They knew there was a problem with asking the one-eyed man for the spring water, but if they didn't ask, they'd get nothing. As long as they asked, there was hope. Why not give it a try?
"What are you talking about? I can't understand a word," the one-eyed man said.
Master Yongxin said, "Amitabha, eminent Buddhist monks never lie. This old monk, despite his superior wisdom, truly doesn't understand."
It was obvious what they were thinking.
Damn it!
Do they have no shame?
Anyone with a bit of sense knew there was a problem with what they were saying and would never utter such words. But there they were, not only saying it but acting as if it was perfectly reasonable.
The experts from other countries weren't surprised.
When they decided to try and get some of the spring water, they were prepared for this kind of rejection. But… if they thought this would make them back down, they were underestimating them.
They had to keep pestering him; they were determined to get what they wanted.
"Leader Xu, we hope you understand. Our countries are completely defenseless against these interstellar experts. If they reach our countries, we'll be like fish on a chopping block, slaughtered without any resistance."
"The Dragon Kingdom is a benevolent and righteous nation, and it has always been this way. Please help us."
"This old monk begs for a drop of spring water on behalf of countless people."
As he said this, the ascetic monk knelt on both knees and kowtowed to everyone.
This kowtow stunned the one-eyed man.
He was dumbfounded.
He genuinely hadn't expected the other party to kneel.
The one-eyed man was completely taken aback. He was utterly bewildered.
The experts from other countries looked at the ascetic monk in astonishment, cursing him in their minds. This shameless dog! He has no dignity. As an expert, even if he's beaten to death, he shouldn't do something like this.
Master Yongxin said, "This guy is a bit difficult to deal with."
The one-eyed man remained silent, contemplating whether to give him face. It was a complicated matter. Initially, he wouldn't have paid any attention to him. But the other party had gone this far, completely abandoning any semblance of dignity, without a shred of an expert's demeanor.
It left everyone at a loss for how to react.
Lin Daoming said, "Ignore him. It's obviously a ploy. These things belong to our territory. Why should we share them with him?"
Liu Haichan agreed.
Indeed.
The one-eyed man looked at Lin Fan and Old Zhang. They were chatting and laughing, completely unconcerned about the situation. Both were considered mentally unstable, so asking them was pointless.
"Are you serious?" He truly didn't understand the ascetic monk's actions. Logically, anyone slightly sane wouldn't do such a thing.
For experts like them, face was very important.
The ascetic monk remained kneeling. No one knew what he was thinking, so many experts went from initial shock to disdainful smiles.
Damn it.
With such behavior, he dared to call himself an expert? Shameless.
The one-eyed man went to the spring, took out a small perfume bottle-sized vial, filled it, and tossed it to the ascetic monk.
"I'm giving this to you because your kneeling made me uncomfortable. Now leave."
The kind-hearted but stern-faced one-eyed man couldn't harden his compassionate heart.
The ascetic monk received the small vial of spring water, thanked him again, and quickly retreated.
The scene was very quiet.
The paladin, holding a large metal sword and clad in heavy metal armor, slowly walked forward and said,
"Leader Xu, could I have some?"
Light shone on his armor, reflecting brilliantly.
"So handsome," Old Zhang said.
Lin Fan asked, "Who?"
Old Zhang pointed to the paladin's armor. "What he's wearing, and what he's holding."
Lin Fan looked over curiously and nodded. "Indeed, very nice. But those are someone else's things. We can't take them."
"I know," Old Zhang said.
The one-eyed man had sharp ears and naturally overheard their conversation. He immediately had an idea. Lately, he could easily tell who was trying to curry favor with whom.
First was Master Yongxin. Others might not see it, but he could. If it weren't for maintaining some semblance of face, he would have been openly fawning over them.
Lin Daoming and Liu Haichan appeared normal, but they also had their own thoughts. Their skin was just thinner than everyone else's, so they were too embarrassed to act on them.
There was no need to mention the others.
Too many people were trying to suck up to Lin Fan.
