“It was! How could it not be?! Do you know how many of my spirit stones he devoured?”
Wen Li grew agitated at his flippant remark, baring her teeth in fury. “He ate a whole twenty mid-grade spirit stones' worth of food! And when drinking, he had to chug straight from the bottle—downing a full sixty bottles! That was enough for half a month of my living expenses!”
What made it truly infuriating was that after stuffing himself full, the old man had mysteriously handed her a “secret manual,” which turned out to be an erotic album! By the time she realized what it was and went to catch him, even as a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator, she couldn't catch up to him at all—he was as slippery as a loach. If she hadn't run off first this time to lower his guard, she never would have caught him.
“...” Xie Tinglan raised a hand and wiped the flecks of spit from his face, looking utterly drained of the will to live.
Sure enough, whenever money was involved, Master ceased to be normal.
Just like her golden maxim: “You can deceive me for my looks or toy with my feelings, but you cannot swindle my money. Money is a non-renewable resource.”
“Aaargh!! Ah!! I-I'll pay you back! Stop... stop spinning me!!”
The dwarf old man's grizzled beard and hair whipped around wildly as if caught in a washing machine, spinning him to the brink of vomiting.
“Urgh! I'm gonna puke!”
Seeing that he truly was about to throw up, Wen Li immediately tossed him into Xie Tinglan's hands.
“Hold him.”
Xie Tinglan furrowed his brow in disgust, but could only endure it, gripping the old man who was slightly larger than himself.
“I can overlook what happened last time. Hand over that movement secret technique you used to escape, or I'll burn every hair off your body.” Wen Li lowered her head to smooth her robes, keeping her composure elegant.
Traumatized by her antics, the dwarf old man pleaded tearfully, “I'll give it to you! I'll definitely give it to you! But I need to have another meal first.”
Wen Li shot him a glare.
“I haven't eaten in seven days! I risked life and limb to find that movement secret technique, and your last meal was only enough for half of it! Look, you swung me around for so long just now and nothing even came out—I'm truly starving to death! If I drop dead, you won't even be able to get back the worth of that last meal!” The old man hurriedly defended himself, full of grievances.
Wen Li held out her hand. “Then give me half of the movement secret technique first.”
The dwarf old man didn't hesitate, immediately fishing out a jade slip from his storage space.
“Here.”
To prevent a repeat of last time's fiasco, Wen Li only unfurled a corner. It was indeed a secret technique. Unfurling it entirely showed that it was incomplete, and it was actually a Heaven Grade Rank 1 manual.
“Rest assured, I won't swindle the same person twice,” the dwarf old man chuckled. Turning his head, he patted Xie Tinglan's wrist. “Little brother, don't hold me so tight. Relax, will you?”
Xie Tinglan cast him a cold sidelong glance, then looked away, ignoring him completely.
The dwarf old man wasn't offended. Stroking his beard, he smiled to himself.
“Fine, I'll trust you one more time.” Wen Li stowed the jade slip away.
Afterward, she truly brought the old man to a luxurious restaurant. Watching him casually order the entire menu, along with thirty jars of Nu'erhong, Wen Li merely leaned back in her chair with narrowed eyes, saying nothing.
“Come, come, dig in! Don't be polite!” As soon as the dishes arrived, the dwarf old man eagerly urged them on as though he were the host.
Wen Li and Xie Tinglan naturally didn't hold back, picking up their chopsticks to eat.
“Come on, have some wine! How can you just eat meat without drinking?”
Xie Tinglan glanced at Wen Li; seeing that she wasn't drinking, he didn't drink either.
Seeing this, the dwarf old man sighed and shook his head, contentedly tucking into the feast by himself.
After eating and drinking his fill, the dwarf old man rubbed his belly and slumped back into his chair, shaking his head in satisfaction. “Ah, wonderful. It's been so long since I was this full.”
Silence reigned in the private dining room. He turned to look at Wen Li, then glanced over at Xie Tinglan.
“If memory serves, you were already at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection when I saw you three hundred years ago. After all these years, your cultivation hasn't grown an inch, yet you've managed to pick up a Late-Stage Golden Core lackey. Tsk, tsk.”
From start to finish, Xie Tinglan hadn't called Wen Li “Master,” so the old man was oblivious to their relationship.
Agilely popping up, he drew close to Xie Tinglan and whispered gossipy, “Does she have some dirt on you? How about I kill her and you follow me instead?”
