Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The four of them arrived at the four-part architecture while they chatted. They all tensed up and hurriedly composed themselves. They reminded themselves and adjusted their attitudes. They were cautious.
Ziye walked forward and knocked three times on the door with respect.
“Coming.”
Li Nianfan could be heard. Then, with a ‘creak’, he peeked his head out from the door.
“Huh? Lady Zi, Lady Cheng?”
Li Nianfan looked weirdly at the visitors. Then, he said with shock, “Lady Cheng, you’re able to leave the Heavenly Palace?”
He then looked at the man and the woman behind them and felt his heart thump. Their auras felt extraordinary so he guessed who they were.
They did not look old but their eyes were filled with stories and they had a regal vibe. They must be someone of high status. Ziye and Cheng Yi were like their servants.
Cheng Yi smiled and said, “Mr. Li, we got lucky. We were able to get out of the trap. This is the Jade Emperor and Empress.”
‘They really are the Jade Emperor and Empress!
‘These two bigshots also escaped? And why are they here?
‘Awesome. It’s only been a few days and they managed to escape together.
‘I have to be steady. The bigger the bigshot, the less humble I need to act. Otherwise, I will be looked down upon by the big shots. I’m the Deluxe Merit Saint, what am I afraid of?’
Li Nianfan widened his eyes. His mind was running fast. Then, he took a deep breath and said, “Rare guests, what rare guests. Greetings from Li Nianfan to the Jade Emperor and Empress. Please, come in.”
“We’ll be intruding then,” saluted the Jade Emperor. Then, he said with seriousness, “Greetings from Hao Tian to the Deluxe Merit Saint.”
Li Nianfan was startled. He immediately said, “Emperor, you’re too courteous.”
The Jade Emperor said, “Mr. Li, a Deluxe Merit Saint has never appeared before. You’re approved by the realm. You’re on the same level as I am.”
Li Nianfan felt ashamed of himself. He said in embarrassment, “I just got lucky. I don’t deserve it, and I didn’t do anything to help the realm at all. I got all the Deluxe Merit out of nowhere. I was confused, too.”
Li Nianfan was being honest. He wanted to say it was just because of his golden touch.
The Jade Emperor and the Empress went silent.
Before they arrived, Ziye and Cheng Yi reminded them thrice that the expert loved to play-pretend, and that it would hurt especially when he would say something significant so casually. Although they were warned, they still felt hurt when it happened.
‘You already made the Human Sovereign, changed the realm, rebuilt the Underworld, and started to fix the Heavenly Palace. What do you mean you didn’t do anything to help the realm?
‘No one allows you to be this humble!
‘You’re confused about having Deluxe Merit?
‘I want to be that kind of confused, too. Instead, I truly am freaking confused!’
The Emperor calmed his broken heart. He smiled and said, “Ha, no matter what, Mr. Li, you should be respected by everyone in the realm since you’re the Deluxe Merit Saint.”
“That’s an over compliment,” laughed Li Nianfan. He instantly felt more comfortable with the Jade Emperor.
‘People with high status are truly different. They know how to socialize and be approachable. They’re nice to get along with.’
He immediately showed them into the house. He shouted, “Xiao Bai, important guests are here. Hurry up, bring out the new milk tea and some fruit plates.”
“Yes, my Master,” said Xiao Bai.
Li Nianfan continued, “Sit. Come on, sit. My place is lousy compared to the Heavenly Palace. Please, forgive it.”
“Ha, no, not at all,” the Empress and the Jade Emperor waved it off at the same time. They slightly freaked out.
‘You have a house full of Spiritual Treasures. Even the chairs under our butts are made from Spiritual Plants. My throne, the throne of the Jade Emperor, isn’t even as luxurious as this. You’re telling me this is lousy?
‘How can the Heavenly Palace compare?! You must be joking.’
Soon, Xiao Bai came out with a tray of milk teas and fruits.
Compared to the wine and tea, the milk tea looked impure. It was too intense and it was not transparent. It had a bright color and seemed to be boiling hot.
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “This time, it’s grape-flavored. It’s a bit sour, I hope everyone can get used to it.”
The Empress took the milk tea. It was warm. She smiled and said, “Mr. Li, Zi never stopped complimenting the delicious food here. We’ll like it for sure.”
Then, she looked at the straw in the cup. It was a thick straw. It looked great. She sucked on it.
The aroma of the milk tea instantly surprised her. A smooth sensation that she never felt before coated the tip of her tongue. The texture was velvety smooth as it flowed into her mouth. Every drop was delicious and intense in flavor. It played with her taste palette.
It was hard to imagine that something so delicious could exist in the realm. It was extremely delicious.
Then, she had to suck on the straw twice.
The second time, she sucked a little harder than the first. A solid item was suddenly sucked into her mouth. It was soft and slippery. It tasted sour and sweet.
She bit on it and realized it was a grape.
Not just any ordinary grape. It was a Spiritual Fruit!
