A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

"boom!"

The two men's fists collided, producing a loud thud.

Zhu Da was knocked back several steps and almost fell.

Chen Hu stepped forward and said loudly, "Zhu Da, don't force me to kill you. We're just thinking about the whole village. We don't want the whole village to be killed by your so-called auspicious omen."

After saying that, Chen Hu went to fetch the ox.

"This is the divine ox!"

Suddenly a child's voice emerged from the crowd.

Everyone was drawn to the child's voice. Following the crowd's gaze, the crowd slowly dispersed, and a little boy became the focus of everyone's attention.

"It's Tie Tou, the son of De Cai's family at the south end of the village."

The little boy was immediately recognized.

Not a single person in the village stood up to speak for him. When he first led the ox into the village, everyone who had flattered and envied him now wanted to kick him while he was down.

Unexpectedly, the only one who spoke up for him was this little boy who had sneaked in and been mocked by him.

A feeling of shame welled up inside me.

"Boss, what should I do?"

Lai Liu, standing to the side, was getting a little anxious.

If this divine ox is taken away, his and Zhu Da's dreams of wealth and status will be shattered.

Zhu Da remained silent, staring intently at Chen Hu.

Chen Hu glared at Tie Tou and said, "Kids shouldn't talk nonsense."

Tie Tou said, "I didn't say anything nonsense. I secretly told the divine ox my wish yesterday, and the divine ox nodded. My dad's leg will definitely get better."

Chen Hu said coldly, "Heh, Tie Tou, this ox is a jinx. Maybe because of this ox, your father's leg might get even worse."

Iron Head glared at him: "You're talking nonsense."

Chen Hu said coldly, "If you keep talking nonsense, it doesn't matter whether your father's leg is broken or not, his hand might be broken too."

A blatant threat to a child.

The whole village fell silent; no one dared to say anything. However, a slight unease settled in their hearts. But the Vice Minister's family was powerful and influential, and no one had the power to stand up for the little boy.

Is it meaningful to threaten children?

Zhu Da couldn't help but speak up.

Chen Hu: "Whether it's interesting or not is none of your business. The cow—I'm taking it. And...you also have to compensate for all the damages caused by this cow. I'll deal with you sooner or later!"

As he spoke, Chen Hu went to fetch the ox.

He led the white ox away, and no one on the scene dared to stop him.

Just as Chen Hu reached Tie Tou, Tie Tou spread his arms to block him, but Chen Hu pushed him away, and Tie Tou fell to the ground with a thud, then watched helplessly as Chen Hu led the cow away.

The little boy's eyes were practically spitting fire.

Seeing that Chen Hu had left, the crowd quickly dispersed, fearing that Chen Hu would vent his anger on them.

The courtyard was empty.

Tie Tou stood alone at the doorway. When he stopped Chen Hu earlier, he was pushed and fell, scraping his knee. He stood with his shoulder slightly off-center, feeling a bit aggrieved and resentful.

Zhu Da walked over.

"Take me to your house!"

Tie Tou was stunned, looking at Zhu Da with some confusion.

"I'll take you!"

Lai Liu came over, took Zhu Da with him, and Zhu Da tugged at Tie Tou. The three of them headed towards Tie Tou's house. They didn't walk far before they arrived at Tie Tou's house.

Seeing Tie Tou's low thatched hut, the dark main room and other rooms, and Zhu Decai lying on the bed, emaciated as a rake, Zhu Da finally sighed.

"Give me two taels of silver!"

Zhu Da instructed Lai Liu, who was standing behind him.

Lai Liu smiled wryly: "Boss, where am I supposed to get the money?"

Zhu Da rummaged through his pockets for a while and pulled out a few coins and about ten copper coins, which he threw onto the only small, broken table in the main room before leaving.

"I can't take your money!"

Tie Tou rushed out, scooped up the money in his hands, held it high, and presented it to Zhu Da. Because his leg was still a little sore, he struggled to stand on tiptoe, looking somewhat disheveled.

Zhu Da put away the silver and copper coins and said, "From now on, if I have a bite to eat, you will have a bite to eat too. You and your son won't go hungry. I'm leaving!"

After saying that, he took Lai Liu and left.

Tie Tou glanced in the direction they had left, then turned around to go inside.

"anyone there?"

Suddenly a voice came from over there.

