Chapter 239: Interesting, Interesting
“They passed, they passed…”
Liu Sheng and the others supported their foreheads in their minds, criticizing Liu Sheng's poor acting skills.
Ling Xiaoshu was also indignant: “Sister, I'm not that childish!”
As expected, it was a bit forced for Liu Sheng, a nineteen-year-old girl, to pretend to be a thirteen-year-old girl.
The old man sitting opposite suddenly chuckled, picked up his wine gourd, took a sip of wine, and wiped the wine stains from his mouth with his dirty sleeve.
“Why did you suddenly change into someone else?”
His gaze towards “Ling Xiaoshu” was no longer purely benevolent, but rather held a few hints of scrutiny and curiosity.
“Senior, how did you know I wasn't Xiao Shu?” Liu Sheng put away the feigned smile on her face and said seriously.
“I've lived long enough, so I've naturally seen many people. The differences in temperament and demeanor between people are clear at a glance,” the old man said with a joyful chuckle, taking another sip of wine. “What's more, eyes cannot deceive.”
Liu Sheng deeply agreed with this statement.
It seemed the main culprit was the difficulty in concealing the light of wisdom in her eyes.
“You're the older sister the little girl has been talking about, aren't you?”
“You are able to descend here, is your relationship a Soul binding?”
The old man disregarded Liu Sheng's gradually darkening expression and continued to speak with a smile.
“Why are you spilling everything! One must be on guard against others, little sister!” Liu Sheng turned her head and muttered inwardly.
“I… I just mentioned that my sister would come to find me… I didn't say anything else,” Ling Xiaoshu sounded a bit wronged.
“Heh heh, don't worry, Xiao Shu didn't tell me all that.” She just kept mentioning you, saying that you must be worried after she'd been gone so long, and with every dish served, she'd say, 'It would be great if my sister were here,' or 'My sister loves this,' truly a deep sisterly bond.”
Liu Sheng's expression softened a little.
“I saw Xiao Shu playing by herself on the roadside, looking like she couldn't find her family and didn't know the way, so I thought of bringing her with me to ask clearly where she lives. Please don't blame this old man for being nosy.”
“However, given Xiao Shu's identity, traveling alone like this is really quite dangerous. In today's world, there are many bad people.” When he said this, the old man put away the casualness on his face, and his gaze sharpened.
Xiao Shu's identity?
Does this old man know what Xiao Shu is?
Liu Sheng had a bad feeling.
The old man seemed to see what Liu Sheng was thinking and said, “No matter, I don't know what exactly Xiao Shu is, but I guess she should be a type of Spirit Plant, as the scent of plants on her is very strong.”
He also pointed at Xiao Shu's head and continued, “Moreover, what's under that hat cannot escape my eyes.”
“And now, it can also be confirmed that only high-level Spirit Plants can undergo Soul binding with people.”
Liu Sheng didn't expect that her actions had inadvertently confirmed Xiao Shu's identity, and she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.
But it had to be this way, otherwise, she wouldn't know how to find this girl.
“Furthermore…” The old man paused, “We've met. Even if her appearance has changed, this special scent, I can recognize it with one sniff.”
As he spoke, he rubbed his enormous, wine-red nose.
“Only transformed Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts can be a six or seven-year-old girl a few days ago, and then a teenage girl today.”
“I also thought it was fate, and I was worried, so I brought her with me. Don't blame me, don't blame me.”
The old man, who had been laughing cheerily, explained so earnestly that Liu Sheng couldn't help but believe him a little.
Liu Sheng was still pondering, but the old man's next words made her internal alarm bells ring instantly.
“You, your name is Liu Sheng, right?”
“Senior, how did you know?” Liu Sheng's face was taut.
“Someone told me after we met last time.”
“Who?”
“You'll know very soon,” the old man said mysteriously.
“How soon?”
“The day the Imperial Examination results are posted.”
Imperial Examination results?
Not the Examination results four days later?
This meant she would have to wait until after the Hall Examination.
Although Liu Sheng didn't know why it was that day, it seemed asking wouldn't yield an answer.
Since this old man had exposed her identity, she wanted to try something.
What's more, Liu Sheng had indeed suspected it for a long time.
“Senior, are you surnamed Li, given name Wu, commonly known as… Taibai Sword Immortal?”
Liu Sheng looked at the old man, speaking each word clearly, her eyes resolute.
The old man burst into laughter, repeatedly muttering, “Extremely interesting!”
This drew sidelong glances from the other tables.
But then, with a casual wave of the old man's hand, Liu Sheng immediately felt an invisible barrier envelop their surroundings. The noisy sounds of the small pub instantly vanished, leaving only the quiet breathing of the two of them and the old man's unrestrained laughter.
“Yes, how did you guess?”
Taibai Sword Immortal's laughter ceased, and he actually admitted it directly.
“Senior, you wanted me to guess, didn't you? Every word was a hint,” Liu Sheng said respectfully, her expression unchanged.
Taibai Sword Immortal laughed so hard his beard trembled: “Haha, you are indeed an interesting young lady.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Senior.” Liu Sheng's expression remained calm, but her heart was blooming with joy.
“I didn't expect…” His words paused, and Taibai Sword Immortal was seen counting on his fingers, seemingly calculating something. Then he suddenly realized, “Oh right, thirty years have passed, and I've finally met another interesting young person.”
“Met again?” Liu Sheng was a little curious, “Who was the last one?”
“It's not important anymore, that person is no longer interesting,” Taibai Sword Immortal sighed, a rare occurrence, as if regretting how an interesting person had become uninteresting.
“Enough, my desire for wine is sated for today,” Taibai Sword Immortal said, shaking his head. “Since Xiao Shu's older sister has found Xiao Shu, I can leave with peace of mind.”
“Don't lose her again! Children this age are the most worrisome…”
Taibai Sword Immortal's voice gradually faded, and along with his figure, he slowly blurred and lightened until he completely disappeared.
The barrier was removed, and the sounds of conversation and clinking cups in the pub suddenly rushed into her ears like a tide.
“Senior…” Liu Sheng murmured.
Originally, she had many questions she wanted to ask.
She wanted to ask about that sword strike on Taibai Restaurant that day.
She wanted to ask about the meteor that fell in the northwest.
She wanted to ask if the northern desert had… changed, and if he knew anything.
She also wanted to ask what the Shenzang Realm was truly like, when one could Ascend, or… if it was really as Professor Tang said—Ascension was hopeless?
And… could he give her an autograph…
Unfortunately, she didn't have time to ask any of it.
It's not that there wasn't enough time, but rather that he didn't want to say.
Hmph, these Seniors just love to act like riddle-tellers!
Complaining aside.
Liu Sheng sighed, wondering when she would be able to meet such a legendary figure again.
“Don't worry, you will,” the World predicted again.
“I think so too,” another Liu Sheng echoed.
“He even said we're interesting! Since we're interesting, he'll definitely be curious…”
“Then he'll keep paying attention!”
“And didn't he say we'd meet someone after the Imperial Examination results are posted? That person must know him, so we can just ask that person then.”
“Wait, why do we want to see him so much?” A certain Liu Sheng couldn't keep up with this line of thought.
The other Liu Shengs, quite naturally, said in unison: “Of course, it's for an autograph!”
At this moment, a voice interjected, weakly asking, “He left… but did he pay?”
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