Chapter 4: Drugging Shizun

That evening, after class, Meng Baixu was in a pretty good mood.

Wen Tingshu also felt relieved. His disciple’s mood had improved, and he was no longer angry because of the argument involving the Xie family. It seemed making Xie Jing keep a lower profile had been the correct move.

Lanshe really did have a child’s temperament.

During the bigu period, cultivators still had to attend classes. Only this way could they temper their will. There were no exceptions.

Meng Baixu endured one whole day without eating. By the second day, he wished he could bite two chunks out of Shizun raw.

Seeing that his disciple truly lacked energy, Wen Tingshu said, “I’ll write you a leave note. For the remaining two days, stay properly on Hengxue Mountain and sleep. You don’t need to attend class.”

Meng Baixu said, “I’d like that too, unless you can make Daoist Xixia not hold today’s assessment.”

Wen Tingshu proposed a solution. “You can retake the course next year.”

Next year?

Wen Tingshu did not understand him at all. He had swallowed his anger and endured three months of morality class. If he had to retake it, he would die of anger.

Meng Baixu puffed up with anger. “I’m taking the exam.”

A hint of a smile appeared in Wen Tingshu’s eyes. “Lanshe’s attitude toward learning is the most proper.”

Meng Baixu said, “I heard Daoist Xixia changed the assessment method this time.”

If it were pharmacology, array-breaking studies, or anything like that, Meng Baixu would be fully confident. Only this matter of moral values… he was afraid Daoist Xixia would cause trouble.

Wen Tingshu encouraged him. “Changing the soup without changing the medicine. Your nature is kind. No matter what kind of assessment it is, you will surely rank first.”

Wrong, wrong.

Wen Tingshu’s comfort had no effect. Meng Baixu was a person without the slightest morals.

“Shizun, I’m going to take the exam!”

The exam location was at Liangyi Peak. At this moment, around a hundred cultivators had gathered there, surrounding a mirror. When they saw Meng Baixu arrive, they all made way for him.

“Everyone’s here?” Daoist Xixia, the lecturer, stroked his beard.

“To question the Dao is to question the heart. A cultivator must be worthy of heaven above and earth below. Recently, this old man has refined a Heart-Inquiry Mirror. It can reflect a person’s heart. You will come forward one by one and say to the mirror: ‘I study at the Hengxue Sect and take upholding justice as my duty. I absolutely do not do this for selfish reasons.’ If black mist emerges from the mirror, it means your words do not match your heart, and you must diligently cultivate your mind.”

The cultivators looked at each other. None of them had expected this course’s assessment to be so unusual. After their gazes swept around, they landed on the warm, kind Da-shixiong and the helpful Shen Luoyan.

You two will definitely get full marks, right?

Shen Luoyan’s face gradually turned pale.

Meng Baixu crossed his arms and remained calm.

Alarm rose in Meng Baixu’s heart. Daoist Xixia could actually refine such a divine tool that distinguished good people from bad people. If he screened everyone a few more times, only noble and upright cultivators would remain in the Hengxue Sect. What meaning would Meng Baixu’s undercover work still have?

He had to think of a way.

“Shen Luoyan, you come and set a good example.” Daoist Xixia began calling names.

Shen Luoyan hesitated for a moment, then slowly stepped forward.

“I… I joined the Hengxue Sect to uphold justice…”

As soon as the words fell, a large amount of black qi surged from the edges of the Heart-Inquiry Mirror. The cultivators surrounding it all jumped back.

“Black qi? Is Shen-shixiong lying?”

“That shouldn’t be. Sixteenth-shidi isn’t that kind of person.”

Shen Luoyan was one of the outstanding members of their batch. Every day, he rose early and worked late. His coursework was the best, and he was even willing to help and guide his fellow disciples.

Yet his heart actually contained such dense black qi!

Everyone silently took a step back. Even Shen Luoyan had been shown to have a dark side in his heart. Then what were they supposed to do?

Being distanced by his fellow disciples, Shen Luoyan felt as if he had been sentenced to death in public. His clear eyes gradually reddened.

