A Thought Through Eternity Chapter 12 - On the Wooden Fence

Chapter 12 - On the Wooden Fence
The Outer Sect Promotion Exam held for the handymen was thus over. Zhang Fatso One stared at Hou Xiaomei’s back until she disappeared in the distance towards the mountaintop. He stroked his fat chin with a meaningful look on his face.
“Hm, so white, so little, so pure…” he said as he shot a measuring glance at Bai Xiaochun beside him.
(ED Note: “So white, so little, so pure…” is a reference to MC’s name which directly translates to white, little, pure)
Also staring at Hou Xiaomei’s receding figure, Bai Xiaochun felt a mix of very complicated emotions. Especially when he heard Zhang Fatso One’s words and sensed his gaze, Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but shout loudly.
“Stop looking at me!”
Seeing Bai Xiaochun’s agitation, Zhang Fatso One chortled loudly, before taking out a bag of spirit stones to change the subject.
“Come! Come! Come! See how many spirit stones we’ve got! It’s awesome. Haha, such a brilliant idea.”
“What’s the point in counting them? The number will always be the same, ”Bai Xiaochun snorted.
“Ninth Brother, you don’t understand. What we see are spirit stones but what we are actually counting are our lives.” Surprised by Zhang Fatso One’s sentimental words which contained profound insights on life, Bai Xiaochun followed him in counting the spirit stones. After a while, he felt extremely bored so he threw the bag back to Zhang Fatso One.
Right at this moment, the pathway flashed brightly. Everyone’s vision blurred. When everything became clear again, they were already at the foot of the mountain.
The middle-aged elder, who had previously opened the pathway, shook his head after looking at Bai Xiaochun and the two other fatsos oddly. Ignoring them for the moment, he decided that it was better to ask the main sect to deal with things related to the Burning Stoves Kitchen.
Bai Xiaochun and the two fatsos felt a little bit nervous at first, but nothing happened. All three of them exchanged glances, coughed, and made a beeline for the Burning Stoves Kitchen.
Zhang Fatso One counted the number of spirit stones again and again on the way back to the Burning Stoves Kitchen. All the other fatsos had already returned, each of them looking very happy and satisfied.
After receiving his own share, Bai Xiaochun casually left his Brothers and went into his straw hut. What he pursued was immortality. He wouldn’t have come up with such an idea to gain spirit stones, had it not been for the Life-Prolonging Pill. Everything he had done previously was so that he could afford the herbal medicine.
At night, no one in the Burning Stoves Kitchen slept soundly. Since all of them, especially Zhang Fatso One, had suddenly become so wealthy, they were extremely excited. Recalling their bygone days of poverty, everyone was emotional and couldn’t sleep in anticipation of the bright and beautiful future.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was also sleepless throughout the night, thinking about the Life-Prolonging Pill.
The following day, Burning Stoves Kitchen’s actions traveled swiftly between the handymen on the southern bank of the Spirit River Sect. In the end, everyone found out about it.
“Have you heard? The Burning Stoves Kitchen did something big.”
“They are insane. Heavens, to do something like this! To sell the positions of outer sect disciples! That’s too much. Why didn’t I think about it?”
“I have heard earlier that everyone in the Burning Stoves Kitchen has serious backing. They all have powerful supporters in the main sect. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have such an appalling feast every day.” Everyone in the Handyman Department was gossiping about the Burning Stoves Kitchen throughout the day.
The Burning Stoves Kitchen maintained a low profile for a couple days. All of them hardly went out alone. At dusk a few days later, Bai Xiaochun was pouring rice soup into the huge bowls with thick bottoms. All of a sudden, his ears picked up the echoes of footsteps from the road outside.
“Everyone from the Burning Stoves Kitchen, come out! The Administrative Department has an order to investigate the event concerning the entrance pathway!” a cold voice suddenly called out, as the main gate of the Burning Stoves Kitchen was kicked open.
The gates burst open. Dozens of handymen in Administrative Department uniform swarmed in. The first intruder among them was the heavily-built sturdy guy who had stood up for Xu Baocai.
“I was wondering why I heard the crow caw again this morning. It turns out to be because you, Chen Fei, have come again.” Zhang Fatso One and Bai Xiaochun exchanged glances, feigning ignorance as to why Chen Fei was here. Together with the other fatties, the two of them calmly looked at those from the Administrative Department, who were approaching them aggressively.
Chen Fei sneered, but when he took a closer look at Zhang Fatso One and Bai Xiaochun, he furrowed his brows slightly. It was really strange that these people in the Burning Stoves Kitchen were so calm.
He was rather excited on the way here, thinking that he finally had the upper hand against the Burning Stoves Kitchen. He wanted to destroy the Burning Stoves Kitchen this time and put the longtime fighting between the two departments to an end once and for all.
“They are pretending to be calm.” Chen Fei sneered with slight viciousness in his eyes and threateningly opened his mouth.
