A Smile at Reunion, a Grudge Renewed

"Ji Jue—" Lou Feng ground out between clenched teeth, "If this isn't important, I swear to God I'm coming to Yacheng today to drag you down with me!!!" "Didn't you reject it first?" Ji Jue was astonished. Having gotten plenty of entertainment over the receiver, he stopped teasing him. "Do me a favor. Put me in touch with your old—" "In your dreams!" Lou Feng exploded in fury. Cutting him off before he could finish, he flatly refused. "Not a chance! I knew you hadn't given up, you're still eyeing my aunt... Wait, what the fuck did you just say?!" "I said..." Ji Jue sighed helplessly, took a deep breath, and practically roared into the phone, "Put me in touch with your teacher!!!" And so, another stretch of awkward, dead silence ensued. Only after Lou Feng had metaphorically murdered his past humiliating self and acted as if nothing had happened did he speak again, his voice still trembling. "What do you want with Teacher?" "A signature." "A signature for..." Lou Feng stopped mid-sentence. It was as if something had suddenly clicked in his mind. A long silence hung over the line. Whether out of shock or envy, he asked, "Already?" "I'd love to ask that too, but I honestly don't have the guts," Ji Jue shrugged. "So I can only ask for your help." "Understood." Lou Feng didn't fuss any further, merely adding at the end, "I'll talk to Teacher. Send me your address in a bit. It'll be delivered to you before the day is out." The call ended. The sound of the beeps left Ji Jue in a daze for quite a while. Today? Given the distance between Chaocheng and Yacheng, and considering how difficult wilderness travel was nowadays, they would probably have to dispatch someone on a chartered airship that flew out and landed on the same day... Leave it to the Lou family to be extravagant even when delivering a signature. With that, the second signature was easily settled. Then came the next problem... Teacher, Master Kong—he had two of the three signatures now. Where was he going to find the last one? Mainly, the first two were both masters, so the last one couldn't be too pathetic... Otherwise, wouldn't it drag down the pedigree of the guarantee? Just as he squatted on the steps, rubbing his chin in goblin-mode contemplation, his phone suddenly vibrated. A message from Professor Ye. Just a location pin and an address. Ji Jue scratched his head. Comparing it repeatedly with the address Tong the Vegetable had sent him earlier, there was no difference at all. This location looked like... The Tong family residence? "Hello? Dummy, you there?" Ji Jue dialed the number, and as expected, an annoyed and embarrassed voice came through: "Who're you calling dummy? Who's a dummy?! Ji Jue, I'm warning you, watch your attitude! I just wired tens of millions into your account yesterday!" *Tsk.* That was the downside of getting too familiar—she didn't even call him "Brother Ji Jue" anymore. Then again, they were friends and close now, and he'd still need Miss Dummy to fence loot for him in the future, so scaring her for fun wasn't a good look. Before Ji Jue could speak, however, a gloomy voice drifted from the other end: "Did you just click your tongue at me again?" "No, of course not! How could I?" The corner of Ji Jue's eye twitched. *Naturally sharp Aether brat, I ought to personally confiscate every last one of your melon seeds and nuts!* To avoid bickering any further, he cut straight to the chase: "Are you home?" "Huh? Me?" The half-asleep voice on the other end woke up instantly, quickly laced with panic. "Wh-what are you planning to do?! Are you that short on money lately?!" *Smack!* Ji Jue slapped a hand over his face, completely numb. Why had every single person he talked to since this morning been on a completely different wavelength?! "The Tong residence! The Tong residence!" He defended himself weakly. "I need to pay a visit to your place for something. Just wanted to see if it's convenient for you to guide me in, and whether I should bring some fruit or milk along as a little bribe for Minister Tong." "..." And so, yet another long, awkward silence arrived. After a long pause, a sheepish voice came from the phone: "I sent you the address. Call me when you get here." *Couldn't you have just said that from the start?