Vows of Immortals

Chapter Four

 Mu Qing has no idea what's he's doing.

He must be stupid.

Yes, quite stupid.

Clearly, too stupid that he can't even comprehend what thought process had led him here. He's always been a logical person, never doing things on his whim and fancy. But apparently, this time, his brain must have malfunctioned or something, which is why he found himself standing in this sorry excuse of a shed, cooking for fifteen different rascals. (Although he addresses them as rascals, he really does adore these children and their cute little faces.)

He has no idea what had led him here. At least, he has a vague idea. Ling Wen had told the gods in a meeting that there were several children going missing in a village in the Southwest, and that the junior officials had not found them even after searching for a month, so she needed a fellow god (preferably Mu Qing) to head down to help.

Mu Qing had found the children in the forest several li behind the village. He still remembered, they were all bundled up in several fancy silk blankets. He thought they must have been from well off families, and had been confused why they would run away on their own. He had found out from them that their parents abused them when they didn't do well in school, and although he couldn't really relate, (even though his Mathematics were quite good, he didn't even go to school as a child), he still found them pitiful, so he took them under his responsibility and built a shrine to keep them there. He cooked for them and provided them with a shelter to rest, and even treated their wounds.

Soon, word spread among the children and more and more children went to his tiny shrine to be cared for. He didn't mind, really. He had always liked children — their innocent minds. They aren't hypocritical. They aren't power-hungry. They don't want to climb the ranks.

A very long time ago, he had once plucked cherries upon a certain mountain, to feed his mother and the street urchins living in his neighbourhood.

He also remembered the stupid disciples that would gather around him, kicking his basket of cherries, letting the cherries scatter across the ground in front of him.

"Hey, servant boy!" They would call. And Mu Qing would keep silent, hanging his head low, afraid of rebutting and being kicked out of the Royal Holy Pavilion.

"Are you mute or death?" One of them would mock, before another rushes a fist towards his face. Mu Qing would land on the ground with a loud thud, gripping his fists tightly, knuckles turning pale white. He would only dare to look down, and keep silent. As much as he couldn't fight back, he wasn't going to apologise to these fools, and beg for their mercy.

It always ends with Mu Qing with a few bruises on his face, maybe a scrap or two on his knee, and his hands bloody. But it also ends with Mu Qing getting the cherries. So Mu Qing always thinks it's worth it.

Mu Qing continued to stare off into his pot of bubbling soup, before realising that he had accidentally poured too much water earlier when he wasn't focusing. Now, the soup was staring back at him with a vengeance, threatening to boil and spill over. Mu Qing frowned, scrunching up his nose. He'd just have to figure out what to do with the extra soup.

He put out the fire underneath the pot, before scooping the soup out into multiple bowls, and placing them on the table behind him. Just then, he heard rapid light taps on the door, and he rushed out to the main room to open it. Outside, stood multiple children, all considerably young, and upon seeing him, they ran inside and hugged him.

He ruffled their hair, and laughed. "So happy to see me, huh?"

"Yes, Gege!" The kids exclaimed, looking up at him with bright eyes, "We missed you!"