Light Fortress
Chapter 714 - 202: Another Night Banquet (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 714: Chapter 202: Another Night Banquet (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Small Snow.

Late at night.

The lights were brightly shining.

The sound of clinking glasses came from the alleyways.

Gong Zi’s laughter drifted from the house, echoing beyond the long alleys.

"Ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses in celebration, celebrating... the completion of the reconstruction task of the mausoleum!"

It took seven days to completely overhaul and modify the original reversed sequence of the array patterns in the mausoleum, a truly unprecedented major project, yet the efficiency was frighteningly high.

In the old shop in the alley, there was a large round table.

Gong Zi, Mu Ya, Mu Nan, Little Iron Man, Li Qingsui, Uncle Gao, Luo Yu, Gu Nanfeng, Lu Nanjin... and the distant visitor Song Ci—over a dozen people sat around the table, chatting and laughing merrily, enjoying a harmonious atmosphere.

Gu Nanfeng’s eyes were complex; he had dealt with the trivial affairs in Changye and finally had some downtime.

For him, attending such a banquet was an unimaginable event.

It was not just him.

The five major families... it had been many years since they had experienced such an atmosphere.

The beef hot pot shop in the alley was not large, everyone squeezed together, somewhat cramped, yet it was very warm.

"This one, I toast to Miss Chu!"

Gong Zi stood up, very forthright, his face full of smiles, addressing Chu Ling who was beside Gu Shen, "Miss Chu is truly Divine."

Nobody expected Miss Chu’s commanding skills to be so outstanding.

Luo Yu also laughed, "Miss Chu, why not join the command center from now on? I’ll speak to the old man, and keep a spot for you as Commander."

Chu Ling smiled and exchanged a glance with Gu Shen but said nothing.

With her talent, taking the position of Commander was more than enough... or rather, it was indeed too much.

Strictly speaking, the entire command center couldn’t function without her leadership.

After all, the first thing a Commander did in all major tasks was to connect to "Deep Sea."

And she, indeed, was "Deep Sea."

"Miss Chu... I drink to you, do as you will!"

Gong Zi raised his glass with both hands and drank it all, his spirit bold and unrestrained.

This action greatly displeased Little Iron Man.

"You can cut it out..."

Shen Li gently tapped his glass filled with juice, rolled his eyes, and disdainfully said, "Just drink the orange juice, those who don’t know might think you’ve drunk several pounds of Baijiu."

Gong Zi, who gulped down his drink, was choked by this remark and nearly sprayed it out.

"Cough cough cough..."

Gong Zi awkwardly wiped his mouth and whispered, "The one at home is keeping an eye on me, understand, huh, if I drink too much, I’ll be scolded when I go home."

Little Iron Man noticed Mu Ya’s watchful eyes nearby.

He sneered, "So you, the future patriarch of the Gong Family, don’t even have the freedom to drink what you want outside?"

With that, he stood up and said aloud, "Brother Gu, I also toast to you..."

After the incident at the mausoleum.

For some reason, everyone he encountered in the prison was much more polite to him.

Especially the Grand Judge!

Mr. Shan actually summoned him personally... not just once, provided him with top-notch breathing techniques, seals, and particularly instructed him to ask for anything he wanted, even giving him a residence in Snow Forbidden City.

Shen Li was clueless, unaware of what had happened, but he vaguely felt that it was mostly related to Brother Gu!

At least, the fact he could return with his life from the mausoleum was because Gu Shen risked his life to save him!

He remembered this kindness deeply!

With that said.

Shen Li raised his glass and drank fully.

A satisfying long sigh.

Little Iron Man sat down proudly, lifted his empty glass, first signalled to Mu Ya, then boasted to Gong Zi, "But I’m different... I have the freedom to drink."

Gong Zi’s face was covered with black lines.

He stared at Shen Li’s glass... this guy was also drinking orange juice!

"I just genuinely like orange juice..."

Shen Li also coughed and weakly defended, "Besides, drinking too much liquor is ugly, getting dead drunk is embarrassing!"

He recalled a not-so-pleasant memory.

Sitting next to him, Luo Yu’s body jolted, obviously reminded of the same old event; the two exchanged glances, their expressions simultaneously turning bizarre.

A year ago.

At a night banquet of the Gong Family... Shen Li got dead drunk and gnawed off Luo Yu’s iron hand.

After waking up, one held his wrist, teary-eyed, running to find a mechanic for repairs, while the other grabbed his throat trying to force a vomit—unsuccessfully. The Iron Eater had gifted Shen Li with an iron stomach, and overnight, Luo Yu’s metal hand was completely digested.

It was indeed a nightmare too painful to recall.

...

...

"How does the boiled beef taste?"

Gu Shen picked up several slices with chopsticks, placed them on the plate, and asked with a smile.

The fresh upper-brain meat of the cow, evenly sliced, could stick to the plate such that even if the plate was stood up, it wouldn’t fall off. Such beef, even just briefly boiled in plain water, was a heavenly delicacy, lightly dipped in sesame sauce, each bite brought immense solace to both body and soul.

"Hmm... delicious!"

Chu Ling’s cheeks puffed out, her big eyes misty—half from the steam of the hot pot and half from tears of emotion.

