Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Gasp…
“I’m begging you to stop gasping already, just stop!” Payne’s scalp was already numb. He held on to his annoyance. “Stay calm, stay calm! Are you planning to drag me down with you?”
Gu Yuan said hastily, “Sect Master, what you said was too shocking. We couldn’t hold it in.”
“Sect Master, I think what you said wasn’t entirely correct,” Gu Changqing said suddenly, his eyes sparkling. After pausing for a moment, he continued, “Have you forgotten about the expert’s existence? Regardless if it was this four-part architecture or the rest of the world, their growth is all caused by the expert!”
Payne and Gu Yuan exchanged a look and nodded.
“What you just said makes sense.”
“You must be right.”
Meanwhile, a loud ring was heard. Li Nianfan stood up and smiled. “I’ve finished carving.”
The Fire Phoenix’s eyes sparkled. It turned into its human form and landed beside Li Nianfan with anticipation. “Show me.”
A lively carving of a phoenix laid in Li Nianfan’s hand. It was dark red and it was the size of his palm. Its head looked up. Be it the pose or the outline, it was unique like the phoenix itself.
Other than its outlook, the phoenix’s eyes were carved uniquely. Somehow, a wave of Qi in the image of the sculpture appeared. It looked as if it was alive.
Li Nianfan was confident in his carving skills. He smiled, “What do you think?”
“Too…too beautiful!” The Fire Phoenix held the sculpture and was stunned by it. The look of delight on her face was impossible to conceal. The sculpture looked as if it was made for her, unable to separate from her.
She was extremely satisfied. She held it gently in her hands and caressed it.
She could not help mumbling, “Mr…Mr. Li, your carving’s too good!”
Li Nianfan smiled humbly. “As long as you like it.”
“I really like this sculpture, you may…”
The Fire Phoenix paused. She was going to use this opportunity to get closer to the expert. She was going to say he may ride her, but this seemed too soon and it did not sound like something a phoenix would say to an ordinary man.
She said, “You may request one thing from me.”
It was so difficult to play along with the expert.
She took another look at the yard. There was an ordinary dog, an ordinary woman, a lighter. Everyone made it seem so easy!
“Really?” Li Nianfan’s eyes sparkled. He said hastily, “Thank you!”
He knew when to be straightforward when meeting a bigshot. Only an idiot would turn down the offer.
Daji, who was by the side, saw the sculpture of the phoenix. Her eyes displayed her admiration. “Mr. Li, can you carve me one? I…I really want one, too.”
“Ha-ha-ha! No problem! I’ll make you one tomorrow!” Li Nianfan reached out and ruffled her head. “If my Daji wants one, I’ll give you one.”
Daji smiled, her eyes squinting. She was very delighted. “Yay! Thank you, Mr. Li.”
With that, Li Nianfan looked at Gu Changqing and the other two.
When they saw Li Nianfan walking toward them, they straightened up their expressions and stood up nervously.
“Sit, everyone, sit. Why so polite?” Li Nianfan smiled. He said in a lowered voice, “Don’t worry, the phoenix is easy to get along with. Don’t be too nervous.”
‘The phoenix is easy to get along with?’
‘That’s only applicable to you.’
Their mouths twitched. They quickly acted along with him. “It’s our first time meeting the legendary phoenix. What a delight! What a delight!”
Li Nianfan smiled. He asked curiously, “Mr. Gu, these two…”
Gu Changqing introduced, “Mr. Li, this is my Grandpa. His name’s Gu Yuan. This is my Sect Master, Payne. He’s the first generation Sect Master.”
Grandpa?
Sect Master?
Li Nianfan jumped. He cried out with surprise, “Mr. Gu, are they…Immortals?”
Gu Changqing nodded, “To be honest with you, they descended from the Immortal Land not long ago.”
“They’re really Immortals!” Li Nianfan was very shocked. He stood up and made a greeting gesture, “Hello! Hello!”
Gu Yuan and Payne stood up and returned the gesture. “You’re too polite, Mr. Li. Immortals are just a slighter better sounding title. We’re just cultivators with higher cultivation.”
Still, these were Immortals! They were of the most sacred existence in his previous realm. Now, they were right in front of him! How unrealistic!
Luckily, he met the phoenix earlier. So, he could be calmer now and not too embarrassing.
Cultivators were so cool! A Sect Master, grandfather, grandson, and great-grandfather could all live at the same time! How messy!
However, his lifespan had just been extended by a thousand years. If he could make some babies with Daji, in a thousand years…sigh! What an embarrassing thought to have…
Anyway, the Immortals were still so friendly after Immortalizing. Their family was indeed very polite.
Li Nianfan’s thoughts were all over the place. He sighed, “Being able to Immortalize is so admirable!”
The three of them did not speak. They were unable to continue the conversation.
Who was admiring who? Be clear!
