Chapter 9: Tan Laoxi (Part 2)

Various dishes were served. Tan Laoxi sniffed them, took a bite, and said, “Not bad. This tastes fucking delicious. Hey, Lao Luo, you’re lucky to have such a skilled apprentice… Damn it, why don’t I have an apprentice like that? It’s fucking awful!”
Luo Jie said, “Eat then. Can something this delicious really stop you from eating?”
Tan Laoxi stopped talking and dug in like a storm, finishing several plates in just a few minutes. Wiping his mouth, he said, “Damn, it’s really tasty, but there’s not enough…”
Qi Nanshan scolded, “Are you a pig? This is sacred food, not pig food. How can you eat like that?”
Tan Laoxi pleaded, “Guo Shier, one more portion? This time I won’t be reckless—I’ll eat slowly!”
It was the first time Guo Shier had seen someone so absurd. He nodded and said, “Sure, Grandpa Tan, go ahead and eat.” He ordered the waiter to bring another portion.
Tan Laoxi said, “Ah, I’m jealous! I envy you!”
Luo Jie asked, “What?”
Tan Laoxi replied, “I envy you for having such a good apprentice! Damn it, why haven’t I found one… Never mind, I’ll just keep eating. The taste… tsk tsk, it’s really fucking tempting.”
The waiter brought another portion. Tan Laoxi acted polite at first but then devoured it just as quickly. By the time he finished two portions, others had only eaten half. He looked at Guo Shier pitifully again and said, “Hey, Shier, what kind of meat are you using? I’ve never tasted it before. One more portion?”
Guo Shier was speechless. Suddenly, he smiled and said, “Grandpa Tan, there’s none left. How about… I haven’t eaten my portion yet. I’ll give it to you.”
Luo Jie burst into laughter. Qi Nanshan said, “This is fun.”
Tan Laoxi made a grim face. Guo Shier’s move was even worse than scolding him. After all, he was the elder—how could he steal food from the younger one? He said, “Lao Luo, your apprentice… is really sneaky! Damn it, haha, it’s great that you could make me look stupid!”
This guy was like a madman. Guo Shier couldn’t understand how his master and Grandpa Nanshan could have such a friend.
Tan Laoxi said, “Get me some big pieces of meat, and meat soup noodles too!” He sighed, “Lao Luo, you can’t let me go hungry, right? That would be awful. Coming as a guest… and dying of hunger in the end? Ugh, that’s too horrible…”
Luo Jie cursed, “That’s absolutely unreasonable! Where have you seen a guest like you? Bring him a big bowl of food! Treat him like feeding a pig!”

Tan Laoxi immediately softened. He said with a smile, “Don’t be angry. I was just joking… Hehe, I won’t act stupid anymore. That’s just my temper—you know that already…”
Luo Jie said, “Of course I know, but it’s useless. If you don’t make people furious, it’s not enough! Damn it, if you keep talking nonsense, I’ll hit you!”
Guo Shier looked at Tan Laoxi with admiration.
Tan Laoxi asked, “Kid, why are you staring at me?”
Guo Shier said, “Grandpa Tan, you’re really amazing. It’s the first time I’ve seen my master swear like this, hehe.”
Tan Laoxi said proudly, “It’s a shame I can’t beat him. Damn it, otherwise… I could make him cry from anger.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh loudly. This old man didn’t make a good impression on him. He wondered why his master was friends with such a person. He asked, “Grandpa Tan, is the food I cooked delicious?”
Tan Laoxi said, “It’s fucking delicious!”
Guo Shier said with a smile, “Grandpa Tan, since it’s delicious, shouldn’t I get a reward?”
Tan Laoxi’s expression stiffened. He said, “Oh right, Lao Luo, for this trip to the Beast Secret Realm, we should still go together… You know, those bastards from our inner sect—if I go with them, I’ll die of anger. They’re all a bunch of idiots!” He deliberately ignored Guo Shier’s remark. If it were an ordinary child, he would really be driven mad by him.
Guo Shier was annoyed. He had only been joking, but Tan Laoxi’s behavior annoyed him a bit.
Luo Jie laughed without answering. He pointed at Guo Shier. Qi Nanshan said directly, “Stop interrupting. Shier is talking to you.”
Tan Laoxi seemed to realize it then. He said, “Damn it, as I get older, my hearing gets worse. Shier, what did you say?”
Guo Shier asked with a smile, “Grandpa Tan, your hearing isn’t good?”
Tan Laoxi nodded repeatedly. “Sigh, as I get older, my hearing gets worse… What did you say just now?”
Guo Shier’s voice suddenly became very soft. He said, “I said… you’re a shameless old bastard, a disgraceful old guy who takes from the younger generation and then pretends to be dead and acts tough…” Then he shouted, “Grandpa Tan, I didn’t say anything!”
Tan Laoxi’s face turned pale and blue. Being cursed by a younger generation, he couldn’t stay calm. He said, “You cursed me?”
Guo Shier said with a smile, “Which ear of yours heard it?”
Luo Jie couldn’t help but laugh loudly. Qi Nanshan pounded the ground fiercely and laughed wildly, “Haha, isn’t your hearing bad? Haha, hahaha!”

