Chapter 14 Another Way

  Qingshui County's "Dixianlou", is the restaurant that Li Mu previously acquired. Due to his own identity and the fact that this restaurant has a good reputation locally, it was renamed Dixianlou.

  "Ah, Master, you've arrived."

  Xiao Er Afu saw Li Mu walking into the wine tower with a stunning girl, and he quickly put down his work to greet them. The loyal and honest Afu's eyes swept over Bai Hua's body, and he couldn't help but flash a look of surprise. He had never seen such a beautiful girl before. However, thinking about Li Mu's mysterious identity, having a beautiful girl by his side was also normal. Only someone like the master, who is rich, would be worthy of a peerless beauty like Bai Hua.

  Out of respect for Li Mu, Ah Fu was exceptionally respectful to Bai Huang as well, not daring to have the slightest overstepping in his eyes, standing respectfully by her side.

  "Ah Fu, tell the kitchen to prepare a few good dishes and bring another jug of fine wine." Li Mu ordered casually.

  "Good!" Ah Fu hastily replied, just about to leave when he thought of something else and said: "Master, the elegant room upstairs is already full..."

  Li Mu looked around and pointed to an empty table by the window, saying: "It's okay, just deliver it to that table." That was where he first met Bai Hua.

  Li Mu and Bai Huang sat down, Bai Huang looked around the wine house and asked: "How is it now? This wine house is yours."

  "Haha." Li Mu smiled and said: "Yes, I exchanged it for the last deep-sea pearl. If you like it, I'll give it to you."

  "Who cares." Bai Huan rolled her eyes. She had always been extremely disgusted with this kind of thing, and every time she encountered a suitor, either they were beaten until they knelt down to beg for mercy or scolded until their faces turned red. But this time, she met Li Mu, that silly and foolish guy, who spoke in a rustic tone, yet she couldn't bring herself to be angry with him or take action against him.

  Although not unpleasant, there isn't much good feeling either. Now Li Mu is her only hope, she can't let this opportunity slip away again. After sleeping for three thousand years, the opportunity is now right in front of her, she can't ruin everything because of her own little grievance.

  "You've come all the way from Xiniuhe State, surely not just to see the treasures of the Dragon Palace?" Li Mu felt a bit embarrassed and changed the subject. Although he hadn't been in the mortal world for long and didn't understand many things about ordinary people, he still knew a thing or two about the affairs of the immortal realm. Xiniuhe State was a sacred place for cultivating immortality, with countless powerful scattered immortals, sects, and factions, so there must be many precious treasures as well. How could it be compared to a small Dragon Palace in the East Sea?

  "Of course, don't you believe me?" Bai Huan's face sank, looking at Li Mu with displeasure. If Li Mu hesitated any further, she would have turned and left.

  "Of course I believe you, I'm just curious what treasures the Dragon Palace has that are so attractive to you, I'd like to take a look too." Li Mu hastily explained, afraid of offending the beauty.

  Seeing Li Mu not like telling lies, Bai Huan's face slightly relaxed. She looked around and leaned forward slightly, saying in a low voice: "I heard that the East Sea Dragon Palace has an extraordinary treasure called 'Dinghai Shen Zhen', which is said to be a treasure made by Taishang Laojun for Da Yu to control the floodwaters. Now it's the treasure of the sea, and with it, the waters of the four seas have not been disastrous for 3,000 years. Few people know about this treasure, if we cultivators can take a look at it, our lives won't be in vain."

  "Oh! Is there really such a treasure?" Bai Huang's words piqued Li Mu's interest. He knew that a formidable cultivator not only needed to have extremely solid cultivation, but also a suitable treasure. For example, Erlang Shen's three-eyed and two-bladed knife, Nezha's Qiankun spear, Fenghuo Lun and Huntian Quan, Li Jing's Zhenyao Ta, etc.

  At first, when fighting against Hong Zelong, I was able to easily kill him thanks to the two treasures given by Tongyuan Daxian: the Purple Crystal Armor and the Qiankun Spear.

  The treasures in the Dragon Palace are barely worth mentioning in front of a true master. It's not that there aren't many things in the Dragon Palace, but rather they've hidden the truly good stuff away. Thinking about the Dragon King Ao Guang's iron-faced expression, Li Mu felt a bit angry. Suddenly, he began to think about how to sneak around and take a look.

