Liao Tingyan couldn’t fall asleep early that night, not because of the physiological health class the teacher had given during the day, but because she had been invited by her classmates to attend a banquet.
Her current identity was that of Young Lady Yong Lingchun from Night Tour Palace. At this social level, besides eating, drinking, and having fun, one also needed to establish connections, so gathering to feast was an essential social activity. The entire classroom had gone, so Liao Tingyan went along too. After all, even office workers had social obligations; she wasn’t being pretentious.
A large group, led by the two highest-ranking students, one male, and one female, went to the Brocade Painting Hall outside Chenxue Academy to enjoy the nightlife.
Men and women sat separately, able to see each other across the lantern light and hazy flowers. Musicians sat beneath the blossoms playing and singing, while attendants served wine, snacks, and spiritual food. The scene was so harmonious and friendly that it left adult Liao Tingyan feeling somewhat disappointed.
Yong Lingchun sat in the middle of the women’s section. Not long after taking her seat, as everyone drank and began to chat, women from both her left and right approached to make conversation.
“Lingchun, I heard you came to Chenxue Academy with your brother. Why haven’t we seen him around lately?”
Liao Tingyan had to put down the half-eaten peony-patterned meatball and say, “My brother has other matters to attend to; he should return in a few days.”
A delicate and fragile-looking woman took her arm. “Since you’re alone these days, why not attend classes with me? I’m by myself too and quite lonely. Our courtyards aren’t far from each other either.”
From her expression, it seemed Liao Tingyan should know who she was, so she didn’t even need to introduce herself. But Liao Tingyan was completely clueless—she didn’t know this person at all. With no other option, she could only act, using the social skills honed from years as an office worker to make small talk and successfully send her away.
As soon as one left, another arrived. This time it was a sweet-looking but seemingly ill-tempered sister who began by saying, “Did you have a conflict with my cousin in class? Was it you who made him lose face?”
The one she had conflict with was none other than that Qi fellow whose buttocks she had stabbed. Liao Tingyan displayed an utterly innocent expression, with bewilderment so vivid that no one could doubt her. “I didn’t. Who is your cousin?”
Slacker skill one: Whatever, fine, I don’t mind.
Slacker skill two: What? I don’t know. It wasn’t me.
After hoodwinking this sister away, Liao Tingyan took another bite of her meatball. Before she could even swallow, a third person came to talk. This one had ill intentions and came to pick a fight. “Well, well, even people from your Night Tour Palace have come to our Gengchen Immortal Sect to seek education? But it’s no wonder—Night Tour Palace is such a small place with so few people. I fear indeed no one can teach you there.”
Liao Tingyan put down her chopsticks with a completely sincere expression. “That’s right, you’re correct.”
Slacker skill three: Yes, that’s right, everything you say is correct.
The girl continued, “I see your spirit roots aren’t very good either. Coming here, you probably won’t achieve much in cultivation. Better to find a Dao partner to rely on early.”
Liao Tingyan: “Good, well said, that makes sense.”
The girl: “…You came here today, could it be you’re looking for a Dao partner? Unfortunately, the fellow cultivators here are all from families too prestigious for you to aspire to. You’d better know your place.”
Liao Tingyan: “Right, that’s exactly what I think too.”
The girl: “…” Damn it.
The girl had come to provoke her but got rebuffed instead, making herself angrier. She left grinding her teeth, thinking to herself: Wasn’t Yong Lingchun supposed to have a bad temper and explode at the slightest provocation? Why is she as compliant as a doormat, showing no reaction to anything said to her?
After the person left, Liao Tingyan could finally eat her last bite of meatball, sighing inwardly. Not a single person here had come for the food; everyone was just talking and talking. She couldn’t even eat a meatball without being interrupted three times. After finishing, she went to scoop some of the milky white sweet soup, which tasted refreshing and sweet—quite good.
During her vacation days, the food situation varied. Back on Three Saints Mountain, she even had to bring her food, and during that time, she couldn’t even get dried meat. After leaving Three Saints Mountain, she enjoyed a few days of freedom. At White Deer Cliff, she could ask for whatever she wanted to eat, and all kinds of feasts would be served for her to choose from. The food then was the best.
