Chapter 261: Interesting
The old man before her drank his fifteenth bottle of Spiritual Wine, each a different flavor, without batting an eye.
He then polished off more than a dozen new dishes that Chen Miaomiao had the chefs prepare.
The old man didn’t ask for much else.
Chen Miaomiao raised an eyebrow slightly.
She was used to the food, so it wasn’t a big deal to her.
But for this old man to eat so much... he was clearly indulging a powerful craving.
When he was finished, the man narrowed his eyes and let out an indelicate belch. "This meal will do."
The implication being, there would be another.
Chen Miaomiao remained silent. ’What is this man’s real goal?’ she wondered.
The old man looked at Chen Miaomiao and chuckled slyly. "With talent like yours, what are you doing holed up in this small sect?"
Chen Miaomiao was silent for a moment before replying, "This is my home."
"Home?"
The old man scoffed, his expression noncommittal, as if lost in a memory.
But he didn’t seem to care one way or another. "It’s all well and good that you have such talent, but..."
He didn’t finish the thought.
After a moment, he chuckled. "I was examining your Spirit Grass for a good while, but I hadn’t quite figured it out before your wine distracted me. This place of yours is interesting. I think I’ll take a walk down at the foot of the mountain."
The moment he finished speaking, before Chen Miaomiao could even reply, he vanished from where he stood.
Without a sound.
Teleportation.
Chen Miaomiao’s pupils constricted. That was something only a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage or higher could accomplish.
A Golden Core Stage cultivator’s speed was certainly extreme, but no matter how fast they were, she, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, would have sensed something.
Yet the old man had vanished from his spot without leaving a single trace of his aura.
The system, which had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up: "The inevitable has finally arrived."
The Longevity Sect may be remote, but it wasn’t impossible for someone perceptive to stumble upon it.
Zhai Xiaotian was one thing.
But this old man was a complete unknown.
Chen Miaomiao bit her lip. "What do we do now?"
The Sect’s secrets were vital, but they were facing a powerful and unknown individual.
This was clearly someone the Longevity Sect could not afford to offend.
If they rashly displeased him, the Longevity Sect might cease to exist.
System: "It’s fine."
Hearing the system say it was fine, Chen Miaomiao relaxed slightly. "You have a handle on this?"
System: "Nope."
Chen Miaomiao: "?"
System: "I just said that to make you feel better. It’s only natural to offer comfort. I can’t very well say we’re in trouble, can I?"
Chen Miaomiao: "..."
’Sometimes,’ she thought, ’with a system like this in the Sect, I really worry for the Sect Master.’
***
The old man walked down to the foot of the mountain and saw Wang’an County, with its scenery and architecture completely unlike any other place.
The county wall blocked part of the view, but it wasn’t built to be particularly high.
Although the players had the ability to build higher, making the structures too tall would be far too conspicuous. What if a Great Power Cultivator passed by, saw it, thought they were being arrogant, and came down for a closer look? That would spell disaster.
It was, however, built with an exquisite sense of aesthetics.
The old man stood beneath the statue of Song Jiulai, examining it closely.
As he stared, his expression suddenly grew solemn.
"It’s actually..."
After a long moment, he whipped his head around, grabbed a passing player, and pointed at the statue. "Whose statue is this?"
The player looked at the old man. Since the system hadn’t flagged him as anything special, the player assumed he was just an ordinary mortal. ’This mortal was pretty bold to just grab a Cultivator like that,’ he thought.
However, the player was good-natured and answered, "This is the statue of our Sect Master."
"Your Sect Master?" the old man continued. "She’s not in the Sect?"
"Probably," the player said. "I’ve never seen her, anyway. Maybe she’s away on a long trip."
They all guessed the Sect Master had gone off on a long journey to recruit new talent.
In any case, she definitely wasn’t in the Sect.
Seeing the old man lost in thought, the player paid him no more mind and went on his way.
Just then, a black wild boar came charging out from the side.
The pig was pure, unblemished black. It wasn’t very big, but it burst out of a tavern, squealing as it charged straight at people.
It rammed right into the old man.
"THUD."
As if it had hit something solid, the black pig was sent flying.
It flipped over and landed on its back, hooves pointing to the sky.
"Wangcai! You run off every day after stealing food!"
A male cultivator ran out after the pig. Seeing it had run into the old man, he immediately scooped the pig up and reflexively said to the man, "I’m so sorry, so sorry! It was stealing wine, so I chased it out. It must have panicked and run right into you."
The old man paused.
He didn’t look angry. He just said, in a slightly odd tone, "You’re apologizing to me?"
"Huh?"
Su Daqiang held Wangcai, which was still squealing and struggling relentlessly. He gave it a hard smack. "Well, it ran into you, didn’t it? You look on in years, and this guy’s got some kick. Do your legs hurt at all? If so, take this Blood Replenishing Pill. It’ll help."
The Blood Replenishing Pill was effective against most minor injuries and was an excellent remedy for mortals.
Su Daqiang pulled out a First-rank Blood Replenishing Pill and offered it to the old man.
Wangcai was used to running wild in Wang’an County. It was always running around and bumping into people.
This was far from the first time they’d had to clean up its messes.
It was all Han Tian’s fault for spoiling it!
Even when the players tied Wangcai up with its hooves in the air, it still managed to find a way to escape.
No one knew how it did it.
Now the others had all gone, leaving Su Daqiang on babysitting—no, pig-sitting—duty.
And dog-sitting.
A big yellow dog, Dahuang, ambled over from behind them.
Su Daqiang was wearing a specially made outer robe. He had made it back when his skin was blue and he couldn’t be seen in public.
He could be seen now, but his skin still had a faint blue tint.
He planned to set out on a long journey once it faded completely.
Tucked into the hood of his robe were several Little Flower Beasts.
Seeing Wangcai’s commotion, the Little Flower Beasts all poked their heads out to peek.
The old man glanced at him, then fixed his gaze on the First-rank Blood Replenishing Pill in Su Daqiang’s palm.
After a moment, he took it.
Dahuang walked over, and Su Daqiang gave its head a casual pat. "Let’s go, Wangcai."
As he walked away, however, Su Daqiang was a little puzzled.
’Wang’an County has a population of several thousand, but most of the mortals don’t go out often. He was pretty sure he’d never seen this old man before. His memory was quite good now, so if he couldn’t place him, he’d definitely never seen him. Maybe he’s one of those old folks who rarely leaves home.’
Wangcai was still struggling for its life. A moment later, Su Daqiang’s miserable howl echoed through the street.
"You actually peed in my hand, you little bastard!!!"
"I’m gonna eat a whole roasted suckling pig right in front of you!!"
After he had walked far away,
The old man looked at the Blood Replenishing Pill in his palm.
Suddenly, he closed his fist. The Blood Replenishing Pill dissolved into a wisp of Spiritual Energy and vanished without a trace.
The clear sound of children reciting their lessons drifted from nearby. Here, the auras of cultivators and mortals were intermingled.
And they were mixed to an unbelievable degree.
"Interesting..."
"Truly interesting..."
The old man slowly broke into a smile.
Then he turned and headed toward another part of Wang’an County.
He had only descended upon this place after sensing a subtle aura, but he had ended up discovering something else entirely.