Senior, What Exactly Are You Talking About?

At that moment, Lu Yaoyao smiled. "As long as the chicken's been found, that's all that matters. I was even thinking of earning those three thousand spirit stones from you, Senior Brother. Looks like I won't get the chance."

Yan Xiaohu muttered softly, "I wanted to earn them too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have barged in and clashed with them from the start."

Zhou Qing said, "I'm still very grateful to Junior Sister Lu, Senior Brother Li, and Senior Brother He for helping last night. Luckily, it was all a misunderstanding. Today, my treat—let's go to Jade Cuisine Hall!"

He now had three thousand spirit stones on him. The chicken had been found, and it had even laid a Spirit Egg that was almost completely free of impurities. The crisis was over, and he had earned all these Heart Insight Points too. This absolutely called for a proper celebration.

There were six of them including him. One or two hundred spirit stones should be enough.

He would treat it as spending money to avert disaster.

The moment she heard Zhou Qing was treating, Lu Yaoyao immediately cheered.

Senior Sister Shi Zhen had initially wanted to decline, but Zhou Qing repeatedly urged her.

After all, you treated me last time. No matter what, it should be my turn this time.

Soon, the group headed straight for Jade Cuisine Hall. They casually picked a Private Room and began ordering dishes like mad.

During the meal, they asked what was so special about that chicken that Zhou Qing cared about it so much.

Zhou Qing could only lie, saying that they had grown attached to each other. Especially since it woke him up on time every morning to cultivate, it was a pretty good pet.

Lu Yaoyao was puzzled. Did Old Hens crow too?

Yan Xiaohu ate until his mouth gleamed with grease, spittle flying as he recounted his heroic deeds from the past.

Li Daoxuan and He Han, on the other hand, kept straight faces throughout. They only took an occasional small bite for the sake of their junior sister. After all, they came here often. They had even celebrated Second Uncle's birthday here last time.

"Two hundred and fifty-one?"

When Zhou Qing paid the bill, he froze at the sight of the menu.

"That's right. Every dish is clearly priced, so you can calculate it yourself. Of course, I'll waive the odd amount and make it two hundred and fifty," the Jade Cuisine Hall Master said with a cheerful smile.

Zhou Qing looked over the bill again, but he still felt that number sounded a little like an insult.

"Then if it were two hundred and fifty-four, could you waive the odd amount too?" Zhou Qing asked.

The Hall Master did not understand, but seeing that everyone dining today was a Core Disciple, he nodded. "Of course."

"Fine, then bring us another five servings of this sweet soup. That makes exactly two hundred and fifty-four spirit stones. Waive the odd amount, so two hundred and fifty, right? Here you go. Oh, and since I ordered five servings, why not throw in one more? There are six of us, after all. Otherwise, wouldn't that be awkward?" Zhou Qing negotiated.

The Hall Master was momentarily stunned.

No, I had clearly already settled the bill. How had I ended up losing four spirit stones and six bowls of sweet soup?

"Thank you, Hall Master. We'll come again another day. May your business flourish! Also, add more Red Dates to the sweet soup!"

After saying that, Zhou Qing headed happily back toward the Private Room.

That afternoon, the group traveled together to Flame Dragon City, treating it as a way to walk off their meal.

To be safe, Zhou Qing did not dare let the chicken roam around this time. Instead, he kept it in the courtyard. With the barrier in place, it should not be able to fly away.

Before long, Li Daoxuan and the other two left. They truly did not want their junior sister having too much contact with those two from Little Spirit Peak.

Could they not see that, under Yan Xiaohu's guidance, Zhou Qing was already running wild with no brakes in sight?

As for Senior Sister Shi Zhen, she planned to keep browsing around. The Five Sects Treasure Exchange Gathering was nearing its end, and more and more good items were beginning to appear.

Of course, even more people were holding that sneaky-looking portrait and discussing it nonstop. Everyone was guessing who the person was. What incredible romantic luck—getting to watch so many female disciples bathe all at once.

