Chapter 16: Old Meng

Gu Xian had lived in the mountains behind Huanxi Town since he became a disciple. Naturally, he had some understanding of the town. He took Yun Shang to live in a place called "Wuming Inn" with ease.

The facade of this nameless inn is not very conspicuous, and the conditions are even more average. Not only is the place small, but there is no waiter to greet guests after entering the door. Even the tables and chairs in the lobby look very old.

The most important thing is that during this prime time for overnight stays, the few tables in the lobby are all empty, and the dim lights make it look even more desolate.

Yun Shang was very puzzled. There was an inn across the street that seemed to be doing good business, was of similar standard and was clean and tidy. Why did she want to stay in this deserted and somewhat creepy place?

Yun Shang secretly wondered what was going on with this store?

Just when she was still hesitating whether to ask the reason, Gu Xian seemed to have guessed her doubts and nodded slightly at her, indicating that it was okay and there was no need to worry too much.

Yun Shang had an idea in her mind and suppressed her doubts.

"Let's take a break first." After entering the room, Gu Xian looked around, then found a table and asked Yun Shang to sit down.

After Yun Shang sat down, she realized that this shabby little restaurant not only had no waiter, but even the billing counter was empty. There were account books and an abacus on the table, and wooden signs with the names of dishes and wines hung on the wall.

Oh, after a closer look, there are only two dishes listed, stir-fried vegetables and braised beef. There are seven or eight kinds of wine, including daughter's red sorghum wine, pear blossom white plum wine.

The owner of this shop seems to be a heavy drinker.

It's no wonder that no one comes to patronize the restaurant, as it is so willful and disregards customer needs.

"Old Meng." After sitting down, Gu Xian called towards the accounting office, "Give us something to eat."

"Actually, I'm not hungry even after taking the fasting pills." Yun Shang touched her stomach, "Brother Xian, just order the amount you want to eat."

"How many people come here, so you must order food for that many people." Gu Xian took out two pairs of chopsticks from the bamboo tube, poured a cup of tea for Tu Le, and said with a smile: "This is the rule."

Yun Shang: …

What kind of bullshit and unfair clause is this, used to force a sale?

"What kind of wine?"

Yun Shang was complaining madly in her mind when she was startled by a deep voice suddenly ringing in her ear.

She turned around and saw an old man standing next to him without her noticing!

The old man looked to be about sixty or seventy years old, thin, with gray hair and beard, ordinary looks, and wearing a coarse cloth shorts. He looked like an ordinary farmer - except for his pair of eyes, which were as sharp and bright as an eagle, making people dare not look into his eyes.

It is obvious that this is not an ordinary old man, but a ruthless character whose cultivation is so high that he can hide his spiritual power and deterrent power.

"Old Meng, give us a pot of Lihua Bai." Gu Xian was not surprised by this situation and was very calm. "Lihua Bai is the most suitable drink for a little girl. Also, we are going to stay here."

"How many days will you stay?" Lao Meng asked indifferently.

Gu Xian said: "I don't know how long I will stay here yet. Go get some food first."

"Okay." Lao Meng hummed and left like a ghost.

"..." It was the first time that Yun Shang saw such a arrogant shop owner, but in this place, whoever has higher cultivation level is the boss, which is understandable.

"How powerful is Lao Meng?" She took a sip of the rather unpalatable tea and asked in a low voice.

Gu Xian said softly, "It's similar to the two in charge of Da Dao Xing."

Yun Shang was surprised that Lao Meng was actually a master of the Golden Core cultivation level.

You have to know that a master like him would either go to a martial arts sect to find a good job to gain fame and fortune, or choose a sacred mountain to practice hard in the hope of surviving the heavenly tribulation and reaching the great path.

And Lao Meng was actually staying here, guarding a small inn that had almost no guests. This was totally inconsistent with the values ​​of the natives of the cultivation world.

How could Gu Xian not know Yun Shang's doubts? He leaned over and said, "I will tell you something later. The reason why I chose to stay here is that there are few customers here, so I came to take care of Lao Meng's business; second, it is safe here."

"Safe?" Yun Shang asked, "What do you mean?"

"The one across the street is owned by the Da Dao Gang." Gu Xian glanced at the busy inn across the street and raised his chin. "Not to mention that you will be monitored if you live there, I am also worried about your safety."

She was touched by Gu Xian's attentiveness and felt that it was worth making friends with him.

The two then chatted about some small things. The sound of spatulas colliding came from the kitchen. The boss cooked efficiently and the food was soon on the table.