The one-eyed man said, "It's not that I won't give you any, but I've taken a liking to your armor and that large sword. Trade them to me."
The paladin was startled. He lifted the visor of his helmet and said in a deep voice, "If you don't want to give me any, why be so excessive?"
The armor and sword he wore had a history.
"The King Arthur Set."
An exquisite set passed down from ancient times, forged from a material that fell from the sky. It had been used by many, each a renowned figure in history.
This armor not only enhanced the wearer's strength but also represented a kind of glory.
Therefore, in the eyes of every user, it was incredibly precious.
Even if they lost their lives, they couldn't allow any harm to come to this armor.
"Forget it then," the one-eyed man said, shrugging.
He appeared helpless. He had given the condition, and the paladin hadn't agreed. What else could he do?
The paladin was angry. He lowered his visor, lifted his greatsword, and left.
The other experts knew that if they wanted the spring water of unknown effects, they probably had to kneel like the ascetic monk. But they couldn't bring themselves to do such a thing; it was too embarrassing.
Without saying anything more, they retreated.
The one-eyed man was pleased with this outcome. He truly didn't want them to stay. He wanted them all to leave.
He also knew that these people wouldn't give up, not because they still coveted the spring water, but because they wanted to see if they could find other things in Changbai Mountain.
This was unavoidable.
There were too few of them.
They couldn't keep watch over everyone.
In the distance.
Mu Hao, who had made a strategic retreat, had a terrifyingly gloomy expression, as if water could be squeezed from his face.
Bei Tao didn't ask any questions. In the current situation, asking would be pointless and might even cause trouble. If possible, he hoped to get through this peacefully, without attracting any trouble.
"Damn it!"
Mu Hao was furious and deeply resentful. But resentment was useless. He was weaker than the other party. What could he do?
Forcing revenge would only lead to his death.
"Who is he?"
Mu Hao looked at Bei Tao, asking who that guy was. He was incredibly irritating.
Bei Tao replied, "Sir, he is the strongest expert in the Dragon Kingdom. His name is Lin Fan."
"Lin Fan…" Mu Hao committed the name to memory. The people whose names he remembered were either of equal status or those he was plotting to kill.
"Yes, sir, you need to be careful. This guy is very powerful. The Reaper from our side was killed by him," Bei Tao reminded.
Although Mu Hao's life or death had nothing to do with him, at this point, Mu Hao's survival was still relatively important. If he wanted the Shadow Society to become stronger and gain more, he needed a guide, and Mu Hao was clearly such a person.
Bei Tao was a good judge of character.
From their interactions, Mu Hao had many flaws. Although he was the young master of the interstellar Mu clan, Bei Tao could tell that Mu Hao was definitely not a key figure they were cultivating.
If this was the case, he had to wonder if this great clan was full of slackers. There had to be someone more outstanding than Mu Hao.
However, in the current situation, he couldn't contact those outstanding individuals, so he needed a stepping stone, using Mu Hao to slowly climb up.
Mu Hao said rather unhappily, "Reaper? I don't even consider that kind of trash worthy of my attention."
Bei Tao could only smile.
You're amazing. Everything you say is right. What else can I say?
Just then, a voice came.
"Mu Hao, put away your arrogance, or you'll regret it."
The voice seemed to come from all directions.
Everyone searched for the source of the voice.
"Wu Sheng, if you're here, just show yourself. Stop playing these ghostly tricks." Mu Hao recognized Wu Sheng's voice. It was clear he had been observing him from the beginning and had watched him being suppressed by the locals. The thought made him feel that this person was very scheming.
Soon, Wu Sheng strolled over, his expression calm, smiling at the enraged Mu Hao.
"Don't misunderstand. I wasn't playing any tricks," Wu Sheng said with a smile.
He saw Mu Hao attack Lin Fan and knew Mu Hao was doomed. It was a joke. Even he wasn't Lin Fan's opponent, so how could Mu Hao last long?
