The Unruly Immortals

Two stick of incense later, Li Huowang, who sat on the stool, touched the golden-threaded sandalwood table in front of him and stepped on the soft animal hide beneath. After looking around at the opulent interior of the room, he knew that the price for a meal here could not be low.

He had seen this restaurant before, located next to the Exquisite Pagoda. Judging by its location, it was one of the top places in Yinling City.

With a creak, the door opened, and a beautiful woman in colorful clothing came in with trays of exquisite dishes, filling the round table with their fragrant aroma.

Li Huowang had not only never eaten the dishes on the table before, he couldn't even identify the ingredients used to make them.

"Hehehe—come on, Brother Er, let's toast." Tuoba Danqing picked up a silver pot and was about to pour into the cup in front of Li Huowang.

Li Huowang's heart tensed up immediately, "Brother Tuoba, I'm not good with alcohol, please forgive me."

Having said that, he picked up the teapot beside him and poured himself some. "I'll drink tea in place of wine to honor Brother Tuoba, wishing Brother Tuoba everything as you wish!"

With a hearty laugh, Tuoba Danqing clashed his wine cup against Li Huowang's teacup. "Good—then I also wish Brother Er a swift rise in the Jiang Mansion!"

Li Huowang placed the cup of tea under his mask and gently sipped.

Tuoba Danqing flicked his long sleeve and picked up the chopsticks to poke at the steaming dishes in front of him.

"Come on, let's eat! Try this 'Myriad Purples and Reds'; it's a special dish of Yinling City, not something you can find elsewhere."

As they picked up their chopsticks and clinked their cups, the atmosphere in the room became much more relaxed. The ambiance of conversation at the dinner table was indeed different from anywhere else.

Tuoba Danqing's chubby face blushed, he smacked his lips a few times, propped his arm on the round table, and said leisurely: "Brother Er, we're practically brothers now. If you have any questions about the Astrological Bureau in the future, just ask me."

"Also, remember that you're now one of the Astrological Bureau. If you encounter any official matters, you can use the Bureau's name. As long as it's not a major issue, the local government offices usually show some courtesy."

"Thank you, Brother Tuoba. Since that's the case, I won't be shy; I indeed have encountered some problems." Li Huowang extended his hand and took out the Bagua Mirror he had prepared earlier.

"This is a Magic Artifact from the Oblivion Path, with astonishing power, but I can't find the technique to activate it. I invite Brother Tuoba to take a look."

"An artifact from the Oblivion Path? Hehe, they don't have anything of their own, you can tell it's swindled just by looking at it. Let me see."

Tuoba Danqing took the artifact in his hand and scrutinized it closely, his hands and mouth both moving non-stop.

"Brother Er, how did it go that day? Tell me, how did you deal with the Oblivion Path?"

Li Huowang didn't have much to hide, except for some details about Black Taishui, and so he told Tuoba Danqing most of what happened that night.

"Heh, this bunch from the Oblivion Path, always claiming others as their people, such old tricks." Tuoba Danqing's face showed a hint of disdain.

"But then, such simple scams still deceive a few greenhorns."

"Actually, once you see through their tricks, I can kill as many from the Oblivion Path as they send my way. All those Grand Sanyuan, Minor Sixi, Touzi tiles, and playing cards, are just trivialities!"

Li Huowang could hear that the other party had started to boast, but naturally, he wouldn't point it out, just playing along on the side.

Enjoying a bit of boastfulness over a drink was nothing; it made Li Huowang see him as realistic and alive.

"This looks like a Taoist Sect's Magic Artifact, but you see, the position of the Bagua is wrong, Kun is on top and Qian below, which is against the natural order. To my knowledge, there are only three such Taoist Sects in Da Liang."

Tuoba Danqing pushed the mirror towards Li Huowang, "Okay, hold onto it for now. I'll check later and get back to you. If there is a matching Cultivation Technique, I'll send you a message."

