Young Master Xu, Please Have Some Tea

In the Netherworld, beside the Nai River, the sudden emergence of such a scene was inevitably unnerving. Xu Ying raised his guard and slowed his steps. As he passed the willow tree, the person beneath it called out an invitation: "Young Master Xu, why not come sit a while?" Alert, Yuan Qi whispered, "Ah Ying, he doesn't come with good intentions!" Xu Ying gave a slight nod and said, "What will come will come. Since he has set up his table here, he has clearly been waiting a long time. He won't let us leave easily." He walked over, offered an apology for the intrusion, and sat down opposite the man. The bull demons took up positions behind him, though not on the ground; instead, they hovered in whorls of nether wind, their feet never touching the earth, radiating an eerie dread. This was the source of Xu Ying's confidence. Although he did not know why these bull demons followed him, with them and the bone soul-thrashing whips at his side, he figured he could handle whatever danger arose. The person sitting opposite was an old man with a furrowed brow, his face etched in perpetual sorrow. It was impossible to tell his age; one could only see wrinkles carved like knife cuts deep into his skin, so deep they seemed engraved into the bone. He was so old that his eyes had sunk deep into their sockets. Sitting beneath the blue-flamed lantern, his eyes looked like two dots of red incense embers hidden in the dark recesses. A peculiar scent of incense clung to him as well, yet outwardly, he did not resemble a deity. The sorrowful old man poured tea for Xu Ying. Thirsty though Xu Ying was, he did not drink, asking instead, "Elder, do you know me?" Yuan Qi stared at the teacup, swallowing saliva, but there were only two stools and two cups; none was meant for him. The sorrowful old man smiled. "I do. When you were little, I even held you in my arms." Xu Ying looked at him in surprise, straining to recall his childhood. "How is it that I have no memory of you, elder? My family lived in Xujiaping, where everyone shared the surname Xu. My father was the third child, named Xu Sanlang. My mother was from the neighboring village, named Luo Yinghua. I was the second child, and I also had an elder sister... No, that's not right!" His eyes gradually flushed crimson. Scenes from the Wangxiang Platform surfaced in his mind—he remembered the little boy who had bumped into his leg, and the couple whose faces remained obscured. Both Yuan Qi and the bronze bell tensed up: *Oh no, Ah Ying's ailment is flaring up again!* The sorrowful old man gestured for him to drink his tea. "You've had that headache affliction ever since you were small, and it still hasn't healed. Truly pitiful." Xu Ying's head throbbed with splitting agony. He picked up the teacup, then set it back down, offering a strained smile. "Since you held me back then, elder, you must know a great deal about my childhood?" Seeing that he had not drunk the tea, the old man's brow furrowed even deeper in gloom. Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. A grand temple flew overhead, and the voice of the white-robed Nuo immortal rang out: "Brat who plays with the giant snake, where are you hiding? No need to hide—come out! Come show me a couple more of those sword tricks!" Xu Ying and Yuan Qi's expressions changed at once. The bronze bell rang out with a *dang*. Only the bull demons remained completely unperturbed, standing in the nether winds and snorting through their nostrils. Xu Ying immediately moved to stand and take his leave, but the sorrowful old man said, "Rest assured, he cannot find this place. Soon, Vice Prefect Ling Youdao of the Yongzhou Ghost Office will pass by here and lead him away." Xu Ying's eyes flickered. Quietly activating his Heavenly Eye to observe him, he smiled and asked, "How should I address you, elder?" Between his brows, his divine sense formed a looking-glass, opening his Heavenly Eye to reflect the sorrowful old man. Xu Ying's heart jolted. Behind the sorrowful old man sat an immensely vast divine personage, seated in the void amidst ten thousand rays of resplendent light—too dazzling to behold directly! *A Qi Refiner!* A chill ran through Xu Ying's heart. He hastily dissolved his Heavenly Eye, fixing his gaze on his nose and his nose on his heart, not daring to show the slightest abnormality. This sorrowful old man was actually a Qi Refiner, just like the maiden in the coffin! Yet hadn't the maiden in the coffin said that Qi Refiners were extinct? Where did this sorrow-faced old man come from? The sorrowful old man caught a hint of an anomaly, as though someone had just peered at him, but the strange sensation vanished in an instant. Surprised, he glanced around. Nearby, there were only wandering ghosts and gods from the ruined temple, and the white-robed Nuo immortal circling overhead in his grand temple, searching for Xu Ying and the others. No other expert was present. *Could an expert be hiding nearby?