The Empress jolted. She was pleasantly surprised like she hit the jackpot.
‘Delicious. More importantly… Extremely valuable!’
If she placed this milk tea together with the Flat Peaches, the Empress had no doubt most people would choose the milk tea.
‘Good tea, good grapes, good milk!’
Li Nianfan observed their facial expressions. He noticed that they were pleasantly surprised and instantly knew they liked it. He smiled and asked, “How’s the taste?”
The Jade Emperor genuinely said, “Delicious. To be honest, I’ve been the Jade Emperor for countless years, but I’ve never eaten anything this delicious before. Mr. Li, you’re truly talented!”
The Empress smiled and said, “If only we knew you earlier, Mr. Li. We could’ve asked for your expert advice before my Flat Peach Ceremony.”
Li Nianfan was in a great mood. “Haha, as long as you like it. Don’t just drink the milk tea, have some fruits. They’re freshly plucked from my backyard, absolutely fresh.”
The Jade Emperor and Empress nodded at the same time.
They felt kind of awkward looking at how he treated his guests.
Back when the Heavenly Palace was at its prime, they only treated important guests with ambrosia. Compared to the expert, they did poorly!
‘Why am I the Lord of the Heavenly Palace? I should just spend my days here and eat free food. What a tough life I have!’
Everyone got along well. The Empress threw Ziye a look. Ziye instantly understood it and took out the Rainbow Garments. She said, “Mr. Li, this is a token of appreciation from the Heavenly Palace. Please, accept it.”
Li Nianfan looked at the clothes. He was kind of surprised.
The four sets of garments were shining. Two were small, and two were large. The colors seemed to be changing with the light, like a rainbow in the sky. It felt soft and light. Anyone could tell the clothes were extraordinary and expensive.
Aesthetically, it looked extremely cool.
Expensive, beautiful, and high-end were not enough to describe those garments.
The first reaction of Li Nianfan was to reject it. He shook his head and said, “It’s too rare and expensive, I can’t take it.”
Cheng Yi said, “Mr. Li, these are just clothes. They aren’t even considered Spiritual Treasures, so they’re not that rare. Also, they suit Lady Daji and the others very well. I bet they’ll like it.”
Li Nianfan raised his brow and looked at Daji and the others.
Daji looked at the Rainbow Garment calmly. Although she was calm, she kept staring at it. That meant something was up. The acting skills of the Fire Phoenix were not as good as Daji. Her eyes were filled with admiration. Nanan and Dragin were different. They astoundingly widened their eyes. Their mouths mouthed ‘wow’. You could tell that they wanted to touch the garments.
‘Women… So troublesome!’
“This…” Li Nianfan struggled. He could not accept any rewards without doing anything. It was easy to accept things but it felt wrong.
He had an idea. He asked probingly, “You’re too courteous but may I ask if there’s anything I need to do?”
The Empress sighed and replied, “Mr. Li, you’re too smart. We did have something we wanted your help with.”
“Mr. Li, Zi and Cheng previously heard about the solution to remove the seal from your kids…” the Jade Emperor gulped. He asked nervously, “May I know what the solution is?”
The Jade Emperor and the others did not dare to breathe. They avoided eye contact and did not dare to look at Li Nianfan. Seconds passed by like years. Their hair stood on ends as they waited for his reply.
They thought about it a lot and finally decided it was best to be straightforward.
“This…”
Li Nianfan looked like he realized something. Then, he felt troubled. He had to glare at Nanan and Dragin.
‘These two immature brats! They spoke nonsense and now they’ve caused me trouble.’
The solution to remove the Heavenly Palace seal was naturally very important to the Jade Emperor and the Empress. No wonder they came to visit and even prepared expensive gifts.
‘But the problem is… The ‘solution’ is nonsense!’
He forced himself to smile as he said, “To be honest, the kids were just talking nonsense, you can’t take them seriously. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
Cheng Yi clenched her small fist. She anxiously looked at Li Nianfan and said, “Mr. Li, no matter what it is, we’re willing to try it.”
Sigh…
Li Nianfan had no choice. He groaned for a moment and said, “Actually, this solution… It… Nanan, you and Dragin did this. Tell them yourselves!”
It was too idiotic. He could not say it. He blamed it on Nanan and Dragin.
Nanan and Dragin could not wait. They instantly chimed in.
“Sister Cheng Yi, there’s only one way to revive the stone statues, which is to become a being a light!”
“Yeah, as long as everyone believes in the Immortals, there will be light!”
“The world fell into darkness because a lot of people don’t believe in Immortals anymore.”
…
Li Nianfan painfully shut his eyes. He pretended he did not hear anything.
However, the Jade Emperor and the others were very serious. Their eyes widened as they breathed harder. Then, their faces were flushed from excitement.
They looked like they realized something, as if someone woke them up.
“I see, I see!”
The Jade Emperor kept nodding. He looked like he had learned something. He exclaimed in a trembling voice, “Nice, what a nice idea!”
