Evildoers

"You damned dog, get out here for me." Tang Xiaoyu's voice rang throughout the Qingshan Daoist Temple.

Xiao Hei was hiding in the room at this time, observing the situation outside. Hearing Tang Xiaoyu's voice, it admitted that it was panicking.

During the time Tang Xiaoyu was away, in order to increase its presence, Xiao Hei had been actively slandering Tang Xiaoyu to get closer with the villagers.

Of course, people didn't really believe the words of a mere dog at first, but they couldn't ignore the fact that it was a dog with profound cultivation, an utterly shameless dog.

Rumors spread far enough become truth.

"Damned dog, get out here for me."

Seeing there was no way to hide, Xiao Hei could only come out of the room.

"Master, you've returned."

Tang Xiaoyu walked over and coldly said, "Give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise I'll make you sit on a pillar as a statue."

Although Xiao Hei could beat Tang Xiaoyu in a fight, it knew that all of this was brought to it by Tang Xiaoyu, so it was still clear about its place.

Besides, the Dao Ancestor was standing behind Tang Xiaoyu!

Xiao Hei explained: "Master, you know I care about face and like to brag. I only exaggerated a little too much. Don't be angry."

Tang Xiaoyu shook his head: "I really want to serve justice on behalf of Heaven."

Xiao Hei stuck out its tongue ingratiatingly, "Master, I really made a mistake. Don't be angry."

Tang Xiaoyu kicked it away, "Wenwen, Shanshan, come over."

The two young girls following behind walked up.

"Xiao Hei, from now on they are your disciples."

Xiao Hei was puzzled, "Disciples? You want a dog like me to take disciples? What are you thinking?"

"I'd rather go sit on that pillar as a statue!"

"If you don't want to be their master, then you can be their junior fellow disciple!"

Xiao Hei was unwilling, "How does that make sense? I can't even be their junior fellow disciple."

Tang Xiaoyu explained earnestly, "If you don't accept them, then they are my disciples. As for you, you can only be a miscellaneous disciple, so you understand."

"How could I be a miscellaneous disciple? Explain clearly to me."

"It's like this - in the past when I had you serve as gatekeeper and patrol the mountain, you were a miscellaneous disciple, right?"

"Seeing that you were working so hard, I decided to just have you be a miscellaneous disciple. Aren't you very happy? Aren't you very excited about it?"

Xiao Hei drooped its head, "Fine! You win, can I not accept them as disciples?"

Tang Xiaoyu said to the two girls, "What are you waiting for, hurry and call him master!"

Shanshan and Wenwen immediately knelt down and shouted, "Disciple Shanshan pays respect to Master!"

"Disciple Wenwen pays respect to Master!"

Being called this made Xiao Hei feel quite good. It said in a mature voice, "Alright, you can all rise."

"Thank you, Master."

Tang Xiaoyu clapped his hands, "Okay, you two hurry and tidy up your rooms. I'll go make food."

"Xiao Hei, later take them to get familiar with the surroundings."

Xiao Hei eagerly said, "Okay, disciples, follow your master."

"Shanshan, Wenwen, I'll boil hot water first. You can wash up and change clothes later."

"Yes, Master."

"Understood, Master."

After Xiao Hei led the two girls running around playing in the temple, having great fun, Tang Xiaoyu shook his head, "Ah, having these two girls follow Xiao Hei, I really don't know if this decision was right or not."

"If only my cultivation was better than it!"

After half an hour, just as the two girls were chasing Xiao Hei and running, Tang Xiaoyu's voice came.

"Shanshan, Wenwen, come quickly to fetch water and wash up."

"Coming."

"Master, we're going to wash up first. You play by yourself!"

Xiao Hei reluctantly said, "Okay! Tomorrow I'll take you to play in the mountains."

"Really? That's great!"

"Why would I deceive you, my disciples?"

After the two girls finished washing up and changing into new clothes, they became clean little girls. But their skin was still quite dark and their faces were still rough.

Tang Xiaoyu looked them over, "Ah, looks like it will take some time for them to return to their original looks."

