Chapter 53: Please Treat

By Yue Qianchou

At this moment, the tall, cloaked figure spoke up, "Could it be someone from that guy's side, deliberately putting on an act?"

It was a man's voice, clearly suppressed to sound hoarse. He had not revealed his true face since entering, his hood up and face covered by a scarf. Still, the two women present knew who he was.

Feng Chi hesitated, "I also had this suspicion initially. But after our superiors investigated, they felt that the sequence of events, from redeeming and selling people to various accidents, would be overly complex if it were all planned, especially within such a short time. It didn't seem plausible. Of course, they haven't entirely dismissed the idea; anything is possible."

Xiang Lan'er spoke up, "There's no need to doubt. I can confirm he and that old man are not working together."

Feng Chi uttered an "oh" and immediately asked, "How can you be so sure?"

Xiang Lan'er pursed her lips. The way she had obtained her answer was somewhat difficult to articulate, so she vaguely dismissed it with a single sentence: "It's inconvenient to elaborate. I can vouch for this conclusion; you can report it with confidence."

Since she took responsibility, the other two had nothing more to say.

Still, Feng Chi asked curiously, "Miss, how did you get him to release you?"

Xiang Lan'er replied, "What else could it be? I simply agreed to his condition: to take him with me into Wukang Mountain."

"Uh..." Feng Chi was speechless.

The cloaked man said gravely, "No, that won't work, and it's impossible. Bian Jixiong already knows about this 'Shi Chun' person, and he knows this person arranged for a courtesan to be his daughter-in-law. I heard he smashed several teacups in anger. How could we possibly let him into Wukang Mountain? Miss, it's already difficult enough for you to get in; if you add him to the mix, you might not even be able to get in yourself."

Xiang Lan'er retorted, "This isn't about whether you or I are willing anymore. First, I was forced to agree to his terms. Second, he has a contingency plan. If I break my promise and our identities are exposed, our plan to infiltrate Wukang Mountain will utterly fail. How would we explain that to the Saint Venerable? So, I'm not asking for your opinion; I'm telling you to find a solution. If you can't solve the problem, what use are you to me?"

The cloaked man was utterly speechless.

Ignoring him, Xiang Lan'er first extended her hand, inviting the still-injured Feng Chi to sit down and rest.

After a long silence in the room, the cloaked man suddenly sighed, "There's a method we could try, but we'd need to persuade Shi Chun to cooperate."

Xiang Lan'er immediately told him to explain...

Shi Chun had already left the inn. He didn't care what Xiang Lan'er and the others were doing behind his back. He wanted to first thoroughly explore Linkang City to familiarize himself with the terrain, a habit he had from his time "working" in the place of exile.

It wasn't that he didn't want to know what Xiang Lan'er and the others were doing; the problem was they wouldn't give him an opportunity to spy. It would be tough for him to keep an eye on them alone with just two eyes, and the miraculous effect of his right eye couldn't be used under normal circumstances—he couldn't even get nervous enough with a knife to his own throat.

Also, he needed to leave some markers in the city so Wu Jinliang could find him when he arrived. It had been inconvenient to do this while he was with Xiang Lan'er and her group.

Walking back from the inn to the city gate, after leaving markers along the way, he had just put his hands behind his back, ready for a leisurely stroll, when he suddenly heard a commotion of someone being driven away from ahead: "If you don't have money, don't come. This establishment does not extend credit. Please leave, please leave!"

Shi Chun looked up and saw it was a restaurant. A waiter was ushering out a shabby old man.

The shabby old man's rosy nose and wine gourd were very conspicuous. Shi Chun only glanced at him and immediately broke out in a cold sweat, screaming inwardly, "Oh no! How could I run into him here too?"

Without needing to think much, he quickly turned around and walked away briskly.

As someone from the Demonic Path, encountering a master who delights in eliminating evil and defending justice, what else was there to do but run? Should he wait to be slaughtered?

"Hey!"

A shout, and a hand, suddenly ambushed him from behind, landing on his shoulder.

That voice and tone made Shi Chun somewhat afraid to turn his head; his whole body felt as if it had instantly frozen.

It didn't matter that he didn't turn his head, for the person behind him moved around to his front. Pushing aside the dirty, graying disheveled hair on his face, a pair of eyes, sometimes hazy, sometimes sharply clear, stared at Shi Chun, sizing him up thoroughly. Finally, with a hearty laugh, he clapped Shi Chun on the chest. "I knew you looked familiar," he chuckled, "it really is you, kid."

Shi Chun feigned a moment of stunned surprise, then, with feigned ecstasy, cupped his hands in greeting. "So it's the elder!" he exclaimed. "This junior is truly rude."

But inwardly, he was cursing the man's ancestors.

The shabby old man, holding his wine gourd, tilted his head and asked him, "Enough with the pleasantries. Just one question: do you still remember that I saved your life?"

Shi Chun gave a dry laugh. "I remember, I remember, of course I remember."

Secretly, he grumbled to himself, *Even if you hadn't saved me, I would have found a way to escape.*

The shabby old man raised his chin towards the restaurant. "Then treating me to a drink should be in order, shouldn't it?"

Shi Chun was indeed feeling apprehensive. If Feng Chi could discern his demonic identity, then the insight of such a master must be extraordinary. Just in case, he stammered a polite refusal, "Elder, this junior truly has something to do, perhaps..." He reached into the money pouch at his waist, grabbed over ten glowing tanjin coins, and offered them. "How about the elder helps himself?"

