The Way of Spiritual Journey

Chapter 58, The Unspeakable Secret

Everyone looked up and saw Wolong's fat body nimbly slip in, followed by an old man with white hair and a youthful face.

Li Lang frowned slightly, recognizing the man as the Peach Wood Taoist he had met at Qifeng Tower that day.

At this moment, the Peach Wood Taoist was dressed in a green robe, his hair was tied up high, his face was ruddy, and his eyes were bright and piercing. Compared to that day, he seemed to have become younger.

"Amitabha! This humble Taoist priest, Taomu, greets you." The Taoist priest entered the room and bowed first.

"Amitabha! I return the greeting." Just as everyone was pondering how to proceed, Li Lang stood up, solemnly uttered a Buddhist chant, and pretended to return the greeting.

"No, Brother Lang, that's going too far. This is my trademark." Wolong looked at Li Lang with resentment, as if something precious had been stolen from him.

The crowd chuckled. After returning the greeting, Li Lang said nothing more and just stood there, staring straight at the Taoist priest.

The Peachwood Taoist stood frozen in place, momentarily at a loss for what to do next. "This isn't right," he thought. "I came here to discuss business and deliver silver; I shouldn't be left hanging like this."

Seeing the Peach Wood Taoist's stunned expression, Li Lang smirked inwardly, 'Little brat, do we even know each other? Pretending to know everything? Trying to do business and offer money? Wrong door! No manners!'

Li Lang is now a big boss, making tens of thousands of taels of silver every day. Spending money has become a headache for him, so he really looks down on these unruly people who use connections.

"Brother Lang, this Taoist priest has a strong aura of evil. Be very careful and don't fall for his tricks." At this moment, Feng Chu quietly approached and whispered in Li Lang's ear.

Li Lang nodded calmly, thinking to himself, 'This Taoist priest is indeed a bit strange.'

"Haha, as the old saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. You're in luck, Daoist! Please have a seat. This braised pork knuckle was just served. Would you like one?" Li Lang laughed, speaking politely but not moving an inch. This was a classic case of saying one thing and meaning another.

Anyway, Li Lang didn't care; he was naturally averse to such sinister people.

At this moment, Peachwood Daoist smiled slightly. He had seen Li Lang's attitude, but it didn't matter. After all, the other party was a spiritualist, so this attitude was normal.

"Young master, you are too kind. I am not here for food." As a powerful figure, Taomu Daoren maintained a very proper attitude when facing a spiritual practitioner.

"Oh? Then may I ask what brings you here, Master?" Li Lang sat down with an air of nonchalance and asked.

"Let's discuss a business deal," said the Peachwood Taoist.

"Hehe, if you want to buy jade soap, please come early tomorrow." Li Lang curled his lip and laughed dismissively.

"I am not interested in that jade soap; I want to discuss another business deal," Peachwood Taoist said with a smile.

"Oh?" Li Lang turned his gaze to Wolong.

At this moment, Wolong was also extremely flustered. He had gone out to find the restaurant owner to settle his debts, and everything had gone smoothly. He never expected to run into this old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest was clearly prepared. Without saying a word, he first handed Wolong a silver note of one hundred taels, and then explained his purpose: he hoped to be introduced to Li Lang.

"Does this mean we have to go through the back door?" Wolong looked at the old Taoist priest in surprise, then glanced at the silver note in his hand. To be honest, he had gone through a painful internal struggle at that moment.

In the end, Wolong gritted his teeth and lured the old Taoist priest in.

"Did you take their money?" Li Lang asked Wolong with a half-smile.

"Hmm." Feeling guilty, Wolong slowly extended one finger.

"One thousand taels?" Li Lang asked again.

"One hundred taels," Wolong replied cautiously, his face flushing.

"Sigh, you're still too easily swayed." Li Lang shook his head and sighed, his face full of disappointment. "If there's another business like this in the future, don't lead the way for less than a thousand taels, understand?"

Upon hearing the first half of the sentence and seeing Li Lang shaking his head and sighing with disappointment, Wolong's mood immediately became heavy. He was filled with regret, thinking he shouldn't have been greedy for such a small gain and vowing never to do such a thing again.

Unexpectedly, Li Lang's next sentence took a sharp turn, revealing that he was complaining about not receiving enough.

"Alright!" Wolong immediately beamed, his voice bright and smug. He knew it; following Brother Lang meant there would be plenty to eat—that was definitely true.

Seeing this, everyone was stunned. Could there be some unknown relationship between the fat man and Li Lang? Otherwise, this doesn't make sense.

"Fatty, have you recognized a godfather?" As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. Everyone else held back, but Shi Butong couldn't help but ask Wolong in a low voice.

"Hey, you did admit it, but they won't agree!" Wolong grinned, feeling smug, and retorted without any politeness.

"Shut up!" Li Lang banged on the table and snapped at them, interrupting their bickering.

"I wonder what kind of business you'd like to discuss, Daoist Master?" Li Lang turned around and asked the Peachwood Daoist.

"This..." The Peachwood Taoist hesitated, then smiled and looked around before falling silent.

"Here we go again." Wolong's anger flared up at the sight. Back when that Fatty Zhu approached the cooperative, he used the same tactic, and Li Lang had kicked everyone else out. That incident had always been a thorn in his side.

"Old Taoist priest, get to the point, don't act all high and mighty. Take the money, we need to eat, we don't have time to serve you."

Hearing Li Lang's words, Wolong was already somewhat regretful. He hadn't taken enough silver, and now this old Taoist priest was putting on this act.

Wolong could no longer contain his anger. He slammed the hundred-tael silver note on the table, his face full of rage.

"Hey, Fatty, put it away. That's where you went wrong. You're paid to do things for people, don't break the rules." Li Lang waved his hand and said, "These people here are all my brothers. We haven't finished eating yet. Daoist, just say what you want to say. If it's really inconvenient, then we can talk another day?"

Li Lang's words were impeccable, leaving no room for criticism. It must be said that Li Lang does have some experience in dealing with people and situations.

His past life experiences taught him a profound truth: the martial world is not just about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and social interactions.

"Ahem." This was when the old Taoist priest was embarrassed. His face flushed, he coughed twice, and after a moment's thought, he slowly began to speak, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was..."

The Peachwood Taoist still seemed hesitant to speak, suggesting he truly had something difficult to say.

Huh? There's some juicy gossip here? This is getting interesting. The eyes of everyone present lit up subtly, and their gazes toward the Taoist priest were filled with a thirst for knowledge.

"Hehe, Taoist priest, no rush, come, sit down and let's talk." Among the crowd, Wolong reacted the fastest. This agile fat man immediately got up and stepped forward, supporting the Taoist priest with both hands and pressing him down to sit in his own seat.