The banquet of the gods continued. The melody coming from behind the enormous landscape screen was infinitely soft and languid, the plucking of the zither strings seeming to make one’s heart fall. The celestial dancing fairies wrapped in light gauze had waists as slender as bindings, dancing like serpents, displaying the utmost wild and seductive beauty.
This type of alluring celestial dance was usually only appreciated by small groups of three to five celestial beings at minor banquets, yet today Zhuxuan Dijun summoned them out at such a grand feast—proof enough of his extravagance and audacity.
The atmosphere suddenly became fervent. The enchanting and seductive music mingled with the rich, fragrant wine vapors, as if about to drift up to the ancient, silent, and cold Thirty-Three Heavens above.
Wine vapors, noise, chaotic dancing—these were all things Xuan Yi detested. Right now, she only wanted to find a spacious and quiet room, bathe thoroughly, wash the wine smell completely clean from her hair and clothes, then lie down in soft bedding for a good sleep.
Unfortunately, not a single one of these wishes could be realized. She glared hatefully at the Chun Jun sword stuck in the soft chair.
Fucang sat cross-legged on the ground, grabbing wine jars and slowly drinking mouthful by mouthful. Watching as he finished this jar, with a “thud,” he opened another one.
Xuan Yi looked down at the ground. He had already drunk fifteen jars of Supreme Pure Wine without stopping, yet hadn’t shown the slightest hint of drunkenness. His hands didn’t shake, his eyes didn’t waver, and Chun Jun was firmly secured on the soft chair, preventing her from going anywhere.
Everywhere here was filled with joyous laughter and conversation, but beneath the Imperial Daughter Mulberry Tree in their area, the atmosphere was deathly silent. The martial brothers all knew they were quarreling. All afternoon, each one had run into a wall, so no one came to disturb them. Even Gu Ting and Zhi Xi avoided them from a distance to avoid being innocently affected.
Moreover, because she had been abducted to the Immortal Plum Forest earlier, when Feilian Shenjun delivered Mo Zhao and the others, Lizhu Dijun’s face had turned green. He made a grand spectacle of capturing several wrongdoing disciples and having them publicly apologize to Xuan Yi. Now everyone here knew she was the princess of that terrifying Zhuyin Clan, and everyone avoided her from far away. In the vast Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor, she actually couldn’t find anyone who could help her.
Not far away came the silver-bell-like laughter of Shennu. Sure enough, Shao Yi was surrounded by them. He drank a mouthful of wine from a Shennu’s delicate jade hand, then suddenly seemed to sense Xuan Yi’s gaze. He smiled and beckoned to her, the jewel on his forehead trembling chaotically.
She immediately felt as if she’d found a savior. Just as she moved, Chun Jun blocked the soft chair again.
“I want to go find Shao Yi Shixiong.” Xuan Yi no longer had the energy to be angry. “Let go.”
Fucang had drunk fifteen jars of Supreme Pure Wine without saying a word, but was actually already seventy or eighty percent drunk. His heart was like floating willow catkins swaying, not very clear.
He himself didn’t know why, when he so clearly detested her, he still kept her tethered beside him all day. But thinking of this wickedly mischievous dragon princess causing trouble everywhere outside, it still seemed better to confine her like this.
“There’s still a while until the hour of midnight.” He said coldly, “Since it’s my turn to escort you today, you’re not allowed to run around.”
His meaning was that escorting equaled house arrest plus humiliation? And he was timing it this precisely? Xuan Yi suddenly discovered that this Huaxu Clan’s Fucang was the true embodiment of “ten thousand methods are useless.”
The old fine wine and delicacies on the small table were removed and replaced with brand new delicacies—bear paws and orangutan lips, leopard fetuses and carp tails, all extremely exquisite rare delicacies.
