EHRPS CH179

Tu Tianba turned around, coming face-to-face with the man leaning against the sandalwood cabinet. Both of their expressions were relaxed, and the tone of their greeting was light and airy.

Inside the system space.

The white orb looked at the handsome, rugged uncle-face appearing on the light screen and chattered away:

“Host, isn’t this the person who was registering jade tags for wandering cultivators at the Fairy Spirit Square earlier? Speaking of which, isn’t he from the Wondrous Immortal Sect? How come he looked proper in the morning, but now looks so down and out…”

“Eh? Could it be that he suspects your identity, so he followed you all the way here?”

Tu Tianba replied silently: “Before I walked in, he was already inside.”

As a wage earner for the Space-Time Bureau, the white orb could be said to be incredibly well-read—in a cultivation world, a ruggedly handsome uncle who looked this decadent had a very high probability of being a ruthless character.

Danger!

Thinking of this, the white orb raised its electronic voice pitch, coaxing sweetly, “Host, ask him his name. I can search if he has a role in the original book. Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy guarantees victory in a hundred battles…”

Tu Tianba also felt this made sense.

Although he didn’t quite like this righteous cultivator who started suspecting and testing him the moment they met, the guy hadn’t actually made a move yet, and Tu Tianba wasn’t here to pick a fight with righteous cultivators anyway. His goal was very clear.

Tu Tianba raised a hand and squeezed the crimson brocade pouch hanging on his chest. Feeling the slight resistance beneath his fingers, the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously, like a leopard cat licking its front paws in the afternoon.

He casually stuffed the pouch from his collar into his clothes, completely ignoring that it created a noticeable bulge. When he tilted his head, his fragmented bangs cast a small shadow over his eyes, making his irises appear even darker.

Then, Tu Tianba took the initiative to ask:

“Ah, you know what my name is, but I still don’t know yours…”

The tone was incredibly dry.

N001 felt he sounded more like an AI than it did.

The silence in this small space was broken. The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow and replied smoothly:

“—This humble one is Xu Que.”

As soon as the man finished speaking, Tu Tianba heard the inner demon let out an incomprehensible ‘holy crap’ in his ear, followed by a string of information rattling off like enumerating family treasures:

“Xu Que, one of the elders of the Ten Thousand Dharmas Sect. A character who appears in the Immortal-Demon War in the later stages of the original book. Although he only has Soul Formation stage cultivation, he is a genius at array formations! The kind who can fight opponents at higher cultivation levels!”

“During the Immortal-Demon War, he charged at the absolute frontlines to eradicate demonic cultivators. He was a ruthless man who didn’t care about his own life, willing to risk half his life to wipe them out completely!”

As it spoke, the inner demon warned him worriedly:

“Host, you really need to be careful. He seems to absolutely hate demonic cultivators…”

Listening to this string of information, Tu Tianba locked eyes with the man opposite him. Neither spoke, yet the atmosphere inexplicably cooled.

Right at this moment.

A young cultivator strolled down from the second floor. Following behind him were several attendants in uniform Heavenly Treasure Pavilion attire, each holding different-sized sandalwood boxes that looked quite expensive. Of course, the magical artifacts inside were even more exorbitantly priced.

The young cultivator was clearly from the Wondrous Immortal Sect, and his blue-and-white attire was exceptionally exquisite and luxurious, the layered lotus patterns at the hem incredibly lifelike. As he descended the stairs, the jade ornaments at his waist clinked softly, yet they couldn’t mask his slightly fiery and arrogant call—

“Where is that wretched old man surnamed Xu?”

In the next instant.

The middle-aged man—whose demeanor seemed lazy but was actually on guard against the youth across from him—twitched his mouth. He couldn’t help but shift his gaze first, saying to the young cultivator approaching from behind:

“Am I that old?”

“All day long, it’s ‘wretched old man’ this and ‘wretched old man’ that. You always want me to buy you this and that. How did the Wondrous Immortal Sect produce a little ingrate like you?”

Fu Yuesheng walked over with his hands behind his back. He clearly didn’t take the man’s words seriously and let out a disdainful hmph, “So are you buying it or not?”