"For now, come eat first. After eating, I'll tell you what you need to do every day."

"Yes, Master."

After eating, the two girls quickly washed the dishes and cleaned off the table. They even steeped tea for Tang Xiaoyu, very thoughtful.

"Shanshan, Wenwen, from now on you'll be in charge of fetching water, chopping firewood, cooking, and keeping the main hall clean."

"I and Xiao Hei will handle the rest."

"We get up early every morning for morning class to pay our respects to the Dao Ancestor, then we can eat, clean up, and do chores. The rest of the time is for cultivation."

"Understand?"

"We understand, Master."

"You can all go back to your rooms and rest!"

The next morning at dawn, as Tang Xiaoyu opened his eyes to go wake up the girls, he heard the sound of a door opening and went out to check.

He discovered the two girls were already up.

"Morning, Master!"

"Morning, Shanshan and Wenwen!"

"Go quickly wake up your Master."

Then he heard, "Master, Master, time to get up."

"Let me sleep a little longer, just a bit."

"No, the Master is waiting outside. Hurry and get up."

After a while, the two girls dragged Xiao Hei out, each holding one of its legs.

Xiao Hei wailed, "You unfilial disciples, to actually treat your master this way. Your master isn't taking you to play today."

Wenwen said, "Master, the Master is already up. You still aren't getting up, this is against protocol."

"That's right! Master, how can a cultivator be so lazy?"

Tang Xiaoyu said, "Look at you, do you resemble a master?"

Xiao Hei felt the world was dark, with everyone berating it. "I know I was wrong. I will definitely get up early tomorrow."

"Alright, let's go to morning class!"

At the main hall, they began reciting the Tao Te Ching.

Shanshan and Wenwen were exceptionally earnest, pleasing Tang Xiaoyu greatly.

After reciting the Tao Te Ching, Tang Xiaoyu led everyone in kowtowing and offering incense to the Dao Ancestor.

"Dao Ancestor, your unworthy disciples have only taken on two disciples for the Taoist sect in over ten years. The Daoist temple has also been unable to expand beyond Qingshan Town."

"From now on, your disciples will definitely work harder and not fail to live up to the Dao Ancestor's expectations."

He turned and said to the two girls, "Kowtow to the Dao Ancestor."

"Disciple Wenwen pays respect to the Dao Ancestor."

"Disciple Shanshan pays respect to the Dao Ancestor."

The statue spoke in an old voice, "Very good, very good. They are fine saplings. Work hard with young Tang, the great rise of our Taoist sect depends on you two."

Tang Xiaoyu was unhappy, "What about us two?"

"You two just relax, shout a motivational slogan now and then."

Tang Xiaoyu thought to himself: [Holy man, how can you be so casual?]

The old voice sternly said, "When the Dao Ancestor's incarnation speaks to you, do you think you can speak like that?"

Tang Xiaoyu quickly kowtowed, "Your disciple doesn't dare."

"Alright, alright. I'm very busy, you all keep up the good work. Once you attain the Tao and ascend, that day is just around the corner!"

"You can just directly give me a Peach of Immortality, a Fruit of Longevity, a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill or something, and I can directly ascend. It's so simple."

The old voice scolded, "The Immortal Realm does not accept fools."

The old voice calmed down, "The development of your temple has been quite good. Keep expanding and eventually momentum will build."

"Kid, you must remember, nothing happens without reason. You also did not come to this world without reason. Since you came to this world, you have a mission waiting for you to complete. You should know what that mission is."

"Please be at ease, Dao Ancestor. Your disciple will definitely not fail to live up to your expectations."

"Very good, alright, just a moment... Nevermind."

"Keep up the good work!"

Tang Xiaoyu, Xiao Hei, Shanshan, and Wenwen all had black lines on their heads.

"Master, what does 'nevermind' mean? Does it mean the rice is overcooked?" Wenwen asked.

Tang Xiaoyu awkwardly explained, "It means the elixir is overcooked."

"I see! Then I disturbed the Dao Ancestor."