As soon as Luo Qingyu stepped out of her room, she saw everyone in the courtyard busy at work, creating quite a bustling scene.
Mu Zhongxi crouched on the ground, building a bonfire, while Ming Xuan pinched a talisman and tossed it in, sending flames leaping high into the air. Nearby, Xue Yu stood with his head down, mixing barbecue sauce, and Ye Qiao was clattering away as she set up the grill.
Only Senior Brother Zhou Xingyun leaned quietly against a tree in the courtyard, watching the busy group.
Luo Qingyu's lips twitched slightly as she asked, “Is there anything else we need?”
Ye Qiao paused and thought for a moment. “It would be perfect if we had some drinks.”
Hearing this, Luo Qingyu reached into her storage ring and pulled out a jar of wine, placing it on the stone table with a clink.
“How about this? It's fruit wine brewed from spiritual fruits. It's not very strong, but everyone should still drink in moderation.”
When Mu Zhongxi heard there was fruit brew, he clapped his hands in delight. “Barbecue paired with fruit wine—simply wonderful!”
Looking at the empty stone table, Luo Qingyu felt like something was still missing. She walked over to the small kitchen, retrieved all the spiritual fruits and ingredients stored in her storage ring, and laid out pre-prepared fruit platters and pastries.
Mu Zhongxi stared at the table piled high with delicate food, his eyes shining brightly. “Fourth Senior Brother, I didn't know you were such a good cook!”
Ming Xuan fanned himself with his folding fan and chimed in, “When we were locked up in the forbidden grounds, Fourth Junior Brother cooked for us once. Too bad you didn't have the good fortune to taste it then.”
Mu Zhongxi let out an “Ah!” before saying, “Then I must eat extra this time!”
Ye Qiao quickly stopped him. “That won't do, Fifth Senior Brother. Senior Brother hasn't even tasted it yet.”
At the mention of his name, Zhou Xingyun, who was leaning against the tree, cast his gaze over the various foods on the stone table. A glint of light flashed in his eyes as he uttered a single word: “Eat.”
Mu Zhongxi immediately wilted. How would he dare compete with their Senior Brother? He couldn't beat him in a fight anyway, so he could only hang his head in dejection.
Seeing her Junior Brother looking so downcast, Luo Qingyu said gently, “It's fine. If there isn't enough, I'll make more.”
Mu Zhongxi's gloom vanished instantly. “Fourth Senior Brother, you really are a great person!”
Luo Qingyu: ...
Just then, Xue Yu called out to everyone, “Alright, alright, come on over! The skewers are done, time to eat!”
Everyone gathered around the stone table, which was now laden with a dazzling array of snacks.
Luo Qingyu picked up a skewer, coated it thoroughly in the sauce Xue Yu had prepared, took a large bite, and let out a satisfied hum. “Mmm, delicious.”
Just as she finished speaking, 007's soft, mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind, 【Host, I want to eat some too.】
Luo Qingyu let out a helpless sigh.
Seeing this, Xue Yu quickly asked with concern, “What's wrong, Fourth Junior Brother? Is it not good?”
Luo Qingyu shook her head quickly. “Third Senior Brother, your grilling is incredibly fragrant. It's just a bit hot.”
She secretly replied to 007 using her divine sense: “I'll bring some to you when I return to my room later. By the way, how are Qiuqiu and Pikachu doing in the system space?”
007 replied immediately, its tone carrying a hint of pride, 【Rest assured, Host! The two of them are playing in the space, and they have plenty of spiritual fruits to eat. They aren't suffering at all.】
Luo Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief. “That's good. I'll bring you more pastries and skewers later.”
007 instantly grew excited, 【Thank you, Host! You're so nice!】
Luo Qingyu, who had now received her second “nice person” card: ...
Ultimately, she could only pinch the bridge of her nose in resignation. Fine, as long as you're happy.
...
Several of them took turns grilling. When it was Zhou Xingyun's turn, he wasn't familiar with controlling the heat and ended up burning his skewers to a crisp.
Seeing this, Xue Yu shook his head helplessly, quickly stepping forward to take over the skewers and finish the job for their Senior Brother.
