Hua Tianshu spent a night in the cold dungeon but by morning, when he was brought out, he felt quite refreshed and enlightened.
"Brother Hua, you owe me thirty thousand gold coins!~" Jie Fu Lian immediately exclaimed as he saw Hua Tianshu.
Hua Tianshu's eyes narrowed down on the man unhappily and he questioned, "In the end, you still paid. What was the point of having me sleep in a dungeon?"
"It was to help you learn the value of thirty thousand gold coins," Jie Fu Lian replied without missing a beat, "To teach you a lesson on why it is important to control one's temper and also for settling personal grudges."
"..."
"Shizun, are you alright?" Duan Luoyang immediately jumped at Hua Tianshu like a loyal dog that had seen his master return, "Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Did you sleep well last night? Did you eat? Do you want water?"
Jie Fu Lian clicked his tongue unhappily as he glared at Duan Luoyang and spoke, "He was in there for just a day. No need to overreact like this. Hasn't your Shizun already practiced fasting? There should be no need for food and water."
"Daoist Fu, It was nice meeting you," Fan Xue politely bowed his head. After just a day, their relationship with each other was already quite good. Fan Xue didn't care if this man was Jie Fu Lian or not. Since he reminded him of Jie Fu Lian, he considered him a friend rather than a foe. "If you ever visit Xiujiang again, make sure to come over and have dinner at my house. Next time, we'll properly prepare to receive you as a guest."
Jie Fu Lian brightly smiled as he heard this and nodded his head as he beamed, "Since I consider Uncle Fan Xue and Uncle Fan GuiYing as friends, I'll make sure to visit again. There is no need for excessive preparations, just a table filled with edible food and good liquor is enough."
Fan Xue laughed as he heard this.
Hua Tianshu, who witnessed this friendly conversation between the two, couldn't help but feel a little stunned.
He had only been away for a single day but it looked like Fan Xue's entire demeanor towards them had changed. It seemed that the power of thirty thousand gold coins couldn't be underestimated.
"This," Fan Xue took out two wine jars and gave them to Jie Fu Lian as he spoke, "My husband told me to give these to you."
Jie Fu Lian happily received the gift and was reminded of the past when he would constantly complain about not being given alcohol just because he wasn't old enough. Back then, Fan GuiYing had promised him that he would gift him two jars of wine when he comes of age.
Now that the two jars of wine were gifted to him, it felt as if Fan GuiYing had fulfilled that promise, but at the same time, it also felt a little odd for Jie Fu Lian to receive this gift as Fu Ming and not with his original identity.
"Please relay my thanks to him."
The three soon said their farewells and left Xiujiang.
With two jars of wine in hand, Jie Fu Lian couldn't help but frown a little as he wondered if he had unknowingly revealed his identity.
Fan GuiYing was a quick-witted man so it would not be hard for him to guess Jie Fu Lian's identity.
Since Jie Fu Lian was comfortable around those two, he hadn't even tried that hard to hide his identity. He had acted as he always did and said what he had always said.
He knew Fan Xue and Fan GuiYing very well. Those two would never reveal his identity to anyone else even if they were to find out the truth, hence, he wasn't worried about it at all.
If they found out then they found out. If they didn't then they didn't. There was nothing more, and nothing less to talk about on the topic.
"Hua Tianshu, where are we going next?" Jie Fu Lian asked with a small smile as he side-glanced at Hua Tianshu who was walking beside him.
"To visit somebody."
Jie Fu Lian slightly tilted his head with confusion as he asked, "Who?"
"You'll know once we get there."
Jie Fu Lian felt even more curious as he heard this and helplessly pouted as he glared at Hua Tianshu.
Hua Tianshu simply smirked with satisfaction and ignored the man's reaction.
Once again, instead of using a transportation talisman, Hua Tianshu made them all walk to their next destination which was, in no manner, considered near.
They walked for four days straight before taking a rest in a small village and then, they continued walking for another three days before they finally reached the place that Hua Tianshu intended to visit.
As soon as Jie Fu Lian saw the signboard on the foot of the mountain, his eyes twitched and a frown tugged at his lips. To say that he was disappointed would be an understatement.
The signboard read: Climb the mountain if you fear neither heaven nor earth. On top lies what you fear and what you seek.
There was only one person who could write such a cringy signboard and hang it here, at the bottom of the Kunlun mountain.
He finally understood why Hua Tianshu hadn't told him where they were going 'cause if he had revealed it beforehand, Jie Fu Lian would have most likely refused to go.
"Hua Tianshu, you tricked me!" Jie Fu Lian blurted out unhappily.
Hua Tianshu softly chuckled as he heard this and patted Jie Fu Lian's shoulder as he responded, "Don't forget, he might not necessarily recognize you."
Jie Fu Lian scoffed, "You said we were meeting an old friend. Whose friend is he? Neither yours nor mine?"
"What do you mean? He's 'our' friend of course. If he wasn't, would you have remembered his name?"
Jie Fu Lian only remembered the names of friends and enemies. The man living on top of this mountain wasn't an enemy but Jie Fu Lian still remembered his name so, of course, one would think that the other is a friend.
Jie Fu Lian didn't feel any better after hearing those words.
Hua Tianshu smiled as he added, "Now, let's go and greet him. Be on guard and don't let him see through your facade."
Duan Luoyang had no idea where they were nor did he know why Jie Fu Lian was reacting this way. However, he didn't question anything and simply kept staring at Hua Tianshu the whole time with a look of disbelief on his face.
In his mind, he couldn't help but ask a question that he was too afraid to voice out loud, 'Is this Shizun's way of flirting...? No wonder, Young master Jie Fu Lian always misunderstood him.'
The three climbed the mountain with ease and soon reached the top where there was a small house that couldn't be called a proper house but couldn't be called a hut either.
Jie Fu Lian who had no interest in coming here didn't bother knocking on the door and Duan Luoyang, who was clueless as to who lived here, naturally did not try to approach the door.
In the end, Hua Tianshu was the only one who walked up to the door of the small house and knocked on the door three times.
At first, there was no response from the other side even after waiting for a minute so Hua Tianshu once again knocked thrice as he spoke up, "Respected Elder Tai Ho, this is Hua Tianshu from the HuiXue sect."
'Elder Tai Ho...' As soon as Duan Luoyang heard that name, he went into a state of shock and thought, 'Shizun couldn't possibly be meaning the Elder Tai Ho from the legends, right...?'
Once again, there was no response from the other side of the door.
Hua Tianshu knocked once again and decided that if there was still no response this time, he would just resort to breaking the door down.
A few seconds passed and he got ready to kick the door open but before his feet could come in contact with the door, he heard the voice of a girl stopping him from behind.
"Why are you trying to break my door?"
The three men turned around with the same surprised expression plastered on their faces as they saw the girl who looked to be just around the age of 16.
Jie Fu Lian's eyebrows creased together as his eyes trailed along the girl's body, from head to toe, and he asked, "Elder Tai Ho, when did you turn into a girl?"
The girl glared back at Jie Fu Lian and roared out, "Elder Tai Ho, my foot! Do I look like that old geezer?!"
"..."
The girl seemed to have a bucket filled with water in her hand and without even keeping the bucket down, she stormed towards the door and blocked Hua Tianshu's way as she asked, "What is your business with Elder Tai Ho?"