"Phoenix? I'll kick you to death! Why don't you go serve that pervert?"
"Oh my, that's a blessing others beg for in eight lifetimes! How can you not cherish it? I'm just past my prime, old and faded, otherwise, I'd eagerly volunteer to be that young master's pampered guest."
"Oh? If that kid is that twisted, he might just have a thing for you. Why don't you ask him?"
"Oh dear, little friend, please don't tease this old man. My frail body can't handle such things."
The old man's self-address had changed numerous times, from "this old man" to "this elder," then "this little old man," and now "this old hermit," all spoken with a slippery tongue.
Wan Lei absolutely did not believe the old man's claim of being frail.
He hadn't been killed by the heavenly descent, and he had managed to slip away silently from under Wan Lei's nose. Did that sound like a frail old man?
He was lying to ghosts!
"Now, we've killed the young master of the Xi Ren family. What do you think we should do?"
"Run, of course! If we don't run, do we just wait to be slaughtered?"
"Tell me, what's the strength of the Xi Ren family patriarch?"
Wan Lei crouched down, placed his hand on the old man's shoulder, and pushed him back into his seated position.
"How would I know? I've never seen the patriarch make a move. Their level of power is such that they can create clouds and summon rain with a raise of their hand. How could I possibly judge?"
"Then tell me, if I were to fight him, who would be stronger?"
"How would I know? I haven't seen you fight either, and I don't even know how the Xi Ren family's young master died.
How about you fight the Xi Ren family patriarch? After the fight, this little old man can offer his judgment?"
"You old rogue, I think you're tired of living."
Just as Wan Lei was about to get angry, Gouzi, who hadn't shown himself, suddenly popped out.
To maintain secrecy of his identity, Wan Lei had initially forbidden Gouzi from appearing.
"I think, according to the established rules, immortals wouldn't assign missions that are impossible to complete. Those four powerful individuals aren't excessively strong, but they certainly won't be too weak."
"Why do you say that?"
Gouzi hopped onto Wan Lei's shoulder and continued his explanation.
"Look, if the enemy is too strong, they can crush you with a single slap, so what's the point of playing? If the enemy is too weak, and you can sweep across the entire world single-handedly without any difficulty, then there's no fun either.
Therefore, in the manner of Gou Xianren, they will always arrange opponents to be slightly stronger than you, but not overwhelmingly so.
They'll be the kind that you *can* defeat, but you can also escape if necessary. Or, perhaps, the protagonist will exude overwhelming charisma, roar, rise up in defiance, and ultimately achieve a counter-kill.
So, you don't need to be too scared, but you also can't afford to be careless. Most importantly, you must be stealthy and avoid letting your opponent discover you easily. You need to understand your opponent's strength first."
"Holy cow, I suddenly realized you're making a lot of sense. How do you know so much?"
"Alas, those immortals once stumbled into a place called the Eighteen Hells. It contained eighteen worlds and eighteen missions. The stronger they became, the stronger their opponents would correspondingly become, eventually forcing them to use their tribulation-crossing power to fight immortals.
In short, you must remember that no mission is set with the intent of killing you. The person setting the mission will always leave you a way out, but you have to find and fight for it yourself."
"Everything you're saying is absolutely correct. What was that word you used just now?
Setting.
Yes, that's it, 'setting.' You've used that word well. So, the background setting of this world is for us to complete that Sacred Fire Inheritance mission.
As long as we're careful, act cautiously, and find that Li Mei Xian."
"Exactly. There's one more setting you need to remember: no matter when or where, anyone you meet always has a purpose. Otherwise, why would the immortals deliberately let you meet them?
Some people are there to guide you, like this old man.
Some people are there to provoke conflict, increasing the difficulty and drama, like that pervert.
And some things are there to fill your stomach so you don't starve, like this donkey."
Gouzi pointed to the donkey named Lu Zi and licked his lips.
The little donkey glared again.
"In short, anything or anyone you encounter has a purpose, and people with names are even more important, because nameless extras don't deserve a name, while minor characters do."
"Oh, there are so many intricacies involved."
Young Master Lei chuckled, looking at the old man with a very playful gaze.
"What are you looking at? This old man isn't into men, you've got the wrong person."
"Get lost! Even if I were into men, I wouldn't look at a decrepit old man like you.
Old man, tell me, what's your name."
"What do you want?"
"Just confirming if you're a nameless extra or a minor character."
"Isn't there a possibility that I'm the protagonist?"
The old man had seen opera performances before.
"If you're the protagonist, then what am I? Hurry up and tell me your name."
"Gou Huo."
"Dog Goods? That name is even more bizarre than Xi Ren Duan Xiang."
"It's Gou Huo, not Dog Goods. Please distinguish them clearly."
"Alright, I say, old dog, where do we go next?"
"It's old Gou."
"Hey, how did you tell I said 'Gou' and not 'dog'? There are no subtitles for this."
"From your eyes and tone."
"Alright then, old Gou?"
"Yes."
"Old dog."
"Get lost!"
"Holy crap."
"Where do we go next? Tell me somewhere reliable, we need to find Li Mei Xian."
"The closest place is Jingxian City, and there's a Jingxian Restaurant there..."
"I already told you I'm not going for drinks!"
"That guy loves drinking, where else would we find him if not at a restaurant?"
"No wonder that guy gets along with you. You're both alcoholics."
Looking at the old man's bright red, wine-stained nose, Wan Lei felt a bit helpless. He could only output a bolt of lightning, lifting both the old man and the donkey, and flying eastward in the direction the old man had pointed.
One hour later, Plum Blossom Dock.
The owner of Plum Blossom Dock, who had just finished cleaning the bloodstains, knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.
Behind him knelt a large group of Plum Blossom Dock employees.
In front of him stood three middle-aged men with stern expressions.
These three all wore flowing white robes and a white cloak draped over their shoulders. The cloaks were very long, dragging to the ground, and so large that they enveloped almost their entire bodies.
Through the gap in the front of their cloaks, a faint blue flame emblem could be vaguely seen on their chests.
The leading middle-aged man, after listening to the report from the owner of Plum Blossom Dock, pondered for a moment. Then, he extended his right hand, and a faint blue flame appeared in his palm.
The moment the flame appeared, the surrounding temperature instantly dropped, causing the mortals kneeling on the ground to tremble even more violently.
The flame flickered slightly and instantly enveloped the entire area.
"Netherflame Spirit, Revert..."