Chief Tang, This is your daughter

Tang Xiaoyu took on two female disciples, and was quite happy in his heart. He bought several bowls of porridge from a commoner's family and had the two young girls drink it.

Why buy it instead of asking for free food? Tang Xiaoyu didn't have the nerve to ask for free handouts with his old face.

It wasn't that the commoners were heartless, but that everyone was very poor, and no one wanted their own children to go hungry.

At the same time, they were also influenced by the idea that if they didn't provide, someone else would.

With full bellies, the two girls became much more lively.

"Master, where are we going?"

"Back to Qingshan Daoist Temple."

"Is that far?"

"Very far, extremely far, it will take half a year of walking to get there."

The two girls were frightened: "That far?!"

"Yes! Very far, but as long as you keep faith in your hearts, it won't seem far."

Shanshan asked in puzzlement: "What is faith?"

"Simply put, it's the values we live for."

"Although I don't really understand, I'm living for revenge."

Tang Xiaoyu didn't say much more. As long as they had a direction in their hearts, that was good. What the result would be was a matter for the future.

"Do you know the general location of the bandits?"

Shanshan affirmed: "I know, just forty li north of our village in the dense forest."

"Did they commit many bad deeds?"

"Oh yes, if we didn't pay them grain and money every year, they would have killed us all long ago."

Tang Xiaoyu nodded. He didn't want to ask why there was a massacre of the village this time, because there was no need.

"Do you want to see how I'll avenge you?"

Shanshan resolutely said: "Yes, I want to watch them die one by one."

Tang Xiaoyu looked to Wenwen again. Wenwen was a little afraid, but still nodded her head and said: "Wenwen will go too."

After walking for several days they arrived at the bandits' lair.

"Either close your eyes, or keep them open. Today Master will teach you one thing - to get rid of weeds, you must pull them up by the roots."

He'll leave the empty blather to the villains! Tang Xiaoyu went straight into killing, without too much bloodiness - he just snapped each person's neck.

Cries for mercy, shrieks, shouts rang throughout the entire forest.

Tang Xiaoyu said nothing, showed no compassion, because this was exactly how the villagers had previously acted.

The more they begged for mercy and shrieked and shouted, the colder Tang Xiaoyu's face grew.

When the last bandit fell, Tang Xiaoyu turned and asked: "Is it over now?"

The two girls were scared pale. They just nodded.

But Tang Xiaoyu said: "No, this isn't over. The chickens and dogs were accomplices too. What they ate was your blood and sweat. Maybe they even have the bones and flesh of your loved ones in their bellies."

"What should you do about them?"

Shanshan coldly said: "Skin them and pull out their tendons, flay their hides, and eat their meat."

Tang Xiaoyu was astonished. [She makes eating them sound so murderous!]

Wenwen instead said: "I'm going to smash all of their babies and eat them."

Tang Xiaoyu realized she meant the eggs.

He couldn't help sighing: "Now that's truly sparing none of the dogs and chickens."

After rescuing the trapped villagers, Tang Xiaoyu took some of the bandits' riches and food, leaving the rest for the villagers to deal with themselves.

Shanshan said: "Master, we skinned and pulled the tendons from the chickens and dogs, and we'll eat them along the way."

Wenwen said: "Master, I brought the chicken babies too, and we'll eat them later."

What could Tang Xiaoyu say?

"Alright, let's set off then!"

As they went, Tang Xiaoyu taught them the Tao Te Ching, taught them cultivation, taught them how to conduct themselves, taught them the ethics of being human.

"Master, why don't those Immortals deal with the bad people in the mortal world?" Shanshan asked.

"Because they cultivate immortality purely for their own selfish desires, not for the sake of all living beings under heaven."

"Let me ask you again - why are you cultivating immortality? Isn't it for revenge, for longevity?"

The girl nodded: "Yes!"

"You see, you're also doing it for yourself, without thinking of others who suffer."

"I used to naively believe that cultivators wouldn't interfere in mortal affairs. Later I came to understand - they don't interfere in matters from which they have no benefit."

"If there is benefit, mortals are just ants in their eyes, to be crushed as they please."

Wenwen crisply said: "Then I don't want to cultivate immortality. I don't want to become a bad person."

Tang Xiaoyu smiled. "What you cultivate isn't important. What's important is your heart. If you have an awed heart, what does it matter if you cultivate demonic arts?"

[I always thought I understood everything clearly, only to discover in the end that I never truly understood anything. If human nature could really be understood, could it still be called human nature?]

After half a year of walking, the two girls had grown a lot, especially in willpower, which Tang Xiaoyu greatly admired.

Entering Qingshan Town, Tang Xiaoyu again had Daoist robes tailored for them, and bought some daily necessities.

Walking on the stone-paved mountain path, the girls were very fond of it, skipping and playing tag on the stones, utterly delighted.

Whenever they met passing villagers, Tang Xiaoyu would greet them with clasped hands. The responses he got nearly drove him to despair.

"Daoist Tang, you brought the children back? Tell us, what were you up to out there, look how you made the poor girls suffer."

Tang Xiaoyu explained: "These are my newly accepted disciples."

"Don't try to fool us, we know your ways. Little Black Daoist told us everything already."

The villagers got more and more heated: "Daoist Tang, I have to tell you straight, what's the harm in everyone knowing about this kind of thing?"

"We're all family here, why hide things and keep secrets from us? Tell it out, we won't laugh at you for it."

Tang Xiaoyu explained: "Please listen to me, it's really not what you're imagining. They truly are my newly accepted disciples."

"Daoist Tang, stop explaining. We all understand. Hurry back now!"

"I already know everything, just go back!"

Tang Xiaoyu reached out to them: "Please don't go, listen to me!"

"I know it all, go back quickly!"

Black-faced, Tang Xiaoyu led the two girls back to the temple.

As soon as they entered the gate, the villagers who had come to offer incense all looked toward the two girls behind Tang Xiaoyu.

One woman said: "My, how spirited and pretty these two girls are, if only they weren't so skinny and tanned."

One old woman immediately began lecturing Tang Xiaoyu, not even calling him Daoist anymore: "Little Tang! Today granny really must say a couple words to you. Look at yourself - for the sake of your own reputation you made the poor children suffer like this!"

Saying that, she took out some sweets from her clothes: "You two pitiful girls, hurry over to granny now."

She pushed the candies into the girls' hands, caressing their cheeks, heart aching for them!

Then she went over to smack Tang Xiaoyu: "You wretched boy, look what you've done to these young ladies. If I ever see you mistreating them again, I'll break your legs."

How could Tang Xiaoyu dare dodge? He could only hang his head wretchedly and explain: "Granny, they're my newly accepted disciples, not my girlfriends. You've misunderstood."

The granny was even more angry: "A real man will take responsibility for what he's done. If you did wrong then reform yourself, you're still a fine lad."

Tang Xiaoyu quickly begged forgiveness: "Granny, I was wrong, I was wrong, I'll reform, I'll reform. Just watch how I conduct myself from now on."

"That's better. The rest of you, stop gossiping. Give the boy a chance to mend his ways."

One after another, the others said Tang Xiaoyu should treat his girlfriends well this time, and they would forgive him, and so on.

Seeing the situation, Granny spoke up: "Let's all go home for today! Little Tang and the girls have had a tiring journey, let them rest up well."

Tang Xiaoyu looked at Granny gratefully. The others also gradually dispersed, each one exhorting him before leaving.

Tang Xiaoyu kept an awkward, apologetic smile until he finally saw off the villagers. Then his face immediately darkened again.