Chapter 15 – Suspicion
Zhang Hu ran to the table in a daze. He tried to pour a cup of water from the container for a long time, but not a drop came out. He rubbed his eyes and saw the sheets crumpled into a ball. Then he looked at Wang Lin and said, “Wang Lin, when did you come back? This… was it a ghost who did this?”
Wang Lin smiled, then opened the door and said, “I don’t know. When I returned, things were already like this. Why don’t you try asking the other disciples? However, if this gets to the elders’ ears, you’ll have to go to the trouble of explaining it and might even be interrogated by them.”
Zhang Hu shook his head and said, “Forget it, I won’t ask. If I’m questioned by the elders, it will be hard to avoid punishment.”
Wang Lin ignored him and walked out the door. It was still raining outside, so he quickened his pace, afraid that the bead would cause a disturbance in the rain. He took the quiet path to the east gate. All the water that fell on him was absorbed by the bead, and he was afraid that someone would notice. He had initially wanted to hide it in his room, but then decided it was safer to hide it outside.
Wang Lin went to one of the places where he had previously hidden the gourd containing dew. It was still early in the morning and not many people were awake yet. He made sure no one was following him before burying the stone bead there.
After that, he sighed. He intended to wait for the rain to stop, then return to retrieve his treasure. Wang Lin left very carefully, making sure no one else was around, and walked toward the chore house. When he arrived there, he was just about to pick up the bucket when a weasel-faced disciple dressed in yellow came out. Disciple Liu was slightly startled when he saw Wang Lin, but quickly changed his expression to one of excitement as he rushed forward to take the bucket from Wang Lin’s grasp. He said, “If it isn’t Brother Wang! How was your trip home? Are your parents okay? Your seniors have missed you these few days while you were away.”
Wang Lin was stunned. He knew that face very well. It was exactly the same as the face of his relative at the banquet, but Wang Lin wasn’t sure what Disciple Liu was up to.
“Brother Liu, my parents are fine. You don’t have to worry.” Wang Lin answered cautiously, as he wasn’t sure what Liu was planning.
Disciple Liu said warmly, puffing out his chest, “Brother, from now on you don’t have to get up so early. Your brother was joking with you, telling you to fill ten barrels a day, but you went ahead and completely trusted me. From now on, you only need to fill one barrel a day. Even if you don’t finish on time, you can go eat when the food is served. If there’s anything troublesome for you, just tell your brother!”
Wang Lin’s face changed color. He asked hesitantly, “Big brother, is there something you want me to do?”
Disciple Liu’s face was filled with dissatisfaction, and he feigned anger. “Little brother, how can you be so cold to your older brother? You’re my younger brother, of course I have to care about you. In the future, your problems are my problems. Regarding these tasks, just do some work to show that you’ve worked hard. In the end, whether you did well or not is just my opinion. Since it’s raining today, you don’t need to work. Right, Elder Sun came looking for you a few days ago. Now that you’re back, you should go see him.” He finished speaking and carefully watched Wang Lin’s reaction.
Wang Lin muttered to himself and held back a laugh. In his heart, he had already guessed more than half of the story after listening to Disciple Liu. Elder Sun must have come looking for him after he left, and Disciple Liu must have been afraid of the grudge between them, which was why he was so friendly today. He didn’t bother to point out the misunderstanding, and imitated Disciple Liu’s actions when they first met and snorted.
Disciple Liu’s heart pounded when he saw Wang Lin’s expression. This confirmed his own suspicions; this trash was truly living his dream: to gain the attention of an elder. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so arrogant. This kid seemed like someone who would hold a grudge. He thought to himself, “He’ll definitely take revenge on me later.”
Student Liu had been an honorary disciple for 13 years, and had spent six of those years in the chores. He had never seen an elder personally seek out an honorary disciple. It was a rare occurrence for an inner disciple to be sent by an elder.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered the fact that Wang Lin had offended the elder, but that was just his speculation. However, he wasn’t sure. It wouldn’t matter if he was right, but he was afraid of what would happen if he was wrong. He had been in the Heng Yue Sect for many years and knew exactly how insignificant he was.
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and took out a piece of yellow paper, handing it to Wang Lin. “Little brother, when Senior Brother saw you last month, I ignored you. This is just a small, worthless gift. You should accept it. If you don’t…”
Before Lie could finish his sentence, Wang Lin had already picked up the yellow paper. When he had looked at it earlier, he had realized that it was an immortal talisman used when honorary disciples returned home.
“Thank you, Senior Brother. This little brother doesn’t want to be presumptuous, but Senior Brother is waiting for me. We’ll have to catch up another time,” Wang Lin said with a chuckle.
Brother Liu nodded slightly enviously. “The older one is more important, little brother should leave quickly.”
Wang Lin appeared calm on the surface, but deep down, he had many doubts about Elder Sun. Why did he personally come looking for him? Wang Lin walked leisurely through the courtyard with these questions swirling in his head. He had thoroughly analyzed the situation, but in the end, he couldn’t reach a conclusion.
“Could he possibly know about the stone bead?” Wang Lin thought. He pondered the question for a while. He didn’t have the ability to bribe the elder, and if he didn’t go, he would offend the elder, so he might as well pretend he didn’t know anything. Since the stone bead wasn’t on him, he stopped thinking about it and walked forward.
Not long after he arrived in the courtyard and announced his presence, the same young man in white appeared, startled. He quipped, “What, you have to go home again?”
Wang Lin raised his eyebrows, just before he was about to speak, Elder Sun’s voice came from inside the courtyard.
“Quick, bring him here! Without delay!”
The white-clothed disciple frowned. He looked at Wang Lin seriously, then returned to the courtyard. Wang Lin followed him silently.
After arriving at Elder Sun’s residence, the white-clothed young man left. Before leaving, he looked at Wang Lin with a questioning look.
Wang Lin was a little nervous as he pushed open the gate and entered. As he entered, he saw an old man coming out of a room in the garden. The old man’s face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were bright, and he was observing Wang Lin with a cold gaze.