Stinky Tofu

“Cousin, what are you saying? Can you tell what kind of person Zhu Erdan is?”
Chen Yuanwen patted Li Xintian’s shoulder as he spoke.
“It’s nothing, let’s go. Why don’t we take a look inside the Temple of the Ten Kings first?”
Li Xintian forced a laugh.
“Wait a moment.”
Li Xintian tugged at Chen Yuanwen, having just spotted a gentle and beautiful woman walking past Zhu Erdan. The moment Zhu Erdan saw her, his gloomy, troubled expression immediately shifted to one of infatuation; he followed the beautiful woman into the temple, tiptoeing behind her.
“Is Zhu Erdan not the least bit afraid of his ferocious wife?”
“Cousin, let’s go inside and have a look.”
Chen Yuanwen had noticed the scene and was now curious as well.
Li Xintian nodded and followed behind.
Inside, Zhu Erdan saw the beautiful woman already lighting incense and kneeling on a prayer mat, worshipping the King of the Underworld. He was immediately captivated by the sight of her graceful figure, making no effort to conceal his lecherous expression as he hastily knelt on the empty mat beside her.
Though his hands were joined in prayer, his eyes never left her; he paid the statue of the King of the Underworld no mind.
Sensing his gaze, the beautiful woman glanced at him.
Zhu Erdan grinned at her, which only increased her unease. She quickly rose to her feet.
Still on his knees, Zhu Erdan bent low, trying to catch another glimpse of her.
As she walked away, her silver bracelet slipped to the ground.
Zhu Erdan stood, reached out with his finger, and tapped her shoulder just as she was about to set her incense into the burner.
Startled, the beautiful woman turned.
Zhu Erdan said nothing, still grinning foolishly, and pointed directly at her chest.
She looked down, covered her chest in fright, and fled in panic.
“Miss! Miss!”
Zhu Erdan called after her, but seeing she had left while her silver bracelet remained, he smiled, nudged the bracelet under the altar with his foot, then knelt down to worship the King of the Underworld. All the while, he reached under the altar, trying to retrieve the bracelet, but could not find it.
Flustered, he abandoned the pretense of worship and reached further in, still to no avail.
Just then, the temple keeper called out to Zhu Erdan, telling him to take care of his own mess. Zhu Erdan had no choice but to leave the bracelet for the time being.
At that moment, Lu Pan and Sima Yuankun both appeared before the statue.
“I’m telling you, that man is truly disgusting—greedy for petty gains and stupid besides. He ought to be reborn as a pig.”
Lu Pan remarked as Sima Yuankun appeared.
“Let’s go, Li Xintian is here too.”
Sima Yuankun, spotting Li Xintian, departed.
Lu Pan nodded and left as well.
“Who’d have thought Lu Pan felt the same way as I do,” Li Xintian mused silently as he nodded to both men.
“This Zhu Erdan is truly despicable, even coveting a young lady’s belongings. What a disgrace for a supposed scholar.”
Chen Yuanwen had not expected Zhu Erdan to stoop so low and assumed he had already taken the bracelet.
“Well, we’ve seen enough. Let’s go wander the main street.”
Li Xintian glanced at the statues, each with a fierce and menacing face.
“Fine. After seeing Zhu Erdan, I’ve lost the mood to linger.”
Chen Yuanwen agreed.

On the main street—
“Stinky tofu! Fragrant and pungent!”
Ke Shaorong called out as she sold her stinky tofu.
Wang Dahai, passing by, caught a whiff and wrinkled his nose in disgust before entering Zhiren Hall.
“Xiao Yang.”
Wang Dahai called out as he saw Bai Yang arranging medicinal herbs. Bai Yang, spotting Li Xintian and Chen Yuanwen leaving, thought it best not to linger—after all, the pharmacy was about to open, so he returned inside.
“Uncle.”
Bai Yang responded as he looked up and saw Wang Dahai.
“The pharmacy’s opening, so I came to see if I could help with anything.”
Wang Dahai said immediately.
“There’s nothing I can’t manage myself, Uncle. Please, have a seat.”
Bai Yang moved his own chair over for him.
“How’s business today?”
Wang Dahai asked as he sat down.
Bai Yang dared not admit he had just attended a gathering and had only recently opened the shop.
“I see—the stinky tofu vendor outside must be scaring away all the business. I’d better have a word with her.”
Noticing Bai Yang’s silence, Wang Dahai stood, intending to confront Ke Shaorong.
“Uncle, let it go. We’re all trying to make a living—it’s not easy for anyone.”
Bai Yang hurriedly stopped him.
“Yes, it’s not easy for any of us.”
“Look how filthy it is over there—you’ve been scrubbing forever and still can’t get it clean. Let me dump out the water for you.”
Wang Dahai nodded, spotted some filth, and—while Bai Yang was distracted—took away the basin of water.
“Uncle!”
Bai Yang, seeing him do so, felt a sense of foreboding.
Wang Dahai, holding the basin, angrily flung the water, splashing it onto Ke Shaorong’s feet.
Startled, Ke Shaorong leapt up from her tofu stand with a yelp.
