The Fool Who Shook the Heavens

Chapter 5

Ouyang Jun glanced at Tang Hao, who was still sitting cross-legged with an innocent expression. Inwardly, he couldn't hide his delight.

'This kid is truly extraordinary. With talent like this, I'll definitely get my revenge someday!'

But he quickly put on a haughty look and clasped his hands behind his back. Praising a disciple who had only just broken through a single stage would only go to the boy's head.

Before long, Tang Hao opened his eyes. His lower abdomen felt warm, and his body felt lighter than usual. He rolled his shoulders, patted his chest, and checked both arms.

"What changed?" he muttered.

Finding nothing interesting, he forgot about it right away. His attention shifted to the rest of his drumstick on the step. He picked it up and gnawed the meat still clinging to the bone, then closed his eyes to savor it.

Ouyang Jun watched him with an unreadable expression. After a while, Tang Hao finally noticed the stare.

"Grandpa, why do you keep looking at me? Do I have chicken crumbs on my face?"

"Hmph! Your skills are still pitiful, but I'll accept you as my disciple."

Ouyang Jun struggled to keep up his dignity. Naturally, he could never admit that Tang Hao was the only person who could even see him.

Tang Hao didn't respond. After licking the grease off his fingers, he suddenly jumped to his feet and slapped his forehead.

"Oh no! I forgot to fetch the water!"

He hurriedly snatched up a shoulder pole and two wooden buckets from the corner of the yard. "If I'm late, Supervisor Ding won't feed me!"

Before Ouyang Jun could say a word, Tang Hao was already dashing down the hill toward the path behind the Outer Disciples' dormitory.

Two disciples splitting firewood looked up as he ran past. They exchanged a glance, then shook their heads at the sight of Tang Hao talking to himself while carrying his buckets.

Ouyang Jun floated after the boy with an irritated scowl.

"Hey! I'm still talking to you! Do you know people used to kneel outside my residence for three days and three nights, begging me to take them as a disciple? And you're ignoring me!"

"You're noisy, Grandpa," Tang Hao replied without turning around.

"Noisy? I once ruled the Three Realms! Nobody ever dared speak to me like that!"

"I dare."

Tang Hao answered as if it were nothing, then jiggled his pole so the two buckets swung and clanked together.

All the way there, he hummed cheerfully while Ouyang Jun grumbled behind him. They passed a vegetable garden, mossy huts, and a rocky path that climbed steadily before they finally reached a lake behind the mountain.

The water was clear, reflecting the sunlight as it began to slant toward the west. A cool breeze swept across the surface, carrying the scent of damp earth and leaves.

Tang Hao set down the pole and dipped both buckets into the lake. After filling them to the brim, he spotted a tiny fish swimming near his feet.

"Little fish, do you want some chicken?"

The fish turned around and vanished into the water.

Tang Hao giggled. He then washed his hands and mouth with water from one of the buckets, scrubbing off the chicken grease still clinging to his fingers and lips.

Once he'd had his fill of splashing around, he unhooked the leather flask from his waist and poured the dirty wash water into it. Without a thought for cleanliness, he gulped it down in a few swallows and wiped his mouth.

"So refreshing!"

Behind him, Ouyang Jun floated above a rock with his arms folded, still complaining about how hard it was to find a decent disciple these days.

Neither of them noticed that someone was watching from behind a large boulder on the opposite shore.

Lin Yue leaned against the cold stone, breathing hard, her face pale. Her white robe was torn in several places. Dried blood stained her waist and arms, and the wound at her ribs made every breath painful.

She pressed a hand to the injury, trying to stifle a groan.

'If the disciples saw me like this, who knows what they would say.'

She had just returned from a mission that had gone badly. Parched and drained of blood, she'd had no choice but to look for the nearest water. When she found the lake, she never expected to find someone already there.

Lin Yue peeked out from behind the rock. That fool Tang Hao looked harmless enough, but she didn't want to take any chances. She decided to wait until he left.

Meanwhile, Tang Hao picked up the bucket he'd just used to wash his hands and mouth. He carried the leftover water to a withered tree at the edge of the lake.

Its trunk was blackened, its bark peeling, its branches bare without a single leaf. It looked as though it had been dying for a very long time.

Tang Hao squatted by its roots.

"Tree, you must be thirsty, huh?"

Without hesitation, he poured the rest of the water over the ground around the trunk.

"Drink lots!"

Ouyang Jun snorted from behind him. "That tree is as good as dead. Only its roots are barely clinging to life. Watering it is pointless."

But before he could finish, something strange happened.

The soil around the roots turned damp. The dry trunk trembled faintly, and a green sprout pushed out through a crack in the bark. A second sprout followed, then a third. In moments, the bare branches began to sprout young leaves.

Ouyang Jun shot over to the tree and stared at the foliage, eyes bulging as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"This is impossible!"

He tried to touch one of the leaves, but his hand passed straight through.

"The saliva and sweat of a True Dragon Body contain incredible restorative power! Even a plant on the brink of death can come back to life!"

Tang Hao looked over in confusion. "Grandpa, why are you shouting? The tree can drink now, right?"

Ouyang Jun hastily composed himself. "It's nothing. Go back to your work."

"The tree is happy!"

Tang Hao clapped, pleased to see the new leaves swaying in the wind. Then he turned around to grab his bucket.

That was when he spotted a figure in a white robe behind the big boulder.

"Pretty Sister!"

Ignoring Ouyang Jun's strangled shout, Tang Hao ran straight toward her.

Lin Yue flinched. She tried to stand tall, but the pain in her ribs made her slump back against the rock.

Tang Hao stopped right in front of her and pointed at the red stains on her robe.

"Pretty Sister, why is your dress all red? Did you spill chili sauce?"

Lin Yue grimaced against the pain. "I'm fine. Go away and don't bother me."

But Tang Hao noticed her dry lips.

"Are you thirsty, Pretty Sister?"

He quickly pulled the leather flask from his waist and held it out with both hands.

"Drink it! It's good!"

Lin Yue caught the smell of chicken grease still clinging to the flask. When she realized the rim was wet with Tang Hao's spit, her stomach churned.

"No! Keep that thing away from me!"

She knocked it aside with a trembling hand.

The flask slipped from Tang Hao's grasp. The water inside spilled over Lin Yue's arm and waist before running onto the ground.

She winced, bracing for the sting of water on her wounds.

But the pain she expected never came.

Instead, a gentle warmth spread from her skin through her whole body. The wounds on her arms and waist slowly healed, and the dried blood flaked away. Even the ache in her ribs, the one that had made it so hard to breathe, gradually faded.

Lin Yue was stunned.

She pressed her palm to her ribs and drew a deep breath. No pain. She rolled her shoulder and lifted both arms to make sure the recovery wasn't an illusion.

Her robe was still torn and bloodstained, but the skin beneath it was smooth, without a single scar.

"How is this possible?" she whispered. "Even my internal injuries have healed?"

She looked up at Tang Hao, who was picking up his empty flask.

"Aww, the water's all gone," Tang Hao complained, shaking the flask.

Nearby, Ouyang Jun had already swooped down to the wet ground. He tried to scoop up what was left with both hands, but his fingers only passed through the puddle as it sank slowly into the earth.

"My water! My water!"

He clawed at his white hair in frustration.

"Do you know how precious that was? Why did you spill it like that? You wasteful brat! All of it, wasted!"

Tang Hao just blinked, having no idea why the old man was so angry.