Chapter 92: He Had the Wrong Person

Lin Ran was so excited he could have died of it.

He wanted nothing more than to have the entire ditch hauled away at once, so it could be used to irrigate spirit plants in the future. If the Azure Sword Sect had a ditch like this, he would have been overjoyed to the point of madness.

"I never expected such a modest little mountain village to contain holy water!" Long Ruxuan said in admiration.

At that moment, an old man ambled up to them.

"Hey now! What are you two fools doing? Why are you drinking from the filthy ditch water as soon as you get here?"

The speaker was Old Liu from the mountain village.

Leaning on his cane, he had been taking a stroll when he spotted these few foolish young men. He truly thought the two of them were dim-witted, perhaps even a little unhinged; otherwise, why would anyone sit beside a ditch and drink from it?

"You fellows are from outside and tired from the road?" Old Liu asked curiously. "Even if you are from outside, you still can't just drink water from a drainage ditch like this. Besides, people wash vegetables and laundry upstream here!"

Before Old Liu had finished speaking, the expressions of both Long Ruxuan and Lin Ran changed.

That was it?

Not only did people wash vegetables here, they also washed clothes here.

And they had been so excited that they drank it!

"Ah, you two really don't pay attention to hygiene. Since you're thirsty, come with me and have some water at my place!"

Old Liu warmly invited them both.

"Brother Long, should we go?" Lin Ran asked uneasily.

This mountain village was no ordinary village. This old man had appeared out of nowhere; who knew what he was up to? If he meant them harm, what then?

Long Ruxuan did not answer. His gaze had fallen upon the cane in Old Liu's hand, and his expression changed at once.

He was not sure what material the cane was made of, but its surface was clearly etched with patterns—dragon patterns!

If it were only ordinary dragon motifs, that would amount to nothing more than decoration. But the cane in Old Liu's hand gave Long Ruxuan a very different feeling.

It was as if he could feel a dragon coiling upon it, and not a dead carving either, but a living one!

What kind of person was this old man, to be able to use such a cane?

Long Ruxuan could not help drawing a sharp breath in his heart. His body trembled slightly, and after a long while he finally managed to say, "Since Senior has said so, we will certainly go."

Old Liu smiled upon hearing this.

He led the two of them toward his home, and Long Ruxuan and Lin Ran hurried after him.

"Brother Long, what do you make of this old man? He doesn't even recognize such fine holy spring water. What a terrible waste of treasure..." Lin Ran whispered to Long Ruxuan beside him.

At that, Long Ruxuan's face went pale with alarm, and he quickly sent a warning to Lin Ran, telling him to shut up.

"Brother Long, you absolutely must not speak again. The Senior ahead of us is no small figure. Look at the cane in his hand; there seem to be faint dragon patterns winding around it. I fear... this is the very capable master who is said to be taking disciples."

After hearing this, Lin Ran was equally stunned.

When he looked at the elder again, his eyes were full of reverence.

Soon Old Liu returned home.

"Come, come, young men. Don't drink from the ditch anymore. I have water here—have some first. And these are fruits from our little mountain village. Eat some while you're at it."

Old Liu was extremely hospitable. He reached out and ladled up a scoop of water from the water vat.

Long Ruxuan took it, preparing to drink, only to be stunned by the ladle in his hand.

He could tell at a glance that what he held was no mere ladle at all. It was a dragon spine—a complete dragon!

Moreover, a dragon was carved on the outside of the scoop as well.

This village was even more formidable than one equipped with a quasi-immortal artifact!

And now... it was being used merely to scoop water.

Lin Ran stood off to the side, his mouth hanging open as though equally shocked.

But he was not shocked by the scoop. He was shocked by the two jujube trees planted in Old Liu's courtyard.

Two jujube trees.

They were laden with fruit, clusters of dates hanging from every branch, each one plump and full, each one enough to make anyone's mouth water.

"These are medicinal herbs, aren't they! No—these are top-grade medicinal herbs!"

He blurted it out, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The Azure Sword Sect might not be a holy land, but it was at least on the level of a quasi-holy land. Even so, the finest medicinal herbs they possessed were only of superior grade. Yet these fruits looked even more extraordinary than those superior-grade herbs.

Besides, the spiritual herbs within their sect were guarded so tightly that there was no chance of them ever getting close enough to touch them.

And yet here, these two magnificent jujube trees were being left in the courtyard so casually.

In the past, such a thing would have been unimaginable.

Old Liu had not expected the two of them to react this way, and he asked in surprise, "What is it with you two? Why have you both gone silent?"

Long Ruxuan, hearing Old Liu's question, could no longer restrain himself.

He dropped straight to his knees before Old Liu, still holding the ladle respectfully in both hands.

"Senior, please take me as your disciple! I beg you!"

Long Ruxuan was now absolutely certain that this was the legendary expert. An immortal opportunity stood right before his eyes; to fail to seize it would be the act of a fool.

And in this senior's courtyard, there were several priceless treasures!

Long Ruxuan was sure he could not have mistaken them.

Before Old Liu even had time to react, another thud sounded as someone knelt.

Lin Ran also knelt properly and said aloud, "Senior, please take me as your disciple as well!"

He was far too excited.

The moment he saw those two jujube trees, he had wanted to say exactly that.

In all his life, Lin Ran had loved tending spiritual plants above everything else. Whenever a spiritual plant ripened, he felt deeply fulfilled.

Now, with such powerful jujube trees standing right before him, he would willingly devote his whole life to cultivating these two treasures.

Old Liu was startled stiff by the actions of the two men, and for a long while he did not react.

The two of them remained kneeling on the ground, waiting for him to speak.

"Eh? You two youngsters. So that is why you came to our little shabby mountain village! You wanted to become apprentices, is that it?"

"Still, if you ask me, you two really did come to the right place."

Long Ruxuan and Lin Ran were nearly crazy with excitement. Had they truly come to the right place? Did the Senior mean he intended to take them as disciples?

Before they could work themselves up any further, Old Liu continued.

"However, I think you may have come to the wrong person. I'm no great expert."

"Besides, I'm not the one taking disciples."

Long Ruxuan froze. "You mean... not you, Elder?"

Old Liu pulled over a chair and sat down, nodding casually.