Chapter 229: You wouldn't look down on us humans, would you?

"Slurp..."

Lin Jue took advantage of the heat to send a wonton into his mouth, chewed it twice, and then spat it out casually, looking at the stall owner: "I am Lin Jue, from the area around Jiangnan. What should I call the stall owner?"

"This old man's name is Yuan Zi," the stall owner said nervously, "Why, why, is it that the taste of what we yaoguai make is coarse and vulgar, making the Daoist unable to swallow it?"

Hearing this, his junior sister immediately raised her head, her brows tightly furrowed, pondering how such a question should be answered.

That night, the rabbit yaoguai on the side of the road had told them clearly that when they got here, they must not let the yaoguai feel that humans looked down on them or treated them lightly.

These yaoguai were very sensitive to this.

However, his senior brother ignored the stall owner's question and instead asked in return: "As the saying goes, courtesy demands reciprocity. I have already said where I am from, why doesn't the stall owner say where you are from and what kind of yaoguai you are? Could it be that you look down on us humans?"

The fox on the side was also spitting out sand.

His junior sister couldn't help but be startled.

"Hiss!"

She hadn't expected her senior brother to speak first and be the first to pin this label on the yaoguai!

What a great method!

Then she felt distressed that she hadn't thought of it again.

Looking at the stall owner again, he had suddenly become extremely flustered, and even the yaoguai nearby looked toward him.

"Where, where is that? It's always humans who think we are coarse and vulgar; how could we dare to look down on humans?" the stall owner hurriedly said, "This old man is from Fanghua County, and my original form is a white ape."

"So that's how it is!" Lin Jue nodded, considering it let him off, and then calmly chatted with him, "How do you yaoguai take surnames? Do you all rely on homophones?"

"That's a long story..."

The old ape had a simple mind and was only afraid that he would misunderstand that he treated him lightly, so he immediately stopped his work and told him:

"If there is an inheritance, there must be a surname, just take the name according to the predecessors.

"If there is no inheritance, but you can, can get some light, you can also climb up to other big yaoguai. For example, the fox yaoguai have several famous big clans. Ordinary fox yaoguai are not from those big clans, but after they achieve the Dao and become spirits, when they take a name, they can also take a surname according to these big clans, which counts as climbing up and getting a little light.

"Those with allusions will follow the allusions to take them.

"But yaoguai are not like humans; they are often coarse and stupid, lacking learning, and unlike humans who all live in one place, especially when they first become spirits, they don't know these things and have no way of knowing.

"Those who are smart will go to the human world to find someone who is learned or whom they respect to help take a name and surname.

"Those who are not smart have to take them blindly themselves.

"Some rely on the color of their bodies, some rely on the place where they achieved the Dao, and some rely on the homophones of their original forms. For example, this old man is a white ape from Fanghua County, so some are surnamed Yuan, some are surnamed Bai, and some are also surnamed Fang or Lin."

His junior sister's expression was dull.

This place was full of yaoguai and ghosts. If ordinary people accidentally entered this place, they would probably be trembling with fear. Even a martial artist like Luo Seng who had skills to rely on would probably be vigilant. Only her own senior brother was actually sitting here and chatting calmly with a yaoguai.

And the other party actually answered him.

It was as if both sides were yaoguai, or both were humans.

"So that's how it is."

Lin Jue nodded, and then asked him again: "We have come from afar this time and are not familiar with the place, so I would like to ask the stall owner where we should go to offer gifts for the Tuo Dragon Great King's banquet?"

"Walk forward, and someone will collect them."

"The Tuo Dragon Great King wouldn't make things difficult for us just because we are humans, would he?"

"Uh, this, this old man wouldn't dare to talk nonsense. However, the Tuo Dragon Great King has always been reasonable. Even if he is in a bad mood this time, as long as you bring gifts, you are all guests and he won't make things difficult for guests."

"That's good, that's good." Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief, "You yaoguai, as long as you don't look down on us humans, that's fine."

"Ah... this..."

The old ape opened his mouth slightly, his mind blank.

"By the way! You just said the Tuo Dragon Great King is in a bad mood. Why is he in a bad mood?"

"I heard..."

The old ape finally reacted and couldn't help but lower his voice, looking left and right, and said: "This is not a secret either, it's that the Tuo Dragon Great King's military advisor was killed."

"Ah? Who was it killed by?"

The three of them, except for Luo Seng who was lowering his head and eating wontons, Lin Jue and his junior sister both revealed surprised expressions.

The fox couldn't help but glance at them sideways.

"This is not clear..."

The stall owner shook his head and didn't dare to say.

"The stall owner is not unclear, but doesn't dare to say, right?" Lin Jue aimed at his expression.

Among these yaoguai, how many possess the worldly sophistication of humans?

Their thoughts were all written on their faces.

Not to mention he had also learned to gather beasts and adjust birds, and when he was in Mount Yishan, he had dealt with the apes and monkeys in the mountains no less.

"This..."

