Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 18 Burning Tail Restaurant: Old Friends Gone.
"Burning Tail Hall".

Fang Shu stood in front of a grand building, reading the three large, dark gold characters on the plaque.

Its blue bricks and red tiles, and the walls with a smoky, burnt look, do not make it look dilapidated, but rather give it a unique charm.

Second Uncle Yu Le stood beside him, his face beaming with excitement, nodding repeatedly, looking even happier than Fang Shu.

Fang Shu wanted to ask what the meaning of the words "burning tail" in the Taoist temple was, and whether it was related to cultivation, but he immediately thought of something and shut his mouth.

At that moment, a voice came from inside the building:
"Do you two lay Buddhists wish to enter the academy to learn skills?"

A woman dressed in a fitted Taoist robe, with bright eyes and white teeth, walked out of the temple. She stood on the steps, holding a whisk as if it were a branch of fresh flowers, and invited the two of them to come inside.

Judging from his appearance, he is at most twenty-nine years old.

Fang Shu and his second uncle, Yu Le, quickly greeted him, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped up the stairs.

The woman with the whisk smiled as she guided the two inside, introducing them as she did so:
"There are three interpretations of 'burning the tail': one is that when a tiger transforms into a human, its tail does not transform and must be burned off to become a human; another is that when a new sheep enters the flock, it is touched by the other sheep and does not stick together, so its tail can be burned to settle it; a third is that when a fish leaps over the Dragon Gate and transforms into a dragon, it must be burned by thunder and lightning so that its tail can transform."

She shook her whisk and said:
"Our school is named 'Burning Tail,' taking a bit of each of the three elements, hoping that the disciples in the school will grow into successful adults, discipline themselves, and return to propriety."

Fang Shu suddenly looked enlightened, and then a hint of longing arose in his eyes. He bowed to the young woman.

This dojo has so many stories behind its name alone, which sounds much more sophisticated than the so-called "Black Tiger Dojo"!
The talkative young woman, noticing Fang Shu's expression, seemed quite pleased and spoke up:
"This academy is for the enlightenment of young disciples of the Five Immortal Sects in the mountains. Although anyone can enter, staying requires a special destiny."

Do you have a karmic connection with the Dharma?

The answer is not equal to the square.

Yu Le, the second uncle standing beside him, nodded hurriedly like a chicken pecking at rice, and presented a letter and a gift of spirit stones wrapped in cloth.

The woman with the whisk casually accepted the spirit stone, weighed it in her hand, and then paid it little attention.

She glanced at the cover of the letter, and a faint smile returned to her face:
"So you know my father, Xiao Hu. I'll go ask him for permission now."

Please wait a moment.

The young woman then walked into the depths of the building, leaving Fang Shu and his companion standing in the open space outside the building to wait.

While waiting, the sounds of disciples from the Shaowei Dojo could be heard from time to time, including chanting and shouting. It seemed that this was not a small dojo at all, but rather quite lively.

After waiting for a long time, the sun had risen high overhead, but the woman still hadn't appeared.

Fang Shu looked up at the sun, wanting to avoid it.

But when he glanced to the side, he saw that even though his second uncle was sweating, he was still standing motionless, so he followed suit and continued to stand there.

………………

Inside the Burning Tail Dojo, in a quiet, secluded room.

Manager Xiao Hu looked at his daughter who had walked in with surprise, and said with a smile:
"Who could possibly have persuaded our dear Aunt Xiao Lili to come and act as an intermediary?"

He reached out and took the letter from the maidservant, and then heard his daughter reply with a hint of reproach:
"It wasn't me, Father. It was someone you know who came, and I was there to deliver a message."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu, the manager, frowned.

He stared at the handwriting in the letter and realized he couldn't recall whose handwriting it was. He immediately thought it must be from a poor relative.

After opening the letter and glancing at it, he sighed softly, "So it's the old man from back then, Brother Yu Le."

But the man's brows remained furrowed; instead, he looked troubled and muttered, "This old bloodthirsty devil, is he trying to freeload off me?"

He said with a sigh, "Lili, as the manager of this academy, I am responsible for money, food, accounts, and personnel. Since he is a trusted confidant, how can I show favoritism and break the rules of the academy for accepting disciples?"

