Chapter 28: Night Meeting with 'Old Father'

The day was beautiful, with a gentle breeze and the sun radiating warmth.

At the Residence of the Nine Immortals of Wine, on the side of Breaking Heaven Peak…

Jiu Wu, clutching his aching back, stood before his pavilion, gently swaying his five-foot-tall Taoist body. With a slight circulation of his immortal energy, the fatigue he had felt was gone.

It had been three days since he and Jiu Shi returned from Little Qiong Peak. Having just seen his Dao partner off to secluded cultivation, he pondered whether he should resume his own practice or take a stroll through Hundred Affairs Hall.

Just then, a large gourd descended from the sky.

Jiu Wu’s spirits lifted immediately. He clasped his hands behind his back, returning to his usual dignified demeanor, cleared his throat, and called out loudly: “Little Jiu, come here for a moment.”

“Senior Brother? I was just about to look for you; I’ve brought back what you asked for… Haa…” Jiu Jiu, peering from the large gourd, couldn't help but stifle a yawn, looking utterly dispirited. The large gourd turned and landed directly in front of Jiu Wu's pavilion.

All nine siblings, besides having exceptional talent and being top cultivators among their peers, also had developed ‘side occupations,’ with the sole exception of Jiu Jiu.

Jiu Shi excelled at refining artifacts and forging treasures, while Jiu Wu specialized in brewing wine and concocting pills. Consequently, the ground floor of Jiu Wu's small building was cluttered with wine jars, precious materials, and alchemy furnaces, with every corner fully occupied.

Clearly, Jiu Jiu's untidy habits were acquired here, though she had taken them to an even greater extreme.

Jiu Jiu yawned again, then, making herself at home as if she were in her own room, she casually sat down at a round table and tossed the small cage she was holding to Jiu Wu.

“Senior Brother, here are the little spiders you wanted. Try not to let them die this time… And honestly, sending me to ask a junior for things all the time, don't you feel any shame?”

“Rarely, you actually didn't forget,” Jiu Wu said, his face breaking into a wide smile as he pulled back the black cloth covering the wooden cage.

Inside were a pair of separated spiders, each the size of a steamed bun, with three heads, multiple eyes, and double pupils.

Jiu Jiu yawned wearily. “Senior Brother, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go back.”

“Wait a moment, I need to find a few things,” Jiu Wu said, trotting off to hang the spiders in a cool spot before turning and hurrying to a bookshelf.

Jiu Jiu flopped onto the table, her face utterly devoid of enthusiasm. “Senior Brother, what are you doing? I’m so tired right now; I just want to go back, have a drink, and sleep for a few days.”

Tired? Jiu Wu, who was by a bookshelf, turned his head and scrutinized Jiu Jiu. He recalled that he couldn't directly perceive his junior sister's cultivation level, let alone her physical condition. But the thought of what he had seen in that small alchemy room earlier made Jiu Wu sigh inwardly, a sadness akin to that of an old father welling up within him.

Well, a daughter grown up will not stay. Given the pervasive trend of Dao partners within the sect, his junior sister was bound to be influenced by it…

Where did this trend come from? It originated with the older generation of Heavenly Immortals. Among the more than ten elders of the Immortal Du Sect, there were four loving couples who had grown old together. Their example had truly set a precedent, with juniors following suit.

Jiu Jiu, still sprawled there, also sighed helplessly, recalling her recent days accompanying a certain junior nephew in concocting poison pills…

Though it had been interesting and quite novel, and the junior nephew had given her plenty of benefits, including many poison pills capable of harming True Immortals;

She had to remain constantly vigilant, and for her, it was indeed quite mentally taxing.

She had never been this tired before. Jiu Jiu murmured languidly: “He’s just a little guy in the Return to Void Realm, yet he’s worn me out for so long. I’m so tired.”

Clang! The jade tablet in Jiu Wu’s hand slipped and fell to the ground. The short Daoist priest sighed deeply, his head thrown back, his eyes unexpectedly glistening with moisture.

Little Jiu had truly grown up… His fifth senior brother, who had acted as half a father figure to her, was finally letting her go to enjoy the beautiful life of cultivation.

Retrieving the jade tablet into his hand, Jiu Wu glanced at the large characters written on it: ‘General Outline of Formations – Forgetting Emotion Recluse.’

He then casually took out two more jade tablets from a corner of the bookshelf before finally turning towards Jiu Jiu.

“Little Jiu, please take these items to Junior Nephew Chang Shou,” Jiu Wu said warmly, sending the jade tablets to his junior sister with immortal energy. “This is the outline of formations written by our Master, along with some insights from your Third Senior Sister and me after years of studying formations.”

