Chapter 16: I Am but an Ordinary Person

After just a single sip, both the plump one and Iron Fan immediately fell in love with that extraordinary taste. Iron Fan, in particular, her petite, palm-sized face brimming with delight, exclaimed, “Sir, is this not the drink of the immortals? It tastes wonderful.” She was utterly enamored by this exquisite flavor.

Having tasted only one mouthful, Iron Fan promptly capped the bottle and tucked it carefully to her chest, as though guarding a precious treasure. Sun Wukong looked on, puzzled. “Iron Fan, if it’s so delicious, why don’t you drink more?”

Iron Fan’s cheeks flushed crimson. “It’s precisely because it’s so delicious that I can’t bear to finish it.”

“Immortal Master, look at this girl—what a delight!” Sun Wukong laughed.

“Big Brother, what are you laughing at? You’re so annoying!” she pouted, feeling thin-skinned and unable to endure the teasing.

“There’s no need to worry,” Chu Xiaoyu said with a gentle smile. “Here, these are no rare treasures—just ordinary things. Drink as much as you like. When you’re done, you can help yourself to more.”

The young woman before him, with her delicate, youthful features, seemed to have stepped right out of a painting, like a little fairy. Her beauty was remarkable, but it was her pure and innocent classical charm that could make anyone lose themselves in a single glance.

While the others conversed, the plump one gulped down an entire bottle in a few hearty swigs—gone in the blink of an eye.

Then, with a pitiful look, he turned to Chu Xiaoyu. “Sir, may I have another bottle of this immortal drink?”

Immortal drink?

Chu Xiaoyu nearly choked on his own saliva with amusement. “Of course. The fridge in the main hall is full of them. Help yourself.”

“Thank you, sir! Thank you!” The plump one bowed joyfully before skipping off toward the hall, brimming with happiness.

Yet, upon reaching the main hall, the little ox demon realized he had no idea what this so-called “fridge” was. He wandered around in circles, peering here and there like a clueless fool, but in the end, found nothing.

Sun Wukong could watch no more. He hopped over. “Old Ox, you truly are hopeless! The drinks are in the fridge right here. Where are you wandering? Stupid ox!”

He opened the fridge, causing the plump one to jump back in astonishment. “Ah… so this is a fridge? There’s so much inside. It’s magical! It keeps things cold? This is…”

Utterly miraculous.

“Hmph! You country bumpkin. I told you, my Immortal Master’s estate contains all manner of rare treasures. You never believed me!” Sun Wukong boasted.

The plump one was left dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Chu Xiaoyu turned to Iron Fan. “Why do you all call Sun Wukong ‘Big Brother’? I seem to recall he joined later than you.”

The monkey had once mentioned such matters to him.

“Oh, it’s like this,” Iron Fan explained. “Sun Wukong did join after us. He was quite unhappy about being the junior, so he secretly challenged us, betting that whoever was the most skilled would become the eldest brother.”

“After a round of competitions—showing off or otherwise—we were all defeated by him. And so, Sun Wukong became our big brother.”

A faint smile curled at Chu Xiaoyu’s lips as Iron Fan finished. The monkey’s unruly, wild streak was simply his nature. He joined later, but refused to be anyone’s underling. Better to rule as a chicken’s head than serve as a phoenix’s tail—such was that mischievous monkey’s competitive spirit.

“Sir, everything in your estate is so strange. You must be a master living outside the world, perhaps even more powerful than our master?” Iron Fan asked with wide-eyed curiosity.

After crossing the Gate of Immortals, everything on the farm was both mysterious and refreshingly novel to them.

“You flatter me. I am but an ordinary man,” Chu Xiaoyu replied humbly. Best to keep a low profile—drawing too much attention was never wise.

“Immortal Master, I have now mastered the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Immortal Arts. May I demonstrate for you?” Sun Wukong suggested eagerly.

After three years of diligent study, they had all passed their master’s tests and graduated. Yet Sun Wukong’s love for showing off had ultimately seen him driven from the sect by their patriarch.

The plump one and Iron Fan looked at Sun Wukong with envy. Who would have thought the monkey would find such a mysterious Immortal Master as his teacher?

They truly did not understand—why, after apprenticing to such a master, would he seek out another teacher elsewhere?

Unable to refuse Sun Wukong’s eagerness, Chu Xiaoyu nodded. “Very well. Show us what you have learned—I am curious to see how much you have improved.”

“Great! Immortal Master, watch me!”

“Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Transformations! Transform!”

Nothing happened. The monkey remained a monkey.

“Transform! Transform! Transform, transform, transform!” he shouted, trying again and again.

“Ah! What’s going on? Why isn’t anything happening?” Sun Wukong grew frantic and angry.

He had mastered the Immortal Arts, the Seventy-Two Earthly Spells, and even the ultimate technique—the Cloud Somersault—after being expelled from his master’s sect.

So why, after all his effort, did he remain the same monkey he’d always been?

The plump one and Iron Fan looked equally bewildered.

“Don’t worry, Big Brother. Remember the incantation. Try again,” Iron Fan encouraged.

Having embarrassed himself before the Immortal Master, Sun Wukong’s face was burning with shame. “Alright… I’ll try once more.”

“Step upon the Seven Stars, walk the path of Heaven, by urgent decree—I transform!”

Yet in the end, he was still the same monkey, his face now flushed red with exertion.

“Ah! Why is this happening? All the spells I’ve cultivated are useless?” Sun Wukong slumped to the ground in defeat.

“How strange, Big Brother. What’s wrong with you?”

“I have a strong feeling it’s because of this estate, sir,” the plump one ventured.

His words echoed Chu Xiaoyu’s own suspicions.

“Is it the estate? Is there a powerful formation here, suppressing all magic and rendering it useless? Could that be it?” Iron Fan wondered aloud.

Chu Xiaoyu remained silent.

“Don’t worry, everyone. I’ll test it myself—we’ll soon know,” Iron Fan said.

She opened her mouth and spat out a tiny, delicate fan.

Was that… the Banana Leaf Fan?

What a precious treasure!

Chu Xiaoyu’s eyes widened, longing to possess it.

Yet the miniature fan, resting quietly in her palm, did not change at all.

Iron Fan anxiously recited an incantation, but the fan remained still.

Her face fell. “Nothing happened. It must be the estate.”

“Let me try!” said the plump one, joining the experiment.

In the end, they all tried, each with the same result.

Whether it was Sun Wukong’s Seventy-Two Transformations or Iron Fan’s Banana Leaf Fan, nothing worked.

Everything remained exactly as it was.

Sun Wukong, the plump one, and Iron Fan all stared at Chu Xiaoyu in terror.

Sun Wukong could not help but ask, “Immortal Master, I never imagined that the formation you set on this estate would suppress all our magic. How did you do it?”

It was too impressive, too domineering, too extraordinary.

They could not help but fall to their knees in awe.