This isn't right!
Outside his yard, Gu Can was still yelling profanities and insults with indefatigable vigor.
However, shortly thereafter, his voice abruptly cut off.
The boy then suddenly pushed open the gate of Chen Ping'an's yard before rushing inside with a panicked expression. After sliding the deadbolt across, he squatted down beside the gate before silently indicating for Chen Ping'an to also squat down beside him.
Chen Ping'an had no idea what was happening, but he ducked down and rushed over to the boy's side, then squatted down beside him as he asked in a low voice, "What happened, Gu Can? Did you get your mother angry again?"
Gu Can sniffled vigorously as he replied in a quiet voice, "I met a really strange person just now. He could use the white bowl in his hand to keep on pouring out water without stopping! The bowl was only this big, yet I just saw him pouring water out of it non-stop for two hours! As he was passing by the entrance of our Clay Vase Alley, he seemed to have stopped. Could it be that he spotted me? I'm in so much trouble!"
Gu Can used his hands to describe to Chen Ping'an the size of the bowl, then patted his own chest as he panted, "He almost frightened Song Jixin's father here to death!"
"Are you talking about the storyteller under the locust tree?" Chen Ping'an asked.
Gu Can nodded eagerly in response. "That's him! The old man doesn't have much strength in his arms, and he can't even lift me up, but that bowl of his is terrifying! Terrifying, I tell you!"
Gu Can suddenly grabbed onto Chen Ping'an's arm as he vowed, "I'm not lying to you this time, Chen Ping'an! I swear! If I'm lying to you, then let Song Jixin suffer a terrible death!"
Chen Ping'an raised a finger to his lips to make a silencing gesture, and the child immediately fell silent.
The sound of footsteps gradually drew closer outside, then faded into the distance.
Everyone was scared of something. Prior to this, Gu Can seemed to be completely fearless, but at this moment, his face was deathly pale, and he sat down onto the ground as he rubbed his hand haphazardly over his own face. It was clear that he really was terrified of the old man.
"You don't think that old bastard went to my house, do you? What should I do?" Gu Can suddenly asked.
"How about I accompany you back home to take a look?" Chen Ping'an asked with a resigned expression.
This was most likely exactly what Gu Can was waiting to hear, and he immediately rose to his feet, only to sit back down again in a deflated manner before turning to Chen Ping'an with a pitiful expression. "My knees are weak, I can't walk!"
Chen Ping'an stood up, then bent over and grabbed onto the back of Gu Can's collar, lifting up with one hand as he slid back the deadbolt and made his way out of the courtyard.
The child's house was only around 100 meters away from Chen Ping'an's, and sure enough, upon arriving there, Gu Can spotted the old man in their courtyard, and his mother had even pulled out a stool for him to sit on.
In that instant, Gu Can felt as if the entire sky had fallen onto him, and he cowered behind Chen Ping'an, hoping that Chen Ping'an would protect him.
Fortunately, Chen Ping'an rose to the occasion, leading the way while Gu Can trailed along behind him.
Gu Can clutched onto Chen Ping'an's sleeve, and he was instilled with a surge of courage, seemingly having been emboldened by Chen Ping'an's presence.
The old man paid no heed to the two young boys as he sat on the stool, seemingly thinking about something, and the white bowl he was holding earlier was nowhere to be seen.
All of the courage instantly left Gu Can's body, and he ducked behind Chen Ping'an once again in a fearful manner.
The old man took a glance at the remarkably calm woman, then turned his attention toward the wary Chen Ping'an before finally settling his gaze on Gu Can as he asked, "What are you keeping in that water vat over there?"
Gu Can yelled out in response from behind Chen Ping'an, "What else could it be? Just some fish, prawns, and crabs that I caught from the creek and some eels and catfish that I fished out of the farm channels. If you like them, you're welcome to take them..."
His voice was growing quieter and quieter as he spoke, clearly indicating a lack of conviction and courage.
The woman smoothed down her own hair momentarily before turning to Chen Ping'an as she called out in a gentle voice, "Ping'an."
Chen Ping'an could see what she wanted, and he patted Gu Can on the head before turning to depart.
A hint of guilt surfaced in the woman's eyes as she glanced at Chen Ping'an's departing figure, but she quickly banished those thoughts and feelings as she turned to the old man and asked, "You've come a long way to get here, esteemed immortal master. Are you planning to buy this opportunity or take it by force?"
The old man smiled as he shook his head in response. "I can't afford the price required to buy this opportunity, nor am I able to take it by force."
"Perhaps that was true in the past, but it may not continue to hold true in the future," the woman countered with a shake of her head.