"Heh! We talked to the stall owner with good intentions, but I didn't expect the stall owner to not only hide it but also tell lies to deceive us!" Lin Jue looked as if he had been treated lightly, "Not to mention that even the stall owner has heard of this matter, so I think it's not a secret. Why don't you tell us? Could it be that you yaoguai think that because you have achieved the Dao, you look down on us humans?"

"How could I dare, how could I dare!"

The old ape was suddenly panicked, hurriedly walked over from behind the stall, bowed his body, and told them in a low voice: "This old man also heard that it might have been killed by another yaoguai, it might have been a cat yaoguai, a leopard yaoguai, or a tiger yaoguai."

"Hmm? How do you say that?"

"There is a Leopard King in the northwest of Qin Zhou, whose Dao cultivation is very high. Any tiger, leopard, bear, or wolf in Qin Zhou that has become a spirit, because they don't get along with the Tuo Dragon Great King, mostly goes to defect to him. In recent years, the Tuo Dragon Great King has grown very fast in Dao cultivation and power with the help of his military advisor. Some people say that it might be that the Leopard King in the northwest was afraid that the Tuo Dragon Great King would threaten him, so he sent his subordinates to kill the Tuo Dragon Great King's military advisor."

"Ah?"

Lin Jue and his junior sister were surprised again.

This time it was real.

Luo Seng raised his head at the right time and asked: "It sounds like this Leopard King is more powerful than the Tuo Dragon Great King?"

◆￠o

"I wouldn't dare say!"

"It seems that is indeed the case."

Luo Seng nodded and continued eating wontons.

Lin Jue and his junior sister didn't say anything more.

The four bowls of wontons were soon finished.

"Check."

"How was the meal?"

"Still acceptable, it has salt and flavor. It's just that when cooking, you must wash your hands, and there should be less sand inside," Lin Jue said, pausing, "After all, we who run on the ground are ultimately different from those who are in the water every day. Sand crunching crunching, there are few who like to eat it, right?"

Between his words, he didn't mention humans and yaoguai at all, only pulling all those who run on the ground together.

So when the other yaoguai heard it, they didn't feel that he was disgusted that these yaoguai were not particular, but because most of those present were mammals and omnivores, they nodded in approval one after another.

"That's true."

"Exactly."

"I also think so!"

Many yaoguai agreed in low voices.

They had originally had some inexplicable good feelings for this Daoist who looked fierce on the outside but was actually humble on the inside, and with this, the good feelings inexplicably increased a few points.

"This old man was negligent..."

"Next time you can try using pork bones to boil the soup. You don't need much meat, just bones will do. Just add salt to the soup, and you can add another chicken. Using this soup as a base, any wonton will be delicious."

"Oh! I have been taught!"

"Stop talking nonsense." Luo Seng opened his mouth, "How much money?"

"Two hundred wen."

"?"

Luo Seng's eyebrows stood up.

"It's all this price, it's all this price." The old ape hurriedly said, "This place is ultimately somewhat different from the human world."

"You wouldn't intentionally humiliate us, would you?"

"How could I dare! It's just this price!"

"Hmph..."

Luo Seng saw that he wasn't lying, and seeing his panicked look, he felt it was funny in his heart, but he didn't show it, only taking out money and slapping it on the table.

When they left the small stall, a smile finally appeared on his face.

This Daoist Lin beside him really suppressed these yaoguai to death.

It's interesting to say—

Someone could actually come and go freely in this yaoguai and ghost market without relying on any spells, without showing any skills, only relying on words and spirit.

At the end of the pear blossom forest was the place to collect gifts.

In the mist, there was a wooden table, and behind the table sat two people wearing loose clothes, with fat heads and big bellies, wearing long handlebar mustaches. They were clearly human facial features, but one could always see a bit of catfish flavor.

Behind them were four yellow-scaled guards, and a black shrimp general standing to the side holding a spear.

Many yaoguai brought gifts and lined up to go and offer them.

"Bird yaoguai from Mingxia County, Du Cheng, offers a thousand-year-old Heart-Clearing Flower to the Great King."

"Thousand-year-old Heart-Clearing Flower? It's a pity the military advisor is gone, otherwise it would be useful for the Great King to refine pills! But it counts as passing!" The catfish yaoguai on the left wrote, "Mingxia Du Cheng, one thousand-year-old Heart-Clearing Flower."

After writing, he took out a wooden plaque and handed it to this bird yaoguai.

"Next."

"Snake yaoguai from Qingyan County, Hong Bai, offers a wood essence to the Great King, which I worked hard to catch in the mountains."

"Wood essence? Good stuff!"

The catfish yaoguai on the right picked up the wood essence, looked at it carefully, and immediately smiled, writing down his name and three top-grade immortal pills while saying: "Although it doesn't get along with the Great King, it is a treasure after all, so you can also go into the cave to eat at the banquet!"

"Thank you, General! Thank you, General!"

"Next!"

"Little one is Lu Hua, bringing a deer antler."

"..."

Until a thin figure walked to the front.