“Hm?” Jiu Jiu took the jade tablets, casually tossing them into her storage magic treasure, and asked in bewilderment, “Senior Brother, why are you suddenly so concerned about Little Shou Shou?”

‘Little… Little Shou Shou…’ Isn’t that a term of endearment only used between himself and Little Shi Shi during intimate moments?

Jiu Wu took a deep breath, looking up, then revealed a benevolent smile. He said gently, “After I saw him in North Continent last time, I thought Junior Nephew Chang Shou was a rather steady junior. Oh, and your Fourth Senior Sister has refined some new clothes for you.”

Jiu Wu took out a treasure pouch and handed it to Jiu Jiu.

“Inside are also some cosmetics for women, and jewelry, and such. If you like them, I can have your Senior Sister refine more for you…”

“Clothes? What kind of clothes?” Jiu Jiu took the treasure pouch and casually refined it, pulling out a light, thin gauze skirt from within. Her forehead instantly wrinkled with a few black lines.

“Senior Brother… when have I ever worn anything like this…?”

“Ahem, don’t blame me for speaking out of turn, but Junior Sister, though you are naturally beautiful, you still need to adorn yourself a bit. By the way, you and Junior Nephew Chang Shou… did you start… in the last two years?”

“The last two years? Started?” Jiu Jiu glanced at Jiu Wu, suddenly frowned and pursed her lips. She shoved the gauze skirt back into the treasure pouch and, torn between laughter and exasperation, retorted, “You don't seriously think Little Shou Shou and I are together, do you?”

Jiu Wu was taken aback. “You’re not together?”

“Hmph,” Jiu Jiu replied, her face instantly filled with disdain. “What kind of person do you take your junior sister for? Am I the type to prey on junior nephews or younger generations? I would never do something like an old ox eating tender grass!”

Jiu Wu’s eyes widened. “Then why have you been going to Little Qiong Peak all the time for the past two years, for no apparent reason?”

“To help set up formations,” Jiu Jiu said, spreading her hands. “I was punished with three years of alcohol abstinence, and Junior Nephew has some good things that can substitute for wine. In return, I helped him arrange formations.”

Jiu Wu’s eyes widened. “The formations on Little Qiong Peak were arranged by you, Junior Sister?”

“That’s right, I did it myself!” Jiu Jiu proudly raised an eyebrow, but quickly admitted the truth. “Senior Brother, you know I have no interest in formations. Chang Shou told me where to place everything, and then, as the formations were about to take shape, I’d just slightly help suppress the surging spiritual energy. However, I haven't needed to set up formations recently, and I can't just take his things for nothing, right? So these past few days, I’ve helped him refine some pills… Senior Brother? Fifth Senior Brother, what’s wrong? Your expression is so strange.”

“So that’s it!” Jiu Wu exclaimed, suddenly enlightened. He rose and paced back and forth. “No wonder those linked formations were relatively simple maze and trapping arrays—they weren't set up by someone who hadn't yet achieved immortality! To conceive such a plan, using your hands to execute it—ingenious, truly ingenious! This Li Chang Shou, though his talent isn't top-tier, reaching the Return to Void Realm within a hundred years of entering the sect is still above average. If nurtured, becoming an immortal won't be a problem; he's a promising talent.”

Beside him, Jiu Jiu yawned, silently rose, bowed her head, bent her body, and with arms hanging loosely, drifted towards the door.

“Senior Brother, I’m going back to rest. Concocting pills is so exhausting.”

“Hey, Little Jiu, those three jade tablets I just gave you!” Jiu Wu hastily called out. “Please give them back to me; they’re considered treasures of our lineage and can’t be casually passed on.”

“It’s just a little bit of insight, why are you being so stingy?” Jiu Jiu rolled her eyes and casually tossed two porcelain vials back. “Consider it my decision: I’m exchanging your cultivation insights for some poison pills refined by Little Shou Shou. That’s fair, right? These are poison pills that can take down a True Immortal, you know! And we put some effort into them too.”

“Those weren’t ordinary insights… Poison pills?” Jiu Wu caught the porcelain vials and frowned as he looked at them.

Jiu Jiu had already taken advantage of the moment to float out of Jiu Wu’s small building, returned to her own pavilion, and activated the grand formation outside…

Jiu Wu chuckled wryly. It didn’t matter that his Ninth Junior Sister wanted to give them away; after all, Li Chang Shou was also a disciple of their sect.