The casual and relaxed demeanor of the old man instantly faded upon hearing this, and it was as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. He abruptly swept a sleeve through the air, rapidly moving his fingers as if he were calculating something.
He then heaved a long sigh. "Was it really necessary to go so far?"
A cold look appeared on the woman's face as she sneered, "Did you think that this town was full of good people?"
The old man rose to his feet and cast a meaningful glance toward the befuddled child, and he seemed to have made an extremely important decision as he produced the white bowl with a flick of his wrist.
He then made his way over to the large water vat, which was around half the height of a grown man, and quickly scooped out a bowl of water from within.
The woman was putting on a calm and collected facade, but in reality, her palms were sweating profusely.
The old man sat back down onto the stool, then beckoned to Gu Can. "Come here and take a look, child."
Gu Can turned to his mother with an inquisitive expression, and she nodded at him with encouragement in her eyes.
Once the boy had reached him, the old man gently blew onto the surface of the water in the bowl, causing it to ripple incessantly.
"Open your mouth," the old man instructed with a smile.
At the same time, the old man pulled out a locust leaf from somewhere on Gu Can's body with a casual swipe of his hand.
He held the leaf in between two of his fingers in a very light grip.
Gu Can reflexively opened his mouth in surprise upon seeing this, and with a flick of his finger, the bright green locust leaf vanished into Gu Can's mouth.
The boy was instantly rooted to the spot, but he then discovered that nothing seemed to feel different in his mouth.
Before he had a chance to say anything, the old man pointed at the bowl sitting on the palm of his hand as he asked, "Take a good look and tell me if you see anything."
Gu Can stared into the bowl with wide eyes, and first, he saw an extremely tiny black spot. The black spot then gradually transformed into a slightly larger black line, and it continued to slowly expand, turning into an earthy yellow catfish that was swimming happily in the rippling water inside the bowl.
A spark of recognition abruptly appeared in Gu Can's muddled mind, and he exclaimed, "I remember that thing! It was Chen Ping'an's, and I..."
The woman immediately slapped him across the face with a furious expression. "Shush!"
The old man wasn't surprised by this at all, and he said in an indifferent voice, "We cultivate for the sake of immortality, which is already an endeavor that goes against the natural order, so fighting over resources and opportunities to aid us on that path is nothing to be frowned upon. There's no need to be so nervous. What rightfully belongs to your son will come to him no matter what, and what doesn't belong to that young boy will ultimately not fall in his possession."
Gu Can weighed less than 40 kilograms, but his aptitude was incredibly heavy.
The old man had gone out of his way earlier to perform a secret technique that had been passed down for generations, one that allowed him to gauge the weight of the cultivation aptitude in others. The fact that he was unable to lift up Gu Can while using this secret technique was a testament to the boy's exceptional aptitude, and that was why he was going to accept the boy as his disciple.
Otherwise, a child of his age with such a prized entity in his possession would be bringing nothing but disaster upon himself.
A carefree smile appeared on the old man's face, but his eyes were as cold as ice as he said, "Of course, even if it did originally belong to that boy, what does it matter? Now that I'm here, it no longer belongs to him."
Gu Can's teeth began to chatter, and he was suddenly feeling very cold.
In contrast, the woman was looking very relieved.
The old man put on a kind and benevolent expression once again as he said, "My child, this bowl contains the water of an entire river, and now, there's a little flood dragon inside it. From this point onward, you will be a direct disciple to me. I am a true lord, and I'm only half a step away from becoming a sect-founding patriarch, albeit only for a lower sect. In the future, you'll come to understand the significance of concepts like true lords and sect founding. I assure you that those concepts hold more weight than the water of the entire river in this bowl."
All of a sudden, Gu Can burst into tears. "This isn't right! That thing belongs to Chen Ping'an!"
The woman became even more furious, and she raised her hand to discipline her foolish child again, but the old man waved a hand to stop her.
He smiled as he said in a nonchalant manner, "It's not necessarily a bad thing that he has such a kind heart."
Gu Can lowered his head and used the back of his hand to wipe at his tears and snot, while the woman turned to the old man in silence.
The old man nodded as he gave her a meaningful smile, and both of them understood one another, so there was no need for further words.
Upon raising his head, Gu Can discovered that his mother and this master of his that had suddenly popped up out of nowhere both had faint smiles on their faces.
Gu Can turned around to find that Chen Ping'an had closed the gate of the yard upon his departure.
The town was like a plot of farmland during the harvest season, but some people were like weeds that were interspersed throughout the crops, with no one paying them any attention. The lonesome straw-sandalled young boy making his way through Clay Vase Alley was precisely one of those people.