Bai Feiyao had already begun staggering drunkenly, but the Qin Elder, still playing away up above, showed no intention of letting him off easy.

Both Qin-Se Elders were, by nature, kind-hearted people who never punished the younger generation lightly—but once they made up their mind, they were determined to see the lesson through, thoroughly.

Whoever needed teaching a lesson would remember it for the rest of their life.

Drink!

Keep drinking!

Soon, Bai Feiyao, who had already downed forty jars, unwittingly drank ten more!

Finally, just as Yu Xiao had done before, he had to brace both hands against the table, not daring to move at all!

The entire hall fell silent, no one daring to say a word. By this point, if anyone present still couldn’t tell that the Qin Elder had been deliberately favoring Yu Xiao with every single piece he played, they’d have to be thoroughly dense.

And yet, no one held any objection to this favoritism at all!

The Qin Elder hadn’t chosen any obscure, tricky pieces to torment Bai Feiyao with—he’d simply played the most famous, well-known pieces there were, tunes anyone with even a shred of musical knowledge would recognize instantly!

There was no one to blame but Bai Feiyao’s own shallow learning!

Seeing Bai Feiyao now bracing himself against the table too, Yu Xiao sneered coldly. “Young Master Bai, are you conceding, or continuing?”

“Continuing!” As the alcohol surged through him, Bai Feiyao waved a hand and forced himself upright at once—only to quickly stagger and slam both hands down against the table again!

Continue!

Not even five more jars had gone down when suddenly—”Pfft—” a huge mouthful of wine came spraying right back out!

Exactly the same as what had happened to Yu Xiao before!

“Bai Feiyao, are you conceding?” the Yu family head was the first to rise, demanding angrily.

Now, at last, came the real chance for revenge, didn’t it?

Everything he’d inflicted on his son, he’d pay back in full!

“Concede? Ha! What a joke! I, Bai Feiyao, don’t even know those two words!” Bai Feiyao roared with laughter, his voice full of bravado—yet at the same time, he seized the chance to hurl the wine jar violently to the ground, shattering it with a loud crack.

The crowd watched, still not daring to make a sound, while Ziqing and Jun Beiyue continued observing coolly, giving nothing away.

Somewhere in the crowd, Baili Weisheng, who had been quietly drinking to himself the whole time, set down his cup, stretched lazily, and remarked helplessly, “Kids these days. If you’re going to fake being drunk, just fake it—no need to go smashing other people’s things!”

Before he’d even finished speaking, another crack rang out—the maidservant’s freshly refilled wine, accidentally shattered once more!

“Wine! Bring me more wine! This young master can afford to drink!” Bai Feiyao shouted, staggering forward, eyes narrowed in a grin, pointing straight at the Qin Elder. “Play! Keep playing! Hahaha!”

The Qin Elder’s brow furrowed. Drunken tantrums during the drinking game at these gatherings were nothing new—according to the rules, once one side started acting drunk and unreasonable, they were to be declared the loser at once.

He rose to his feet, ignoring Bai Feiyao entirely, and announced loudly, “This round, Yu Xiao wins. Bai Feiyao loses by intoxication!”

But no sooner had those words left his mouth than Bai Feiyao immediately protested, “Nonsense!”

That single word turned the Qin Elder’s face utterly dark.

“You’re the one talking nonsense—I’m not drunk, I haven’t lost. Come on, keep going, bring me my wine!” Bai Feiyao bellowed, jabbing a finger around the whole hall, then let out a loud belch before continuing, “I, Bai Feiyao, refuse to accept this! Keep going!”

He was indeed a bit drunk—but not so drunk he couldn’t hold onto a wine jar. He simply couldn’t afford to drink any more. If he drank any further, he really would be genuinely drunk!

The one thing he feared most in this life was being truly, helplessly drunk!

For no other reason than this: once truly drunk, everything—including himself, including his true identity as a woman—would slip entirely beyond his control!

So he couldn’t drink any more!

But neither did he want to concede!

“Come on!” Bai Feiyao roared again, utterly unbothered by the murmurs rippling through the crowd.

