Having been interrupted, Ye Feng gave up on cultivating altogether. He simply retrieved some drinking snacks from his storage ring and sat down across from Xiao Chen to share some wine.
Seeing this, Xiao Chen grinned like an idiot, secretly thinking to himself:
*Mm, Little Fengfeng is actually a pretty good guy.*
*As for Blind Li... Hmph, that wretched dog! An absolute dog!!*
*To think I actually considered him a decent fellow, yet he dared to think about tempering his heart in the mortal realm with Wanshu!*
Xiao Chen sat cross-legged across from Ye Feng and hurriedly produced fine wine and dishes from his own storage ring as well.
"Senior Li, can't you let me in?"
With a sullen expression, the old man rolled his eyes.
"No!"
"Before we return to the Shenbao Domain, if you manage to step one foot inside, consider all my years of cultivation completely wasted."
Li Guanqi took several deep breaths, forcefully suppressing the fire in his chest. There was nothing he could do.
Through the open door earlier, the old man had happened to catch sight of the disheveled bed. With a single thought, he knew exactly what had nearly transpired in that room.
The only reason the old man hadn't intervened sooner was that he had listened at the wall all night, and finding that Li Guanqi truly had done nothing more than talk through the night with Meng Wanshu, he had held his peace.
Li Guanqi had exhausted every sweet talk and plea imaginable, falling just short of bringing up his grandfather, but no matter what he said, the old man refused to let him back inside.
Helpless, he could only turn and walk away. Spotting the pair drinking together by the ship's railing, he headed over.
The moment Xiao Chen saw him, he instinctively raised his arms to shield his head, crying out repeatedly, "One beating is enough, all right?! Why can't you just let it go?!"
"Keep this up and I'm really leaving!"
Li Guanqi plopped down between the two of them, grabbed a jar of wine, and chugged a mouthful before snapping irritably, "Suit yourself. Leave if you want to. You're annoying as hell."
Xiao Chen waited a good while and found that Li Guanqi wasn't going to hit him. Lowering his arms, he glanced toward Li Changqing by the doorway and chuckled slyly.
Everyone knew what he was thinking.
Still, Li Guanqi didn't beat him. The fellow wasn't truly a bad sort.
The three of them chatted idly as they drank.
Suddenly, Li Guanqi paused for a moment. With a wave of his hand, he summoned Pengluo out.
Yet the second Pengluo appeared, it leaped straight up and delivered a flying kick right into Ye Feng's face!
*BANG!*
The kick sent Ye Feng flying across the deck. He rolled several times across the floor, smashed through a railing with a loud crash, and slammed violently against the barrier light curtain before finally coming to a halt.
Xiao Chen, mid-bite into a chicken drumstick, was utterly dumbfounded. His eyes bulged as he stared at the big white radish standing on the deck with its hands on its hips.
What in the world was that thing? And why was it so absurdly fast?!
Even his eyes had caught only a blur before Ye Feng went sailing through the air.
Pengluo glanced left and right on the deck, grabbed a wine flagon, and prepared to smash it over Ye Feng's head.
Quick-witted and agile, Li Guanqi snatched hold of it and questioned, "Didn't you want to come out for a drink?!"
Pengluo was still terrified of Li Guanqi. Tucking both hands behind its back to conceal the wine flagon, it said, "I'm just getting my revenge! All's fair in war—how else were you going to let me out?"
Li Guanqi gave a wry smile at those words. The little fellow certainly held a grudge.
Far off, Ye Feng's head was spinning. The kick had left a glaring pair of red footprints across his face, rattling his spiritual terrace...
Pushing himself to his feet, Ye Feng's face turned dark as thunder.
*Clang!*
Ye Feng whipped out a dark-gold longsword, surging sword intent radiating around him. Licking his lips, he growled, "If I don't stew you today, my surname isn't Ye!!"
Pengluo flared with rage. Pointing a pale-jade arm at Ye Feng, it cursed, "You little bastard, you already stewed me once before! What's wrong with me giving you a kick?!
"Ohoho, no way, you still want to stew me?!
