Zeller put away his jokey demeanor and grew nervous, "Lawrence is also your grand-disciple; she’s ceremonially joined the sect!"
"I know, do I need you to remind me?! You’re my only failing disciple and she’s my only precious grand-disciple! — No need to remind me! Your Master isn’t senile yet!" The old Daoist continued yelling at Nick Zeller, with a voice that seemed to shake the building, looking vibrantly healthy.
Lawrence Winters pondered, her uncle said this Master was almost eighty, but he looked at most sixty, even saying fifty-something would be believable.
It seemed the Master’s Celestial Path Skill must be pretty good, right?
At least he’s skilled at preserving youth.
Her thoughts were pretty much in line with Nick Zeller’s.
The old Daoist and Nick put on quite the show of a "long-lost master-apprentice reunion" just ahead of her, then their eyes somehow fell on Lawrence Winters.
Lawrence Winters brushed her hair with her hand, glancing around with her eyes and noticed many people pointing and whispering towards her uncle and Master.
She decided to keep pretending to be shy and timid, without going over.
Nick Zeller, while glancing in Lawrence Winters’ direction, softly said, "The last time you saw Lawrence, she was around ten, now it’s been ten years."
"Yeah, I’ve only seen her twice, once in her birth year and another when she was ten. This is the third time." The old Daoist observed Lawrence Winters and contentedly stroked his goatee, "Her fortune is still great, very good, no issues. Why were you so hurriedly calling me down the mountain?"
"Well... there should be some issue..." Nick Zeller said softly, "It’s noisy here, should we go to the hotel first?"
The old Daoist nodded and smiled, squinting, "Alright, why is young Lawrence becoming more and more shy? She was lively and lovely when she came up the mountain to see me as a child. I almost couldn’t bear to let her leave with you."
Nick Zeller saw Lawrence Winters’ slight eyelid twitch and knew what she was thinking.
He knew full well that Lawrence found the two of them too theatrical, which is why she pretended not to know them.
But what’s wrong with being theatrical?
His Master loves it, so as a disciple, he has to fulfill his Master’s "performance desires."
This is called the Master has to perform, the disciple follows his cue.
This heartless little one, he should increase his percentage cut!
Nick Zeller mentally complained about Lawrence Winters while leading the old Daoist over to her, saying, "Lawrence, this is your Grandmaster, don’t you recognize him?"
Lawrence Winters gritted her teeth internally, knowing her uncle was deliberately teasing her in revenge.
Knowing she disliked being associated with them, he deliberately brought the Grandmaster over...
Lawrence Winters reined in her indignation, smiled and slightly bowed to the old Daoist, saying, "Grandmaster, do you remember me? I’m Lawrence Winters."
"Remember, remember! The little girl who loved eating matsutake mushrooms! And advised me not to eat bear paws, saying we should protect wild animals... Hahaha..." The old Daoist was delighted to see Lawrence Winters.
He couldn’t stop praising her, "Beautiful! Beautiful! So very beautiful! Lawrence, you’d look even better in our sect’s robe for female Daoists! You have that celestial air! How about coming to our Celestial Path Temple on the mountain for a few days to continue honing your celestial aura?"
Even though Lawrence Winters wouldn’t be joining the sect to become a female Daoist, being praised as pretty, especially with celestial beauty, who wouldn’t be happy?
Lawrence Winters’ expression instantly took on a more graceful and pure look as she smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Master Ancestor. But I’m quite busy with work right now and can’t find the time. Maybe when I have some free time, I can come to your Celestial Path Temple for a holiday and accompany you for evening lessons every day. How does that sound?"
"Great, great, great! Wow, you’re already working? Is it a permanent job? Do you have social security and a housing fund?" The old Daoist, who had just been exuding an ethereal vibe, suddenly switched to discussing the mundane matters of "rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea."
Lawrence was not surprised by the old Daoist’s grounding in reality but was astonished that Master De Zhenjun, who had always seemed aloof from worldly affairs, actually knew about "social security and housing fund"!
She glanced at Nick Zeller, contemplating whether or not she should speak her mind.
Nick could see her thoughts and immediately said, "My car is over there. Let’s take the car and leave here, head to the hotel to check in."
