The Lord of the Forbidden Zone incident actually gave Old Fisherman a pleasant surprise.
Since Chen Xia had come to ask about it, it meant that Chen Xia probably still didn't know about the life-extending medicine, and was only concerned about him giving Chen Xia to the Lord of the Forbidden Zone.
This was a good thing for Old Fisherman. Chen Xia's previous reactions had made Old Fisherman somewhat anxious for a while, thinking that Chen Xia had already discovered some clues.
He didn't expect that Chen Xia had only discovered this matter. That was fine then.
Old Fisherman let down his guard and lost his suspicious thoughts.
But actually Chen Xia also came to Old Fisherman with this idea, which was to make Old Fisherman let down his guard.
In this interaction, Old Fisherman was thinking on the first level, while Chen Xia was thinking on the third level.
In terms of thinking, Chen Xia's unorthodox approach had actually outsmarted Old Fisherman.
It was proven that people do become crafty when they get old, but their intelligence does not become crafty.
Those who should be fooled still have to be fooled.
Later on, Old Fisherman even brought Chen Xia a meeting gift of 10,000 spirit stones.
This made Chen Xia extremely happy.
Although he had never intended to repay the 120,000 spirit stones in the first place, it still felt somewhat uncomfortable having that debt hanging over him.
Now Old Fisherman said he didn't need to repay it anymore, and even gave him 10,000 spirit stones as a meeting gift.
This was like picking up sesame seeds and also getting a watermelon.
All the good things had been taken by him.
A polite man's luck really wouldn't be too bad after all.
Chen Xia was very happy, and his cave was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Even playing chess with Big Yellow Dog became more delightful.
He didn't open with the horse anymore, but opened with the cannon instead.
As Chen Xia played, he also muttered to himself,
"Use the cannon when you have it, I will never regret my youth!"
As he muttered, Big Yellow Dog also learned to do the same, chanting there every day instead of calling it chess, changing it to hitting...
Fortunately, Chen Xia's thinking was too advanced, and the cultivators of Blue Sky Sword Sea couldn't understand it either, so they just ignored it as if nothing had happened.
Chen Xia's cave was finally lively again. Aside from Big Yellow Dog, Zhang DaoMing and Pan Dadao would also occasionally come and sit.
Most of the time, Zhang DaoMing came to discuss matters related to the Alchemy Association, saying how many cultivators the association had now, how many spirit stones they had obtained, and asked Chen Xia to prepare to refine some medicinal pills.
"Do I need to prepare anything to refine pills?" Chen Xia asked in response.
Zhang DaoMing was startled for a moment, then nodded, "That's true."
Judging from Chen Xia's pill refining methods and process, he really didn't need much preparation at all.
The two sat in silence for a while, when Zhang DaoMing suddenly asked again, "Do you drink?"
"Yes, but I don't drink," Chen Xia replied.
"How about some?" Zhang DaoMing held out his hand, pinching an unopened flask of wine.
"Sure." Chen Xia did not refuse either, took the wine flask, brought over a teacup, and began to pour.
There were always some things in the world that needed to be tasted, such as wine.
Later when Zhang DaoMing came to the cave, he was always looking for Chen Xia to drink wine, and he seemed to have some worries, drinking more and more frequently.
Zhang DaoMing didn't say anything, and Chen Xia didn't ask. He just accompanied Zhang DaoMing with his drinking.
It was only annoying occasionally, such as when Chen Xia was playing chess with Big Yellow Dog, and Zhang DaoMing, perhaps a little tipsy, would point and direct from the side.
"Move the chariot, move the chariot, take his general, go take it!"
"That's my own chariot, my own general." Chen Xia was really speechless.
Fortunately, later Pan Dadao came, and Zhang DaoMing also had a drinking buddy. The two old men just drank freely in Chen Xia's cave, turning it into a wine house.
It was quite lively too, I guess?
Sitting to the side, Chen Xia tilted his head slightly in thought.
He knew that what the two were drinking was not wine, but rather, a mellow life.
