Chapter 252 Tofu with Spirit Herbs
Before having a taste of Lu Sanchun’s wedding feast, Lin Luoran meets Li Xi’er’s fiancé.
That day, Lin Luoran sees Commander Qin out and a young cultivator is wandering at the door. Sun shines on the man through the colored gla.s.s ceiling, covering the streets around Lin’s house in golden light. The young cultivator senses the fluctuation of Reiki of the protection circle around Lin’s house, so he doesn’t dare to go inside directly.
As soon as Lin sees him, she knows that he is a cultivator in the earlier stage of Training Qi.
He is not very eye-catching. However, cultivators are nourished by Reiki so Lin Luoran has never seen a cultivator who is ugly. The young man has thick eyebrows and he looks like an honest and decent person.
“You are…?”
The young man is patient. He has long since noticed Lin Luoran yet he waits for her to send her guest away and then walks to her,
“Master Lin, I’m Tofu. I’m here to deliver the b.u.t.terflybush Flower.”
Until now Lin Luoran recalls what she has forgotten during the last few days. She made an arrangement with him to see the b.u.t.terflybush Flower.
“Right! Tofu! Welcome! Come on in and have some tea.” Lin Luoran doesn’t blame herself for not recognizing Tofu. The man’s bag is tainted by mud and his skin tone is quite dark, which is nowhere near the image of a piece of Tofu!
Tofu follows Lin into the house. The second he steps in, he takes a deep breath in surprise.
Master Lin’s house is filled with pure and peaceful Reiki?! Cultivators who live here are so blessed…!
Tofu is surprised by everything in the house. He checks on the house carefully and secretly, breathing the air full of Reiki. As an individual cultivator, Tofu has never seen a place like this though he is already in his twentieth. As a matter of fact, Tofu is not the only cultivator who will feel envious of Lin’s house. Cultivators from famous cultivation schools don’t even enjoy such perfect environment for cultivation. After all, Lin Luoran’s bead, which can serve as a Reiki transmitter, is one and only in the world.
Lin Luoran leads Tofu to the living room. She notices that he is nervous so she pours him a cup of hot tea.
“Thank you for coming. You must have been on the road for a long time, right?”
Tofu shakes his head. He hurries to put down his bag before taking a sip of the tea.
There is a big bamboo tube in the bag. Lin Luoran is surprised. The bamboo tube is a bit larger than the teacup and it is emitting Reiki gently. The bamboo must be extraordinary.
The bamboo tube is filled with soil. Two spirit herbs, which look like a sensitive plant, are planted in the tube.
“Wow, thank you so much!” Lin Luoran recognizes the b.u.t.terflybush Flowers. The taller one has some purple buds, which indicate that the flower must be over 100 years old. The shorter one is 10 years old at most. Lin is already surprised that Tofu brings her two plants of the flowers, and she is even more satisfied by the taller one with the flower buds.
Of course, Lin Luoran is pleased by Tofu’s att.i.tude. The young man must have taken a lot of trouble in finding the bamboo with Reiki in case the Reiki in the b.u.t.terflybush Flowers is lost on the road.
Tofu is relaxed when he sees Lin’s smiley face.
Lin asks kindly after knowing that Tofu is relaxed, “The bamboo tube is special. Where did you find it?”
Tofu answers with the teacup in his hand, “I dug out the flowers months ago when I heard that you want the b.u.t.terflybush Flower. The problem is that I didn’t know how to nourish it. I dug three plants of flowers and one of them had died. I went to a lot of places and found the bamboo with Reiki in the Sea of Bamboo in the south of Chuan. I brought them back and finally managed to keep the flowers alive.” Tofu is quite talkative when he is not nervous.
Lin Luoran doesn’t mind him talking. She listens to him patiently and asks after thinking for a while, “Can you find more bamboo?”
Tofu nods. He is glad that Master Lin is interested in the bamboo. He feels so happy that his thoughtfulness has paid off.
Lin Luoran changes the topic suddenly. She asks, “What do you want in exchange of the b.u.t.terflybush Flowers?”
Lin doesn’t have an exact a.s.sessment of the value of the spirit herb. Last time when she exchanged boluses for jade, she let the buyers offer a price and then she decided to make the deal or not.
However, Lin Luoran is aware that b.u.t.terflybush Flowers are of no use to other cultivators. The prescription of the Foundation-laying Bolus has lost and the quality of spirit herbs has reduced. Except for Huang Weijian’s missing grandfather, Lin Luoran can’t think of anyone who needs the herb either.
The young man under the ID “Tofu” seems to be struggling after hearing Lin Luoran’s question.
When Lin is wondering what the man wants, Tofu suddenly kneels down in front of her and starts making kowtows. Lin Luoran is startled.
“Master, please forgive my abruptness. I brought the b.u.t.terflybush Flowers here with only one wish. Please take me as your t.i.tular apprentice and I’ll do everything for you!”
Take him as an apprentice? Lin Luoran is in a daze. She never thought of taking an apprentice at all — Lin believes that she is not strong enough to be other people’s master. Besides, she knows nothing about the young man. How can she take him?
“You’re not going to force me into this, right?” Lin Luoran thinks to herself. She holds her anger back and says, “Get up first. This is too huge a surprise. I have no plan of taking an apprentice. I can’t say yes right now.”
Tofu keeps his head down and repeats “please forgive my abruptness”. He refuses to get up.
