Chapter 58: Today is Jiang Anan's birthday
Regarding Jiang Wang's donation of Dao Xun obtained from the Three Cities Debate, almost no one except Linghe could understand it.
But no one would interfere either.
Jiang Wang owed no one, and he didn't need to be responsible to anyone except Jiang An'an.
However, when chatting with Zhao Rucheng, Jiang Wang expressed his apologies: "Rucheng, originally, Third Brother should have helped you gather the ingredients for the Open Meridian Pill, but..."
Zhao Rucheng laughed instead, "There are too many difficult people and things in this world. Can you help them all?"
"I don't have any grand aspirations to save the world. But since certain things have happened, I can't just turn a blind eye. Did you not see how red-eyed they were? Those people didn't even wrinkle their brows when they fought to the death..." Jiang Wang sighed, "It reminds me of our senior brothers who locked themselves in their rooms and cried after we came back from Xiaolin Town."
"My Third Brother! I would rather you have some big aspirations." Zhao Rucheng laughed, his tone half-jokingly and half-seriously, "One kind-hearted person like Eldest Brother is enough."
Jiang Wang fell silent for a moment and said, "I just want you to know that Third Brother does care about your future. It was just that I had a moment of weakness. We brothers can accumulate Dao Xun quickly by doing missions together. The people in Sanshan City may not have that much time."
Zhao Rucheng looked at him and said, "I also want to tell you that I really don't need it."
"Your talent is good and shouldn't be wasted.""Anything that makes me happy is considered not a waste." Zhao Rucheng grinned, "Is it a waste to spend a lot of money to make someone laugh? Is it a waste to spend time idly? I have money, I have talent, but what about it? It's only by wasting them that I can be happy!"
"..." Jiang Wang said, "If Eldest Brother heard this, he would definitely try to persuade you for hours."
"Hahaha." Zhao Rucheng laughed, "That's why every time he starts lecturing, I immediately tell him that I'll go home and work hard! Then I run away."
The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked past the gate of the Taoist temple.
It was then that they noticed a shirtless man hanging from above the jade lion on the left side of the gate.
His hands were tied to a horizontal branch belonging to a strange tree growing on the courtyard wall, which was undoubtedly formed by Taoist techniques.
The man hung his head and his long hair was scattered. His bare skin was fair, but he was a bit skinny and looked weak.
A wooden board hung around his neck, which read "For betraying his teacher and ancestors, he deserves no mercy. He will be hung for three days as a warning to others."
Jiang Wang felt more and more familiar as he looked at him. After taking a closer look, he finally confirmed that the person was Huang Azhan.
"What happened?" He asked Zhao Rucheng.
Zhao Rucheng suppressed his laughter and said, "He went to smash Xiaotiemian's door last night while wearing a mask and was caught red-handed. Now he's demonstrating the consequences of betraying his teacher and ancestors."
"Why did he do that?" Jiang Wang was puzzled, "Why provoke Xiaotiemian out of all people?"
The Taoist Temple of Fenglin City had three people that should not be provoked: Xiaotiemian from the Art Institute, the chef in the cafeteria, and Dong Yuanzhang, the dean of the academy.
It was said that Dong Aqi, the dean, was particularly irritable when he woke up in the morning. Everyone tried to avoid him during this time.
The cafeteria of the city's Taoist temple actually had a wide variety of dishes, not inferior to ordinary restaurants. The only problem was that you couldn't pick what to eat and had to rely on the chef's mood. Therefore, it was only natural that he was not to be provoked.
Ranked first was Xiaotiemian from the Art Institute, which showed how deep of an impact he had on the disciples of the Taoist temple...
And Huang Azhan dared to provoke him. It couldn't be said that he wasn't bold."Hahaha." Zhao Rucheng laughed out loud. "Remember when we were in charge of welcoming the cultivators from Sanshan City? One of the instructors said that his appearance was not good enough to be the leader, so Ling Laoda became the leader instead. That instructor was Xiao Tiemian. After the Three Cities Competition, Huang Azhan became more and more angry. He drank some alcohol last night and decided to teach Xiao Tiemian a lesson."
Jiang Wang: "......"
How could a living person seek death like this?
