Do you really think you can get me with just a banana?

There is a snack shop called "Li Ji Snacks" opened by the Liqing River.

Although the store is small, it can accommodate nearly ten tables inside and outside for diners to enjoy.

The proprietress, wearing an apron, was busy scooping large wontons, puffed up by the boiling water, from a large pot. Amidst the steam, she deftly placed them on a plate. A nearby man quickly stepped forward, wrapped the scalding plate in a cloth, lifted the curtain, and stepped into the shop, calling out, "Steaming hot wontons, fresh from the oven!"

Seeing this, Su Yi and his group quickly waved their hands and said, "That's enough, we really can't eat anymore."

Li Qi placed the plate steadily in the middle of the table, his eyes fixed on Guan Shanyu who was concentrating on eating, and said with a smile: "Since we've made it, eat it all up and don't waste it. Judging from Shanyu's posture, he's not full yet."

As he spoke, he gestured to the door to pause the cooking, then turned around and found a seat. As he passed Yan Ruchen, his expression subtly changed, and he curled his lips slightly. Finally, he chose to sit next to Guan Shanyu. He glanced at Yan Ruchen sideways, then turned to Guan Shanyu and said, "Shanyu, how many days have you not had meat? Are you so hungry?"

Guan Shanyu swallowed a wonton, stretched out his fingers and made the number three, then thought it seemed wrong, and made the number four.

Li Qi put down the rag from his shoulder, wiped his hands first, then gently squeezed Guan Shanyu's arm. Seeing him look up in confusion, he sighed and said, "What a sin! Look at you, you've lost a lot of weight since you went up the mountain. Just now, when the doctor examined you, he said that you had too many wounds on your body. How did you survive?"

Guan Shanyu wiped his mouth and replied, "I am now seriously practicing Taoism. I am told that I won't die even if I don't eat for five or six days."

Yan Ruchen was sitting opposite. When he heard this, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, as if he didn't comment on Guan Shanyu's words.

Li Qi noticed Yan Ruchen's reaction and quietly approached Guan Shanyu's ear, not forgetting to glance at Yan Ruchen. He lowered his voice and said, "Then why did you go down the mountain with him? Aren't you afraid that he will plot against you? Look at that thing hanging around his waist, is it a human head? Be careful with this little bastard. I watched you guys very carefully when I met you. This guy used you as a cushion behind him."

Guan Shanyu looked up in confusion, swallowed the wonton in his mouth, looked at Yan Ruchen, and thought about Li Qi's words just now in confusion.

Use him as a cushion?

At this moment, there was a slight sound outside the house, and a woman lifted the curtain and walked into the house. Li Qi saw this and quickly stood up to greet her. Everyone at the table also stood up and politely nodded to her. Guan Shanyu greeted her warmly, "Hello, sister-in-law, please take a seat, don't be busy."

It turned out that Li Qi had opened this snack shop here since he came down the mountain, specifically to provide food for passers-by. Last night, he went to the next town to do some shopping, and when he returned this morning, he happened to run into Guan Shanyu and his companions who had just escaped from Wangshuiling, so he brought them back here.

When Li Qigang recognized Guan Shanyu, he was still a little unconscious. After listening to other disciples describe Guan Shanyu's injuries, he rushed back without stopping and immediately went to the town to find a doctor to see him. Not only that, he also checked the injuries of other disciples.

Miraculously, after being bandaged, Guan Shanyu regained consciousness after only an hour's rest. His first words were that he was hungry. Li Qi quickly instructed his wife, Qiu Ling, to prepare a meal so everyone could fill their stomachs first.

The woman who entered at this moment was Li Qi's wife, Qiu Ling. She politely saluted everyone, appearing a little shy, and asked softly, "Hello, immortal masters. Does your dress fit you well?"

When they arrived, their clothes were tattered. Li Qi and his wife quickly took out a few simple linen clothes from the cabinet for them to change into. Although they were not gorgeous, they were much better than the rags they had worn before. The disciples thanked them repeatedly: "The clothes fit us very well. Thank you, Madam."

Qiu Ling smiled shyly. Guan Shanyu noticed that she was a little shy and hurriedly reminded Li Qi: "Don't let your wife stand. She's almost due to give birth. She needs to rest well."

Li Qilian said "yes, yes, yes", and carefully helped Qiu Ling sit down. Qiu Ling was a little embarrassed and whispered to Guan Shanyu: "Actually, the due date is still three months away..."

Guan Shanyu was stunned when he heard this. Jin Yu asked curiously, "Sister, your belly is already so big, and you still have to wait three months?"

Li Qi explained with a smile: "Yes, but my wife is pregnant with twins, so her belly looks bigger."

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on. Guan Shanyu nudged him and said jokingly, "You're so lucky, kid. You've only been down the mountain for half a year and you've already married a beautiful and virtuous wife. And she's pregnant with twins!"

Li Qi touched his head and smiled embarrassedly. Qiu Ling blushed even more and whispered, "Master, please stop laughing at me..."

Guan Shanyu said, "You're welcome, sister-in-law. Li Qi and I are childhood friends. If you don't mind, just call me Shanyu."

Qiu Ling shyly replied, "Okay." Su Yi, watching the excitement from the side, said, "This Brother Li is a year younger than me, and his child is almost born. Hey, Shanyu, if you didn't marry Tianxuan, would you have gotten married so early?"

Li Qi was stunned, but Guan Shanyu didn't react. He continued, "No way, it's not that easy to find a wife. Do you think there are virtuous women like Qiu Ling everywhere? Besides..."

Damn, I almost forgot, I’m a homosexual.

