"Right, it was the patrol officer surnamed Zuo from the Liefeng Hall who gave it to me."
To get the merit coins, he had to reveal this matter, but he decided to keep the threat from those two people that day a secret.
"Grandpa always said, 'Leave a way out for others, and you will have a way out in the future.'"
Xu Taiping thought magnanimously.
"This is an ordinary communication talisman, it cannot transmit sound..."
Liu Songshan took the talisman and looked at it, his face turning pale again, and his head buzzing.
Having been the hall master of Xifeng Pavilion for so many years, how could he not know the tricks of his subordinates? This kind of talisman that can only transmit messages but not sounds is mostly used by subordinates to extort outer disciples!
"What are you still standing there for? Pay up!"
Uncle Jiu's cold eyes swept over Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi.
Liu Songshan, without further ado, took out a bag of merit coins and placed it on the table, then glared fiercely at Xu Youzhi beside him.
At this moment, Xu Youzhi stood motionless beside him, beads of sweat as large as beans rolling down his forehead like rain, his entire body in a state of stupor.
"Don't just stand there. It just so happens that this talisman was given by Zuo Ju, and it can notify him."
"Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu, both of them have warm hearts. They were afraid I would encounter a monster, so they specially gave me this communication talisman."
Xu Taiping decided to be a good person to the end and praised Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu.
But he didn't know that the few people present were all thousand-year-old turtles who had already guessed the behavior of Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu that day.
"Since you mention it, Brother Taiping, we should invite these two to have a meal together. Quickly, Liu Songshan, don't dawdle, go call them!"
Uncle Jiu urged impatiently.
Okay, I... I'll go call them..."
Liu Songshan, with tears in his eyes, went to the door and activated the communication talisman.
"Kid, have you finally come to your senses?"
"It took you more than half a month to call us, you must have suffered a lot. If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place!"
Uncle Jiu, Xu Taiping, and the others, including Xu Youzhi and Liu Songshan who were sitting nervously without touching their chopsticks, all heard the two voices shouting from outside the courtyard.
Uncle Jiu, with his mouth full of meat, mumbled and pointed outside with his chopsticks.
Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi, already sweating profusely, stood up together and said in unison.
We can't let those two outside speak anymore!
"Where is everyone? Open the door!"
Because no one opened the door for a long time, Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu's tone became impatient, and Zhou Gu even started kicking the door.
"Big Brother Zuo, is this kid playing us?"
Zhou Gu looked at Zuo Ju with a wary gaze.
"He dares!" Zuo Ju snorted, "This area is our territory. Even Hall Master Xu and Hall Master Liu would have to show respect to us."
As soon as Zuo Ju finished speaking, the courtyard gate was forcefully pulled open.
"You finally see reason... Hall Master Liu... Hall Master Xu?!"
Zhou Gu's words were cut off mid-sentence.
He saw Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi standing side by side, their faces ashen, looking at Zhou Gu and Zuo Ju with eyes full of anger.
"You two, why... why are you here?"
Zuo Ju, recovering from his shock, asked with a trembling voice.
"You guys are still dawdling at the door? Come in quickly, the food is getting cold."
Before Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi could answer, Uncle Jiu's impatient voice came from inside the house.
Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi's faces instantly changed from winter to spring, smiling broadly as they turned to look inside the courtyard.
However, when they turned back to look at Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu, their faces turned back to winter.
Liu Songshan glared at the two and then hissed at them in a short, sharp voice.
At this moment, Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu were already scared out of their wits.
No matter how stupid they were, they could see that there was someone inside the courtyard who even Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi had to smile and please.
"Li... Li... Little... Master..."
As soon as they saw Uncle Jiu, Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu's legs turned to jelly, stammering and sweating profusely at the door.
Xu Youzhi kicked Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu hard.
The two, woken up by Hall Master Xu's kick, quickly went forward to greet Uncle Jiu.
"Don't just stand there, sit down and eat."
Uncle Jiu didn't even look at them, just pointed to the seats where Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi were sitting, indicating for them to sit down.
Liu Songshan and Xu Youzhi were already sitting close together, and now with Zuo Ju and Zhou Gu, they had to squeeze even closer.
"Uncle Jiu, maybe we should just wait on the side?"
Zuo Ju, seeing Liu Songshan squeezed and sweating, stammered and suggested.
"Oh, just squeeze in, you can always fit."
Uncle Jiu's tone became impatient.
"What are you babbling about? Sit down quickly, there's plenty of space, isn't there?"
Liu Songshan glared fiercely at Zuo Ju.
Zuo Ju, like a meek lamb, sat down next to Liu Songshan without a word, his clothes drenched in sweat in just a moment.
"What did these people do to offend Uncle Jiu?"
"Scaring Hall Master Liu like this, Uncle Jiu must be someone very important, maybe even at the level of the Black Dragon Elder?"
Looking at the four people tightly squeezed together, Xu Taiping found it amusing but also curious.
"Forget it, I'm just a lowly outer disciple, I shouldn't get involved in the affairs of these big shots. None of the people here are someone I can afford to offend."
Xu Taiping couldn't figure it out, so he continued to eat quietly.
The meal continued until evening.
It must be said, Uncle Jiu's appetite was really big. Xu Taiping had to add several more dishes to barely satisfy him.
"Thank goodness I got paid, otherwise, this meal would have been a huge loss."
Looking at the mess on the table, Xu Taiping secretly rejoiced.