He cultivated only so he could stand out, so he would no longer be trampled into the mud by the village tyrants from his hometown. He envied every fellow disciple who came from an aristocratic family. Why was only his background so unbearable?

He was finished…

He was finished. Shen Luoyan’s lips trembled, and he could not argue a single word.

The entire Hengxue Sect was filled with vast righteousness. No one would believe him anymore. Everyone would despise him.

Meng Baixu was amazed.

So Shen Luoyan was the same kind of person as him. Luckily, he had gone first.

He immediately regarded him as a kindred spirit and decided to protect this rare gloomy-type cultivator.

If the Hengxue Sect had more Shen Luoyans and fewer Wen Tingshus, the day when it would be replaced by the Fuguang Sect would soon arrive.

Bang!

Suddenly, a huge explosion rang out. The ten-foot-tall Heart-Inquiry Mirror shattered into pieces, raising dust all over the ground.

Everyone saw it clearly. The fireball that blew up the Heart-Inquiry Mirror had come from Meng Baixu.

Da-shixiong had destroyed Daoist Xixia’s Heart-Inquiry Mirror!

“You—” Daoist Xixia saw the divine tool he had poured his heart and blood into refining for three years get blown up by Meng Baixu, and he was so angry he nearly spat blood.

Meng Baixu. Of all people, it was Meng Baixu. This student who had performed so well in class.

He had truly misjudged him!

“Meng Baixu, don’t think that just because the Sect Master protects you, you can act however you want! Do you even know how to write the words ‘respect teachers and honor the Dao’?”

Meng Baixu said, “A gentleman judges actions, not hearts. If hearts were judged, there would be no saints. Some people have kind hearts but have never done a single good deed. Shen-shidi’s heart may be lonely and indignant, but he still acts when he sees injustice. May I ask, between these two people, who is good and who is evil?”

Daoist Xixia said, “You—”

Meng Baixu then dragged Wen Tingshu out as a banner.

“Even someone as righteous as the Sect Master has moments when his words do not match his heart. We cultivators are shallow in experience and have yet to settle our natures. Using the Heart-Inquiry Mirror to reflect people’s hearts is too hasty. Haste will only delay success. The purpose of our Hengxue Sect is to guide people toward goodness, not to divide them into camps.”

“Moreover, Daoist Xixia, can you guarantee that the Heart-Inquiry Mirror can be used as a standard? The human heart is the hardest thing to distinguish. Sometimes, even a person cannot clearly see the good and evil within themselves. Only actions can be judged.”

Meng Baixu clasped his hands behind his back and secretly felt pleased.

After being undercover for only three months, he could now speak such grand and proper words like someone from the righteous path.

Daoist Xixia was choked speechless.

Meng Lanshe’s words carried a strong Sect Master flavor, leaving him unable to refute. So he flung his sleeves and disappeared on the spot. Presumably, he had gone angrily to find Wen Tingshu and demand an explanation.

“That still isn’t a reason for you to destroy it in public. Just you wait!”

The teacher had been angered away, so there would be no class today. Meng Baixu was secretly delighted. His brows and eyes grew even more gentle as he patted Shen Luoyan’s shoulder.

“There is no need to take today’s matter to heart. You are friendly toward your fellow disciples, and everyone has seen it. You are still my most outstanding shidi.”

“Da-shixiong is right!” the other disciples echoed.

Da-shixiong truly was an existence that shone like the bright moon.

Shen Luoyan lifted his reddened eyes and stared fixedly at Meng Baixu.

“Da-shixiong…”

Meng Baixu said, “All right, all right. Go back and rest. There’s still another class this afternoon. Sit with me and save me a seat. I’ll go back first to meet the Sect Master and report this matter.”

This was the first time Da-shixiong had asked to sit at the same desk as someone. Shen Luoyan understood in his heart that this was being done for the fellow disciples to see.

Two full teardrops fell from Shen Luoyan’s puppy eyes.

“Will the Sect Master blame you? It is my heart that is narrow. I cannot forget the past. I am willing to accept flogging.”

“It’s fine. The Sect Master is a reasonable person.” Meng Baixu’s face was steady.