  "I also heard about this treasure when I was in Xiniuhezhou, a great immortal mentioned it, so I came all the way to Donghai just to see what this treasure that even immortals envy looks like." Bai Huan looked at Li Mu with an expectant face, hoping he could help think of a solution.

  Although the Dragon King is now more courteous to Li Mu, he does not consider him one of his own. There are many places where Li Mu cannot enter without permission from the Dragon King. Moreover, with Ao Ran not being in the Dragon Palace recently, Li Mu has even fewer reasons to go there. The more times he goes, the more likely he is to arouse the Dragon King's suspicion.

  Even Li Mu himself had a hard time getting in, let alone bringing an unfamiliar woman with him. It's likely that they wouldn't even be able to enter the Dragon Palace, and would be chased out instead.

  Bai Huang knew Li Mu was embarrassed, so she retreated and asked instead: "I don't need to go in myself, just confirm that the thing exists, you can look at it and then tell me, that's fine too. Please."

  The beauty's request is the hardest to refuse. Moreover, Li Mu was infatuated with this beautiful and unattainable girl. Even if he risked his life, what's the worst that could happen? At most, he would just make a big fuss once and then never go to the Dragon Palace again. Would the Dragon King really dare to kill him?

  "Alright, I'll try my best." Li Mu nodded.

  A Fu brought up all the dishes that Li Mu wanted, which were all his usual favorites, along with a pot of fine Nu'er Hong. "I don't know what you like to eat, if you don't like it, feel free to ask the kitchen to change." Li Mu looked at the dishes on the table and then at Bai Hua.

  Having obtained Li Mu's promise, Bai Huan was overjoyed and wouldn't pick at the dishes not suiting her appetite. Besides, these were all signature dishes of Di Xian Lou, how could they not be to one's taste?

  "No need to change, it's delicious." Bai Huan picked up a mouthful and tasted it, nodding in praise.

  A gentle smile, a hundred charms are born. At this moment, Li Mu felt that the most delicious delicacies in the world were not as lovely as the beauty's one smile.

  Pouring a cup of wine, savoring a mouthful of food, Li Mu thinks that today's dish is the best it has ever tasted. Different moods, different flavors, what can be more delicious than sharing a table with the one you love?

  "Huang." Li Mu called out intimately, seeing that other couples only called each other by a single intimate name, so he also learned to call Bai Huang like this. "Why do you dislike that monkey so much? He's a fellow cultivator just like me, not a bad person."

  Bai Huang felt a shiver run down her spine as Li Mu called out to her in such a familiar tone, and she struggled to suppress the urge to break out in goosebumps. "Hmph!" she exclaimed angrily. "You demons are all cunning and treacherous, today you're calling each other brothers, tomorrow you'll be taking each other's lives! They have no credibility whatsoever, I advise you to stay far away from that monkey, lest you end up dead without even knowing what happened."

  "Uh—"

  In the past, when I was at Tongyuan Mountain, I heard my masters and senior brothers say that demons and monsters are not all evil, but some are kind and good. They have the same goals as cultivators, but their methods of cultivation are different. In Heaven, there are many demons who have achieved enlightenment, such as the Twenty-Eight Star Constellations, which are twenty-eight beast immortals. Similarly, in Tongyuan Mountain, there are many demon spirits that cultivate to become immortals. The Great Immortal of Tongyuan often teaches his disciples that whether one is a immortal or a demon depends not on what they cultivate, but on their actions. If an immortal does evil and commits wrongdoings, then they are a demon; if a demon does good deeds and accumulates virtue, then they are an immortal.

  Although Sun Wukong belongs to the spiritual animal, since they are all fellow Taoist cultivators, he is no longer a demon. So Li Mu didn't mind what Bai Huang said, and instead felt that the monkey was in tune with him and suited his own personality.

  "It's lively here."

  Just as Li Mu and Bai Huang were savoring their food, a group of people suddenly entered from outside, each with a crooked mouth and an evil face. The leader shouted loudly, instantly drawing the attention of everyone in the wine house. The surrounding diners saw the newcomers and were so frightened that they stopped eating, not daring to make a sound.

  Xiao Er A Fu apparently also knew the newcomer and hurried over to greet him: "Third Master, you've arrived."

