Striving for Science C29 pt2

"Please rest assured, Elders. The Sparrow Tribe has been following this human." In a corner of the square, a short man was secretly filming Shen Chang'an and the other two walking in front of him, whispering to someone on the other end of the phone. "He has a monk and a Daoist with him, both of whom are high-ranking practitioners on the human side. The Elders are right, this man is close to my Lord, and it's very likely that he is a beauty trick arranged by the human cultivators."

"After all these years, humans are still so shameless." On the other end of the video, several elders of the bird tribe were so angry that they slammed their fists on the table. "You did a good job. Keep following him and try to get some evidence. As long as you hand this evidence to my Lord, not only will our tribe be able to atone for our sins, but we can also make my Lord disgusted with the human race."

"Yes, Elder." The short man was very excited to hear the elder praise him. He grabbed his phone and continued to charge forward. However, he had only taken a few steps when he was stopped by a woman wearing a red armband.

"Who are you taking pictures of with your phone?" The woman with the red armband saw that this man had a pointed nose and a cunning look. She looked at him with suspicion. "Young man, let me tell you, you can't take pictures of people in public places. In our younger days, this kind of behavior would have been considered a hooligan offense."

"Let go of me, who's taking pictures of women?" Seeing that Shen Chang'an was about to leave his field of vision, the short, thin man became anxious. He impatiently pushed away the woman who was blocking him. "Old busybody."

This push led to a big commotion. The woman fell to the ground and screamed, "Help! This pervert is harassing an old lady!"

The short, thin man hadn't even reacted before he was surrounded by the crowd. Countless people raised their phones and took pictures of him. Being a yao, he was still inexperienced and didn't understand the life philosophy of not being able to casually lay a hand on human elders.

"People are so heartless these days. They use their phones to take sneaky pictures, which is so shameless, and they even push old people."

"Exactly! We tried to stop him, but he called us nosy and said we were bastards. He's really a piece of trash."

"He wasn't taking pictures of women? Taking pictures of men is wrong too! It's an invasion of privacy. Do you understand gender equality?"

The short, thin man watched helplessly as Shen Chang'an disappeared around the corner, while he was swallowed by the crowd of righteous citizens.

***

"Uncle Zhang, do you think..." Shen Chang'an looked at the landscape trees on both sides of the road, "there are a lot of birds on the road tonight?"

"Huh?" Uncle Zhang looked up and saw a few sparrows hopping around on the treetops. "Is it going to rain?"

Shen Chang'an looked thoughtfully at the tree across the street, where there were also a few small birds. "Maybe." After saying this, he suddenly took a step to the left, and a bird dropping landed next to his right foot.

He looked up again, and the necklace around his neck accidentally fell off. The sparrows on the treetops fluttered their wings and flew away in a panic, as if they had been greatly frightened.

Yan Yin noticed the necklace around Shen Chang'an's neck. He had a subconscious feeling that there was something mysterious about it, but when he looked closely, he couldn't find anything special. Perhaps it was because Shen Chang'an had a ten-life merit body that gave him this illusion?

Although Uncle Zhang was outwardly dismissive of Dharma Master Yan Yin, he still let him into the house. Shen Chang'an didn't interfere with their "emotional exchange" and went home to sleep.

The next day at work, he heard Chen Panpan tell him that the night before, a man had been secretly filming other men in the square, and when he was caught by the square's supervising auntie, he even dared to hit her. The incident was captured by a nearby enthusiastic citizen and posted online, attracting a lot of attention from netizens.

"People like that, whether they like men or women, should learn to respect others first." Chen Panpan said. "Secretly filming is so disgusting."

"Maybe they weren't filming true love, they were filming their rival." Ding Yang tossed the data sheet to Chen Panpan. "Anyway, the person has been caught, so you should think about how to finish the form."

The "righteous bystanders" who watched the drama unfold and even uploaded videos online, the formidable old lady, and the creepy man who secretly filmed others, all gathered together, creating a breeding ground for conflict.

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Shen Chang'an buried his head in his computer screen, determined not to get involved in their war.

He thought the day would pass like that, but as he was walking downstairs after work, he saw two young men and women with striking features suddenly walk up to him, sizing him up before arrogantly tilting their chins.

"He's nothing special."

"Common trash."

"Are you crazy?" Chen Panpan, still brimming with fighting spirit after her argument with Ding Yang, saw someone picking a fight with Shen Chang'an and, without hesitation, rolled up her sleeves. "Didn't your parents teach you about manners and good behavior?"

"Get lost, you have no right to speak here." The young woman sneered at Chen Panpan, then turned to Shen Chang'an. "How long do you think you can be smug, huh?"

"Heh." The young man scoffed back. "Just wait, you'll be crying soon enough."

"You two..." Confused by their inexplicable behavior, Shen Chang'an pointed at their heads. "Do you need some medicine here?"

"How dare you insult us?!" The young man's eyebrows shot up, as if his dignity had been challenged. "You dare humiliate us?"

