"Mother clucker, do you have no morals washing your feet upstream? Do you know the agony of someone who's been starving all day, just about to cook after preparing a fire, scooping up a pot of spring water, and then seeing someone washing their feet in the river upstream?"
Clearly, the snow-haired young girl named Tang Wan hadn't expected Zhou Li's first reaction upon seeing her to be a condemnation for washing her feet in the water upstream. She was stunned for a moment before noticing the pot Zhou Li had tossed aside and his look of grief and indignation, which left her somewhat bewildered.
"Ah? Sorry?"
Feeling scorched on the moral stake, Tang Wan was momentarily at a loss how to handle Zhou Li's righteous words and imposing manner. She awkwardly apologized. Only then did she remember the reason she had come.
"No, wait, Brother Zhou, why are you here in the first place?"
Tang Wan remembered her purpose for seeking out Zhou Li, how she had been duped by Xu Sheng, sent to Beiliang Mountain to look for traces of their second-in-command, only to be ambushed by horse bandits upon entering.
After the attack, she realized how foolish she had been to believe the words of the horse bandits. Annoyed, Tang Wan had subdued those lackeys and then subjected them to severe punishment.
Don't ask how she dished out the punishment — after all, the methods of the Tang Sect generally shouldn't be publicized too widely. Anyway, in the end, those lackeys blabbed everything, including embarrassing childhood incidents. Only then did Tang Wan learn that the second-in-command Xu Ziyi had actually gone to Spirit Vulture Mountain and not Beiliang Mountain.
Upon discovering this, Tang Wan traveled day and night relentlessly, heading straight to Spirit Vulture Mountain. She didn't have Zhou Li's "Spirit Technique" to creep forward like a Spider-Man, so she intended to proceed in an unexpected way, using a water technique she had practiced called "Ascending the Waterfall."
But to her surprise, as soon as she dived into the Wei River to enter Spirit Vulture Mountain, she saw a familiar figure.
"What am I doing here?"
Zhou Li paused for a moment before answering matter-of-factly, "Fetching water, cooking."
Tang Wan fell silent. After a long while, she clenched her teeth and squeezed out a few words, "No, Brother Zhou, what I mean is, what are you doing here at Spirit Vulture Mountain?"
"Picking up some local produce."
Zhou Li pulled out a bunch of greens, a satisfied smile appearing on his face, "Can't get these anywhere else. I just love the taste of freshness."
Soon, the seasoned old-timer, with his extraordinary gift of gab and lying prowess, spun a tale that was difficult to spot any flaws in.
He said that after sending off those two bandits, he suddenly craved the specialty greens of Spirit Vulture Mountain, so he merrily went to indulge.
Yes, the reason was flawless because it was such a huge hole in and of itself that anyone with an ounce of sense would see right through.
But then...
"I see."
The snow-haired young girl, after listening to Zhou Li's reasoning riddled with nothing but holes, surprisingly nodded in understanding, saying earnestly, "So you're following the path of culinary desires, an art in its own right. I've learned something."
Zhou Li was momentarily taken aback; clearly, he too had not expected his fabricated excuse to be believed, and even more so when he saw genuine admiration in the other person's demeanor.
For a moment, the little guilt Zhou Li had left started to torment him inwardly. It lasted all of two or three seconds before he gladly accepted the outcome.
Everyone's happy, isn't that wonderful?
"Lord Zhou Li, since fate has brought us together, I'll not beat around the bush. Now, I need your help."
Zhou Li was even more surprised when the lady from the Tang Family, rather than being pretentious or indirect, made a forthright request to him.
"Please help me take the Pool of Rebirth."
Looking at Zhou Li, that's what Tang Wan said.