The old Daoist quickly said, "Why stay in a hotel? The hotels in the Capital City are too expensive. I might as well find an abandoned shrine and manage for a few days. Why bother with the trouble?"
Nick immediately knew his master was "retreating to advance" to lay a trap for them.
Sure enough, before he could say anything, his beloved niece was already filled with compassion, saying, "Master Ancestor, how can we let you stay in an abandoned shrine? You’re not a wandering Daoist without a home..."
The most revered Master De Zhenjun in the Celestial Path Sect was thus swiftly demoted by Lawrence to a "wandering Daoist" if he insisted on staying in an abandoned shrine.
He held his breath, his face instantly turning purple.
Nick laughed heartily inwardly, having been worried earlier that Lawrence might be fooled by his master’s "pitiful act." Now he was relieved, seeing his niece was so well influenced by him, she had indeed inherited most of his craftiness!
But just as he knew Lawrence very well, the old Daoist also understood Nick thoroughly.
Seeing Nick’s expression, the old Daoist knew that inwardly he was holding back his laughter.
Unable to help himself, the old Daoist aimed a kick right at the burlap sack Nick was holding.
Something round inside went silent for a moment, then let out a squawk.
The old Daoist was immediately annoyed, pointing at the sack, shouting, "Squawking, are you?! Whoever squawks again will get eaten!"
Like a demon king!
The contents of the sack really did quiet down.
What was it? Could it really understand human speech?
Lawrence couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked, "...Master Ancestor, what’s inside that sack?"
The old Daoist immediately changed his tone, all amiable and friendly, "It’s a pair of mandarin ducks for my dear disciple. They’ve been free-range in the mountains, eating only pine fungi and mushrooms, only drinking spring water, truly green, organic ducks! The meat quality is exceptional!"
Lawrence was taken aback, "So those are mandarin ducks!"
As soon as she spoke, the mandarin ducks in the sack began quacking noisily again.
The old Daoist waved his hand, "Hurry and get in the car. Put it in the trunk and you won’t hear them."
The three of them headed to Nick’s car together.
At the car, Lawrence kindly opened the rear door for the old Daoist, putting the two sacks beside him and then she sat in the front seat.
As Nick started driving, he asked, "Master, would you prefer to stay in a hotel or the shrine?"
The old Daoist blushed a little, but still said in a softer voice, "...Can’t I stay at your place? There’s no need for such formality between master and disciple. Why waste money, right?"
It wasn’t that Nick didn’t want his master to stay at his place, but there was simply no room left.
He glanced at Lawrence.
Lawrence understood, turning to speak to the old Daoist seated behind her, "Master Ancestor, the thing is, at my place there are three rooms: my uncle has one, I have one, my mom has one, and the study is temporarily occupied by an elder brother from a neighbor’s house, so there are no rooms left."
"How could there be no room?" The old Daoist waved his hand, smiling as he said, "I can share a room with my disciple. Right, disciple?"
Nick tugged at the corners of his mouth. He didn’t want to speak, pretending he didn’t hear, feigning deafness.
The old Daoist noticed Nick’s silence, huffing in his mind, he turned and spoke kindly to Lawrence, "Lawrence, right? Do you have WeChat? How about we add each other, so if ever needed, we can get in touch."
Lawrence was overjoyed, taking out her phone whilst saying, "Master Ancestor, is there internet up on your mountain?"
"No." The old Daoist smiled and said, "I broke the cell tower there..."
Lawrence: "..."
"Then why add WeChat?"
"So I can contact you all when I come down the mountain," the old Daoist said unconcernedly, bringing out his phone and showing his WeChat QR code.
Lawrence scanned it and added him as a friend.
The old Daoist immediately transferred fifty thousand yuan to Lawrence, saying with particular grievance, "This is my gift for meeting my dear disciple for the first time. Originally, it was meant to pay for hotel accommodation, but seeing my precious disciple, I couldn’t bear it and would rather weather the street breeze and dew to save the money for my dear little disciple."
Lawrence was moved to tears and immediately sold out her uncle: "Master Ancestor! You should stay at my house! With my uncle! His room’s the biggest! Plus, it has a bunk bed, so two people can sleep there!"