Only when he got closer did Fu Yuesheng notice the high-ponytail youth standing in front of Xu Que. His features were handsome and childish, looking only a bit younger than himself, and the red mole on the bridge of his nose was very bright.

A burst of mischievousness instantly arose in Fu Yuesheng. Standing behind Xu Que, he tugged at his back collar, deliberately using a sour tone to tease him via voice transmission:

“Wretched old man, do you just like young, pretty little cultivators? Hmph, isn’t sticking to my rear end all day long enough?”

Xu Que: “…”

What is all this nonsense.

Xu Que cast a glance at the black-clad youth standing a few steps away, still vigilant in his heart. When they met at the Fairy Spirit Square, he had felt this youth was not a simple character. Even though the array hadn’t been triggered, he felt… the youth’s eyes carried a kind of pure ferocity and indifference that involuntarily sent a chill down one’s spine.

Xu Que originally thought that with the Immortal Sect Grand Competition imminent, it was only right to be cautious. Just as he was about to investigate further, he was summoned to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion by this little ancestor of the Wondrous Immortal Sect, and coincidentally ran into this Doctor Tu.

Forget it. There’s no rush.

Xu Que sighed inwardly. He reached back, grabbed the misbehaving hand, and turned to push the young man away, “Buying, buying, buying. I’ve spent all my spirit stones on you.”

“Why are you in such a rush? Did I hit the nail on the head?”

“…Stop guessing wildly.”

“What are you so anxious about? Rushing to get back to the Ten Thousand Dharmas Sect?”

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

Tu Tianba stood in place. The displeasure lingering in his heart was completely swept away. His round apricot eyes stared at the two people who were constantly engaged in small physical movements, and he even popped a handful of sugar beans into his mouth with great interest. His teeth were good, crunching loudly.

Tu Tianba’s true cultivation was higher than anyone present, so naturally, he heard the young cultivator’s voice transmission. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he whispered an analysis to his inner demon:

“Inner demon, that Xu Que seems worried I might notice the person beside him. He’s afraid that if I really am a demonic cultivator, I might harm that guy… Do you think they’re a pair of Dao Companions?”

Following the host’s gaze to the two walking away, N001 also couldn’t help but reply in a gossipy tone:

“Whoa, a May-December romance?”

“The original book never mentioned Xu Que having a Dao Companion. Speaking of which, he’s probably over eight hundred years old, right? Only in a cultivation world is this okay, otherwise I’d want to call the police. That little cultivator looks seventeen, maybe eighteen, nineteen… but who knows, maybe he’s hundreds of years old too.”

“Wow, all this pulling and tugging, the air is practically bubbling with pink hearts. These two definitely have a thing going on!”

Saying this, N001 suddenly remembered something. It sucked in a breath and sighed emotionally:

“But even if it’s a May-December romance, Host, you’re still doing better than them! The protagonist is over one thousand and several hundred years old!”

Tu Tianba found these words very useful and nodded in satisfaction. “Naturally.”

At the counter.

Xu Que was bitterly taking out spirit stones. Sensing that the gaze from behind still hadn’t shifted, he seemingly casually instructed Fu Yuesheng: “Go back to the sect. Your health isn’t good, don’t run around everywhere.”

Fu Yuesheng wasn’t very happy and retorted:

“I’ve been better for a long time! My mother even permitted me to participate in this year’s Immortal Sect Grand Competition. That’s why I ran out to tell you the good news. You have to stay and watch me take first place!”

Hearing this, Xu Que’s brows furrowed together. He glanced back.

The black-clad youth was unashamedly staring in their direction, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two of them, his hands non-stop stuffing food into his mouth, as if watching a very interesting play.

“…”

Noticing Xu Que’s gaze, Fu Yuesheng also turned to look back, spotting the youth whose actions perfectly mirrored how he was scanning back and forth between him and Xu Que.

“Why are you acting so weird today? Who is he?”

Although Fu Yuesheng was pampered and spoiled while growing up in the sect, resulting in a somewhat arrogant personality, and despite his voice transmission to Xu Que earlier sounding incredibly sour, he actually didn’t hold any ill will toward the black-clad youth. In fact, he felt a sense of ease, like meeting a peer.

Thus, meeting the youth’s gaze, he flashed a very bright smile, not showing the slightest bit of timidity.

