Chapter 184: Chapter 111: Senior Sister at 30, Part 2
After speaking, Chengyu walked away briskly, leaving Zhang Chen standing there scratching his head: "Was I just made fun of?"
However, he wasn’t angry. Instead, he continued to follow Chengyu. They arrived at a large hall filled with numerous bookshelves stacked with countless documents, where a middle-aged man in his fifties was organizing the shelves.
"Master Wang, the Daoist Temple has taken in a new disciple, and the Master asked me to add him to the register," Chengyu called out from the threshold.
The threshold was quite high, about thirty centimeters, and she found it challenging to step inside. Not wanting to lose face in front of Zhang Chen and after realizing the difficulty, she simply called out from outside the threshold.
The man organizing the bookshelves paused upon hearing and turned his head to look at Chengyu and Zhang Chen with a surprised expression.
The uncle wasn’t worried that this was a joke, so he came over to a table, took out a piece of jade token, which was palm-sized and plain without any words, smoothly on both sides.
"Name, age, and birthplace," Master Wang said.
Zhang Chen answered each question, only to see the master wielding a carving knife like the wind, jade chips flying. Before long, a jade token was made, and then he recorded the details in the register, handing the token to Zhang Chen: "Let Chengyu take you to arrange accommodation."
Then he glanced at Zhang Chen’s height and took out two sets of clean clothes to give him. Zhang Chen accepted the clothes with thanks, then rose to take his leave.
"Let’s go to the accommodation. From now on, you’ll be staying with me," Chengyu said with a bright smile as Zhang Chen took his clean clothes and they left.
"Senior sister, isn’t it inappropriate for a man and a woman to live together?" Zhang Chen asked hesitantly, looking at Chengyu.
Although Chengyu seemed like a child who couldn’t do much herself, she was mature at heart.
Hearing this, Chengyu stopped in her tracks, turned to give Zhang Chen a glance, and said exasperatedly: "What nonsense are you thinking? I live alone in a two-story building. You’ll live on the ground floor, and I’ll live on the second floor."
As they spoke, they walked to the backyard and saw at the northwest corner of the Daoist Temple, a separate courtyard with an old pine tree growing in it. The tree was so large one could not encircle it with their arms, standing tall before the small building.
The small building was wooden, two stories, and distinctive within the Daoist Temple.
Chengyu opened the door on the first floor, revealing a neat room with a desk, calligraphy, and painting supplies, resembling a study.
In the corner stood a wooden dummy and some tools for practicing martial arts.
"When I lived here alone, I used this as a practice room and study. You will live here from now on. Just don’t lock the door, or it might hinder my exercises and reading," Chengyu said.
Zhang Chen was immediately displeased upon hearing this: "Senior sister, that’s not right! Why don’t you move your things to your room? Why put them in mine?"
Chengyu turned her little face away, pouted, and tears began to fill her eyes: "Junior brother, do you despise me for being a dwarf? Do you not want to associate with me? Putting the practice room in your room is for better future teaching. You’re already this age and haven’t practiced martial arts; your bones are setting. You need to work twice as hard in the future..."
She began to tear up as she spoke, and Zhang Chen quickly put down the clothes, crouched down to wipe the large teardrops from Chengyu’s face: "Alright, alright, stop crying! Stop crying! It’s my fault, my fault! It’s my misunderstanding. Can I apologize?"
Zhang Chen quickly surrendered.
Chengyu stopped crying, then smiled: "You really don’t despise me for being a dwarf?"
"Senior sister, you’re overthinking. How could I despise you?" Zhang Chen said hurriedly.
Chengyu nodded upon hearing this, then said to Zhang Chen: "I’ll find someone to bring you washing water, freshen up, and I’ll tell you more about the Daoist Temple."
After speaking, Chengyu instructed: "Wait for me here."
Chengyu left, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the room, looking at the furnishings, shaking his head silently: "What a twist of fate. Unexpectedly, I’ve stumbled into Huangli Temple and even joined as a disciple."
"Staying here to lay low isn’t bad. It’s a good chance to learn about this world’s Martial Dao," Zhang Chen wasn’t in a hurry to escape. A Yang God expert could traverse the world in an instant, and he feared that if he escaped, he might inadvertently lead Elder Wu to the Empress Tomb, which would be like leaving the tiger’s den only to enter the wolf’s lair.
He didn’t have to wait long; a commotion came from outside, and Chengyu was seen commanding seven or eight people dressed in ragged clothes like odd-job servants, bringing wooden pails and water for Zhang Chen to wash.
"Go wash up. I’ll wait for you on the second floor. Call me when you’re done," Chengyu said.
Chengyu left, and Zhang Chen looked at the water in the tub. Without saying much, he willed the water to envelop him like a washing machine, cleaning his whole body.
After washing away the dust, Zhang Chen changed into a new Daoist robe. The robe was brand new, slightly orange, and embroidered not with Yin-Yang Taiji but with stalks of rice.
The clothes fit perfectly. Zhang Chen casually used a wooden stick to tie up his hair, feeling refreshed and at ease.
Zhang Chen then stepped out and went to the second floor. Just as he was about to push the door, he found it stuck, unable to move, so he called from outside: "Senior sister, I’m done washing."
"That was quick."
The door creaked open, but before Zhang Chen could see the furnishings inside, Chengyu had already darted out like a nimble cat, closing the door. Then she took the time to look Zhang Chen up and down. She was startled to see his delicate skin, seemingly smoother than her own: "I never expected that."
"What?" Zhang Chen asked.
"I didn’t expect you to turn out so well after washing," Chengyu replied.
Zhang Chen’s mouth twitched at this. Being told he ’turned out well’ left him feeling oddly unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"Without my permission, you’re not allowed to enter my room, not even to look," Chengyu said, hands on her hips, and walked downstairs.
Zhang Chen nodded. While curious, he wasn’t in the habit of invading others’ privacy.
"Next, let me tell you about our Daoist Temple," Chengyu said, taking Zhang Chen downstairs. By now, the wooden pail and dirty water had been removed. Chengyu sat grandly on Zhang Chen’s bed:
"Our Huangli Temple is one of the twelve branches of the Yellow Heaven Dao. Our branch’s Ancestral Master is Wu Changming, whom you saw today. But our Huangli Temple is just one among the many branches under that ancestor’s sect. The Master of Huangli Temple is our teacher, and there are about three thousand disciples in the Daoist Temple."
Chengyu frowned: "But the true heirs of our teacher only number five, and currently only the second senior brother and I are in the Daoist Temple. You only need to be aware of me; the others are just worthless donkeys with little hope of achieving great success, so it’s best not to associate with them too much, lest..."
Chengyu suddenly paused, then irritably said, "In short, just do as I say."
Chengyu continued: "Among our teacher’s five disciples, the eldest senior brother died young, the third senior brother isn’t in the mountains, said to be out handling something important. These senior brothers are locked in bitter rivalry, fighting endlessly for future succession rights to the temple. It’s best for us to stay away from them as they are both foolish, and not worthy of close association."