Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 109 Tang Xiaoyu

After Zhu Ye finished speaking with great enthusiasm, he slammed his teacup down again before reaching for the teapot to refill his cup and soothe his throat. He squinted at the people listening with rapt attention and chuckled to himself.

However, after hearing the so-called story of "Little Immortal Ye receiving a divine fruit as a gift from his master, and the emperor losing his chance due to his contempt for the immortal," the tea drinkers were still not satisfied and began to clamor.

"Mr. Zhu, you can't just let this go!"

"This is way too short!"

Another well-informed person urged, "That's right, Mr. Zhu, I've also heard there's some kind of 'Celestial Fate Gathering,' can you tell us about it?"

"The Immortal Affinity Gathering?" Zhu Ye rinsed his mouth with tea, then gulped it down before chuckling and replying, "If you're interested, you're welcome to give it a try! Legend has it that the Immortal Affinity Gathering doesn't consider family background or martial arts cultivation; it only looks at comprehension, temperament, and affinity with the immortal path. Tsk, to be honest, these 'comprehension,' 'temperament,' and 'immortal affinity' are far too vague and ethereal, probably even harder to discern than family background!"

The stranger from out of town followed up, asking, "Mr. Zhu, what exactly is this 'Cultural Fate Gathering'?"

Zhu Ye glanced at the outsider indifferently and replied good-naturedly, "The so-called 'Immortal Affinity Gathering' is the gathering where the White Stone Immortal Sect recruits disciples. It is said that there will be a trial at that time, which is to 'ask the way,' 'ask the heart,' and 'ask sincerity.' Only those who are sincere in their pursuit of immortality and have great perseverance can be granted immortal affinity."

Upon hearing this, a tea drinker exclaimed, "Mr. Zhu, does that mean that ordinary people like us can also enter the White Stone Immortal Sect as long as we sincerely aspire to the path of immortality?"

Zhu Ye waved his paper fan and nodded, saying, "Once you pass the trial, I'm sure a true immortal like Immortal Baishi won't be bound by his status."

Jiankang Prefecture is relatively close to Xiao Kingdom, and many people already knew about the Immortal Destiny Conference.

However, such a grand event, which is rare in the martial arts world, brings new news with each discussion. Therefore, everyone in the teahouse was still discussing it with great interest, and even urged Zhu Ye to tell the story of "Chang Xiaoshenxian defeating seven people with one sword and Mu Dazongshi losing the world with one palm" in the recent Baishi Martial Arts Tournament.

Of course, whether it's the so-called "one sword defeats seven men" or Mu Feng, who was clearly a grandmaster but was falsely portrayed as a great grandmaster, these are all exaggerated versions passed down orally. Because rumors in the martial arts world are always exaggerated with each repetition, the story of Chang Ping'an winning the championship in the White Stone Martial Arts Tournament became more and more exaggerated as it was spread.

……

Not long after, as the entire sky was dyed orange-red by the sunset, the tea drinkers gradually left the teahouse.

Tang Xiaoyu was about to leave with the others, but just as she stepped out the door, she suddenly turned around and walked towards Zhu Ye, who was sitting at the table.

"Mr. Zhu, do you know about the White Stone Immortal Sect? Are you going there too?"

She glanced around cautiously, and seeing that most people had left, she lowered her voice and asked softly.

Zhu Ye looked Tang Xiaoyu up and down, fanning herself, and asked, "Oh? The Tang Clan of Sichuan also knows about this?"

"scare!?"

Tang Xiaoyu was startled when Zhu Ye revealed her identity. She hurriedly retreated and jumped back, but her movements seemed a little unnatural.

Zhu Ye waved his hand and released a burst of true energy, closing the wide-open door from a distance. He then slightly raised his chin, gesturing for Tang Xiaoyu to sit.

Tang Xiaoyu cautiously sat on only half of the chair, continuing to look around the now empty teahouse.

Zhu Ye pulled out a teacup from somewhere, poured Tang Xiaoyu a bowl of warm tea, and then asked casually, "How is Grandma Tang's health?"

"You, you, you!" Tang Xiaoyu jumped up from her chair, narrowly avoiding knocking over her teacup. She stammered, "Old Madam Tang passed away a long time ago! Isn't that common knowledge throughout the martial arts world?"

Zhu Ye chuckled lightly, staring at Tang Xiaoyu, and reminded her, "Don't forget, I am Zhu Ye."

Feeling increasingly guilty under the scrutiny, Tang Xiaoyu could only hang her head dejectedly and say, "Okay, okay, but you're not allowed to spread this around, or our Tang family won't let you off the hook!"

"Don't worry, this piece of information is not cheap. Those who can afford it don't need to buy it to know that, and those who want to buy it can't afford the price."

As Zhu Ye spoke, he took another sip of tea and said, "I do indeed wish to try out this Immortal Fate Gathering. Could it be that Miss Tang also has the same idea?"

Hearing this, Tang Xiaoyu finally sat down with a sigh of relief, slapped the table, and invited, "How about we team up? Let me tell you, my sword in its sheath is incredibly powerful; most martial artists can't beat me! It's just that I don't know the way. How about we team up? You know the way, what do you say?"

Zhu Ye bowed slightly and readily agreed, "That would be my honor."

So, the next day, a hastily assembled duo set off towards the pass and entered the land of Xiao.

but……

"What? Two strings of cash?! Why do you want two strings of cash?!"

Tang Xiaoyu, who was stopped outside the city gate, was so angry that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets: "Which city charges two strings of cash per person?! You're robbing us?!"

The soldiers guarding the city gate didn't even lift their eyelids, and sneered, "Where did this country bumpkin come from? We Southern Chu people only charge two strings of cash! Take it or leave it!"

Zhu Ye sighed, reached into his sleeve, pulled out two gold ingots weighing a little over an ounce each, and handed them over, saying, "This should be enough for the two of us, right?"

"Ah! That's right!"

Upon seeing the gold, the soldiers beamed with joy and reached out to take it.

"Wait!"

Tang Xiaoyu shouted and snatched the gold ingot that Zhu Ye had offered. Then she glared at the soldier, turned around and threw Zhu Ye at him, saying, "I bet you're only a fourth-grade cultivator. Why are you putting up with this crap? Come with me!"

As she spoke, a burst of energy suddenly erupted from her body, causing the soldiers to stumble. The soldiers who were waiting in formation at the city gate were shocked and immediately pointed their spears at Tang Xiaoyu, their faces grim. One of the soldiers, who seemed to be a leader, shouted to his men, "Quickly go and invite General He Shilie!"

"Hmph! He Shilie? That brat dares to stop me!"

As Tang Xiaoyu spoke, she gathered her breath, grabbed Zhu Ye's shoulder with one hand, and then lightly touched the ground with her feet, soaring into the air. She took several steps on the city wall and flew to the eaves of the city gate tower.

Zhu Ye was merely a fourth-grade Acquired Venerable, and he had no intention of causing trouble. Moreover, two strings of cash were nothing to him. However, he did not expect that Tang Xiaoyu, who came from the Tang Clan, had an unknown cultivation level and actually used his true energy to lift him up, forcing him to follow the other party's movements. He even watched helplessly as arrows shot from the city gate were aimed directly at the two of them, but were all knocked down by Tang Xiaoyu's true energy!
He stared blankly, utterly perplexed.

This Tang Xiaoyu...

Just who is they?!

(End of this chapter)