by Tinalynge
After the servants had withdrawn the City Lord said while smiling to all his guests, “Please dig in. Enjoy the food we have found for you, and please feel free to eat as much as you can.” Having finished his words, the City Lord sat down and instantly reached out to grab the first, best, tray in front of him. Having grabbed the tray, he piled food onto his plate. He licked his lips as his eyes gleamed. He was clearly excited about the food on his plate. Seeing that the City Lord started to get food, the many guests mimicked him. They also started piling up food picked up a little bit of everything. Hui Yue and Cai Jie, who had never been to a banquet like this before, both mimicked the guests. They each took a little bit of everything feeling curious about what they were eating.
Although the atmosphere had been tense at the start while the guests were looking at Hui Yue and Cai Jie with both worry and hesitation, they quickly started small talking with each other and the tense atmosphere slowly melted into one you would imagine belonging to such a high-class gathering.
“So young man, how did you end up in Shenyuan?” The City Lord suddenly asked while stuffing his face with a roasted leg from some animal. It looked very much like a chicken drumstick, but after closer examination, Hui Yue ruled out chicken because the meat was black and its size was closer to a turkey. Hui Yue pondered for some time whether or not to answer honestly, but in the end, he decided to be vague. He was still uncertain which kind of position he had gained in Taiyang after being the Grand Marshall of the Shenyuan Army.
“I was traveling and eventually I had no other possibility than to enter Shenyuan. Honestly, I was very curious about Shenyuan since I knew nothing about it.” He answered as he politely ate some food from his plate. Eating the food, Hui Yue had to admit that it was very high quality, but he was unsure if he could eat such rich food every day now that he was accustomed to living off as little food as possible.
Although the other experts were conversing with one another and a buzzing atmosphere was evident within the room, as soon as Hui Yue spoke everyone quieted down a bit to hear what he was saying. It was obvious that these guests were incredibly curious about what the two newcomers had to say. The City Lord quickly understood that although Hui Yue had confirmed that he was the Grand Marshall, he had no interest in telling exactly what or how he had done things. A smirk appeared on the City Lord’s face as he approved of this. Although Hui Yue was supposedly quite young, he understood the real value of knowledge. Hui Yue had previously been very outspoken. He had told his secrets to his good friends, and he had talked about his origins with Wan Qiao. He had told Xu Piao about the world above on their first meeting as well. Through trial and error, Hui Yue had learned that it was best to keep one’s knowledge close, and he had a small smile on his lips while looking at the City Lord.
“Well, since you cannot go into detail, perhaps you can tell me a little about the empire that no one can enter. What is Shenyuan like?” He asked curiously, and Hui Yue came to the conclusion that it did not matter too much to give a rough description of the massive forest.
“Shenyuan is one massive forest,” He started. “The forest is split into many parts which are controlled by Saints known as the lords of the Forest. These Saints are the strongest existences within Shenyuan. One can challenge them at any time, and the winner will become the new lord.”
While Hui Yue took a breath to drink some of the wine, the City Lord asked a question, “How many of these lords are there in Shenyuan?” Although the question seemed harmless, Hui Yue used to be the Grand Marshall of the Beast Army, and he smiled apologetically once more as he shook his head, “That I cannot tell you, your excellency,” He answered. “I will say though that I have never heard about a kingdom or empire with more Saints than what Shenyuan has at their disposal. As for how many lords, I cannot tell you as the total is something even I do not know.”
Hui Yue expected that the City Lord would become upset with such an unsatisfactory answer, but the lord did nothing but nod his head. He was seemingly satisfied with the knowledge he had gained. The rest of the evening went by with the City Lord asking Hui Yue and Cai Jie about the war and the beasts only to mostly get vague answers and a lot of apologies. Even so, the City Lord was clearly satisfied with what he had gained, and he was smiling and laughing the whole time. In the end, just as Hui Yue expected, more than half of the food was left on the table and just before the experts started to rise, the City Lord noticed Hui Yue’s frown, and he chuckled. “Don’t worry. The leftovers will get delivered to a few orphanages across the city. Although I like food, I do not like waste. The poor children can enjoy the meal.” Clearing his throat the lord gently moved all the guests into another room. This room was a library with various comfortable chairs located in clusters all over the floor. At the back were tables and the City Lord made the guests sit down as he served small canapes, snacks, and various drinks. Tea, lemonade, wine, and water were all available.
Many of the guests ended up in various groups chatting with one another, some found books to read through, while others seemingly discussed gossip or politics from around the capital. The City Lord’s eyes surveyed the room, and a laugh escaped his lips. Hui Yue had a good impression of the happy go lucky City Lord, but he was also perfectly well aware that this large man had other sides to him than what he was seeing right now.
“Once a week we hold a dinner such as this one,” The City Lord explained as he sat down in a chair with three chairs by his side. Both Hui Yue and Cai Jie sat down together with him. “It will be my honor if you would like to come and join us every week.” “I am aware that Gao Yan is one of your friends, and as such there is not much knowledge about the city or gossip that will be news to you. But there are things about the upper class which is not discussed around the servants that we do talk about occasionally. Perhaps it will be beneficial to the two of you.” He offered, and Hui Yue contemplated for some time. He did not need to think long before he accepted. He was in need of allies and these experts all seemed to have important roles in the capital. Since he had the choice to ally himself with the upper class of the Taiyang Kingdom, he might as well take it.