"Little one is a rabbit yaoguai from Runze County, Tu Shou, offering three top-grade pills to the Great King!"

Saying this, he handed over a bottle.

"Eh?"

Both catfish yaoguai were a bit surprised.

Not to mention this year, even adding previous times, in decades, few people had come to offer pills.

Even if there were, they were mostly ordinary human nourishing pills.

"What kind of pills?"

"Top, top-grade pills."

The rabbit yaoguai didn't know what these pills were called either, only uncovering the lid.

In an instant, a pill fragrance drifted out.

This pill fragrance contained thick and pure heaven and earth spiritual energy and plant essence. Many yaoguai had keen senses, and they immediately cast their eyes over.

"Gulp!"

Some even swallowed their saliva.

Some instinctively began to scratch their ears and cheeks.

Like these yaoguai, they lived in the mountains and wilderness, at the bottom of the water, and in the sea. Some ordinary heaven and earth treasures were actually not as rare to them as they were to human cultivators. Instead, these types of pills were something they could rarely, rarely come into contact with.

"Truly good pills!"

The two catfish yaoguai looked at each other, writing his name and three top-grade immortal pills while saying to him: "You can also go into the cave to eat at the banquet this year!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

The rabbit yaoguai was instantly excited, thanking them repeatedly.

Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped again.

"Wait!"

The rabbit yaoguai looked back and saw that both catfish yaoguai were staring at him, frowning in doubt.

"By the way, you are a rabbit yaoguai. Since your Dao cultivation is not deep and you don't know how to refine pills, where did you get these immortal pills?"

"Reporting to the two generals, they were begged from two high-level Daoist practitioners that the little one met before."

"What high-level Daoist practitioners? How did you meet them? What relationship do you have? These pills are hard to find, why did you get them as soon as you begged?"

The two catfish yaoguai were suspicious.

The other yaoguai in line had eyes full of heat, as if they also wanted to find these two high-level Daoist practitioners and beg for a few pills.

"No, no relationship. We met on the side of the road because they also wanted to attend the Great King's birthday banquet, so they asked the little one for directions. After the little one told them, I begged them for these three pills."

"High-level practitioners are so generous?"

"No! High-level practitioners are also coming here?"

"Yes..."

"Is this true?"

"Absolutely true."

"Where are they?"

"The little one doesn't know."

"..."

The two catfish yaoguai looked at each other, waved their hands to let him leave, then put away the pills and couldn't help but discuss in low voices.

The rabbit yaoguai finally breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to leave.

But unexpectedly, just as he turned around, he saw yaoguai figures moving in the lamp light deep in the pear blossoms, and three human figures walking over calmly.

Two of them were exactly those two Daoists.

"True Person!"

The rabbit yaoguai exclaimed instantly.

Then he felt lucky that he had said what Lin Jue had told him to say just now.

And the two catfish yaoguai were discussing whether to go and inform the Great King that high-level Daoist practitioners who knew how to refine pills had come here, when they saw this scene and were immediately stunned.

The three of them had already walked to the front.

"We are traveling Daoists from afar. My name is Lin Jue, this is my junior sister, Liu Qingyao. This is our Dao-protecting person, Zhang Dao. Greetings," Lin Jue said with a smile and a bow. "I heard that the yaoguai king here is holding a banquet to celebrate his birthday, and it is a grand sight. We are naturally fond of excitement, so we asked for directions and brought gifts to celebrate his birthday, hoping that the literary and martial officials under the yaoguai king will not look down on us for being human and will treat us equally."

The two catfish yaoguai looked at him blankly.

There was only one thought in their hearts—

Why else would they be human? Listening to them speak, it just sounds comfortable.

But then they saw the Daoist take out a pill bottle from his bosom.

Unplugging the stopper, with a pop.

A rich and exotic fragrance drifted out instantly.

As the wind blew, the exotic fragrance drifted far away.

Who knew how many yaoguai cast their eyes over.

It was not only the purest heaven and earth spiritual energy and sun and moon essence, but there was also a kind of indescribable spiritual charm in it, as if as long as one ate one, their Dao cultivation would immediately advance by leaps and bounds.

Just smelling it made one feel refreshed, as if they were in a blessed land with rich spiritual energy.

Compared to this, the fragrance of the pills offered by the rabbit yaoguai, which had been very attractive to them before, was like the difference between the glow of a firefly and the light of the sun and moon; they couldn't even smell the previous scent at all.

The many yaoguai's expressions were even more unbearable, nearly unable to suppress the ferocity in their instincts.

Fortunately, the Black Shrimp General and the four yellow-scaled guards beside them suppressed them.

"Offering one Spirit-Origin Pill, eating it can increase Dao cultivation, hoping to help the Tuo Dragon Great King reach a higher level."

Lin Jue smiled and offered this Spirit-Origin Pill.

The two catfish yaoguai stood up with a swish, constantly wiping their hands on their dirty cloth clothes, hurriedly coming to receive it.

At this moment, in their eyes, these two Daoists in front of them were no different from immortals. ===== CHAPTER 230 =====