Birthday banquet
In Mingguang City.
Xiao Ze showed the divination results to the Lord of Zhuque City. He hadn't been sleeping well these past few days and looked rather haggard.
“Look at this divination, it’s clearly an ominous sign. The plan may change. I need to go to Qing Shi City.”
No wonder he's been so restless these past few days. The divination indicates that there's a change in the plan, and it seems a powerful force is about to disrupt it.
The Lord of Suzaku City, who was engrossed in studying the formation, looked up and glanced at him upon hearing this, saying, "Could you calculate it more accurately?"
Xiao Ze rolled his eyes at him, "Do you think I'm the will of Heaven, able to point out the variables to you?"
If he were that capable, why would he have racked his brains and plotted for so many years to get rid of a Grand Elder?
“What will I do if you go to Qing Shi City? I can’t just not be able to help you at all,” said the Lord of Zhuque City.
He also wanted to go to Qing Shi City to get rid of the old bastard, the Grand Elder, but at this time, in everyone's eyes, he should be seriously injured and bedridden.
After thinking for a while, the Lord of Vermilion Bird City had a bold idea.
"Why don't I disguise myself as a woman and follow you into the city?"
The Lord of Vermilion Bird City thought the suggestion was perfect. In the eyes of the Grand Elder and others, he, Vermilion Bird, was unruly and would never disguise himself as a woman to sneak into the city.
Xiao Ze's lips twitched upon hearing this, and he rejected his suggestion, "If you want to go, go by yourself. I'm a thorn in the side of the Grand Elder now, and it'll be easy for you to be targeted if you go with me."
"Alright then." The Lord of Vermilion Bird City agreed to Xiao Ze's suggestion and told him to go to Bluestone City first.
Xiao Ze picked up his belongings, removed the disguise spell, changed into a flamboyant and bright outfit, and headed towards Qing Shi City.
He hurried as fast as he could, arriving at Qing Shi City at top speed.
In the town closest to Qing Shi City, Li Ruyue slowly stepped off the spirit ship. She had been searching for the location of the white deer for the past few days and finally pinpointed it to Qing Shi City. She specially disembarked to inquire about news in the city.
The town is small, and although there are many merchants coming and going, it has not made the town rich. The tea stalls along the roadside only sell bitter and low-quality tea.
Li Ruyue patted the dust off the bench with disgust, and wiped the table several times with a handkerchief before daring to put her hands on it.
The group of white-robed people who were following her all changed into inconspicuous clothes and dressed up as servants serving her.
After ordering a pot of tea at the tea stall, Li Ruyue began to chat with the waiter who brought the tea, "This place is very close to Qing Shi City, so why is it still so dilapidated?"
Since there was a free moment, the waiter brought tea but didn't leave. Instead, he stood aside and chatted with her, saying, "Sir, you may not know this, but although this place is close to Qing Shi City, hardly anyone comes here on ordinary days. It's only because the Grand Elder's birthday is coming soon that more merchants are coming and going."
Li Ruyue took a sip of tea and put it down, then asked in return, "Oh? From what you're saying, those who didn't have time to go to Qing Shi City that day didn't stay here?"
Since the waiter had nothing better to do, he explained to her, "Although our town is close to Qing Shi City, there is a small path that can get you to Qing Shi City faster, but the road is quite dangerous."
Li Ruyue's eyes flashed, and she asked the waiter about this shortcut.
After the tea cooled, she put down the spirit stones and led the people to the crossroads. "You take the main road, I'll take the side road. We'll meet at Qing Shi City."
The people in white robes obeyed her orders very well; at her command, everyone headed towards the main road.
Li Ruyue took the disguise pill and turned to walk down the path.
On the other side.
Mayor Zhao was taking Xiaoyu back to Lanshui Town yesterday, but the people who were supposed to see them off were delayed by other matters, so they chose to set off today.
Before setting off, Mayor Zhao's heart was pounding. He felt inexplicably anxious and restless, with an inexplicable sense of panic. He tried several times to calm himself down, but failed each time.
