Time flowed by like water.
Half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.
In the four-part architecture, Li Nianfan was enjoying his relaxing life. He admitted that he was a lucky man. He had two fine beauties like Daji and Fire Phoenix by his side. Even if they only talked and drank wine, this was still a pleasure.
They ate, drank, and played every day. Sometimes, they went out hunting or sightseeing. Life was good. It was the ideal life for most people.
Thinking back about the people in his previous realm, what was the point of them working so hard for? Why not look for a few beauties, stay hidden in the wild, build a four-part architecture, and plant your own food? Was that not good?
He was such an easily satisfied man!
Li Nianfan was happy. He put down the last card in hand. “A straight, no more cards. Ha-ha-ha, you all lost again!”
Daji and Fire Phoenix halted. They helplessly put down the cards.
“Come one, losers keep their words. Stick this on.” Li Nianfan had two papers in hand. He licked them and stuck the papers on Daji and Fire Phoenix’s faces.
Throughout the afternoon, he only had four long papers on his face. He even intentionally lost to get those. As for Daji and Phoenix, their beautiful faces were now filled with paper. Only two pairs of beautiful eyes were exposed, blinking.
Daji could not help complaining, “Ha, Mr. Li, how can you be so clever? Isn’t this all due to luck?”
Fire Phoenix complained, too. “Yeah, how can you be so lucky!”
Recently, card games had become a popular activity in the four-part architecture. When they first started, Fire Phoenix and Daji were excited. They thought they could win their master in games with some luck. Due to that, they were very excited.
After all, to them, their master was perfect and flawless. There were not many chances in life to win over their master. If the card games only required luck, they had hope. If they could win over their master, they would feel so good.
However, this fantasy did not last for long.
“Ha-ha-ha, how’s this luck? This is an actual skill! You two managed to stick four papers on my face. You’re the first in history! You should be proud!” Li Nianfan laughed and said, “There’s no space on your faces anymore. Do you want to continue?”
Daji pouted. “It’s just a face. I still have a body. Continue.”
Fire Phoenix demanded, “Exactly, come on and stick it on our bodies. I want revenge!”
Li Nianfan was excited. He shuffled the cards. “Good, I admire your spirits for not giving in so easily.”
Meanwhile, Xiao Bai walked over. “My master, lunch is ready. You may enjoy lunch.”
Enjoy his foot!
Li Nianfan’s hands halted from shuffling. How he wished to punch Xiao Bai in the head.
A robot was still a robot, how stupid! Did he not see him shuffling? Why did it step in? Did he want to lose his job?
What an idiot! He was just about to get to their bodies…
Sigh, what a miss!
Li Nianan said, “Why don’t…we have lunch first?”
Daji pursed her lips. “I’ll listen to Mr. Li.”
“Let’s eat.” Li Nianfan’s heart was dripping in blood. He said in pain, “Xiao Bai, go and call out for Nanan and Dragin.”
Nanan and Dragin continued to cultivate in the backyard daily while taking care of the yard.
Xiao Bai received its order. “Yes, my master.”
The lunch was a seafood feast. With Xiao Bai’s preparation, each sashimi was thin and light like transparent paper. They were placed on top of ice, regularly cut. The sashimi was like jade, very pleasing.
Other than the sashimi, there were fried squid, fried salmon, tempura, grilled eel, and more. It was a luxurious feast.
Furthermore, these were delicately picked out by Ao Cheng. The flesh was top-graded and the textures very refined. It was a pleasure to eat.
Dragin ate with glowing eyes. As the princess of the dragons, she had eaten countless seafood but she had never eaten those with so many paths in it. What she ate in the past was like trash compared to this.
So, seafood could be so delicious? What an honor to be part of the Sea Race!
Vroom!
By the end of the meal, there was thunder in the sky.
Li Nianfan looked up and could not help frowning. He sighed and said, “It’s been half a month. The blood color in the sky is becoming thicker. Did something happen?”
The summer sky was meant to be clear. It was meant to be hot. Yet recently, it had been rather chilly. The sky was no longer blue. Instead, it was turning rather red, as if there was blood in the sky.
This was not a normal sight. It was not good.
“We’ve played for so many days and haven’t cared about the outside world for so long.” Li Nianfan sighed. He said, “After the meal, let’s head over to the Fallen Town.”
Nanan and Dragin were excited. They nodded, “Hmm, sure!”
Quickly, they finished the meal with Xiao Bai staying back to wash the dishes. The crowd went to the Fallen Town.
Upon arriving at the Fallen Town, the atmosphere was more solemn than before. The people in town were walking with frowns. Perhaps they were affected by the bloody sky. Each of them seemed uneasy.
After walking past a few streets, Li Nianfan walked to the market. As expected, the fishmonger was selling fish as usual. However, unlike in the past, his smile was no longer as friendly. He was zoning out and sighing.
He seemed lonely.
“Fishmonger, fishmonger.”
When he heard someone calling out for him, he gradually snapped back to reality. When he saw Li Nianfan, he smiled. “Mr. Li, you came. It’s been a long while.”
Li Nianfan nodded and said, “Yeah, I see that the sky’s being unusual so I came out for a walk.”
“Isn’t it? I heard the demons are the cause of this. Many people have died!” the fishmonger said with a serious face. He continued, “This is a big deal, didn’t you hear?”
Li Nianfan shook his head.
The fishmonger sighed again and said, “Around us, no matter the direction, many towns have been wiped out. I heard some Sects were wiped out, too! This is a big deal! I heard many of the Immortals are coming down to check on it.”
Li Nianfan looked shocked. “So severe?”
“Not just that, the City God Temples of those towns didn’t manage to protect them.” The fishmonger shook his head. He looked worried.
