Story of the Tall Lad Chapter 4

As a master, why do you want to "see" your senior brother?

Liam and Ethan were both confused, but the master was still trying to explain, "Don't worry, your eldest brother is quite careless, so you don't have to be afraid of him. Just treat him like a teacher."

Wait, what does "like a teacher" mean?

In short, Master Mu Chun successfully turned the shallow fog on the heads of the two young disciples into a thick puddle of paste.

After passing the mountain gate, several Taoist boys and girls followed the sound of the cool water and came up to them.

The Taoist boys were as young as seventeen or eighteen, and as young as thirteen or fourteen. All of them had handsome features, like a group of golden boys under the thrones of gods, their clothes fluttering in the wind.

Not to mention the stunned Ethan, even Liam, who had been quite proud of himself all the way, subtly felt a little ashamed.

Feeling ashamed of himself, Liam spontaneously resisted. He subconsciously straightened his face and straightened his back, hiding his curiosity and ignorance.

The leading Taoist boy saw Master Mu Chun from afar. Before he even arrived, he had already started laughing and said in a rather casual manner: "Where has the master been traveling this time? Why do you look like a fugitive? Hey, where did this little boy come from?"

Liam mentally tore apart this cordial greeting word by word, but could not extract even a shred of respect from it. It seemed that the Taoist boy was not greeting the "head" but "Uncle Han from the neighboring village" or something like that.

Master Mu Chun didn't take it seriously. He even showed a somewhat heartless smile on his face, pointed at Liam and Ethan and said, "My new disciples are still young. Please help them settle down."

The Taoist boy smiled and said, "Where will you settle?"

"Take this to the South Courtyard," Master Mu Chun pointed at Ethan casually, and then he lowered his head as if intentionally or unintentionally, and met Liam's upward gaze. The young boy's pair of distinct black and white eyes showed innate restraint, as well as some imperceptible panic in the unfamiliar environment.

The frivolous smile on Master Mu Chun's face suddenly disappeared. After a moment, he pointed out Liam's destination with an almost solemn attitude: "Let Liam live in the side pavilion."

"Bian Pavilion" is not a pavilion, but a small courtyard in a remote location, which feels like living in isolation. On one side of the courtyard wall, there is a stream passing quietly, and on the other side is a large bamboo forest, which is extremely quiet. .

I think the bamboo forest has been there for many years, and even the passing breeze can dye it green. The whole yard seems to be in a sea of   bamboo, so green that it is a bit soothing.

There are two everlasting lanterns hanging at the entrance of the courtyard. They are also engraved with charms, but they are much more exquisite than the "heirloom" of the Cheng family. There is a door plaque in the middle with the word "Qing'an" written on it.

It seems that the word "Fuyao" in Yamaguchi was written by the same person.

The Taoist boy who led Liam was named Lucas. He was about the same age as Liam’s eldest brother. The most inconspicuous of the children, he is also taciturn and doesn't seem to like the limelight.

"This is the side pavilion on our mountain, also called Qing'anju. I heard that the master used to live here, and later it was vacated and used as a dining hall." Lucas explained gently, "Uncle Third Master knows what Zhaitang?"

Liam didn't really know, but he still nodded pretending not to care, and followed Lucas into the small courtyard. In the middle of the small courtyard, there was a small pond measuring one foot square, with spells engraved on the black elm tray below. , presumably there is some fixed effect - the water in the pond does not flow or flow, and it condenses but does not move.

But when he got closer and took a closer look, Liam discovered that it was not a pond, but a rare and large gem.

The stone was neither jade nor emerald. It felt cool to the touch, dark green with a hint of blue, and had a cold and deep tranquility.

Liam had never seen such a rare object before. Even though he didn't want to look like a country bumpkin, he couldn't help but be stunned for a while.

Lucas said: "I don't know what this thing is, but we all call it the Qingxin Stone. The master found it. In the past, he often used it as a cushion to copy scriptures when fasting. With it as a guide, this yard will be much cooler in summer."

