AST 0078 – Baili Jingwei

“Sister Yu, could you get the kitchen to serve two of the black fish for this venerable old man?” Qing Shui smiled as he looked over at Yu He.

Yu He nodded her head, and went off to make the arrangements.

Qing Shui made his way to the table of the old man, as he asked, “May I know the reason why are you looking for me?” Qing Shui directed the question to the old man, as he sat down next to the youth.

“Oh, nothing of importance, I just feel that we were fated to meet. In any case, the first time I lay my eyes on little brother, I could feel that we share a special kind of connection!” The old man joyfully exclaimed, his voice radiated extreme kindness, causing others to feel extremely comfortable.

“I dare not accept your praises. You can just refer to me as Qing Shui, or little brother. I too, feel that it was fate that we met here today.” Qing Shui rubbed the back of his head as he exclaimed.

“Qing Shui, what a good name. My name is Baili Jingwei, and this is my grandson, Baili Wufeng, and we just came here for a holiday. My surname is Baili, and I had always felt a sense of connection to Hundred Miles City.[1] Recently, I heard that this inn was extremely famous for the black fish, and thus wanted to see if I can enjoy the taste. Alas, there is a limit of 10 fish, and all the fish have been sold out. Now I can only wait for tomorrow, how regretful.” Baili Jingwei gently explained.

This old man was truly benevolent. As a Xiantian Cultivator, despite the damage his energy channels and Dantian suffered, he could easily make use of his strength and status to enjoy eating the black fish. There was no need for him to follow the stupid rules.

“Old Man, coincidentally, I know the boss here. Don’t worry, you will be able to enjoy the fish very soon.” Qing Shui exclaimed, feeling slightly embarrassed. After all, he was the supplier of the black fish.

“Oh, if that is the case, this is excellent, didn’t I say that it was fated for us to meet here! Excellent, I can’t wait to taste and see if the fish is as good as the rumors.” Baili Jingwei laughed.

“If we were forceful enough, we could have already enjoyed the taste of the fish. Grandfather, you should not say so many good things to him. We should not depend on the help of outsiders!” Baili Wufeng lifted a cup of wine, as he exclaimed in unhappiness.

“Wufeng, the reason why I brought you here, was to let you see the sights and learn how to interact with other people. Strength is not the answer to everything. What if you met a problem that was unable to be resolved by strength? What would you do?” Baili Jingwei gently berated his grandson.

Looking at the wise and farsighted Baili Jingwei, Qing Shui could feel that this old man before him was someone who had already been through a lot of experiences and understood a lot of things. Looking at the clearness tinged with sadness in the eyes of Baili Jingwei, Qing Shui could not help but feel that he was staring at some hermit of ages past.

“Wufeng, remember this, if you want to build a foothold for yourself in the world of the nine continents, and to accomplish great things, human connections are extremely important. What can you do with the strength of one man? Death is the only result.”

“I’ve understood, Grandfather!”

Baili Jingwei smiled as he continued, “You often stay at home, only focusing on your cultivation, and look down upon others. However, there will always be people stronger than you. How powerful do you think you are, among the youths of your generation.”

“Baili Wufeng lowered his head as he thought, “Strength wise, there are no more than 10 people under the age of 30 in the Cang Lang Country who are able to defeat me.”

“Wufeng, do you really think that you are that unparalleled under the realm of Xiantian? That way of thinking is nothing but a frog living at the bottom of the well. Not to mention that in the Cang Lang Country, there are already more than 10 Xiantian Cultivators under the age of 30. Even the youth sitting beside you could defeat you within 10 moves.”

The sharp gaze of Baili Wufeng stare fixedly at Qing Shui, as his eyes were clouding over with suspicion. However, the words came from the mouth of his grandfather, and shouldn’t be false, but he still found it hard to accept that in such a small place like Hundred Miles City, there could be someone that could defeat him. Wufeng found it unbelievable.

Qing Shui was surprised too, he didn’t expected that he too would be dragged within the conversation of Baili Jingwei. Just glancing at the mannerisms of Baili Wufeng, Qing Shui knew that sooner or later, this young guy would come after him for sparring.

“Old man, stop joking.” Qing Shui laughed out loud.

Baili Jingwei only smiled, but from the look in his eyes which encompassed wisdom, acceptance, and kindness, Qing Shui felt that all his secrets were being pried bare in front of the old man.

At this moment, two lovely waitresses brought over the black fish that caused such a stir in Hundred Miles City. The delicious smell wafted all about the inn, causing the other customers to gaze in their direction with a trace of envy.

“That smell, how appetizing, this old man has been to a lot of places, but has never smelled something like this before.” Baili Jingwei lightly casted a glance at the black fish as he said.

“Come, Qing Shui, Wufeng, let’s eat and chat together!”

Qing Shui stopped after two mouthfuls, as he watched the grandfather and grandson duo stuffing themselves with the delicious fish.

“I was wrong. Initially, I thought that the Heavenly Mortal World Inn in the Cang Lang Country served the best dishes and wine. However, they absolutely could not be compared to this black fish. Although the smell was similar, but the moment you taste it, you can clearly tell the difference!” Baili Jingwei, unglamorously said, with his mouth full of fish meat.

“Truly, I did not think that this trip to the Hundred Miles City would result in such a gain, not only did we manage to feast on such heavenly fish, I also get to know a friend such as you. Qing Shui come, let us toast each other!” Baili Jingwei raised his wine cup.

Qing Shui hurriedly raise his wine cup.

“Old Man, you guys are from the Cang Lang Country?” Qing Shui randomly asked.

“En, you are right; is there anything you want to know? This old man could still be considered knowledgeable about the things ongoing in Cang Lang Country. I’ve said earlier that we are fated to meet here, if little brother has any problems that require my help, just ask me. After all, I do still have some status over in Cang Lang Country.” The old man, from observing Qing Shui’s expressions, knew that Qing Shui had some questions in his heart, or even needed to execute a difficult task.

“Old man, how’s the strength of the Yan Clan, in the Yan Capital of the Yan Jiang country?”

[1] Hundred Miles City in chinese is referred to BaiLi Cheng