Ranran was somewhat surprised. When she was about to push the door open to enter, Su Yishui pulled the back of her collar and made her stand behind him.
After Su Yishui pushed the door open, Ranran tiptoed to look over her Shifu's shoulder and saw that it was the disciples of the Kongshan Sect sitting in her yard.
Because Wen Hongshan, the woman with the scar on her face, was also startled when she saw Su Yishui pushing the door open.
Since Su Yishui was wearing a mask, she naturally couldn't recognize him at first. But when she saw Yu Chen and Yu Tong next to him and took a closer look at his figure, she recognized him.
Wen Hongshan's voice trembled slightly as she softly said, "Yishui, you've finally come."
At this moment, Ranran stood next to her teacher, looking at the Kongshan Sect disciples filling the courtyard, she thought that since Master Wen almost became her Shifu's wife, she decided to ease up on her questioning tone.
She stole a glance at her Shifu beside her, to see if he wanted to catch up with Master Wen.
However, her Shifu, wearing a mask, looked indifferent, as if he didn't want to take the initiative to greet her.
Instead, Wen Hongshan couldn't hide an uncontrollable look of joy on her face and said, "How did you know I was here? What do you want with me…"
Just then, Grandmother Huang, the neighbor next door, came over enthusiastically, grabbing Ranran and saying, "Oh, Ranran, how come you're back? Where are your parents?"
Ranran politely greeted Grandmother Huang and explained that she had come back alone. She then asked, "Grandmother Huang, may I know why are there are people in my house?"
At this, Grandmother Huang looked a bit embarrassed, but thinking that Ranran was young and easy to fool, she smiled and said, "Recently, many people have come to rent houses, offering a lot of gold and silver. I thought it was a pity that your house was empty, so I rented it out for you. I'll give the rent to your mother when I see her… Miss Wen doesn't like being disturbed by outsiders. Are you going to stay for a few days? My empty house is also rented out… How about staying with me?"
Although Ranran was young, she was very clever and observant. She understood right away – Wen Hongshan had rented the house at a high price, and with no more houses to rent, Grandmother Huang had set her sights on their yard, opened the lock without permission and rented the house to the Kongshan Sect.
Realizing this, Ranran's tone became less polite. She smiled and asked Grandmother Huang, "When my mother left, I don't think she asked you to help take care of the house and rent it out. And how did you open the door without the key since the lock is so big?"
Grandmother Huang was at a loss for words and couldn't think of a reply. Yu Chen, who had once received a bucket of slop from this old woman, was not very polite either and said, "Breaking into someone's house is a violation of the law. I don't think it's as simple as just returning the rent."
At this moment, Su Yishui, who had been silent, spoke up: "Miss Wen, the homeowner is back. Please move out with your people."
Wen Hongshan had been listening to the situation from the side and realized that Grandmotehr Huang had rented out someone else's house without permission. If that was the case, it could be easily resolved, perhaps just by paying double the original rent as compensation.
But she never expected that the young girl who is the homeowner had not yet spoken, but Su Yishui would be the first to ask them to leave.
Wen Hongshan realized that she had been mistaken. Su Yishui had not come to find her at all.
Her heart that was burning with hope, was doused with cold water. Wen Hongshan bit her lower lip and then turned to Ranran, saying, "I'm really sorry, young lady. Since we've already moved in, it's really not convenient to move again. How about this? I'll double the original rent as compensation."
Ranran felt it was not appropriate for her to interfere in her Shifu's old romantic affairs, so she decided to pass the hot potato to her teacher.
She replied obediently, "I don't mind, but my Shifu doesn't have a place to stay now either. As his disciple, I should offer my own house for my teacher, uncles, and brothers to stay in… Otherwise, you can ask my Shifu if he is willing to share the courtyard with you."
Misunderstandings and quarrels between lovers are common. Ranran had often seen scenes of young men and women bickering in the village when she used to peek over walls.
If there were misunderstandings, it would be good to clear them up. As a disciple, she naturally wanted to help her Shifu bridge the gap, hoping to reunite the once-lovers and create a beautiful story of an immortal couple.
The path was laid out, just waiting for her Shifu to nod and take the easy way out.
Unexpectedly, when Wen Hongshan looked at her Shifu with hope, the man wearing the mask coldly said, "Yu Chen, see the guests out!"
Yu Chen has always obeyed his master, so he waved his hands at the Kongshan Sect disciples in the courtyard, saying, "Please move, go and get the rent from that old woman who broke into the house!"
Ranran sneaked a glance at Wen Hongshan, only to see her very pale, looking utterly disappointed as she muttered, "Yishui, you still refuse to forgive me? I… didn't mean to deceive you back then…"
Su Yishui didn't say anything else, clearly unwilling to say another word.
At this moment, the disciples of the Kongshan Sect behind her started to make a fuss, "We were here first, why should we give up the house to you!"
But Wen Hongshan said, "Shut up, all of you, follow me out!"
After regaining some dignity as the Elder of the Kongshan Sect, she led her disciples away with a grim face, one of whom dragged Grandmother Huang by the collar to her house to demand their rent back.
Ranran didn't bother with Grandmother Huang, who was complaining about the lack of respect from the neighbors. After securing the main door, she went straight to her own room.
