"I need to find my friends first. We can meet at the foot of the mountain." Bai Yaoyao had just finished speaking and was about to leave when Taoist Feng Qing stopped her.
"My young friend, that won't do. I can't get down the mountain by myself. Without the mountain's layers of illusions to protect me, I have no way to defend myself. I wouldn't make it to the bottom."
Bai Yaoyao froze. Was he really that weak...?
"Then how did you get up here in the first place?"
"Wasn't it your... well, ahem, I had a friend back then. He brought me here." Taoist Feng Qing hastily changed his tune halfway through.
Bai Yaoyao drew out a long "Oh," then said, "Wait here, then. I'll come back for you later."
"Sure. Do you have any more food? I've been eating fruit and mutant beast meat every day. I'm dying for some ordinary food." Taoist Feng Qing looked a little embarrassed.
Bai Yaoyao took out a small wooden table, followed by four dishes, a soup, and a staple.
Braised lion's head meatballs, Northeast China mixed stew, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, spicy blood curd stew, creamy egg-drop soup, and half a basin of rice.
Taoist Feng Qing's eyes went wide at the sight. He stopped paying attention to Bai Yaoyao and sat down to eat, then sighed softly as he watched her walk away.
Old Dragon Head... let's see whether that disciple you're so proud of can understand what I was getting at. If she figures it out early enough, perhaps... she can still save your life.
Bai Yaoyao kept feeling that something was... off about Taoist Feng Qing.
*He was a hundred or two hundred years old, yet he kept letting things slip. Was he playing games with her? What did