Chen Xia's diary recorded the 1,200th year.
Chi Yu had finally finished his seclusion, and the three brothers gathered together rarely.
Chen Xia looked for the last day of this year for the three brothers to have a meal together.
There was the concept of New Year in Blue Sky Sword Sea, but people didn't care much about it, they just felt that another year had passed, nothing major.
Previously Chen Xia also didn't care much about it. Now he was just finding an excuse to have a meal together.
But when it came time to actually cook, the three brothers were stumped.
Nothing needed to be said about Big Yellow Dog, who had always eaten food from heaven and earth, and had never cooked before.
As the eldest son of the family, Chi Yu certainly hadn't cooked for himself either.
That left Chen Xia, who had a rough understanding, but he was also very troubled, looking at his iron pot and iron spatula, shaking his head and saying,
"I can refine pills well enough, but cooking is a bit difficult for me."
His previous experience burying the pot to cook could only be considered edible.
The three brothers stared blankly at each other, none of them capable.
So Chen Xia invited Zhang DaoMing over, thinking the old guy should know how.
Zhang DaoMing patted his chest and laughed, "Although I haven't cooked for many years, I learned a thing or two when I was young. Leave it to me."
Chen Xia felt reassured then, and also invited Pan Dadao over, but Pan Dadao declined due to some matters, and Chen Xia did not ask further.
Zhang DaoMing got busy, and the three brothers waited idly on the side, looking eager and impatient.
Blue Sky Sword Sea also had the concept of delicacies, but like New Year, they were not valued much.
They were all people who had long abstained from food, subsisting on the aura of heaven and earth and taking pills.
You can't braise pills in sauce, can you?!
So the cultivators did not care much about delicacies, only occasionally eating something, or cooking some ingredients that were greatly nourishing.
Therefore, there were few in Blue Sky Sword Sea who knew how to cook.
Zhang DaoMing was an exception, and after cooking for about an hour, he presented a table full of dishes. But when the few people gathered and looked at the dishes on the table, they did not pick up their chopsticks.
"Haha, I'm out of practice after not cooking for thousands of years." Zhang DaoMing laughed.
Chen Xia frowned, "Old Zhang, which mission did you take to get rid of us three?"
"Indeed." Big Yellow Dog agreed.
Chi Yu didn't say anything, believing that practice revealed truth, and started using his chopsticks to pick up a piece of the 3,000 Year Starry Sky Fish and put it in his mouth to chew.
"How does it taste?" Chen Xia asked curiously.
"Delicious." Chi Yu replied expressionlessly.
Chen Xia frowned, somewhat puzzled as he picked up a piece and put it in his mouth to chew. After a while, he looked deeply at Chi Yu, then turned his head, meeting Big Yellow Dog's curious gaze.
"Delicious."
Chen Xia also said so.
Big Yellow Dog impatiently picked up a lump and shoved it into his mouth, chewing vigorously.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
Big Yellow Dog suddenly lowered his head and started retching towards the ground.
Chen Xia and Chi Yu also spat out the fish at the same time, and sternly criticized Zhang DaoMing.
"Look, even a dog would vomit eating this!"
"Ugh... Indeed." Big Yellow Dog didn't forget to agree.
Zhang DaoMing stroked his cheek, somewhat embarrassed, "It's been too long since I last cooked, my skills are a bit rusty."
"This is what you call a bit rusty? This is as bad as shit!" Chen Xia issued another stern criticism.
"Hey!" Big Yellow Dog suddenly raised his head. "I object to that. Shit isn't that tasty."
If it was someone else who said that, Chen Xia might have refuted it, but since Big Yellow Dog said it, then it was fine.
The few of them quarreled and laughed. Candle flames flickered.
Big Yellow Dog really couldn't eat any more, so he immediately cooked three dishes and a soup for them.
The few people gathered together, shadows overlapping with the people, all kinds of shapes and forms.
Chen Xia chuckled lightly as he picked up a bite of the dishes with his chopsticks and ate it.
Full of human touch.
Good night, good night, good night (for real)