Chapter 00171: Choosing Not to Walk the Same Path
# Choosing Not to Walk the Same Path
Chapter 171
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 171: Choosing Not to Walk the Same Path
As everyone was preparing to set off, suddenly another figure rushed over.
Ding Huan spotted the approaching person from afar and inwardly cursed his luck.
"Elder Qu," Elder Liu from the Zixia Valley called out in greeting.
Ding Huan could only silently berate his own bad luck.
If they had left a bit earlier, this Elder Qu would surely not have lingered here.
He must have dashed into the adjacent forest.
Elder Liu’s call was akin to saving this unpleasant fellow's life.
"Elder Liu, Elder Gu..."
Elder Qu from the Shuanghun Sect seemed to wake up from his daze and quickly halted his steps.
Ding Huan scoffed inwardly at Elder Qu.
While Elder Liu from Zixia Valley had brought along several disciples, this fellow was all on his own.
If it weren't for a single disciple fleeing along with the Zixia Valley people, the Shuanghun Sect would have faced utter destruction.
A few elders began to converse, leaving the others to wait.
"Elder Gu, do you know what the situation is?"
Elder Qu had calmed down after the initial panic.
Elder Gu Youchang sighed and replied, “I suspect we’ve encountered a high-level cold spirit. We always thought we were on the main road, but in reality, we’ve been deep within the forest all along. This place is the real main road.”
Elder Liu Yinzhu of Zixia Valley had also grasped this issue not long ago.
She lamented that their survival was truly a stroke of luck.
Shuanghun Sect's Qu Yueshan hadn’t fully realized what had happened.
Only when Elder Gu mentioned they had previously been in the forest and were now back on the road did he finally understand the situation.
Looking around, he breathed a sigh of relief before saying, “So it was the illusion poison from the cold spirit. That was a close call…”
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and immediately moved in front of Ding Huan, sternly rebuking, “You’re just a small chef. Knowing we were in the forest and not warning us directly, what were you thinking?”
Ding Huan looked back at him in confusion, thinking this guy was a fool.
“Are you out of your mind? Are you the elder, or am I? I’m just a chef. Why would I remind you? Old Six, step back.”
Ding Huan wouldn’t indulge this guy.
After speaking, he took several steps back.
If this fellow dared to make a move, he was ready to flee into the forest with Old Six.
Besides, he was sure that neither Elder Gu Youchang nor Elder Liu Yinzhu would allow this brat to act carelessly.
If these two elders stayed silent, he would go as far away as possible.
“You’re looking for death…” Qu Yueshan, furious, was about to take action against Ding Huan.
Elder Gu’s expression darkened. “Qu Yueshan, the people we hire from the Yan Yue Sect are not someone you can touch. Does your Shuanghun Sect consider itself so formidable that you’re ready to battle us?”
Qu Yueshan paused, his confusion evident as he gazed at Elder Gu.
After all, this was just a chef.
In the eyes of the cultivation world, not to mention that Qu Yueshan was an elder, even a newly admitted disciple could kill a chef at will.
“Elder Gu, what do you mean by this?” Qu Yueshan, held back by tradition and preconceived notions, was intent on teaching Ding Huan a lesson.
When Elder Gu’s interrogation stopped him, he suddenly sensed that this chef was not as ordinary as he appeared.
But wait, wasn’t it previously said that Ding Huan was just an ordinary chef?
Elder Liu Yinzhu also frowned and said, “The reason we can stand here and converse is largely due to Fellow Daoist Ding’s contributions. Elder Qu’s words were a bit too much.”
Steward Qiong, not wanting an ordinary chef to sour the relationship between Yan Yue Sect and Shuanghun Sect, quickly interjected, “It’s just a small misunderstanding. Let’s hurry on. This place makes one uneasy.”
Ding Huan cast a glance at this Steward Qiong, who seemed like a white-eyed wolf.
After giving him a piece of Condensing Star Bamboo, he showed zero support, cementing Ding Huan’s resolve to reclaim his bamboo.
“Fellow Daoist Ding, how about we set off first?”
Steward Qiong tried to play the good guy, already knowing they needed to move and making a conscious effort to ask Ding Huan.
Qu Yueshan shot a glance at Ding Huan, swearing that once they left the Great Canyon, he would be the first to kill this insignificant chef.
Ding Huan clasped his fists to the elders and said, “Both elders, I don't really want to travel with Elder Qu. I'm just a chef. If he’s in a bad mood, a single slap would be enough to deal with me.”
Ding Huan had already sensed Qu Yueshan’s deep-seated malice.
He silently chuckled.
This bastard wanted him to lead the way and was thinking of ways to kill him on top of that.
Dream on!
Since emerging from the Four Directions Star Land, he had humbly sought survival, but now he needed to rely on others to reach the high-level Wenxing Star Land.
Now, not only did they want him to lead, but they also intended to wait to ambush him? Ding Huan wasn’t that pathetic.
If they intended to attack him, he would plunge into the forest immediately.
He wouldn’t dare risk traveling alongside Qu Yueshan.
As soon as he spoke, both Elder Liu and Elder Gu looked at him in surprise.
To utter such reckless words, was he truly just a chef?
Qu Yueshan’s face turned ashen with rage.
If Elder Gu hadn’t been present, he would have slapped Ding Huan dead right there.
No, he could not allow this little chef to die so easily.
