The Heart of an Elderly Person is Full of Pity

“Master, you truly possess divine foresight. That brat Wugou has secretly slipped out!”

Zhu Youji had just returned from outside and offered a respectful bow to Zhu Manzhi.

Zhu Manzhi smiled faintly. “Heh, Ning Jing already warned me that this boy is usually incredibly unruly and mischievous. I’ve disciplined him in the Skill Transmission Pavilion for a full month; if I didn’t let him vent some energy, he’d probably just wreak havoc in the Qi Refining Hall. This is how some younger, playful disciples behave, and my long tenure in the Skill Transmission Pavilion has given me some experience.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youji couldn’t help but chuckle. “Master, the playful disciple you’re referring to… could it be Senior Sister Ning Jing?”

Zhu Manzhi huffed, his beard fluttering as he chastised, “You know it, yet you still speak of it…”

It was now deep into the night, and utter silence reigned.

Only at this hour could the sound of waves from beyond the island be clearly heard from within.

Throughout the Saint Water Palace, only the Five Elements Pavilion and the Alchemy Pavilion remained brightly lit.

Those who researched formations and refined pills often lost all sense of time.

Disciples on night patrol occasionally flew overhead on their spirit swords.

“A-miao, squat lower. The wall here is quite short; don’t let us be discovered.” Wugou, sprawled on A-miao’s back, continuously issued commands.

Hearing Wugou’s instructions, A-miao immediately squatted down.

The boy and the tiger displayed perfect understanding.

Meanwhile, A-wu stood on Wugou’s head, constantly scanning their surroundings.

Its eyes were large.

Wugou believed A-wu’s eyesight was the best, so he appointed it as the “lookout.”

To be safe, Wugou had even made A-wu wear a small black cap.

It served to cover its long ears.

Wugou, too, had changed into a full set of black fitted attire.

These clothes belonged to his stepmother, Miaomiao, and were a “defective product” Luo Bingyan had made when she first started learning needlework.

The size was grossly ill-fitting for Miaomiao.

However, as it was Luo Bingyan’s initial “finished product,” Miaomiao had never brought herself to throw it away.

Wugou was now nearly as tall as Miaomiao.

Yet, without the ‘hindrance’ of a developed chest, the black fitted attire fit him perfectly.

Wugou had long since considered the purpose of this “night-raiding attire” and had specifically requested it before coming to the Skill Transmission Pavilion.

Wugou glanced around; the courtyard walls towered above them.

He wasn’t very familiar with the vicinity, but at least the general direction was correct.

“A-wu, maintain vigilance!” Wugou ordered.

“Okay!” A-wu nodded obediently, increasing the frequency of its scans.

Reaching the courtyard wall, Wugou patted A-miao’s back and pointed towards the wall ahead. “Fly over from here!”

Upon hearing this, A-miao bent its legs and leaped without hesitation, spiritual energy flaring as it swiftly took flight.

“Thump!”

A-miao’s paw pads were thick, so its landing made almost no sound.

“Excellent. The Dijie Quarter is just two streets away from here, we…”

Before Wugou could finish, he felt A-wu gently tugged his hair on his head, and A-miao restlessly shifted its weight.

Wugou naturally understood what this meant; it was their pre-arranged code.

‘Not good! Someone’s here!’

Wugou thought to himself, then turned his head, but saw no one.

“B-below…” A-wu whispered, its voice trembling.

Wugou looked down.

“Uh…”

The patrol disciple, pinned beneath them, felt helpless.

Just moments ago, Junior Uncle Zhu Youji had greeted them, telling them to relax.

If they saw a child running out, they were to feign ignorance.

He had been quite happy, considering it a once-in-a-century stroke of good fortune to be ordered to slack off.

Since he was meant to feign blindness anyway, he thought it better to simply leave his post.

This way, he wouldn’t be caught by a child, nor would a child be caught by him, avoiding an awkward encounter.

Little did he know, while happily drinking in his hidden spot, a heavy object suddenly descended from above.

It landed squarely upon him, pinning him to the ground.

Just before it landed, he had heard a child’s voice.

He deduced this must be the child Junior Uncle Zhu had mentioned.

He decided to just lie there and feign drunkenness.

Thankfully, not a single drop of wine had spilled from the flask in his hand.

“Huh, no movement?”

Wugou had been waiting to be apprehended by the patrol disciple and taken to the Enforcement Hall.

After waiting for a while, there was still no sound.

A-wu, with its keen nose, delightedly exclaimed, “Wugou, I smell wine!”

Wugou glanced at the ground.

Indeed, there was a wine flask!

‘What luck!’

“A-miao, let’s go~”

“Roar~” A-miao, startled earlier, was now safe and sound, and quite happy. It stood up, ready to depart.

“Hey, A-miao, wait a moment.”

Wugou bent down to pick up the wine flask. “Let’s take this flask with us. If the Enforcement Hall sees this fellow drinking while on patrol, he’ll surely get a severe reprimand.”

Upon hearing this, the patrol disciple on the ground initially felt a warmth in his heart, surprised by the child’s kindness. But then, a thought struck him: ‘Didn’t my wine just disappear? This was “Immortal Nectar,” half a month’s salary!’

“Let’s go, let’s go,” Wugou instructed.

“Roar~” A-miao responded, but then felt something trip its hind leg.

