Chapter 153: Buddhist Disciple 13

When Qian woke up in the morning, she stared at Wuxin for quite a while.

She reached out and pinched the skin on Wuxin’s face, squeezed it again, and noticed it felt a bit loose.

The child looked puzzled and said, “Father, you’ve gotten a little older again.”

She glanced at Mingzhen and Mingde beside her, who looked just the same as they had the night before. Looking at her own face, nothing had changed, but her father had been aging.

“Because growing up is slow, but aging happens fast,” Wuxin said.

Qian stared at him for a moment, then asked, “Are you sick?”

Mingzhen brought Mingde over and sent the two children off to play, distracting Qian’s attention.

He looked at his master’s face, which had clearly aged, and asked with some concern, “Master, is it time for a new reincarnation?”

Mingzhen had heard from his teacher that his master’s reincarnation was the cycle of “birth, aging, illness, and death.”

The more power his master used, the faster the aging process would occur.

On the night his teacher achieved perfection, his master had also done something. Mingzhen couldn’t understand it, but he knew it had something to do with Qian.

When he first heard Qian call his master “father” and his master respond, Mingzhen had been both confused and shocked. Now, the more he thought about it, the more mysterious Qian seemed, and perhaps she was related to his master’s special practice.

“Mingzhen, don’t think too much,” Wuxin said slowly.

Mingzhen blushed with embarrassment. “Yes, my cultivation is insufficient, and there’s much I don’t understand.”

Wuxin replied, “I mean, just take good care of Qian. Sigh, I’m getting old, and I don’t have the energy to look after children anymore.”

Mingzhen: “…”

His master was highly respected, and he must have more important matters to attend to.

His master sitting there was still cultivating, not avoiding the task of looking after children.

Taking care of children was a trivial matter to his master; even if it were left to him, it was to train him.

Mingzhen convinced himself and began another day of looking after the children.

Late spring arrived, and Qian, now dressed in spring-summer clothes, had become even livelier than before. During the cold winter months, she didn’t like to move much and preferred to snuggle in Venerable Master’s arms or be held by someone, but now that the weather was warmer and she had a playmate, she ran and jumped all over the place every day, often getting drenched in sweat.

In this season, children were prone to getting sick, so Mingzhen had to tie a sweat towel around Qian’s neck as well.

At first, Qian resisted, but Mingzhen brought Mingde over and showed her the towel around his neck, convincing her to wear it by using the same reasoning he used for her playmate.

Then, no matter what they were doing, whenever Mingzhen heard Qian’s laughter, he would start looking for her, and upon seeing her sweat, he’d rush to wipe it off with the towel.

Mingzhen had never thought his silly Junior Disciple would be so easy to manage. He even began to miss the first few days after meeting Qian, when she wasn’t familiar with him, didn’t like to run around, and preferred to stay snuggled in his master’s arms.

After practicing with a staff for a while in the open space, Mingzhen’s ears twitched as he heard Qian cough twice nearby.

The Junior Disciple also sniffled.

Mingzhen immediately began preparing, just in case.

He took out some dried medicinal herbs from his backpack.

These herbs grew on the cliffs of Mount Taixi, absorbing the spiritual energy of the mountain, and after being processed and blended, they could strengthen the body.

When Mingde was first found, he was in poor health and often sick, so it was Mingzhen who gathered the herbs and made medicine for him, helping him grow strong.

While Mingzhen was boiling the medicine, Qian and Mingde curiously gathered around to watch.

Qian was used to seeing Venerable Master preparing medicine, as he had always made it for Wen Chun. She had never needed any herself, so she wasn’t worried and instead brought over a handful of wildflowers to play with.

“What are you cooking, it smells bad,” Qian said, pinching her nose.

Mingzhen poured out the medicinal liquid and said, “I see you’re about to get sick, so drink some medicine to prevent it.”

With that, he grabbed Mingde and, like a little chick, pulled him over to make him drink it.

Seeing this scene, Qian finally realized the problem and screamed before turning to run.

Mingzhen wouldn’t let her escape the medicine, so he immediately stood up with the bowl and chased after her.

Qian realized she was about to be caught, and instinctively ran to Venerable Master, burying her face in his arms.

Respectful of his master, Mingzhen would never force her out of his master’s arms, so instead, he handed the medicine bowl to his master.

“Master, can you feed Qian the medicine?”

“I won’t drink it, it smells bad, it’s bitter!” Whenever medicine was mentioned, Qian was reminded of unpleasant memories.

When she was with Demon Lord Father, she had been forced to drink a lot of “medicine,” and even though her memories weren’t very clear, the resistance was deeply ingrained.

Mingzhen raised an eyebrow, only to hear his master cough and take the bowl, drinking it himself.

Mingzhen: “…”

Wuxin’s expression was normal. “I’m probably sick too. Drinking one bowl won’t hurt.”

It was very convincing.

Mingzhen, with a serious face, went to fetch another bowl of medicine and said, “Good thing I made extra, there’s still some left.”

Just as Qian lifted her head from Venerable Master’s arms, she got scared and buried her face back in them.

But this time, she couldn’t escape. She drank half the bowl in tears, and the other half was drunk by Venerable Master.

From that day on, making medicine became Mingzhen’s daily task because Wuxin had actually gotten sick. If not for his constant coughing, Mingzhen wouldn’t have realized that his master was ill.

Upon realizing that his master was sick, Mingzhen also noticed that the usually troublesome Qian had become unexpectedly considerate. She was much easier to talk to than usual.

