Chapter 155: Meeting an Acquaintance

Chapter 155: Old Friends Meet

Shang Yunduo immediately felt like playing a prank.

He stealthily lowered the flying boat a bit, pulled out a cooked sunflower seed that an old village lady had stuffed him with when he was performing, and flicked it at the back of Lou Dengge’s head, who was disguised as a tree branch.

Lou Dengge was lying on the tree, his full attention was fixed on the two beasts fighting below the waterfall. When the seed fell, he thought it was just a leaf dropping. It wasn’t until the second and third seeds hit him that he realized something was wrong. He quickly looked around—there was nothing!

Another seed struck him squarely on the forehead. Abandoning his disguise, he snatched the thing that hit him. A sunflower seed?!

He was completely freaked out.

How could there be a cooked sunflower seed in the secret realm?!

With a yell, Lou Dengge scrambled down the tree in a panic, startling the two beasts locked in battle.

Shang Yunduo was also startled.

But Lou Dengge acted as if he’d seen a ghost in broad daylight, splashing through the water in a frantic, undignified escape.

Shang Yunduo: “…”

Was it really that serious?

He just pulled his mask over his face, put away the flying boat, and chased after him on his sword.

When he realized someone was behind him, Lou Dengge ran even faster, with the desperation of someone fleeing for his life.

Shang Yunduo found it baffling. Had Lou Dengge become even more skittish in the two years since they last met?

But Shang Yunduo was far from the greenhorn he once was. When it came to escaping and fleeing in the wilderness, he had plenty of experience—and pretty varied experience at that. Over the past two years, he’d been chased by all sorts of beasts in the Dividing Mountain Range. Reading the terrain and picking escape routes had become muscle memory!

And now he was at the Foundation Establishment stage.

He had the advantage of a higher stage!

Hehe! Shang Yunduo flashed a villainous grin, sped up, deliberately herded Lou Dengge into a narrow path, then accelerated in a low swoop to block his path. He was going to scare the old man good!

He jumped off his sword, but before he could strike a badass pose, Lou Dengge dropped to his knees with a thud.

“Senior, spare me!”

Shang Yunduo: “…”

Lou Dengge: “My life is nearing its end, and my cultivation aptitude is far too dull. Even if you steal my body, it wouldn’t help your cultivation at all!”

Shang Yunduo: “???”

He was dumbfounded. “What body snatching?”

Lou Dengge didn’t answer, just kept frantically kowtowing. This time, it was Shang Yunduo’s turn to be startled.

In terms of cultivation, he was at Foundation Establishment, while Lou Dengge was at Qi Refining—so he was the senior in cultivation.

In terms of age, Lou Dengge was over ninety, while he was just over twenty—so he was the junior.

In terms of friendship, they were at least old acquaintances from their earlier meeting.

By no measure should Lou Dengge be kowtowing to him.

He quickly stepped aside and used his spiritual power to lift Lou Dengge up: “Come on, it’s not that bad! I’m not here to snatch your body…”

Before he could fully lift him, Lou Dengge tossed down a few Explosive Fire Talismans, turned around and ran. As the smoke cleared, he had even turned into a tree stump.

Shang Yunduo: “…”

He stood silently under the tree, took off his mask, and said helplessly, “Hey…”

Lou Dengge didn’t respond.

Shang Yunduo poked the tree with the hilt of his sword, thinking: This guy really held back! The jade slip he’d given him before, and the concealment technique he later gave Pei Jie—neither included the trick of turning into a tree stump!

But Lou Dengge was freaking out. Last time, he’d managed to escape with this trick!

A wise man submits to circumstances. He dropped to his knees in one smooth motion—jumping down from the tree while already going to his knees, so smooth it left Shang Yunduo stunned again.

Wasn’t this the same guy who could barely get down a tree when they first met?!

“Senior…”

Shang Yunduo caught him, exasperated. “Enough, enough, no need to be so polite.”