Lin Luoran almost loses her temper. Why don’t you get up when you know you’re abrupt?
Nevertheless, humans are visual creatures. Lin Luoran has a nice first impression on Tofu. Seeing this, she thinks for a while and says, “Do you have any difficulties? Do you really know what a t.i.tular apprentice means?”
Tofu looks up and answers, “Yes, I do. Master, I’m not after your cultivation methods nor boluses and spells. I just don’t want to be an individual cultivator anymore.”
Lin Luoran sneers, “I am an individual cultivator myself. You should go and find the famous schools if you want a t.i.tle. I can’t help you with this.” Tofu’s explanation is too pale. If the world of cultivation were not strictly hierarchical, Lin would doubt that Tofu had come here just to joke.
“Master…” Tofu is anxious. He starts to sweat because he can’t figure out how to explain himself.
Before Lin Luoran throws him out, she hears Li Xi’er taking at the door of the living room. “Sister Lin, do you have a guest here today?”
Li Xi’er walks pa.s.s the living room with many shopping bags in her hand. She clearly has just come back from the mall. Lin Luoran says nothing and nods to Li because she has to kick Tofu out first.
Li Xi’er walks back instead of heading to her room.
The shopping bags are dropped on the floor. Li Xi’er points at Tofu, who refuses to get up from the ground, and screams. Her voice wakes up the cyan little fox, which is sleeping on the little island in the backyard. The little fox thinks that an enemy must have come and it rushes to the front yard. Goldie, who has stayed in its golden coc.o.o.n for half a year, moves in the “sh.e.l.l”. The huge round sh.e.l.l is cracked.
Weapons of ma.s.s destruction. The scream of Li Xi’er is definitely a weapon of ma.s.s destruction. Lin Luoran covers her ears with her hands and waits for Li to stop. Then she shouts to Li, “What’s going on? Tell me!”
Li Xi’er sniffles and looks down, which are the signs of her crying again. Li Xi’er grumbles, still pointing at Tofu,
“Sister Lin… He is Yuan Ye. He must have come here to force me to marry him!”
Individual cultivator, an earlier stage of Training Qi, forced marriage… Lin Luoran connects these keywords easily.
The cyan little fox stares at Tofu, oh, Yuan Ye, warily, and Ms. Lin rushes out of the kitchen with a knife in her hand, asking “What’s wrong! What’s wrong!”. Seeing all this, Lin Luoran forces herself to smile and says,
“Mom, let me introduce you. This is Yuan Ye, Xi’er’s fiancé.”
Ms. Lin almost drops the knife on the floor. This is Li Xi’er’s fiancé?
The young man looks decent. Ms. Lin thinks to herself. She tidies her clothes and decides to head back to the kitchen and make more dishes.
The cyan little fox returns to the backyard relaxedly. It rolls on the ground and plays in the groves of bamboo. It thinks that living in Lin’s house is lots of fun, especially after Li Xi’er came. Drama happens here every day. Now Li’s fiancé is here. Things are getting more and more interesting!
********
“He lives not far from my school and he always pulled my hair and made fun of me since I was a little girl. I hate him! I don’t want to marry him…” Li Xi’er sobs while telling these “old grudges”. Lin Luoran pa.s.ses her a tissue and she pays attention to Yuan Ye’s expressions while listening to Li.
He is embarra.s.sed and anxious.
Nevertheless, Lin Luoran is now sure that this is not a forced marriage. Li Xi’er and Yuan Ye are clearly childhood sweethearts. The problem is that Yuan Ye here has acted wrongly by drawing Li’s attention by bullying her.
After Li Xi’er finishes venting her anger, Yuan Ye scratches his head and says, “Senior, I did propose the marriage to Master Xi… But I really never tried to force Xi’er.”
Lin Luoran raises her eyebrows, “Did Xi Heng say yes to the marriage?”
Yuan Ye nods. He is not so anxious as he was.
Xi Heng values Li Xi’er very much. According to Li Xi’er, Xi Heng and Yuan Ye’s master, who has pa.s.ses away, were friends, and this is the reason why he forced her to marry Yuan Ye. Lin Luoran thinks differently. Xi Heng must think highly of Yuan Ye so he is willing to let Yuan take care of Li Xi’er.
Yuan Ye went to propose a marriage and Xi Heng said yes. These two self-righteous men never asked for Li’s opinion about this. This enraged Li Xi’er and her run away.
Lin Luoran thinks for a while and asks, “Yuan Ye, do you really want to be my apprentice?”
Yuan Ye is stunned, then he nods gladly.
Lin Luoran sneers, “Don’t get too excited just yet. What if I say that my condition of taking you as a t.i.tular apprentice is to dissolve your marriage with Li Xi’er?”
Li Xi’er stops crying. She stares at Lin Luoran with her watery eyes. She thinks, “Sister Lin is so awesome! Will this work out?”
Yuan Ye looks at Li Xi’er, whose happiness is written on her face. Yuan Ye feels bitter. He thinks for a while and kneels down,
“I do! Master! Please accept my kowtow.”
He does?! Li Xi’er blinks. The happiness has come so quickly and Li even forgets to smile.
However, Lin Luoran smiles with profound meanings — This young man is smart. As the saying goes, it is easy to fetch water when a river is near. Yuan Ye would have more chances to win Li’s love later. Lin Luoran doesn’t care much about Yuan Ye’s thoughts. After all, she needs more help to build the pharmaceutical factory.