Huang Azhan had lowered his head, trying to conceal his identity. But he couldn't resist Zhao Rucheng's enthusiastic explanation and cheerful laughter.
Huang Azhan heard it and was furious.
"Rucheng, buddy." He couldn't do much while hanging in the air, but he still shook his long hair and showed a very friendly smile. "Help a brother out."
"Hey!" Zhao Rucheng happily agreed and suddenly turned around. "Oh, I forgot something important!"
He hurriedly left.
Huang Azhan gritted his teeth and slowly looked at Jiang Wang.
Jiang Wang pointed to the direction where Zhao Rucheng had left. "I'll go see what he's up to."
And he quickly ran away.
There was no need to guess what Huang Azhan was up to. But even with their courage, they wouldn't dare to let Xiao Tiemian's captive go.
It should be noted that although Huang Azhan had many friends, there was no one around at the moment. They didn't even plan to use the main entrance these days, but rather the back door.
...
Speaking of important matters, Zhao Rucheng wasn't lying.
Today was October 12th, the second day after the Three Cities Competition, and also Jiang Anan's birthday.
Jiang Wang had long been prepared for this day.
He had already ordered white sliced lamb and lamb soup from Caiji Sheep Meat Shop, pastries from Guixiangzhai, and charcoal from Dudingwang... They would all be delivered directly to their home later.
He had also bought a lot of fresh ingredients early in the morning from the market, ready to show off his cooking skills to his dear sister - because it was still in the secrecy stage, so he wasn't stopped by Zhao Rucheng.
Ling He had left the city mysteriously last night, saying that he was preparing a surprise for Jiang Anan.
And Zhao Rucheng had someone buy a new outfit from Yunxiangzhai, which he was now going to pick up.
He didn't inform the others, to avoid any suspicion of them having to prepare gifts.
Huang Azhan could be invited to join them, as he was also familiar with Anan... but hanging from a tree was already a fun show in itself.
It could be said that everything was ready, except for Anan finishing school.
Jiang Wang calculated the time, temporarily separated from Zhao Rucheng, and went alone to Mingde Hall. He was going to pick up Jiang Anan and if she had any other good friends, like the little girl named Qingzhi, he was also planning to invite them to play at home.
Today was Jiang Anan's birthday, her first birthday without her mother. It could also be seen as a summary of the time they had spent together.
He wanted to give Anan a happy and carefree birthday.
This was the most important arrangement for Jiang Wang recently.
...
Zhao Rucheng held a box of custom-made clothes from Yunxiangzhai in his left hand and a decorated silk box in his right hand. Inside the box was a piece of high-quality material for a magic weapon, which, when worn, had the effect of nourishing one's qi and blood.
The clothes from Yunxiangzhai were already expensive, and the magic weapon material was priceless. But for Zhao Rucheng, money was not a problem.
When he arrived at Jiang's house in Feima Lane, the gate was closed.
Zhao Rucheng didn't mind and jumped in, placing the gifts down and finding a recliner in the courtyard to relax on.After a while, Linghe ran out of the courtyard panting, with mud on his clothes that he didn't have time to clean up.
He was carrying a huge turtle in his hand, which looked like it had been around for at least three hundred years.
This big turtle had been roaming around in the Green Willow River for a long time. Linghe had noticed it a long time ago, but it took a lot of effort to catch it this time. He planned to give it to Anan to raise and help her live longer.
If you don't believe it, boiling soup with it is also very nourishing.
He was more honest, so when he saw the door was locked, he decided to wait outside.
Zhao Rucheng heard the noise and shattered the lock from inside to let him in.
Then, the one who brought lamb meat came, the one who brought charcoal came, and the one who brought pastries came.
Time passed slowly.
Finally, Jiang Anan returned home and found that the lock was broken.
She pushed open the courtyard door and saw a table full of delicious food in the courtyard, as well as Linghe and Zhao Rucheng with gifts.
"Where's your brother?" Linghe asked.
"Where's my brother?" Jiang Anan asked.
They both spoke in unison.
...
Today is Jiang Anan's birthday.
Linghe and Zhao Rucheng both brought gifts.
Jiang Anan returned home by herself.
Jiang Wang, however, did not come back.