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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Danyangzi
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When he saw these two things prostrating before the constantly writhing Danyangzi, a guess formed in Li Huowang's mind.
"These two things are here to help him find the pill ingredients?"
Just as he thought that, Li Huowang watched Danyangzi bend down, grab a handful of mud from the ground, stuff it into his own mouth, and start jabbering at the two blobs.
The sounds were bizarre, nothing like any noise a human could make. Yet the two things seemed to understand, bobbing up and down once before rapidly dispersing.
With their departure, the ceaseless chaotic twisting of the heavens and earth gradually returned to normal.
"Kid, don't worry. The stuff from the Heavenly Book might be hard to get, but it won't stump your master. Out in the world, your master still has connections."
"Of course, Master is on the verge of becoming an immortal. There's probably nothing in this world that can stump you! But Master, what were those things just now?"
"Hmph, kid, you've still got a lot to learn. That was the 'Wandering Lord' mentioned in the Heavenly Book."
The constant crises of the past had kept Li Huowang's nerves on edge, leaving him no time to ponder one question: just what kind of world was this place?
Great Matron, Wandering Lord—none of it seemed remotely ordinary.
If not for the normal pork and lamb heads he'd eaten at mealtimes, he might have truly believed nothing alive in this world was remotely normal.
"Hey, this thing's a real treasure. Your master went to a lot of trouble to snatch it back then."
Danyangzi slipped the copper bell back into his sleeve.
"Snatch?"
"Of course snatch it. You think others just hand it over for free? Hmph! If they've got something we don't, we snatch it!"
"I learned that at five, when a bigger beggar snatched a moldy mantou right out of my hands."
"In my youth, I snatched women, horses, silver. Later, I snatched cultivation methods, artifacts, disciples—even the entire Clear Wind Temple! That mud statue of the patriarch? Did it say a word? Hmph."
A hint of pride crept onto Danyangzi's face.
"Kid, listen when adults talk. This is me teaching you the way of things, got it? I'm only telling you because I see you as one of my own."
"But Master, what if you can't snatch it?"
"Can't snatch it? Can't you team up? What's with that literate brain of yours—why's it so damn rigid? If teaming up fails, poison 'em. If poison doesn't work, play dirty!!"
A few short sentences laid bare the scabby-headed man's entire approach to life. It also explained why none of his methods ever quite meshed—everything he had was snatched piecemeal from every which way.
"Master lives wisely."
"Hmph! So what if I can't read? So what if I lack aptitude? They call me unorthodox, say I've got no Dao heart. Once I become an immortal, I'll pry those bastards' eyes open and make 'em see who really lacks aptitude! Who really has no Dao heart!"
Danyangzi's expression twisted with gritted teeth, his ugly face brimming with malice.
Li Huowang had no idea who "they" were, but the grudge between them ran deep.
In the time that followed, Li Huowang practically lived and ate alongside Danyangzi, throwing himself entirely into tinkering with the Heavenly Book's path to immortality.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Huowang quietly refined it further in secret, making the whole immortality method seem all the more convincing.
The items Li Huowang had described soon arrived.
He stared at the grayish-white, slimy colossal body covered in black soft fur, and beside it, a shapeless black swelling bubble that glimmered faintly.
Beyond the sheer revulsion, Li Huowang marveled at Danyangzi's prowess. He'd actually managed to get his hands on these.
"Master, shall we fire up the furnace?"
"No rush. New Year's Eve is still a ways off. Come on, let's go eat our New Year's dinner first."
Danyangzi's words caught Li Huowang off guard. New Year's dinner already? What did that have to do with anything?
That's what he said, but seeing Danyangzi rise and leave the Pill Refinery Room, Li Huowang hurried after him.
The other disciples had already gathered in the dining cavern. Other disciples amounted to just three: Changren, Changming, and Xuanyuan.
The sight of the sparsely occupied round table instantly darkened Danyangzi's face.
"How come there're no bowls for the departed disciples? Set 'em all out! Bring 'em back for New Year's."
Before long, every dead disciple had a bowl and chopsticks, filling the round table to the brim.
A satisfied smile returned to Danyangzi's face as he nodded and took his seat at the head. Li Huowang sat to his right; the left side remained empty—Zhengkun's spot.
"Come on, serve the dumplings."
The young attendants carried in a steaming pot of dumplings, their savory aroma wafting through the air. With iron ladles, they carefully portioned them into every bowl—including those of the dead.
"Heh heh heh, it's New Year's. Loosen up, eat your fill."
That's what he said, but Li Huowang and the other three waited until Danyangzi touched his chopsticks before daring to eat.
Danyangzi picked up his chopsticks, plucked a white dumpling, popped it into his mouth, and chewed with eyes half-closed in rapture.
"Mmm~ pork fat residue and chive filling. Delicious! Eh? A copper coin? Good omen! Good omen! Hahaha!"
Li Huowang stared at the dumplings in his own bowl for a long moment before steeling himself and devouring them in great, ravenous bites.
Danyangzi watched the boy stuff his face with a beaming smile.
"You lot hit the jackpot, getting to eat dumplings this good."
"When I was your age, I didn't even know what dumplings looked like. I'd only heard how damn tasty they were. Heh."
"Then one New Year's, I smelled food from another house, busted in, and saw what dumplings actually were. Didn't even fool around with their pretty daughter—just hacked the whole family. Squatted on the kang and scarfed down two jin of pork fat residue and chive dumplings in a daze."
The other disciples chuckled awkwardly.
Only Li Huowang kept wolfing his down.
Seeing the tears glinting at the corners of Li Huowang's eyes, Danyangzi carefully lifted his bowl and poured his own dumplings into the boy's.
"Sigh, another poor kid from a hard-luck family. Take it easy, don't choke."
The New Year's dinner for their "five" drew to a close amid the sounds of gulping and clattering bowls and chopsticks.
Just as Li Huowang thought they'd finally start refining the pills, he saw Danyangzi pat his scabby head and fish a stack of red envelopes from his sleeve. He passed them out to Changming, Changren, and the spots beside the dead disciples' bowls.
"Come on, come on. It's New Year's—put these under your pillows for luck. Take good care of 'em. When I was your age, no elders ever gave me lucky money."
Danyangzi placed the final red envelope beside Zhengkun's bowl, then turned with a hearty grin toward Li Huowang.
"You don't need any lucky money. Master and disciple are off to immortality together—from here on, we share the heavens and earth's own lifespan!"
Li Huowang laughed, his face lighting up with genuine joy.
"Master speaks the truth."
"Let's go! Back to the Pill Refinery Room—fire it up! Kid, you handle the flames!"
"You got it, Master!"
(End of chapter)