Chapter 24

The teahouse was a simple one that was divided into two floors. Bingxin and Ye Yuanxue walked in front with elegant steps while Jiang Xiaofan followed behind them with a hunched back. Like a dog, his tongue lolled out while he occasionally dry-heaved.

“Oi oi! Stop right there! All of a sudden, a pair of feet appeared in Jiang Xiaofan’s sight.

He raised his head and saw a sleeveless, burly man in front of him who had blocked his path. Wary, he flatly asked, “Why are you blocking me?”

“Kid, you’re asking the obvious. Look over there!” The burly man pointed to a sign to the left.

Jiang Xiaofan instinctively glanced over and subconsciously read it aloud. “Demonic cultivators and dogs are forbidden to enter.”

Two seconds later, Jiang Xiaofan’s lackluster eyes widened, and he immediately retracted his tongue. Instantly provoked, he jumped up, pointed his finger at the burly man’s nose, and screamed, “Screw you! I’m a righteous Daoist cultivator!”

“Demonic cultivators and dogs are forbidden to enter!” The burly man repeated the writing on the sign. He then stared at Jiang Xiaofan and replied dismissively, “You think that by cloaking yourself in human skin, I am unable to see your true self?”

What the hell?! Where did that come from?! He almost couldn’t control himself from punching this guy. How dare a mere third heaven Micro Realm cultivator call me a dog in human skin?!

Nevertheless, according to his altruistic nature, Jiang Xiaofan decided not to beat him up. He walked around the burly man and proceeded to the center of the teahouse. This was too dizzying. He needed a refreshing cup of tea.

Unexpectedly, the burly man again blocked his path and pointed to another sign on the side. He justifiably declared, “Dog demons are not allowed inside!”

Jiang Xiaofan balled up his hand but then relaxed his grip. Altruism. Altruism. I’m a good-hearted person.

“Brother, I’m a human,” explained Jiang Xiaofan with a patient smile on his face.

“I know. A dog in human skin.” The burly man nodded his head in agreement but then continued, “Still a dog nonetheless!”

Jiang Xiaofan sucked in his breath, wryly smiled at the man, and…. He raised his hand and smacked the burly man flying. Phew! Serenity at last!

To hell with altruism! He was altruism itself.

Seven to eight meters from where Jiang Xiaofan stood, the burly man lay sprawling on the floor. He agonizingly groaned and wailed, “Why?! Didn’t that girl say that he was her second heaven Micro Realm guard dog?! Why does he have such strength then?!”

Just as Jiang Xiaofan raised his leg to take a step forward, he abruptly remembered something and mechanically raised his head to glance at the ice beauty on the second floor.

From above, Bingxin noticed Jiang Xiaofan’s gaze. To his surprise, she nodded and smiled charmingly at him.

No way! Jiang Xiaofan almost jumped up again. He had seen haughty people before but never one with this degree of haughtiness. How could she just nod her head and admit to fault after framing him?! The supercilious expression on her face directly told him, “It was me. What of it?”

Jiang Xiaofan swore to himself. Right now, he didn’t want to concern himself with anything else but lunge at her and XXOO. Alas, he unwillingly endured her condescension towards him. After all, she had the strength to back up her arrogance!

The second floor of the teahouse was rather quiet and peaceful, but Jiang Xiaofan’s expression was dark and brooding.

Ye Yuanxue sympathetically looked at him as she pouted her lips in a coaxing gesture at the cup of tea. Jiang Xiaofan pondered for a while. He then sat down, angrily glared at Bingxin, raised the cup to his lips, and gulped the liquid down. Afterward….

“Ahhh!”

A tragic cry rang out. Jiang Xiaofan’s face scrunched up and flushed crimson as he stuck his tongue out and nearly spurted out fire. What the fuck?! Can anyone tell me when this teahouse started selling chili water?!

“Waiter! Water! I need water! Hurry! Quickly please!”