Xiao Hu pointed at the letter and shook his head: "Besides, this batch of Daoist disciples is already full. Another one is trying to ask me to make an exception. Please help me send him away and get some steamed buns from the kitchen for them."

"You idiot, they brought tuition fees."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lili rolled her eyes and threw the burlap bundle in her hand onto the table.

The steward, Xiao Hu, looked surprised. He immediately reached out and touched the package, and sensed the spiritual energy inside. It was a spirit stone, and of good quality. He weighed it several times and found that it should be worth about three taels.

The man breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said:
“Since you’ve come here with the serious intention of seeking a master to learn the Dao, then things will be much easier.”

He immediately unfolded the letter and chatted with his daughter with great interest about the past:
"Back then, the dojo had just opened, and the owner and we were full of ambition. Who knew that less than half a month after opening, the dojo was attacked four times every three days, and within half a year, six of our fellow disciples were crippled."

The man's voice was filled with sighs:

"Later, we couldn't find any apprentices in the market, so the academy master simply told us to go to the mortal world to find apprentices."

I came down the mountain with your Uncle Yu Le. Luckily, we hitched a ride with a pair of snake demon brothers. Not only did we not die on the way, but we also made a deal, which made it easier for the other fellow disciples to go up and down the mountain...

I heard that the snake demon brothers are still doing that kind of work as seamstresses.

Xiao Lili ignored these words and urged, "Father, hurry up, your old brother is still waiting outside."

Manager Xiao Hu said helplessly:

"Alright, alright, although this batch of disciples is full, it's still okay to have someone join."

Although he spoke very well, he first took the spirit stone, unfolded the linen and yellow paper, examined it for a moment, then took a small scale and carefully weighed it before taking the letter paper from the table and copying a receipt.

He wrote very slowly, dawdling for quite a while before finally finishing the receipt, as if he was intentionally waiting for something.

Just as Xiao Lili was about to take the letter, footsteps sounded outside the quiet room.

Manager Xiao Hu looked enlightened. He put down the receipt in his hand and told Xiao Lili to go and invite the person in.

quickly.

To Xiao Lili's astonishment, the person who came seemed to be familiar with her father, and brought a boy with him to discuss the matter of transferring to the school with her father, appearing very familiar with him.

His father, on the other hand, looked troubled and waved the receipt he had written in his hand.

"Unfortunately, it really is unfortunate. One has already been inserted, so we can't insert another."

"Hey! Brother Tiger, what's our relationship? You were my senior brother back then, you mentored me."

"Junior Sister Yin, you're an old brother, and this person is also an old brother. It's a matter of first come, first served. What am I supposed to do?"

"Understood, understood, I'll add the money!"

After a back-and-forth conversation, Xiao Lili saw her father sigh and carelessly place the receipt on the table, only to have it snatched away and torn to pieces by the woman surnamed Yin.

Afterwards, the woman surnamed Yin left with the thin boy, satisfied, holding a newly transcribed receipt.

As she passed by Xiao Lili, she instructed the boy, "Quick, be good with your mouth, call her Sister Lili, and she'll take care of you from now on."

"Sister Li-Li."

The boy's ears were flushed, and his gaze displeased Xiao Lili.

After everyone had left, Xiao Lili stood in the quiet room, looking at her smug father.

She hesitated, then stopped herself, and finally just sighed:
"Father, did you do that intentionally just now?"

But to her surprise, even now, with only the father and daughter present, her father, Xiao Hu, still looked heartbroken and said:

"It's not that Father doesn't cherish old friendships, but that woman surnamed Yin is too cunning... she actually tore up the receipt. If there's a chance, Father will definitely teach her a lesson!"

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Lili heard her father casually give another instruction:
"Go tell Yu Le that the spots for this term of Daoist disciples are already full, and there is really no way to enroll now."

But considering our old friendship, I can let that child work as a handyman in my quiet room.

With me, Xiao Hu, around, there's no difference between a servant and a Taoist acolyte; they can all learn magic, eat spiritual food, and occasionally even meet the abbot.

These words left Xiao Lili speechless.

In particular, she watched as the spirit stones brought by the uncle and nephew were directly put into her father's sleeve pocket and tucked away.

Her father remained calm and asked her with his eyes, "Is there anything else?"