Staring at the young cultivator who was covered from head to toe in ornamental magical artifacts, flaunting himself like a peacock, Tu Tianba didn’t feel any dislike. He immediately stepped forward.

Stopping in front of the young cultivator, he said directly:

“My name is Doctor Tu, a medical cultivator. I’m here to participate in this year’s Immortal Sect Grand Competition.”

The youth’s voice was clear and crisp.

Fu Yuesheng let out a surprised ‘oh’. “You’re a medical cultivator too? I heard from senior brothers in the sect that a wandering cultivator would be entering the back mountain dense forest with our Medical faction disciples this year. Is that you?”

Tu Tianba nodded absentmindedly, taking the opportunity to add:

“I’ll definitely be the champion this year.”

Before the other could reply, Tu Tianba could no longer suppress the curiosity and novelty in his heart—this was, after all, the first time he had encountered an established pair of Dao Companions. So, he asked exceptionally bluntly:

“Have you two ever dual cultivated? How does it feel?”

As soon as these words came out.

The expressions of the two people opposite him underwent a slight change.

Xu Que’s brows were still furrowed, his eyes half calm and half probing. The gaze he leveled at Tu Tianba was somewhat cold. Fu Yuesheng, however, blushed furiously, his speech immediately starting to stutter.

“…Ah??”

“Dual… you, cough… why are you asking this??”

Tu Tianba answered with total sincerity: “I’m going to dual cultivate very soon, so I’m curious.”

Following that, Tu Tianba puffed out his chest confidently, pointed at the annoying middle-aged man next to them, and smiled triumphantly:

“My Dao Companion is not only older than him, but also prettier than him! Old and pretty, the kind of pretty that no one in the entire cultivation world can compare to.”

The white orb: “…”

Protagonist, don’t listen, this is a bad review.

Fu Yuesheng was stunned and subconsciously retorted:

“Xu Que looks very pretty when he shaves his beard! Otherwise, why would I have taken a liking to him when I was young? Furthermore, sooner or later, we will get my mother’s approval and formally become Dao Companions… and, and dual cultivate soon too!”

Xu Que: “……”

What on earth is all this nonsense.

Hearing the other’s flustered and agitated retort, Tu Tianba suddenly understood. “So you aren’t Dao Companions yet, and you haven’t dual cultivated either?”

He then calmly gestured with his hand.

“At the latest, in nine… ah, no, at the latest in eight and a half days, I will be able to dual cultivate. As expected, I’m faster. Forget it, I’m leaving now…”

Having lost his curiosity, Tu Tianba turned directly to leave, only to hear the young cultivator behind him call out refusing to admit defeat:

“Wait, where do you think you’re going!”

“…”

So…

How exactly did things develop into the current situation?

Xu Que sat with his arms crossed by the window of a restaurant, staring out at the scenery in absolute boredom. In his ears was the back-and-forth conversation between two youths.

Summer was in full swing.

Immortals and mortals coexisted in Yongge City. Cultivators feared neither the intense heat nor the bitter cold, but ordinary people longed for a touch of coolness in the scorching summer. Furthermore, the Wondrous Immortal Sect had many disciples, and those who hadn’t reached the state of Inedia were everywhere, so they frequently came to Yongge City to satisfy their appetites.

Fu Yuesheng was one of them.

He held a cup of fruit brew with ice, took a small sip first, then narrowed his slanted fox-like eyes and said to the black-clad youth across the table:

“How is it? There are Bodhi fruits added inside, they can replenish spiritual energy. Tastes good, right?”

Tu Tianba looked at the crimson fruits floating on the surface of the fruit brew, tipped his head back, and took a huge gulp. Habitually crunching the ice cubes in his mouth, he commented:

“It looks quite nice.”

Fu Yuesheng: “?”

Tu Tianba’s mood at this moment was actually quite good.

He originally thought the other party called out to him to pick a fight and save face. Unexpectedly, when Tu Tianba turned around, that peacock had a slight blush on his cheeks and hesitantly asked him,

“…My name is Fu Yuesheng. I am an inner sect disciple of the Wondrous Immortal Sect, and also a medical cultivator. Since we are both fellow Daoists participating in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition, why don’t we exchange some pointers.”