These words chilled Xie Tinglan's gaze, while Wen Li showed no reaction at all, quietly sipping her tea with lowered eyes.
Xie Tinglan immediately reached out and clamped his hand around the dwarf old man's neck. His pitch-black pupils remained unblinking as he spat out two words:
“Kill him?”
The dwarf old man raised an eyebrow, amusement glimmering in his eyes. He truly hadn't expected this Golden Core cultivator to be so obedient to a Foundation Establishment one.
Wen Li looked up impassively. “No need. You can't kill him, and neither can I.”
The moment she spoke, Xie Tinglan felt an invisible force shackle his hand, forcibly wrenching it away from the old man's neck.
He knitted his brows, his expression taut—a subconscious reaction to extreme danger.
“Hahaha, interesting!” The dwarf old man was thoroughly amused by Wen Li's composure after seeing right through him.
Wen Li replied, “You're quite interesting yourself.”
The dwarf old man stroked his white beard and sighed. “Ah, three hundred years. This old man has finally seen you for the second time, yet I still can't see through you.”
Xie Tinglan realized they were speaking in riddles, yet his taut nerves didn't relax in the slightest.
“Now that you've had your fill, give me the rest of the movement secret technique.” Wen Li couldn't be bothered with him and directly held out her hand.
The dwarf old man hadn't expected her to still be hung up on that. “Eh, fine, fine, here. This old man is not someone who breaks his word.”
With that, he took out the remaining jade slip and tossed it to Wen Li.
After confirming it, Wen Li stored it in her storage bag, stood up, and picked up Xie Tinglan.
“We'll take our leave, then.”
The two had barely taken a single step when an aged, scoffing voice tinged with laughter drifted from behind.
“Leaving before your guest does... isn't that a bit impolite?”
The moment the words fell, Wen Li and Xie Tinglan's bodies were instantly bound. Powerless to resist, their feet left the ground, and they were flown straight back to their seats and made to sit down.
It took barely three seconds, yet both Wen Li and Xie Tinglan found themselves entirely immobilized despite trying to break free.
This was definitely a cultivation base above Mid-Stage Nascent Soul!
Wen Li arched an eyebrow. “A guest should defer to the host. Is Senior being very polite right now?”
The bindings on them vanished instantly, but both of them could sense a boundary barrier had been cast around the private room. It was as though they had been transported into an entirely different world; even if they died here, not a soul would ever know.
“Hahaha, my apologies! It's been too long since I exercised my muscles and bones, so I didn't gauge my strength properly. Did that hurt? Come, come. You treated me just now, so this time, it's my treat.” With a wave of his hand, a bottle and an openwork gilded bracelet inlaid with rubies instantly appeared on the table.
With the restraints gone but no way to escape, Wen Li could only lean back obediently. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at the bracelet on the table.
“Gifts this lavish usually cost a life, or someone's freedom.”
“Hahaha, not your lives—they're useless to me.” The dwarf old man waved his hand, and Xie Tinglan's round black pupils snapped back into crimson vertical slits under the suffocating pressure of having his true form laid bare.
“I merely want this juvenile Ancient Soaring Serpent.”
At these words, Xie Tinglan's crimson pupils flared with ferocity, glaring at him with chilling malice.
“Old geezer, you—”
“What do you want him for? With Senior's immense generosity, you surely aren't lacking in Golden Core lackeys. This kid has a foul temper and a strange personality. If he followed Senior, I'm afraid he would only displease you. If Senior likes Golden Core cultivators, I can catch one and bring them to you instead.”
Wen Li cut him off directly, curling her lips into a polite smile.
“In the Western Province, I could crush hundreds of Golden Core cultivators under my heel with a single step! Who cares about them? What I fancy is this little guy's talent. His Ancient Soaring Serpent bloodline is extraordinarily rare. If he acknowledges me as his master and takes my guidance, his future will be boundless. Even if we don't talk about Soul Formation, becoming the foremost figure beneath the Soul Formation realm is well within reach.” The dwarf old man scoffed.
Wen Li understood. He wanted to steal her disciple.
Tsk. She was furious, but she couldn't beat him in a fight.
Turning to Xie Tinglan, she hesitated before asking, “A big shot far stronger than me has taken a fancy to you. Do you...”
“Sure.”
Before she could finish weighing her words, two calm words drifted through the air.
Rate on N.U.