If Wen Tingshu knew how to get angry, that would be great. Meng Baixu had never seen it before. How novel.

He had to hurry back to Hengxue Mountain and take a look. In a while, Wen Tingshu might have calmed down.

Shen Luoyan watched Meng Baixu leave swiftly to plead guilty, and his heart sank.

No wonder everyone loved Da-shixiong. No wonder the Sect Master favored him.

He was too filthy. He had even once speculated that the Sect Master had taken a fancy to Da-shixiong’s gorgeous, otherworldly face, one unmatched from ancient times to now.

Shen Luoyan’s eyes stung, and he lowered his sinful head.

…

“Shizun!”

Meng Baixu hurriedly rode his sword back and saw Wen Tingshu holding an ancient book and reading.

Tolerant, saintly, powerful. It seemed as if he held all living beings in his heart, yet also as if his heart contained nothing at all.

Meng Baixu watched a little white butterfly circle around Shizun, adding a few traces of life to the Immortal Venerable, who was otherwise as still as an ancient well.

He said softly, “Shizun, just now, I deliberately broke Daoist Xixia’s Heart-Inquiry Mirror.”

Wen Tingshu did not even lift his eyes. “It’s fine. I already said that object could not be used.”

Meng Baixu curled his lips and tried to fan the flames. “But that was a divine tool Daoist Xixia spent three years refining. He was very angry.”

Wen Tingshu said, “He has already calmed down.”

It looked like Daoist Xixia had already come by.

Meng Baixu choked.

You people of the Hengxue Sect calm down way too easily! Are you even alive?!

Meng Baixu wandered around the kitchen and saw cold pots and a cold stove. It seemed that if he did not eat, Wen Tingshu did not eat either.

That would not do.

“Shizun!” Meng Baixu called Wen Tingshu over.

Wen Tingshu said, “Mn?”

Meng Baixu ordered him arrogantly, “Make yourself a meal right now.”

Wen Tingshu said, “I’m not hungry.”

So he would not eat just because he was not hungry?

Had cultivation made him stupid?

Meng Baixu said, “Hurry up. I still have class this afternoon. I don’t have time to watch you eat.”

Wen Tingshu truly could not bring himself to cook in front of his disciple and shake his resolve, so he could only promise, “After you go to school, I will definitely eat.”

Meng Baixu immediately said, “Then I’m leaving now. You eat immediately.”

Wen Tingshu: “…”

Had he known, he would not have said that. Meng Baixu had only just come back, and now he was already leaving again.

Meng Baixu left in a hurry.

There was still another matter. While there were few people on the road, he had to go find Lin Yao and get the aphrodisiac pill.

“Good shidi, have you finished refining it?” Meng Baixu observed that no one was around and secretly poked his head in from outside the door.

Lin Yao handed him a palm-sized box and winked at him. “It’s done, Shixiong.”

Meng Baixu opened it and was startled. “Why is it so big?”

It was as big as a lychee!

Lin Yao said, “According to Hengxue Sect’s alchemy rules, pills are not allowed to be colorless and tasteless. The pill furnace automatically gives pills a scent in order to distinguish their functions and prevent accidental ingestion. I added some extra supplementary ingredients before I managed to cover its smell.”

Meng Baixu said, “You righteous path people really are…”

So righteous it was practically evil.

Lin Yao said with slight pride, “It works on both males and females, is harmless to both humans and animals, and is colorless and tasteless. Only one quarter is needed each time. If used in tiny amounts every day, it can also strengthen virility.”

Meng Baixu said sincerely, “Shidi is truly a talent. Thank you for your hard work.”

Lin Yao said, “Working for Da-shixiong is not hard.”

Meng Baixu was very moved.

The pill was ready, but he still had not bought the blue ox he needed as cover.

After class, Meng Baixu flew down from the peak, intending to leave the sect and go to a farmhouse to pick out a blue ox. When he passed by the sect gate, he saw a white-robed woman sitting on a huge rock at the foot of the mountain, her face troubled.

Wasn’t this Bingyu-shimei, who had been diagnosed as pregnant last time?