Before long, the three of them arrived at this place.

Fu Yuesheng played host, but the one paying the spirit stones was Xu Que.

Regardless of how it happened, this was the first time someone had treated Tu Tianba to food—what demonic cultivators gave him was called tribute. Tu Tianba set down the empty cup and kindly asked,

“Are you very poor?”

Honestly, he didn’t look it at all.

Fu Yuesheng had an abundance of hairpins and accessories. His wrists were stacked with several strings of bracelets, a dazzling array of them, and a string of jade ornaments and small bells dangled from his waist.

They were all magical artifacts, and their grades weren’t low either.

In contrast, Xu Que beside him looked exactly like a down-and-out middle-aged man. His Dharma robe was covered in patches, the stitching extremely sloppy.

Hearing this, Fu Yuesheng laughed. As he spoke, he tilted his chin and glanced at the middle-aged man who seemed to be daydreaming.

“How is that possible? My mother is…”

Before he could finish, he heard Xu Que transmit a voice message to him:

“Little ancestor, I beg you to put a filter on your mouth. Don’t just blurt everything out.”

Fu Yuesheng obediently changed his tune:

“My mother is very rich, so of course I’m not poor.”

Tu Tianba heard it loud and clear. He just felt that Xu Que’s tone during the voice transmission was incredibly gentle, sounding bizarrely cloying. Like a well-aged cut-sleeve.

Following that, Fu Yuesheng hugged Xu Que’s arm and said cheerfully, “He’s not poor either. He just looks like a pauper, that’s all.”

Xu Que: “…Tsk.”

Fu Yuesheng poked at the patches on the man’s Dharma robe and explained briefly, “These were all cut by me when I was a kid using my mother’s Golden Flood Dragon Scissors. But I already sewed them up myself.”

After speaking, Fu Yuesheng let go of his hand, leaned his upper body toward the youth across the table, and lowered his voice.

“You look about my age. How old are you?”

Tu Tianba originally wanted to say three hundred and twenty-seven, but the inner demon reminded him just in time: “Host, according to your character setting data, you should have just passed two hundred.”

So, Tu Tianba answered exactly like that. Because it wasn’t considered a lie, he spoke with absolute candor.

Fu Yuesheng’s eyes lit up. “Me too!”

After saying that, he stroked a long strand of hair by his temples, recalling, “Your Dao Companion is actually older than Xu Que? I don’t think I’ve heard of them. By the way, have you two held a Dao Companion ceremony yet?”

Tu Tianba: “?”

What? Being Dao Companions is this troublesome??

He shook his head honestly.

Seeing this, Fu Yuesheng held his cup, nodded thoughtfully, and murmured, “No wonder I haven’t heard about it. I just don’t know who your Dao Companion is… but maybe I shouldn’t ask. What if it’s an elder I know? I’d have a hard time facing them…!”

“The obstacles caused by your identities must be huge too, right?”

“This guy is the same generation as my mother, even older than her. They even went on training journeys together when they were young,” Fu Yuesheng whispered. “My health is poor. For various reasons, my mother definitely won’t agree…”

As Fu Yuesheng spoke, his tone grew downcast. But suddenly, he changed the subject, his expression becoming bright and flamboyant again.

“But she definitely won’t be able to outstubborn me…”

Fu Yuesheng was a chatterbox, even more talkative than the inner demon.

Tu Tianba initially didn’t mind his noise, but as he listened, he became utterly annoyed. He stood up expressionlessly, shoving his stool backward so hard it fell to the ground with a bang.

He tossed a top-tier spirit stone onto the table, casually raised a hand to scratch his face, and said in a displeased tone:

“You are so noisy. I’m leaving.”

Unlike last time, Tu Tianba didn’t care about the commotion behind him and walked straight away. He didn’t even bother buying a communication artifact. He stomped back to his guest room fuming, pulled out the brocade pouch, restored the little person inside to his original size, and viciously declared:

“Dammit, doesn’t this mean I lost!!”

He stared darkly at the man whose face was slightly flushed from being suffocated. Ignoring their current situation, he sneered:

“I don’t want to buy you a magical artifact anymore. And besides, why should I be the one buying for you, instead of you buying for me?”