Perhaps the disciples of the Kongshan Sect thought they had paid for the place and treated it like an inn, leaving it in a mess without bothering to clean up.
She had always been tidy since she was young and didn't like to share bedding with others. But now that her bedding had been used by others, she had no choice but to take apart the quilt covers and sheets for washing to avoid any lingering odors.
Su Yishui sat in a wicker chair in the courtyard, watching his little disciple in an apron with her sleeves tied up bustling about. One moment she was sweeping the floor, sprinkling water, and later bundling up a pile of sheets to be washed.
But the thin arms that had just gained a bit of flesh struggled with the laundry bat in the big basin, washing the sheets.
Earlier, Su Yishui had sent Yu Chen and Yu Tong to the foot of Jue Mountain to gather information, while Gao Cang and the others cleaned the house where Shifu was going to stay.
Their Shifu and the little junior sister seemed to share the same habit of not being comfortable living in a place with traces of others and needing a thorough cleaning.
After watching his little disciple struggle with the laundry for a while, Su Yishui casually asked, "If you wash all the sheets and quilt covers, what will you use tonight?"
Ranran looked up and wiped her sweat, saying, "My mother gave me a thick jacket, I'll use it as a cover to sleep tonight."
She paused and asked her Shifu, "I've washed all the sheets in the two rooms, do you have anything to cover with tonight?"
Although her Shifu didn't seem to sleep much while in Yongcheng's Xishan, he must want to rest well with the big battle imminent.
Thinking that her Shifu didn't have any warm clothes, she quickly got up and went back to her room, took out her little flower jacket and handed it to Su Yishui, "How about, you can cover with this tonight. I'm young and resistant to the cold, sleeping in my clothes is fine."
Faced with his disciple's filial piety, Su Yishui was not appreciative. He looked at the rustic pink jacket and said flatly, "Are you saying that I'm very old?"
Um… How to answer without offending the teacher-student relationship?
If calculated by the age of ordinary mortals, her Shifu should be in his late thirties, right?
For cultivators, surpassing the life and death of mortals, being in their thirties and forties is just the beginning of their journey, so they can be considered youthful.
Moreover, her Shifu has the technique of maintaining his appearance. Pretending to be an eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth is no problem at all. It is true that he can hardly be associated with the elderly.
Ranran has always been likable since she was young, with a good affinity for elders, but she found that she couldn't please her Shifu no matter what. Her Shifu seemed always be quick to find faults in her words.
Just as Ranran was thinking about how to compliment her Shifu's handsome youthful appearance without violating the first rule of the sect, he instead stood up and said, "Let's go, let's go to the nearby market to buy some quilts."
Qiu Xier was overjoyed to hear about going to the market, so the little disciples quickly got ready and followed Su Yishui out.
The market in town sells local specialties from nearby villages, but even the somewhat mediocre goods couldn't stop the joy of shopping.
The youngsters like Gao Cang, Qiu Xier all bought various snacks and drinks. Ranran, as the big spender with three taels of silver, was somewhat reluctant to part with her money, spending most of her time watching others eat.
Su Yishui stopped in front of a ready-made clothing store and said to Ranran, who was following him in a pink floral jacket, "Let the tailor take your measurements and make a new dress for you."
Ranran felt that her teacher was giving her a surprise test again, to see if she was extravagant and wasteful. She immediately smoothly replied, "Shifu, I have enough clothes. There's no need for new ones."
Behind the mask, a pair of critical eyes scrutinized the pink, rustic-looking girl in front of him. Su Yishui calmly said, "Change to something plain. It's too garish for the eyes…"
Being repulsed by her Shifu, Ranran had no choice but to remain silent. But she thought her clothes were very pretty, specially made for her with the floral fabric picked by her mother!
However, young girls naturally like colorful clothes. Seeing Ranran getting lost in the pile of colorful fabrics, Su Yishui seemed unable to bear it any longer and personally stepped in to pick out some fabric for his disciple.
He rejected those gaudy rural colors and chose a piece of moon-white fabric. He also steered clear of the tailor's eagerly offered dress designs, directly drew the style of the long robes he wanted, and instructed the tailor to make it accordingly.
Of course, as a teacher, he treated everyone equally. Gao Cang, Bai Baishan, and Qiu Xier also each had a garment made in the same style.
Because Su Yishui was very generous, the tailor turned a blind eye to his strange mask, smiling broadly and assuring that he would find more seamstresses so that the clothes could be delivered to their village abode by the afternoon of the next day for the brilliant disciples.
In addition to clothes, there were also small items like hairpins for the girls, all personally selected by Su Yishui. However, the prices of these items left them speechless.
According to the shopkeeper, these were precious items brought in from the capital, but because the place was small and no one recognized their value, they had not been sold.
Ranran silently watched her Shifu spend money like water, feeling that the rules of the former Lingxi Palace had a successor. Although her Shifu did not voice out his particular nature, he truly inherited the extravagant style of the female demon.
When he became fastidious, everything about clothing, food, accommodation and travel had to be of high quality. It was said by the second uncle master in a vague manner that he was the son of a Prince, raised in luxury and wealth, so it was no wonder that when he did become particular, he wouldn't settle for anything less.