Chapter 44: I’ve Even Eaten The Legendary Peng Bird Before!
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Concurrently at the swamp by the side of Withered Bones Forest...
The rich aroma of the roasted chicken wings filled the air of the entire forest and attracted many demonic beasts.
But when they noticed the frozen Blood Python in the swamps, they all backed down one after another!
Xu Que unknowingly earned another round of acting tough points while happily eating with the Great Change Sect!
At this moment, a shabbily dressed old man sneakily walked out of the forest towards Xu Que. His eyes were fixated on the chicken wings in their hands.
"Eh?"
Xu Que and the Great Change Sect disciples noticed him and were about to speak when the old man suddenly took a big stride towards them.
While they were all stunned, the old man squeezed amongst them with all smiles and said in a friendly manner, "Wow! Are you roasting chicken wings here? How could you not invite me!"
Having said that, he grabbed two chicken wings off the wire mesh and stuffed them into his mouth and began eating intently.
His table manners were simply unbearable to watch.
"Burp…"
Xu Que recovered himself and asked the Great Change Sect disciples, "Do you know him?"
The disciples shook their head cluelessly.
Don’t know him?
d.a.m.n it!
Where did this smelly, shameless cheat came from? How dare he try to cheat his way into stealing my food!
Xu Que turned his head to glare at the old man, preparing to settle scores with him.
However, the old man finished up the roasted wings in three big mouthfuls and his face has a look of greedy happiness. He looked at Xu Que with reverence, like a huge fan and said "Little brother, you are really a genius to be able to whip up such a delicacy!"
Oh, so he is a foodie!
Xu Que became amused and laughed, "Who knew an old beggar like yourself can actually know to appreciate food well."
When the old man heard that, he suddenly lost his cheeriness and said angrily, "Who are you calling an old beggar? I have such an outstanding and impressive disposition and spirit! Which part of me looks like a beggar?"
Every part!
Xu Que and the disciples pursed their lips, and all thought so in their minds.
The old man nonchalantly propped one leg over the other and said while picking his teeth, "But I must say you have good judgment. When it comes to food critique, I am the world’s best."
When Xu Que heard that, he felt offended. How could he eat my food and still have the guts to brag in my face?
"Please don’t brag, old beggar. Don’t you know any shame? To be honest, when it comes to food, I’ve been named a Food Deity!" Xu Que said in disdain.
"Bulls.h.i.+t! How dare a brat like you call yourself a Food Deity!" the old man said angrily at once. He leapt off the floor and began cursing, "What is the world coming to? I’ve never met anyone more shameless. To tell you the truth, I have tasted ambrosia and your roasted chicken wings is bulls.h.i.+t in comparison."
"You’re actually bragging about some trifling ambrosia? This Food Deity has tasted Kentucky Fried Chicken, Macdonald’s and even Pizza Hut!" Xu Que groaned coldly.
"What chicken? What Mac? I’ve never even heard of those. Don’t think you could confuse me just by making up some random names."
"That’s because you’re ignorant!"
"Nonsense! I know everything there is to know!"
"Oh please… There is nothing in this world that I don’t know about!"
"Yuck! You’re audacious!"
"You have no sense of shame!"
…
The Great Change Sect disciples felt bewildered watching the two of them quarrel.
What’s going on here? They are actually fighting over a stupid t.i.tle like "The World’s Best Eater"?
Is this such an honor and glory that you have to get so uptight and fight over it?!
The disciples were dumbfounded. They tried to mediate but could not even find the chance to intervene.
Xu Que and the old man took turns arguing, spending so much time quarrelling.
Finally, the old man snorted, "I shan’t bother myself with this ignorant young punk. When I was crossing the Seas in the Northern Underworld in the company of the mythological giant Peng bird and tasting all the rare and exotic delicacies in this universe, you weren’t even born yet."
"Oh please, you’re actually bragging about a trifle like this? I’ve even eaten the legendary Peng bird!" Xu Que bragged proudly, in a serious manner.