Guo Shier said in a low voice, “Anyway, you can’t hear me anyway. If I curse, I’ll curse! It’s pointless anyway! An ungrateful, shameless scoundrel!”
Tan Laoxi finally understood that the most difficult person to provoke here was Guo Shier. But he still couldn’t get angry, as he had said he couldn’t hear. If he could have heard, his previous actions would have been extremely rude. Anyway, it was really unacceptable for an elder to treat a younger one like that.
Unwilling to give a gift, Tan Laoxi pretended to be stupid, only to invite criticism and not even dare to get angry, which made him extremely uncomfortable.
“Damn it… This is so frustrating… You’re really ruthless!”
Guo Shier stood up calmly and said, “Master, Grandpa Qinan, I’m going back now.”
Luo Jie smiled and said, “Go ahead.”
Qi Nanshan said, “Get some rest early.”
Tan Laoxi opened his mouth as if to say something, but Guo Shier ignored him completely and turned to leave. He couldn’t help slapping his own thigh and asked, “Is Shier angry?”
Luo Jie smiled and said, “He’s not angry. He’s just ignoring you. And since he’s a kid, it’s you who’ll end up in an awkward situation.”
Qi Nanshan said happily, “Laoxi, to be honest, offending me or the old man doesn’t matter much. Hehe, but if you offend our Shier, you’ll suffer.”
Guo Shier wasn’t angry, nor did he care about gifts. He had only wanted to liven up the atmosphere, but Tan Laoxi turned out to be so stingy, which made him feel bored. So he simply played a trick on him to make him suffer too, so he wouldn’t rely on his age anymore.
Tan Laoxi muttered, “Damn, was I too far gone just now?”
Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan nodded simultaneously and said in unison, “Yes!”
Tan Laoxi looked distressed and said, “Damn, I didn’t mean to…”
Luo Jie laughed and said, “Shier isn’t that stingy. Hehe, but try not to provoke him in the future, or… if you suffer, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Tan Laoxi was puzzled and asked, “How old is he? How can he make me suffer?”
Qi Nanshan said seriously, “How old? Let me tell you—ten! Have you ever seen a ten-year-old master?”
Tan Laoxi shuddered and said, “Okay, let’s not talk about this. Let’s go to the Wild Beast Secret Realm together this time. I heard the reward this time is pretty good—a ancient talisman.” He suddenly became serious.
Luo Jie said disdainfully, “Another old routine.”

Tan Laoxi said, “This time it’s even worse than the old ways. Damn it, those guys don’t know what they’re thinking—finding an ancient talisman that no one can use? That’s just cheating… utterly ridiculous!”
A golden glow flashed in Luo Jie’s eyes. From Guo Shier, he had learned that the more unusable an ancient talisman seemed, the more likely it was to be a true spirit talisman or a genuine ancient talisman—real treasures. Calmly, he asked, “Oh? What kind of ancient talisman is it? You’re a great beast talisman caster—have you seen that talisman?”
Tan Laoxi replied, “Of course I have. We fought fiercely over it back then. In the end, it was the sect leader who decided to give it to a great beast talisman caster from the inner sect. But that guy couldn’t use it at all—said it was a useless talisman. Everyone tried it, and it served no purpose at all. Yet everyone agreed it was an ancient talisman, just lacking the incantation to activate it.”
Luo Jie was almost certain it was a talisman of even greater value than a true treasure talisman. Suppressing his excitement, he said, “We originally didn’t plan to participate. Heh, but since Lao Xi is here, let’s go have some fun. Anyway, we’ll be back in a few months.”
Tan Laoxi had no idea about Luo Jie’s schemes. He said, “Great! Then it’s settled! Damn it, you guys are the strongest right now…”
Luo Jie asked, “What other rewards are there besides that ancient talisman?”
Tan Laoxi replied, “One hundred of the best talisman horses!”
Luo Jie asked in surprise, “Are those talisman horses raised by the inner sect? Your best warhorses? Why are you willing to give them away this time?”
Tan Laoxi explained, “Because the artificial breeding of talisman horses has succeeded. Although they’re not yet at the level of talisman beasts, these horses are extremely fast—truly capable of traveling two thousand li a day. Heh, even I want one! If we win, we’ll split those one hundred talisman horses equally!”
Qi Nanshan said bluntly, “Impossible! They’ll be distributed according to the number of masters!”
Tan Laoxi stamped his foot and cursed, “Nonsense! Damn it, there’s only me, this worthless master… How many masters do you guys have? There’s no need for any distribution…”
Qi Nanshan sneered, “Yeah, just you, this worthless master. How can you win? Oh, when we win, you can take half. Why don’t you just steal it? Damn it, do you really think being a scoundrel means you can get everything? Dream on!”
Tan Laoxi shouted, “No way! I want at least one-third!”
Luo Jie said calmly, “We could act on our own, or find that Wu Yanyan… that might work too.”

Tan Laoxi was stunned. Stammering, he said, “Hey, hey… Lao Luo, aren’t we friends? Do we really need to go this far?”
Qi Nanshan laughed and said, “Stop acting like that. Just divide it according to the number of masters. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t!”
Tan Laoxi scratched his head vigorously. After a long while, he finally gave in and said, “Okay, okay… Let’s go by the number of masters! Damn it, why am I so unlucky lately! By the way, how many masters do you have?”
Luo Jie held back his laughter and said, “We don’t have many masters. Myself and Da Shan are masters…”
Tan Laoxi said, “Hmm, two. And your disciple—three in total?”
Luo Jie replied, “Almost… There’s also Xiao Feng, the Great Talisman Martial Artist, and Luo Jing, the Great Talisman Martial Artist…”
Tan Laoxi’s expression changed. Luo Jie continued, “Shier is a Great Talisman Sorcerer. He’s with Yingmo, the Great Talisman Martial Artist, and Luo Zhan, the Great Talisman Martial Artist. Let me count… There are seven masters in total!”
Qi Nanshan laughed heartily and said, “Seven masters… Should be enough to win, right?”
Tan Laoxi wailed, “Damn it… This is terrible… Seven? Seven!”
Luo Jie said, “No, it should be eight masters!”
Tan Laoxi was almost crazy. He screamed, “Damn it, why is there another so-called master? Where did this crap come from?”
Luo Jie smiled and said, “Including you… that’s exactly eight!”