"Your Brother Luo is Rank Six now! Do you even know how strong a Rank-Six spirit sprite is?!"
Li Guanqi glanced in surprise at the ridiculously puffed-up Pengluo.
Watching its arrogant swagger, Xiao Chen pointed at it from behind its back, wildly winking and gesturing to Li Guanqi with his eyes.
The look clearly said: *You can tolerate this? If it were me, I'd have beaten it already.*
Xiao Chen loved nothing more than watching a spectacle unfold—it wasn't his spirit sprite anyway.
Besides, even he was seeing a Rank-Six spirit sprite for the very first time.
Li Guanqi took a sip of wine and leaned in to fan the flames. "Brother Luo, you're already Rank Six, so what are you scared of him for? Go beat him up!"
Hearing Li Guanqi say that, Pengluo swelled with even more confidence. It thrust its chin up haughtily and declared, "You're my master's brother, so if you apologize to me, I'll be magnanimous and let you off the hook!"
Ye Feng nearly laughed in exasperation. A wicked smile curled at the corners of his lips. "All right. I'll give you a proper apology."
With that, an invisible spatial ripple instantly enveloped Pengluo.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi and Xiao Chen burst out laughing.
"This little thing is hilarious."
"It'll probably be crying and screaming for help in a moment."
Li Guanqi chuckled. Before he could speak, a big white radish scrambled out of a spatial tear.
With nosebleeds streaming down and its arms flailing wildly, it shrieked, "Help meeeeee!!"
"Save me, Master!"
Li Guanqi pretended not to hear, raising his wine jar to clink against Xiao Chen's.
Neither spoke, and Xiao Chen's expression grew somewhat complicated.
Setting his wine flagon down, Xiao Chen reached over and shoved Pengluo's head back down.
With a tinge of melancholy, he asked, "Li Guanqi, tell me... is a white moonlight really more important than devoted companionship?"
Xiao Chen looked directly into Li Guanqi's eyes, wanting to see his perspective.
To his surprise, Li Guanqi took a sip from his wine jar and said softly, "I don't think the person in front of you is necessarily more important than a white moonlight."
Xiao Chen's eyes brightened as he waited for him to continue.
Li Guanqi said softly, "The reason a white moonlight is so unforgettable is because they shared many wonderful times together.
"But the person right in front of someone... is equally important. If Wanshu doesn't like you, perhaps she simply has no feelings for you.
"As for you, Xiao Chen, I think you're actually quite outstanding."
Hearing this, Xiao Chen nearly burst into tears of touched emotion. But immediately afterward, Li Guanqi added:
"Though of course, I am a bit more outstanding than you."
"Li Guanqi, screw your ancestors!!!"
"Hahaha!"
Li Guanqi's gaze drifted slightly into the distance as he continued, "If I hadn't cultivated, hadn't encountered so many opportunities, and hadn't broken through after brushes with death...
"If upon meeting Wanshu again, I were still that rustic village boy from that small mountain hamlet...
"Then perhaps, even if Wanshu still liked me, I might have given up out of feelings of inferiority."
At this, Li Guanqi smiled faintly and murmured, "So in the end, you have to become outstanding yourself."
Xiao Chen nodded in complete agreement.
If not for Li Guanqi's strength and talent, Xiao Chen wouldn't have been able to act so nonchalant either.
After their duel, he had realized that Li Guanqi wasn't inferior to him at all. Moreover, Li Guanqi's identity was mysterious, and his background formidable!
He had claimed that his grandfather could pummel Meng Jiangchu with ease. Although Xiao Chen had had his doubts, he felt Li Guanqi didn't seem like the type to lie...
"Sigh..."
Xiao Chen let out a soft sigh. Just as he was about to speak,
Li Guanqi's expression beside him changed drastically, his eyes turning razor-sharp!
With a flick of his hand, he abruptly awakened Jiuxiao and shattered Ye Feng's origin energy domain with a single punch, roaring,
"Stop fooling around! Enemy attack!!"
Outside the cabin, the old man had already gripped his longsword and slowly risen to his feet!
"Have they finally come?"
Chapter 527