The old man burst into laughter, "Hahaha! Looks like you’ve been exposed. Just based on your little cultivation, you probably have not even stepped into Fire Country before. How could you say you’ve eaten the legendary Peng bird from the Seas of the Northern Underworld? You probably haven’t even seen it before!"
Having said that, he turned towards the Great Change Sect disciples and asked, "Tell me, have you heard of the legendary Peng bird? Have you seen it before?"
The disciples looked utterly confused and shook their heads in unison.
The Seas of the Northern Underworld? Where is that? Mythological Peng bird? Such a clan exists? Why have we not heard of it before!
But Xu Que laughed coolly, "Old beggar, this is why I said you’re ignorant. It’s merely the Mythological Peng bird. Not only have I eaten them, I even wrote a poem as tribute while I was in an exalted poetic mood after eating!"
"A poem? Someone like you can even write a poem as a tribute to the legendary Peng bird? Well, come on, recite it for us!" the old man ridiculed.
Xu Que shook his head in disbelief, stood up and began reciting, "The Northern Underworld has a fish known as Kun!"
"Gasp…" when the old man heard the poem, his smile froze.
His heart skipped a beat. This fella actually knows that Kun is a fish? Could he really have seen it before?
Xu Que glanced at him and the corners of his mouth curled up. He continued reciting, "Kun is huge and can’t be stewed in one pot. When transformed into a bird, it’s known as Peng. Peng is huge and will require two roasting pits. One will require more sugar, the other will need a bit of spice. Add a mug of snowflake and let us conquer the world!"
"Pfff!" The Great Change Sect disciples spat out their chicken wings on the spot.
What… What kind of poem is this! Except for the front and middle parts where it sounded rather normal, the other parts are all about food?
"Ssss!" The old man took in a deep breath and widened his eyes in disbelief. He was completely stunned and could not calm himself down.
He eventually recovered himself and slapped his thigh, shouting, "A great line! ‘One will require more sugar, the other will need a bit of spice’. Just hearing this line alone will boost anyone’s appet.i.te! Truly a wonderful poem. Well-written!"
"Plop!"
Astonished, the Great Change Sect disciples fell off the rocks they were sitting on.
Xu Que looked at the old man and smiled weakly, "Oh don’t patronize me!"
"Come, come, kid. Let me ask you, have you really tasted the legendary Peng bird?" the old man put his arm around Xu Que’s shoulder and asked happily. His expression immediately became one filled with smiles.
Xu Que patted his chest and said, "Do I really look like someone who would boast about something I haven’t done?"
"And the… the snowflake. What’s that? How can it help you conquer the world?"
"Oh, that is a kind of beer. Now that you’ve mentioned, I have a craving for it. Since you seem to be not a bad person, the next time I brew some, I’ll treat you to a great round of beers!" Xu Que patted the old man’s shoulder and said.
The old man laughed happily and nodded, "Great, you seem like a nice kid too. A capable and promising individual! Here, take this as a gift. Have fun with it!"
Having said that, the old man conjured a dark and swarthy piece of jade tile out of thin air. The inscriptions on it were unclear, but there was a unicorn emblem engraved, and it gave off a simple yet mysterious smell.
"Oh, thank you!"
Xu Que took it over and scrutinized it. He could not make out the words but felt that the appearance of the black jade tile looked pretty decent and hence tied it to his waist like a pendant.
The old man stared blankly then squinted his eyes before breaking into laughter. He and Xu Que put their arms around each other and began chatting again.
Watching this scene, the Great Change Sect disciples almost fainted.
The both of you are friendly again?
...
"Swis.h.!.+ Swis.h.!.+ Swis.h.!.+"
At this moment, some sounds came from within the forest. Countless of silhouettes appeared in the forest along with a strong foreboding sense of death and murder.
The expressions on the Great Change Sect disciples’ faces changed drastically. They quickly got up and shouted alarmingly, "The Blood River Sect people are here!"