Late Night Tales Of The Capital

Chapter 136 Visitors in the Snowstorm
There was a small courtyard overrun with withered grass in the dilapidated Guandi temple.

Ye Que stomped his feet lightly, producing a wave of Sword Qi that cut off all the withered grass. He unleashed another wave of Sword Qi and the snow was swept to the sides, leaving a small, empty ground in the courtyard. There was no shortage of firewood in the mountain, so Guan Shuheng was able to swiftly return with a great harvest. The pile of firewood formed a three-meter-tall wooden pagoda.

What started as burning embers soon became a bonfire as tall as a human.

Even though it was snowing, the blaze was strong and exuberant. With Guan Shuheng feeding the fire with a continuous supply of firewood, the temperature inside the Guandi temple gradually rose. When Red Bean was in the Boiled Snow Temple, she purposefully looked out for food. It was impossible to find any meat there, but she managed to find quite a lot of sweet potatoes and a small bag of peanuts. She took them all back with her.

When they left the Boiled Snow Temple and passed by a Scriptures Atheneum, Red Bean spotted a white goose so plump that it looked like it was dripping with grease. The goose, with its two plump legs, charged at her while screeching but Red Bean sent it running with just a glare. She decided that she might as well go the whole nine yards. She swiped the goose with her umbrella and it died. Then, she brought it back with her.

Ye Que had groomed Red Bean into being someone who couldn’t survive a meal without meat.

Carrying all the food, Ye Que made his way to the courtyard. First, he dug several holes next to the bonfire and put the sweet potatoes and peanuts inside. He covered the hole with ashes of burned firewood and then cleaned the plump goose from the Boiled Snow Temple. He pierced the goose with a wooden stick and threw it at Guan Shuheng.

“Do you know how to roast a goose?” he asked.

Guan Shuheng shook his head honestly. He was a disciple of an orthodox sect who had rarely stepped out of the mountain gate before this. He wouldn’t know things like this.

“Do you know how to roast meat?” Ye Que changed his question.

Guan Shuheng considered the question before finally nodding.

“It works the same. Just don’t burn it. Keep meat turning and call for me when the meat turns golden yellow,” Ye Que said, not forgetting to give him some reminders.

“Y-You want me to do it?” Guan Shuheng pointed to himself, looking somewhat awkward. “Our Eldest Senior Brother…”

“Don’t worry. Stay here and roast the meat. I’ll go in and check on him. I got quite a few medicines from the Boiled Snow Temple; there should be antidotes among them. He’s only injured in the abdomen and he’s an almost Formless Realm cultivator, at that. With me here, he won’t die.” Ye Que patted Guan Shuheng’s shoulder and asked the youngster to stay in the courtyard.

When he returned into the interior of the temple, he found bedding covering every inch of the floor. It was soft under his feet. Looks like they wouldn’t get cold tonight. Several female disciples had buried themselves under the quilts and fell asleep, perhaps out of weariness. The only one who could still keep her eyes open was the eldest female disciple among them.

“I’m Yang Nuanyue. Thank you for your help today, Mister.” Yang Nuanyue stood up and solemnly bowed and paid her respects to Ye Que. With Lei Tianyou still unconscious, she was the leader of the group of disciples. Some words must be properly expressed.

“You’re too polite. It’s our duty as cultivators to slay demons and rid of evil. It’s only right.” Ye Que didn’t shy away. He knew the disciples of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder would feel guiltier if he refused to accept this bow. They were strangers, after all. Having troubled Ye Que throughout the whole journey, it wasn’t strange for them to get some ideas.

“Let me check on your Eldest Senior Brother. We need to treat his injuries as soon as possible.” Ye Que pointed to Lei Tianyou, who was lying at the far end of the temple.

“You have medical expertise?” Yang Nuanyue asked, surprised. Cultivators could be found everywhere, be it those cultivating swords, Taoism, Truth, or Buddhism. Those who cultivated medical expertise were rare. Putting aside the fact that it was time-consuming and mentally-taxing, lack of talent would also sometimes meant that one couldn’t produce disciples. Thus, the rarest cultivators in the Cultivation World were medical cultivators.