He didn’t know how much time had passed by. After downing ten pots of tea, his throat was finally soothed. He dolefully eyed Ye Yuanxue. Gods! How could the innocent and cute Xiao Xue’er be like this too?!

“It’s not my fault. I already hinted at you,” innocently replied Ye Yuanxue.

He was stunned. Not long after, he replayed the scene in his head. As soon as he had entered the teahouse, Ye Yuanxue shot him a look of sympathy. He thought that it was because of the dog demon incident. After Ye Yuanxue pouted her lips at the cup, he thought that she had wanted him to drink it to calm his angry state of mind.

Jiang Xiaofan shuddered. Evidently, he had misinterpreted her signal. Her sympathetic glance and pout at the cup meant that there was something amiss and that he shouldn’t drink it.

After arriving at this conclusion, if Jiang Xiaofan didn’t know who the perpetrator was, then he was a complete imbecile.

Bingxin turned her head over and nodded, indicating that Jiang Xiaofan had guessed correctly. I was the one who put the chili water in your cup. How could you have discovered it just now? She then icily smirked. Again, the look on her face insinuated the following. “What? You have a problem with me? Why don’t we go for a round?”

He nearly had a heart attack from his rage. Fuck this! Can you stop being haughty for just a second? It’s not like you can die from it!

Forget it. I’ll continue to tolerate you. Inwardly, Jiang Xiaofan’s heart wept. Damn it! If I keep this up, I’ll become a Ninja Turtle[1] soon!

He bitterly cursed his fate. Retrieving the letter from the Ice Palace was supposed to be an easy yellow-grade task. However, Jiang Xiaofan now wanted to execrate everyone. He hadn’t even arrived at the Ice Palace, and yet, he was already was submerged in anguish. Perhaps, he might even be tortured to death in the hands of the ice chick.

The Emperor Heaven’s Sect’s tasks were divided into four grades. From most difficult to easiest, they were: heaven, earth, black, and yellow. This was the publicly recognized system used throughout the cultivation world.

Not only could a sect’s disciple obtain a reward for every completed task, he or she could also build up the contribution points for the sect. Collecting these points was necessary in order to elevate to their status to that of a core disciple or even a saint. If a disciple made no outstanding contributions to the sect, then he or she could not become a core disciple nor a saint regardless of his or her cultivation level.

Jiang Xiaofan continued to chug his drink, pretending that his tea was Bingxin. If I can’t beat you, then I’ll use another method to assail you! The longer the shameless thought lingered in his mind, the more he aggressively drank.

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the upper floor. A child about thirteen to fourteen years old had walked up. Leaning on his shoulder was a sickly, feeble old man with grey hair.

“Where did this shrimpy beggar come from?! Tell him to scram!”

“Yuck! So smelly! What’s the shop owner doing?! Remove him this instant!”

The teahouse was not as ordinary as it appeared. To have been able to conduct its business on the open road and accommodate so many cultivators who were passing by, the owner of this teahouse was a naturally capable person.

The second floor was reserved for cultivators. Their levels varied, but as long as they were cultivators, they were in a different class than mortals. On Planet Ziwei, cultivators were in the upper echelon of society. Seeing a beggar carrying an old man up to the second floor and exuding a foul stench, the cultivators were immediately peeved.

“Please, I beg all of you. Please, someone, help Grandpa Zhang.”

The young boy bowed his head down to the floor and beseeched them to nurse the old man back to good health.

“I told you to scram! Don’t disturb me!”

A foul-tempered man with a face full of stubble stood up and angrily yelled at the young boy. Discontent with just yelling at him, the man brutally kicked him.

Bingxin tightly knitted her brows while Ye Yuanxue’s face darkened. Jiang Xiaofan clenched his fist.

The young boy yelped in pain, but his attitude was resolute. He bowed again with a bloodied forehead and implored, “Please have mercy! Please save Grandpa Zhang! I’ll do anything you want!”

“Shrimp, how dare you lie around here instead of leaving! Don’t blame me if I end up killing you!”