“Burning Stoves Kitchen, I have a question for you. Did the nine of you take part in the Promotion Examination which is aimed at recruiting outer sect disciples a few days ago?
“Yes, we did.” Zhang Fatso One said with a smile.
“Good, as long as you admit in taking part. Take them away!” Without any more words, Chen Fei pointed at them with his right hand. More than ten handymen from the Administrative Department swiftly spread out from behind him with iron chains in hand; it seemed that they were going to bind those from the Burning Stoves Kitchen.
Looking at this scene, Bai Xiaochun said with smile.
“Your Administrative Department is really tyrannical to restrain us from being outer sect disciples! You’re really overstepping your jurisdiction!”
Looking at Bai Xiaochun, Chen Fei remembered the scene when he manipulated his sword, so he waved his hand to stop his associates. He stared at Bai Xiaochun and narrowed his eyes.
“Brother Bai, since you prevent us from taking you away, then I have to ask you another question. You, the Burning Stoves Kitchen, blocked the exit of the test and sold the entrance positions to the public, is that right? If you dared to do it, why don’t you dare to admit it?”
“Of course, we admit that we did it.” Bai Xiaochun was quite calm and nodded with an obedient expression. He pointed at Zhang Fatso One and said.
“They did it as well.”
“That’s right, we all did. So…?” Zhang Fatso One and the other fatties all admitted and laughed.
Chen Fei’s expression suddenly changed when he heard their words, he never thought that those fatsos from the Burning Stoves Kitchen would admit it so openly. He had expected that only after a long and difficult battle of wits would the fatsos finally have no choice but to concede.
He felt things were rather suspicious as a foreboding feeling surfaced in his heart. So without further ado, he bellowed in a low voice.
“Great, great, great. Since you admitted it, then there’s no need for anymore questions. Follow me to the Law Enforcement Agency. Whoever dares to resist will be expelled from the sect!”
While talking, Chen Fei leapt up and dashed towards Bai Xiaochun. His associates all sped towards him as well.
At this moment, Bai Xiaochun suddenly raised his right hand. With a curt gesture, a ray of light from a sword shot outwards from his sleeve. The colorful wooden sword flew out immediately. It whooshed past the people of the Burning Stoves Kitchen and Administrative Department. The cold light of the blade frightened Chen Fei, halting his footsteps, an awful expression appeared on his face.
“Bai Xiaochun, you dare oppose us?”
“Brother Chen, your Administrative Department has the right to question us, but who gives you the right to apprehend us？”
“Hn. You have already admitted that you have broken the law of the Sect, so of course I have the right to apprehend you?”
“Could you tell me which law I have broken?” Bai Xiaochun asked him and squinted. Zhang Fatso One and the others also squinted and gazed at Chen Fei with sneers on their faces.
“You sold the positions of becoming outer sect disciples. This means that you have broken the law of…” Chen Fei suddenly stopped talking. His facial expression abruptly changed as cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He realized in shock that there was no such law in the Sect that forbid selling the promotional placements for outer sect disciples to others… After all, it was rare for anyone to think of this method. Even if someone did, they wouldn’t dare to execute it.
“Why are you sweating, Brother Chen? Please tell us exactly which law we’ve broken. If we didn’t break the law, isn’t it Brother Chen who wants to punish us illegally by deceiving the Law Enforcement Agency? Brother Chen, you have broken the law in Volume 9 Article 11. According to the law, you must be punished severely!” Bai Xiaochun revealed an astonished expression and made a detailed analysis with an increasingly loud voice. His inner thoughts were secretly relaxed.
“Bullshit, I…” At this moment, not only had Chen Fei’s face turned white, but all the other handymen from the Administrative Department behind him had also realized the problem. Their faces paled immediately.
Meanwhile, Zhang Fatso One raised his fists and cracked his knuckles in front of his body with a menacing grin. All the other fatties walked forwards, their eyes shining with a strong killing intent.
“Chen Fei, of course your Law Enforcement Agency is in charge of violations of the law. But now you have to think about how you will compensate us for breaking the gate of our Burning Stoves Kitchen which was built by our ancestors!” Zhang Fatso One grinned wickedly. The group of fatsos gave off an overwhelming pressure.
Since they dared to attempt to block the exits of the test, they were naturally well-prepared for the consequences. They had long since studied the laws of the Sect carefully two months ago, when Bai Xiaochun gave his suggestion. This was the reason why they had brazenly done something that seemed so severe.
“Let’s fight!”
Chen Fei and his associates were frightened by Zhang Fatso One’s towering figure when they heard his words.
In the following minutes, loud ping pang sounds of fighting filled the yards. With a swagger, Bai Xiaochun moved to sit on the fence as usual. As he flourished his sleeves and placed his hands behind his back, he looked into the distance with a deep expression on his face, assuming an air of superiority, as if there was no need for him to be concerned with the fight.
“With a flick of my, Bai Xiaochun’s, fingers, the Administrative Department’s defeat is imminent…”