* Failing to spot the one who had spied on him, he raised his guard slightly and said, "The Nuo immortal of Shuikou Temple is surnamed Chen, named Mianzhu, and was once the emperor of the Southern Dian Kingdom. Admiring the culture of Shenzhou, he came here to study. This man was indeed astonishingly gifted, blessed with immense fortune. After mastering the Nuo master legacy, he opened the Jade Capital secret depository and acquired a mysterious heritage. Upon returning to his country, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds; within a mere hundred years, he attained the realm of a Nuo immortal." Hearing him recount the origins of the white-robed Nuo immortal, Xu Ying could not help but listen intently. The sorrowful old man continued, "Chen Mianzhu lived to the age of three hundred and sixty-seven. When he became a Nuo immortal, he lamented the finitude of his lifespan and began preparing for his afterlife. Marshalling the entire strength of the Southern Dian Kingdom, he had his people worship deities and forged statue after statue. By the time his natural life drew to an end, he had finally created Shuikou Temple, with one end connected to the mortal realm and the other to the Netherworld. He concealed his Hidden Scenery latent transformation grounds within the Netherworld, desiring to become an immortal, undying Nuo immortal existing across both yin and yang. He enslaved gods to refine spirit elixirs for him and cater to his daily life, continuing to live like an emperor. What they call an immortal's life was nothing more than this. Until one day..." Xu Ying chimed in, "Until one day, a sword struck, carving open his Hidden Scenery latent transformation grounds! A peerless powerhouse entered his transformation grounds and slew him!" The sorrowful old man wore a peculiar expression. "That person broke into his Hidden Scenery latent transformation grounds with a sword, but didn't kill him—he ate him." A chill surged from deep within Xu Ying, creeping from his tailbone straight to the back of his head. His voice grew hoarse: "Ate him?" Without realizing it, he took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. Hooked on the story, Yuan Qi and the bronze bell failed to notice this altogether. The sorrowful old man said, "Eaten clean, until only a sheet of skin remained. Even his soul was devoured whole. The entity that ate him did so with great care, as if savoring a delicacy of his own cooking, truly unwilling to waste a single scrap." At this point, the old man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, as though swallowing his own drool, as if a Nuo immortal were an appetizing delicacy. The sorrowful old man picked up the teapot, poured more tea for Xu Ying, and continued, "Had it been an ordinary death, Chen Mianzhu would not possess such deep resentment. It was precisely because he was eaten alive, mouthful by mouthful, until nothing remained but skin, that his resentment soared to the heavens. In truth, he is left with only a remnant wisp of consciousness." Enlightenment dawned on Xu Ying. Sipping his tea, he remarked, "No wonder his strength seemed immense, yet fell short of what it should be." The sorrowful old man said, "He was eaten clean with only some skin left; how much strength could he possibly have? He is merely strong on the outside and weak within. He can bully a few Grand Nuo, but against a true expert, he will suffer. Well, the Ghost Office's vice prefect has already led him away." Right then, Vice Prefect Ling's startled cry echoed from the sky, followed by the white-robed Nuo immortal's hearty laughter: "You wooden-carved, clay-molded god with barely a few ounces of flesh on your bones—how dare you run wild in my domain?" Vice Prefect Ling's voice shouted, "I am a vice prefect of the Nether Court! What can you do to me? Slaying me violates Heavenly Law—you won't be able to bear the consequences!" "What does the Nether Court amount to? Some other day I will storm the Nether Court and become the Nether Court's Son of Heaven myself!" Their voices gradually faded into the distance. Xu Ying let out a breath of relief and said with a smile, "Many thanks, elder." The sorrowful old man said, "Young Master Xu, please be on your way." Xu Ying stood up. His vision blurred slightly; he gave his head a shake and immediately cleared his mind. Leading Yuan Qi and the several bull demons, he walked into the vast darkness, his figure gradually fading from sight. The sorrowful old man stared, dumbstruck, speechless for a long time. After a moment, the sorrowful old man cried out in dismay, "Granny Meng, you really did water down this tea! Water it down? More like you added a dash of tea to plain water!" He trembled with fury from head to foot. The grand Meng Po soup, the bewitching broth, had merely made Xu Ying dazed for a fleeting second before he snapped back to full awareness, as though he hadn't been bewitched in the slightest! In this matter, Granny Meng had definitely cut him some slack! "No, I must go find Granny Meng and get to the bottom of this. She owes me an explanation!" The sorrowful old man stood up and cleared the stone table, packing away the tea set. Reaching out casually to grab the green paper umbrella resting against the table leg, his hand grasped only empty air. The sorrowful old man reached out again, but still found nothing. He flared up in anger: "Where is my umbrella? Which bastard stole my umbrella?" A chill ran through him. *Could it have been that expert who cast a glance at me in secret? He spied on me from the shadows and stole my paper umbrella without a sound—was he demonstrating his might to me?