Raising a Fox Spirit in My Home - Chapter 413

Chapter 413
Settling a Score in Public!

Shen You and Shen Hui got out of the car. They looked up at the tea house of Disanxian and showed simultaneous expressions of disdain. However, when an old man behind them got out of the car, they started nodding and commenting, pretending to admire what they saw.

This old man was Shen Wancai. He glanced at Shen Zhihui and Shen You, who were overacting. “Stop pretending. You two idiots can’t understand the mystery of calligraphy,” he said, snorting derisively.

Shen You huffed and turned his head away in disapproval, while Shen Hui stomped her feet angrily and said to Shen Wancai, “Old Master, how could you say that about me in front of so many people?”

Shen Wancai gave a grunt. “What do you want me to say? Look at him, he started from scratch at such a young age and now he’s here. Now look at yourself. What else can you do but make trouble all day long?”

His tone displayed his lack of regard for Shen You and Shen Hui. He then took the lead in walking towards the Disanxian Teahouse.

Shen Hui gritted her teeth angrily and glared at Li Yundong as if he was the source of all of her discontent. However, Shen You suddenly leaned over and said with a smile, “Little sister, why don’t we go together…”

Shen Hui immediately turned her head and shouted at him, “Get lost. Who would want to go with you!” Then, she immediately traipsed after Shen Wancai.

Shen You’s face darkened, and he stood there for a while with an uncertain expression before eventually following.

Shen Wancai’s gaze quickly swept around the surroundings. When he saw Zi Yuan and Li Yundong, he immediately chuckled and happily walked up to them. “Miss Zi Yuan, I was too busy to say goodbye last time at Dongwu. I didn’t have time to say a word to you. I recently heard that you’d opened a tea house in Tiannan, so I came uninvited to express my respect.”

With a slight smile, Zi Yuan leaned to one side and spread out her palm, pointing to Li Yundong and saying, “This is not my teahouse. The owner is Li Yundong. You should congratulate him, Mr. Shen.”

Chen Wancai chuckled, and his gaze was meaningful as he looked at Zi Yuan and then at Li Yundong. “Congratulations, Young Master Li, you’re young and promising. You’ve managed to open an extraordinary tea house at such a young age. Amazing!”

Li Yundong smiled humbly and said, “It’s nothing. We all opened this tea house together. It’s definitely not solely due to my own contributions. Besides, it’s also thanks to you, Mr. Shen.”

Shen Wancai asked curiously, “Oh? What do you mean?”

Li Yundong grinned. “If you hadn’t awarded first place to Zi Yuan last time, we wouldn’t have been able to afford to open this tea house. So, Mr. Shen, you have made a great contribution!”

Shen Wancai laughed heartily. “Back when Miss Zi Yuan won first place, I only handled it impartially. However, if you think that, it was right for me to come even if I was not invited!”

“Mr. Shen, you’re too polite. Disanxian is honored by your visit. Please come in!” Li Yundong said happily.

Chen Wancai smiled and looked at Zhang Ling and the others beside Li Yundong. Seeing that they were dressed in Daopao, he asked curiously, “Are you here to beg alms?”

Zou Ping glared at him without any trace of politeness. “You’re the beggar here! We were just about to…”

Before she could finish her words, Zhang Ling stopped her, glared at her, and then said lightly, “Are you Mr. Shen of the Wancai Group?”

Although Zhang Ling’s appearance was ordinary, Shen Wancai could see that the look in her eyes was deep and bright. In particular, the cinnabar port-wine stain between her eyebrows was conspicuous, making her look very unusual.

Shen Wancai was secretly amazed and asked, “I am Shen Wancai. May I ask who you are?”

“It doesn’t matter who I am, but I have heard that Mr. Shen is not only a business genius but also an elegant person, so I would like to take the opportunity to invite you to be our notary, Mr. Shen. What do you think?” Zhang Ling asked, her eyes crinkling slightly.

Shen Wancai asked curiously, “A notary?”

Zhang Ling pointed at Li Yundong and said, “I have just made an appointment with Zhenren Li to play a few little tricks, so I would like to invite Mr. Shen to be the notary and judge the winner!”

Shen Wancai was astonished. “A little trick? Zhenren Li?” He looked at Li Yundong and smiled. “Young Master Li is also a cultivator?”

Li Yundong made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before his chest. “I’m really sorry to get you involved in this, Mr. Shen.”

Shen Wancai laughed congenially. “I was wondering why you looked so extraordinary. Being a cultivator explains it!” He turned his head to look at Zi Yuan and asked, “So, you are too, Miss Zi Yuan?”

Zi Yuan bowed deeply and nodded.

Shen Wancai turned his head and looked at Shen You and Shen Hui, thinking, “I wanted to find two teachers for these two good-for-nothings, so I took the initiative to come here. First, I wanted to see how the tea house was going, and second, I wanted to show my sincerity. I really wasn’t expecting them all to be Taoist priests. Isn’t it a little inappropriate to ask them to be teachers?”

But then he quickly thought, “I should take things as they come. It’ll be good to see them play some little tricks! I just don’t know if what happened at the tea ceremony last time was also a trick.”

Thinking of this, Shen Wancai laughed and said to Zhang Ling, “I don’t have any other hobby but upholding justice. Very well, I will be your notary. Where do you want to do this?”

Zhang Ling looked around and said lightly, “The hall downstairs should be fine. What do you think, Zhenren Li?” Zhang Ling looked at Li Yundong with a hint of provocation.

Li Yundong smiled slightly. “As you wish, Zhenren Zhang!”

Seeing that Li Yundong and Zhang Ling were about to settle a score, Du Fei frowned secretly. Suddenly, he smiled and said, “How about me being a notary too, Zhenren Li?”

