This reserved guy really is a lightweight, one drink and he's out!

 

Bai Ke felt like he had inadvertently witnessed a scene where a brainless fanboy meets their idol, and he was almost blinded by the aura of “Oh my god, am I dreaming? Can you give me an autograph?” radiating from the group, especially Lin Jie.

Oh no... he was already blind to begin with, and now he was even more blinded.

Lin Jie was staring wide-eyed and dazed at Huo Junxiao, while repeatedly patting Bai Ke's arm, mumbling, “Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, did you see that? The real Yunzheng…”

Zongzi: “I saw it, the real one…”

Iron Fan: “Two real one…”

“…”

Bai Ke was at a loss for words. Lin Jie’s reaction was one thing; he was never really serious anyway. These past couple of days, he had been acting out of character, but now that he was stimulated by Yu Xian and Junxiao, he was back to his old self. But for Zongzi and Iron Fan to act like this was just too much for Bai Ke to bear. These two were old enough, and judging by their appearances, they were probably ancient creatures themselves. Was it really appropriate for them to be acting so foolishly? Just look at how composed Auntie Pang was!

Just as Bai Ke was silently criticizing them in his mind and throwing a look of appreciation at Auntie Pang, he suddenly saw her extend two fingers and pinch Zongzi's arm hard. After Zongzi yelped, she clutched her chest and exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, this isn’t a dream?!”

Bai Ke: “……” Everything he just thought was now rendered invalid.

Perhaps it was because his calm demeanor seemed out of place among this group that Lin Jie had been patting him for ages without getting a response. So he turned to Bai Ke and said, “Xiao Bai, this is a once-in-a-millennium deity! How come you’re not reacting at all?”

Bai Ke: “……” As if I knew him.

“Uncle Bai, aren’t you one of us?! Didn’t you ever hear of Yu Xian and Yunzheng?!” Fanboy Lin Jie was still desperately trying to find common ground, as if it wasn’t enough that three other people were gaping like fools.

“Uh—” Bai Zi Xu rubbed his chin. “I think I’m reading a different set of books than you guys. Is this stuff even a designated textbook?”

Lin Jie wore a face full of regret and finally gave up trying to persuade these two eccentric persons to join the “Worship the Deity” cult. He turned back, reverting to his usual clueless expression, and took a couple of steps toward Junxiao, gazing up dreamily at the tall man in black. “I must have saved the world in my last life... The person I admire the most is right in front of me, and he’s even my master and ancestor…”

The life benchmark, Huo Junxiao, twitched his mouth and froze his expression, silently stepping back two paces to stand next to Bai Ke.

This action gave Bai Ke a bizarre feeling, as if a large black dog had silently moved to its owner's side…

This is not good!

Bai Ke shook his head and whispered to Junxiao, “What’s going on?”

Junxiao tilted his head and quietly replied, “Seeing them like this makes my teeth hurt.”

Bai Ke responded in a low voice, “I have a solution.”

Junxiao lowered his voice even further, “What solution?”

Bai Ke said seriously, “Do we still have those King Yama peppers that made Peanut spit fire for three days? If we chop some up and chew them, your teeth will stop hurting immediately.”

Junxiao turned to look at Bai Ke, who was dead serious but speaking nonsense, and sighed in resignation, remaining silent for a moment.

“What’s wrong again?” Bai Ke innocently asked, turning to him. He was in stark contrast to the few people nearby, who were filled with admiration and awe.

“No,” Junxiao replied, his dark eyes turning to Bai Ke. After staring at him for a while, he suddenly smiled. “I suddenly feel that heaven has indeed treated me well.” To have this person who walked down from the clouds beside him, to be able to chat with him on equal terms, even if their conversation lacked depth, it felt like a luxury that his past self from a thousand years ago would have dreamed of.

Bai Ke felt inexplicably uncomfortable, turning to touch his nose. “……” Truly… a lunatic.

Even after being pulled down from the clouds, Bai Ke’s obstinate nature of not pretending to be impressive shone through, as he quickly regained his calm demeanor. With a long stride, he turned and returned to sit at the stone table, exuding an aura reminiscent of an enlightened master or celestial being.

On the side, Yu Xian, who was leaning against the giant Peanut, pulled out a jade cup from who-knows-where and silently poured a drink, placing it on Bai Ke’s table. “You stuffy, are you thirsty after eating? Drink some water.”

Seemingly exceptionally calm, Bai Ke lifted the jade cup and took a sip. It was only when the smooth, fragrant alcohol hit his palate that he realized something was off, but it was already too late. The spicy warmth of the alcohol surged down his throat.

Bai Ke turned to glare at Yu Xian, who was taking advantage of the situation, then with a “clink,” the jade cup slipped from his hand and rolled around on the table.

Having witnessed the entire process, Junxiao sighed and said to Yu Xian, “After playing this trick for so many years, aren’t you tired of it, you salted fish ancestor?”