Li Nianfan comforted, “Don’t worry, fishmonger. I think the Fallen Town’s going to be alright.”
“I’m not worried about this.” The fishmonger shook his head and sighed. “My daughter… Not long ago, a Sect chose her and took her to cultivate.”
Li Nianfan frowned. “Little Fish went to cultivate?”
The fishmonger frowned and said, “Yeah, the person said she’s got good cultivating potential. I didn’t manage to talk her out of it. So, she went ahead to cultivate.”
Li Nianfan finally understood why the fishmonger was so worried. Cultivating was very risky. Having his daughter living away from home was worrying. Furthermore…now that this had happened, of course, he would be worried.
However, Li Nianfan comforted him, “It’s a rare gift! Fishmonger, it’s good to cultivate. Don’t be so worried.”
The fishmonger shook his head and looked down. Now that his daughter was gone, he was not in the mood to sell fish.
Suddenly, he looked at Li Nianfan and asked with anticipation, “Mr. Li, I know you’re resourceful. You know many cultivators. Could you ask them to look after Little Fish? I don’t wish for her to be powerful, I just want her to stay alive.”
It was no secret that Li Nianfan was close to the Holy Emperor. Nanan was now powerful and her fight in the Fallen Town was seen by many of them. The fishmonger knew about it.
The fishmonger said as he bowed to Li Nianfan, “I’ll thank you first.”
“Please, don’t bow to me.” Li Nianfan quickly stopped the fishmonger. He said, “I’m considered a brother to Little Fish. Of course, I’ll help her. Don’t bow to me.”
Nanan who was by the side patted her chest as she reassured, “Yeah, Uncle. I used to play with Little Fish. I’m her Sister, nobody can bully her!”
This was just a small thing to Li Nianfan.
With his current status, from Black and White Impermanence in the Underworld to the Jade Emperor and Empress in the Heavenly Temple, they all respected him. Taking care of a small girl was just a small issue.
With Nanan’s current cultivation, she could even have her own Sects, let alone himself!
The fishmonger was delighted. He bowed and thanked him, “Thank you, thank you so much!”
He spoke as he picked some fishes for Li Nianfan. He picked out seven to eight fishes. Those were the best fish in the tank. He gave them all to Li Nianfan and said with enthusiasm, “Mr. Li, I’ve no skill. Please, don’t look down on my fish. Whenever you need more, just come here. I’ll always reserve some for you.”
“This…”
The fishmonger insisted Li Nianfan keep them. He said, “Mr. Li, Little Fish is my life, please.”
“Alright, then.” Li Nianfan did not turn him down. He did deserve these fish. He asked, “Do you know which Sect Little Fish is in?”
The fishmonger said, “She’s at the Tianyun Sect, towards the East.”
Li Nianfan nodded and said, “Okay, I understand. Goodbye.”
“Thank you, thank you.” The fishmonger was still thanking him. “Have a good trip, Mr. Li.”
The fishmonger had always been a straightforward man. He never begged anyone. He was a good parent.
Li Nianfan was rather emotional. Although he was only an ordinary man, he had done quite well himself. One word could determine one’s life, this was no joke.
‘I’m so powerful! I bootlick bigshots and now I’m a bigshot myself! I must be the most impressive transgressor in the world!’
Speaking of which…
Li Nianfan looked up at the sky. He could not help saying, “This matter seems severe, I hope it can go back to normal soon.”
This was a big matter, so the Heavenly Temple was likely to get involved.
Daji and Fire Phoenix heard what Li Nianfan said. They exchanged a look and said, “Mr. Li, we’ll go find out.”
“You two want to get involved?” Li Nianfan halted. He frowned and was rather worried.
Fire Phoenix said in a small voice, “Mr. Li, we want some Deluxe Merits, too.”
Li Nianfan was speechless.
He was still thinking of ways to create more Deluxe Merits for Daji and Fire Phoenix. He wanted his own people to have it. This was indeed an opportunity.
But…humans were always self-contradictory. He wanted the same for them, but now he was rather worried.
“There’s no free meal in the world.” Li Nianfan smiled bitterly and shook his head. He reminded Daji and Fire Phoenix, “Safety first. Remember to ask those in the Heavenly Temple to help out.”
Daji nodded and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Li. We know.”
By the side, Nanan suddenly said, “Brother Nianfan, Dragin and I have to go, too.”
Li Nianfan halted. “Where do you two want to go?”
Nanan said, “I want to practice. Other than killing demons, who knows, I might gain some Deluxe Merits. Furthermore… I want to help Brother Nianfan to look for those beasts from the ‘Classics of Mountains and Seas’.”
Dragin said, “Brother, I want to go back to the Eastern Sea.”
Li Nianfan did not speak.
He had no reason to talk them out.
Since they were cultivating, of course, they could not stay in the same place all the time. They were all talented. They were ready to lead their own lives.
Li Nianfan suddenly had a feeling as if his children were grown up.
“Reading is nothing like traveling. If you want to go, then go.” Li Nianfan held back his unwillingness. He pretended to be calm as he said, “This isn’t a bad thing. Follow me back to the four-part architecture to pack up.”
The atmosphere was solemn before the parting. They did not speak on the way back.
When they got back to the four-part architecture, Li Nianfan sighed and said, “You all go and pack up. I’ll pick some fruits for you all in the backyard.”
When he went to the backyard, he summoned the old tortoise. He stood on the back of the tortoise to pick on the fruits. He asked the tortoise to move around.
Meanwhile, Li Nianfan noticed that the plum tree beside the peach tree was full of lotus-like flowers. There were even some bead-shaped fruits hanging on it.
“The plums are finally ripe! Such good timing!” Li Nianfan could not help pursing his lips. He sighed and said, “Plums symbolize parting. I guess my ancestors weren’t lying.”