“Oh, right. Why bother bringing a gift? Just come alone next time. So many chickens! You’re so polite!” As he spoke, Li Nianfan turned to look at the Firefinch Demons.
Instantly, all the Firefinch Demons stood upright as if they were being examined. Meanwhile, they raised their buttocks and one after another, laid eggs in a row of six.
Looking at the six Firefinch Demons laying eggs so obediently, Gu Changqing and the other two felt mixed feelings.
The arrogant Firefinch Demons conformed to society after all. They would rather become chicken bootlickers.
Payne smiled and said, “Mr. Li, it’s just some chickens, it’s nothing. I was thinking how would one chicken be enough for you so I decided to bring five more. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Mr. Payne, you’re so polite!” Li Nianfan said. “To be honest, one chicken’s indeed not enough. Look at that chicken. It’s been so busy laying eggs lately, it even lost weight. You’re all so thoughtful!”
Payne was delighted. He smiled and said, “As long as Mr. Li likes it.”
Li Nianfan shook his head. Suddenly, he asked in a suspicious tone, “However, I’m merely an ordinary man. Why are you so kind to me? Is there something you need?”
He was suspicious. The cultivators visiting him still made sense as he had a good relationship with them. Now, even the cultivator’s Grandpa and Sect Master—who were Immortals from the Immortal Land—came to visit! This was strange.
Perhaps they looked up to his skills? Still, that seemed unlikely. They were Immortals after all.
Perhaps they came for the good food? That seemed unlikely, too.
Li Nianfan was merely asking, but to the three of them, it sounded like an explosion in their ears. Their minds went blank. They were dumbfounded.
‘What to do? What to do?’
Instantly, their backs were covered in cold sweat and their bodies were shaking uncontrollably.
How unwise! How unwise of them!
They were too excited to finally get to visit the expert, so they did not think it through. They did not have a reasonable excuse to visit him.
Unless they told him, ‘You’re a hidden expert and we came here to gain some opportunities.’
It was likely that before they could finish their sentence, the expert would probably have slapped them to death.
‘Since the expert likes living as an ordinary man and we came here uninvited, aren’t we disturbing the expert’s peace? The expert’s angry!’
A simple question had turned into a life or death situation!
Accompanying an expert was like accompanying a tiger. Very scary!
The three of them held their breaths. Their brains were spinning at the quickest speed. They wished they could use up all of their resources to think of a plan.
Think! Quick!
Their hearts almost jumped out of their chests. Meanwhile, Payne’s body jumped and there was a flash in his eyes. He was delighted.
He bit his tongue and went for it!
He said politely, “Mr. Li, actually we came here because of the ‘Journey to the West’ and the painting of the Golden Crow.”
Li Nianfan was surprised. “Oh?”
Payne composed his thoughts and said, “To be honest, your story of ‘Journey to the West’ is so captivating. Especially all of the Gods and Demons in it. It really enlightened us and it showed us a whole new world. As for the Golden Crow, I’ve only read about it from readings of ancient times. That’s why we decided to visit you.”
Since the expert told them about these things, this showed that mentioning them was not taboo. Hopefully, using this as an excuse would not agitate the expert.
“I see,” Li Nianfan nodded and fell silent.
Who would have thought that some Immortals became his fans?
However, he felt it was a little off.
If a phoenix existed in the Immortal Land, perhaps the Golden Crow existed, too! The stories he told them were made-up stories from the previous realm, but in this realm, it might as well be real! No matter if it was real or not, these stories would get the attention of the Immortals.
He overdid it!
He was going to keep a low profile and live a peaceful life. Would he lose this security after telling these stories?
Li Nianfan instinctively looked at the Fire Phoenix and relaxed a little.
He said, “Mr. Payne, these are merely stories. They’re made-up, so don’t take them too seriously.”
Payne continued, “I was shocked after listening to these stories. Although Mr. Li’s an ordinary man, your talent’s far beyond an ordinary man’s!”
“Thank you for your praise,” Li Nianfan waved it off. He reiterated, “Please, do keep this as a secret between us.”
Payne said, “Don’t worry, everyone only knows that the ‘Journey to the West’ was written by a genius named Wu Cheng’en. Only a few of us know about the painting of the Golden Crow, and we don’t talk much.”
Gu Changqing and Gu Yuan nodded, “Exactly, we won’t spread the news!”
The expert warned them not to, so of course, they would not tell!
“Good, good.” Li Nianfan smiled. He said to Xiao Bai, “Xiao Bai, pour more tea for our guests, and bring us some fruits.”
The three of them were delighted. They let out a sigh of relief.
Phew…
They passed the test!
And it seemed that the expert was pleased with their answers!
Gu Changqing and Gu Yuan had to give it to their Sect Master. No wonder he lived for more than ten thousand years. With such quick thinking, it would be easy!
If it was up to them, they would have knelt on their knees and begged the expert to forgive them!
