Zhao Dayou was boasting loudly, while Mei Qing remained silent. Zhou Chang, standing beside, chuckled and said, “Is that so? Come on, Old Zhao, you really have no limits when it comes to talking. I remember clearly how you ran away in fear, scared out of your wits when you saw that monkey. Now you’re saying he apologized to you? Who are you trying to fool?”
“When have I ever been afraid?” Zhao, narrowing his eyes, retorted, “Have you ever seen me flinch, even when facing a thousand or ten thousand? Me afraid? Hmph! At that time, you and Yaizi tried to fight him together and still couldn’t handle him. In the end, it was only I, Old Zhao, who subdued him. Yesterday when he came to see me, I just happened to have a bit of weakness in my legs… Why are you laughing? It wasn’t out of fear! I just didn’t step properly, stumbled a little, and that monkey rushed over to help me up, apologizing repeatedly. I was so embarrassed I didn’t know what to say. He even said, ‘Brother Zhao, watch your step, don’t spill the tea!’ Indeed, I almost dropped the teapot when I stumbled, but fortunately, that monkey caught it and handed it back to me.”
Sighing, he continued, “Ah, speaking of that little monkey, he’s actually a good guy! Just young and inexperienced, he took a wrong turn. As for me, Old Zhao, I’ve always valued righteousness and can’t stand to see others go down the wrong path. I always want to lend a hand. Otherwise, how could I let go of that apology he gave me without doing something to guide him?!” So spoke the old Zhao of the brocade guards, sipping tea and patting his chest, full of emotion.
As the moon rose high in the sky, it was already past the second watch. Mei Qing grew increasingly anxious. If the backup promised by Sixth Master still hadn’t arrived, tonight’s mission would be completely without assurance of success.
Mei Qing couldn’t help but regret his decision. He should have been more insistent and made Sixth Master confirm the support beforehand. Now that the moment had come, there was nothing to be done but silently curse the old man for always wanting to watch him fail.
The location wasn’t far from one of Hou Shen’s secret spots. According to Hou Shen’s hints, someone would come to retrieve the inkstone at the third watch tonight. Once that happened, they would secretly follow the person to find out who was so interested in this mysterious inkstone.
Unfortunately, tonight’s operation would make it impossible to contact Bizhen. Thinking of this, Mei Qing instinctively extended his spiritual sense, but suddenly felt resistance, as if something was blocking him. His mind raced, and after a moment’s thought, he suddenly spoke aloud, “The time is approaching. Since noble helpers have come to assist, please reveal yourselves briefly. Mei Qing has something to request.”
Zhao Dayou and the other three were startled, not knowing whom Mei Qing was addressing. Just as they were about to ask for clarification, they suddenly heard a sharp voice from the side of the wall, “Huh? How can this little guy see us?”
Before the words had fully faded, another deep voice responded, “My apologies, my apologies. Brother Two, you’re mistaken again. He can’t actually see you at all. He’s just guessing to trick you out.”
The four of them were shocked by these sudden voices in their ears. Mei Qing had some expectation, so he was somewhat prepared, but the other three immediately stood up, looking around frantically for the source of the voices.
At this point, the sharp voice replied indignantly, “Old Three, how do you know he can’t see me? If he couldn’t see me, how could he ask me to reveal myself? Furthermore, if he didn’t know that you and I had come, how would he know it’s the help of noble masters? I said earlier we should just reveal ourselves. But you insisted on hiding first. Now we’ve been discovered, which definitely damages our noble master image.”
The deep voice responded, “My apologies, my apologies. Brother Two, you’re even more mistaken. Since we are noble masters, we naturally maintain the noble master image. Although the young master guessed us correctly, it only shows that he has a bit of spiritual insight. How does that affect our image? Young master, don’t you agree?”
As the two debated, the moonlight near the wall suddenly became hazy and blurred, as if a cloud of mist had formed there. Within the swirling fog, faint lights flickered, gradually forming two human figures. These two appeared to be around fifty or sixty years old, but their appearances were quite peculiar.
The one on the left was nearly eight feet tall, with a bald head marked by nine dots of precepts. He had bushy eyebrows, large eyes, a prominent nose, and a wide mouth, with a large, round waist and broad shoulders. He wore a bright red kasaya and held a copper alms bowl the size of a large pot. Though his appearance was rough and bold, his voice was high-pitched and sharp as he spoke, “You idiot, Old Three! If we could follow this kid unnoticed, dealing with any cats or dogs that came our way, that would truly be the noble master’s way—acting without revealing ourselves, achieving success without seeking recognition. Now that we’ve been discovered, how can you still maintain the noble master’s image?”
The other figure, standing no more than five feet tall, was thin and withered, his features seeming compressed together. He looked rather unremarkable but wore a luxurious brocade robe, a colorful silk sash around his waist, and a large piece of white jade hanging from it. He frowned and said, “My apologies, my apologies. How can we take what Elder Sister said seriously? Didn’t you always refuse to follow her arrangements? Now you quote Elder Sister’s words? That’s a big mistake.”
