met free Page 134
Page 134
"Oh, it's Xiao Wangye. How is your master?" This was a return greeting.
Then, he turned his gaze to Zhang Chulan, who was hopping mad, and called out softly in a calm tone, "Yun Yuan."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan was overjoyed and almost burst out laughing!
Haha! The old master has spoken! This little brat is doomed!
How dare you be so disrespectful in front of the Celestial Master! You'll see how he treats you!
He lowered his voice again, winking at Xu Si with smug satisfaction:
"Look where Fourth Brother is! The Old Master has spoken! This kid's really messed up this time, hasn't he? Get ready for a scolding! Hahaha!"
The next second, the calm and unwavering gaze of the old master Zhang Zhiwei slowly fell on him, and he said, "Chu Lan, don't be disrespectful!"
He paused, then gestured with his chin towards the young man.
"Come here, let's formally meet."
This is your grandfather's junior apprentice, your junior grandmaster, Zhang Yunyuan.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The world fell silent at that moment.
Zhang Chulan's smile instantly froze.
He was completely petrified, from head to toe.
He suddenly and stiffly twisted his neck, making a "crackling" sound like a rusty machine, and looked at the young man beside him.
Zhang Yunyuan was looking at him with his head slightly turned, his face still showing the same calm and expressionless expression.
But a faint smile played at the corners of his lips, a smile that Zhang Chulan found more terrifying than any demon from the eighteenth level of hell.
That was clearly a smile that saw through everything, a hint of mockery, and a touch of "caring for the mentally challenged."
Zhang Yunyuan's voice drifted over, like a feather, yet it utterly destroyed Zhang Chulan's soul.
"I first met your grandfather about a hundred years ago. He was about your age back then."
Zhang Chulan felt his worldview, outlook on life, and values completely collapse and shatter at this moment, and then be repeatedly crushed by an invisible giant foot!
Shame, shock, absurdity, fear, despair...
A flood of emotions overwhelmed him instantly, making him dizzy and disoriented, almost causing him to faint.
Just as Zhang Chulan was about to lose his mind, Xu San and Xu Si, who had been holding back their laughter, finally couldn't hold back anymore.
They forcefully suppressed the urge to burst into laughter, cleared their throats, and bowed respectfully to Zhang Yunyuan, their posture extremely humble.
"Xu San and Xu Si greet Senior Yun Yuan."
That address of "senior" was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, crushing Zhang Chulan's last shred of hope.
Feng Baobao, who had been following behind Zhang Yunyuan like a pretty wooden doll, tilted her head at this moment.
Her clear, empty eyes glanced at the petrified Zhang Chulan, then at Zhang Yunyuan, and in her characteristically flat and emotionless tone, she asked softly:
"Master, when can I come back to be with you?"
"Master"?! "Together"?!
He'd known Feng Baobao for so long, and he'd never seen her so well-behaved!
Zhang Chulan was bombarded with this series of information, leaving him completely stunned and his mind a jumble of crackling sparks.
The old master seemed oblivious to Zhang Chulan's dazed and confused state. He simply waved to the petrified Zhang Chulan, his smile still kind and gentle, but his eyes held a hint of amusement as he watched the spectacle unfold.
Chapter 156 How old are you?
"Alright, silly boy, stop standing here like a wooden stake."
The old master pointed with his chin to the side gate leading to the inner courtyard not far away.
"Yun Yuan, take Chu Lan to the tea room over there. I have something to say to him."
Zhang Yunyuan walked over with a half-smile, reached out, and very naturally ruffled the hair of Zhang Chulan, who was completely petrified and whose mind had stopped. The gesture was as affectionate as if he were teasing his own junior, and he said in a relaxed tone:
"Come on, let's go have some tea with the advisor."
Xu San and Xu Si could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs, tears welling up in their eyes.
Zhang Chulan was like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, his eyes were empty, his facial muscles were stiff, and he nodded blankly entirely on instinct.
He mechanically turned around and, with his hands and feet moving in unison, slowly made his way towards the tea room.
Every step he took was incredibly heavy, as if he were not treading on the bluestone slabs of Longhu Mountain, but on his shattered face, which could not be pieced back together, and the little dignity he had left.
The tea room is quiet and elegant.
A faint scent of sandalwood mixed with the rich aroma of aged Pu'er tea permeated the air.
Zhang Yunyuan sat down in front of the tea tray and began to scald the cups, awaken the tea, and brew the tea with practiced ease, as if the little episode outside that was enough to overturn the worldview of ordinary people had never happened.
Zhang Chulan sat awkwardly on the futon opposite him, like a primary school student who had made a mistake. His hands were on his knees, his fingers were intertwined, and his eyes darted around, occasionally stealing glances at the "Grandmaster Uncle" who looked even younger than himself.
A tremendous sense of absurdity and intense curiosity were clashing wildly in his mind.
