“Master! I’ve already called you Master! Why won’t you show them to me?” Trendy Taoist Master smiled fawningly at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao rolled his eyes again. ‘Your skin is too thick!’
“Here, take this. You can split it evenly with Taoist Master Xuan Ling,” Tang Hao gave him the bag.
The bag contained fifty jade talismans. He had prepared it for Taoist Master Xuan Ling. Over the past few days, he had crafted jade talismans every night.
The Taoist master took the bag and opened it to see. “Wow!” He exclaimed. His eyes were bulging.
“Heavens! They’re really jade talismans! There’s so many of them!” Trendy Taoist Master’s voice was trembling. His eyes were shining, like a miser stumbling upon a treasure trove of gold and gemstones.
“These are Flame Talismans… Heavens! There are Lightning Talismans too!” Trendy Taoist Master exclaimed. He was more shaken than ever.
“These are all mine!” his eyes sparkled, then stuffed the bag into his sack.
Shabby Taoist Master was agitated when he saw that.
“Hey, Senior Brother! What are you doing? Didn’t he say that we’re splitting this evenly?”
“Ahem! What are you so worried about, Junior Brother? I’ll give you your share! But it’s best to put them under my care for now. I’m your Senior Brother, and I won’t lie to you! Am I right?” Trendy Taoist Master coughed lightly and said.
“You filthy liar! I can’t recall a time when you didn’t lie to me. Give it to me now, half of it!” Shabby Taoist Master said sternly.
“Hey, Junior Brother, how can you speak like that? I’m your Senior Brother, shouldn’t you respect me?” Trendy Taoist Master said guiltily. His eyes flashed with a thievish gleam.
Tang Hao was speechless when he saw that. How was he a Taoist master?
“Respect my *ss!” Shabby Taoist Master was becoming angry.
His Senior Brother was notorious in Mao Mountain for being a liar and cheater. He had been the victim multiple times ever since they were disciples.
“Hey! My kind Junior Brother…” Trendy Taoist Master said.
“I’m not your kind Junior Brother!” Shabby Taoist Master said angrily.
“Fine… I’ll give you ten pieces!” Trendy Taoist Master said agonizingly.
“I said half!” Shabby Taoist Master’s face was impassive.
“Alright, fifteen pieces!” Trendy Taoist Master’s face was already scrunched up.
“If you continue like this, Senior Brother, I’ll complain about you when we get back!”
“Don’t, don’t! Please don’t do that, Junior Brother. Here, here take this! There are twenty pieces here. That should be enough!” Trendy Taoist Master’s demeanor immediately changed.
Shabby Taoist Master was unmoved. There was at least fifty jade talisman in the bag. Twenty pieces were not enough!
Trendy Taoist Master gnashed his teeth and said, “Alright, half it is then. Look at how good I’m treating you, Junior Brother!”
He slowly pulled out the bag of jade talismans and gave Shabby Taoist Master half of it. It was as though parting with a piece of his flesh.
Then, he leaned close to Tang Hao and asked fawningly. “Master, do you… have any more of these jade talismans?”
Tang Hao did not know how to react. “Don’t you have any self-respect, Taoist Master?”
“Self-respect? What’s that? Is it edible?”
Tang Hao was utterly speechless.
“I have some, but that’s for personal use. Don’t have any ideas on my jade talismans. How about let’s think of how to save Taoist Master Chang Qing!”
The two Taoist masters’ faces darkened when they heard that.
“Damn this bunch of whelps. They dare come over to Huaxia and mess with our people from Mao Mountain! If we don’t teach them a lesson, I’ll change my title from Xuan Yang’zi to Fail Yang’zi.” Trendy Taoist Master said indignantly.
“I’ve hired someone to investigate. Their den should be in a mansion in the countryside. We’ll storm this mansion later and save Chang Qing,” Shabby Taoist Master said.
“As for the bunch of whelps, since they dare mess with us on our home turf, we’re not showing them any mercy! Kill them all!” Shabby Taoist Master’s eyes narrowed and flashed with killing intent as he spoke.
“Alright!” Tang Hao nodded.
“We’ll be making another stop to replenish our equipment,” Shabby Taoist Master said.
“Equipment?” Tang Hao was surprised.
“That’s right. We’ll need some special equipment to fight against werewolves. Silver weapons, that is.” Shabby Taoist Master headed toward the exit as he spoke.
The three people rode in a black car outside of the station. Shabby Taoist Master was the driver.
On their way there, Tang Hao looked at the scenery outside the window.
It was Tang Hao’s first visit to Provincial City. Everything was new to him. The size and bustle of Provincial City was an eye-opener.
Ten or so minutes into the journey, they passed by an educational institution. Tang Hao looked closely and was stunned to see that it was Z University.
If he had not been expelled from high school, he might currently be studying at Z University and enjoying college life.
Tang Hao felt melancholy when he looked at the throngs of well-dressed young men and women walking energetically in and out of the main gate.
‘College life seems fun,’ he thought to himself.
He was reminded of Liu Bingyao. She said that he should contact her whenever he came to Provincial City.
He subconsciously reached toward his phone, but he came to his senses and thought that he ought not to.
There were more important matters to attend to. Rescuing Taoist Master Chang Qing was the main mission; everything else was secondary!
The car sped along the road. Soon, Z University was left far behind them.
About twenty minutes later, the car entered the downtown area of the city. Skyscrapers graced both sides of the road, a sign of a thriving economy. The car soon went into a small alley and stopped there.
“We’re here. This is Octagon Alley!” Shabby Taoist Master said.
He got out of the car first, then took the lead and walked ahead. Soon, they went into a shop.
The shop looked old and sold various wares laid out in a classic fashion. An old man in a classic Chinese suit sat behind the counter. He stood up immediately when he saw Shabby Taoist Master.
“Taoist Master Xuan Ling!” The old man cupped his hands.
“Shopkeeper! Are the goods ready?”
“They are ready. Follow me inside to take a look!” The shopkeeper brought them to an inner chamber.
He retrieved a big black chest and opened it. There were swords of various sizes inside, and also many throwing knives and long nails.
All those items were made of pure silver and shimmered under the light.
Shabby Taoist Master inspected them one by one and nodded with satisfaction.
“Thank you, shopkeeper!”
Shabby Taoist Master packed up the chest and went outside.
When they went out of the shop, Trendy Taoist Master explained, “This shop specializes in selling stuff like these. You can find peach wood swords, virgin boy urine, and all sorts of talismans. The price is quite reasonable. You can come here if you need anything.”
Tang Hao nodded understandingly.
Back in the car, Shabby Taoist Master opened the chest. The three of them picked out some silver weapons for themselves. Tang Hao preferred throwing knives, and so he took some more of those.
Then, the car started again and drove toward the den of the werewolves.