Pregnant women were rare in the cultivation world, so Meng Baixu could not help approaching to observe her.

“What is Shimei worried about?”

Chu Bingyu was beautiful and also very hardworking. She focused wholeheartedly on leveling up. Her pregnancy was also quite unexpected.

As soon as Chu Bingyu saw Meng Baixu, she immediately returned to her senses and raised a faint smile.

“It’s nothing. I was thinking over yesterday’s homework.”

Meng Baixu said, “Is it because of the pregnancy?”

Chu Bingyu was startled, then remembered that Da-shixiong had checked her pulse yesterday. It was normal that he knew.

In any case, if she wanted to keep the child, she would have to report it to the sect and apply for spirit stone subsidies. Sooner or later, everyone would know.

Chu Bingyu tightly gripped her knees with all five fingers.

“I just… feel a little regretful. This year, I won’t be able to continue studying together with Da-shixiong.”

Meng Baixu said, “Shimei plans to keep the child?”

Chu Bingyu took a deep breath. “Yes.”

Meng Baixu frowned.

But Shimei’s eyes clearly held sadness. If he himself were pregnant, he definitely would not have this kind of expression.

“Do you have any difficulties?”

Chu Bingyu’s expression stirred slightly, but in the end, she still said nothing.

“Lanshe Da-shixiong, I’m fine.”

Every family had its own difficult scripture to recite. Meng Baixu guessed it had something to do with the child’s father, so he did not dig to the bottom of it. He was in a hurry to buy a cow, so he said, “If you have any difficulties, you can come find me. The Sect Master stands behind me.”

Chu Bingyu said gratefully, “Thank you, Da-shixiong.”

Half an hour later, Meng Baixu spent lavishly and bought two large blue oxen from a farmhouse outside, one male and one female. He tied a large red flower to each of their two horns and paraded through the streets in a showy manner.

When someone asked about it, he answered truthfully: these are large blue oxen I bought for my Shizun.

Everyone felt that this was truly a master-disciple pair mutually rushing toward each other.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Wen Tingshu looked at the two enormous creatures in front of him. They were filthy, as if they had just been dug out of a mud pit. Mud spots splattered everywhere, and there were also marks from plowing equipment around their necks.

He stood at a distance and observed them without acting rashly.

Meng Baixu released the ropes and allowed the blue oxen to run rampant through the courtyard.

“These are mounts I bought for Shizun. They are also birthday gifts.”

Hearing this, Wen Tingshu examined the pair of blue oxen again.

Although their bodies were covered in mud, they were like unpolished jade and raw gold. They were hardworking and enduring, with a reckless strength that looked capable of plowing a hundred mu of fields. Brave and strong, they were just like the mount of Taishang Laojun.

“They suit my taste very well. Thank you, Lanshe. I like them very much.”

Wen Tingshu reached out and stroked an ox horn.

The blue ox calmed down, as if it had encountered an immortal granting it longevity.

After being praised, Meng Baixu could not suppress the corners of his mouth.

Since Shizun’s words were so pleasant to hear, he would reluctantly celebrate Shizun’s birthday just this once.

“Shizun, it’s good that you like them. I’ll go to the kitchen and cut some radishes to feed them, then make you a bowl of longevity noodles.”

Wen Tingshu said, “You are in the bigu period. We will not light the stove.”

Meng Baixu said, “I can choose not to eat, but Shizun must eat.”

Three months could form a good habit. He had to continue feeding him. He absolutely could not let Wen Tingshu quit having an appetite.

The kitchen was in the palace on Wen Tingshu’s side, so cooking breakfast in the morning would not disturb Meng Baixu’s lazy sleep.

Meng Baixu chopped eight radishes loudly on the stove, making a great deal of noise. He placed them in a basin and carried them out to feed the oxen.

“Shizun, watch them eat. I’ll go make food for you.”

Meng Baixu ran back inside to make noodles. He scooped flour from the jar, looked left and right, then took the pill out of his pocket.

A dagger appeared in his palm. He shaved a layer of powder from the surface of the large immortal pill and carefully mixed it into the flour.

Today, he would first verify whether Shizun, though old, was still capable of getting hard.