The inner demon spoke up quietly, hesitating: “Host, please be rational. He is currently no different from a mortal. He can’t use voice transmission with you, nor does he have spirit stones. Moreover, you don’t even need a communication artifact, so don’t blindly compare yourself…”

N001 was heartbroken. “The path of an overachiever isn’t suitable for you!”

Tu Tianba replied coldly, “I don’t care.”

Following that, he glared at the man and listed off his grievances one by one like a miser: “You haven’t let me spend your spirit stones, you haven’t let me cut your clothes to pieces and sew them back up, and you haven’t spoken to me as if your mouth was full of honey!!”

Tu Tianba considered himself a very rigorous person. He paused for a moment, suddenly stuck, and had to quietly confirm with the inner demon: “Inner demon, does he have parents?”

The white orb: “…”

What kind of hellish question is this?

The most hellish part is, the protagonist really doesn’t have parents. He was born in chaotic times. He only survived because the old Sect Master of the Guiqing Sect picked him up; otherwise, he definitely would have been stewed in a pot by the starving masses everywhere.

The white orb: “…He used to.”

Receiving the inner demon’s reply, Tu Tianba couldn’t help but slam a palm onto the table. Fortunately, he controlled his strength, only leaving a dozen or so cracks on the corner of the table.

He complained even more angrily:

“Why don’t you have a mom and dad either? Doesn’t that mean no one can host our Dual Cultivation Ceremony, and no relatives can give us their blessings? This is truly the most detestable of all detestable things!”

The white orb: “…”

You mean Dao Companion Ceremony, right? Where did a Dual Cultivation Ceremony come from?

Unlike the system’s secret complaints, the man merely watched the angry youth in silence, not saying a single word the entire time.

Although A-Hui couldn’t communicate with the youth after being shrunk and stuffed into the brocade pouch, he could hear most of the commotions outside. Therefore, A-Hui was aware of the interactions between him and the other two.

The youth threw accusation after accusation at him, every word dripping with displeasure, as if he were born with a temperamental heart, throwing a tantrum at the drop of a hat.

However, A-Hui stared at his angry face, listened to his long rant, and in the end, only understood one sentence.

—Why doesn’t anyone love me.

After the youth angrily pulled out the bearskin, spread it in the corner of the guest room, and burrowed entirely inside it, A-Hui silently approached and lifted a corner.

The bearskin was soft, thick, and dark in color.

The youth’s fair, tender little face was exposed, his brows knitted in anger, not even sparing him a glance.

A-Hui pursed his lips, sat down next to a small corner, then reached out and took the red string used to hang the brocade pouch from the youth’s chest, winding it between his fingers…

Tu Tianba was in the back, the man sitting in front.

Thus, Tu Tianba quietly shot a sideways glance at the man’s profile, finding that the other had his head lowered. His soft hair fell from behind his shoulders, obscuring his hand movements.

Tu Tianba silently spat at the damn heavens.

Damn it, truly damn it.

After spitting, he wriggled like a worm, adjusting his posture.

From this position, Tu Tianba almost popped his eyes out of their sockets before he could see the man’s ten fingers nimbly weaving and winding that red string. He quickly braided a preliminary shape.

It looked like a knot.

Tu Tianba wriggled once, then again.

A moment later.

Tu Tianba lay down on the man’s lap. He raised one hand to hold the hair that fell to the man’s front, preventing it from tickling his face, while his other hand scratched his own face.

He held it in for a good while before asking:

“What are you doing?”

A-Hui smiled at him but didn’t speak.

But soon, the red string in his hands completely took shape. Leaning over the youth’s lying posture, A-Hui tied the object to the youth’s waist, simultaneously saying softly:

“A Peace Knot. It’s the only one I know how to make.”

The next instant.

Tu Tianba saw the man offer his sleeve to him. Using a deliberately softened voice, he said to him somewhat vaguely:

“…If you want to cut it, then cut it.”

The tone was very gentle, as if coated in honey.

Tu Tianba’s soul instantly floated up into the air.

“Riiiip—”

A-Hui looked down at the gaping tear in the fabric stretching from his collar to his waist, then looked at the youth’s excitedly beaming expression, and fell into a period of silence.

“…”

Forget it, it’s nothing.