Mutated Tao

Puppy shouted outside and opened the door soon afterward. Gao Zhijian wasn't wearing any upper clothing. He frowned as he stared at Puppy. The sweat dripping down his body created steam despite the freezing weather.

“Do you smell that? Yang Xiaohai’s side is steaming dumplings today! Pork and green onion dumplings!”

Gao Zhijian stared briefly at Puppy’s mischievous expression before shutting the door harshly. Gao Zhijian could still hear Puppy’s grumbling behind the door, “Ah, you really are boring. Lu Xiucai is more fun than you, but I don’t know where that kid went. It’s been a while long, and I kind of miss him.”

Gao Zhijian remained silent and allowed Puppy to grumble for a while. Once he could no longer hear Puppy's ramblings, he turned around and gripped the heavy halberd before him by the hilt. Then, he grunted and pulled it up.

The heavy halberd was made exclusively for Peng Longteng.

Gao Zhijian felt like he were a child riding a horse as he swung around the heavy halberd. Gao Zhijian swung it a few times, and the ground trembled with each swing as the heavy halberd shattered the stone slabs on the ground.

Gao Zhijian panted heavily and looked down at his trembling hands; they were red because the blood vessels in his hand had ruptured. Gao Zhijian turned around and picked up the military manual he had found on the late Peng Longteng.

Gao Zhijian wiped the blood from his trembling hands on the military manual, and the content of the book changed completely. It turned out to be a military cultivation manual.

Gao Zhijan sat down cross-legged and followed the notes in the manual. He concentrated his killing intent and circulated the latent energy inside of him according to the manual.

Gao Zhijian performed a few cycles while sitting cross-legged like a fierce-looking Arhat in a temple. Faint strands of blood qi seeped out of Gao Zhijian, and anyone with keen eyes would see that Gao Zhijian's figure had slightly grown bigger.

A bug happened to fly by. Gao Zhijian opened his eyes, and his gaze landed on the fly. Inexplicably, the fly stiffened and fell to the ground.

“Time to eat!” Yang Xiaohai shouted.

Gao Zhijian closed his eyes slowly, and when he opened them again, he became the honest Gao Zhijian once more. Based on Peng Longteng's appearance, Gao Zhijian deduced that the manual was dangerous, so he wanted to try it out himself first before sharing it with anyone else.

Gao Zhijian walked to the well in the courtyard; he hoisted a bucket of ice-cold water and poured it over himself. He freshened up, put on his clothes, and then he finally opened the door to head toward the kitchen.

The others were already eating hot porridge and delicious steamed dumplings. They chatted casually as they ate, sitting together without any regard for genders

Gao Zhijian picked up a bowl and plucked fifty dumplings with his chopsticks before sitting down and eating slowly by himself. He poured himself a saucer of dark vinegar, but he decided not to eat porridge.

Gao Zhijian took a bite first and dipped the bun into the dark vinegar before stuffing the whole thing into his mouth. Gao Zhijian ate slowly, and he would sometimes glance at the doorway.

Time went on, and as more and more people dispersed, Yang Xiaohai scratched his head in confusion. “Is Senior Xiaoman not going to eat again?”

Yang Xiaohai pondered briefly before covering a bowl of dumplings with a plate. Then, he proceeded to wash the steamer baskets along with the round-faced lady.

Gao Zhijian chucked the last remaining steamed dumpling into his mouth and washed it down with the dark vinegar. Then, he picked up the bowl of dumplings that Yang Xiaohai had set aside and walked outside.

His destination was clear—the Bai Family Ancestral Hall. The three monkeys arranged side by side turned, and the secret door appeared before Gao Zhijian.

Gao Zhijian bent down and entered. The oil lamps hanging on the walls illuminated the dark staircase. Gao Zhijian soon found himself in the main hall, and he saw Chun Xiaoman chanting something inscrutable.

“Disciples look up at the blue sky. Fellow masters are beside. Twenty-four divine beings help disciples learn to drag knives. Dragging knives transform into goose feathers. Iron rulers transform into lamp wicks. Rolling stone transform into water bubbles…”

Chun Xiaoman heard footsteps, prompting her to turn around. Her eyes immediately brightened upon seeing Gao Zhijian. “Zhijian, come here and take a look. Am I reading this right? How come there aren't any reactions?"

Gao Zhijian grabbed the book and examined it for a while before handing over a bowl of dumplings to Chun Xiaoman, saying, “Eat.”

Chun Xiaoman noticed that Gao Zhijian had more or less recovered. Unfortunately, Gao Zhijian had become incredibly taciturn since then, and he would often only say one word. However, it wasn't really an issue as long as everyone could understand him.

“I'm not going to eat. I want to examine the contents of that book,” said Chun Xiaoman, looking a bit impatient as she pushed the bowl of dumplings away.

However, Gao Zhijian wasn’t going to accept Chun Xiaoman's excuse. He extended the bowl over toward Chun Xiaoman and said, “Eat.”

Gao Zhijian's attitude made it clear that he wouldn't say anything unless Chun Xiaoman ate the dumplings.

Chun Xiaoman accepted it reluctantly. Then, he ate the dumplings with small but urgent bites.

“Is Miaomiao back?” asked Chun Xiaoman.

Gao Zhijian shook his head while reading the book in his hand.

“Where did that brat go? She didn’t even send me a letter,” Chun Xiaoman grumbled, and then her heart suddenly skipped a beat. “Could it be that she has—”

"No, no, no," Chun Xiaoman interrupted herself, "She won’t do silly things again.”

Chun Xiaoman continued eating, but she was to eat not to feel full but to drive the anxiety that had gripped Chun Xiaoman's heart. Chun Xiaoman ate vigorously, so she ended up choking and hiccuping.

Gao Zhijian put down the book and patted Chun Xiaoman’s back gently.

Chun Xiaoman eventually came to her senses, and she said, “If it really doesn’t work out, let’s gather everyone and look around where Miaomiao was last seen. I’m really worried since there’s no news at all.”

“Okay.” Gao Zhijian nodded.

Chun Xiaoman wanted to continue eating her dumplings when Puppy barged in and rushed forward with a smile. "Junior Bai's letter has just arrived!!”

Chun Xiaoman stood up immediately and asked, “Where is she? What's in the letter?”

“Why are you asking me? I don’t know how to read,” Puppy said with a shrug before handing over the letter to Gao Zhijian.

With Gao Zhijian’s help, Chun Xiaoman understood that Bai Lingmiao was fine and that she had decided to go to the capital to handle some trivial matters. More importantly, Bai Lingmiao said that she would return after she was done with everything.

“As long as she’s fine…” Chun Xiaoman finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Lingmiao’s absence had been giving her nightmares.

Gao Zhijian leaned even closer to the letter and examined it carefully for a while before stammering, “T-t-this is Senior Li’s handwriting!”

Senior Li was the only one who preferred to write in square-shaped characters, and the latter's handwriting was quite distinct.

Puppy chuckled and pointed at Chun Xiaoman before sneering, “I told you that they were having a quarrel. You're just an outsider, so you shouldn't have gotten involved, but the milk has already spilled. You may have indirectly chided her husband, and there's a high chance that they simply made up at the end of the day.

"You really should have believed in me. I told you so, right?"

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