* Ji Jue hung up and sighed. Are times really this tough? Why was asking someone for a favor so hard? Every single one of them either thought he was a lecher or an outlaw—or both. Before he could even ask for the favor, it was already sounding like a kidnapping and extortion racket. What kind of reputation did he even have in people's minds?! Little Niuma sped along the road, racing forward. Twenty minutes later, Ji Jue had arrived at the outskirts of Yacheng. Looking back from atop the verdant mountains, the distant city lay in clear view, ships setting sail or returning to the harbor in a grand, endless procession. Following the smooth, rarely traveled road winding through the mountains, he climbed higher. Amidst the lush forest, a massive estate nestled in the hills gradually came into view. It didn't boast lavish exterior decorations; even security was sparse to the point of nonexistent. Before the antique-styled main gate, only a withered old man wearing Yacheng's standard old-timer ensemble—an undershirt, shorts, and flip-flops—lounged lazily in a rocking chair, sipping Gongfu tea. It was barely past noon, yet there was no telling how much he had already drunk. Beside him, used tea leaves were piled almost into a mountain on a tray. "Grandpa?" Ji Jue poked his head out and waved. "Excuse me, where should I park?" "Park wherever, lah." The old man casually pointed to the open space in front of the gate. Looking over Little Niuma, he clicked his tongue in admiration. "Nice ride... Handsome lad, where are you from?" "The city, around Beishan District." "Come, come, sit down. Have some tea, have some tea." Seeing him carrying bags and packages, the old man warmly beckoned him over and expertly poured water. The mountain of tea leaves packed into the gaiwan made Ji Jue's brows twitch. After scalding a thumb-sized cup with bamboo tongs, the old man poured from the gaiwan. A layer of tea oil floated over the thick, dark tea, clear enough to mirror his face. The sight made Ji Jue's eyelids twitch, but he could hardly refuse. All he could say was that the Federation had its own espresso. "Ah, these past couple of years, you rarely see young lads dropping by for a visit." The old man sighed warmly as he played host. "How old are you? Early twenties? Young and promising, young and promising. When I was twenty, I was still pushing a cart across town selling fish balls. Now that I'm old, all I can do is watch the gate for someone. Glory days are gone! "Oh, looking for Huahua? She's probably just woken up about now. Just head inside. When you reach that fork in the back, turn right, go a bit further, and you're there. "Bah, there are no stiff rules here; people on the outside just talk nonsense. "Go on, go on. It's good to be young..." After downing a cup of tea and chatting with the lonely old man for a good while, Ji Jue hadn't even fully registered what was happening before the old man had brought him inside the gate and warmly pointed the way. Walking quite a distance down the path, Ji Jue looked back and could still see the old man waving warmly. It wasn't until he ran into Tong Hua on the winding path—yawning and looking as if she were sleepwalking—that both of them froze. "How did you get in?" Tong Hua stared in shock. "Huh? Didn't people say you can just walk in?" Ji Jue asked blankly, glancing back toward the main gate that was no longer visible. "The gatekeeper grandpa let me in. He even gave me directions." "Which gatekeeper grandpa?" Tong Hua's expression stiffened. "The one in the undershirt, shorts, and flip-flops. Full of energy." "..." Tong Hua's expression grew exceedingly complicated, impossible to describe in words. "Is there any chance..." She took a deep breath and asked helplessly, "that the energetic old gatekeeper you're talking about... is my great-grandfather?" Then, in the silence, it was Ji Jue's turn to go completely numb. "Your great-grandfather?" "Yes." "The... Old Patriarch of the Tong family?" The corner of his eye twitched. "Are you sure?" Tong Hua gave a gloomy retort: "Do you think anyone in the Tong residence besides Great-Grandfather would dare wander around in an undershirt, shorts, and flip-flops?" "..." Ji Jue remained silent for a long time, stammering before he could only muster: "He really is energetic." A dignified Celestial-Human, the patriarch of the Tong family, sitting at his own front gate acting as a security guard—what kind of bullshit was this? Who goes around messing with people like that?! As things stood, he could only thank his lucky stars that he hadn't opened their conversation with "that bastard Xu Chaoxian"... He was, after all, an Aether powerhouse. Ji Jue didn't dare grumble behind his back—he didn't even dare *think* ill of him. Instead, he racked his brain in front of Tong Hua to praise the Great-Grandfather