Tie Tou turned around and saw two more people in front of his house: a Taoist priest and a beggar.

Tie Tou said, "Are you two begging for alms? I'll go in and get you some food."

There was still one and a half cornbreads left at home, and Tie Tou thought about taking them out.

"Iron Head, huh? We're not begging for alms, and we're not monks," the beggar said with a smile. "Could you give us some water?"

Zhang Zhengdao said gratefully, "Just give this beggar a little water. I'm not thirsty!"

Tieguai Li glared at Zhang Zhengdao, but dared not say anything.

The main thing was that he saw Tie Tou enter the house, and then take out a broken wooden ladle from somewhere. It was black and covered with all sorts of unknown things stuck to it, forming a layer of old skin.

Then he used that thing to scoop up a ladle of water and happily handed it over.

Heh, this thing...

Tieguai Li drank it all in one gulp.

Then he said, "Fetch me another ladle of water!"

So Tie Tou happily scooped out a ladle of water and handed it to Tieguai Li.

This time, Tieguai Li didn't drink it. Under Zhang Zhengdao's watchful eye, he sprinkled something into the liquid with his black fingernails, then went into the room and brought it to the emaciated man on the bed.

"Drink it, are you thirsty?"

Zhu Decai shook his head and said, "I'm not thirsty, please drink, guest!"

Tieguai Li was taken aback, not realizing the path wasn't going as he expected, so he added, "You're thirsty, drink it!"

Zhu Decai shook his head, "I'm really not thirsty, please drink it, guest!"

Tieguai Li: "You must be thirsty, drink up!"

Iron Head, standing to the side, looked on helplessly at the two men, who were even pushing a ladle of water back and forth. Although their food supplies were running low, they had plenty of water!

Zhu Decai: "I'm not thirsty, I won't drink."

Tieguai Li: "You're thirsty, drink up!"

Zhang Zhengdao walked over, picked up the wooden ladle, grabbed Zhu Decai's chin with one hand, and poured the ladle into the man's mouth with the other.

Then it became quiet.

Tieguai Li: ...

Zhu Decai: ...

Tietou: ...

Then Zhu De felt a warm current flowing from his throat to his heart, and then to all parts of his body, as if it were flowing with the bowl of water.

Then my whole body felt warm, and I couldn't help but shout out.

Tie Tou quickly snatched it away and asked, "What's wrong, Dad?"

Zhu Decai: "It's so hot!"

Then he suddenly sat up, ripped off his clothes, and his once skinny frame showed signs of becoming somewhat plump. A sense of energy seemed to slowly spread throughout his body via his meridians.

"Give me another ladle of water, it's so hot!"

Tie Tou quickly grabbed the dirty wooden ladle and started scooping water.

When he ran over, he saw Zhu Decai already sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping sweat from his brow. He took the wooden ladle that Tie Tou handed him and drank it all in one gulp.

As he swallowed that ladle of water, he felt his strength returning to his entire body.

He suddenly stood up and said, "That feels so good!"

Tie Tou opened his mouth wide, and the wooden ladle fell to the ground with a "clatter." Zhang Zhengdao saw it too, and guessed that the child wouldn't wash himself clean before scooping water.

As expected, Tie Tou was overjoyed, picked up the wooden ladle, and scooped up more water.

"Father, another bowl!"

Zhu Decai took it and gulped it down in one go. His mind was calm now. He took a deep breath and exclaimed with delight, "That's great!"

Tie Tou rushed over and hugged his leg: "Father, your leg..."

Zhu Decai then realized that he had actually stood up, and stood up with great strength. For a moment, his mind went blank.

Only when he saw Tieguai Li looking at him with a smile did he realize what was happening.

"Thank you so much, immortal, for saving my life."

He immediately knelt down and pulled Tie Tou down to kowtow as well.

Tieguai Li accepted the bow and said, "You have raised a fine son; he is a man of destiny. We will meet again in the future. Goodbye, goodbye!"

As he spoke, he pulled Zhang Zhengdao and walked out.

Zhu Decai kowtowed: "Thank you, two immortals."

Tie Tou also kowtowed: "Thank you, immortal! Thank you, divine ox!"

Zhu Decai said, "A divine ox?"

Tie Tou said, "Father, the divine ox is really amazing. Last night I made a wish to the divine ox, hoping that Father would get better soon, and today a deity came and saved Father."