“Some, but I won’t say I’m an expert. Your Eldest Senior Brother is merely poisoned; his external injuries aren’t difficult to treat.” Ye Que took out several bottles of pills from his bosom. “I found these in the Boiled Snow Temple earlier. They’re all antidotes.”

“Thank you sincerely.” Yang Nuanyue hastily moved out of the way.

Walking in front of Lei Tianyou, Ye Que first checked the former’s abdominal injuries. Sure enough, the wound was now a purplish-black color. Some parts were even beginning to fester. Lei Tianyou’s face was as white as snow. Ye Que placed his fingers on Lei Tianyou’s pulse and found it to be terribly weak.

Based on Lei Tianyou’s injuries, Ye Que picked two bottles of pills. One was for his internal injuries and the other for his external wounds.

After feeding Lei Tianyou the pills, Ye Que sat cross-legged behind the former and slowly poured Divine Energy into him. He carefully circulated his energy round Lei Tianyou’s Spiritual Sea and then combed through the latter’s energy channels.

Pills alone weren’t enough to heal Lei Tianyou’s injuries. Fortunately, Ye Que possessed Divine Energy in his body. It wasn’t a problem for him to force the poison out of Lei Tianyou’s system.

By the time he was done, an hour had passed.

The faint smell of meat drifted in from outside the temple.

It seemed that the big-headed, plump goose was almost ready.

Ye Que got up to tell Yang Nuanyue that he was done but found the girl had somehow fallen asleep. She didn’t even cover herself with a quilt.

Shaking his head, Ye Que walked out of the temple and patted Guan Shuheng. The latter was earnestly barbequing the goose. Ye Que pointed to the building, indicating for him to go in and take a look. Then, he took over the wooden stick and started carving off the meat.

Guan Shuheng stood up stiffly. Perhaps, he was truly exhausted. His vision darkened the moment he rose to his feet and even saw little golden stars at the edge of his vision. He hastily grabbed onto his knees and bent over. It took him a while to stabilize himself before he walked into the temple.

Ye Que crouched next to him and watched him the whole time but showed no sign of wanting to help him. Guan Shuheng was a man, after all, and he would have to suffer a little sometimes. How would he grow and mature otherwise? The future of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder lay in the hands of Lei Tianyou. Ye Que thought that it was these escaped disciples who would shape the pavilion’s future instead.

The strength of one person alone wasn’t enough to ensure the rise of an orthodox sect.

The growth of a group of people would bring out true hope.

Ye Que roasted the plump goose so well that he used up all of its grease. He dug out the sweet potatoes and peanuts next to the bonfire before returning to the temple.

Even though Guan Shuheng was utterly exhausted, he attentively tucked his Senior Sisters in and carefully watched over his Eldest Senior Brother. Once he was sure that everyone was safe and comfortable, only then did he return to Ye Que’s side.

“Mister, please take some rest. I’ll keep guard at night.” Guan Shuheng was still so young and yet it seemed like he had grown up overnight.

“Don’t worry about that. Have a bite first.” Ye Que patted him on the shoulder. Then, he called for Red Bean who had been staring at the barbequed meat.

The goose that the Boiled Snow Temple raised was truly plump. To be exact, its weight and size put it in the top three largest geese that Ye Que had seen in his hundred years of life. Merely roasting it was enough to make it a delicious meal.

Even though the meat was mostly fat, it wasn’t sickeningly greasy. It truly made one wonder what the goose was fed when it was alive. When they put in their mouths, oil would coat their lips and teeth. When they swallow it, it gave them an indescribably sweet taste.

Was a goose that grew up listening to Buddhist scriptures different than usual?

Even so, no matter how extraordinary it was, it was now a meat being chewed in other people’s mouths.

