latelenovela Chapter 8: There's no such thing as presenting a tombstone on the first meeting...
Chapter 8: There's no such thing as presenting a tombstone on the first meeting...
Uncle Bei's smile gradually froze, his hand groping over his bare belt.
Although the belt was just a withered vine about the thickness of a bowl, it was now worn smooth from being touched so much.
The old Taoist priest's smile grew even brighter, as if he were eagerly anticipating what earth-shattering, awe-inspiring treasure the other party would produce.
Hmph, although I know absolutely nothing about fortune telling, based on my understanding of you, Old Stele, I can tell with my toes that you never bring gifts when you visit.
Let alone something so valuable that it could be given to a junior apprentice.
Apart from......
The old Taoist priest looked up at the tall stone tablet.
Hmph, you're just like Zhong Ming, an honest man who likes to carry his most valuable treasures with him at all times.
"Oh dear, old man, don't think so much." The old Taoist priest swung his tattered robe, and somehow, the two sleeves had become unusually wide, making a whooshing sound as he swung them, as if they could hold the clear breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains.
It's as if I can accept any gift you send, no matter how big.
Old Bei rummaged around for a long time, squatting down and bending over, his whole body almost touching the ground to try to be the same height as Zhong Ming's head.
"Nephew, your Uncle Bei came in a hurry today and really didn't prepare a gift. How about I get one on credit..."
"Hey, Lao Bei, I have to say something to you. If you can afford it, you can afford it; if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. Do you think you're here to drink at a tavern? You're asking for credit? It's not like I, Daoist Tianfeng, am just casually going to a tavern for a couple of drinks when I'm taking on a disciple."
Zhong Ming could clearly see that the rough face that was almost pressed against his face was stained with dark red. The skin, which was as rough as a mountain range, seemed to have turned into slightly cooled magma in an instant, with red light flashing in the gray-black.
Old Bei's face turned red as he tried to force a smile, but it looked so bad that Zhong Ming thought the other person was angry.
"Master... Uncle-Master, there's no need to be in such a hurry."
Before Zhong Ming could finish speaking, the old Taoist priest kindly but firmly placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Old Bei, look how sensible this nephew is. He’s still young, while we’re both quite old. How could he not be sensible?”
"I understand, I'm especially happy today."
In an instant, the giant, who was as tall as an iron tower, straightened up and stopped carefully controlling himself. The blue bricks under his feet shattered on the spot, and huge cracks appeared on the platform in front of the hall.
Uncle Bei twisted his body, and the terrifying stone tablet behind him was actually swung around like a stick, from behind his body to his waist, his thick arms with bulging veins, and he slammed it hard on the stone tablet.
"Boom~~"
The stone tablet was planted in the ground.
The old Taoist priest marveled. It had been so long since the old stele was last removed from this stone tablet that he couldn't even remember when.
"Come."
With a loud shout, the giant leaped up to the level of the top of the stone tablet, turned his fist into a palm, and cleaved out a smooth, jade-like gray-blue stone slab, as large as the mouth of a well and about two inches thick, as if slicing tofu.
The stone slab, which looked like a manhole cover, was carefully lifted above the giant's head, as if to prevent it from being scratched by flying stone fragments when it fell to the ground.
Zhong Ming: 'Scratching the stone slab is unlikely, but scratching me is a certainty.'
Uncle Bei crashed down in front of Zhong Ming like a giant meteorite, instantly sending dust flying and scattering stones everywhere.
At this moment, the old Taoist's large sleeves came in handy. With a few wavings to the left and right, his tattered Taoist robe managed to deflect all the flying objects.
"Here, junior nephew, this is for you... Oh right, you can't lift it yet."
"Come, come, let me keep it for him." The old Taoist priest took the stone brick without any hesitation and introduced it to Zhong Ming: "This is a wonderful thing, nurtured by nature. It is a treasure born from heavenly mica. Even a piece as good as your Uncle Bei's would take a hundred years to grow an inch tall."