He enveloped himself in several layers of immortal energy, then placed the porcelain vials several yards away. He opened them remotely and looked inside, discovering three vermilion pills in each vial, emitting a faint, clear fragrance.

“These are unexpectedly Bone-Corroding Heart-Eroding Pills and Soul-Dissolving Life-Snatching Pellets? The quality is quite good. Though they are poison pills, they are genuinely of immortal pill grade… Were these also refined with Little Jiu's help? This Li Chang Shou, he’s quite something.”

Jiu Wu couldn't help but chuckle. Noticing something on the porcelain vials, he brought them closer and carefully examined their surfaces.

He saw two lines of small characters written on them, which, when the two vials were put together, formed a complete couplet.

‘The Immortal Path is rarely three parts serene; a true gentleman, disdaining ostentation, remains firm.’

The short Daoist priest pondered for a moment, holding the porcelain vials, then quickly broke into a light smile.

“This young fellow, he must have indeed noticed Shi Shi and me earlier, which is why he intentionally deactivated the grand formation. No, that’s not right. Could he have actually calculated that these two porcelain vials would eventually fall into my or Shi Shi’s hands? Little Jiu certainly wouldn’t notice this kind of handwriting on them, and even if she did, she wouldn’t care. It’s clearly meant for us, and it must have been recently formed with magical power, as there’s still a trace of its presence. Is the implication that he wants me to pretend I haven't discovered his various unusual traits?”

The short Daoist priest put away the porcelain vials, then walked to the round table with his hands clasped behind his back, stroking his chin in deep thought.

Jiu Wu recalled the numerous arrangements he had incidentally discovered within a hundred-li radius when he found traces of Li Chang Shou and You Qin Xuan Ya in the North Continent…

He then looked up at the wooden cage hanging in the shade; these demonic spiders were notoriously difficult to raise, yet they seemed to be constantly breeding, litter after litter, over there…

Combined with the linked formations and poison pills that had appeared in recent days…

Jiu Wu sighed softly. “What a formidable junior. You keep a low profile; before you even went to the North Continent, few in the sect had heard your Daoist name, and there was no trace of you in the rankings of the younger generation. You don't want to be noticed, preferring to cultivate in solitude, and I, your Senior Uncle, wouldn’t wish to disturb you. However, as a deacon of the Immortal Du Sect, I can't help but be somewhat uneasy about you. Tsk, ‘three parts serene, gentleman determined’… Does this mean we meet at the third ke of the Hai hour?”

Jiu Wu couldn’t help but pause in surprise, then he burst into silent laughter.

***

At the third ke of the Hai hour, Jiu Wu rode a white cloud and drifted onto Little Qiong Peak.

By then, the formations around the alchemy room had been deactivated. A slender figure stood before the alchemy room door, bowing respectfully to Jiu Wu from a distance.

Jiu Wu’s eyes crinkled in a smile. He descended on his cloud, and even before entering the alchemy room, he could already smell the mellow aroma of wine.

Li Chang Shou bowed with clasped hands. “Disciple greets Senior Uncle.”

“‘A true gentleman and three parts of serenity,’ indeed,” Jiu Wu said, shaking his head with a smile and sighing softly. “Were you not afraid that I, this humble Daoist, wouldn’t come? That I would send you directly to the Hall of Rewards and Punishments for questioning?”

“Well,” Li Chang Shou said slowly, maintaining his bowing posture, “to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure either, and I’ve been worried about this ever since I met Senior Uncle in the North Continent. However, I also know that Senior Uncle is a person of high virtue and prestige, and would never deliberately make things difficult for a junior in the sect. Furthermore, this disciple merely wishes to avoid attracting attention and holds no ill will towards the Immortal Du Sect. I also understand my duty as a disciple of the Immortal Du Sect: to conduct myself uprightly and not fear accountability. Please, Senior Uncle, come inside and rest. Knowing that Senior Uncle is a master of brewing, I’ve asked Junior Sister to prepare a few dishes to accompany drinks, and I humbly invite Senior Uncle to sample the wine this disciple has brewed himself. If Senior Uncle has any doubts, please feel free to ask tonight; this disciple will answer thoughtfully and truthfully, hoping only to dispel Senior Uncle’s worries and allow this disciple to continue cultivating peacefully as before.”

Jiu Wu nodded with a smile and, with his hands clasped behind his back, entered the alchemy room.

Beneath a window, bathed in bright moonlight, a low table was laden with exquisite delicacies, and a luminous cup was already filled with fine wine. That was actually ‘Ganges Water Old White Dry,’ brewed for Jiu Jiu, which Li Chang Shou had opened a small jar of in advance.