PNB Chapter 6 Yuanbao's Friend
Chapter 6 Yuanbao's Friend
Zhong Ming did not eat with the others; his meals were delivered to the "guest room" where he used to stay.
Since the house across the hall is a woodshed, I guess my room isn't one that's maintained regularly either; there's bound to be some draft or leak.
During this time, a taciturn boy named Xiao Yu came once and took away the bowls and chopsticks.
Zhong Ming sat blankly on the simple wooden bed. His carrying pole and stool were still beside him, and most of the things in the basket were still there. After all, things like mirror polishing bricks were heavy, and the basket kept them from being washed away by the water.
What should I do now?
After a conversation with the Taoist priest, he clearly understands that he is currently in a state of confusion.
But the Taoist priest didn't teach us how to break this deadlock.
Find something to do?
He took stock of his belongings: the marquis's gold medal he carried with him, more than thirty taels of silver, a jar of mirror polishing solution, a mirror polishing brick, a whetstone, a carrying pole, a stool, and two baskets.
What should I do? What can I do?
Opening the door, Zhong Ming decided to come out for some fresh air, raising his hands above his head, ready to stretch.
Caught completely off guard, Zhong Ming was struck by an unbearable weight that struck his arm. Before his hands could react, the heavy object slid down his arm.
A cat's paw struck Zhong Ming's nose with deadly precision.
The big orange cat seemed to think it was perfectly natural to jump down from Zhongming's roof. After kicking its leg, it lay down and wrapped its arms around Zhongming's neck, rubbing against him affectionately.
Its fluffy tail swished back and forth, and apart from its rear end being pointed directly at Zhong Ming's nose, there was nothing wrong with it.
Zhong Ming could barely stand, swaying at the doorway. He quickly wrapped his arms around the orange cat, only to find that the cat was unexpectedly heavy.
"Come down quickly..."
The backward fall was unavoidable, and Zhong Ming landed on his bottom with a thud. He grabbed the orange cat's hind legs and head with both hands, and with a flick of his head forward, he managed to shake it off.
The big orange cat rolled around on his lap, landed at his feet, and arrogantly began licking its paws.
Zhong Ming covered his nose with one hand and braced himself on the ground with the other, angrily getting up.
"You big fat cat, you dare to play hopscotch? Aren't you afraid of falling to your death...?"
The cat was in high spirits, its tail held high. It took a few steps toward the steps, then looked back at the bell.
"What do you mean? A provocation, huh? You just wait."
Zhong Ming took two steps at a time and chased after it. Although the orange cat looked chubby, it was exceptionally agile. It leaped a few times on the cliff and reached a high place, as if it knew every crevice in the rocks like the back of its hand.
On the other hand, someone who had been yelling about catching the cat struggled up the steps, his arms supporting his knees as he gasped for breath.
The old Taoist priest did say he was deficient in qi and blood, but he never mentioned that the bowl of herbal soup he was given was for replenishing qi and blood.
The big orange cat leaped to the side of the clock. It was more like a pavilion with a clock hanging in it than a side hall, with a small hut attached to it.
Seeing the orange cat disappear into the small house, Zhong Ming hesitated for a moment before coming to the door as well.
It was getting dark, but the moonlight was bright, and the little house was also bright. Inside the square little house, there was a wooden door on one side, and huge bronze mirrors, each the size of a person, were placed on both sides. On the back side, there was a stone statue of a fat cat with a small window on top.
Moonlight streamed into the room, and through the reflection of the two mirrors, its brightness was comparable to that of the platform outside.
Zhong Ming tiptoed to the door and peeked inside.
He saw a head of beautiful hair, and... another head timidly peeking out.
"Ah~~~"
Both of them were startled at the same time. Zhong Ming jumped back, but he used too much force and crashed headfirst into the roof beam.
The other creature then plopped down on its backside with a blood-curdling "Meow!!!"
Zhong Ming held his head, unable to get angry, after all, he was the one who had bothered them.
"Excuse me, Master, I came here just playing around with the orange cat and had no intention of disturbing you."
Zhong Ming stretched out one hand, maintaining a handshake gesture, while his other hand secretly lowered to his thigh, ready to catch the orange cat the moment it crawled out from under its rear end.
"Blood...blood..."
The strange man pointed at Zhong Ming's head in terror, his other arm and half of his body pressed tightly against a mirror.
"It's nothing, it's just a small wound, it'll be fine after pressing it for a while... wait."
Zhong Ming twitched his fingers, but neither hand landed on his head...
What is that thing on my head?
"A ghost!! Waaaaaah!"
"What ghost?!" Master Tianfeng appeared from behind Zhong Ming.
"Shouting about ghosts in a Taoist temple? Do you look down on my Taoist practices?"
The arrival of the old Taoist priest put everyone at ease, and Zhong Ming recounted the events with deep remorse.
After hearing this, Master Tianfeng glared fiercely at the big orange cat.
"It's my fault. I'm sorry I didn't have time to introduce you. This orange cat is named Yuanbao. He's mischievous by nature, so please don't take it to heart."
The orange cat's ears were turned back, and because its head was so big, its ears looked very small. From the front, it really looked like a gold ingot.
"This is a lowly servant at the Taoist temple. He's a bit intimidating, so you can just call him Xiao Zhao. He grows fruits and vegetables and is one of the main providers of our vegetarian food. Xiao Yu is in charge of chopping firewood and preparing meat."
The old Taoist priest puffed out his chest, and without saying a word, he was in charge of the fish, shrimp, and aquatic products.
"By the way, the girl in white you saw today is a friend's daughter whom I entrusted to her care. With her around, the Taoist temple will always be spotless, but she doesn't like to work in front of others. Also, you must call her Sister Bai and never ask her name. That's her sore spot, so remember that."
Seeing Zhong Ming nod heavily, the old Taoist priest stopped arguing and turned to leave.
After hesitating for a long time, Zhong Ming finally called out to the Taoist priest.
"Master, what should I do?"
Zhong Ming felt that everyone in this Taoist temple had something to do, but he really didn't know what to do.
"I only know how to polish mirrors and sharpen knives..."
Zhong Ming felt from the bottom of his heart that these jobs didn't take too long and weren't worth much in terms of making a living.
"Just do what you can do first, and don't overthink it."
Master Tianfeng, holding Xiao Zhao with one hand and grabbing the neck of the big orange cat Yuanbao with the other, drifted away.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Ming was overjoyed.
I've finally gained some value. So, I'll take the whetstone and the divine sword and come on!
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On the other side, the old Taoist priest carried the two men onto the roof.
"You're very proud, aren't you? You brought back a new friend, and you want all your friends to get to know him, right?"
The old Taoist priest scolded the big orange cat without any politeness, while Yuanbao, knowing it was in the wrong, stretched out its paw and scratched the priest's white beard a few times, not daring to object.
After scolding the orange cat, the Taoist priest's expression softened, and he looked at the other one, "Zhao Yao, you did a good job. You should have stopped the demon-slaying at all costs. That guy has a violent temper and will definitely try to kill us when he comes out. The dragon blood in Zhong Ming's body could easily make him mistake it for a demon beast."
Even so, after a short while, the two people and the cat tacitly lay down, watching with great interest as Zhong Ming carried the whetstone toward the room where the divine sword was kept.
The woman in white appeared not far away, looking at him coldly.