Liam couldn't help but point to the bright talisman on the elm wooden tray and asked, "Brother Lucas, what is this talisman for?"

Lucas didn't seem to expect Liam to be so polite to him. He was stunned for a moment before replying: "Uncle Third Master, please don't break me - this is not a charm."

Liam glanced at him, and Lucas strangely read a little reserved doubt in his eyes. This young man's eyes seemed to be able to speak, and compared with the other one picked up by the leader, he looked even more refined.

Lucas didn't know how to describe it. In fact, he could see that this child was not from a high background and may not have read any books, but he seemed to be trying hard to turn himself into a handsome gentleman. It’s like he knows what face to use to interact with people.

To put it simply, it is a bit of a show-off - a show-off with no goals or objects to imitate.

Generally, people who are pretentious can be a bit annoying, even if they are just a child, but for some reason, Lucas does not hate Liam, but feels pity for him inexplicably, so he replied slowly and softly: "Uncle Third Master, Lucas He is just a servant with poor qualifications. He takes care of the daily life of the master and his junior uncles. He is very knowledgeable in the art of talismans. We people, who don’t even know the basics, only heard a few words mentioned by the master and came back to learn them. "Young master, why don't you ask the master or my... your senior brother."

Liam keenly heard the word "my family", and when he thought of the Taoist boys' attitude of being more than respectful and not enough respectful towards the master, he became more and more confused.

Lucas quickly took him to familiarize himself with the furnishings in Qing'an Residence, hurriedly helped him wash off his travel dust, changed him into decent clothes, tidied him up inside and out, and then led him out again.

While maintaining his image of not showing any timidity, Liam asked Lucas insinuatingly who his senior brother was. I learned that his senior brother’s surname was Yan Zhengming, and he was born into a wealthy family.

How rich is it? Liam heard this place in confusion - he was a poor boy and had no idea about "wealth". The so-called "rich" people he had ever met were just the likes of the village king. At the age of sixty, he married a third Concub!ne. In Liam's eyes, he was already extremely wealthy.

I heard that when Yan Zhengming was seven years old, he ran away from home for some trivial reason and was picked up by their cunning and shrewd master, who recognized his talent.

The old liar used his sharp tongue and successfully lured the senior brother, who was still young at the time and didn't know the dangers of the world, into the door and became the founding disciple.

However, the family was naturally anxious when the young master of the Yan family was lost. They went to great lengths to find Yan Zhengming, who had gone astray. No one knew whether Young Master Yan had been drugged by Mu Chun or simply did not want to learn well, but he seemed to be possessed by a ghost and refused to go home, insisting on staying to practice with his master.

This young master has been pampered since he was a child. Of course, the Yan family cannot watch their beloved son suffer hardships with a charlatan who is like a gangster. After several attempts to argue without success, they had no choice but to compromise and pay for the support of this sect. Quan regarded it as a show for the young master. Team play.

There are many kinds of cultivation sects in the world, but among them there are very few genuine famous sects and evil heretics. Most of them are pheasant sects all over Kyushu.

Liam made some calculations in his mind and concluded that a sect like the Fuyao sect, which had a rich family supporting them and survived with a bit of dignity, could probably be called a "poultry sect".

Therefore, he understood that their eldest brother was not only the eldest brother, he also served as the "sect's breadwinner", "sect's financial sponsor" and "Fuyao Sect's founding disciple" and many other roles. Naturally, he was the sect's top boss and even the master had to curry favor with him.

As for the number one person himself--Liam knew it once he met him. He was a prodigal son who could not be described in words.

The four words "arrogant, extravagant and licentious" were fully proved by him, except that the eldest brother was only fifteen years old at that time and did not have the courage to be "licentious".