Later, while causing trouble and fleeing for her life, she had to bring her food again. Fortunately, she had prepared plenty of preserved dishes to satisfy her appetite. As for now, though the food couldn’t compare to White Deer Cliff, it was more than adequate.
As she took her second spoonful of sweet soup, another young woman sidled up to her and said, “Your temper is really good. Even when Yuan Rongxue spoke to you like that earlier, you didn’t get angry.”
Liao Tingyan: “There’s nothing to be angry about.” After all, she was insulting Yong Lingchun—what did that have to do with Liao Tingyan?
In her current position, she was one of the great master ancestors of Sima Jiao’s people. Sima Jiao’s identity was probably equivalent to the grandson of an old company chairman, parachuted into the company. The company elders outwardly revered him but sidelined him, now relegating him to a basic position in a subsidiary company… No, that wasn’t quite right. It would be more accurate to say that this powerful but isolated and somewhat crazy boss, to destroy the company he disapproved of, had voluntarily gone down to undermine the company’s foundation.
As the boss’s assistant, she feared nothing. If nothing else, when the boss protected someone, it was like being covered by an impenetrable shield.
Everyone ate and drank for a while, and the atmosphere grew livelier. Finally, people began to share insider information. Someone mysteriously mentioned, “Do you know that a major event has happened in the inner sect recently?”
“Oh, is it related to that Ancestor?”
Everyone wore gossip-hungry expressions, using veiled code names as they discussed Master Cizang’s affairs. These people were all young masters and missed from branches of prominent families. Being young, they wouldn’t know too much, yet they knew more than ordinary people.
Liao Tingyan had been wondering earlier why, after Sima Jiao had caused such a commotion and killed so many high-level bigwigs, various parts of the Gengchen Immortal Sect acted as if nothing had happened, with no one discussing this major event. Now she finally heard someone bring up the topic, so she perked up her ears and moved closer to listen to the gossip.
“I heard the Ancestor flew into a rage and killed many people, all because a female disciple he favored whispered into his ear. The Sect Leader is even trying to cover it up for him.”
“That Ancestor is said to have quarreled with the Sect Leader and is now in seclusion at White Deer Cliff, refusing to come out.”
Liao Tingyan thought: Alright, fake news. The truth must have been covered up by those in charge for the sake of stability.
“I used to think that when the Ancestor came out of seclusion, our Gengchen Immortal Sect would become even more powerful. Now it seems having this Ancestor isn’t a good thing at all.”
Everyone fell silent at this too-direct statement. Even if some thought this way, they wouldn’t say it outright, and others had opposite opinions.
A somewhat arrogant-looking young man said, “The Ancestor’s cultivation is extremely high, and he is the only descendant of the Sima clan. It’s normal for him to be a bit willful. Haven’t you all read Gengchen’s history? There have been many Sima disciples like the Ancestor, but each one of them eventually became a pillar of our Gengchen Immortal Sect, bringing honor to our sect. They are worthy of our respect and worship as elder powerhouses. If given the chance, I would gladly die in service to the Ancestor.”
Many others thought like this young man. Most felt that killing a few people was no big deal, as long as they weren’t targeted. They were naturally more willing to follow such a powerful person.
Unfortunately, Sima Jiao had no intention of rallying forces to fight others. From beginning to end, he had never hidden his contempt for the entire Gengchen Immortal Sect, and whatever he wanted to do, he would do alone.
“Have you finished eating? If you’re done, let’s go back.”
Speak of the Ancestor, and the Ancestor appears. Sima Jiao, who had been missing for a day and a half, suddenly appeared wearing Yong Shichu’s face, standing behind Liao Tingyan.
Since the venue was quiet at that moment, everyone’s gaze turned toward him. Sima Jiao paid no mind, merely giving Liao Tingyan a signal. Liao Tingyan promptly put down the half-eaten sweet soup, stood up, and followed him.
“Wait a moment. You’re Yong Shichu from Night Tour Palace, right? Today, my friend and I have set up this banquet to allow us new students at the academy to get to know each other. Why rush off? Why not stay with your sister? There will be wonderful performances later; it would be a pity to miss them.” The male leader tried to persuade them to stay.
Sima Jiao glanced at him—the kind of look one gives an ant crawling across one’s foot. “Banquet? I see you’re all just chatting.”
Liao Tingyan thought: Well said, that speaks right to my heart. As expected of the boss.
