Naturally, Cui Jiuyang would not eat these raw meat scraps.
He quietly poked his head out of his gooseneck bottle, nudged a scrap resting on its rim with the top of his head, then flicked his head sharply, tossing the scrap precisely into the old man's bottle.
Only after a long while did the old man's voice emerge from the bottle, tinged with surprise and satisfaction. "Haha, young fellow, you're a decent sort who respects his elders!
"Even with such a tiny scrap of meat, you thought to toss it over for an old man like me to have a taste.
"By the way, young fellow, why did you turn yourself into a young woman? Did you think it would be fun?"
As he spoke, the old man laboriously hauled his upper body out of the jar again and grinned at Cui Jiuyang, who had only his snake head showing, his wrinkles bunching together.
After their previous two encounters, Cui Jiuyang had more or less discerned that the old man seemed to be a "Literary Madman," rather than a "Martial Madman" who would lash out and hurt people at the slightest disagreement.
So he spoke more freely, no longer as reserved as he had been at first.
"You jest, elder," Cui Jiuyang said, swaying his head. "I didn't turn into a young woman because I thought it would be fun. I was worried that the Queue Army was searching everywhere for my friend. That's why I risked taking her appearance and willingly let myself be captured and brought here. Wouldn't that keep her safe?"
The old man's cloudy eyes lit up at this. He extended a hand as withered as kindling and gave Cui Jiuyang a thumbs-up, exclaiming, "So that's how it is!
"What, is that young woman your wife?