It seemed that her concern for her loved ones being sick was immense, and she no longer ran around with Mingde. For several days, she stayed by Wuxin’s side, constantly hovering around him.

“Are you feeling better?” Mingzhen once again heard Qian ask her master.

His master nodded again, “I’m feeling better.”

Later, when carrying the medicine jar again, Mingzhen saw Qian sitting beside her coughing master, patting his back like a little adult.

While helping Mingde with his homework and practicing with the staff, Qian no longer tried to grab her master’s staff to cause trouble. Instead, she stood behind him, massaging his back.

She even tried to put her own hat on his head, saying that covering the head with something would prevent cold and sickness.

Mingzhen looked at the hat on his master’s head, which had been pulled out of shape: “…”

His master had often said that Qian was a sensible, well-behaved, and filial child, but Mingzhen hadn’t seen it until now. Only now did he truly understand that what his master had said was indeed true.

One day, while Mingzhen was boiling medicine, he coughed a couple of times from the smoke and suddenly saw Qian approaching.

Ever since she had been forced to drink medicine once, Qian had kept her distance whenever she saw him boiling medicine, refusing to come near. But now, she actually came over on her own.

At first, Mingzhen didn’t know what she was going to do, squatting there, confused. Qian walked over with her hands behind her back, suddenly reached out and touched his forehead, looking up at him and asking, “Are you sick too?”

“You mustn’t get sick,” she said with great concern.

For the first time, Mingzhen felt a deep, silent sense of gratitude from the child’s care, so much so that he forgot about all the times she had frustrated him before.

In this moment of emotion, he poured a bowl of medicine for Qian, gently patting her head and saying, “I added licorice to today’s medicine, it’s not too bitter. You should drink a little, it’s good for your health.”

Qian glanced at him, then carried the bowl over to Wuxin not far away. After he drank it, she brought the empty bowl back and said to Mingzhen, “I gave my medicine to father, so he can get better faster.”

Mingzhen: “…” He couldn’t tell whether this child was filial or not.

The Junior Disciple obediently drank his medicine, licking his lips when he finished and extending the bowl. “Senior Disciple, it’s sweet, I want more.”

“No, you can’t drink more, one bowl is enough,” Mingzhen sent away one child who didn’t want to drink and another who wanted more.

As they passed through a town, Qian, holding Mingzhen’s hand, noticed an elderly person walking slowly by.

Her gaze fell on the walking stick in the old person’s hand. Then, she looked around, finally stopping in front of a small grocery store, unwilling to move.

Wuxin asked her, “Qian, do you want to buy a toy?”

Inside the shop, there were plenty of toys for children to play with.

Qian shook her head, pulling away from Mingzhen’s hand and running into the little shop. She pulled out an elderly walking stick from the corner.

Although Wuxin’s back was still straight, not hunched like many older people, he already looked like an old monk.

Qian brought him the walking stick for the elderly, and he happily accepted it, walking with it while letting her “help” hold his staff, which he had replaced.

They hadn’t even walked down the street when Qian spotted a small wooden cart. It was a cart that children could sit on and ride or push around to play with. Painted and carved beautifully, it was made with great care.

The child lay on top, unwilling to leave, eyes full of longing. In the end, Mingzhen bought it for her.

This street was long, with so many small things for sale, it was overwhelming.

With a serious expression, Mingzhen placed Qian in the cart, carrying the happy Mingde on his back, and quickly ran ahead, pushing the cart as fast as he could, almost lifting it off the ground, speeding through the street.

Wuxin followed behind, walking at a steady pace, but no matter how fast Mingzhen went, he was always by his side.

Qian, sitting in the cart, found this “speeding” thrilling and fun, gripping the handle and urging Mingzhen to continue.

Mingzhen pushed the cart for more than ten miles in one go, and the pretty wooden cart finally fell apart.

This cart, which was only meant to be slowly pushed on flat ground by children, had been pushed through mountain paths, rocky forests, and uneven terrain by him, a strong Martial Monk. It was only natural that it broke apart.

Moreover, he had overloaded it. With two children in the cart, the weight doubled.

Mingzhen, who had been enjoying himself while pushing the cart, didn’t pay much attention to it. But now, seeing the two children on the verge of tears, he squatted down and tried to fix the cart.

“This axle is broken. If we replace it with a new one, it’ll work,” Mingzhen said, casting a look of helplessness toward his master.

Wuxin smiled and nodded. Mingzhen instantly found his confidence and began twisting trees and repairing the cart in the woods.

When the wheel was broken, he fixed the wheel; when the handle was broken, he fixed the handle. The cart kept falling apart and getting repaired all along the way.

By the time they reached Bodhi Mountain, the exquisite cart had been completely replaced by a rough wooden cart. Mingzhen had also learned some carpentry skills along the way.

Spirit Realm Bodhi Mountain, independent from the Three Realms, was one of the most mysterious places. Few could enter, except for Buddhist Cultivators.

Although Mingzhen and Mingde had joined the Wujian Sect, their teacher had always stayed at Mount Taixi and had never come to this place. Therefore, this was their first time, and they were as curious as Qian.

The mountain gate, hidden in the mist, revealed its true appearance as Wuxin walked closer.

Two towering Buddha statues stood on either side of the steps, one sitting, one standing.

Qian looked up at the two statues and suddenly saw them move.

A thin layer of stone shell peeled off, revealing their heads, now covered with moss, and their eyes widened, staring directly at Qian.