With a strange expression, Xiao Lili silently left the quiet room, holding a menial service contract.

........................

Fang Shu stood at the foot of the main steps of the Shaowei Restaurant, his gaze slightly unfocused as he watched the figures passing by in the restaurant, lost in thought:
"That person's figure... doesn't it look like Yin Xiaojian...? Has this person also come here to become an apprentice?"

Watching the other person's cheerful steps, he looked at his own numb legs and his mood inexplicably sank.

Second Uncle Yu Le noticed his unease and restlessness. His brows furrowed slightly, but he still smiled to reassure him.

Just then, a voluptuous figure swayed past the two of them. She was just passing by, but it seemed she had spotted the uncle and nephew and deliberately walked past them. The woman was a woman in her thirties or forties, with a fake smile on her face: "Oh! It really is you, Brother Yu Le."

Second Uncle Yu Le was slightly taken aback, then politely nodded to the other party.

"It's me, Sister Yin!"

"Back when I went up the mountain, it was you who led me, following the path of a pair of smuggling brothers."

Finally, a look of realization appeared on Yu Le's face, and a warm smile spread across his face.

The two exchanged pleasantries, and the mature woman was quite enthusiastic, even praising Fang Shu a few times.
"This child looks promising! Is he here to become an apprentice? He'll definitely get accepted. Brother Yu is so lucky!"

She then seemed to notice that the uncle and nephew were constantly looking into the hall.

The mature woman glanced over and saw Xiao Lili's figure, then smiled:
"Brother Yu, nephew, you two have things to attend to, I won't bother you any longer."

After seeing off the mature woman, the second uncle, Yu Le, looked at the maidservant walking slowly towards him, and could clearly not suppress his anxiety.

He stepped forward to greet him and bowed respectfully.

Fang Shu's heart skipped a beat when he saw the girl's hesitant expression.

Sure enough, Xiao Lili frowned and said helplessly:

"Uncle Yu, Brother Fang, you've come at an inopportune time. There's really nothing we can do; this batch of Daoist disciples is already full."

If you insist on joining the academy, you can wait until the second half of the year, or at the latest next year, when we will recruit another batch of new disciples.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Uncle Yu Le and Fang Shu both stiffened slightly.

But Xiao Lili changed the subject, looked around a few times, and suddenly lowered her voice:

"However, my father said that out of consideration for our past relationship, he could first take Fang Shu's younger brother into the school as a handyman. He would do odd jobs in my father's quiet room, where he could still learn the Dao and occasionally meet the school master."

With their fathers around, there was no difference between servants and Taoist boys.

Moreover, getting in first and reserving a spot means you can participate again when the next batch of disciples is recruited, which is better than... wasting your years.

After explaining the benefits of doing menial tasks, she didn't ask the two men if they were willing; she simply stopped talking and gave them time to process it.

The young woman seemed certain that the two of them would choose to start as servants at the institution, so she directly took out the servant's contract.

Fang Shu was displeased upon hearing these words.

But he thought to himself, "My second uncle recommended this dojo so highly, and I even saw Yin Xiaojian there. It seems this dojo really does have some tricks up its sleeve."

One radish, one hole. He started as a handyman to occupy a spot, which was somewhat like a temporary worker in that life in his dream. It didn't seem unreasonable.
However, his second uncle, who was standing next to him, only pondered for three breaths before shaking his head with a resolute expression.

Seeing this reaction, Xiao Lili was a little stunned and asked, "Uncle Yu, what do you mean?"

Second Uncle Yu Le wore a polite smile.

He pointed to the menial service contract in the woman's hand, gave it a perfunctory push, and then made a gesture of waving goodbye.

Xiao Lili immediately understood.

In particular, her second uncle sized her up, spread out his palm, and asked with his eyes where the spirit stone tuition had gone.

Immediately, Xiao Lili's face showed a hint of unease, as if she had not expected this scene to appear at all.

She hesitated, then looked at Fang Shu.

Fang Shu said in a deep voice, "I'll listen to my second uncle."

Under the watchful eyes of her uncle and nephew, the woman had no choice but to hastily bow, then clutch the menial service contract and quickly walk into the main hall, presumably to find her father.

After the woman left again.