* He peered vigilantly in every direction and called out loudly, "Which friend is playing a joke on this old man? Why not show yourself?" He waited a good while, but all remained quiet around him. Step by step, he backed away, staying on high alert against any covert ambush. Suddenly leaping into the air, he turned into a streak of flowing light and vanished into the azure sky. Only then did he exhale in relief: *Even if that great expert was watching, he couldn't have found the slightest flaw in my defense!* "We're finally at Mount Wuwang!" When Xu Ying and the others returned to Qinyan Cave on Mount Wuwang and stepped into the Mud Pill Palace, Yuan Qi wept tears of joy. "Both times I left the cave, I nearly died! I'm never stepping outside again!" Carrying a green paper umbrella, the bronze bell flew out from the back of Xu Ying's head and asked curiously, "What happened the last time you nearly died?" "I ran into a snake catcher and was chased by him for three days and three nights." Yuan Qi looked over the green paper umbrella and asked in confusion, "Lord Bell, what's with this umbrella?" The bronze bell said smugly, "I saw it leaning against the table leg and thought it looked rather delightful. While the old fellow was distracted, I helped myself to it, and sure enough, he didn't notice a thing." The tip of Yuan Qi's tail curled around the green paper umbrella. With a pop, he opened it and held it over his head, looking like he was wearing a tiny mushroom. "Too small," he muttered. With a whoosh, the green paper umbrella expanded considerably, just large enough to shield his giant head. Yuan Qi clicked his tongue in wonder, exclaiming, "It's actually a magic treasure!" With that, he had no intention of returning it to the bronze bell. *Ah Ying has Lord Bell. Naturally, this umbrella belongs to the second-in-command of Qinyan Cave!* he thought to himself. Xu Ying picked up the bone whip and examined it closely. The skull at the whip's tip bobbed and swayed smugly, emitting clacking chuckles. This whip lashed souls. Be it the living, the dead, or even deities—so long as it had a soul, the whip could strike it. Even a City God or the ghosts and gods of ruined temples would writhe in agony and weep bitter tears under its lash. Yet the bone soul-thrashing whip had failed to harm Xu Ying, leaving him quite curious. *Why am I not afraid of this whip?* Puzzled, Xu Ying handed the whip to Yuan Qi and said, "Give me a lash." Holding the whip in hand, Yuan Qi suddenly found his coward's courage and shouted, "Ah Ying, you told me to whip you—no backing out!" Xu Ying urged, "Hurry up!" Yuan Qi swung the whip down with a shout: "With this lash today, my grudge over being hunted down by you is avenged! From now on, brother, our slate is wiped clean, and neither owes the other!" *Pa!* The whip cracked across Xu Ying's body, but Xu Ying felt only a faint quiver in his soul and nothing more. The bull demons had followed Xu Ying into Qinyan Cave. Seeing Yuan Qi whipping Xu Ying, they flew into a rage, raising their whips to lash at Yuan Qi. Yuan Qi cried out in panic, "He told me to whip him, not me... *Aaaah—it hurts!*" Struck by a single lash, he was plunged into unbearable agony and collapsed to the ground. Instantly, the bull demons surrounded him, flailing their whips without pause. Shrieks of anguish and the sharp crack of whips rang out incessantly. Xu Ying rushed forward to hold back the bull demons and rescue Yuan Qi. The great snake had already been beaten until he foamed at the mouth, barely breathing. Weakly, he muttered, "Ah Ying, what you owe me... can never be settled..." Xu Ying was bewildered. "Why does Little Qi scream so miserably when struck, yet I feel nothing?" The bronze bell was also perplexed. "The soul-thrashing whip strikes only souls. Could it be that your soul is different from ordinary ones? Wait a moment—let me knock your soul out so we can have a look!" Before Xu Ying could speak, it suddenly rang with a thunderous *dang*. Rattled into a daze, Xu Ying opened his eyes to see another version of himself standing right before him. The bronze bell said, "Stop staring. That's your physical body; you are the soul." "I'm the soul?" Xu Ying exclaimed in astonishment. The bronze bell inspected him up and down and said, "Ah Ying, tell me the truth. Did you eat the Myriad Spirits Pills?" Heartbroken and dismayed, it groaned, "Your soul is almost solid!" At the Wangxiang Platform. Yuan Tiangang stroked his beard, staring in bewilderment at the little old man strolling unhurriedly toward the Nai River Bridge with his hands clasped behind his back. The little old man wore a brow knit in sorrow, burdened by some unknown worry. "Strange... where did his green paper umbrella go?" Yuan Tiangang wondered aloud.