Seeing that Fucang was no longer drinking alone but using chopsticks to pick up shrimp from the plate, Xuan Yi gently tugged at his sleeve, her soft voice carrying a hint of pleading as if begging for mercy: “Fucang Shixiong, I want to eat shrimp. Can you let me taste one?”
Fucang said nothing, picked up that plate of lotus shrimp, and generously handed it to her with his other hand. Xuan Yi only picked up one lustrous shrimp, then pushed the plate back to him: “Thank you, Fucang Shixiong.”
He was completely unaware and continued to pick up shrimp and put it in his mouth. His expression suddenly changed as he quickly spat it out—this plate of lotus shrimp had actually been transformed from ice and snow! And it was terribly bitter. Even though he immediately spat it out, his mouth still felt unbearably bitter.
Xuan Yi laughed so hard she swayed back and forth. Serves him right! Always putting on that “I know the sword dao so I’m just this damn arrogant” attitude! Constantly expressing contempt for her with words and physically tormenting her—inviting him to eat the world’s most bitter Zhuyin White Snow shrimp was the gentlest return gift possible.
Fucang covered his lips and suddenly struck out like lightning, grabbing her as she dodged everywhere, tightly gripping her arm.
How should he retaliate to relieve his anger? He really wanted to crush her in his hands right now, wanted her to be like a mouse meeting a cat when she encountered him, never daring to be so arrogant and presumptuous again.
He wanted…
The drunkenness rushed to his head. An emotion that made him go mad was rapidly growing. Everything before his eyes was blurry and chaotic—only her face was exceptionally clear. Pale as jade porcelain, her two beautiful lips proudly curled up, and those serene eyes that often contained hidden mockery.
Fucang’s eyes suddenly became dark and deep. He abruptly bent down, opening his mouth to bite those lips that were both utterly detestable and utterly adorable.
Unexpectedly, the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled violently several times. Xuan Yi immediately lost her balance. With this shake, his bite heavily struck her forehead instead, causing her to cover her head and be unable to move for a long time.
“You actually used such a despicable trick!” Xuan Yi was both shocked and furious. He gnawed on her forehead with his teeth! What kind of unheard-of evil method was this?! What kind of Huaxu Clan was this?!
Fucang across from her also seemed to freeze, not moving for a long time like a sculpture. Finally, he slowly reached out to her, his voice sounding particularly strained and troubled: “…Move your hand. Let me see.”
Xuan Yi wouldn’t let him touch her at all. She turned her body and fled in a flash: “Just you wait!”
Fucang no longer had the mood to stop her. He first poured a cup of tea to wash away the bitter taste in his mouth, then threw the unfinished wine jar far away—wine really wasn’t a good thing. He could hardly believe what he had just been about to do. For a moment, he felt it was utterly absurd, and then he felt both ashamed and annoyed. His ears and neck burned in waves. Fortunately, the shadow of the Imperial Daughter Mulberry Tree concealed his embarrassment.
Due to the earlier unpredictable earth tremor, all around were sounds of complaint and astonishment. The Shennu whose celestial robes had been soiled by wine complained with dissatisfaction. The foodies who hadn’t had time to eat the delicacies that fell on the ground complained. Would the divine realm also experience mountain collapses and earth splitting like the lower realm?
Zhuxuan Dijun’s divine officials repeatedly bowed and reassured: “Apologies, we didn’t inform all you upper gods in advance. The Sea of Regret expands every year. In recent years, every time the hour of midnight arrives, the earth trembles. Actually, it’s nothing serious, nothing serious…”
Xuan Yi flew over the chaotic mess on the ground with a somber face. A hand suddenly reached out from the side to grab her soft chair. Shao Yi’s gentle, sweet voice called to her: “Little loach…”
Before he finished speaking, she nearly dragged him flying out. He staggered repeatedly.
Xuan Yi stopped the soft chair and frowned at him. Now she finally believed that when he said she was heavy, it was true. Grabbing onto a soft chair and staggering—it didn’t seem like he was faking.
