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"Why are you here again?"

Gu Wufang certainly wasn't going to say he had come to apologize. That would be a textbook mistake and earn him a kick down the mountain. "I found two jars of spirit wine and thought you might like them, Grand-Master Uncle, so I brought them for you to try."

Cheng Wei gave an "oh." "I heard you went to burn incense at Radiant Buddha Temple this year, and your incense snapped again?"

"...That didn't happen." Even if it had snapped, he had held it together with spiritual energy and forced the offering through.

Today, Divine Venerable Cheng Wei wore a broad-sleeved indigo robe. He had never liked wearing his clothes properly, though, and his outer robe hung loosely from his shoulders. When he laughed, it nearly slipped off. "If you say it didn't happen, then it didn't."

No wonder he let me up the mountain. He just wanted to laugh at me. How infuriating.

"All right, let's get to the point. You never come here without bringing some matter with you." Cheng Wei's expression suddenly turned inscrutable. Wen Xu, had he been there, would never have seen his master look like this.

Gu Wufang thought there was no avoiding a tumble down the mountain today. But practice made perfect; he was already skilled at it. Besides, his Little Master Uncle couldn't see. By a generous reckoning, that meant nobody would know.

"Grand-Master Uncle, someone detected traces of demonic energy in the Far Western Sea."

Divine Venerable Cheng Wei raised an eyebrow. "Oh? The Far Western Sea? If I remember correctly, that sea to the west borders the Vast Sea Waters. Are those Merfolk in Vast Sea City getting anxious?"

"...Vast Sea City has never dealt with the Cultivation Realm. The Merfolk Half-Demon who appeared in