âEntry tickets for sale here, come get it right now, just one hundred left, donât miss this chance.â A familiar peddler could be heard once the trio got close to the entrance.
âOver here.â Li Qiye waved at the peddler.
âSir, you want to buy some tickets?â Liu Sanqiang immediately ran over after seeing a waving hand.
âUghâ¦â He immediately stopped after seeing that it was Li Qiye, realizing what Li Qiye wanted to do after seeing the black bull next to him.
âNot happy to see me?â Li Qiye smiled.
âOf course Iâm happy, Sir. Welcome to our auction house.â Sanqiang put on a forced smile that was ugly than if he was crying.
âWhy arenât you coming closer to welcome me?â Li Qiye smirked.
Sanqiang had no choice but to close his eyes and jump into the fire. He got over and bowed: âSir, I am ready to offer my assistance.â
âItâs nothing, Iâm just missing one entry ticket.â Li Qiye took another ticket from Sanqiangâs stack.
âSir, Iâve just started this morning and havenât eaten a single grain of rice but now, youâre taking fifty coins from me. How can you be so cruel?â Sanqiang put on a pained expression after being robbed again.
âOh? I donât think thatâs the price you said last time.â Li Qiye stared at him.
âSir⦠itâs a misunderstanding.â Sanqiang put on a smile this time around: âI have to take care of my family, right? Itâs so hard trying to survive nowadays especially when I havenât sold a single ticket. My wife is waiting for me to buy and bring back rice. My aging mother hasnât eaten for several days nowâ¦â
âGood!â He couldnât finish the sentence before a hoof smashed down on his head. He got a big lump on his forehead now.
âSir, why did you hit me? I, I never offended you before!â Sanqiang protested.
âIâm quite merciful for not killing your entire clan.â The bull posed arrogantly and looked down at Sanqiang.
âSir, I donât think my clan has offended you before. Youâre a divine bull, the greatest in historyâ¦â
âBam!â A second lump emerged after another kick.
âYour ass-kissing wonât work on me.â The bull looked at him with disdain and shouted: âDonât you remember who I am? Your grandfather snuck into Sacred Mountain and thatâs forgivable, but then your father did it, and a brat like you repeated the same thing. Donât make me end your lineage.â
âThe bull definitely wins in terms of ass-kissing.â Li Qiye told Jinning.
She almost burst out laughing but managed to restrain herself.
âNo, Sir, definitely not. I have never been to Sacred Mountain before but I have indeed heard of you, the great bull, and have nothing but respect for you. My seniors said that you are the current number existence, so much stronger than the treeâ¦â Sanqiang swore. He remained unaffected by the two stomps outside of the two big lumps on his forehead.
âNow thatâs more like it.â The bull didnât like the flattery in the beginning until Sanqiang brought up that it was stronger than its neighbor, the tree demon. It might be a one-sided enmity but the bull couldnât do anything to the demon. Sanqiangâs flattery struck the perfect chord.
âDonât you know that the old demon treeâs grand dao is finished and can leave Sacred Mountain whenever. What do you think he would do if he were to find out that you have put him down in order to flatter this piece of charcoal?â Li Qiye jumped in.
â...â Sanqiang turned pale; his eyes widened in astonishment.
âIâll definitely let him know what you have said today.â Li Qiye added.
âHaha, brat, itâs fine. I am impressed by your wise words today so you are under my protection now. That tree demon is strong at the academy but this might not always be the case. If he dares to come here, Iâll take him down.â The bull placed his hoof on Sanqiangâs shoulder and patted him while smiling.
âThank you, Sir.â Sanqiang had no choice but to pretend to be happy.
âDonât thank him.â Li Qiye decided to dagger the bull again: âFrom what I know about this charcoal, itâll be the first person to run away in dangerous moments. It wonât protect you.â
âHey, stop it now, donât rain on my parade please. Iâm still a divine bull, special across the ages. Iâm not afraid of heaven nor earth, so whatâs one tree demon? Iâll really take him down, hmph.â The bull retorted.
âReally now?â Li Qiye replied: âHe told me that you ate several leaves so he was thinking about how to punish you.â
âThatâs just a misunderstanding.â The bull smiled wryly, looking a bit embarrassed before murmuring: âHmph, what a stingy man, just a few leaves, nothing special. Iâll go pluck some now and give them back to him.â
âHeâs a supreme bodhi tree. Those leaves were probably there at its conception. You canât find them anywhere else.â Li Qiye chuckled.
â...â The bull didnât know what to say.
The leaves were indeed special. It coveted them for a long time and eventually took advantage of a rare opportunity to eat several before fleeing.
The tree demon nearly killed it at that time, not a good feeling to have. Nevertheless, the demon couldnât extract that leaves from its stomach and decided to spare it.
âSir, you really ate those immortal leaves?â Sanqiangâs eyes lit up.
âYouâre showing your true colors right now.â Li Qiye commented after seeing Sanqiangâs restless appearance, ready to stir trouble.
âWhat, you want some too?â The bull glanced at him.
Sanqiang swallowed his saliva repeatedly and revealed: âOur ancestors wrote that those leaves are incredible, hehe, even progenitors canât get them.â
âHaha, thatâs why Iâm the coolest bull in the world, a few leaves are nothing to me. Hmph, Iâll eventually eat that demon down to the roots, weâll see if he can act haughty afterward.â The bull proudly declared.
âYes, youâre matchless. Thereâs no one else in history on the same level as you.â Sanqiang immediately nodded several times: âSir, when you eat that tree later, how about giving me some leftover leaves, the bad golden ones?â
âLooks like you want to steal his young leaves.â Li Qiye gave him the side-eye.
âAbsolutely not, I only want to collect a few.â Sanqiang wiped the saliva from the corner of his lips.
âCollect my ass!â The bull kicked him flying and scolded: âYour three generations have entered my mountain and stole stuff. Go away. If I ever meet someone from the Liu Clan again, I will make mincemeat out of them.â
âSir, donât be angry, remember to give me some leaves next time.â Sanqiang wasnât angry at all and shouted among the crowd: âIâm going to sell some tickets now to make ends meet.â
Li Qiye shook his head in amusement while watching the guy escape.
âDamned brat.â The bull said with disdain but it clearly liked the style of the brat since they were similar.
âWhat did the leaves taste like?â Li Qiye asked.
âMmm, I didnât have time to appreciate them, just chewed a couple of times then swallowed.â The bull salivated again then answered.