Chapter 16: Speculations of the Sad-dharma-vipralopa Era

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

Then three days later, during a Saturday noon, they were at Shaxian Delicacies.

Li Xianyu and Great-Grandma’s meal at noon was fried rice noodles. After eating fried rice without eggs for two days, Great-Grandma finally got what she wanted. She also added a marinated egg, a chicken drumstick, and scrambled eggs to the rice noodles. Even so, after eating 200 dollars per person in the restaurant, Great-Grandma who was probably born a rich young lady, no longer liked Shaxian Delicacies.

Picking at the oily rice noodles, she found faults with all kinds of things, saying that the oil smelled funny, the scrambled eggs were too fish, marinated egg was not fresh, the drumstick was too dry, and got stuck in her teeth.

“You can choose not to eat it,” Li Xianyu said.

“I don’t want to eat.” Great-Grandma puffed her cheeks and placed her chopsticks on the table.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it.” Li Xianyu picked the chicken drumstick and marinated egg from her bowl.

“You…” Great-grandma snatched her food back angrily, her little face resentful. “You unfilial great-grandson! Bad!”

The bright sun shone on the street and the weather was great but Li Xianyu sighed.

I’m Li Xianyu, my remaining 90,000 dollars has been spent by Great-Grandma. I’m panicking now.

Now, Li Xianyu’s remaining asset was the 5000 dollars he withdrew that day. If he had lived alone, it will be enough, but with a spendthrift Great-Grandma, he couldn’t live at all.

Li Xianyu finally understood the saying: “Only women and villains are difficult to raise.” Women were liars, the more beautiful women are, the more they will lie!

Great-Grandma was the epitome of this statement.

He clearly said that her daily living expenses should not exceed 150 dollars, and Great-Grandma ostensibly had agreed unwillingly. But when he went to school, she slipped out to the nearby shopping mall, and bought bags, clothes, high heels, as well as snacks that could cover the bed.

In three days, Great-Grandma had spent the balance of the card.

Li Xianyu, whose state of mind exploded, almost did a heinous act of murdering his ancestors when he questioned her why she did not keep her word. Great-Grandma retorted, “I promised you I won’t top up games, where did I not keep my word?”

Li Xianyu almost suffered a myocardial infarction and died on the spot.

200,000 dollars to a college student without income, was an unimaginable sum of money.

That day he really wanted to beat up Great-Grandma. He had pushed her down from the sofa, took off his shoes and whack her buttocks. Unexpectedly, Great-Grandma sucked in a breath. Li Xianyu, who was angry the moment before collapsed on the ground immediately, covering both sides of his waist and trembling.

Great-Grandma sat on the sofa with her legs tucked behind her, her face ruddy and glowing, but her eyes were timid. “If you hit me, I’ll suck you dry.”

After Li Xianyu experienced his essence being sucked, he understood the painful truth, it was not the ancestors who tamed Great-Grandma, but they were the objects of taming.

Your Great-Grandma was still your formidable Great-Grandma!

…

“Great-Grandma, we really don’t have any money.” Li Xianyu frowned and said, “I’m still a student. I don’t have an income. If you spend a lot of money like this, we won’t even have the money to eat in the future.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t control myself. I used to spend so much money. It’s weird not to spend when you have money.” Great-Grandma had a repentant attitude, but Li Xianyu knew that this could not change her spendthrift nature.

“Forget it, I don’t have anymore money anyway, I’m not scared of you spending,” Li Xianyu said.

“Let’s go rob a bank,” Great-Grandma suggested.

“Are you crazy? I am a good citizen who abides by the law.”

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve robbed a bank before,” Great-grandma said confidently. “The operation is very simple. Take a snake skin bag and hit it at the sight of people and glass, and then you can get out of poverty and get rich.”

“You’ve robbed a bank?” Li Xianyu was shocked.

“I was desperate, there was no money to spend in the end,” Great-Grandma said, looking up happily. “Your father wasn’t making progress. He couldn’t make any money, so I had to rob a bank myself. Those mortals were no match for me. There was so much money in the bank. But then your father was wanted for three months by the Buddhist society for disturbing public order. Hehe…”

Hehe your foot!

You brat.

Li Xianyu said solemnly, “Great-grandma, I will try my best to make money to support you in the future. I will sell my kidney and support you.”

Great-Grandma smiled like a flower. “Well, that’s a good boy.”

Li Xianyu: “＿|￣|●”

(defeated emoticon)

“By the way, Great-Grandma, after my morning exercises this morning, I tried to practice my breathing, but I found that I couldn’t feel it at all.” Li Xianyu said, “Moreover, my nose feels a little uncomfortable now, I think I inhaled too much haze.”

It was a nice day this morning, but he still accidentally inhaled some haze.

Great-Grandma looked discouraged, which was a rare sight. “You are not good with breathing techniques. After not practicing for a few days, your Tianmen has been closed, and naturally cannot get the feeling right. As for the miasma, it is sometimes thick, sometimes thin, but haunting. There are no stars at night, and no blue skies in the day. Mere mortals might not notice the hindrance, but for practitioners, it is like poison. Perhaps you are right, the times have changed, we may have entered the Sad-dharma-vipralopa Era. ”

“So how do the demon descendants of this era practice their spiritual cultivation?” Li Xianyu asked. “There must be a way.”

“I think it’s possible that all the practitioners have gone into reclusion, and they might have ways they can overcome the miasma. I haven’t seen them ever since I’ve awakened, so I don’t know.” Great-grandma said.

Li Xianyu’s head was automatically full of speculation. In more fantastical terms, the big guys might have found the promised land, where the reiki was strong, and they never need to absorb smog in the present world.

But this was the scientific speculation: They have improved the method of breathing techniques to eliminate smog from the body.

This was the less impressive speculation: After many years of adapting, they had developed antibodies and were not afraid of smog.

Li Xianyu was more inclined to the last speculation.

After dinner, he took Great-Grandma home. They passed by a fruit and vegetable shop on the way. Great-Grandma looked at a basket of red strawberries.

It was still more than a month away from strawberries bearing fruit, but strawberries were already being sold on the market.

Great-Grandma looked at the strawberries and asked, “Li Xianyu, are strawberries sweet?”

Li Xianyu looked at her and said, “Wait.”

Great-Grandma smiled happily and said, “Mm-hmm.”

Li Xianyu went into the shop and asked the boss, “Are the strawberries sweet?”

Of course the boss boasted, “Sweet, very sweet, all fresh.”

Li Xianyu replied “Oh”, went back to Great-grandma and said, “I asked, it’s sweet.”

Great-Grandma was speechless.

“I want to eat strawberries,” Great-Grandma said.

“No money.” Li Xianyu walked forward with a straight face.

This season, strawberries were extremely expensive. He hated three kinds of fruit: strawberries, cherries, and durian.

These fruits let people know that they were too poor to eat fruits.

In Shanghai, if one were to go out to buy some fruits, a day’s worth of meal expenses would be gone.

Great-Grandma followed him, stretched out a small hand, and pulled on Li Xianyu’s clothes. “Li Xianyu, I want to eat strawberries.”

“I want to eat strawberries.”

“I want to eat strawberries.”

“I want to eat strawberries.”

*1. In Sanskrit, it means “the disappearance of the true dharma,” the predicted demise of the Buddha’s dispensation (śāsana) from the world.

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