Lou Dengge suddenly felt the warmth of a human touch. Could this not be a ghost cultivator hiding in the secret realm? He cautiously and timidly looked up. Huh?! Those eyes, that face, that aura—“Young Friend Shang?!”

Shang Yunduo: “Oh, you still remember me?”

Lou Dengge immediately felt relieved, excitement flooding in: “I remember, I remember! Huh, you… ah, Senior!”

Shang Yunduo waved his hand: “No need, no need. Just call me Young Friend Shang.”

Lou Dengge: “Alright, alright!”

He looked Shang Yunduo up and down, his excitement growing harder to contain: “I knew from the start that you, friend, had extraordinary luck and would definitely make it to Foundation Establishment smoothly. Sure enough, in just two short years… you’re already at Middle Foundation Establishment?”

Shang Yunduo shook his head: “Early stage!”

Lou Dengge exclaimed: “Early?! Your spiritual power is unlike anything I’ve ever seen…”

Shang Yunduo started to chuckle: “You flatter me, that’s an exaggeration!”

Lou Dengge burst into laughter too.

Meeting an old acquaintance in this godforsaken place, both of them were thrilled. After a bit of back-and-forth banter, Shang Yunduo asked, “How come you’re still here? Have you been here all this time?”

Lou Dengge was also surprised: “Did you re-enter the secret realm?”

Shang Yunduo nodded: “Yeah.”

Lou Dengge: “When?!”

Shang Yunduo: “Just yesterday.”

Lou Dengge grabbed his arm, even more worked up: “Then can you bring me out?!”

Shang Yunduo nodded: “Sure.”

Lou Dengge slapped his thigh: “Great, great! Let’s head out now!”

Shang Yunduo: "Hey! Wait, wait, wait. I just came in, so I'll definitely stay a few days."

Lou Dengge: "What do you want? Floating Cloud Flower? Spirit herbs? Spirit stones? I have them!"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

He was baffled by Lou Dengge's reaction. What did he mean? Why did he look like he was fleeing? "Did something happen in the secret realm?"

It's not unsafe, is it?

He wasn't planning to take the Spirit Rhino and go wandering again, was he?

Lou Dengge: "It's a long story..."

Shang Yunduo: "Then come with me and tell my Senior everything in detail."

Lou Dengge: "???"

"Oh, right!" Shang Yunduo took out a pill bottle. "Here, take my leftover Foundation Building Pills."

Lou Dengge was stunned for a moment. He took the bottle, and inside were actually five Foundation Building Pills. He immediately widened his eyes and looked at Shang Yunduo. "All for me?"

Shang Yunduo: "Uh... how many do you need?"

Back then, he and Pei Jie had prepared a total of thirty-nine Foundation Building Pills. Pei Jie used twenty-seven for his foundation building, he used one himself, leaving eleven. Earlier, when he was short on money, he sold six, leaving these five.

Giving them all would be fine, after all, he didn't have that many friends, and Lou Dengge was considered a close friend despite the age difference, but sometimes these pills are more useful than spirit stones; they could be used to trade for things or gather information...

Lou Dengge smiled. "One is enough."

Shang Yunduo: "One? One won't do, right?"

Lou Dengge had Dual Spirit Roots. Although his talent was passable, his cultivation was not solid enough. One pill probably won't be enough for foundation building.

Lou Dengge shook his head. "It's enough."

He had long given up the idea of foundation building; he knew his own situation well. Even if he used all five, he might not make it. Asking for one was just to try his luck, to take a shot. One chance was enough; taking more would be a waste.

Shang Yunduo thought for a moment and still gave him three.

Lou Dengge: "Can I sell the ones I don't use?"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

He was done!

"Suit yourself." Shang Yunduo took out the flying boat, and as he led Lou Dengge back, he asked how he was doing.

It turned out, Lou Dengge really had lived in the secret realm for over two years.

Shang Yunduo marveled, "We also stayed here for a while before, about half a month, but we never ran into each other even once."