Steward Qiong’s expression also turned sour.
Ding Huan indeed had merit, but a chef threatening a sect elder was beyond audacious.
It was practically a mortal challenging an immortal.
When he saw Elder Gu’s calm demeanor, he was taken aback and quickly cast aside his thoughts.
Regardless of whether Ding Huan was a chef or how lowly his status was, if Elder Gu stood by Ding Huan’s side, then he had no right to speak.
Qu Yueshan, seeing that neither Elder Gu nor Elder Liu was saying anything, felt a knot in his chest.
Was he, a proud sect elder, really going to be affected by a mere chef’s demeanor?
Yet, thinking about the cold spirit, he held back his temper.
If Ding Huan wouldn’t leave, then neither would he.
This old man was truly thick-skinned.
Ding Huan could only speak to Elder Gu, saying, “Elder Gu, let’s set off.”
“Alright.” Elder Gu unhesitatingly instructed everyone to get moving.
Seeing everyone start off, Elder Qu followed suit.
After walking for less than half an hour, Ding Huan suddenly halted.
Now the one leading, once he stopped, everyone had to stop.
“Elder Qu, which way are you going?” Ding Huan asked, his tone unyielding.
Qu Yueshan snorted, “What’s this? Is the path yours? Can only you walk while I cannot? I’m taking this main road, what do you intend to do?”
Ding Huan extended a hand, “Since that’s the case, then please go first, Elder Qu. We can take a different path.”
Everyone looked at Ding Huan in confusion.
A different path? There was only one road here, right? Were they to venture into the forest?
The reason they’d been ensnared by the illusion poison from the cold spirit was due to inadvertently leaving the main road and straying into the forest.
If Ding Huan knew someone was thinking like that, he would simply chuckle.
As if walking on the main road meant they wouldn’t encounter the cold spirit’s illusion poison? How did everyone end up in the forest before?
“Just a mere chef, daring to be so presumptuous.”
Qu Yueshan hummed indignantly and continued on his way.
No matter how displeased he was, or how thick-skinned he was, Ding Huan was outright confronting him.
If he continued to swallow his anger, it would be embarrassing for him later on.
Seeing Qu Yueshan turn away, Ding Huan consciously veered into the forest.
“Fellow Daoist Ding, Elder Qu is still a person with pride. If we just slow down a bit, he surely won’t follow us,” Elder Liu Yinzhu from Zixia Valley couldn’t help but say.
Ding Huan chuckled, “Elder Liu, I was just talking out of anger earlier. If Elder Qu truly wants to accompany us, I wouldn’t say much. In front of you two, I’m but a child, occasionally saying a few angry words. Please don’t mind me. I just have a sixth sense telling me to go this way; I don’t know why. I’ve always followed my instincts and haven’t made any major mistakes so far.”
At this moment, whether it was Steward Qiong or Han Weicheng and the others, they had woken from the illusion poison to some extent.
The distinction between the main road and the forest was still clear.
Seeing Ding Huan walk into the forest as if he were purposefully trying to stir trouble for Elder Qu, they started hesitating.
“Fellow Daoist Ding, I shouldn’t be affected by the illusion poison now, right? Are we still on the main road?” Steward Qiong couldn’t help but ask.
Ding Huan looked on with disdain at this fellow, who took his belongings but chose sides with another sect’s elder just based on his chef status.
Though he held contempt inside, he still hesitated and said, “I truly don’t know. I just feel we should go this way. Whether it’s the right choice, I can’t guarantee. Everyone should choose for themselves. After all, I’m just a chef, merely a mortal. If I make a mistake now, I can’t take on that responsibility.”
Everyone recognized that Ding Huan choosing the forest might be out of spite for Elder Qu, but such a joke was dangerous.
One wrong move with such a joke could cost lives.
Steward Qiong decided against following Ding Huan into the forest.
What a joke! A chef squabbling with an elder? If he died, others wouldn't want to share that fate.
Just as Ding Huan stated, he was only a mortal chef; his life was not worth much.
“I plan to accompany Fellow Daoist Ding,” Elder Liu from Zixia Valley stated without hesitation.
This left Steward Qiong dumbfounded.
Elder Liu Yinzhu from Zixia Valley actually intended to enter the forest with Ding Huan?
Han Weicheng didn’t wish to enter the forest again.
Seeing that Elder Liu from Zixia Valley had affirmed Ding Huan, he began to waver.
“Elder Gu, where do you intend to go?” Han Weicheng couldn’t help but ask Elder Gu Youchang.
Elder Gu laughed heartily, “Naturally, I’ll follow along with Ding Huan. I don’t need to say any more; wherever Ding Huan goes, I will follow.”
“Then I’ll follow along with Fellow Daoist Ding.”
Han Weicheng immediately changed his mind.
The first mishap was unexpected; if a second mishap occurred because of the same reasoning, then he would deserve it.
As Ding Huan stepped into the forest, Steward Qiong hesitated for a moment before having no choice but to follow along.
They couldn’t all enter the forest, while he alone remained on the main road.
If the main road was safe, they wouldn’t have been led into the forest earlier.
“Hmph, putting on a show.”
In the distance, Qu Yueshan sensed Ding Huan leading the group into the forest and coldly snorted in disdain.
He wouldn’t be foolish enough to follow Ding Huan into the forest just because of some petty trick!
(End of Chapter)