The teacher immediately offered a treasure that was two hundred years old. The key point was that the mica stone on his back was large and wide, making it a top-quality item.
This stuff is like tea; can tea leaves from newly planted tea trees be priced the same as those from ancient tea trees?
Old Bei had certainly gone to great lengths; he cheerfully extended a finger to shake hands with Zhong Ming. They exchanged polite words until...
The giant straightened up and saw the woman in white standing on the roof of the main hall.
He was about to greet her when he suddenly noticed that the woman seemed unhappy.
Then, he saw a scene that made his legs go weak.
The woman in white then drew a long sword from behind her back.
That...divine sword.
For the first time ever, she smiled. The longsword moved nimbly and gracefully in her hand, slicing through several beams of moonlight before gently placing it in the crook of her arm. She then tucked the sword between her arms and swept it across the blade, as if wiping it with her white sleeve.
The man in white stood leaning against his sword, smiling broadly, as if asking a question.
Should I split you in two, or will you do it yourself?
Old Bei's face turned pale. A bitter smile couldn't describe his expression. He looked like a colorful bird that had walked into a trap and had to pluck out its most beautiful feathers to survive.
"Nephew, your uncle is giving you another great gift. You must be extremely careful and never show it to anyone else."
Old Bei sighed and plopped down on the ground.
The old Taoist frowned, shielding Zhong Ming behind him, and said, "Huh? Old Bei, you stingy bastard, did you sleepwalk here today? You're willing to give two gifts? You're not giving them to me, are you?"
Old Bei sighed again, staring intently at Zhong Ming and the others, unwilling to look at the stone tablet behind him, and swiped his hand backward.
Two inches, also two inches thick.
The pitch-black mica stone separated from the huge stone tablet. This was part of the stone tablet's base, square in shape, 64 feet long and 33 feet wide, too big to be used as a bed.
Zhong Ming looked at the thing with some disgust; it was pitch black and covered in mud and moss.
He didn't notice that the old Taoist was so frightened that he couldn't even speak properly. "Old stele, don't scare me like this. This...this...the Heavenly Stone Mica that only grows an inch every thousand years, and you're just giving it away like this? You...you've thought this through! If you give it away, the remaining Heavenly Stone Mica on the stele will need two thousand years...it might not be enough to restore it to its current size."
Such a gift was too precious; even the old Taoist priest was at a loss and dared not accept the treasure.
Not to mention Xiao Zhao, Xiao Yu, and the others, who were so frightened by the scene that they ran into the main hall, leaving only their heads to peek out from the small window to quietly observe the situation.
"Old Bei, Old Bei, say something! You're not going to do something that will get you killed, are you? Don't talk about squandering your fortune. You wait, I'll go call Jin Chuan and A Hu over. We'll figure something out together... Just say something!"
"If I don't say it, my heart aches." (Visible sadness.)
Zhong Ming also stepped forward to dissuade him, echoing the old Taoist's words, "Uncle-Master, please take it back. This is a joyous occasion; it would be unpleasant to get angry and harm your health."
"No!"
Suddenly, the old Taoist priest stood up straight and shouted, startling Zhong Ming.
"No, I was just going along with what you were saying. Why are you making such a fuss?"
The old Taoist priest grasped Zhong Ming's hand, placing one hand on Lao Bei's fingers and holding the other himself, and said earnestly, "From today onwards, you are not allowed to call Lao Bei 'Uncle-Master' anymore. From now on, you will call me 'Master' and him 'Second Master.' That's settled."
......
Several tens of minutes later, everyone was chatting happily, the moon gradually set, and they were about to witness the magnificent sight of the sun rising over the river.
The second master suddenly remembered something and asked in a muffled voice, "Hey, which stage of the cultivation technique did you have Zhong Ming practice?"
"Not yet," the old Taoist priest replied lazily.
"what?"
"That's right, I have to see what gift you give me before deciding which cultivation method to let him practice. Besides, I don't have a choice."
Old Bei: 'I'm wondering if I've been tricked.'