He held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help himself. He licked his dry lips and cautiously, with utmost tentativeness, asked:
"Um... senior... would you... would you mind telling me your age?"
Zhang Yunyuan picked up the purple clay teapot and slowly poured the first brew of tea into the fairness cup, without even looking up, his tone flat:
"I was born in the fourth year of the Republic of China. You can calculate it yourself."
"The fourth year of the Republic of China?"
Zhang Chulan subconsciously repeated it, his mind racing to calculate the Gregorian calendar year. Then, his pupils constricted sharply, and he cried out in alarm:
"Really?! You're over a hundred... a hundred years old?!"
He sprang up halfway from the futon, staring at Zhang Yunyuan's smooth, delicate face, which was without a single wrinkle, and his voice changed:
"This...this is impossible?! How...how do you maintain your youthful appearance?! There's not a single sign of aging?!"
Zhang Yunyuan then glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips, and pushed a cup of clear, bright tea in front of him, saying slowly:
"It's simple. Just live a naive life like you, and you'll be fine."
Zhang Chulan froze instantly, feeling as if he had been silently stabbed in the chest.
He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time. Finally, he sat back down dejectedly, picked up the cup of tea, and gulped it down in one go, as if it weren't tea but a bitter cup of wine to quench the depression in his heart.
The tea soup is slightly bitter upon entering the throat, followed by a sweet aftertaste.
Zhang Chulan put down his teacup, his eyes darted around, and the slight embarrassment on his face was quickly replaced by a familiar, shameless "shameless" demeanor.
He grinned, leaned forward, lowered his voice, and asked with a mysterious air of "we're practically family":
"Well...you see, you were born in the fourth year of the Republic of China, the year of Jia Shen...in 1944, you must have been almost thirty years old, right?"
You must have personally experienced the 'Jiashen Rebellion', right?
Could you tell me what exactly happened?
What exactly did my grandfather do?
Zhang Yunyuan glanced at him: "Didn't Xu Xiang, Xu San, and Xu Si mention them to you?"
Zhang Chulan scratched his head: "He did mention it, but he only talked about it in a very fragmented way. Uncle Xu said that he was just born when the Jia Shen Rebellion happened, and he didn't know anything about it."
Zhang Yunyuan picked up his cup of tea, gently blew on it, took a slow sip, and then said unhurriedly, "Telling you isn't impossible."
Zhang Chulan's eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly moved closer, his ears practically perking up.
But Zhang Yunyuan's tone suddenly changed, carrying a hint of mockery:
"But I don't think you're being sincere."
He put down his teacup and looked at Zhang Chulan with a leisurely air. "Come on, first call me 'Master' respectfully and sincerely a few times. If I'm satisfied with how you address me, I might be in a good mood and tell you some old stories from back then."
Zhang Chulan's smile instantly froze.
He looked at the excessively young face opposite him, which even had a touch of boyish handsomeness, and the word "Master" rolled around in his throat again and again, but it was really... hard to say!
Just as he was turning red in the face and caught in a dilemma, the door to the tea room creaked open.
The old Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei strolled in leisurely, his gaze sweeping over the two men, a perfectly timed look of surprise on his face:
"Oh, chatting? Looks like you're getting along quite well?"
Zhang Chulan, as if seeing a savior, practically scrambled to the old master's side, tearfully recounting his grievances:
"Master! Tell me the truth! He... he really is from the same era as my grandfather? This... how is this possible! Are you all ganging up on me? This prank is too outrageous!"
He still couldn't accept this horrifying fact.
Faced with the questioning, Zhang Yunyuan remained silent, only slightly raising the corners of his lips as he calmly sipped his tea, as if Zhang Chulan wasn't talking about him.
Seeing Zhang Chulan's near-collapse, Zhang Zhiwei smiled knowingly, rummaged around in the wide sleeves of his Taoist robe, and pulled out something carefully wrapped in oilcloth.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. Here, seeing is believing, I've brought everything for you."
He carefully lifted the oilcloth, revealing several old black-and-white photographs that were yellowed and worn at the edges.
He handed one of the cards to Zhang Chulan.
The photo shows four spirited young men dressed in old-fashioned Taoist robes standing side by side, with the background vaguely resembling a temple or pavilion in Longhu Mountain.
Zhang Chulan immediately recognized the young man standing in the middle, with his two large, protruding ears and the most flamboyant and radiant smile—
It looks exactly like his grandfather Zhang Huaiyi when he was young!
Standing next to him was Zhang Zhiwei, the old Celestial Master, in his youth, his brows already showing signs of authority.
On the other side was Tian Jinzhong, who was equally young, with both arms intact and sharp eyes.
Standing on Zhang Huaiyi's other side, with his arm around Zhang Huaiyi's shoulder and a carefree, lazy smile on his face...
Zhang Chulan's breathing suddenly stopped!
Chapter 157 Calling the Master