But he didn't expect… It wasn't a matter of lasting. Mu Hao was instantly defeated, flicked away with a wave of Lin Fan's hand. This level of strength was truly astonishing. Thinking back, it was fortunate he hadn't continued fighting Lin Fan, or perhaps, the other party hadn't used his true strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fared any better.
"Since you were there, why didn't you help me?" Mu Hao grew angrier the more he thought about it. If Wu Sheng had appeared to help, the situation might have changed, and the spring water might have been theirs.
Wu Sheng thought for a moment and decided not to tell him that he knew Lin Fan. After all, it was a secret. He didn't want to tell anyone about being acupunctured by Old Zhang.
"I thought you could win."
This answer left Mu Hao speechless.
Bei Tao realized that this person was much more promising than Mu Hao. However, based on his observation, this guy was not easy to provoke or deceive. Bei Tao wouldn't carelessly approach anyone difficult to deceive, lest he offend both sides and lose his opportunity.
"Have you seen anyone else?" Wu Sheng asked.
Mu Hao replied, "No."
Four great clans had sent their disciples as the vanguard, but now only they were here. Where had the other two clans gone?
It seemed they were hiding somewhere.
After all, Changbai Mountain was vast. It was difficult to find someone easily, and they all had their own agendas. Finding treasures was only a matter of time.
"Leader, what should we do with these things?" Lin Daoming asked.
They had nothing to carry the spring water in.
Although there wasn't much spring water, it was still enough to fill a basin. Without any tools, how to transport the spring water back was a crucial question.
The one-eyed man said, "We have no choice but to transport the base and the spring water together. The three of you take the plane back first. We'll take care of things here."
Lin Daoming said, "I can stay too."
The one-eyed man said, "No. This item is too valuable. In case someone intercepts you on the way, I'll feel more at ease with the three of you escorting it. Besides, as you've seen, there are many people here who are stronger than us. If a conflict arises, you'll easily become burdens."
Speaking too directly could offend people.
For example, the one-eyed man's words were very direct, and Lin Daoming and the others found them jarring. But there was nothing they could do. He was telling the truth. Even if they wanted to refute him, they needed a reason.
"Amitabha, well said. We'll escort the spring water back first," Master Yongxin said.
The one-eyed man said, "The spring water is shrouded in white mist. It's definitely no ordinary thing. One breath makes you feel refreshed and invigorated. When you get back, immediately have people analyze its composition and see if it's poisonous. But I suspect this spring water is extremely beneficial to us."
At that moment, the one-eyed man exclaimed,
"No…"
He saw Lin Fan and Old Zhang cupping their hands, drinking the spring water, and even washing their faces with it.
"Wow, so refreshing!"
"Delicious."
"Hen, you should drink some too. It's really good."
The Evil Chicken wasn't stupid. When Lin Fan grabbed its head and pushed it towards the spring water, it resisted.
No!
I don't want to!
It had seen everything. The composition of the spring water was still unknown. What if it was poison? He, the Evil Chicken, hadn't become an Evil Hero yet.
He had suffered so much, endured so much, his dignity trampled underfoot, all for his undercover mission.
He absolutely couldn't die here.
If they wanted to die, they could die first.
It struggled desperately, but gradually…
The Evil Chicken's expression turned to surprise. This taste, this touch, this feeling… something was happening.
The law of "it smells so good" was always correct.
The Evil Chicken started gulping down the water.
It wasn't until the one-eyed man's exclamation that they stopped their frantic drinking.
"What's wrong?" Lin Fan asked.
The one-eyed man said, "We don't know what this is yet. What if there's a problem?"
He glanced at the spring.
It was more than half empty.
They drank so much!
He felt like crying. Then he quickly asked, "Do you feel anything?"
Lin Fan blinked. "No."
Old Zhang said, "Not really."
The Evil Chicken raised its head, its small chicken eyes wide and round. It had the strongest reaction to the spring water.
Creak!
Creak!
The Evil Chicken spread its wings, its thin legs bulging with muscle. Its head held high, eyes blazing, it seemed to be shouting…
I, the Explosive Chicken, am about to explode!
Get out of my way!