“Are you blind? Are you looking for trouble?”
Ke Shaorong’s temper flared as she jabbed her finger at Wang Dahai, drawing a crowd.
“Come over here!”
Wang Dahai was equally hot-tempered.
“Uncle, let it go. I’m sorry!”
Bai Yang rushed forward, pulling Wang Dahai back and apologizing to Ke Shaorong.
“Your stall is blocking our entrance, yet you’re the one hurling insults. Shameless.”
Wang Dahai advanced, pointing at her.
“You say I’m shameless? You’re the ones who sold fake medicine and killed people. Now you want to reopen and harm more people? Shameless!”
Her words ignited her own fury further.
“My father was wrongly accused! He’ll soon be cleared. The Bai family has practiced medicine for generations, saving lives. As a descendant of the Bai family, I would never sell fake medicine. I ask the townsfolk to give me a chance—I will prove myself.”
Bai Yang stepped up to defend himself.

“What’s happening up ahead? There’s quite a crowd,”
Li Xintian remarked, noticing the commotion.
“Let’s go see! It might be an acrobatics show.”
Chen Yuanwen hurried ahead, only to find Bai Yang and Ke Shaorong in a heated quarrel.
“Wife, enough. Let’s just move our stall.”
Zhu Erdan squeezed through the crowd to Ke Shaorong’s side, trying to placate her.
“Fine, just for your sake, I’ll let it go.”
Ke Shaorong pointed first at Bai Yang, then at Wang Dahai as she spoke.
“Alright, for your sake, I’ll let it go too.”
Wang Dahai, unwilling to be outdone, pointed back at Zhu Erdan and then at Ke Shaorong.
With a cold snort, Ke Shaorong pulled Zhu Erdan away.
Wang Dahai also left Zhiren Hall.
The crowd quickly dispersed.
“Brother Bai, how did you end up quarreling with such a fierce woman?”
Chen Yuanwen, who had seen Ke Shaorong’s martial prowess, was surprised.
“Best not to ask, Brother Chen.”
Bai Yang replied helplessly, unwilling to embarrass his uncle.
“Brother Zhi Xian, Brother Chen, why don’t you come inside and sit for a while?”
Bai Yang invited them in.
“Look over there.”
Li Xintian’s sharp eyes spotted Ren Yuanwu, Bai Yang’s fiancée Zhang Xiaoman, Zhang’s mother, and Xiaoman’s maid not far away.
“Yuanwu, you’re being too generous.”
Madam Zhang said as she walked between them.
“Aunt, it’s nothing. My parents merely asked me to bring some gifts for you and Xiaoman. As long as you like them, that’s all that matters.”
Ren Yuanwu replied politely.
“Xiaoman, hurry and thank your cousin.”
Madam Zhang urged her absent-minded daughter.
“Thank you, cousin,”
Zhang Xiaoman came to her senses and bowed slightly.
“Don’t mention it. Aunt, Xiaoman, you must be tired from walking. Why don’t you rest here while I call for the sedan bearers?”
Ren Yuanwu said ingratiatingly.
“Very good, very good,”
Madam Zhang beamed.
“Mother, I want to greet Bai Yang at Zhiren Hall across the street.”
Zhang Xiaoman had spotted Bai Yang.
“Their family is still burdened with the stigma of selling fake medicine and causing deaths. Aren’t you afraid of bringing bad luck upon yourself? If you’re not, I am!”
“But I—”
“No, you are not going.”
Madam Zhang took out her purse and began fiddling with her jewelry.
Nearby, two ruffians—a burly man and a youth—eyed her valuables greedily.
Just then, a ragged, unkempt Taoist priest with a yellow cloth-wrapped sword slung on his back wandered past, scattering the nearby crowd.
“Smells delicious,”
the priest commented as he approached Ke Shaorong’s stinky tofu stand, sending her customers fleeing.
“You stink!”
Zhu Erdan pinched his nose and accused the priest.
“Yes! You reek even more than my tofu! You’re driving away all my customers!”
Ke Shaorong also pinched her nose in disgust.
“Haha, that just means your stinky tofu isn’t strong enough to cover up my own aroma.”
The priest laughed heartily.
“Nonsense! My Zhu-Ke family tofu is famous far and wide. Take one bite and you’ll come running back from miles away.”
Ke Shaorong retorted spiritedly, with Zhu Erdan chiming in—then both pinched their noses again.
“Haha, a flower vendor praising her own flowers. Here, let me scrape a bit of my Supreme Fragrant Paste from myself and give it to you to ferment your tofu. I guarantee the smell will travel for miles.”
The priest began to rummage inside his robes.
“No, thank you! I don’t want anything, just take this and go!”
Ke Shaorong hurriedly handed him a plate of fried tofu to send him on his way.
“Thank you,”
the priest replied cheerfully.
“Let me tell you—”
He circled around the stall and approached Ke Shaorong.
“No, don’t come closer, just go! It’s free!”
Ke Shaorong, terrified, used her long chopsticks to prod him away.
“Thank you, thank you,”
the priest said, settling down at the table to eat.