“Nearly broke my bones.” Shao Yi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled bitterly at her. “Fly more slowly too.”
Having said this, he crouched down and, seeing a small bump on her forehead, reached out to touch it: “What happened here? Growing dragon horns?”
Xuan Yi slowly blocked his hand: “Shao Yi Shixiong, I’m very tired. I’m going to find a guest room to rest. I won’t keep you company.”
Shao Yi laughed: “After that earth tremor just now, can you still sleep? Looking at this sulking appearance—coming out to have fun but ruining your mood would be no fun at all. Come sit with Shixiong for a while. There are good tea snacks.”
When she heard the words “tea snacks,” her brow relaxed. She followed him all the way to the delicate cloud brocade carpet. The Shennu who had been surrounding him earlier had long since scattered like birds and beasts. After all, not knowing the relationship between her and Shao Yi, no one wanted to displease this princess of the Zhuyin Clan. The rare delicacies on several tables had barely been touched with chopsticks, but there were wine pots all over the ground. It looked like they had also drunk quite a bit of wine.
Shao Yi searched for a long time but couldn’t find any good tea snacks, so he simply took an immortal peach and stuffed it into her hand: “Eat this first. These tea snacks are old. I’ll get new ones for you to eat later.”
Xuan Yi disdainfully returned it: “The skin isn’t peeled.”
This pampered and spoiled princess… Shao Yi sighed as he peeled the peach skin for her, while saying slowly: “This little loach has a bad temper and bad intentions. Fortunately, Xiaolong Jun doesn’t resemble you much, otherwise who knows how many divine beings he’d offend in the future.”
Xuan Yi had almost forgotten about this morning’s matter, but he unexpectedly dropped such an incomprehensible piece of news on her: He knew Qing Yan? How come she had never heard Qing Yan mention this?
She remained calm: “Shao Yi Shixiong knows my older brother? When was this?”
Shao Yi thought carefully: “At that time, he was probably only about three thousand years old. He had quite good character—worthy of being from the Zhuyin Clan.”
Three thousand years old? Xuan Yi tried hard to recall but couldn’t figure it out. Shao Yi peeled the peach, then carefully cut it into several pieces, placed them on a plate, and handed it to her. Then he smiled faintly: “At that time, you were even smaller and had suffered severe injuries. Your life hung by a thread—you probably can’t remember. I heard that when Xiaolong Jun studied under Xuanming Dijun, his age was even younger than this little loach’s. What a good older brother—cultivating so desperately for his little sister, he must want to protect her well.”
Xuan Yi thought of how Qi Nan had also mentioned she was injured when she was young. She didn’t expect that even this Qingyang Clan Shixiong knew about this matter. Moreover, what was this about her life hanging by a thread? How come she had no impression of this at all?
She was about to inquire when Zhuxuan Dijun’s voice suddenly rang out from the Azure Jade Platform: “Everyone… I’m afraid, I’m afraid today’s grand banquet must be stopped.”
The gods below made a great clamor. Zhuxuan Dijun smiled bitterly: “Just now, Baize Dijun performed a divination for the earth tremor and got Earth Fire Brightness Hiding—I’m afraid it’s an omen of great misfortune. This matter is strange and difficult to understand. Since Baize Dijun has given this warning, this venerable one dare not rashly take risks. Now the night is cold and the dew is heavy—it’s improper to send guests away…”
Before he finished speaking, the ground shook violently again. This time, however, it was countless times more fierce than before. Many crystal stands on the Azure Jade Platform were knocked over, the treasures on them clattering all over the ground. From the distance came waves of terrifying rumbling sounds. The gods couldn’t help but be horrified. All around suddenly became deathly silent.
“Report—”
A panicked shout pierced through the strange silence of this moment. Immediately after, two divine officials came racing forward, tumbling and crawling, their voices seeming to scream: “Two hundred li south of the Sea of Regret, a piece of land has fallen to the lower realm!”