The mouth-watering aroma of grilled meat drifted through the air, reaching the two neighboring courtyards and drawing Song Hansheng and Su Zhuo over.
Ye Qiao looked at the two newcomers and laughed aloud, “You can eat, but you have to pay.”
Song Hansheng's face darkened. Reluctantly, he tossed out three high-grade spirit stones and pulled Su Zhuo to wait on the side.
Noticing the delicate pastries and sweet spiritual fruits filling the table, he instinctively reached out to grab some. Seeing this, Luo Qingyu stopped him with a calm remark: “If you want those, that'll be another high-grade spirit stone.”
Song Hansheng stood up in a fit of anger. “Your Changming Sect is really too—”
Before he could finish, Ye Qinghan happened to walk into the courtyard, his gaze meeting Song Hansheng's.
Faced with this, Song Hansheng could only suppress his anger. With a dark face, he sat back down, pulled out another spirit stone, and handed it over. “Here.”
“Thank you, Young Master Song. Please, enjoy,” Luo Qingyu said as she took the spirit stone and casually tossed it to Ye Qiao, who was helping Xue Yu with the grilling.
Ye Qiao happily pocketed the spirit stone and looked at Song Hansheng with a beaming smile. “Our thanks to the Yueqing Sect for their generous donation.”
Stifling his irritation, Song Hansheng grabbed a pastry and took a fierce bite, only to find that it tasted completely bland in his mouth.
Luo Qingyu turned to look at Ye Qinghan, who had just arrived, and said softly, “You're here.”
Ye Qinghan nodded slightly. “I came to return your jade card.”
With that, he held the jade card out to Luo Qingyu.
She smiled and took it, taking the opportunity to invite him. “Would you like to sit down and try some of the skewers I grilled?”
Ye Qinghan paused instinctively, his gaze drifting toward the outer wall of the courtyard.
He saw Zhu You and a few others peeking over the top of the wall. When their eyes met, Zhu You quickly made a couple of hand gestures and nodded repeatedly in encouragement.
Ye Qinghan understood instantly and said softly, “Thank you.”
He walked over to the other side, sitting directly opposite Song Hansheng, and quietly waited for the skewers.
Luo Qingyu said with a smile, “Help yourself.”
Beside him, Su Zhuo was immediately displeased. Tugging at Song Hansheng's sleeve, he whispered indignantly, “Why doesn't the Wenjian Sect have to pay?”
Overhearing this, Luo Qingyu replied candidly, “I'm paying for him. Is there a problem with that?”
With that, she retrieved a heavy bag of high-grade spirit stones from her storage ring and handed it to Ye Qiao. “This is Ice-Face's meal money.”
Ye Qiao immediately adopted a sycophantic expression and nodded repeatedly. “Received, received! Eat and drink to your heart's content!”
Choking on his words, Su Zhuo hung his head and silently nibbled on his pastry, keeping quiet from then on.
Before long, all the skewers were grilled. The group gathered to eat and drink, and not a single skewer, pastry, or drop of fruit wine was left on the table—everything was swept clean.
Song Hansheng, who had a terrible tolerance for alcohol, was already completely drunk and semi-conscious. Su Zhuo had no choice but to bend down, heave him onto his back, and laboriously carry the drunken man back to their courtyard.
On the other side, Ye Qinghan proved to be a one-cup wonder. After just a single cup of fruit wine, he couldn't hold himself up and slumped heavily onto the stone table.
Ming Xuan clicked his tongue in amazement, waving his fan as he teased, “No way. The grand chief disciple of the Wenjian Sect is actually a one-cup wonder!”
Putting his teasing aside, he looked at the others. “What do we do now? Who's going to carry him back?”
Luo Qingyu quietly raised her hand. “How about I do it?”
Except for the already-drunk Mu Zhongxi, everyone else chimed in simultaneously, “No!”
At this point, the quiet Senior Brother Zhou Xingyun spoke up slowly, “I'll carry him.”
With that, he leaned down, hoisted Ye Qinghan steadily onto his shoulder, and walked straight toward the neighboring courtyard.
The remaining people in the courtyard cleaned up the mess and dispersed, each returning to their respective rooms to rest.
Rate on N.U.
