Chapter 16 – Disciples
Under the elder’s gaze, Wang Lin felt like he was transparent and the elder could see everything.
The elder frowned. He didn’t find anything strange about Wang Lin, so he asked, “Wang Lin, when did you come back?”
Wang Lin’s heart was still pounding from that gaze. He immediately replied, “This disciple returned late last night. This morning, when I went out to do my daily chores, Brother Liu said that the Elder was looking for me.”
Elder Sun’s face darkened. Without a word, he grabbed Wang Lin. With one step, they disappeared in a rainbow-colored cloud toward Wang Lin’s room.
The speed was too fast. Wang Lin felt like he was suffocating, but fortunately, the journey was very short. When they arrived at Wang Lin’s room, Elder Sun threw Wang Lin aside and scanned the room with his Divine Sense.
“What is this?” Elder Sun went to Wang Lin’s bedside and found the gourd that Wang Lin usually used to store spring water.
Wang Lin looked calm on the surface, but his heart was pounding and he immediately tried to find the right words to say.
Elder Sun studied it for a long time, then turned to Wang Lin and asked, “Wang Lin, what do you keep in this gourd?”
Wang Lin tried to play dumb and said, “Elder, this gourd is filled with mountain spring water. This spring water is truly amazing. Whenever I’m tired, all I have to do is drink a little and I’ll immediately feel refreshed. When I was little, I read a book that said everything used by the gods is good. I never thought even this spring water could be this powerful. Elder, if you want this spring water, there are ten barrels full in the storehouse. Each barrel is the size of a house. I took all the water.”
Elder Sun opened the gourd and smelled it. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he said excitedly, “Who asked you about the spring water? Quick, tell me where you found this gourd!”
Wang Lin was stunned. He asked innocently, “Elder, what’s wrong with that gourd? I saw it floating in the river when I went to fetch water. I thought it looked pretty good, so I fished it out of the water.”
Elder Sun narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Wang Lin. He touched the gourd and thought, “There’s so much spiritual energy inside this gourd. If a mortal were to drink the water stored inside this gourd, although they wouldn’t be able to absorb much spiritual energy, it would still refresh them. It seems he wasn’t lying. This gourd is truly a waste to him. If it were used to refine an immortal pill, the effects would definitely be great.”
There’s a strong possibility that the deaths of bluegrass and purple nightshade are related to pumpkins. They may be natural enemies. This can’t be confirmed without further testing.
Stopping his thoughts there, his expression suddenly changed as he carefully examined the gourd. He frowned and stared coldly at Wang Lin. “Wang Lin, you’re truly bold. You dare lie to an Elder? It seems you don’t want to stay in the Heng Yue Sect any longer!”
Wang Lin showed a puzzled expression. He immediately replied, “Elder, I’m not lying to you. There really are ten barrels full of spring water in the stock house.”
Without letting Wang Lin finish speaking, Elder Sun laughed angrily and said, “Are you still acting innocent with me? I asked you about that gourd. This gourd looks like it just broke off the tree. Wang Lin, I’ll give you one last chance to tell me where you got this gourd, or I’ll kick you out of the Heng Yue Sect today!”
Wang Lin’s face showed an angry expression. His expression betrayed his desire to fight, and he shouted, “So what if I’m expelled? In the Heng Yue Sect, all I did was fetch water to fill those ten barrels. I often stayed for over a week before I could eat. If it weren’t for the sweet potatoes my mother gave me, I would have starved to death. This isn’t cultivation, it’s simply torture!”
“I tried so hard to get that gourd out of the river. If you want it, take it. Why would I say I lied? What does a gourd with vines have to do with me? Maybe someone broke it off the vine and threw it into the water. You ask me, but who am I to ask about that?”
Elder Sun looked at the remaining sweet potatoes, then at the gourd. He pondered for a moment and thought, “Although I want this gourd, stealing an honorary disciple’s treasure and then banishing him would be too shameful. It would be terrible if word of this spread. My reputation would be ruined, and if others in the sect found out about this gourd, I wouldn’t be able to prevent them from taking it. This kid is still lying to me. There must be more gourds like this. If I can get them all, my pill-making skills will improve by another level.”
Thinking of this, he suddenly changed into a shocked expression and exclaimed, “You’ve really had a hard time, kid. I didn’t know you hadn’t eaten for a whole week. Now that I know about this matter, I’ll take care of it. Even an honorary disciple is still a Heng Yue Sect disciple!”
After she finished speaking, she saw that Wang Lin was still angry. She laughed coldly to herself, but said kindly, “Wang Lin, I want this gourd, but I want to treat you well. Would you like to be my maid?”
Wang Lin muttered, “I don’t want to. A maid is just a maid. If my father finds out I’m a maid, he’ll definitely beat me to death.”
Elder Sun was about to lose his temper. He wanted to beat him to death before Wang Lin’s father could. Even though he was at the bottom of the second generation, if he said he was looking for a helper in the sect, all the honorary disciples would flock to him.
Holding back his anger, he shouted, “Fine! I’ll accept you as my disciple. I’ll go inform the patriarch now. You pack up, then come and wait for me in my garden.” After he finished speaking, he walked out of Wang Lin’s room. With one step, clouds appeared as he headed straight for the patriarch.
As he left, Wang Lin’s expression darkened. He sneered inwardly, “This old man has ulterior motives. On the surface, he accepted me as a disciple, but in truth, he just wants more gourds.”
Wang Lin pondered this for a moment, then chuckled. He just wanted a few gourds. There were plenty of them on the mountain. He just needed to soak a few in water with the beads. Now that he had the chance to become an inner disciple, he should seize this opportunity to cultivate properly.
After thinking about it, he became very excited. He packed his things and left a bunch of sweet potatoes for Zhang Hu. He then started walking towards Elder Sun’s courtyard.
This time, he didn’t announce his arrival and walked directly into the courtyard. The white-clothed youth, who was sitting on the tree, didn’t stop him. He had already received news that Elder Sun had accepted Wang Lin as a disciple. The youth laughed, saying to himself, “A trash teacher accepting a trash disciple. This is truly fitting.”