When Master Mu Chun led a pair of clean disciples to Master Yan for the first time, the young master was combing his hair - it wasn't that the master was ignorant and didn't know etiquette. I don't want to bother you before washing up, but the elder brother has to comb his hair many times a day.

Fortunately, he is still young and is not afraid of combing his hair into bald spots.

Those who are qualified to comb Senior Brother's hair must first be a woman. She cannot be too young or too old. There must be no part of her appearance that is not beautiful, and her smell must not be indecent. She does nothing but comb her hair and light incense all day long. Don’t even do it. Your hands must be soft, as white as jade, and there shouldn’t be any calluses that detract from the scenery.

Taoist boys like Lucas were originally slaves of the Yan family, and a group of them were carefully selected and sent to the mountains to be driven by the sect.

The young master doesn't use attendants for his personal affairs. I heard that it's because he doesn't like men very much and thinks they are clumsy. Therefore, all the little girls who stay in the courtyard to serve him personally make his courtyard colorful and always spring-like.

Before entering, Liam secretly stared at the master's goatee for a long time and came to the conclusion that the master's beard had been combed with a comb.

On the way here, Lucas said that Master Mu Chun arranged for him to live in Qing'an Residence in order to calm his mind. Liam felt a little awkward and refused to admit that he was uneasy and restless. Now that he had arrived at his senior brother's residence, he raised his head Seeing the words "Rendering Country", my heart finally settled in my stomach - it seemed that it wasn't that he was uneasy, but that the master was confused.

Ethan on the side coquettishly used his ignorance as a joke and asked: "Master, what is written on the door of the senior brother's door?"

Mu Chun stroked his beard and read to him. Ethan asked with a frown, "Does this mean to encourage senior brother to be gentler in the future?"

Mu Chun was horrified when he heard this and warned: "You must not let your senior brother hear this."

When Liam and Ethan saw that the dignified leader was holding his tail between his legs like a bereaved dog, they thought together in rare sympathies: "This is simply unreasonable and disregards the laws of nature and ethics!"

The two of them thought this way, looked at each other, and saw the shock on each other's faces, so they hurriedly followed the master to tuck their tails, and learned the most important skill in their sect---the magical skill of tuck their tails.

In fact, when Liam saw his senior brother in person for the first time, he was astonished.

The man's appearance was still young, but his arrogance was already extreme. He was wearing a snow-white satin robe, embroidered with dark patterns that no one could see. Only the changes in light and shadow during movement revealed some hints of brilliance. He leaned back on the carved chair as if he was boneless, his eyelids were half-draped, his chin was propped up with one hand, and his hair spread like splashes of ink.

When Yan Zhengming heard the voice, he raised his eyelids indifferently. The corners of his eyes were like light ink sweeping across, long and pointed, and there was an air of arrogance and femininity for no reason. When he saw the master, he had no intention of standing up. He sat firmly on the chair and slowly spoke, "Master, you went out and picked up two more things?" "

He seems to have grown up later than others, and the youthful flavor in his voice has not had time to fade away, and with a bit of coquettishness in his tone, he sounds more confident in distinguishing whether I am male or female.

It just so happens that his mother has to be so confident that she is neither male nor female, and it doesn't seem to be against the rules.

The old man in charge smiled with his face, rubbed his hands, and introduced: "Oh, this is your third junior brother Liam, and this is your fourth junior brother Ethan. They are both still young and ignorant. As a senior senior brother, you should help more in the future. Master, give them some advice."

When Yan Zhengming heard Ethan's name, his eyebrows twitched and his face seemed to twitch. He half-opened his eyes and glanced condescendingly at his freshly made fourth junior brother, then quickly turned away, as if The gaze was tainted.

"Ethan?" The eldest brother seemed dissatisfied and commented slowly, "It's true that his name is just like his appearance. It's a bit unfair."

Ethan's face turned pale and blue.

Yan Zhengming threw him aside and turned to Liam.

"That kid," he said, "come here and let me take a look."