Xiao Jie didn’t say another word and sent over two more steamed buns.
"Just eating steamed buns might not be filling, wouldn’t it be perfect with some alcohol and meat?"
They didn’t have alcohol, but there was plenty of roasted meat. Xiao Jie right-clicked and sent another piece of roasted meat over.
"Brilliant, brilliant, excellent, today I’m really going to eat my fill. You two returning villagers, what the hell are you seeking me out for?"
This Foolish Taoist was acting quite silly, and he didn’t lack words either, but they were just too plain and simple, lacking the demeanor of a sage.
Xiao Jie didn’t mind, NPCs encountered by the roadside were hit or miss, so he just took his chances.
"Taoist, not to hide the truth from you, we wish to learn Daoist Skills, and we were wondering if you might offer us some guidance."
"Hahaha, stupid, stupid, stupid, why seek Dao from me? I don’t understand rituals and skills, I only manage... only manage..."
Great, now he couldn’t even come up with a limerick.
I Want to Be Immortal said loudly, "Stop pretending, I spotted it right off, you’re an immortal, aren’t you? We’re looking for you."
Xiao Jie thought to himself, well done Cheng Xian, even you know how to bluff people.
"That’s right Taoist, you’re certainly an immortal, aren’t you? Could you possibly teach us?"
"Mortals only think being an immortal is wonderful, but immortals also cannot escape difficulties; even if you want to cultivate immortality, what’s the point of finding a fool like me?"
Xiao Jie was left speechless, this guy was impossible to communicate with, but he wasn’t about to give up.
Many games have these crazy NPCs, sometimes they just serve to set the scene and aren’t of much use, but sometimes, if you can find the right way to interact with them, they can provide a huge surprise for the player.
Although he wasn’t certain which type this Foolish Taoist was, what if it was the latter?
"Taoist, what are you doing here all alone?"
"What am I doing? Yes, what am I doing here?" The Foolish Taoist started talking to himself, grabbing his head with a puzzled look, "What am I doing here? Ah yes, I remember now!" He suddenly slapped his thigh, "I’m running for my life!"
"Running for your life? Why is that?"
"Someone wants to catch me!" the Foolish Taoist shouted loudly, a look of terror appearing on his face.
"Which Daoist Temple have you cultivated at, Taoist? Why not tell us, so we can escort you back?" Xiao Jie coaxed gently. This Foolish Taoist might have run off from some Daoist Temple, and if they could return him, maybe they’d get some reputation points.
"Cultivating at a Daoist Temple? Hahahaha, those fools in the Daoist Temples don’t even know what Dao is, how can they cultivate the true Dao?" The Foolish Taoist said, bursting into laughter again, "Fools, all fools."
Xiao Jie thought to himself that this one sounded like the real fool.
Yet, he was patient, and even though he hadn’t gotten any useful information yet, the Foolish Taoist’s speech was starting to sound a bit more like that of a sage.
Xiao Jie simply began using the process of elimination, asking, "Have you heard of White Cloud Temple?"
"White Cloud Temple, Black Cloud Temple?"
"Then do you know of Xuanxu Palace?"
Who knew that upon hearing this, the Foolish Taoist’s expression suddenly changed, "Xuanxu Palace? Xuanxu Palace! That’s right, it’s Xuanxu Palace—those stinky Taoists from Xuanxu Palace want to catch me, bad Taoists who hit me, burn me, shock me, and scald me, why do they torture me ? Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! Run—run, I must run quickly."
After saying that, he threw away the steamed buns and roasted meat and turned to run.
What the heck? What’s this situation? Both looked at each other, completely bewildered.
"Follow him!" Xiao Jie didn’t hesitate a second to follow; he thought to himself that this was a lead. Although the Taoist’s identity didn’t seem right, as if he was an enemy of Xuanxu Palace, anyone who was an enemy of Xuanxu Palace must be formidable, who knows, maybe this could trigger some kind of adventure.
This guy was either pretending, or perhaps he had amnesia for some reason, like Ouyang Feng in The Return of the Condor Heroes, but if they found the right way, they might make him remember.
They were curious about where this NPC might lead them.
The two followed the Foolish Taoist as he ran, and he did indeed seem like a fool, sprinting with great strides, flailing madly, all the while crying out, "Don’t catch me, don’t kill me, run—run."
"Feng, this Taoist seems to be running in the direction of Luoyang Town."
Indeed, he was heading in the direction they had come from, running for several minutes without any sign of stopping.
The two promptly summoned their mounts and followed behind.
"Feng, this guy isn’t really going to run all the way back to Luoyang Town, is he?"
"Hardly, just follow him a bit longer, who knows, he might turn a corner while running. In any case, our goal is to learn Dao, so who we learn from doesn’t really matter."
I Want to Be Immortal thought that made sense.
They patiently followed the Foolish Taoist, running for over ten minutes, when from afar they could see the merchant caravan stopped on the road.
At first, they didn’t give it much thought, but as they got closer, Xiao Jie suddenly realized something was amiss when he saw the front wagon overturned.
"Something’s wrong! There’s been an accident."
The two slowed down and observed carefully.
Indeed, there had been an accident; not only was the wagon overturned, but the horses were missing too, and the ground was covered with the bodies of the guards, as a pack of fat, giant wolves gnawed on the corpses.
A few creatures that looked like wolfmen were rummaging through the bodies and the cargo on the wagons... They were Wolf Demons from the Hundred Wolves Cave!
Xiao Jie looked closely, Sword and Shield Wolf Soldiers, Bow and Arrow Wolf Soldiers, Long Spear Wolf Soldiers; these Wolf Demons were actually dressed in armor and wielding weapons, just like humans.
The one in charge, with a half-human half-wolf face and a human-like but exceptionally robust figure, was carrying two curved swords on his back.
Mang Changya (Wolf Spirit Colonel): Level 18 Elite, Life Value 950.