“Thank you for the opportunity,” Cai Jie agreed as well. As for why he agreed Hui Yue did not know, but he did not ask either. He had long since understood that Cai Jie was an enigma. He was simply too hard to understand.
Hearing their answers the City Lord’s face lit up blooming into a large smile as he leaned back in his chair. “In that case, I think the best thing to do is spend the evening introducing you two to everyone,” He explained, and slowly Hui Yue and Cai Jie walked through the entire room introducing themselves and being introduced to others. These were the patriarchs of some of the most prominent families. Some of them were of the Great Hundred Names while others were Nouveau Riche, mercenaries who had managed to buy their nobility. Although some of these experts seemed uncertain about meeting Hui Yue, he noticed that all had admiration for him seeing that he had reached his rank at such a young age.
The dinner party ended very late that night, and Hui Yue wondered whether or not his friends were still waiting up for him. A tingling appeared inside his chest once more as he thought about finally reuniting with Wang Ju Long. His face sprouted a massive smile, and his feet picked up their pace. He rushed back to the house belonging to the Rong twins and all his friends.
Chapter 299 - Sorry
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Chapter 299: Sorry
The trip to the dinner party was filled with mixed emotions, but now that Hui Yue was on his way back, only excitement and happiness filled him. His face was as bright as a star, his face couldn’t help but smile, and his blue eyes were gleaming with excitement. He was going to meet Wang Ju Long once more alongside Gao Yan. Their entire group would be together once again for the first time in years. By his side Cai Jie was smiling as well. Hui Yue’s excitement infected everything around him. Although Cai Jie did not know the people Hui Yue was thinking about he clearly understood how important
they were to the young man by his side. He could not help but smile because of the happiness his new found friend was showing.
Rushing through the city, they soon made it back to their new residence. Looking at the Asian-style mansion, Hui Yue could see that light was still shining through the windows giving him hope that everyone was still awake. Seeing this, he increased his speed running as fast as he could while smiling uncontrollably. Reaching the gates, the young man managed to run through the open gate without the guards noticing anything other than a light breeze sweeping past them. Cai Jie’s smile increased as he saw the entrance, and suddenly his skin shone with a silver hue before it returned to normal. His feet lifted about ten centimeters off the floor, and he floated past the guards while none of them noticed him. He followed right behind Hui Yue, who entered the house. Entering, his skin shone once again then as quickly as it appeared the shine was gone. He was now standing on the ground once again right behind Hui Yue.
Hui Yue had entered the house and was standing in the entrance hall. At the opposite side of Xu Piao’s work office was a small sitting area where guests could wait, but today it was filled with all of Hui Yue’s friends. Even Ma Kong was now here. Looking inside, his heart was beating rapidly as he saw all his friends waiting for him. Their faces beaming as brightly as his. Getting to their feet, Hui Yue entered the door as his heart beat rapidly while his eyes rested on Wang Ju Long. She had grown older than when he last saw her. Her hair was long and tied in an elaborate bun on top of her head. Her clothes had been changed from her usual menswear to female clothes. Small traces of makeup could be seen on her face as well. As soon as Hui Yue saw her, his heart felt as if it would leave his chest from how hard it was beating, and he instantly ran to her. He grabbed her in a warm embrace and lifting her up, spinning her around while laughing out loud.
Where Xu Piao, Deng Wu, and even Sha Yun had expected this to happen, the Rong twins, Ma Kong, and Gao Yan were completely stunned to see Hui Yue behave this way. They were even more surprised to seeing a red hue appearing on Wang Ju Long’s cheeks, and her arms hugging back Hui Yue with unshed tears in her eyes.
“You idiot!” She swore as she hugged him as though she feared he would again vanish. “Don’t you ever do that again! We were supposed to be traveling together, not you by yourself. And then you had to go and join a stupid war! Do you have any idea how worried we were here!?” She exclaimed. The usually very quiet girl who worked incredibly hard at the infirmaries to save people, the beautiful, cold girl who was known as an ice queen was currently crying in the arms of a man whom she seemed to truly care for. Hui Yue was taken by surprise as he saw the crying girl in his arms and he gently brushed her hair with a hand and held her close with the other. He whispered how sorry he was and waited for her to come back to her senses.
Her crying lasted the better of fifteen minutes before she remembered where she was and who was watching, and as she remembered her cheeks flushed red, and she wrested herself free from Hui Yue’s embrace. She quickly mumbled something along the lines of “This was… Ah, forgot work at the clinic.” As she fled from the room filled with people, leaving behind a stunned room of her friends.
Hui Yue had a sheepish grin on his face, and he went over to Sha Yun where he gave her a massive hug as well feeling grateful to have her around him once more. He also felt guilty for being incapable of returning her feelings. “Sorry,” He whispered to her as a painful smile showed on her face. Sha Yun knew both Hui Yue and Wang Ju Long’s feelings for one another. Although she tried to ignore it, it was impossible for her not to notice and she had finally come to terms with her emotions.