Zhao Dayou and the others were stunned. First, they had no idea that someone could be hiding so close without them noticing. Second, they had never expected the two to be so strange. Earlier, they had heard the voices and assumed they were two brothers, one a monk and the other a layman. But they had not anticipated that the tall one with the precept marks and kasaya would speak so freely, while the one in lay clothes kept saying “my apologies” repeatedly. Combined with their verbose and confusing dialogue, they were truly shocking.
The tall monk continued, “Old Three, why do you always oppose me? According to our rules, the younger should obey the elder. When have I ever disobeyed Elder Sister’s arrangements? We ran out secretly, and it was clearly your idea. Now you’re saying I didn’t follow Elder Sister’s orders? If you dare talk back again, I won’t speak to you anymore!” So saying, he widened his large eyes and stared unblinkingly at the small figure.
The small figure muttered, “My apologies, my apologies…” but when he saw the monk’s eyes grow even wider, he mumbled a few words and dared not speak further.
Mei Qing thought to himself, “It seems that most people with high cultivation are eccentric. No wonder Lu Bing attacked me without asking questions the moment he saw me—he must have some personality issues too.” Despite his thoughts, he stood up and went forward to greet the two with a bow.
Actually, he was still upset with Lu Bing, so he couldn’t help but attribute any misfortunes to him.
When the two saw Mei Qing bowing, they returned the gesture. The tall monk simply bowed deeply and straightened up; the small man in brocade joined his palms and kept chanting, “Amituofo, Amituofo.”
Mei Qing found the scene amusing but said, “I have long heard of the two noble masters coming to assist. Meeting you now fills me with joy. May I ask for your honorable names, so that Mei Qing may know them and satisfy my admiration?”
Hearing Mei Qing’s polite words, both of them beamed with delight. The tall monk in the kasaya spoke loudly, “You’re a decent kid. As soon as you saw us brothers, you asked for our names. We noble masters naturally cannot reveal our names casually. We were originally going to keep them secret, but it would be impolite not to tell you. Let me think… Ah, I’ve got an idea. I’ll test you. If you’re smart enough to guess correctly, I’ll tell you our names, and thus maintain our noble master image.”
Mei Qing was both annoyed and amused but replied, “Then please ask your question.”
The tall monk was very pleased. He tapped his bald head with his large hand like a ladle and said, “If I ask something too difficult, you probably can’t answer. So I’ll ask something simple. My younger brother is the third brother, and his name is Sun Busi. Now, can you guess why that is?”
Despite being prepared, Mei Qing was still taken aback. First, how could outsiders know how you brothers named yourselves? Such a simple question was probably impossible even for the smartest person in the world to answer. Second, you said you’d tell me your names if I answered correctly, but now you’re giving away your brother’s name as the question itself—wasn’t that a joke?
Before Mei Qing could reply, the small figure named Sun Busi had already frowned and said, “My apologies, my apologies. Brother Two, you couldn’t be more wrong. You told the young master our name before even giving him the test. Why did you reveal my name right at the beginning?”
The tall monk replied, “Old Three, why are you in such a hurry? I said that if he guessed correctly, I’d tell him our names. Now he only knows that your name is Sun Busi, but he doesn’t know mine is Sun Busan. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Mei Qing couldn’t help but secretly laugh. This Sun Busan was indeed a character. But if they continued like this, who knew when they’d finish? Tonight’s mission would be impossible. He had to step forward and say, “So you two are the famous ‘Sun Busan and Sun Busi’ brothers. Truly, it’s an honor to meet you…”
Sun Busan was greatly surprised, “How could you guess our names? Since you already knew, this doesn’t count. I must test you again.” So saying, he thought hard and suddenly shouted, “Ah, I know what to test you on! I’m Sun Busan, and Old Three here is Sun Busi. Now guess, what is our eldest sister’s name?”
Mei Qing didn’t want to get further entangled with these two and kept saying he couldn’t guess, insisting that they should focus on the important matter at hand. But Sun Busan was very persistent, insisting that no matter who it was, he had to at least try. If Mei Qing gave up without even trying, how could that be considered sincere?
Helplessly, Mei Qing coughed and said, “Then I’ll take a wild guess. Since your names are Busan and Busi, could your eldest sister perhaps be named Sun Buer?”
As soon as he said it, Mei Qing himself found it amusing. Sun Buer was a famous name—she was one of the seven original disciples of Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen Sect, and the only female among the seven. She later became the founder of the Qingjing Sect. But Sun Buer lived during the Jin Dynasty, hundreds of years ago. There was no way she could be the elder sister of these two oddballs.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the words left his mouth, the two brothers, Sun Busan and Sun Busi, both showed shock on their faces. Sun Busan even let out a sharp scream, stepping back in alarm, his large eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, as he stammered, “You know my eldest sister? Could it be… she sent you here?”
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