The person who took them back seemed to have a bad temper. Seeing his anxiety, he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, "If something's wrong, just say it. Don't keep that long face."
Mayor Zhao's expression was not pleasant. He spoke up, "Lord Fu, could you please ask Elder Qingniao to send a few more people? I'm feeling uneasy."
Fu Xiao snorted heavily and said, "Don't underestimate me. You should know that I'm one of the few people under Elder Qingniao who can speak for you."
"No, no." Mayor Zhao quickly denied it, but the other party did not give him a chance to speak, pulled him and Xiaoyu onto the beast-drawn cart, and drove towards Blue Water Town.
Fu Xiao wanted to send the person back as soon as possible and get back to help Elder Qingniao with his work, so he chose the shortest route out of the city, which was that small path.
As the animal-drawn carriage traveled along the bumpy road, Mayor Zhao opened the curtain and peeked out. He vaguely saw a person ahead, which made him even more panicked. With a forceful push, he pulled the curtain down, covering everything inside the carriage.
Li Ruyue coldly brushed the dust off her clothes, her anger rising at the carriage that had just passed. Just as she was about to take action, the token indicating the location of the white deer lit up, showing the exact location of the departing carriage.
"Found it."
Li Ruyue's lips curled slightly, revealing a cruel smile, as she swung the iron rod in her hand toward the carriage.
...
Time flew by and it was the day of the Grand Elder's birthday. Wen Zheng had been in seclusion for ten days. When she came out, she was dizzy and almost fell to the ground. Mu Qing caught her quickly.
"You go back and rest first. I'll attend the birthday celebration today."
Mu Qing looked at Wen Zheng with concern and a tense expression. Wen Zheng waved her hand to indicate that she was fine and said weakly, "I'm fine, I'll just sit down and rest for a while."
"Are you sure?" Mu Qing looked unconvinced and tried to persuade Wen Zheng not to attend the banquet, but in the end, she couldn't persuade her otherwise and could only remind her, "Something big is going to happen today. If things get chaotic, be careful to protect yourself."
"I know, you've been nagging me to death these past few days," Wen Zheng said.
Seeing that she didn't seem to care about the matter, Mu Qing sighed deeply.
The night the Grand Elder forced them to stay, Mu Qing went to Fu Man Lou to find Zhan Xin and inquire about the situation. Zhan Xin was initially unwilling to talk, but he only revealed the truth after Mu Qing threatened him with a sword.
The story is long, but the gist is that the demon clan's secret treasure used to be in the hands of the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder used the treasure many times and even dragged the other elders into trying to understand its mysteries. After being tormented by them many times, the treasure was finally about to lose its effectiveness.
When the Grand Elder and others saw that the treasure was about to be damaged, they came up with the idea of finding a scapegoat. The scapegoat they chose was none other than the Vermilion Bird Elder clan.
The story in between was tragic. In short, he was the only one left in the Vermilion Bird Elder Clan. He was also driven out of Qing Shi City by the Grand Elder and others and went to Ming Guang City, which was the most chaotic place for the demon race at that time.
A century has passed, and Mingguang City has become the number one city of the demon race. Few demons know what happened back then, and since the Lord of Vermilion Bird City never uses the secret treasure, many demons believe that the secret treasure is intact.
The reason the Vermilion Bird City Lord sent them with the feather fan was to take revenge on the Grand Elder. Vermilion Bird was just the trigger; many people wanted the Grand Elder dead, and he could easily find allies.
Thinking about the chaotic scene that might occur at today's birthday banquet, Mu Qing led Wen Zheng to a secluded corner after arriving at the banquet venue.
"We'll just watch the show here and not worry about anything else," Mu Qing reminded him again, still concerned.
"Don't worry, I'm not a soft-hearted person," Wen Zheng said with a smile, her eyes sweeping over the demons who had come to the banquet.