Lou Dengge: "At that time, I was still trying to get the Demon Dragon Fruit. If you hadn't come to the end of the secret realm, we naturally wouldn't have met."

Shang Yunduo: "Demon Dragon Fruit? What's that?"

Lou Dengge was surprised: "You don't know?"

Shang Yunduo: "I don't know."

Lou Dengge: "Didn't your Senior tell you? Have you changed seniors?"

Shang Yunduo said angrily: "No!"

What kind of talk is that!

Is that something you just change on a whim?

Lou Dengge chuckled and stopped teasing him. Since Pei Jie hadn't said anything, he didn't know whether he should tell Shang Yunduo or not, so he simply changed the subject and asked casually, "You two have never separated?"

Shang Yunduo: "Why would we separate?"

Lou Dengge thought to himself, how should I know? I don't have a cultivation partner, and I don't like men. Maybe they'd get tired of each other after a few years? I never expected that a senior who looks so ill-tempered and difficult to mess with actually likes this kind of naive little fool—over two years and still not bored.

He said in a mysterious tone, "Have you read all the jade slips I gave you?"

Shang Yunduo: "No."

Lou Dengge: "Sigh!"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

I'm very busy too, you know!

I at least flipped through the techniques suitable for me to practice, and also roughly looked at things like herbs, prescriptions, and rumors from the cultivation world and demon world. As for those ancient texts and classical writings, as well as folk legends and customs, how could I have time to read all that!

Shang Yunduo simply took them out: "I'll just give them back to you."

Lou Dengge: "..."

That's not what I meant!

Sigh, he really should have reminded him more clearly.

He pushed them back with a grin: "No, no, no. I still need you to do me a favor, my friend. I'm not complaining. It's just, ahem, did you read those storybooks I collected?"

Shang Yunduo shook his head decisively: "I only read one."

He had originally intended to read them for entertainment, but who'd have thought the storybooks from this era would be so hard to read and uninteresting, as twisty as cultivation techniques. If he couldn't understand a technique, he could ask Pei Jie to explain it to him, then memorize it after understanding. But if he took a storybook to Pei Jie and asked him to explain it, Pei Jie would probably beat him to death.

Even a master has to bring something worthwhile to the table; he didn't want to be scolded or beaten for it.

After saying that, he looked at Lou Dengge, who looked back.

They stared at each other blankly.

Shang Yunduo: "..."

Lou Dengge: "..."

Shang Yunduo: "What exactly do you want to say?"

Lou Dengge sighed and had to take out the table of contents, circling a few entries. Shang Yunduo skimmed a few hastily. The beginnings kind of reminded him of the Ding ancestor biographies he had bought before in Star Point City, but the writing wasn't up to scratch compared to the popular ones; it was just okay. But then...

Shang Yunduo turned red instantly.

Shocked, he pressed the jade slip and stared at Lou Dengge.

Lou Dengge: "Ahem, I heard this is also an ancient cultivation technique, so I included it. But the techniques that mortals pass down are mostly hearsay; you can judge for yourself, young friend."

Shang Yunduo: '…'

After a moment of silence, he declared, "No way I'm reading that!!!"

Inside the cave, Pei Jie had just finished recording various imprint formulas, theories, cultivation methods, and his own insights into a jade slip in the way Shang Yunduo liked to be taught, when he heard Shang Yunduo shout loudly in the distance.

His Spiritual Sense swept over the spacecraft—there was actually another person there—at the Qi Refining stage?

He instantly knew who it was.

When Shang Yunduo came down with Lou Dengge and they exchanged pleasantries, Pei Jie asked, "What were you shouting about just now? Not reading what?"

Lou Dengge was about to explain, but Shang Yunduo, red-faced and bristling, cut him off: "Nothing!"

Pei Jie looked back and forth between them twice, then nodded, as if he more or less understood.

Author's note:

Yunduo: If I had known you were giving me that kind of thing, I wouldn't have taken it!

Daoist Lou: Well, we weren't close back then, so how could I have been straight with you about what it was? [mum's the word]