“What happened? How did Taoist Master Chang Qing get into trouble?” Tang Hao asked with a grim face.
Shabby Taoist Master sighed and said, “It’s a long story. A bunch of Westerners abducted him.”
“Westerners?” Tang Hao was surprised.
“That’s right, Westerners!” Shabby Taoist Master said angrily.
“Cultivators from the West?” Tang Hao said.
He had heard Shabby Taoist Master mention before about Westerner cultivators. They were also known as shamans, but they were entirely different from the shamans from Nanyang.
“No. If they’re cultivators, they wouldn’t have kidnapped him. They’re famous monsters from the West. Werewolves, that is,” Shabby Taoist Master said.
“Werewolves?” Tang Hao was surprised again.
He had heard of werewolves and vampires, two famous types of monsters from the West. He did not expect that he would be encountering werewolves in Huaxia.
“Werewolves, indeed. They’re getting more and more daring, and they dare to bully us on our home turf now. They wouldn’t have dared to step into Huaxia before this though.” Shabby Taoist Master got even angrier as he spoke.
“Why… Why did they abduct Taoist Master Chang Qing?” Tang Hao asked.
“This bunch of whelps has been causing trouble in Huaxia. Chang Qing was on their trail and found their den, and that was why he was abducted,” Shabby Taoist Master said.
Tang Hao furrowed his brows. “When did this happen?”
“It was just last night. Chang Qing gave me a phone call before he got abducted.”
“Then… Is Taoist Master Chang Qing OK now?”
“Yeah! He’s not dead yet though. His life indicator is still with me and it’s still in one piece. I doubt the bunch of whelps would dare make their move. It’s one thing to kidnap someone and another to kill them. That would have serious consequences. It’ll cause a large-scale war between the East and the West.”
“It’s good that he’s fine!” Tang Hao breathed a sigh of relief.
“He might still be alive, but I think he’s not in a comfortable situation. That’s why I implore you to help us save Chang Qing,” Shabby Taoist Master said.
“Just us two?”
“No, there’s another person. One of my Senior Brothers is coming,” Shabby Taoist Master said, “There are many masters from Mao Mountain, but we’re wandering all over Huaxia to fight evil and kill monsters. Only one of them is available to help.”
“How many enemies are there?”
“That… I’m not too sure. Three of us should be able to take care of them. Right, you should bring more jade talismans.”
“Alright! I’ll come over now!” Tang Hao said.
“OK! Come over as soon as you can! I’m already in Provincial City. I’ll go fetch you when you’re here!”
After ending the call, Tang Hao pondered the situation for a while.
He was friends with Taoist Master Chang Qing and he cared for him. Furthermore, he was curious to see the werewolves of legend.
He had seen vengeful ghosts, zombies, and Nanyang shamans, but not werewolves from the West.
He was also quite indignant that foreigners were causing trouble on his home turf.
With that reason alone, he thought that he ought to teach them a lesson.
He immediately gave Assistant Han a call and told her that he would be away for a few days. Then, he gave a call to Sis Xiangyi that his Taoist master friends needed him at Provincial City.
Tang Hao left home after he ended the call, then bought a ticket at the train station. After a short wait, he took the train toward Provincial City.
The train arrived at its destination a little more than three hours later.
Tang Hao had been in constant contact with Shabby Taoist Master while on the train. The Taoist master was already waiting for him outside the station when he arrived.
Tang Hao got off the train and headed toward the exit. He saw two conspicuous figures waiting for him.
They were in Taoist robes. The Taoist robe on the person on the left was torn and dirty, which complemented his shabby appearance. The one on the right was quite unique. He wore sunglasses and his hair was permed into a trendy hairstyle.
Tang Hao was shocked. He stared at the Taoist master on the right for a very long time.
Was he… Shabby Taoist Master’s senior brother?
Tang Hao’s expression was incredulous. ‘Why are the Taoist masters from Mao Mountain one weirder than the other? Can they still be considered as Taoist masters?
‘When you hear the term ‘Taoist master’, would you not expect them to be clean and austere? Taoist Master Chang Qing is probably the only proper Taoist master out of the three.’
Unfortunately, Taoist Master Chang Qing was useless, while the two weird ones in front of his were actual Taoist masters from Mao Mountain. There was no justice in this world!
‘Don’t tell me the other masters from Mao Mountain are like this too!’ Tang Hao thought.
Shabby Taoist Master happened to notice Tang Hao. He waved enthusiastically and shouted, “Over here, kid!”
The trendy Taoist master followed Shabby Taoist Master’s gaze and looked along.
He was slightly taken aback when he saw Tang Hao. “Junior Brother, he looks very young indeed. Are you sure we can trust him?” He whispered.
“He’s very reliable indeed! Don’t see that he’s young, he’s at a higher level of cultivation than you!” Shabby Taoist Master said.
“What?” Trendy Taoist Master was surprised. Then he chuckled, obviously not believing his claim.
“Even if that kid started practicing in his mother’s womb, I’ll still be more powerful than him!”
As he spoke, he walked toward Tang Hao and stretched out an arm.
The scene was just like when Shabby Taoist Master first met Tang Hao.
Tang Hao did not dodge and allowed Trendy Taoist Master to lay his hand on him. Then, he channeled the qi in his body toward where the hand was.
The Taoist master’s body trembled. He let go of his hand and stumbled backward with an expression of extreme shock on his face.
“F*ck me, you kid, have you taken divine pills? You’re a monster!” That Taoist master cursed.
Shabby Taoist Master chortled when he saw his senior brother’s surprise. “Looks like you’ve misjudged him too, Senior Brother!”
Trendy Taoist Master’s face was bright red. He felt ashamed of himself.
He glared at Shabby Taoist Master. “What are you laughing at?” Then, he turned to look at Tang Hao and assumed the air of a veteran. “Not bad, Junior! You’ll put up a good fight against me.”
“However…” His tone of voice changed. “You might have a high level of cultivation, but you shouldn’t be that great in other aspects. You’re still young, and you don’t have plenty of experience like us. It’ll be a long time before I recognize your powers!”
“Oh!” Tang Hao replied calmly, “I’ve brought a lot of jade talismans today. I thought I’d share some with you, but since you said so, I’ll only be sharing them with Taoist Master Xuan Ling.”
“What? Jade talismans?” Trendy Taoist Master nearly jumped.
Tang Hao retrieved a bag from his backpack and pretended to count the talismans. “One, two, … Oh! There’s so many!”
Trendy Taoist Master’s eyes were sparkling as he stared unblinkingly at the bag.
“Master! Can I call you Master?” He exclaimed loudly. He was almost kneeling and hugging Tang Hao’s leg.
Tang Hao rolled his eyes. ‘What a quick about-face! Don’t you have any integrity?’