The man threatened him and kicked at the young boy again.

None of the onlookers stopped him. Contrarily, they burst into laughter and thought about how entertaining this had become as they watched the man assault the young boy. To them, this was a good and free show.

The teahouse owner did nothing, nor did the waiter who cowered in a corner. They were here to run a business. With this type of teahouse, there was no need to offend a group of cultivators solely for two mortals.

As for the so-called demonic cultivators mentioned on the signs, they were labeled as objects of abomination to be scorned by everyone on Planet Ziwei. Their appearance would bring about a hunt for their lives and a mass onslaught. The teahouse owner and his waiters naturally wouldn’t have to worry about these demonic cultivators causing trouble in their teahouse. Not to mention, rumor had it that the practice of demonic cultivation was now extinct.

“Ziya, there’s no need…. to worry about me. I have lived long enough. Go… Leave here,” murmured the old man who was already in a frail state.

“No!” The boy violently shook his head and firmly insisted, “I will get you treatment!”

The boy might be young, but he knew that the people here were unordinary. There had to be someone among them who could heal the old man. “Oh? What a filial little shrimp! Let’s see how many stomps of my foot you can take. If you don’t die after ten rounds, I’ll save him!” The man with a stubble seemed to have discovered something amusing.

Everyone loudly laughed again. How could an ordinary mortal child possibly survive ten stomps of a fourth heaven Micro Realm cultivator? Obviously, the boy couldn’t. He couldn’t even survive five stomps.

“Deal!” The young boy nodded his head with determination written on his face.

“Don’t. Zi…. Ziya. Just quickly go! Don’t…. Don’t worry about me!” The old man fretted.

“I must have you nursed back to good health!” The look in the boy’s eyes was resolute. He carefully placed the old man to one side and kneeled down on the ground. He then fiercely glared at the man and announced, “Come on!”

“Haha. Excellent! Very interesting!” The man guffawed and raised his leg in a position to strike at the boy.

Loud sounds of *bang bang* echoed throughout the teahouse. The onlookers cheered on, and some even clapped their hands and yelled “good”. The young boy’s complexion quickly paled, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Nevertheless, his eyes were still unwavering.

Not long after, many people had quieted down. This was because the young boy had already taken seven of the man’s stomps. Even though blood continuously trickled down his lips and his face had turned deathly pale, he still hadn’t lost consciousness yet.

The man with a stubble was stunned. His next kick was more forceful, and the last three were viciously stomped on the boy. The young boy coughed out a large mouthful of blood. His convulsing body curled up on the floor, but miraculously, he didn’t die.

“I…. I…. d…. did it. Pl…. Please help him!” The boy mumbled weakly.

Everyone was shaken to the core, including the man with a stubble. However, he soon roared in laughter and snootily replied, “Hahahaha! I can’t believe that this shrimp actually believed me! Now go die!”

The man never once thought of actually saving that old man. He raged at the fact that he couldn’t kill a mortal child with ten stomps of his foot. Increasing fury boiled within him as he raised his leg to strike at the child’s head this time.

The look in Jiang Xiaofan’s eyes was chilling, and with a flash, Jiang Xiaofan disappeared from his table. In the next second, he crouched on the floor with his left arm extending in front of the boy and his right hand holding on to the man’s foot. He glowered at the man with a stubble before him.

“Punk, who are you?! Let go of me!” The man angrily glared at Jiang Xiaofan.

Jiang Xiaofan wryly smiled, and with the sound of a *woosh*, he threw the man out. Not far away, a table was smashed into bits. This, however, infuriated the people who were sitting at that particular table and watching the drama unfold.

“Punk, you’re dead meat!” The man who seemed to be the leader of that group stood up and barked at Jiang Xiaofan. They then encircled him.

“Screw off!” Jiang Xiaofan stared at them icily and scowled, “Otherwise, I’ll kill all of you!”

Editor: Vis

Footnotes