"Anyway, this item must be quite valuable. I reckon it's worth at least a thirty to fifty-year Yangshou Pill. Brother Er, you're quite lucky."

Apart from its surface meaning, the statement also revealed that inside the Astrological Bureau, what was used for transactions was not gold or silver but life expectancy.

"Then, thank you once again, Brother Tuoba."

"What are you thanking me for? We're all family here. No need for thanks; you're being too formal. Drink up, drink up!"

Tuoba Danqing picked up his cup and tossed back the drink, pouring it down his throat. After a belch, he picked up his chopsticks and started on the food.

Suddenly, Tuoba Danqing seemed to remember something. He put down his chopsticks on the edge of the plate and reached into the cloth sack under the table.

After fishing around for a bit, he pulled out a handful of dark, glossy elixirs. "Look, I almost forgot, this is your reward for this time, thirteen years of Yangshou. Keep it safe. It's sealed with elixirs, a bit different from your methods."

Li Huowang took out a gourd from his waist and pulled it open. As the small spout of the gourd moved a few times, the whole front half of the gourd split into a fierce, sharp, gaping mouth, swallowing the Yangshou Pills one by one.

Tuoba Danqing, seeing Li Huowang's gourd, a hint of pride appeared on his inebriated face.

"Brother Er, that thing of yours isn't too great. It's no match for my raggedy old sack. Although my sack is worn, it can hold much more."

"Later on, when you have time, go to the Capital City and buy some useful magic artifacts."

"Oh? The Astrological Bureau actually has a specialized trading area?" Li Huowang was startled. This was a major help both for collecting future intelligence and for improving his own strength.

"What's so surprising about that? It'd be stranger if there wasn't one!"

Li Huowang agreed, hastily pouring himself a tiny bit of wine and toasted Tuoba Danqing.

Li Huowang's acute senses made him easily intoxicated, but under some circumstances, he indeed needed to be drunk.

That night, the more they drank, the better their relationship grew, to the point where they were almost ready to become sworn brothers.

Tuoba Danqing's voice reminded Li Huowang of his former classmates in the dorm. It was as if he returned to that time in high school before he fell ill, those good old days.

Back then, he had neither mental illness nor had he traversed through time, Yang Na was real, and his future was bright. "Ah... if only I could go back to that time... how wonderful that would be..."

"But I've joined the Astrological Bureau now; those precarious days are behind me. Things will surely get better day by day, and one day, I'm going to live even better than before!"

In a daze, Tuoba Danqing, draping his arm over Li Huowang's shoulder and leaning against the window sill, gazed out at the stillness of Yinling City and spoke with a hint of emotion, "Brother! Look how beautiful Yinling City is? Even the rabbits of Yinling City are beautiful! Honestly, I haven't been here many times."

"Brother Tuoba, I apologize! I'll take three drinks as punishment! I actually made Brother Tuoba run around like this!" Li Huowang, drunk to the point of slurring his words, sometimes didn't even know what he was saying.

"What's there to apologize for? Stop talking nonsense. I was just passing by, not running around specially for you, kid. Guess what I was up to before coming here?"

"How could I guess that, Brother Tuoba... *hic*, look, isn't it almost dawn? How about we stop drinking for today?"

Unsatisfied that Li Huowang didn't play along, Tuoba Danqing insisted, "Come here, I'll show you a nice treasure! It'll give you something to feast your eyes on!"

He pulled Li Huowang back to the table, then thumped down on the floor and started rummaging through his yellow ragged sack.

Soon, he yanked out a man's head attached to a gory, unidentifiable mass of innards from the sack.

"Hm?" Li Huowang looked at the sight with astonishment. "Brother Tuoba, what is this?"

"Heh heh, you don't know? This, my friend, is Xinsu, specially obtained from the depths of Qingqiu by Lord Record of Appearance and me!"

As soon as he said this, Red Middle's Huan Jue started laughing uproariously next to them. He laughed heartily, bending over, gasping for breath between chuckles.