False evidence

Chapter 365 The Withered Wood Hall

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded.

Pidan whispered to me, "Your grandpa and Third Grandma were old lovers? And they even had a child? Monkey King is your grandpa's grandson? Isn't that a bit too melodramatic?"

I glared at her. "Stop talking nonsense and go help her up!"

Pidan and I walked over and supported Grandpa on either side, while simultaneously giving Monkey a look. It didn't matter whether he kowtowed or not; the real issue was if the two old people got so excited that they actually kowtowed here!
Under the strong insistence of the Third Grandmother, the monkey finally knelt down and kowtowed three times to the grandfather.

After helping the two elders into the house, Pidan, Pidan's mother, Fang Ling, and I all rushed into the kitchen.

Not long after, the monkeys followed them in.

We stared at each other for a while, and then, the naturally humorous monkey opened his arms to me:

"Little brother, come here, let your big brother give you a hug."

Regardless of what the two elders in the main house said, the kitchen was in an uproar.

No one would have guessed that I was related to monkeys.

Pidan poked my head and said, "Don't blame me for siding with Third Grandma, getting a woman pregnant and then not taking responsibility, that's definitely your grandpa's fault!"

I retorted, "I was adopted. Monkey King is the old man's real grandson. Go ahead and poke him!"

He said that, but he was secretly having doubts.

Why is this all so upsetting?
I've known the old man for over twenty years, and he doesn't seem like an old rogue at all.

It wasn't until Grandpa called out loudly that we lined up and walked out of the kitchen and into the main room.

These two old folks are doing well; they've already started eating and drinking.

Grandpa's eyes were also a little red. He used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of pork that was half lean and half fat and put it in my bowl, saying in a rather domineering manner:

"Do you remember when you were little, I also made this steamed pork with dried vegetables, but no matter how I did it, I could never make it taste the same?"

I mumbled, "Can dried wild vegetables and dried plum vegetables be the same thing?"

Although the monkey was carefree, it couldn't control its tongue. After holding back for a while, it finally asked the old man:
"Grandpa, why did you leave back then?"

The one who answered him was the Third Grandma.

“You can’t blame your grandfather. If he hadn’t left, we old folks wouldn’t be alive now, and you wouldn’t exist.”

"I don't understand."

Grandma and Grandpa exchanged a glance.

Grandpa put down his chopsticks and sighed deeply: "I heard from your grandmother that you are a doctor now. You may not have heard of it, but there is a special clinic in the countryside called Kumu Hall."

“I’ve heard of it.” The monkey glanced at me.

I brought up the matter of Kumutang with him. My purpose was to find out if this mysterious traditional Chinese medicine clinic could cure the preserved egg's illness.

The monkey only learned about this place after I told it to him.

The old man took a sip of wine, his gaze fixed intently on the courtyard, and slowly said:
“My name is Feng Jiu. Although my name is last in the family, according to the rules of the hall, I am the eldest. When our master was on his deathbed, he entrusted me with the task of finding a new master. Since then, I have traveled all over the country... Alas, in this vast sea of ​​people, how easy is it to find a reincarnated child?”

The monkey said, "I still don't understand. I just said you're looking for someone, and since you can't find them, you should come back. I heard from Sanqi that you've been holed up in a mountain valley in the north for half your life." Hearing the resentment in his voice, Pidan's mother patted his hand lightly, signaling him not to be rash.

Grandma San said, "Child, don't blame your grandfather. It's just that Kumu Hall is different from ordinary clinics."

The old man sighed again: "In the Kumu Hall, there are a total of nine people on the register: Manager Chen San; Abacus Li Si; Ear Liu Wu; Immortal Luo Liu; Busy Master Xie Qi; Annoying Master Fan Ba; and Feng Jiu, the top man, who is not in the mortal world."

Among us, I am the eldest, while Chen San is the manager. But in the Kumu Hall, the most powerful person is not either of us, but our boss, the owner—Tenth Master.

Of these ten people, excluding Seventh Master and Eighth Master, if any one of the other eight is missing for more than a certain number of years, then the rest of the members of the hall will suffer the karmic retribution and die.

The monkey shook its head: "The more you talk, the more confused I get. What do you mean if one person is missing, the rest of the people will die? That doesn't make sense."

The old man rolled his eyes: "Didn't you hear me mention Seventh Master or Eighth Master?"

The monkey shook its head again: "I heard it. I heard Sanqi say that you all have names based on numbers, like Xie Qi and Fan Ba..."

Fang Ling, as if possessed, whispered, "Xie Bi'an, Fan Wujiu."

Everyone at the table was stunned.

That's because the two she was talking about were not ordinary people, but the legendary ghost messengers of the underworld, the Black and White Impermanence, who were in charge of taking souls and lives!

Aside from speaking vaguely to me, he is always straightforward and direct with others.

This time was no exception; he immediately nodded and said:
"It's these two. Kumu Hall is not an ordinary clinic. Apart from Master Hei and Master Bai, the others not only know medicine, but also each have a unique skill. As long as a person is not destined to die and meets the rules of the hall, we can use our unique skills to exchange with Master Hei and Master Bai for the lifespan of the person seeking medical treatment."

"What rules?" My focus was still on Pidan's life.

I never expected that the old man who sold wild herbs would have such a background, but my intuition told me that no matter how good he was to me, it was unlikely that he would change the rules of the Drywood Hall.

"That's a very good question!"

Grandpa nodded at me. "There are three major rules and four taboos in the hall. The three major rules are: one cannot have all three blessings of fortune, prosperity, and longevity; one cannot treat close relatives; and the only rule is that the practitioners in the hall must be even-numbered, not odd-numbered!"

The old woman sighed, "With the master gone, and not counting seven or eight, that leaves only seven. That's breaking the rules. It's not certain that the remaining people will die, but if the seven of them are still together, then they're truly doomed."

This old scoundrel couldn't find a new employer, and he didn't want the Kumu Hall to disband, nor did he want to die... So he cleverly escaped and went into seclusion a thousand miles away. This severed his ties with Kumu Hall, fulfilling the saying "even is better than one," thus allowing Kumu Hall to survive until now.

Grandpa patted the back of her hand. "Sigh, it's just that you've suffered. If I had thought things through more carefully, I should have taken you with me."

Grandma San shook her head: "You didn't mean to not find a job back then. Besides, it's always inconvenient for a man to bring his female relatives when he goes out to work. It's just that none of us expected that this separation would last for decades, and you haven't even been able to see our daughter."

I couldn't help but interject, "Sir, you were already here, weren't you? Now that you're back, doesn't that break the rule of 'not lacking in odd numbers'?"

Grandpa rolled his eyes: "The older generation is almost all dead, I can't harm the younger generation, can I? From now on, Erpang will take over as the ninth son."

"Wait a minute, we're still short of a homeowner."

The old man rolled his eyes even more fiercely: "Rules are always made by people, and rigid thinking won't work. According to the hall's tradition, three, four, five, six, and nine represent the lineage, and there has only ever been one Tenth Master. If we follow the rules, we have to find the reincarnation of the old master. Where am I supposed to find that? I remember he was imitating foreigners back then. What if he was reincarnated abroad? Am I supposed to find a foreigner to be the boss?"

"You don't drink enough. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so long-winded."

I poured him a full glass of wine.

The old man lit his pipe and puffed away, but squinted at me: "A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and a family cannot be without a head. Since I can't find a boss, I might as well build them a new one! It's just fate that I picked up you, kid."

(End of this chapter)