666: Chapter 77 Trading and Speculation

"You are in high spirits, little friend."

"Are you mocking me?" Meng Li's Face darkened, his expression turning somewhat unfriendly.

From the moment he cast his line until now, he hadn't caught a single fish; it would be strange if he were in high spirits.

If it weren't for his adherence to the basic ethics of an angler, he would have dynamited the water long ago.

Seeing Meng Li like this, Old Mo Tou was momentarily stunned before glancing at the situation in the puddle. He instantly guessed the reason, felt amused, and shook his head, saying, "This old man has no such intention."

Meng Li's expression softened slightly as he asked, "Do you need something from me?"

Old Mo Tou replied, "This old man wants to make a trade with you, little friend."

"What trade?" Meng Li asked.

Old Mo Tou said, "This old man wants to ask you to take Shui Bi back to the Divine Realm."

Meng Li was slightly taken aback, then asked curiously, "What is your relationship with Shui Bi?"

Old Mo Tou shook his head. "This old man has no relationship with Shui Bi, only a bit of Karma."

"When this old man first arrived in Anxi years ago, I unexpectedly encountered Xi Feng and received his care. Later, seeing him feeling inferior because of his appearance and not daring to meet Shui Bi despite wanting to, I performed a divination for him and gave him some pointers to repay that Karma."

"According to the results of that divination, although Xi Feng and Shui Bi would go through hardships, they would eventually fulfill their wishes."

"But now, their future is unpredictable."

"To prevent Shui Bi from waiting in the Mortal world for tens of millions of years, it is better for her to return to the Divine Realm."

Meng Li's eyes flickered as thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind.

Old Mo Tou's words contained quite a bit of information. Upon a little reflection, it explained some issues that the original show hadn't addressed.

For instance, why Old Mo Tou was so clear about the matters regarding Xi Feng and Shui Bi.

Or why Xi Feng, a mere Mortal, was able to summon Chonglou.

Chonglou possessed immense strength and a haughty personality; he didn't even deign to attack the Mortal world because he felt its living beings were too weak and boring. Before Feipeng's Reincarnation, he basically stayed in the Demon Realm. There are barriers between the human and Demon Realms, so contacting Chonglou in the Demon Realm from the Mortal world was no easy task.

Even if there were a way to contact Chonglou, he might not necessarily respond.

He was a demon, the Demon Venerable, not an immortal who provided relief to the common people; it was impossible for him to pay attention to just anyone.

Yet, Xi Feng not only successfully summoned Chonglou but also successfully made a trade with him.

There must be a reason for this.

With the help of the mysterious Old Mo Tou, it would make sense.

Thinking of this, Meng Li began to have a suspicion about Old Mo Tou's origin.

The other party very likely came from the Demon Realm and had a connection with Chonglou. Otherwise, Chonglou wouldn't have responded to Xi Feng's summons, traveled from the Demon Realm to the Mortal world, and made a trade that was of little use to himself.

Although Xi Feng's voice was beautiful, Chonglou was a battle maniac, not a musician.

No matter how pleasant a voice was, it held no meaning for him.

Instead, having Xi Feng serve as a servant for five hundred years could help him handle some chores. But with Chonglou's status, if he really wanted servants, he could easily recruit a large number of them.

Therefore, the success of this trade was very likely due to Old Mo Tou.

But in the original show, the only characters from the Demon Realm who appeared were Chonglou and Xi Feng; the others were all cannon fodder.

Wait, there was one who wasn't cannon fodder—the previous Demon Venerable of the Demon Realm!

Old Mo Tou, Old Devil Head?

This was indeed possible.

The previous generation's Demon Venerable did not officially appear in the original show; he was only mentioned once in the Heavenly Emperor's narration.

It was said that Chonglou defeated him in less than ten moves, thereby becoming the new Demon Venerable.

Looking at it this way, the previous Demon Venerable seemed very weak.

But that wasn't actually the case.

It wasn't that the previous Demon Venerable was weak, but that Chonglou was too strong!

After he became the Demon Venerable, no one in the entire Demon Race dared to challenge him.

The only one who dared to take action was Xi Feng, who wanted to gain his freedom.

And when Xi Feng went to Jile World to deliver orders, he fought his way all the way to the Fire Ghost King, which showed his strength.

But when Xi Feng faced a full-strength Chonglou, he didn't even have a chance to make a move and was instantly defeated.

Before Chonglou became the Demon Venerable, he wasn't certain he was invincible; when he challenged the Old Devil Head, he must have gone all out.

By comparison, for the Old Devil Head to be able to last a few moves against a full-power Chonglou was already quite remarkable.

With this level of strength, it was possible for Chonglou to give him some Face.

Not to mention, the Old Devil Head and Chonglou might have had other relationships, such as master and disciple.

However, this was just speculation; whether it was true still required verification.

Asking Old Mo Tou about this might not yield the truth; he could find an opportunity to ask Chonglou later.

After thinking, Meng Li turned his thoughts back to another key point in Old Mo Tou's words.

Xi Feng and Shui Bi would go through hardships but eventually fulfill their wishes?

Since the two were in love, their heart's desire should be to be together.

In the original plot, they were buried together in the deep sea, so that wish was indeed fulfilled.

However, things shouldn't be that simple and sloppy.

For one thing, it was illogical for Shui Bi to be buried in the deep sea.

Shui Bi was a goddess, the Water Goddess in charge of the world's rivers; she wasn't injured when the Underwater City had problems, so she couldn't have died so easily.

Therefore, she and Xi Feng most likely faked their deaths to avoid punishment from the Divine Realm.

Now Old Mo Tou said their future was unpredictable, and Shui Bi might have to wait in the Mortal world for tens of millions of years...

With a little thought, Meng Li understood the key—Chonglou!

Shui Bi was a voice lover; after turning into a stone statue, she only recognized the voice, not the person.

In the original plot, Xi Feng got his original voice back from Chonglou, which caused her to actively break the seal. And the reason Chonglou returned the voice to Xi Feng was that his Heart of Immortality had been stolen by Zi Xuan, and he had experienced love and developed humanity.

But the current Chonglou was still that battle maniac, acting willfully and with questionable character.

When the term was up, he might not necessarily set Xi Feng free or return his voice, let alone before the term was up.

Furthermore, Chonglou was incredibly powerful; almost no one could force him.

So, Xi Feng still had to be a slave to Chonglou.

The specific duration was unknown, but it would be at least a few hundred years in the Demon Realm, which translates to tens of millions of years in Mortal time.

This indeed matched Old Mo Tou's words.

If Shui Bi continued to wait like this, not only would the seas change into mulberry fields, but even the rocks might rot away.

It would be different if she returned to the Divine Realm, because the time flow there was similar to the Demon Realm.

Shui Bi could definitely afford to wait a few hundred years, but...

"Let Shui Bi return to the Divine Realm? She must have come to the Mortal world without permission back then. Returning to the Divine Realm now, she likely won't escape punishment."

Meng Li pointed out the problem.

Old Mo Tou stroked his beard and said, "The cause of the past is the result of today. If she doesn't return to the Divine Realm and cannot let go of Xi Feng, she can only wait in the Mortal world for tens of millions of years."

"Is this not also a form of punishment?"

As he spoke, he paused and said meaningfully, "Moreover, this outcome is also related to you, little friend."

Meng Li understood this referred to him changing the plot, but he didn't mind. Instead, he turned the topic back to the starting point: "You said just now that this is a trade. If I do as you say and take Shui Bi back to the Divine Realm, what do I get?"

...