0p0 Chapter 249 The Banquet Ends
Chapter 249 The Banquet Ends
Chapter 249 The Banquet Ends
Thinking of this, Bai Ke picked up the wine pot and filled his cup with wine, then exchanged some polite words with Da Chuan and the others.
"You are all fellow disciples of my Tian Ce Palace, just like my own younger brothers and sisters. Today's sparring has shown me your strength. You are truly the elite of my Tian Ce Palace."
Bai Ke smoothly shifted the topic of "sparring" to "I hope everyone will work hard in their cultivation and not bring shame to Tian Ce Palace!" With that, Bai Ke raised the wine cup in his hand.
Most of the people present were quite shrewd, unlike Da Chuan who was blinded by his admiration for Bai Ke. They knew that what they had been plotting at noon today could not be known to outsiders, otherwise they would all be in deep trouble. So they stood up at the call of Bai Ke's last words.
Seeing this, the others also stood up, raised their wine glasses, and shouted in unison, "We will not bring shame to Tian Ce Palace!"
Bai Ke downed his drink in one gulp, glancing at everyone in the room. They all wore expressions of genuine admiration, and Li Le showed no unusual reaction, so he felt relieved.
As expected, a familiar voice rang in Bai Ke's mind: "Congratulations, host, you have successfully increased the loyalty of your subordinates. You are rewarded with 50 points of evil value. The All-Heavens Villain System is at your service!"
Just as Bai Ke sat down, smugly pleased with himself, the villain system's voice rang out again: "Congratulations, host, on successfully obtaining the important mission—gaining Su Ziyuan's favor. This system hereby rewards you with 500 evil points. We hope you will continue your efforts!"
Bai Ke glanced at Su Ziyuan sitting next to Da Chuan.
Su Ziyuan was holding a glass of wine, looking at Bai Ke, when suddenly Bai Ke looked at her. She quickly looked away and, as if to cover it up, drank the wine in her hand. However, she choked on the wine because she drank it too fast and started coughing violently.
Bai Ke raised an eyebrow. This little girl is shy. That's interesting. He wondered when he would be able to make this junior sister fall in love with him.
Su Ziyuan finally managed to stop coughing and quickly glanced in Bai Ke's direction. She found that he had already looked away and was talking to Da Chuan sitting next to her. So she lowered her head sadly.
"Senior Sister Ziyuan, this plum wine is sweet and intoxicating. Although it's delicious, you can't overindulge. Look, your face is all red," Sun Qingruo, sitting next to Su Ziyuan, said with concern.
Sun Qingruo joined the sect later than Su Ziyuan, so even though she was a year older than Su Ziyuan, in a place as hierarchical as Tian Ce Palace, she could only respectfully address Su Ziyuan as "Senior Sister". It was only because they interacted more often that she could call her "Senior Sister Ziyuan" more affectionately.
Su Ziyuan subconsciously touched her face, and it was indeed a little hot, but she knew it wasn't because she had drunk too much plum wine.
She didn't say much, so she replied, "Thank you for your concern, junior brother. The plum wine is fine; it's probably just the candlelight that's making my face flush."
After hearing Su Ziyuan's words, Sun Qingruo didn't say anything more and picked up a piece of roasted lamb chop and ate it carefully.
He knew he liked this calm and collected "senior sister," but unfortunately, Su Ziyuan's attitude towards him had always been respectful but not affectionate, so he figured she didn't have any feelings for him.
Looking at Bai Ke sitting in the main seat, with such a brilliant senior brother as a benchmark, no matter how hard he tries, he can never compare.
Apart from these two people with their own differing thoughts, the banquet that followed was a scene of lively conversation and clinking of glasses.
Stimulated by the fine wine and after the trials of this afternoon, everyone gradually became familiar with each other. Some even started calling each other brothers, and their attitude towards Bai Ke was no longer as respectful and distant as it was at the midday banquet, but rather much closer.
The banquet finally came to an end when the moon rose high above the willow branches. Instead of saying goodbye immediately, everyone helped Ah-Can clean up the mess before leaving. This thoughtful gesture made Ah-Can nod inwardly, marveling that he hadn't made a mistake in choosing the right people.
After seeing everyone off, Ah Can extinguished the candles in the courtyard and said to Bai Ke with a smile, "Young Master, between Su Ziyuan and Ling Xin'er, which one do you prefer?"
Not hearing Bai Ke's reply, A-Can continued, "Su Ziyuan is calm and composed, while Ling Xin'er is charming and cute. It's really a difficult choice..."
Bai Ke's voice drifted up behind A-Can: "If it were you, which one would you choose?"
Ah-Can looked up at the sky, thought for a couple of seconds, and casually said, "I prefer the cute and charming type..."
Only then did A-Can realize the ferocity in Bai Ke's words, and he unconsciously shivered in the cool summer breeze.
Ah-Can quickly tried to smooth things over: "How could I possibly have any improper thoughts about the two of them? Ling Xin'er belongs to you, young master, and it won't be long before Su Ziyuan also falls at your feet. After all, you are so handsome and dashing..."
"Are you done talking? If you're done, go back to sleep and stop spouting nonsense!" Bai Ke said to A-Can, feigning fierceness. "Tomorrow I'm going to personally test you and see if you've been cultivating properly these past few days."
"Ah? Young Master..." Upon hearing this, Ah Can wished he could slap himself a few times. Who told him to be so gossipy just now? Now look what happened! If the young master really tested him personally, with his meager cultivation level, wouldn't he be completely crushed?
"What are you 'ah' about? If you can't last ten moves against me, you'll be sorry!" After saying that, Bai Ke ignored A-Can's face, which was twisted up like a whole lemon, and went back to his room.
Although he had already taken a bath in the evening, Bai Ke had drunk some wine with everyone that night, so he decided to wipe himself down with a cotton cloth, change his undergarments, and lie down on the bed.
The room had been fumigated with dried mugwort by Ah-chan, which drove away the mosquitoes. The room was very quiet. The candles were blown out, and only the moonlight shone through the window screen onto the ground.
Bai Ke thought to himself that he had gained quite a bit today. He had not only won over a group of elite disciples from the Tian Ce Palace aristocratic families, adding to his chances of winning the Tian Ce Holy Son election, but he had also gained some evil points, from his underlings and from Su Ziyuan.
Slightly tipsy and drowsy, Bai Ke suddenly remembered the question Ah Can had asked him.
"Are you asking me which one to choose, Su Ziyuan or Ling Xin'er?"
Bai Ke chuckled. There was a saying in the world he used to live in: only children make choices.
With a smile on his face, Bai Ke fell into a deep sleep.