Chapter 30: Is It Crowded? Xu Taiping Watches the Drama at the Table

"Really?"

Uncle Jiu put down the bowl of soup in his hands and looked at Liu Songshan with a half-smile.

"I'll send a message to him right now!"

Liu Songshan immediately stood up, taking a communication talisman from his chest.

"Taiping, would you mind if I added another pair of chopsticks?"

Uncle Jiu asked with a smile as he held his soup bowl, looking at Xu Taiping.

"Do I get paid?"

Xu Taiping hesitated before asking.

"Of course you do!"

Uncle Jiu answered firmly.

"Then there's no problem."

Xu Taiping nodded.

He didn't want to get involved in whatever game these big shots were playing. For now, he was content being the cook, taking the money, and watching the show.

"By the way, I think we're out of chopsticks," Xu Taiping suddenly remembered.

"No problem, let him bring his own!"

Uncle Jiu waved his hand dismissively.

"But... but Uncle Jiu, my communication talisman... it's already... already burned out..."

Liu Songshan immediately tried to explain to Uncle Jiu.

"Just light another one, stop fussing. You're making things complicated."

Uncle Jiu glared at Liu Songshan, clearly annoyed.

"Yes... yes!"

Seeing Uncle Jiu's change in expression, Liu Songshan didn't say anything more. He quickly took out another talisman and thought to himself, "This little master really is a tough one. One communication talisman could buy a thousand pairs of chopsticks!"

Xu Taiping, watching all this, didn't offer any comments. He simply thought to himself, "It's nice to have money."

…

A moment later, another person had joined the meal at the table in the small courtyard of Qingzhu Residence.

It was a tall, burly man with a square face. Because of his massive size, he looked like he was sitting on the ground rather than on Xu Taiping's small stool.

"How about we move to the yard? It's a bit cramped here."

Seeing the sweating Xu Youzhi squatting awkwardly, Xu Taiping couldn't take it anymore and suggested to the others.

"No!"

To Xu Taiping's surprise, the first person to oppose was not the quirky Uncle Jiu, but the sweaty hall master of the Fierce Wind Hall, Xu Youzhi.

"Little brother, no need to trouble yourself. I'm fine here, I actually prefer it!"

Xu Youzhi waved the pair of chopsticks he brought from home and smiled at Xu Taiping.

"Alright..."

Xu Taiping frowned, thinking to himself: "These people are probably out of their minds. I'll just make sure White Uncle stays away from them in the future."

"Hey, kid, aren't you meddling a bit too much? When something's rare, it's all the more valuable. If he likes it, we can't take that away from him."

Uncle Jiu chuckled and winked at Xu Taiping, then grabbed the last lamb rib from his bowl.

"By the way, Youzhi, who are the two brothers from Fierce Wind Hall responsible for the Qingzhu Residence area?"

Uncle Jiu casually asked, still gnawing on the rib.

"Report..."

"Mm?"

Xu Youzhi instinctively stood up to answer, but Uncle Jiu's casual glance made him sit back down. He wiped the sweat off his forehead before continuing,

"Uncle Jiu, the two disciples from Fierce Wind Hall responsible for this area are named Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu. They are both at the peak of the Open Gate realm. Since they took over this area, there have been few reports of monsters or demons harming people."

These two were his subordinates, and he praised them without hesitation.

"Though we're just passing through, we've all gathered here thanks to Taiping, but since the sect has rules about not helping with cultivation matters, please be sure to take care of Qingzhu Residence when Fierce Wind Hall patrols the area in the future."

Uncle Jiu casually reminded Xu Youzhi.

Upon hearing this, Xu Youzhi and Liu Songshan exchanged a glance, both of them visibly relieved. They thought to themselves, "So this is why Little Master brought us here — to ensure we keep an eye on Qingzhu Residence!"

"Don't worry, Uncle Jiu. We'll have Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu keep a strict patrol around Qingzhu Residence from now on," Xu Youzhi promised confidently, slapping his chest.

"Uncle Jiu, this is a small matter. You don't need to go through all the trouble of hosting a feast. White Rainbow could've just sent me a message."

Liu Songshan looked relieved as well.

However, Xu Taiping, who had been quietly watching the scene, became confused after hearing their conversation. He thought to himself, "Uncle Jiu has no close relation to me. Why did he suddenly get Liu Pavilion Master and Xu Hall Master to look out for me? Is it just because of this meal?"

It didn't make sense that it was only about the meal, so Xu Taiping glanced over at Uncle Jiu.

At that moment, Uncle Jiu was chewing on a lamb leg. When he saw Xu Taiping looking at him, he immediately grinned and winked at him.

Xu Taiping furrowed his brows, thinking to himself, "This old man is definitely up to something. He's definitely not being so kind-hearted."

Then, he turned his gaze toward White Rainbow.

Seeing Xu Taiping's gaze, White Rainbow smiled back at him.

"Just as I thought. White Uncle deliberately invited Uncle Jiu here to Qingzhu Residence to give him the chance to 'look out for me.'"

Xu Taiping's thoughts became clearer.

Realizing this, he nodded slightly toward White Rainbow and gave him a grateful look.

Upon seeing this, Uncle Jiu immediately frowned. He thought to himself, "Little brat, I'm the one who helped, yet you thank someone else? No, I need to make him see clearly that he should be grateful to me and not just White Rainbow!"

With that, he put down the lamb leg and turned to the nervous Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi.

"Since you two are here today, you should invite Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu to join us for a meal. Make sure they bring their own chopsticks."

Xu Youzhi and Zhou Gu exchanged looks.

"Uncle... Uncle Jiu... I... I don't have any more communication talismans..."

Liu Songshan looked embarrassed.

"Uncle Jiu, I didn't bring any either. I came in a hurry," Xu Youzhi added.

These communication talismans, which could transmit messages over long distances, were quite expensive. Liu Songshan was already lucky to have two.

"Kid, do you have any?"

Uncle Jiu turned to Xu Taiping.

As it happened, Xu Taiping did have one — it was the one Zuo Ju had given him last time.

However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Xu Taiping decided not to hand over the talisman. He didn't want to get involved in their schemes.

"I don't have one..."

"I'll pay double the price to buy it."

Xu Taiping was about to refuse when Uncle Jiu interrupted him.

"I have one!"

Without hesitation, Xu Taiping pulled the talisman out of his robe.

"Now that's more like it!"

Uncle Jiu smiled as he took the talisman from Xu Taiping's hand.

"This... This is our Fierce Wind Hall's communication talisman, isn't it?"

Xu Youzhi immediately recognized the talisman in Uncle Jiu's hand.