Immortal Travel of Longevity

"Xiao Er, bring a pot of good wine and chop up a meaty bone! Make sure it has marrow."

The man walking into the tavern wore disheveled clothes, looking as if he had just crawled out of a hole somewhere. He tossed a few pieces of broken silver in his hand, acting as though he had struck it rich and come to enjoy himself.

Taking in his manner, Xiao Er leaned close and whispered, "You've arrived at the perfect time, sir. We slaughtered an ox today and stewed some braised beef. The smell alone is incredible."

The man's eyes immediately lit up. "What kind of ox?" he asked.

Xiao Er paused and glanced around. Seeing that no one was listening, he murmured, "You know how it is, sir. Heh, we can't make a fuss. There's one sitting right here in our tavern right now. I can't say, I can't say."

The scruffy man immediately understood.

It was ox demon meat!

That was good stuff!

"Then what are you waiting for? Bring it out! The one thing I don't lack is silver."

Xiao Er smiled, then softly cautioned, "Sir, please keep a low profile when you eat. If anyone asks, just say it's an ordinary beast that hasn't gained sentience."

"I know, I know."

The scruffy man more or less understood the rules.

He sat quietly, waiting for the beef to be served. But before the delicacy arrived, a figure walked into the tavern and sat directly across from him.

The newcomer wore a green robe and had white hair and a somewhat aged face.

After sitting down, the man sized him up in return.

The scruffy man felt a slight jolt of shock upon seeing the person in front of him, but he quickly composed himself. "I'm not sharing a table. Go find somewhere else."

Chen Changsheng nodded, but replied, "This Chen is just going to sit for a moment."

The scruffy man felt distinctly uncomfortable and immediately moved to stand.

"Then I won't sit here anymore. You can have it."

With that, he prepared to leave.

To his shock, he found he couldn't stand up at all. His legs felt as if they were firmly bound to the stool.

The man froze, flashing Chen Changsheng an awkward smile.

"Actually, sitting for a bit doesn't hurt."

Chen Changsheng nodded again without a word.

Before long, a fragrant plate of beef and a pot of good wine were served.

"Enjoy your meal, sir."

Xiao Er didn't think much of the shared table and hurried off to busy himself elsewhere.

The scruffy man glanced at Chen Changsheng, hesitated for a moment, and then picked up his chopsticks.

He tapped them against the table to even them out.

"Clack."

He reached out to pick up a piece of meat, only to find the green-robed man staring intently at him.

This made him hesitate.

Just as he was about to lower his chopsticks, the man across from him spoke.

"Hold on..."

He immediately stayed his hand, his chopsticks hovering in midair.

Chen Changsheng asked, "Is this the braised beef you ordered?"

He stared blankly. "If I didn't order it, who did?"

Chen Changsheng raised his hand, and from his sleeve, he pulled out another plate of braised beef.

"Look, is it this plate?" Chen Changsheng asked.

The scruffy man's mouth twitched. Rather exasperated, he said, "Are you here to scam food and drink off me?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head, ignoring the question. "Tell me, which plate of braised beef did you order?"

The scruffy man's eye twitched as he pointed to the plate Xiao Er had served.

"Naturally, it's this plate."

Chen Changsheng replied, "So you can tell the difference."

"I'm not blind," the scruffy man retorted.

He appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was starting to panic.

He had no idea why this person had sought him out. Moreover, the moment the man sat down, he had recognized Chen Changsheng's identity—this was absolutely someone he could not afford to offend.

"I see," Chen Changsheng said. "Since you can distinguish between two such similar plates of braised beef, then this Chen truly doesn't understand—how did you mistake my boat for yours?"

The scruffy man instantly realized what this was about.

At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief.

So that was what this was about.

If it was just this, it would be easy to make amends.

He had been terrified that this person had come to mete out justice and vanquish evil; if so, he really would have been in deep trouble.

"I took the wrong boat?" The scruffy man paused, feigning ignorance. Then, he slapped his forehead. "Oh my! I was just wondering why that boat looked a bit different. That was your boat? I'm truly sorry. Please, allow me to apologize. How terribly rude of me."

Chen Changsheng smiled warmly. "It's no matter, no matter at all."

The scruffy man smiled back. "I wonder how you would like me to compensate you?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "As you see fit."

The scruffy man immediately suggested, "How about this: this plate of braised beef is the meat of an ox demon that gained sentience. It's incredibly delicious. What if I offer this as compensation?"

Chen Changsheng pointed to one of the plates of beef on the table and said, "How is this ox demon meat?"

The scruffy man hurriedly corrected, "No, no, it's this plate! The one you're pointing at is the one you just took out. This one is mine."

"What do you mean, yours?" Chen Changsheng blinked. "This plate is clearly this Chen's. That plate is yours."

The scruffy man froze.

He suddenly understood.

How could this person be so shameless?!

"This wine..."

The scruffy man was just about to speak.

But Chen Changsheng flipped his sleeve, making a cheap-looking pot of wine appear on the table.

The scruffy man's lips parted slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "Playing like this isn't fun at all."

Chen Changsheng ignored him, instead letting out a sudden gasp of surprise.

"Ah!"

"Why does the money pouch at your waist look so much like this Chen's?"

The scruffy man's mouth twitched in rapid succession.

Chen Changsheng patted his waist and, as if out of nowhere, produced an identical money pouch.

Holding it close for comparison, Chen Changsheng cast another glance at the scruffy man.

The scruffy man said helplessly, "This money pouch can't be yours."

Chen Changsheng looked at him. "It can be."

"It really can't."

The scruffy man truly wanted to run away, but unfortunately, he couldn't even stand up.

Chen Changsheng said, "What are you talking about? Isn't this money pouch this Chen's? Didn't you simply grab the wrong money pouch?"

"Where... where would I even get your money pouch?"

"Perhaps you are unaware, but this Chen left that money pouch right on the boat, so..."

The scruffy man felt like cursing.

"Sigh..."

Very reluctantly, he untied his money pouch and placed it on the table.

Seeing this, Chen Changsheng smiled and slid his own completely empty money pouch over.

"This is the one that belongs to you," Chen Changsheng said with a smile.

The scruffy man ground his teeth, forcing the words out. "Thank you!"

Chen Changsheng paid him no mind, smoothly pulling out a pair of chopsticks.

He picked up a piece of beef and began to eat.

He poured himself wine, drinking cup after cup.

The scruffy man simply watched. He had no idea when he would be allowed to leave, but he certainly didn't dare act out in front of this person.

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