Zhou Qing's ears turned red, while Yan Xiaohu looked utterly unconcerned.

"Don't feel guilty. Hold your chest high and act like this has nothing to do with you," Yan Xiaohu said.

Zhou Qing only wanted to use up today's Daily Appraisal opportunity as quickly as possible, then return home and stay there.

"Huh? That old man isn't running his street stall today? Don't tell me he's left already?"

Before long, Yan Xiaohu noticed that the stall where they opened blind boxes was gone, and he could not help speaking up.

Zhou Qing followed his gaze and saw that it truly was not there.

"Are you looking for me?" Just then, a sinister voice suddenly sounded behind them, startling both of them badly.

When they turned around, they saw Second Uncle hunched over, his face covered in wrinkles.

"Are you trying to scare us to death?!" Yan Xiaohu cursed, clutching his chest.

Zhou Qing instinctively looked at the note above his head. Sure enough, it had changed from Lucky Little Kid to A Little Kid with the Bearing I Had in My Youth.

Uh...

No wonder Master had said that people of his generation were willing to drink and make merry with him, while the senior and junior sisters especially liked wandering outside his residence every night.

Could it be that you liked peeping at people bathing too?

"I need to leave for a while!" Second Uncle suddenly said.

The two of them were stunned.

What did your leaving have to do with us? We were not close enough for us to see you off.

But Zhou Qing knew that Second Uncle was saying it to him.

Still, leaving was good. That way, Zhou Qing would not have to live in constant fear that he would get caught and then betray him.

"Then I wish you a smooth journey, Senior!" Zhou Qing said with a delighted expression.

Second Uncle smiled, then said to Yan Xiaohu, "Lend me your junior brother for a moment."

"What do you mean? My junior brother isn't an object. How can you use the word 'lend'...?"

But before Yan Xiaohu could finish, the old man suddenly grabbed Zhou Qing by the shoulder and vanished from before his eyes in an instant.

Once Yan Xiaohu came back to his senses, his eyes were filled with disbelief.

That old man was actually an expert!!!

Heavens, Yan Xiaohu had always thought he was merely an ordinary old man with mediocre talent. After all, whether at Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment, there were always people who had long since grown white-haired, having reached such an age because they lacked talent and resources.

Could it be that Fourth Child had repeatedly gambled good items out of his hands, and he was preparing to retaliate?

At that thought, Yan Xiaohu immediately grew worried and hurriedly began searching...

At that moment, Zhou Qing felt as though he had returned to that Grotto-Heaven expedition. The scenery around him sped backward, but soon his feet touched solid ground.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing atop a mountain peak, with layers upon layers of clouds and mist all around.

Had they already left Flame Dragon City?

"After thinking it over and over, I have to ask—did you recognize me long ago?" Second Uncle's voice sounded beside him.

Zhou Qing turned and saw Second Uncle staring straight at him.

His heart skipped a beat. He quickly took a step back, his face full of confusion. "Senior, what are you talking about? This junior does not understand."

"Pretend. Keep pretending. People can lie about anything, but their eyes never lie. I saw it clearly just now. How exactly did you discover me?" Second Uncle's face was full of curiosity.

Sure enough, before an old fox like this, Zhou Qing was still too green.

Yet he continued to pretend ignorance and bowed. "Senior, this junior is confused. Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

"Hehe, fine. I'm not someone who likes forcing things. I prefer uncovering mysteries. If I actually got the answer, it would become boring instead. It would feel as though life had lost much of its fun. This gives me something to look forward to."

Second Uncle spoke with a half-smile.

Zhou Qing gave an awkward smile.

"I still do not understand what exactly you are talking about, Senior."

Second Uncle waved his hand. "Forget it. Let's not mention this anymore. As I said earlier, I plan to leave for a while to handle something very important. Before we part, seeing as you and I have crossed paths so many times, I'll give you a bit of good fortune."

But after hearing that, Zhou Qing backed away several steps in fear.

Could this good fortune of yours be you preparing to harm me?