“Good heavens, the stench is overwhelming!”
Ke Shaorong fanned the air, desperate for fresh air.
“Now!”
The burly ruffian nodded to his companion, watched for a clear escape route, and approached Madam Zhang.
Once close, he snatched her purse and bolted.
“Robbery! Someone’s stolen my money!”
Madam Zhang and Zhang Xiaoman shouted.
The ruffian turned, only to find Ren Yuanwu blocking his path.
Ren Yuanwu placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Return the money to us!”
Zhang Xiaoman seized the ruffian’s shoulder.
He pushed her into Ren Yuanwu, then changed direction and ran toward Li Xintian.
“Xiaoman!”
Ren Yuanwu caught her.

“Yuanwu, hurry, he’s taken my money and jewelry!”
Madam Zhang rushed forward.
Ren Yuanwu immediately gave chase.
“Stop! Don’t run!”
he shouted as he pursued.
“Don’t go—your cousin will handle it.”
Madam Zhang pulled Zhang Xiaoman back.
Seeing the ruffian ignore him, Ren Yuanwu used his martial skills, spinning the man around before leaping to the ground.
The ruffian, dizzy, grabbed a pot of boiling oil from Ke Shaorong’s stand and flung it at her.
Ren Yuanwu whisked Ke Shaorong away, but the priest, caught off guard, shielded himself with his hands and cried out in pain.
The ruffian kept running.
Ren Yuanwu pursued, but as the ruffian realized escape was impossible, he called for his accomplice.
The accomplice pushed a cart at Ren Yuanwu, who nimbly flipped over it, kicking the man to the ground.
“General Ren, what’s happened here?”
The constables arrived and recognized him.
“These ruffians robbed someone in broad daylight. Arrest them and take them to the yamen for immediate punishment.”
Ren Yuanwu ordered.
The burly ruffian, hiding in a nearby alley, weighed the purse in his hand. Suddenly, a hand snatched it away, and he felt a pressure on his shoulder.
“Will you go yourself, or shall I take you?”
Li Xintian subdued the ruffian.
“Friend, just say you want a cut—we can share.”
The ruffian thought he was being robbed by another criminal, but his eyes darted nervously.
“Please, hero, spare me, I’ll go myself!”
Li Xintian, seeing through his dishonesty, dislocated the man’s arm, causing him to break out in cold sweat from the pain.
“General Ren, how did you almost let the real thief get away? I thought you could handle this, but it was a mess.”
Li Xintian tossed the purse back and shoved the ruffian toward him.
Madam Zhang hurried forward to reclaim her purse, counting the contents without so much as a thank you.
“Madam, best not to show your wealth in public. Luck won’t always be on your side.”
Li Xintian admonished her as she counted her money in the street.
She ignored him.
Li Xintian could only sigh inwardly at her ingratitude.
“Thank you, Young Master Li.”
Zhang Xiaoman gave him a slight bow.
“Take him away as well—punish him severely.”
Ren Yuanwu called for the constables to haul the ruffian away.
“Good thing I dodged quickly or that boiling oil would have burned me.”
Zhu Erdan emerged from under the stall.
“Lucky the pot’s not damaged, or I’d have to pay for it.”
Ke Shaorong inspected the pot with relief.
“It’s scalded me!”
the priest waved his hands in pain.
“No need to thank me—I won’t stay any longer.”
Li Xintian replied.
“How’s your burn, Priest?”
Li Xintian took his hand, noticing a chilling coldness.
“My foot hurts.”
the priest said.
“Impossible—the oil never touched your foot. Why are you complaining?”
Chen Yuanwen remarked skeptically.
“I’ve just been walking too much—can’t my feet hurt?”
the priest retorted.
“Enough talk, come inside and put some medicine on it.”
Bai Yang helped him up.
After applying the medicine, the priest stopped complaining.
“Your medicine’s not bad at all.”
he said, then seemed to catch a whiff of food.
“I’m hungry—mind if I have one of these?”
He picked up a sesame cake from the table.
“Go ahead, help yourself.”
Bai Yang replied.
“I’ll take my leave then—thank you, scholar.”
The priest left, munching on the cake.
“Priest, here’s a bottle of medicine for your wounds these next few days.”
Bai Yang handed him a small vial.
“Thank you. Farewell—may we meet again.”
The priest looked back at Li Xintian with a smile and left.
“That priest really knows how to scam a meal.”
Chen Yuanwen commented after he left.
“Cousin, mind your words. I think there’s more to that priest than meets the eye.”
Li Xintian, recalling the chilling coldness when he touched the priest, knew the boiling oil couldn’t have harmed him and the complaint about his foot was a lie. The priest’s motives remained unclear.
“Well said, Brother Zhi Xian. Never judge by appearances.”
“I agree,”
Bai Yang said. Just then, he saw Zhang Xiaoman getting into her sedan chair and called out, but she was already inside and the porters carried her away.
“Brother Bai, if you really marry Zhang Xiaoman, you’re in for it with a mother-in-law like that.”
Chen Yuanwen remarked as the sedan chair disappeared from view.