Uncle Jiu put down the bowl of soup in his hand and looked at Liu Songshan with a half-smile.
"I'll send him a message right away!"
Liu Songshan immediately stood up and took out a talisman from his pocket.
"Little friend Taiping, would you mind adding another pair of chopsticks?"
Uncle Jiu held the bowl of soup and smiled at Xu Taiping.
Xu Taiping hesitated for a moment before asking.
Uncle Jiu answered resolutely.
"Then there's no problem."
He didn't bother to figure out what these big shots were up to; today he was just a cook, a collector, and a spectator.
"By the way, I seem to be out of chopsticks."
Xu Taiping suddenly remembered something.
"No problem, let him bring his own!"
Uncle Jiu waved his hand.
"But... but Uncle Jiu, I... I've already used up my message talisman..."
Liu Songshan immediately explained to Uncle Jiu.
"Use another one if it's used up. Stop being so fussy; you won't accomplish anything that way."
Uncle Jiu glared at Liu Songshan with a look of disdain.
Seeing Uncle Jiu's change in expression, Liu Songshan took out another message talisman from his pocket without a word, while inwardly lamenting:
"This little junior is really a pain. One message talisman could buy a thousand pairs of chopsticks with plenty to spare!"
Xu Taiping had no comment on the actions of these few people; he just sighed inwardly:
Another person was added to the dining table in the main room of the Green Bamboo Cottage.
It was a tall man with a square face, so large in build that sitting on Xu Taiping's small stool made him look like he was sitting on the ground.
"Maybe we should move to the yard to eat; it's too crowded here."
Seeing Xu Youzhi squatting there, drenched in sweat, Xu Taiping couldn't bear it and suggested to the group.
To Xu Taiping's surprise, the first to raise his hand in opposition was not the eccentric Uncle Jiu, but Xu Youzhi, the head of the Liefeng Hall, who was drenched in sweat.
"Little brother, don't trouble yourself. I'm fine sitting here; I like it here!"
Xu Youzhi waved his chopsticks, which he had brought from home, and smiled at Xu Taiping.
Xu Taiping frowned, thinking:
"These people are probably all crazy. I should keep Uncle Bai away from them in the future."
"Hey, kid, you're meddling in things that don't concern you. A thousand gold can't buy what I like. Since he likes it, we shouldn't take it away from him."
Uncle Jiu chuckled, winked at Xu Taiping, and reached out to take the last piece of lamb rib from the bowl.
"By the way, Youzhi, which two brothers of your Liefeng Hall are responsible for the Green Bamboo Cottage area?"
Uncle Jiu asked Xu Youzhi casually while gnawing on the rib.
Xu Youzhi instinctively wanted to stand up but was glared back down by Uncle Jiu's casual look. He then wiped the sweat from his forehead and said:
"Uncle Jiu, the two disciples of the Liefeng Hall responsible for the Green Bamboo Cottage area are named Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu. Both have achieved the peak of the Opening Gate realm. Since they took over this area, there have been very few cases of monsters harming people."
These two were his subordinates, and their success or failure was tied to his own, so he naturally didn't hesitate to praise them.
"Although it was just a chance encounter, we four owe our gathering here to Little Friend Taiping. As for cultivation matters, we can't help much due to the rules of the sect. However, in the future, when your Liefeng Hall patrols the area, please take extra care of the Green Bamboo Cottage."
Old Jiu casually instructed Xu Youzhi.
Hearing this, Xu Youzhi and Liu Songshan exchanged glances and sighed in relief, thinking:
"So, Junior Uncle just wanted us to take care of the Green Bamboo Cottage!"
"Uncle Jiu, rest assured. In the future, we will definitely have Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu patrol the Green Bamboo Cottage more strictly."
Xu Youzhi patted his chest and promised Uncle Jiu.
"Uncle Jiu, this is such a small matter. You could have just had Bai Hong inform me. There was no need for you to personally set up a feast."
Liu Songshan also looked relieved.
However, Xu Taiping, who had been watching the whole time, was now thoroughly confused, thinking:
"Uncle Jiu has no relation to me. Why is he suddenly asking the Hall Master Liu and the Hall Master Xu to take care of me just because of this meal?"
It couldn't be just because of this meal. Xu Taiping thought this as he looked at Uncle Jiu.
At that moment, Uncle Jiu was gnawing on a lamb leg. Seeing Xu Taiping looking at him, he grinned and winked at him.
Xu Taiping frowned, thinking:
"This old man is clearly a sly fox; he's definitely not that kind-hearted."
Then, he turned his gaze to Bai Hong.
Bai Hong, noticing Xu Taiping's gaze, smiled at him.
"Indeed, Uncle Bai deliberately brought Uncle Jiu to the Green Bamboo Cottage to take care of me."
Xu Taiping suddenly realized.
With this thought, he nodded slightly to Bai Hong, giving him a grateful look.
Seeing this, Uncle Jiu frowned, thinking:
"Brat, I'm the one helping, so why are you thanking someone else? No, I need to make it clearer to him; I can't let this kid only have a good impression of Bai Hong!"
Then, he put down the lamb leg and looked at the trembling Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi, saying: "Since you two are both here today, call Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu to join us for a meal. Remember to have them bring their own chopsticks."
Xu Songshan and Zhou Gu looked at each other in surprise.
"Uncle... Uncle Jiu... I... I don't have any message talismans left."
Liu Songshan looked troubled.
"Uncle Jiu, I came in a hurry and didn't bring any either."
These message talismans, which could transmit sound over long distances, were very expensive. For Liu Songshan to have two was already quite generous.
Uncle Jiu turned to Xu Taiping.
Interestingly, Xu Taiping did have one, the one Zuo Ju had left him last time.
However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Xu Taiping decided not to hand over the message talisman and didn't want to get involved in the disputes of these people.
"I'll pay you double for it."
Xu Taiping was about to refuse but was interrupted by Uncle Jiu.
Xu Taiping immediately took out the message talisman from his pocket.
"That's the right attitude!"
Uncle Jiu smiled and took the message talisman from Xu Taiping.
"Isn't this the Liefeng Hall's message talisman?"
Xu Youzhi immediately recognized the talisman in Uncle Jiu's hand.