Sima Jiao turned to look at her with an expression like discovering that his child had lost weight after not seeing them for half a month.
Liao Tingyan thought: I must have misread his expression.
The fake siblings disregarded everyone’s face and walked straight out of the flower banquet grove, leaving all the awkward and unpleasant expressions behind.
“Do you like it here?” Sima Jiao asked casually as they walked along the water pavilion corridor.
Liao Tingyan smacked her lips. “It’s all right. The food is a bit better than at the academy.”
Sima Jiao didn’t understand her obsession with eating and pointed out, “With your current cultivation level, you don’t need to eat these things at all. Apart from satisfying your appetite, there’s no other benefit.”
Liao Tingyan: “Oh, I eat just because I crave it.”
This ancestor’s life was truly too pitiful and dull. If a person couldn’t even enjoy good sleep and delicious food properly, life really lost much of its meaning.
Liao Tingyan: “Actually, you could try different delicious foods too. It’s very effective for maintaining a cheerful mood.”
Sima Jiao gave a disdainful snort.
They didn’t leave Brocade Painting Hall because Liao Tingyan had only eaten meatballs and half a bowl of sweet soup for dinner—not enough. So they ordered another table of food. Liao Tingyan ate while Sima Jiao sat beside her, spacing out. In some ways, Liao Tingyan felt the ancestor was like a reclusive, autistic child.
Sima Jiao: “I can sense what you’re thinking.”
Liao Tingyan stopped her thoughts and began eating with an imaginary “A Bite of China” soundtrack playing in her head, continuously praising the deliciousness of the food in the tone of “The God of Cookery” supporting characters.
Sima Jiao stared at her.
Liao Tingyan: “…Would you like to try some?”
Sima Jiao leaned over and ate the trembling white egg custard from her spoon.
Liao Tingyan thought: …There’s still a whole bowl there, why to snatch mine? Do you only feel comfortable eating what you’ve stolen from others?
She put down her spoon and used chopsticks to pick up a pearl-white bird egg, quickly stuffing it into her mouth. She gave Sima Jiao a fake smile. Hah, I’ve already put it in my mouth—try snatching it now!
Sima Jiao held her chin and leaned in.
Liao Tingyan: “!!!”
As their soft lips and tongues met and entwined, Liao Tingyan felt a tingle at the back of her head, as if recalling a certain moment from their previous soul communion.
Sima Jiao released her and leaned against the table, chewing the bird egg in his mouth a couple of times. Liao Tingyan instinctively licked her lips and found nothing but saliva in her mouth. When she unconsciously swallowed, Sima Jiao seemed to smile briefly, but his smile was so faint and quick that he immediately showed his annoying side again, saying, “What’s so good about this?”
Liao Tingyan wanted to stuff all the pearl bird eggs floating in the soup into his mouth, then pour the soup in through his nostrils.
The next moment, Sima Jiao picked up the bowl of pearl bird eggs and splashed both the soup and eggs into the flower bed beside them. After doing this, he seemed to pause momentarily before tossing the empty dish back onto the table.
Liao Tingyan: “…” Damn it.
Not far away, a certain Qi-surnamed young man who was late to the banquet and had wandered into this area happened to witness the previous scene. His face alternated between ashen, looking extremely unpleasant. Qi Letian recognized the intimately kissing and bantering couple—wasn’t the woman Yong Lingchun whom he had his eye on? He hadn’t even made his move yet, and someone else had already stolen a march on him. Who was that man beside her?
Qi Letian composed his expression and walked over, pretending to casually say to Liao Tingyan, “Sister Lingchun, why are you here? Weren’t you attending the Flower Night Banquet with the others?”
Then looking at Sima Jiao, “May I know who this is?”
Liao Tingyan hadn’t noticed that their previous actions had been witnessed by this person and simply said, “This is my brother, Yong Shichu.”
Qi Letian’s expression instantly froze. Various impure thoughts flashed through his mind, finally converging into four distinct characters: In-ces-tu-ous!
Sima Jiao gave him an ambiguous smile, stirring the dishes he had no interest in with his spoon. “If you have no business here, get lost.”
Qi Letian looked at them with contempt, then left with a stiff face without saying a word.
Liao Tingyan was completely puzzled: “Why did he have that constipated expression?”