  "Stop your nonsense and get your boss here." San Ye's mouth twitched, and with an arrogant air, he lifted one foot and stepped on a stool. The person who was originally sitting on the stool immediately trembled with fear, their whole body shaking.

  The old shopkeeper hurried over from behind the counter and respectfully invited: "Third Master, please eat first, and let us prepare the hard-earned money for several masters."

  Third Master used his right thumb to scratch his nose and said: "You changed your name without even telling me, are you not putting Third Master in your eyes?"

  The old shopkeeper hastily apologized: "How could that be? All of this is the intention of the owner of this wine house, and I am now just a subordinate."

  "Has this wine shop changed owners?" Third Master furrowed his brow, seemingly somewhat disbelieving.

  The old shopkeeper was afraid of San Ye, pointed at Li Mu and said: "Hey, that's our new master."

  Over there, Li Mu and Bai Huan were eating when they were suddenly disturbed by San Ye and his group of people with unknown backgrounds. They immediately felt annoyed. Although Li Mu was the owner of this restaurant, he didn't care about the business or whether the customers were satisfied or not. He only cared that he ate well and drank well. Disturbing others was fine, but disturbing himself was absolutely unacceptable.

  Li Mu didn't know what San Ye and his men did, so he asked: "Hong, what do they do?"

  "They are local bullies, specializing in oppressing good people. They came here, probably with ill intentions." Bai Huan explained. She was currently seriously injured and couldn't muster her energy for a short while. Otherwise, these ruffians would be easily dealt with just by lifting a finger.

  Third Master also noticed Li Mu's side, his eyes suddenly bulged like a cow's eyes, and he opened his big mouth with saliva flowing all over the floor.

  "Wow, beauty!"

  He had a pig-like face, staring at Bai Hua's eyes without blinking, and stumbled to Li Mu's table in a daze.

  "Kid, just agree to give me this beauty and from now on, I'll take care of this wine shop. You won't have any worries or troubles." Pig Three wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and said seriously while leaning on Li Mu's shoulder.

  A pair of eyes gleaming with color, never leaving Bai Huang for a moment. Scanning up and down, recklessly sweeping over every part of his body.

  Bai Huang suppressed his anger, and he couldn't wait to dig out his two dog eyes to drink with wine.

  How dare you be so disrespectful to the woman I love? Even someone as good-tempered as Li Mu would get angry at this. With a sudden push, he shoved Zhu San to the ground. Turning around, Li Mu shouted: "Get out of my tavern immediately and don't let me see you again!"

  Pig Three swaggered around Qing Shui County for many years, and even the county officials gave him face. This was the first time he had been beaten. He shouted angrily, "Still not quickly giving me an account."

  He and his gang rushed up, surrounding Li Mu with a flurry of punches and kicks. Li Mu was no match for them, his face, nose, buttocks, and back taking countless blows. Just as it seemed someone's life was in danger, Bai Hua stood by helplessly, the old shopkeeper was frantic with worry, and Ah Fu wanted to help Li Mu but was too weak.

  But those little brothers fought for half a day and found that they had been holding a wooden bench all the time, while Li Muren was nowhere to be seen.

  Just as they were searching around, they suddenly felt something pulling at their feet, and they all fell down. As soon as they got up again, they were tripped up by something. This group of people kept getting up and falling down, with noses blue and faces swollen, hands broken and feet fractured, yet still unaware of what was happening.

  Until Pig Three yelled: "Monster, monster!" He didn't dare to stand up and escaped from the wine house on all fours. Others heard that it was a monster, who dared to stay there, only regretting that their parents had given birth to two fewer legs.

  When they all finished running, Li Mu emerged from the ground.

  "A monster!" The surrounding diners also thought Li Mu was a monster and were so frightened that they hastily ran away.

  "Hey, fellow villagers, don't be afraid! I'm not a monster. I am a Taoist from Tongyuan Mountain, and just now I was just using a little magic to punish them."

  Everyone was skeptical and didn't dare to confirm. Li Mu also didn't bother to explain, now having no appetite at all, so he left with Bai Huan.

  Li Mu was unscathed but his body was covered in footprints, looking utterly disheveled. Bai Huan said: "Can't you really cultivate anymore? Can't you find another way to cultivate?"

  "Any other way?" Li Mu didn't know what other method Bai Huang was referring to, but who could give up the pursuit of real power?