Fang Shu stood at the entrance of Shaowei Restaurant, feeling a little more relaxed. He kept glancing at his second uncle beside him.

Today, it was clearly my second uncle who specially brought him here and left him in the sun for most of the day. Now, my second uncle is leaving without a word, without any hesitation.

"Second Uncle, you're so decisive!" Fang Shu thought to himself.

He immediately realized that although the woman looked respectable, her words had likely planted a trap.

And then came the next thing.

This made Fang Shu think that his second uncle was extremely shrewd and composed!

After a long while, the young woman walked out quickly.

She handed over the wrapped spirit stones with a relaxed expression, but her second uncle, after respectfully accepting them, did not turn around and leave.

Instead, in front of the young woman, he first weighed the spirit stone in his hand, and then opened the burlap cloth to examine it carefully.

Finally, the second uncle smiled and covered the spirit stone in his hand with a burlap cloth, pushed it back to the girl, and shook his head.

This scene left Fang Shu and the young woman momentarily stunned, caught completely off guard.

Fang Shu's heart stirred, and he realized it too.

The quality of the spirit stone in front of him was noticeably duller in color compared to what he remembered!
Suddenly, the woman with the whisk realized what was happening, and her face turned as red as if it were on fire.

"This, this..." She was flustered, clutching the bundle of spirit stones in her hands, unsure whether she wanted to argue or explain.

But unable to speak, he immediately started stamping his feet on the spot, which made him look quite pitiful.

However, her appearance only made Fang Shu's gaze turn cold, and he found her repulsive.

Sure enough, trusting my second uncle was the right thing to do!
This seemingly insignificant incident involving a restaurant and a young woman has unwittingly laid countless traps for the uncle and nephew.

If he were to actually work as a handyman in the institution, who knows what kind of schemes they might use to harm him!
However, some people might find Xiao Lili's running around so pitiful and adorable.

When the other party saw this, they couldn't help but stand up and support him.

"Hmph!" A figure flew out with a snap. The person was a tall, slender young man with fierce eyes.

As soon as he came out, Xiao Lili immediately bowed to him and called out softly, "Your Senior Brother."

The senior apprentice's gaze, sharp as a knife, swept over the uncle and nephew, carrying a hint of coldness.

"You dare cause trouble at my Shaowei Restaurant? Are you here to challenge me?"

Second Uncle Yu Le quickly shook his head, smiled apologetically, and stepped on Fang Shu's foot in advance to prevent Fang Shu from being impetuous due to his youth.

"Oh?" This man surnamed Ling was quite skilled. He stared at the lips and throats of the uncle and nephew for a few moments and immediately noticed something amiss.

The man spoke with a half-smile: "You've learned the tongue-sword technique of this school, so you must be one of the elders here."

Since you are elderly, you should know the rules. If you cause trouble, it is only right that I remove the magic from you!

After giving the uncle and nephew a few words of advice, the senior brother looked at Xiao Lili with a questioning look in his eyes.

“Senior brother, there’s really nothing serious here…” Xiao Lili’s expression was even more flustered, but because there were outsiders present, she was embarrassed to mention her father’s sordid affairs.

Finally, Fang Shu bowed and said in a low voice:
“Master, it seems Uncle Xiao took the wrong thing. My uncle wants Uncle to take another look.”

All eyes were on Xiao Lili.

Xiao Lili nodded silently, then picked up the spirit stone, turned around and walked quickly back into the hall, as if afraid of staying any longer.

The senior brother frowned, probably guessing something. But he didn't leave; instead, he continued to stand on the steps, guarding the uncle and nephew like a watchman.

In the end, Xiao Lili, the duster girl, did not come out again.

"Hey!" A strange servant stepped forward, tossed an unwrapped spirit stone to the uncle and nephew from a distance, and shouted a word.

Second Uncle Yu Le quickly picked it up, carefully checked it several times, and after confirming that it was correct, he chuckled and pulled Fang Shu away.

The man surnamed Ling did not stop them. But just as the uncle and nephew were about to leave, a voice sounded behind them again:

"Looks like a poor, shabby person."

It was that man surnamed Ling, who was expressionless as he commented.

But it seems to be talking about Fang Shu and his nephew, and also lamenting the Xiao father and daughter. Or perhaps, both.

(End of this chapter)