Trading All Your Possessions for a Tiny Piece of Fish?

The elder's words instantly shocked An Xinjie, who had been secretly brooding nearby.

What?

What did she just hear?

The Grand Elder actually intended to use his entire life's accumulated wealth to buy just a small portion of that ugly fish right in front of them?

No way!

Unbelievable!

Could the Grand Elder have been possessed by some evil spirit, or perhaps fallen under a mind-control spell?

"Grand Elder, you must remain calm! This fish merely has a layer of black mist covering its body—it's nothing as miraculous as he claims!"

The elder was quite displeased. He cast a cold glance at An Xinjie and interrogated her:

"Didn't you say earlier that you didn't recognize me? How is it that you know who I am now?"

Faced with the elder's chilling gaze, An Xinjie lowered her eyes slightly and said through gritted teeth:

"What I did before was indeed wrong; I shouldn't have pretended not to know you. But now, even if it means letting you know that I lied to you earlier, I must stop you from making this decision!"

One must realize that the Grand Elder's lifelong wealth was far more than just his personal fortune.

He was also carrying the most precious cultivation resources of the entire Horizon Pavilion.

If the elder gave all of these things to Wang Chu, the Horizon Pavilion would suffer a severe shortage of vital cultivation resources for at least a thousand years to come.

Should that happen, the strength and cultivation levels of the sect's younger generation of elite disciples would inevitably be affected.

"Hmph! Just by yourself, you think you can stop me?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you are a junior of my Horizon Pavilion, I would have chased you away just now."

The elder deepened his tone and said:

"Let me say this again: do not disrespect this young master, and do not harbor any doubt about anything he does! If you refuse to listen to my teachings and insist on acting willfully, don't blame me for dealing with you according to the sect's rules!"

The elder's words completely shattered An Xinjie's hopes.

The Grand Elder in her memory

was a hero who had saved the sect from the brink of crisis by his own efforts alone, and later led the sect to gradual prosperity and growth. He was an idol whom An Xinjie had worshipped since childhood.

How could such a person in reality turn out to be so utterly unreasonable, impulsive, hot-tempered, and foolish, completely failing to put the sect's interests first?

The young, slouching man beside them didn't look like an expert capable of helping someone break through their cultivation realm no matter how one looked at him; instead, he looked much more like a swindler.

Why couldn't the Grand Elder, whose life experience was far greater than her own, see right through this?

Filled with grief and indignation, An Xinjie wanted to argue further.

However, just as the words reached her lips, she felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet—a silent warning originating from the elder.

She laughed self-deprecatingly, ultimately swallowing the words back down, and her eyes gradually dimmed.

Forget it.

Since things had come to this,

she would just let the Grand Elder do as he pleased.

So what of the title of Senior Sister, and so what of competing for dominance?

To the present An Xinjie, those things no longer mattered.

She felt that what she needed to consider most right now was how to sever ties with the sect.

With such a foolish leader at the helm,

the future of the Horizon Pavilion was already abundantly clear to her.

She would never stay in a sect that had no future.

Seeing that An Xinjie finally shut her mouth, the elder breathed a sigh of relief.

If her rudeness had caused him to lose his precious chance at advancement for a third time,

the elder might have simply gone mad.

Fortunately, thank goodness!

This junior had finally kept her mouth shut under his pressure.

And Wang Chu was not a petty person; he didn't get angry over the incident or chase her away.

Suppressing the cold aura around him, the elder cupped his fists toward Wang Chu, transforming once again into a genial old man:

"My sect's junior is short-sighted and has made a fool of herself before you, Young Master. I will have her apologize to you right now."

Hong Zhongyuan's words once again lowered the baseline of what An Xinjie could tolerate.

Apologize!

It was bad enough that he told me to shut up.

Now you're actually telling me to apologize to this scam artist!

Old fogey, have you lost your mind?

Making me apologize to him would be no different than killing me right here on the spot!

An Xinjie stubbornly jutted out her lower lip, preparing herself to die for her integrity.

Wang Chu looked at the expression on her face and found it somewhat amusing.

"Never mind, there's no need."

An Xinjie let out a silent, internal scoff, thinking to herself:

"Hmph, at least this swindler has some self-awareness."

Hong Zhongyuan, however, could not help but shower him with praise:

"How magnanimous you are, Young Master! My admiration for you right now is like the rolling waves of the sea, endless and ceaseless!"

"Ugh—!"

Hearing those words come out of Hong Zhongyuan's mouth made An Xinjie feel physically nauseous.

How could the dignified Grand Elder of the Horizon Pavilion act so sycophantically toward a junior!

Wang Chu also found these words a bit too cheesy and quickly interrupted:

"Alright, alright. Aren't you just looking to buy some fish meat? I'll sell some to you."

The elder was overwhelmingly excited, feeling profoundly grateful as he looked at Wang Chu as if looking at his own parents who had granted him a second life.

Heaven knows

how long he, Hong Zhongyuan, had waited for this day of breaking through the Tribulation Crossing stage!

"Many thanks, Young Master! Many thanks, Young Master!"

As he expressed his gratitude, Hong Zhongyuan's body kept bowing and saluting.

Wang Chu placed the fish casually on the sandy beach beside the reclining chair and asked:

"Are you planning to take it back and cook it yourself, or eat it here with us?"

Hong Zhongyuan wanted to say that he wouldn't trouble the young master further.

But on second thought, if he took it back to cook himself, how should he prepare it?

He didn't even recognize this fish. If he just cooked it carelessly, would it fail to achieve the desired effect?

After careful consideration, Hong Zhongyuan asked with the utmost caution:

"May I ask, Young Master, what is the difference between cooking it oneself and eating it here?"

Wang Chu pointed at the fish's body and said:

"That depends entirely on your mastery of the culinary arts. If your mastery is low and you take it back to cook it yourself, you might not be able to unlock the full efficacy of this fish."

The elder nodded in understanding, then bowed and saluted once more:

"My mastery is shallow. I would rather partake of it here with you, Young Master. I leave it in your capable hands."

A knife materialized in Wang Chu's hand:

"Very well. Then go and gather some firewood for me, and we'll eat together."

Hong Zhongyuan was slightly stunned, and asked with a certain degree of solemn tension:

"What age and what category of wood would you prefer, Young Master?"

Wang Chu smiled faintly:

"Any wood will do. Whether it brings out the efficacy has nothing to do with the wood."

The elder let out a breath of relief.

It was fortunate that it was so; otherwise, he couldn't guarantee

that he could find some precious divine timber within a short period of time.

"Very well, then I shall go look for some right now!"

The elder turned around, faced the still-sulking An Xinjie, and commanded her:

"You! Come with me to gather firewood as well!"

The reason the elder called upon this junior

actually stemmed from a selfish motive of his own.

He figured that since Wang Chu was magnanimous and didn't like to hold grudges,

if he saw that this junior had also helped gather firewood, perhaps he would be in a good mood and share a small portion of the fish with her.

However, An Xinjie failed to appreciate the elder's thoughtful consideration, feeling instead that the elder was utterly unreasonable and beyond saving.

Wasn't it just gathering some firewood, building a fire, and cooking a fish?

Who couldn't do that? What difficulty could there possibly be?

The man had so unashamedly displayed his amateurism.

Why on earth did you, Hong Zhongyuan, still trust him so blindly?

As if that weren't enough, you actually had to drag her down into it as well?

"I'm not going."

An Xinjie turned her head away and flatly refused.

The reason she was still lingering here was not because she wanted to eat that damn piece of fish.

She just wanted to see what kind of reaction the elder would have after eating the fish and realizing he had been scammed.