After serving them the food, Lao Meng ignored them and sat in the accounting office, holding a pot of wine and drinking it silently.

A plate of stir-fried vegetables, a plate of braised beef, two bowls of yellow rice, and a pot of wine.

The food looked ordinary, and neither the appearance nor the smell could arouse people's taste buds. Yun Shang tasted a bite of beef and understood another major reason why this restaurant was not doing well.

- The taste is not even as good as what she cooks herself, let alone compared with other restaurants.

"Why not hire a cook?" Yun Shang ate another piece of vegetable, put down her chopsticks and muttered to herself, asking a soul-searching question.

"I don't like it and I don't want to." Old Meng said in a low voice.

Yun Shang: …

Masters are willful, I really admire them.

"Let's have a glass of Lihuabai." Gu Xian smiled and filled the glass in front of Yun Shang. "I can't say anything else, but the wine brewed by Lao Meng is unique. No other restaurant in the town can compare to it."

"That's right." Lao Meng spoke again, with a hint of pride in his tone.

"...Then I'll try." Yun Shang's alcohol tolerance is very average. In her previous life, she only drank beer and red wine, and only drank white wine a few times. Every time she drank, she got drunk, and the next day she felt dizzy and wanted to vomit, which was very uncomfortable, so she was a little resistant to white wine.

But in this place, it would be a bit inappropriate not to drink. Don't offend the Jindan cultivators if you can maintain a good relationship with them.

Yun Shang gritted her teeth and clinked glasses with Gu Xian, then took a small sip from the rim of the glass.

There is no spicy feeling in the throat. It is sweet and refreshing in the mouth, and there is still some sweetness lingering on the tip of the tongue, just like the pear blossoms falling in the rain in early spring, which is refreshing.

"Good wine." Yun Shang couldn't help but praise and swallowed the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Gu Xian put down the wine glass and said, "Although Lihuabai is delicious, you should not drink too much. This glass is enough to ensure that you can sleep well tonight."

"Old Meng, your wine is very delicious, very good." It was the first time that Yun Shang drank such a delicious wine that went down the throat easily and had an endless aftertaste, and she was amazed.

Old Meng held the wine gourd and took a big sip, raised his eyebrows, and said nothing, but his expression looked much better than before.

…

Yun Shang was a restrained person. Since Gu Xian said it was better to drink only one glass, she only drank one glass.

After dinner, Lao Meng took them to the second floor to stay.

The inn is quite small, with only three guest rooms on the second floor. There is no distinction between high and low grades of the rooms, and they are all minimalist, with only tables, chairs and a bed. There is not even a screen to cover the changing of clothes.

Lao Meng lit the lights in two of the guest rooms, brought hot water for washing, and left without saying a word.

Yun Shang opened the window and could just see the lights of the inn opposite. She could also hear the guests drinking and chatting, which formed a sharp contrast with this inn.

A bright moon was visible in the sky. She leaned against the window in a daze. The night breeze blew by, and the smell of alcohol dissipated a little. In her slightly tipsy state, she felt particularly relaxed.

"Bang, bang." Gu Xian's voice came from outside the door, "It's me."

After Yun Shang opened the door, she poured a cup of tea for Gu Xian and invited him to watch the moon together.

"Do you think that Lao Meng's behavior is not in line with the common sense of a cultivator and is a bit strange?"

After the two of them looked at the moonlight quietly for a while, Gu Xian suddenly spoke.

"I don't quite understand." Yun Shang looked at the dark clouds floating around the moon and shrugged, "But the masters always have their own reasons."

"Old Meng and my master are old friends. Whenever I go down the mountain to do business, I will come to his place to have a meal and see him." Gu Xian walked around the room and sat down at the table. He felt a little touched. "My master said that Old Meng has been in this town for thirty years."

Yun Shang turned around and repeated in surprise, "Thirty years?"

"That's right. He hasn't practiced for the past thirty years. He has been concentrating on brewing wine and running an inn here." Gu Xian turned the cup on the table childishly. "It is said that he stayed in this town to wait for someone."

Yun Shangfu was suddenly inspired and blurted out, "Could it be my sweetheart?"

Gu Xian nodded, "From what Master said, this should be the case. Old Meng had reached the Golden Core stage a long time ago. He neglected his cultivation in order to wait for that person, and stayed here for such a long time."

He said with a bewildered look, "Could it be that the love between a man and a woman is more important than cultivation? Is it worth it?"

