Chapter 61 Stinky Beggar
Lu Li nodded, "Then bring one portion."
After saying this, he ordered a few other things, only to notice that the numbers following the dish names were different, each with a circular mark beside them. He couldn't help asking curiously, "What does this mean?"
The waiter quickly explained, "This? That's the price on the menu."
"Oh, does this one represent a tael of silver?"
"Silver?" The waiter froze for a moment before laughing. "Customer, don't joke around. Who doesn't know that the second floor of our Bairi Restaurant only accepts True Essence Pills?"
"True Essence Pills!" Lu Li stood up with a start. "You mean every dish I just ordered is priced in True Essence Pills?"
"That's right, is there a problem? ...Customer, you aren't broke, are you?" Seeing his reaction, the waiter's smile began to fade.
"H-how could that be? Serve them all!" Lu Li's face twitched as he dropped heavily back into his seat.
His heart was bleeding. The few dishes he had just ordered added up to a full fifteen True Essence Pills, but pride forced him to swallow the cost.
Seeing this, the waiter's smile returned, the speed of his expression change nothing short of terrifying.
Before long, six or seven dishes were brought to the table.
An enticing aroma wafted over, instantly reviving Lu Li's appetite. Putting aside the cost in True Essence Pills, he buried his head and dug in.
However, after only a few bites, he felt a shadow cast over him. He looked up and froze.
An old man in tattered clothes, his face smeared with soot as if he had just crawled out of a coal pit, sat directly opposite him and glared with gloomy intensity. He looked like a beggar, but the flickering flames in his eyes made it clear how furious he was.
"Who are you?" Lu Li's mouth was stuffed to the brim as he stared blankly at the beggar.
"What do you think!" The beggar opened his mouth and puffed out a stream of black smoke.
"What do I think?"
Noticing the man's somewhat swollen face, Lu Li found the situation rather absurd and accidentally sprayed out a mouthful of rice with a soft pfft. "Could you... not sit right in front of me? I'm trying to eat here..."
"Laughing? You little bastard, you still dare to laugh!" The old man flew into a rage, rising to his feet to strike Lu Li.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Senior... calm down, please calm down!"
Lu Li snatched his bowl and scrambled back. He had already recognized the old man as the very same person he had blasted with explosive talismans in the Thunderfire Mountain Range.
"Hmph!"
The old man glared darkly at Lu Li, then plopped back down into his seat, clearly deciding against actually hitting him.
Lu Li offered an awkward smile as he settled back in. "Senior, you really can't blame me for that. You were the one who tried to trap me first. If I hadn't possessed a bit of luck, I wouldn't even be sitting here right now, would I?"
"You're the first person to ever drive this old man to such a wretched state," the old man said. "Hand over that movement technique, and we'll call it even."
"Movement technique? Senior must be joking." Lu Li shoveled another large mouthful of food into his mouth. "All methods belong to a master-disciple lineage. If I dared to pass it around casually, my master would kill me before you even had the chance."
"Master-disciple lineage?" The old man furrowed his brow, eyeing Lu Li with a skeptical gaze. "Who is your master?"
From his perspective, Lu Li's movement technique was simply too formidable. He had never seen a low-level Qi Condensation cultivator possess such speed. It stood to reason that such a secret art would belong to an established lineage.
Without looking up from his meal, Lu Li replied, "My master never allows me to drop his name. But since Senior is so curious, I'll let you in on a tiny secret. You must absolutely keep it to yourself, or Master will skin me alive if he finds out."
"Stop stalling and spit it out!" The old man snapped impatiently.
Lu Li glanced around furtively, then leaned in close to the old man's ear and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "Actually, my master is known as Lu Li Zhenren. You really mustn't spread this around, otherwise..."
"Lu Li Zhenren?" The old man narrowed his eyes. "How is it that this old man has never heard of such a person?"
"Ahem, isn't it normal that Senior hasn't heard of him? My master's cultivation is unfathomable, and he spends all his time in deep seclusion among remote mountains and old forests. How could just any stray cat or dog know his name?"
The old man blinked. "Really?"
"I, Qin Shouren, swear upon the heavens. If there is a single word of falsehood, let me be struck by heavenly lightning."
"Your name is Qin Shouren?"
"That's right. And might I ask your esteemed name?"
The old man's eyes darted around before he broke into a grin. "This old man is Wu De. How about we make friends, Fellow Daoist Qin?"
Wu De?
Lu Li blinked, thinking what a wretched name that was-though considering the old man's character, it certainly fit.
He cast a sidelong glance at Wu De. "Making friends is fine, but if you try to trick me again, don't blame me for calling my master out to beat you up!"
"As if I would! I've always been pure and kind-hearted by nature; how could I ever engage in swindling? What happened earlier was merely a misunderstanding. I mistook you for someone from that Bairi Stronghold, which is why my hand slipped a bit. I trust Fellow Daoist Qin won't hold a grudge."
"Hehe, of course not. No grudge at all."
"So about that movement technique?"
"I'll have to ask my master first!"
"When will you ask him?"
"Are you ever going to stop nagging?"
This old man couldn't go three sentences without circling back to the movement technique, proving he was up to no good.
Wu De offered an awkward chuckle. "Don't get upset, I was merely joking." He let his gaze wander toward the stairs and called out, "Waiter, come over here."
The waiter paused, and upon recognizing Wu De, his face darkened instantly. He hurried over and snapped, "Where did this stinky beggar crawl out from? Get lost before you ruin the guests' meal, or I'll break your legs!"
Turning back to Lu Li, the waiter immediately plastered on an apologetic smile. "Please don't be upset, esteemed customer. I'll chase him out right now."
Lu Li simply watched the waiter in silence.
The next instant, the waiter was sent flying backward toward the stairway. Before he could hit the floor, Wu De closed the distance like a clinging shadow, grabbed him by the collar, hauled him into the air, and stared right into his face. "You... dare curse this old man?"
"You..." The waiter's legs shook uncontrollably as terror washed over him. "Se-Senior, spare my life! Please spare my life!"
"Spare your life?" Wu De backhanded him across the face, then shoved a jade bottle against his chest. "Open your dog eyes and see what's inside!"
Trembling with fear, the waiter popped the cork on the jade bottle to find it brimming with True Essence Pills-easily forty or fifty of them. He paled instantly and slapped his own face twice. "This junior was blind and failed to recognize a true expert..."
"Hmph, that's more like it." Wu De released his grip on the waiter's collar. "Bring up dishes equivalent to the value inside this bottle, and add them to the bill for the young master's table."
"Yes, yes! Right away!"
The waiter was a conflicting mix of deep regret and sudden joy.
"Old brother is quite well-off," Lu Li remarked with a raised eyebrow as Wu De returned to his seat.
"Hehe, it's nothing much. Eat up, Little Brother Qin, there are better dishes on the way."
Before long, the waiter had loaded the table with an entirely new spread of fine food and wine. Wu De kept pushing dishes toward Lu Li, though Lu Li had already eaten his fill and showed little interest.
Assuming Lu Li was still dwelling on their previous clash, Wu De sighed and muttered, "Speaking of those damned six great mountain strongholds, they really have no shame. If they hadn't carved out the Thunderfire Mountain Range as their own private territory, we wouldn't have ended up in such an awkward misunderstanding today..."
"The six great mountain strongholds?"
Lu Li's interest was finally piqued. "To be honest with you, old brother, I've spent all my time cultivating deep in the mountains with my master. This is my very first time out in the world. Could you tell me more about these six strongholds?"