Releasing the snake-woman, Hui Yue went to every single person in the room and gave them all a hug and a few words of how he had missed them. Seeing them all in front of him, Hui Yue did not mind that he was in a new city, he finally felt at home once again. During the last many years he had lived in many places, and although Hui Yue had lived many places, traveled the world, and seen things he would never have guessed it had been a long time since he was this comfortable. Being able to see all his friends together was what he had needed.
“Well, we should all get some sleep,” Rong Xing finally said after Hui Yue had hugged and thanked everyone in the room, “Ming and I need to go to to the academy in the morning and the others have work. What are your plans?” She asked Hui Yue, but the young man just smiled at her and shook his head showing that he had no plans. Nodding her head, Rong Xing stood up and gently pushed everyone to their rooms. Finally, only Hui Yue, Cai Jie, and herself were left in the room.
“Both of you can stay here for as long as you wish.” She started as she personally led the two experts to the rooms they had been given earlier, “There are some problems with Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long. You will need to take some time to speak with them tomorrow before anything else,” She sighed with a sad expression on her face. Hui Yue was curious about what had happened but did not ask. He understood that his two friends would prefer telling him themselves the following day, and he respected their choice. Nodding to show that he understood, Hui Yue and Cai Jie left the room and went to their respective rooms where both decided to open the window and slowly sat down in the moonlight to cultivate their energies. Neither of the two were willing to waste even one night of cultivation as both were fully aware that they needed to step it up if they were to meet An He anytime soon.
The night went by with no trouble as everyone was either sleeping or cultivating. The moon slowly descended in the night sky. The sun rose slowly in the sky and the promise of a new day followed in its tracks. The house started to buzz with life. Life from the servants who were busy cooking breakfast and preparing all the necessities for their lords and ladies in the house. Hui Yue left his room, and as soon as he left he found that Cai Jie was waiting for him outside. Hui Yue often wondered what exactly the golden young man had planned after following him to the capital of Taiyang Kingdom. Both were aware that they were far from standing a chance against An He, yet he still seemed to be following Hui Yue around and for some reason. In any case, the young white-haired man felt a lot more calm with Cai Jie at his back.
Leaving the quarters of the mansion designated for sleeping and living, Hui Yue and Cai Jie headed towards the dining area where they found all their friends.
“Morning,” Hui Yue greeted everyone before he and Cai Jie sat down at the long table. Food was instantly served to him and Cai Jie. A massive plate filled with meats, fruits, bread, and butter. Cups of hot tea were placed by their plates, and soon Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long joined them sitting across the way. “We need to speak with you after you’ve finished eating,” Deng Wu said his eyes no longer filled with the light-heartedness he had when they were younger. Instead, a shadow could be seen, a shadow which seemed to overshadow everything else within him. Wang Ju Long had the same shadow within her eyes, and as soon as the words had been spoken, Hui Yue nodded in return. He felt his heart beat faster and worry about what could have changed his two friends this much crept into his heart. Wang Ju Long had always been a woman of few words, but she had never had such a dark aura around her. His worry grew increasingly bigger the more he looked at his friends.
He finished eating his food as quickly as he could then Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long lead him into a smaller room where the three of them sat down to talk. For the first time since Hui Yue had arrived within the capital Cai Jie did not following him. The golden young man understood that this was something personal.
Seated in the room, Hui Yue did not waste a lot of time before he looked at his two friends wanting to know what had happened.
“What happened while I was gone?” He asked with a clear, steady voice, yet as neither Deng Wu nor Wang Ju Long answered Hui Yue understood that it was hard for them to speak about it. Wang Ju Long slowly bit her lower lip as tears welled up in her eyes, and Deng Wu cleared his throat. “We did not know about it initially either,” He started slowly, “It happened while we were in the dungeons.
When we returned to the capital, we met up with the Rong twins and they told us what had happened while we were away.”
“The war of Riluo City did not end with our disappearance. Although we had been allowed to save our families, by a royal decree, it was overwritten by the third prince. He personally carried out a ‘purification’ of our families allowing only me and Wang Ju Long to keep our lives. The rest were slaughtered, neither children nor elderly were allowed to live. We were barely allowed to survive because we had taken an active part of stopping our families.”
The more Deng Wu talked, the more moist and red his eyes became. Tears ran down Wang Ju Long’s cheeks, as she sat there silently. Looking at the crying Wang Ju Long and the upset Deng Wu, Hui Yue felt anger rising up within himself. Although the royal decree had allowed their families to survive, it had been overruled by the third prince. Hui Yue gritted his teeth; his eyes looked furious and anger was roiling within as he wanted to know more about this infamous third prince so he could kill him. The anger was hard to control and killing intent rose from within, but after heaving a heavy breath of air, he got his emotions under control. He could not imagine how terrible it must have been for his two friends, and he dragged both Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long into a long, comforting embrace.
Chapter 300 - Enemies
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