Yun Shang didn't say anything. She looked at the bright moon in front of her, and her heart was greatly shocked.

It turns out that no one can escape the word love.

But who can tell whether it is worth it?

Since Yun Shang, like Gu Xian, had been a loner since birth and had no special insights into matters of the heart, the two sighed a few words and then changed the subject.

Since the purpose of coming here is to be able to be transferred to Mu Shui Town, the topic is naturally related to this.

"Does it take a lot of spiritual power to transmit once using the array points?" Yun Shang was a little confused.

"Otherwise, why is the cost so high? You know, ordinary people may not be able to earn that much money in their lifetime."

"Because it's not for ordinary people at all." Gu Xian walked to the window, looked through it, and closed the window.

"In fact, for a Jindan cultivator, it doesn't take much spiritual power to activate the formation. It would be even easier if there were magic tools to bless it. But ordinary people and cultivators are originally in two different camps, otherwise there wouldn't be a division between the north and south regions. Even if the cultivators have low cultivation, they still have ways to get silver and elixirs, but this is extremely difficult for ordinary people who can only make a living."

"If ordinary people want to go to the realm of powerful cultivators, they must pay a huge price." Yun Shang suddenly realized that this is actually a way of class solidification.

Gu Xian was too subtle. To put it bluntly, there is always an unbridgeable gap between ordinary people and monks. Monks are high and mighty, while ordinary people are like ants. Monks can travel all over the continent, but most ordinary people are confined to this one place, and may never know what another place looks like in their lifetime.

Faced with such a cruel reality, everyone can only hope that they are born with spiritual roots and then join a sect of cultivation. This is the only way to cross classes.

Yun Shang felt somewhat sympathetic, but she was in a difficult situation now and had no right to sympathize with others.

"Even among cultivators, there are differences. The Golden Core is a huge watershed on the path of cultivation." Gu Xian said with an envious look, "It represents another realm. It's a pity that I…"

"We will all become Jindan cultivators in the future." Yun Shang patted Gu Xian's shoulder, "Brother Xian, you are good in everything, kind, open-minded and clear-sighted. The only bad thing is that you underestimate yourself."

Gu Xian smiled bitterly and mocked himself: "Because I know that my talent is average. Even if I work twice as hard, I can't catch up with those talented people."

"Have you ever tested your spiritual roots?" Yun Shang asked.

"No." Gu Xian said, "Master said that what matters in accepting a disciple is fate, and everything else is just material things. He doesn't care. None of the fellow disciples in our temple have taken the test."

"Your master is the one who practices the Tao of nature." Yun Shang advised: "Since you haven't even taken the test, how can you know what your talent is? There are many people in the world who have accumulated a lot of experience and achieved great success late in life.

If you set limits for yourself, anything is possible."

As she was speaking, Yun Shang coughed and unconsciously said the Hyundai advertising slogan.

Gu Xian lowered his head and was silent for a while, and suddenly, as if he had been enlightened, he suddenly understood. He showed his signature cute smile, "Xiao Yun, you are right, everything is possible. I can't give up the pursuit of cultivation. Maybe a miracle will happen one day?"

"That's the right way to think. If you think that way, you'll have hope in your heart and won't be depressed."

"Xiao Yun, you really should practice Taoism. Sometimes what you say makes me feel that you are very mature mentally, even older than me." Gu Xian joked.

Yun Shang smiled mysteriously and said nothing, but she was thinking in her heart: Deep down, I am indeed several years older than you.

The two chatted for a while, and Yun Shang suddenly asked: "By the way, Brother Xian, what does the transmission array look like? I really want to go and see it."

"Neither you nor I have high cultivation bases, so it's not safe to go out at night. Don't worry, I'll take you to see the fun after breakfast tomorrow." Gu Xian said as he stood up, "Okay, it's getting late, I'm going back to my room, you should have a good rest."

Yun Shang waved her hand and said, "Okay, Brother Xian, take care."

…

After seeing Gu Xian off, Yun Shang admired the moonlight in front of the window for a while, then washed her face and mouth, and lay down on the bed with her clothes on.

She was clearly wide awake just now, but as soon as her head touched the pillow, sleepiness came over her like a tide. She felt as comfortable as lying in soft clouds. Her body became light, but her consciousness slowly sank.

Before falling asleep, Yun Shang had only one thought: maybe the pear blossom liquor she drank before suddenly took effect after a long period of brewing. After all, the little Taoist priest said that drinking this would help her sleep well.