Chapter 254 Hot Pot Party (Part Two)
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Huali puffed out her cheeks forcefully—
"Toot—woo—squeak—la—ta—ta-ta"
A series of stumbling, high-low notes, completely out of tune, struggled to squeeze out of the flute holes.
Every note seemed lost, bouncing and jumping on completely wrong scales.
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, with no discernible pattern.
Ao Bai bared his teeth in hatred: He wanted to speak up for the little star!
The air froze again. This time, however, it wasn't because of the undercurrent, but because of this indescribable noise.
Huali, who had been praised to the point of being completely lost along the way by Yan Xi, was now immersed in a musical movement that only she could understand.
Just as she blew out an extremely sharp, distorted note, Lian Zhuo's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.
Wen Jin's hands, which were resting on his knees, suddenly clenched, his silent sharpness opening and closing.
Shen Yu wasn't idle either; he was firmly holding down the Lone Deer Sword, which was about to rush forward and smash the flute.
But there are also those who blatantly lie.
Besides the actor fish remaining unfazed, the actor fox's patience was also not to be underestimated. "Hmm... Little Pear's flute playing is truly unique."
“Full of…wild vitality.”
Others: "..."
The song ended.
Huali Xing blinked, looking slightly embarrassed at her "fallen" family members, and smiled slightly, "Then... do you still want to hear it?"
Everyone: "!"
"I don't want to!" Tang Wanwan showed no mercy. "What are these things? Our Yunshang Yinyu has musical instruments to play, so you'd better practice them properly from now on."
Huali scoffed and kicked away the pebbles underneath her foot. "Tasteless."
Tang Wanwan's eyebrows shot up. "What did you say to me?"
Huali retorted, not to be outdone, "You have no taste! You don't know how to appreciate things!"
Tang Wanwan sneered, "Fine, then you don't need to drink this wine either."
"Hey hey hey... Wanwan, I was wrong."
"..."
*
The moonlight was hazy, and a gentle breeze was blowing.
After the earth-shattering echoes of "Little Star," a strange and absurd calm gradually emerged.
The tension that had been building up around everyone was completely softened and released by the moonlight and the night breeze.
No one tried to kill each other with their eyes anymore, and no one was secretly competing with each other. There were only the occasional clinking of glasses and whispered conversations.
Tuowu turned around and clinked glasses with Changliu. After finishing his drink, he turned to Xiwu and suddenly said with emotion, "If we hadn't followed the Lord three hundred years ago, we wouldn't have these good days. We wouldn't even dare to dream of it."
"Sigh, thank goodness you were wise back then, and you didn't forget to pull me along when you left." Tuowu scratched his head, "Otherwise, with my brain, I definitely wouldn't have survived."
Xi Wu looked at Tuo Wu, and for a moment it was as if he saw him in a dark, smelly dungeon, handing him half a hardened, cold steamed bun that he had hidden in his clothes.
Xiwu paused, his deadpan eyes widening, and said, "No sentimentality allowed." He then quickly tapped twice on his communication stone.
Tuowu's eyes widened. "No way? You're going to keep track of overtime hours for this?"
Before Xi Wu could speak, Xia Ge had already come up to him, "That's the bad thing about your private companies, always doing this kind of pointless overtime. It's much easier for us to get permanent positions."
Xiwu turned his head. "For example?"
"There's plenty. Our work at the Undersea Dragon Palace is easy and lucrative." Brother Shrimp smiled like a seasoned veteran of the system. "During holidays, we get a set of Grade 3 spirit pills, all top-quality, and the portions are generous. If we can't finish them, we can share them with familiar shopkeepers, which are just pure spirit stones."
Xiwu's eyes lit up.
Shrimp Bro leaned closer and whispered even more, "For example, you could be in charge of purchasing some 'non-perishable' materials, like low-level talismans, spirit herb seeds, and the like. Once you establish long-term, stable relationships with the suppliers," Shrimp Bro nudged Xi Wu's shoulder, "you could 'fluctuate' the prices a little bit, and wouldn't that add up over time?"
Shiu instantly transformed from the sullen, deathly Squidward into a radiant SpongeBob SquarePants. He pulled out his communication stone, his eyes full of enthusiasm, "Hey bro, wanna add each other as friends?"
Tuowu, standing to the side, looked completely bewildered: "?"
*
Hua Li and Tang Wanwan clinked glasses and drank together. Tang Wanwan whispered, "You promised to show me the world after we came out of the Dream Realm. You have to keep your word."
"Absolutely. I'm going to be rich this time, I'll be rolling in money." Huali shook her head.
The two of them were standing head to head, and both seemed a little confused when looking at each other.
"So how are you going to do this live stream?" Tang Wanwan shook her head. "Do you need my help?"
"Of course, I haven't forgotten about giving you a share... hiccup," Huali chuckled, "I plan to do it on the 11th of next month, and call it the Double Eleven Year-End Mega Sale."
"But before that, I need to get all my money back from outside. The spirit stones I bet on the first round of the Dream of the Prophecy have doubled in value."
Tang Wanwan: "It's not just double, it's triple!"
Karin was startled. "Huh? Why?"
"Because your painting was in first place! What's going on? You didn't know that?!"
"Huh?" She didn't remember.
Tang Wanwan solved the case online: "It must have been those few people who did it. At that time, I wasn't familiar with Shen Yu, and we didn't have Xiao Niao yet, so only these three were left."
Tang Wanwan pointed at Lian Zhuo, Wen Jin, and Luo Chuan.
Upon hearing this, Huali downed the wine in her cup in one gulp. "That won't do. I have to go ask her."
*
The pot was bubbling hot, and the contents kept boiling. Even though everyone was full, no one left.
The delicate fragrance of the trumpet creeper became a gentle footnote to the everyday life of this world.
Even those who stood at the pinnacle of their respective fields, accustomed to bloodshed and endless loneliness, felt a strange and almost illusory sense of comfort at this moment.
Lian Zhuo's fingers, which were twirling the dark Buddhist prayer beads, unconsciously slowed their pace. The warm touch between her fingers remained, but her state of mind was unusually not one of serene emptiness.
Before meeting Huali, his life for hundreds of years consisted of sitting on a meditation cushion day after day, following the precepts and rules in the scriptures, and being cautious in his words and deeds as a holy son of Buddhism.
There was no fireworks, no warmth, and nothing else... This kind of "gathering" around a table, just for the sake of food and drink, was nothing more than a lively gathering.
A faint smile appeared in Lian Zhuo's eyes. So what if it's a love tribulation?
Like the moon reflected in water or a flower in a mirror, they are inherently empty and still. But since they are empty and still, how can one avoid them?
If you avoid it as you would avoid Bodhi, it's not because you're trying to transcend eons, but because you fear yourself.
"Lotus wash".
But the next moment, a girl's drunken voice suddenly came from behind him, "I have a question for you..."
The composure in Lian Zhuo's clear eyes hadn't fully settled before she subconsciously turned her head and asked, "Hmm?"
The wind stopped—
At close range, the girl's hazy, drunken eyes, seemingly filled with shattered starlight, unexpectedly met his gaze.
Warm breath, carrying a faint scent of alcohol, brushed against Lian Zhuo's nostrils like pear blossoms in full bloom when the two met in late spring.
The Buddhist disciple froze on the spot.
Too close. The two of them...are too close.
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