He simply wasn’t going to concede—let’s see who could do anything about it.

Suddenly he spun around, pointing straight at Yu Xiao. “What, don’t have the nerve to keep drinking with me, huh? Then you concede!”

It was practically an order, roared out loud. “Yu Xiao, concede! Concede right now, you hear me!”

“No class at all—can’t hold your liquor, can’t take losing, and still have the nerve to swagger around like this?” Yu Xiao sneered coldly.

“What did you say?!” Bai Feiyao exploded with fury.

“No class! No manners with drink! Can’t handle it, can’t lose gracefully!” Yu Xiao said loudly, entirely unafraid of him.

But no sooner had those words left his mouth than two thrashing, fanged vines suddenly shot out from beside Yu Xiao, coiling around him in an instant, their heads bursting into full bloom as flesh-eating flowers, their gaping, fang-lined mouths snapping open, ready to strike!

The speed was so blinding no one could react in time—but in that same instant, two blades of wind shot out, shattering both flowers to pieces on the spot!

Only then did everyone finally understand what had happened. The Qin Elder shot to his feet at once, slamming the table. “Bai Feiyao, how dare you!”

“He insulted me first!” Bai Feiyao immediately protested!

“You’re the one who provoked him first!” the Qin Elder shot back, no longer caring about propriety at all.

“You’re the one who said I lost first!” Bai Feiyao retorted right back!

The Qin Elder nearly choked with fury, slamming the table again. “You had already lost!”

“How did I lose?!” Bai Feiyao demanded.

“You didn’t even have the strength left to lift your wine—how could you possibly keep drinking!” the Qin Elder shouted, no longer minding his own dignity, matching Bai Feiyao shout for shout.

“I can lift it just fine! Bring me more wine!” Bai Feiyao declared grandly.

“Fine—someone, bring him more wine!” the Qin Elder snapped angrily.

A servant hurried over with more wine at once, and Bai Feiyao genuinely caught it, holding it steady, glancing around the hall before declaring loudly, “Who said this young master doesn’t have the strength to hold his wine!”

The whole hall watched in silence—with the memory of Yu Xiao’s attack still fresh, no one dared speak up.

Bai Feiyao then turned to face the two Qin-Se Elders directly. “Can I hold it or not?”

The Qin Elder took a deep breath. “You can hold it—now drink…”

But before he could finish, Bai Feiyao suddenly raised the jar high and smashed it violently onto the ground.

“You—!” the Qin Elder choked with fury. “Someone, seize him!”

Bai Feiyao didn’t even struggle, laughing heartily. “I haven’t lost! Yu Xiao lost, Yu Xiao’s the one who lost, I won!”

He simply refused to admit it—playing the fool, feigning madness, and daring anyone to do anything about it!

He wouldn’t concede—who could possibly hold him accountable?

This drinking game would simply have to fizzle out unresolved—who could possibly do anything to stop him?

Drunk, whatever he said or did, he bore no responsibility—once sober, he’d claim to remember nothing, offer the two Qin-Se Elders a proper apology, and that would be that.

Surely these two elders wouldn’t hold a grudge against a mere drunkard, would they?

Bai Feiyao was hauled up by two guards, and though he didn’t resist, he kept ranting that he hadn’t lost, refusing again and again, hurling insult after insult at Yu Xiao the whole time.

“Bai Feiyao, shut your mouth!” Yu Xiao finally couldn’t take it anymore. With a sudden, long, piercing whistle, he summoned hundreds of white-headed eagles at once, densely blanketing the entire sky above the zither platform!

The tension in the air snapped taut in an instant—the situation had turned dangerous!

“Yu Xiao!” the Se Elder shouted at once. “He’s raving drunk—are you planning to be just as unreasonable as him?”

“Him, drunk? Ha, I’d say he’s faking it! Elders, if the two of you cannot administer justice in this matter and simply allow Bai Feiyao to slander us like this, then the Yu Shi will have no choice but to settle it ourselves!” Yu Xiao said coldly.