as heroic yet unconventional, approachable yet unpretentious, a rare and true titan whose greatness commanded an admiration as ceaseless as the waters of the Nandu River. Only when he suddenly tripped over nothing did he obediently shut his mouth. "A signature?" After hearing the whole story from Ji Jue, Tong Hua understood. "I see. "Tong the Vegetable's equipment is being remade recently. Don't know where he found some haughty big shot, but he's been busy for a while now, back in Uncle Zhao's workshop." Ji Jue's eyes lit up. "That must be him." "You sure?" Tong Hua asked skeptically. "I heard he really likes to put on airs, with his nose up in the clouds. If you just barge in like this, don't come crying if he slams the door in your face." "Impossible," Ji Jue said with a firm shake of his head. "Dealing with artisans is actually my specialty. Most people think artisans are cold and aloof, but that's an illusion. Everyone is actually warm on the inside despite a cold exterior. As long as you open your hearts and build mutual understanding, there's nothing that can't be discussed." And then, five minutes later, at the workshop door, he was met with a scowling, sour face. It looked as hideous as humanly possible. The young apprentice had clearly been waiting there for who knew how long, his slightly swollen face brimming with rage and impatience. Like Ji Jue, he leaned on a cane. But unlike the mercury cane in Ji Jue's hand—which was currently serving as a toolbox—this guy was genuinely disabled, his right leg encased in a plaster cast. The moment his eyes fell on Ji Jue, his eyelids twitched wildly. He gritted his teeth on instinct. "Ji Jue..." He forced the name through his teeth, looking as though he might pounce forward and tear him limb from limb at any second. Tong Hua, who had been leading the way, blinked in surprise. She glanced at the apprentice, then at Ji Jue, her suspicion deepening. "'Warm on the inside'? Are you sure this is what your artisans' 'warm on the inside' looks like?" "Hasn't opened his heart yet, that's all." Ji Jue shook his head, strode forward, and enthusiastically grabbed the young man's hand. Specifically, the hand propping up the crutch. He shook it vigorously. "Hello, hello! First time meeting—is there some misunderstanding?" He asked curiously, "What should I call you, brother?" Violently yanked and shaken, the boy on crutches stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face. He had been on the verge of exploding, but upon hearing those words, his face darkened even further, lividity flushed with angry red until it turned entirely black. "Misunderstanding?" The apprentice on crutches almost laughed out of sheer fury. "Didn't *you* break my leg?! What misunderstanding?! What are you playing dumb for?!" Ji Jue was stunned. Dazed, he stared at him for a long time. His gaze settled heavily on the cast. He was bewildered for quite a while. The main issue was that whenever he fought, he rarely left survivors. Consequently, when confronted with an actual living victim, his brain simply failed to process it. Only when inspiration struck did dawn finally break. "I remember now! You're that... what's-his-name!" Ji Jue smacked his forehead. "Back at the Quancheng outpost, in the association lounge... what was your name again? Zhou... Zhou..." "Zhou Cheng!!!" Zhou Cheng's eyes were bloodshot. Pushed past the limits of humiliation, if not for the location and his unhealed leg, he would have charged forward long ago to fight this bastard to the death. Ever since his grandfather sent him back to the workshop, day and night, tossing and turning, he had racked his brains trying to find a chance to avenge that "arrow." He had imagined the scene of their reunion countless times. The one thing he had never imagined was that, less than half a month later, Ji Jue wouldn't even remember who he was! In truth, if the Heart-Poison Arrow swiped from him hadn't proved somewhat useful when beating up that old bastard, Ji Jue wouldn't have even remembered his surname. Now that enemies had met face to face, Zhou Cheng was the only one whose eyes were blazing with hatred, making him look all the more pathetic and desolate. He opened his mouth to say something more, but his body suddenly stiffened. It was as if an angry rebuke had sounded in his ear. He breathed heavily for a long moment, glaring fixedly at Ji Jue's face. Then, resentfully, he pulled his gaze away. "Follow me." Leaning on his crutches, he turned toward the doorway. "Grandfather has been waiting for you for a long time."