During the days of the mausoleum’s construction.

Her time was fully occupied, without a moment to enjoy fine food.

She hadn’t expected... boiling beef in plain water could be so tasty!

At the table, most were reminiscing.

Chu Ling was the only one seriously eating, having barely stopped at all. Her manner was so elegant that it went largely unnoticed, especially since another "Taotie General" was responsible for cooking the meat, which meant almost no one realized she hadn’t ceased eating since the meal started.

That Taotie General was naturally Mu Nan.

Mu Nan maintained a whirlwind pace as he ate.

The main reason others came here was to catch up and chat.

But he was different.

His main purpose was to eat.

Beef, mutton, plate after plate went in... and plate after plate showed off!

This time, however, Mu Nan felt something was off. He thought he was hallucinating. Why was it that every plate of meat he put down, only half remained by the time he started to retrieve it?

There was a seasoned foodie at the table competing with him for food.

After taking another careful look around... he began to suspect he was hallucinating.

That person... was Miss Chu?!

He almost slapped himself.

He took a good look.

The one who’d been competing with him for the meat and hadn’t stopped using her chopsticks was indeed Chu Ling.

Without realizing it, Mu Nan’s goal for the meal gradually shifted. Throughout his life, whether in family competitions, he had never ranked first, but there was one thing he was always the champion of.

That was eating.

No one could eat more than him!

After continuously eating for an hour, Mu Nan belched contentedly, ready to declare victory and retreat, when he discovered a shocking thing. Chu Ling had ordered another round of dishes and then shyly smiled at him... so he forcefully swallowed the burp back down.

Was Miss Chu’s stomach a bottomless pit?

...

...

The "silent war" at the banquet wasn’t just happening in one place.

Song Ci, with his upper body still bound in bandages, raised his glass. His speech already slurred, he tried to straighten his tongue and seriously asked, "Old Gao, aren’t you really going to have a cup? This is fine liquor, I brought it from Da Du!"

The Old Gao Song Ci mentioned... could only be Uncle Gao.

Li Qingsui cautiously pulled Uncle Gao to sit farther away from Song Ci.

Seeing this, Gao Tian gave a helpless smile and said, "Sorry, Little Song, I really don’t drink."

"That’s too bad, I can only drink with someone surnamed Gu..."

Song Ci shook his head and indignantly remarked, "You don’t know him, he drinks liquor like it’s water... I can’t outdrink him!"

Gao Tian’s eyes twinkled with amusement.

Gu Shen could drink, he obviously knew, as at the last Gong family banquet, Gu Shen had drunk everyone under the table.

But... this Song, he also had a respectable tolerance.

This kind of spiritual element liquor, although he didn’t know how it was made, Gao Tian knew that even a sip would make him feel slightly tipsy, a very wild kind of "Hypnotic Wine" for Transcendents!

"It’s okay, just keep drinking to your heart’s content," Gao Tian said with a smile, "If you get drunk, after I drop off the miss, I’ll take you home safely."

Li Qingsui sighed lightly as she held her forehead.

Uncle Gao seemed to really like Song Ci quite a bit.

Just a few days.

This guest from Da Du, who had traveled a long way to the north, was already making waves in Changye.

He was a simple man, and Changye liked simple people.

Of course, there was another very important reason... his fists were strong enough, and his background was too.

"Sister Xiao Lu, aren’t you going to do something about him?"

Li Qingsui blinked, casting a pleading glance towards the person next to Song Ci. Of course, her words were not just a simple plea; over the past few days, she had noticed the relationship between the two and was now using this comment to probe the real progress between Lu Nanjin and Song Ci.

Upon hearing this, Lu Nanjin was momentarily stunned.

She was also drinking Lion Awakening Wine, but she was sipping it in small amounts, so she drank very little.

But... a flush still appeared on her cheeks.

Her cheeks turned a deeper red now, surprise mingled with a touch of indignation.

She never expected that while talking about Song Ci, the conversation would turn her way.

"Oh my..."

Song Ci laughed a bit sheepishly upon hearing this.

Behind the scenes, he discreetly gave Li Qingsui a thumbs up.

No wonder the Li Family strongly supported by the Flower Standards.

This young girl had such a sense of loyalty, delivering such an assist at a crucial moment. He would have to seize this opportunity well.

Song Ci set down his glass, looking at Nan Jin, sitting up straight in anticipation of a response.

He thought he was very sober, his face carrying a restrained smile.

Little did he know that after finishing his Lion Awakening Wine, he was sporting a broad silly smile, short of having "Come and handle me" written on his forehead.

"Pah."

Lu Nanjin took a deep breath, quickly calmed herself, and disdainfully said, "Who wants to deal with him?!"

What a terrible response...

That must be a refusal, right?

Li Qingsui felt heartbroken for Song Ci.

She clucked her tongue regretfully and then looked at Song Ci, who indeed seemed hugely taken aback, completely petrified and motionless.

Song Ci sat at the table in a daze for a long while before breaking into a foolish grin.

He pondered over that statement for a long time.

The response was "Who wants to deal with him?"

Not "What does it have to do with me!"

Clearly... he still had a chance.

Song Ci raised his glass gratefully to Li Qingsui and took a big gulp.