Guan Shanyu felt a little uneasy and stole a glance at Yan Ruchen. Yan Ruchen was sitting quietly beside them, sipping tea and listening to their conversation. When he saw Guan Shanyu looking at him, he also tilted his head to look at him.

But as soon as their eyes were about to meet, Guan Shanyu immediately turned his head away.

"What's more? Why didn't you say the rest?" Su Yi asked curiously.

Guan Shanyu coughed lightly and pretended to be calm, saying, "Besides, I'm now fully focused on cultivating the Dao. I don't have those distracting thoughts."

Li Qi burst out laughing, causing Guan Shanyu to immediately turn around and glare at him. Li Qi quickly covered his mouth and shook his head repeatedly to indicate that he would not tell anyone. Guan Shanyu snorted proudly and turned his head to continue enjoying his wontons.

At this time, Li Qi remembered something and said to Guan Shanyu, "By the way, Shanyu, when I went to see the doctor this morning, I told Li Kang and the others that you were here. They are busy in the store and said they would come back to see you later."

Guan Shanyu was a little surprised: "You guys didn't go back to Fengping Village? You're all here?"

Li Qi explained, "It's too difficult to run a small business in Fengping Village, so we decided to move to the town. It's closer to the official road, so business is easier here."

Guan Shanyu nodded and asked, "What are Li Kang and the others busy with now?"

Li Qi replied, "Li Kang opened a noodle shop, and business is pretty good. Master Yang and his wife have partnered to open a cloth shop, specifically to provide cloth to Master Chen, who then makes it into clothes and sells them."

Guan Shanyu was lost in thought. Just as he was thinking about this, he heard several warm greetings from outside the door.

"Hey, I just arrived and I heard someone calling my name?"

The curtain outside the door was opened, and it was Li Kang, who walked in with a box of cakes in his hand, looking at everyone in the room with a smile. Then, Chen Fu followed Li Kang's steps, jokingly saying as they walked, "It seems that our Shanyu is thinking about us?"

Guan Shanyu looked outside when he heard the sound. Besides Li Kang and Master Chen, Master Yang also walked in holding the hand of a little girl. As soon as she saw Guan Shanyu, she called out enthusiastically, "Shanyu! It's been a long time since we last met!"

Guan Shanyu stood up excitedly and waved at them: "You're all here! Long time no see, Master Yang, how did you get so fat!"

Upon hearing this, Master Yang scratched his head in embarrassment. Li Qi quickly brought over stools and asked everyone to sit down. After everyone was seated, they noticed Yan Ruchen sitting next to them, and their faces instantly fell.

Why is this person here too?

Seeing this, Guan Shanyu quickly coughed lightly and whispered a reminder: "Ruchen saved my life, don't do this."

Li Kang and the others looked at Guan Shanyu in confusion, and Li Qi quietly added, "No, he used Shanyu as a cushion before."

"Ah?" Li Kang and the others said in disbelief, their expressions twisted as they looked at Yan Ruchen. Guan Shanyu immediately coughed twice in a stern voice and whispered, "That's not the case!"

The other disciples saw them lowering their heads and whispering something, as if they were discussing Yan Ruchen, so they glanced at Yan Ruchen suspiciously.

Yan Ruchen remained calm and composed throughout the entire process, not saying a word. He just sat there quietly drinking tea and lost in thought. Li Qi saw this and asked, "Shanyu, I've been wanting to ask you for a long time. Are you and Yan Ruchen on good terms now?"

Guan Shanyu was startled and turned to look at Yan Ruchen. He saw that although he heard it, he remained silent and just stared at the teacup in a daze. Guan Shanyu was thinking about how to respond to this question.

Friends? Not really. They didn't seem that familiar. At least Yan Ruchen was wary of him.

That should be...

"He is my leader." Guan Shanyu said.

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding disciples turned their heads, their faces bewildered. Seeing this, Guan Shanyu explained, "Ruchen is now the acting head of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, and I am just an ordinary disciple, so he is naturally my leader."

After hearing this, everyone suddenly understood and nodded. However, Li Qi and his group were a little bit unbelievable, thinking: This little bastard has actually climbed up to Shan Yu's head now?

The person involved, Yan Ruchen, did not comment on this. He twitched his lips and tilted his head, as if smiling. To avoid further embarrassment, Guan Shanyu quickly changed the subject, looking at the girl that Master Yang brought with him, and asked, "Is this my sister-in-law?"

Master Yang replied with a smile, the flesh on his face trembling slightly with his smile: "Yes, we just got married last month."

Guan Shanyu asked curiously, "They got married just last month? And your sister-in-law looks like she's pregnant, doesn't she?"

After saying this, Li Qi and the others immediately burst into laughter. Guan Shanyu looked at them in confusion, not knowing what he had said wrong. Master Yang was laughing so hard that his eyes were invisible. He said, "We are not pregnant. We have just gained weight. Anian is only fourteen now. It is too early for her to be pregnant."

The disciples looked at him in amazement. Guan Shanyu clapped his hands and exclaimed in admiration, "You've already kidnapped her when she's only fourteen? Master Yang, you're such a beast."

Everyone chatted for a while in the shop, and Li Qi and others were curious about the purpose of Guan Shanyu and his team's trip down the mountain. Because going to Wangshuiling was a confidential mission, everyone just said that they went down the mountain to eliminate monsters.

Li Qi and the others were curious about demon-slaying, inquiring about their forms, methods of extermination, and how to prevent encounters. The disciples, in turn, delightedly shared their own thrilling demon-slaying experiences, recounting the terrifying monsters and their own wisdom and courage in escaping danger. The shop was filled with laughter and a warm, lively atmosphere.

However, Guan Shanyu always noticed that Yan Ruchen didn't speak from beginning to end.