"Sorry, I have a habit of speaking my mind." Shen Chang'an smiled gently and innocently. "Next time I see you two, I'll try to correct myself."

"Ignorant and foolish mortals…"

"Are you two descendants of the Kong family?" Liu Mao strode down from the car, a slight smile playing on his lips, but his eyes held no amusement. "Did you hear about Mr. Shen's sponsorship of the Civil Service Department and decide to learn from him and contribute to the department's work?"

"Mr... Mr. Liu?" The two arrogant individuals, the moment they saw Liu Mao appear, quickly lowered their proud heads. "Y-yes, we're here to answer the Lord's call and contribute to... Mr. Shen's work."

The words "Mr. Shen" came out of their mouths with a hint of gritted teeth.

"I thought they were some big shots." Seeing their instant cowering, Chen Panpan scoffed, "Just nothing special."

This was the same sentence they used to mock Shen Chang'an earlier, but when Chen Panpan repeated it back to them, they felt as if they had been insulted beyond measure, their faces flushed red with anger.

But even though they were furious, they didn't retort, as if they were the ones being bullied, and Shen Chang'an and Chen Panpan were the bullies.

Liu Mao didn't have time to look at their aggrieved expressions. He just smiled and asked Shen Chang'an, "Mr. Shen, sir received some fresh fish from someone today. Knowing you like to eat it, he had Old Zhao in the kitchen prepare it. If you have time for lunch, come back with me."

"Okay." Shen Chang'an didn't even bother with polite refusals. He was about to leave with Liu Mao when he remembered he had left something in the car. "Mr. Liu, wait for me. I'll go get something from the car."

"Good." Liu Mao gave a gentle smile. "No rush, I'll wait for you here." Seeing Shen Chang'an walk towards the car, he turned to the Kong family couple. "Sir doesn't like people who break their promises. If you two are sincere about sponsoring Mr. Shen's work, you need to be responsible. Sir and I have always trusted the Kong family's abilities. I'm sure you won't let us down, right?"

"Yes." The young woman's face turned pale. "We will definitely not let... sir down."

Shen Chang'an walked back and said to Chen Panpan, "Panpan, let's go together. We'll give you a ride."

"No need to bother, my place is just a few minutes away." Chen Panpan waved her hand with a smile. "You and Mr. Liu go back and eat early.

Shen Chang'an knew that Chen Panpan lived nearby, so he didn't insist. He left with Liu Mao.

Watching Shen Chang'an and Liu Mao's car drive away, Chen Panpan puffed out her chest, turned her head, and looked at the man and woman who had come to pick a fight, her eyes narrowed. "Cannon fodder like you, with no brains, wouldn't last half an episode in a TV drama. You'd get your face slapped by the protagonist."

"I've never seen anyone stupider than you two in my life. You know you can't afford to offend Chang'an's friends, yet you still come here to provoke him. Didn't you think Chang'an would report you?" Chen Panpan looked down on their intelligence.

The two were stunned. They hadn't really considered that. A lowly human, how dare they speak ill to the Lord and even go report them? Wasn't that crazy?

Chen Panpan's heels were high, clicking against the floor as she circled the two. "Stay away from Chang'an from now on. I'm afraid you're too stupid, not only will you scare him, but you'll also lower the cultural standards of our Wuming City."

"You…"

"What do you mean 'me'?" Chen Panpan swatted away the young woman's pointing finger. "With those beady eyes and sharp mouth, you dare call our Chang'an vulgar and common? Did your teachers not teach you how to use idioms correctly in elementary school? 'Vulgar and common' is meant for the two of you. No, for someone like you, 'sharp-mouthed and monkey-faced' is more fitting. Our Chang'an is handsome and elegant, with a face like jade. You, a mere wild chicken, dare to intrude on our scene?"

"Hey, don't you dare retort." Chen Panpan scoffed, "After all, you can't disappoint Mr. Liu, can you?"

With just a few words, she silenced the two, leaving them speechless. Chen Panpan gracefully departed, her accomplishment hidden. Though her ability to insult was not as sharp as Aunt Juan's in her youth, it was more than enough to deal with these two idiots.

"Ah! These lowly humans!" The young man's face contorted in anger, "They dare to humiliate us like this!"

She actually called them wild chickens! They were clearly noble peacocks!

"I heard that the Lord sent the freshest fish from the water tribe today." The young woman seemed to have thought of something, suddenly her face turned pale, and she swayed.

Everyone knows that the Lord doesn't care much for food, but this morning he suddenly asked the water tribe to send fish. Everyone thought this was a sign that the Lord was about to favor the water tribe, who would have thought that he was sending fish for a human who was a source of trouble?

Thinking that they had failed to provoke, and not only were they discovered by the Lord's mount, but they were also mocked by two humans, the young woman's mentality was a bit broken.

"Two idiots."

A voice, tinged with malicious glee, echoed faintly through the air.