Upon hearing this title, Yu Xian paused as he stroked his beard and shot Junxiao an irritated look. “There are so many people here; don’t be so rude! Besides, it’s precisely because you enjoy watching from the sidelines without reminding anyone that my trick always works!”

Junxiao cleared his throat and then walked over to the stone table, leaning down to ask Bai Ke, who was still sitting up straight, “Are you dizzy?”

After a few seconds, Bai Ke shook his head decisively. “Not dizzy… You all talk; I’ll head back to my room first.”

“Can you stand?” Junxiao pressed further.

Bai Ke replied firmly, “I can.” And with that, he stood up, appearing remarkably calm and composed, tall and upright.

Junxiao looked him over and then asked, “Can you walk straight?”

“Of course.” Bai Ke turned around and took long strides toward the window of the small room.

Yu Xian had a triumphant grin on his face as he shook his jade jug. “This stuffy egg really is a one-cup wonder.”

“Stop messing around; that’s the window frame. Go this way,” Junxiao coaxed and guided him, using considerable effort to get the stubborn Bai Ke who was fighting with the window into the bedroom.

After a moment of daze, he realized that Bai Zixu, had already passed out. He couldn’t afford to dwell on whether his status as a “fellow practitioner” had made him too narrow-minded to have heard of Yunzheng and Yu Xian. He hurried into the room, watching over Bai Ke while muttering, “Is being a one-cup wonder something hereditary? How come I never noticed that this kid can’t hold his liquor either? Next time, we need to eliminate alcohol from the surroundings; it’s practically inhumane…”

Yu Xian, who favored inhumane things, smacked his lips and then turned to the four people still standing there. “What are you all standing around for? You should be practicing, recovering from injuries, or discussing matters. Peanut—” He then slapped the giant creature leaning behind him and pointed his chin toward Lin Jie. “This kid looks like he’s slacked off for two days without practicing diligently. Enough with the flailing; get up and practice a bit with him; look at all that flab on you.”

Stimulated by the phrase "all that flab," the giant Peanut turned its head and let out a thunderous sneeze at Yu Xian. Then, with an unscientific agility, it dashed to the side, grabbed the still dazed Lin Jie, and joyfully wagged its fur as it plunged deep into the secret realm.

Yu Xian, who had just been blasted into a fluffy mess by the sneeze, could only express his disbelief: "……"

At this point, Aunt Pang and her two companions also set aside their fan mentality, tidied up, and temporarily settled down in the secret realm.

*

Just as Aunt Pang and her group got settled in, not two days passed before there was movement in the Ink Wash Pool—

Inside the Hall of Hengtian, the Sect Leader stood with his hands clasped behind his back at the high altar. Behind him was the jade statue draped in a hooded cloak, a tall, slender figure that continued to silently and coldly observe everything in the hall.

"Speak. What do you mean by 'unexpected changes'? Explain," the Sect Leader said, his knuckles rhythmically tapping on the armrest of the main seat. The sound of his fingers hitting the wooden armrest echoed through the hall, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.

The person standing in the hall, judging by his attire, was likely a direct disciple under some elder, probably the leader sent out to handle a mission. He nervously pinched the joints of his thumb and index finger, speaking in a low voice, "Disciple was commanded to lead over twenty senior brothers to search for loose cultivators throughout the city, but…"

"But what? Why are you stuttering?" one elder from the two flanks interrupted, his tone laced with disappointment.

"Disciple and the senior brothers split up into groups of six to search every location within our sect's influence, and we did indeed find some loose cultivators. Among them were several of considerable cultivation level, including demon cultivators and Buddhist cultivators… There was also a sword cultivator. We were slightly outmatched by the sword cultivator, and he managed to escape. As for the rest…"

"What happened to the rest?" the elder reprimanded. "You can’t handle one person with six? What’s the difference between raising you lot and raising a bunch of useless eaters?! Not to mention that I also provided you with a stack of talismans and several Wanchao pills? And you couldn’t control them?!"

"No, those demon cultivators, while not to be underestimated, we initially managed to subdue them with the talismans and Wanchao pills, but out of nowhere, a Cheng Yaojin (NT: legendary general in Chinese literature) appeared and forcibly snatched those three demon cultivators from us," the disciple explained, lowering his head.

"What about the Buddhist cultivator?!"

"The Buddhist cultivator was encountered by another group of senior brothers earlier. They reported that he was also disrupted by a man in black, which allowed the Buddhist cultivator to escape," he replied.

"Oh?" The Sect Leader, who had been watching the disciples, suddenly spoke. "Was it the same person?"

"From the description, it should be the same one."

"Did you remember his appearance?" the Sect Leader asked, his expression neutral, neither cold nor warm.

The disciple didn’t dare raise his head, hesitating for a moment before saying, "He moved too quickly, and he was very tall, his figure ghostly. I… I only saw his hand when he intercepted those three demon cultivators… Oh! His wrist had a string of beads on it. He moved so fast I couldn’t see the material clearly; it seemed to be wooden, dark and dull, loosely wrapped around his wrist."

 

Translator : DarNan