The shabby old man squinted at him. "Are you trying to pay me off like a beggar?"

Shi Chun quickly denied it with a serious expression. "No, no, absolutely not!"

"That's good then." The shabby old man grabbed his wrist and dragged him away without allowing refusal, pulling him directly into the restaurant to sit down. Slapping the table, he shouted, "You snobbish waiter! Take our order! Drunken Phoenix, Exploding Golden Pills, Thousand Emerald Casserole, Peerless Earth, Snow Scene Soup—let's start with these. For drinks, bring Yu Zhen Niang wine, and fill my wine gourd while you're at it." He pushed the wine gourd onto the table.

The waiter who rushed over, after confirming that Shi Chun, the "sucker," had no objections, then smilingly picked up the wine pot and left, asking the two to wait a moment.

Since things had come to this, Shi Chun had no choice but to go along with it, so he tentatively asked, "May I ask for your esteemed name, elder?"

The shabby old man chuckled, "Talking about names is talking about profit; this old man long ago let go of such things, so there's no need to mention it. But you, looking like a piece of charcoal, where are you from? State your name."

Shi Chun gave a dry laugh. "This junior is Shi Chun; 'Shi' as in master, 'Chun' as in spring. I was just released from prison, from that place of exile."

"Oh, from the place of exile, no wonder you're so dark," the old man mused. "Someone like you, so young and daring to oppose the Demonic Path, is truly rare and admirable. Hmm, I like that."

"You flatter me, elder," Shi Chun replied. "Eliminating evil and defending justice is our duty; it has nothing to do with age, and one shouldn't fall behind. But elder, what brings you here?"

"Nothing much," the old man replied. "It's still about that incident a few days ago when I ran into you, which allowed that female demon to escape. Various signs indicate she might have come this way, so I naturally tracked her here. Consider yourself lucky to have met me. You should be more careful; be cautious not to be cornered by that female demon again. I can't always just happen to show up to bail you out."

These words made Shi Chun's heart pound wildly. *Feng Chi isn't dead? And she came here?* He'd have to remind Xiang Lan'er later.

As the two chatted, the food and wine began to arrive one after another. Shi Chun respectfully poured wine for the elder.

The shabby old man, raising his first cup of wine, returned the toast. "Little Chun," he said, "I won't drink your wine for nothing. Given our shared path and fate, if you run into trouble, you can come find me. I don't have many other abilities, but handling a situation or getting into a fight is something I can do. Of course, the premise is that I'm still within Linkang City. And I don't help for free; for every time I help, you'll have to treat me once."

Shi Chun was startled. *Such a good deal?* With this person's cultivation, that was excellent! He quickly asked, "May I ask where I can find you, elder, if I need your help?"

"Around the city gate area," the old man replied, "likely lurking under the eaves of some house. If you want to find me, just go look around; you'll always find me."

And so, the two continued chatting, drinking and eating.

As they ate, the shabby old man noticed something was off. Staring at the young man opposite him who was eating and drinking heartily, he finally couldn't help but complain.

"I say, Little Chun," he complained, "you're like a hungry ghost reborn! You can devour most of a dish in just a few bites. Are you sure you're treating me? Do I look like a beggar, only fit to eat your leftovers?"

"Oh dear, how rude, how rude, please forgive me, elder!" Shi Chun quickly said. "I was just released from prison and couldn't help myself. To be honest, elder, this is only the second time I've had a proper meal since getting out; I haven't seen much of the world, so I've made a fool of myself. Elder, please don't hold back; eat freely. If it's not enough, we'll order more."

Thankfully, he still knew a bit about etiquette. He quickly put down his chopsticks and casually wiped his still-chewing mouth, stopping himself. His tongue occasionally darted out to lick his lips, *Delicious.*

After that, he focused on pouring wine for the elder and chatting with him.

When he asked about the elder's cultivation, it shocked him quite a bit.

The elder didn't specifically state his cultivation level, only saying that he should be fine in this area, that Bian Que would have to walk around him if they met, and that he had once beaten Bian Que.

Who is Bian Que? He is the biological father of Bian Jixiong, the sect leader of Wukang Mountain, and the grandfather of Bian Weikang. A recluse, it's said his cultivation has reached the peak of the Human Immortal realm, just one step away from the Earth Immortal realm. He stopped interfering with sect matters long ago and has been in secluded cultivation year-round.

Before his release, Shi Chun certainly wouldn't have known who Bian Que was; he only learned about him when he inquired about Wukang Mountain from Bian Weikang along the way.

That was a figure like the founding ancestor of Wukang Mountain, and he was actually defeated by this shabby old man in front of him! *Good heavens!* Whether it was bragging or not, just the fact that he dared to boast like this made Shi Chun quickly raise his cup and offer two more toasts...

Inside Xiang Lan'er's guest room in Anle Inn, only she and Feng Chi remained, waiting for Shi Chun to return. The tall, cloaked, masked man had already left.

A knock sounded at the door, and Feng Chi called out, "Come in."

An inn waiter opened the door and entered, then quickly closed it, reporting in a low voice to the two women: "After the person left the inn, he furtively left markers all the way to the city gate. Then he was stopped by a shabby old man; they seemed to be old acquaintances. He was dragged into a restaurant by the old man and is currently treating the shabby old man to drinks."