Li Yundong glanced at him for a moment, not knowing what this monkey-faced guy wanted to do and hesitating a little.

Just as he was hesitating, Du Fei turned around and said to him in a low voice, “Zhenren Zhang specializes in nineteen kinds of major spells and forty-three minor ones. Zhenren Li, be careful of her five-ghost magic and her heaven fairy descending to the world magic!”

Zi Yuan also sent a sound transmission to Li Yundong, saying, “The Quanzhen Dragon Sect and Zhengyi School are polite on the surface. While they appear united outwardly, they are divided at heart and secretly compete with each other. Li Yundong, you might as well let Du Fei be the notary. He is asking us for help now, so he shouldn’t make trouble behind our backs, and if Shen Wancai makes a mistake, he can help you correct it.”

Although Li Yundong secretly wondered what five-ghost magic and heaven fairy descending to the world magic was, he already had some idea. He smiled and said, “Well, since Zhenren Du has been so warmhearted, I am sorry to trouble you at this time.”

Hearing this, Zheng Yuan’s eyes crinkled as she said, “I also want to join in the fun and become a notary. How about that?”

Li Yundong frowned and looked at Zheng Yuan unkindly, not saying anything. Zhang Ling, however, pondered for a while before saying, “Well, since Zhenren Du is a notary, Head Zheng can also be one.”

Zheng Yuan laughed aloud. “Very well. Zhenren Zhang is a frank person! I wonder what kind of trick you’re going to use to compete with Zhenren Li in the first match.”

Zhang Ling said lightly, “There are too many people here, so we can’t display our full powers. Let’s just use some little magic tricks.” Then, she said to Li Yundong, “Please bring over a table, a tea bowl and a non-transparent cover, Zhenren Li.”

Li Yundong turned his head and was about to give Su Chan an order, but he saw that she had already run to the opposite side to move another table. Zhou Qin, on the other hand, turned to get a teacup from the storage room, also picking up a huge teapot with a long spout.

By this time, everyone upstairs and downstairs had taken note of the noises coming from below. Some of them were curious, leaning against the railings on the second floor to look down. Li Yuanbo and the others were sitting next to this railing, drinking tea and watching the situation unfold.

Mayor Zeng of Tiannan laughed and said, “Haha, everyone wants to see your tricks. Little Li’s opening ceremony is turning out to be quite unique! Young people nowadays are creative and promising!”

Although Mayor Zeng’s words were said mockingly, he was actually cottoning up to Li Yuanbo in secret.

As a man who had been involved with politics for a long time, Mayor Zeng had certainly noticed Li Yuanbo’s intimacy with Zhou Qin, and Zhou Qin’s intimacy with Li Yundong in turn. Therefore, he was flattering Li Yundong in a roundabout way, as it was also beneficial to him to be close to a leader.

How could Li Yuanbo not understand this? He glanced at Mayor Zeng and chuckled, saying noncommittally, “Well, he is still a young man. Young men all love to play.”

His words made Mayor Zeng a little confused, and he wondered in his heart, “Is he praising Li Yundong or belittling him?”

Just as he was pondering this, Liu Fei’er tugged on Cao Kefei’s arm and whispered, “Hey, Sister Cao, what kind of tricks do you think they’ll play later?”

Cao Kefei stared at the scene and shook her head. “No idea. Whatever they do, it should be a good show.”

“Could it be magic? This Li Yundong guy can do magic?” Liu Fei’er’s face was full of curiosity and expectation.

“He is not Liu Qian. Just pay attention to him later and he won’t let you down,” said Cao Kefei with a conspirational wink.

At this time, Zhang Ling’s gaze turned to the square table in front of her. She gently patted a corner of the table and made it slide two meters away, then said, “Please check the cups and teapots and confirm whether they are ordinary.”

Shen Wancai didn’t know what they were going to play. He was curious in his heart, but he still went forward and inspected the teacup and teapot carefully. He knocked them from side to side and even reached inside the teapot before declaring, “No problem, they’re completely ordinary.”

Zhang Ling then said to Du Fei and Zheng Yuan, “And the two Zhenrens, please check these.”

Du Fei said with a smile, “There’s no need.” Zheng Yuan added, “It’s not even worth checking.”

Zhang Ling turned her face and said to Li Yundong lightly, “Zhenren Li, although this is your tea set, do you want to check it?”

Li Yundong was full of doubts and he didn’t know how Zhang Ling was going to compete in front of so many people in a way that could not be noticed by them. He frowned slightly and said, “No. Zhenren Zhang, how are you going to compete with me? How will you judge who wins or loses?”

Zhang Ling smiled faintly. She was like a juggler. All of a sudden, a fly-whisk appeared in her hand, which she shook and swung, hitting the bottom of the tea table with a snap. The teacup and the lid of the teapot jumped up from their places on the table. When the teacup turned, it happened to fall into the teapot next to it while the lid was in the air, making a crisp tinkling sound.

Zhang Ling’s move was graceful and beautiful, immediately attracting cheers from the people in the tea house. Shen Wancai’s eyes couldn’t help but light up. He was just worried that the teacup might have broken after falling into the teapot, so he went forward to lift the lid and took a look. However, he could see that the teacup had just landed in the middle of the teapot, completely unscathed!

Shen Wancai immediately raised his head, gave a thumbs up to Zhang Ling, and said loudly, “That kung fu was so delicate! Truly admirable!”

As he spoke, he took three steps back and surveyed the scene with shining eyes.

Shen You and Shen Hui looked at each other. Although they were filled with disdain regarding Li Yundong, they were still young, and it was inevitable for them to feel playful. As such, they all looked curiously and wanted to see how Li Yundong and Zhang Ling would perform their tricks.