Red Bean relished in the meat, so much so that she didn’t forget to compliment Guan Shuheng. “You have incredible talent in roasting meat! I’m not kidding! You’re just a tiny bit worse than Ye Que. I advise you not to cultivate in the future, just focus on roasting meat!”

“Your talent in this field is far superior to your swordsmanship.” Holding the goose’s thigh in one hand, Red Bean pointed to the sword tied to Guan Shuheng’s waist with the other.

Guan Shuheng looked so awkward that even his face was turning red. He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but recalling Red Bean’s realm and her astonishing bludgeon, he could only sigh. He picked up a sweet potato, tore its skin, and slowly started eating its flesh. Perhaps it was because he was distracted but the flesh of the sweet potato scalded him.

Grimacing, he took in a few breaths of cold air. It made Red Bean laugh out loud.

In no time at all, half of the goose was eaten. Of course, most of them went into Red Bean’s stomach. Seeing Red Bean reaching out to tear another piece of the meat, Guan Shuheng finally opened his mouth. In a rather awkward tone, he said, “Um, Elder Sister. Can you leave some for me? My Senior Sisters have been starved for an entire day. I’m worried they’ll get sick. I want them to eat something when they wake up.”

“But I’m the one who brought back this plump goose. I’m very hungry too. Half a goose isn’t enough for me.” Red Bean immediately rejected his request upon hearing that someone wanted to snatch her meat.

Guan Shuheng felt a little aggrieved and helpless too. This outcome was beyond his expectations. How could this young girl eat such a large goose? Would his Senior Sisters have to gnaw on bones when they wake up?

“Forget it. It’s good enough that they have nice and warm sweet potatoes. What haven’t Senior Sisters eat back in the pavilion? They wouldn’t mind missing out on this. Let’s consider this as fixing their diet.” Guan Shuheng tried to comfort himself and said nothing else.

Ye Que sat next to the bonfire without offering his opinion. He had long discovered that Red Bean had a few “bottom lines”: she couldn’t stand seeing hunters and meat. She might go insane if she sees hunters; she might go lip if she sees meat. Never mind snatching it from her, just trying to convince her to share was an impossible task. Not even Ye Que was given the privilege.

Amid the intertwining wind and snow at night, warmth peeked out from the Guandi temple.

The disciples of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder were warm and cozy tucked inside the quilts from the Boiled Snow Temple.

Red Bean dragged herself over to Ye Que and began pestering him for stories. Eating meat and listening to stories had become her favorite hobbies now. She would pester Ye Que whenever they were free.

It was good thing that it was Ye Que.

He lived long enough to read many books.

In a soft voice, Ye Que told her the story of a swordswoman who dominated the martial arts world. In less than an hour, Yang Nuanyue woke up and saw Guan Shuheng doing his best to stay awake and keeping guard. A hint of admiration flitted across her eyes, as well as an undetectable strange emotion.

“Junior Brother, get some rest. I’ll keep watch for you,” Yang Nuanyue said softly.

Seeing that someone was up, Guan Shuheng walked over with small steps. “Senior Sister, are you hungry? I’m baking a few sweet potatoes in the bonfire. Wait a moment, I’ll go get them for you.”

Without asking Yang Nuanyue if she wanted to eat, he ran outside and came back in the blink of an eye. In his hand was two roasted yellow sweet potatoes.

“Senior Sister, eat this for now and warm your body.”

Yang Nuanyue stared quietly at Guan Shuheng. She didn’t reject his kindness and reached for the sweet potatoes with one hand. She gently raised her other hand to caress his cheek. “You’ve grown up, Junior Brother. You know how to dote on your Senior Sister now.”

The sweet fragrance of sweet potatoes wafted through the wind and the snow to permeate the air outside the temple alongside the wisps of smoke from the bonfire. In the snowy Mount Cicada, it was particularly eye-catching.

Kilometers away from the temple, several youngsters charged madly ahead with sabers in their hands. They stormed through the wind and the snow. Several kilometers behind the group of youngsters was a few barely-discernible people with black robes draped over their shoulders.