The Grand Elder is nominally an elder, but in reality, he is the king of the demon race. He rarely holds a birthday celebration, and many demons come to congratulate him, each one stronger than the last.
Wen Zheng and Mu Qing watched from the corner as one after another, members of the demon race offered their congratulations to the Grand Elder sitting above, and a sense of absurdity rose in their hearts.
How many of those who came to offer their congratulations harbored ulterior motives?
Wen Zheng turned her head to look at Mu Qing, and as their eyes met, they both understood each other's meaning.
Eat discreetly at the banquet, and run away when things get chaotic.
Having figured out what to do next, Wen Zheng felt much more relaxed and began to quietly organize the talismans she had recently drawn, planning to use them up later.
As she was arranging the talismans, she heard a boastful voice and a brightly dressed, strikingly handsome man appeared. His golden-red robes made him appear even more radiant.
"Elder, I've come on behalf of the Vermilion Bird City Lord to offer you my congratulations." His words were polite, but his upright posture and arrogant expression made him seem more like someone who had come to cause trouble than to offer congratulations.
Wen Zheng held the talisman in her hand, frowned, and felt that this person looked very familiar.
Wen Zheng racked her brain for people she knew, but couldn't find a match. She lowered her head and continued organizing. Then she heard the person say, "The Grand Elder is still as sharp as ever. It's a pity that the Lord of Vermilion Bird City is seriously injured and bedridden. Otherwise, he would definitely be here to offer his congratulations in person."
The words seemed to be implying something, so Wen Zheng had to look up again at the man who claimed to be from Mingguang City. The more she looked at him, the more familiar he seemed, but she really couldn't remember him.
Wen Zheng turned her body towards Mu Qing and said softly, "You definitely don't think this person looks familiar."
Mu Qing hummed in agreement. "He should be Xiao Ze."
"Xiao?!" Realizing she had spoken too loudly, Wen Zheng quickly lowered her voice and said, "Xiao Ze? He's changed his appearance?"
Perhaps the phrase "completely transformed" was too absurd, so Mu Qing pursed her lips and after a long while spoke, "This is his original appearance."
"Oh." Wen Zheng drew out the last syllable, her eyes slightly narrowed, lost in thought.
Upon seeing her expression, Mu Qing said expressionlessly, "Don't forget what I have to do. Just pretend you don't know me."
Wen Zheng nodded, her eyes fixed intently on the people who had come to offer their birthday wishes.
Even after changing into his true appearance, Xiao Ze still made sarcastic remarks to the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder was not angry. Instead, he arranged for Xiao Ze to sit down next to him and chatted with him about his recent situation.
The two had only exchanged a few words when a man with a fox fur cloak covering his upper body walked over. Wen Zheng heard many people call him Elder Lieyan.
After Elder Lieyan congratulated the Grand Elder, he had someone present him with a gift. When the ebony box was opened, a feather fan inside appeared before everyone.
The First Elder looked at Xiao Ze with a deep smile and asked Elder Lieyan, "Isn't the Peacock Feather Fan with the Vermilion Bird?"
Elder Lieyan chuckled twice, feigning ignorance, and said, "I don't know either. My subordinates brought it over, and I thought it was valuable, so I brought it to you."
"That's thoughtful," the elder praised, then, noticing Xiao Ze's expression turn ugly, smiled even more broadly.
Wen Zheng watched helplessly as the feather fan fell into the hands of the Grand Elder. Xiao Ze even pretended to be humiliated and sighed, "I still haven't seen enough."
If she were to act in it, people would really laugh.
After Wen Zheng finished sighing, Elder Lieyan clapped his hands, and someone dragged a child into front of everyone. Elder Lieyan introduced the child to the First Elder: "This child was discovered by my subordinates by accident. They said that he has the bloodline of a white deer that is atavistic, and that cutting off the deer's antlers has the effect of rejuvenating."
Upon hearing the words "White Deer Bloodline," Wen Zheng's pupils constricted sharply, and she reached for Mu Qing's wrist.
"Save people."
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