Looking down, it saw the seemingly unconscious patrol disciple’s hand firmly gripping one of its legs.

A-miao felt uncomfortable and kicked a few times with force.

It couldn’t break free!

It tried running forward a few steps with all its might.

Surprisingly, dragging the disciple for several meters proved useless.

Helpless, it nudged its head, signaling Wugou for help.

‘Good heavens, this drunkard is quite tenacious!’

Wugou also tried to pry the patrol disciple’s hand open.

Alas, he failed.

Scratching his head, he tried taking out a wine flask from his Qiankun pouch and placing it nearby.

To his surprise, the patrol disciple instantly snatched the flask away.

“Wow~ impressive, truly impressive.”

Wugou couldn’t help but admire the patrol disciple’s tenacity.

“Keep the flask then. A-miao, let’s hurry!” With that, he climbed onto the tiger’s back.

In a flash, the boy, the tiger, and the fox vanished down the street.

“Phew—good heavens, that brat finally left! It was quite a struggle to keep up the pretense.”

The patrol disciple slowly stood up, brushed the dust from his robes, picked up the flask, and tilted his head back for a drink.

“Huh?”

He waited for a long moment, then shook the flask, but not a single drop emerged.

Only then did he look closely!

This wasn’t his wine flask at all!

“Ah, my Immortal Nectar! You stinking brat, don’t let me catch you again!”

Cultivators revered the practice of “no food after noon.”

Thus, the Dijie Quarter’s cafeteria had closed just as the sun began to set.

Xing Wuji had been the head chef of the cafeteria for over twenty years, and was now nearly sixty.

Counting back from him, five generations of his family had served as chefs for the Saint Water Palace.

In his generation, not only had he become the head chef, but his own children were also remarkable.

His son had loved cooking since childhood, showing considerable talent, and was naturally destined to inherit their ancestral culinary skills.

His daughter, moreover, had been discovered by an elder of the Skill Transmission Pavilion to possess a spiritual root.

Although it was merely a low-grade, mid-tier wood-attribute spiritual root, at least their Xing family had now stepped into the Immortal Sect.

Furthermore, it was the Saint Water Palace, the foremost immortal cultivation sect in the world.

Such a feat brought immense prestige.

As for Xing Wuji himself, his name had been given to him by an elder of the Saint Water Palace, and it certainly sounded brimming with immortal charm.

The Xing family had received so many favors from the Saint Water Palace.

Xing Wuji constantly strove to hone his culinary skills, aiming to ensure that every disciple in the Saint Water Palace could enjoy the most delicious food.

This was his way of repaying his gratitude, and his lifelong aspiration.

He loved living in the cafeteria; just inhaling its scent helped him sleep more soundly.

It was now three quarters past midnight.

Xing Wuji was still awake; two years ago, he would have been fast asleep by now.

Everything had changed since Wugou started sneaking food from the cafeteria.

That boy would come at noon, in the evening, and occasionally even in the dead of night.

There was no fixed time, making it impossible to anticipate his movements.

From that point on, Xing Wuji began to suffer from insomnia.

Although Elder Li Jiuzhao, after investigating the matter, had never blamed him, his family’s traditions and his own sense of responsibility left him deeply unsettled.

Moreover, if it were only food stolen from the cafeteria, it might have been acceptable.

But a month ago, that child named Wugou had actually criticized his culinary skills—skills he had always been immensely proud of—in front of thousands of Saint Water Palace disciples, and almost all of the flaws he pointed out were accurate.

This had severely worsened his insomnia.

Fortunately, a month ago, Elder Li Jiuzhao had argued vehemently at the Assembly Hall.

He successfully secured a more substantial budget for the Dijie Quarter.

Xing Wuji used this money to purchase some spirit stones.

He also entrusted Elder Liu of the Five Elements Pavilion to set up a containment formation.

Although Elder Liu had mentioned the enormous spiritual stone consumption required for the grand formation, and knowing it was specifically for Wugou, he naturally dared not set its power too high.

Elder Liu had assured him that no disciple of the Five Elements Pavilion, unless truly proficient in formations, could possibly break through it.

This had finally given Xing Wuji a sense of ease.

As long as it could keep that brat Wugou out, the budget would be worth every coin!

Not long ago, he heard that Wugou had entered the Skill Transmission Pavilion.

Xing Wuji had been ecstatic.

Indeed, with Wugou under restraint, he had been disciplined for a full month.

He wondered who had come up with such an ingenious idea, and truly wished to thank them in person.

Thinking of this, Xing Wuji felt a slight sense of relief. He reached out to stroke his spiritual beast, Caihua, who was already fast asleep beside him.

Caihua was a feline demon beast with green and white stripes across its body.

It was named a “Nekomata.”

When Xing Wuji heard its name, he thought it might assist in catching mice.

Seeing its beautiful fur color and modest price, he bought it from the market.

Only later did he hear from a disciple of the Spirit Beast Hall that this little creature was quite discerning and wouldn’t eat mice.

Nevertheless, since he had already bought it, and being a chef himself, he resolved to keep it.

After a while longer, a wave of drowsiness finally washed over him.

Xing Wuji was just about to lie down.

“Clang!”

Hearing that sound, Xing Wuji instinctively shot upright once more.

His eyes darted about.

‘Not good!’