One of Us (continued)

"Wow, the smell of alcohol is strong! Hongdou, you've had a lot of alcohol too?"

Based solely on the sensation of something pressing against his back, Si Ming immediately identified the other party.

"Not much at all! I only had two cups!" Hongdou said in a slightly slurred accent.

"Getting drunk after two drinks... that's better than getting drunk after just one. She's the complete opposite of Qingqing."

"Ugh—" Hongdou pouted unhappily, "You're not allowed to mention other girls in front of me!"

Si Ming sighed, "You're drunk. Get down here quickly, I'll use my Internal Cultivation to help you neutralize the alcohol."

"I'm not drunk! I'm perfectly sober now, much more sober than usual. Don't always treat me like I'm confused. I can see everything perfectly clearly. I just pretend to be silly to fool you guys. You think I'm a little fool, but in my eyes you're the Monkey in the zoo." Hongdou chuckled.

Si Ming wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and said, "If this is the truth, then your character setting is terrifying."

"Ugh—they're treating me like an idiot again."

Hongdou angrily punched Si Ming on the head with her little fist and said, "You haven't been coming to see me lately. You must have been going to see other vixens. The number of women around you is increasing. Don't think you can fool me. Tell me, which cat is the one who's been cheating on you? Is it a classmate who admires you, or an older woman who's one of your twins?"

"An overwhelming possessiveness! Completely contrary to his usual attitude. Could it be that the wine provided by the Yuezheng Lineage has a personality-reversing effect?"

This was a side of her he had never seen before. Si Ming had originally intended to joke that all three of them were like this, but then he heard Hongdou say, "I'm going to kill her with the Purple Primal Emperor Slash!"

The end of bloodshed!

An image immediately flashed into Si Ming's mind— Hongdou was rowing a small boat, gently rocking the oars, carrying a head with a terrified expression, slowly sailing towards the horizon...

I absolutely must never let Hongdou drink alcohol again!

Si Ming immediately made up his mind, otherwise who knew what terrible consequences might occur? After all, with Hongdou's cultivation level, if she got serious and went on a killing spree, he might not be able to protect her with his own strength.

Just as Si Ming was about to forcefully activate his Internal Cultivation to help him sober up, he heard a sobbing sound behind him.

"Waaaaah... I'm so lonely. I've lost my mother and my father, and I even killed my last remaining family member. I only have you left, Xiao Ming. Why don't you come and keep me company?"

I'd much rather you be watching me paint than painting alone...

I know all this. You understand that I'm not good at talking to strangers and don't like fighting, so you didn't take me with you. But I wish you wouldn't be so understanding. Like today, you tricked me into coming out. Actually, I was very happy because it proves that you still care about me.

A damp sensation came from my shoulder, drop by drop, as if splashing into my heart.

Si Ming opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. Finally, he said something that even he found incredibly lame, "I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apology!" Hongdou suddenly stopped crying and said cheerfully, "Don't you always ignore me? Fine, now I'll make sure you can't look away from me."

After saying that, she detached herself from Si Ming's back, then with a whoosh, she took off her coat and threw it on Si Ming's head, revealing a white shirt. Judging from the appearance of her two "murderous" weapons, it was clear that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"Ta-da! Hello everyone, it's time for Hongdou's striptease! Do you know what I'm wearing underneath? There's a prize for the correct guess!"

Hao Shuai's eyes lit up, and he immediately exclaimed, "Great! I want to guess! I want to guess!"

"You're kidding me!"

Si Ming quickly removed the clothes covering Hao Shuai's head, then knocked Hao Shuai unconscious with a single palm strike. He then said to Hongdou, "Don't make it sound like a stand-up comedy routine!"

"Stand-up comedy?" Hongdou tilted her head, then suddenly remembered something. She clapped her hands, lifted her skirt, and said, "So Xiao Ming wants to see me take my pants off? Sure, you still get a prize for guessing correctly."

"It's not the 'mouth' part! Don't make something as serious as stand-up comedy sound like some kind of 'old driver.' Seriously, are you possessed by Yao Bilian?"

"Pfft, you guessed wrong," Hongdou made an "X" sign with her hands, "But even if I guessed Xiao Ming, I'm still going to take my clothes off, Xiaoming."

"Don't take it off!"

Hongdou tried to lift her clothes by pulling them up, but Si Ming quickly stopped her. At the same time, he focused his energy on his fingertips and pressed several acupoints on her body to try to immobilize her, but Hongdou's Internal Cultivation was far superior to his and she was unaffected.

"No, I'm going to take it off, and nobody can stop me today!"

Hongdou got angry and began to unleash her Internal Cultivation. The energy, which was close to that of Void Returning Great Grandmaster, reverberated outwards. Si Ming was actually unable to suppress it, or rather, he couldn't suppress the other person without harming him. Although he was strong, his external martial arts were not easy to control.

"Don't just stand there, everyone! Come help!"

However, Liu Qingqing remained indifferent and opened the ninth jar of wine; Ke Chajing stared intently at Hu Jixian to make sure he wasn't peeking; Nie Wanzhi seemed to be drunk as well, she was a heavy drinker who would pass out after just one bottle, but fortunately her behavior was much better than Hongdou's, she fell asleep as soon as she got drunk and didn't cause any trouble; Yuezheng Qiong not only didn't help, but cheered loudly, marveling at how young people knew how to have fun.

Only Murong Qing couldn't stand it anymore and came over to help, but even she and Si Ming couldn't suppress Hongdou when she got serious. Hongdou was lifting her clothes up inch by inch, and they could see the edge of her breasts. Her breasts were so big, but they didn't sag at all. She didn't know if it was because of the Monster Race's physique.

"Although it seems interesting to continue watching, it's about time; the banquet should be ending."

Yuezheng Yao also came over to help, focusing her energy in her fingertips and striking Hongdou's pressure point to induce unconsciousness. Hongdou's body stiffened, and she fell asleep.

Seeing this, Si Ming hoisted the person onto his back, hesitated for a moment, and said meaningfully, "Teacher Yuezheng's cultivation is unexpectedly profound."

"No, I've just eaten a few more meals than you. When you grow up to my age, you'll be... ptooey, ptooey, I'm still very young."

Yuezheng Yao seemed oblivious to Si Ming's veiled meaning and answered calmly.

Should he take out the Wheel-Turning King Sword and slash at it...? This thought crossed Si Ming's mind for a moment, then he abandoned it.

Today is ultimately a joyous occasion, so it's not a good time to take action. The other party invited you to their birthday party, treating you to good food, drinks, and entertainment. It wouldn't be fair to turn on them now. Besides, the feud between the two sides hasn't reached this point yet. There will be plenty of opportunities to test the waters later. Moreover, there are other classmates present. It would be terrible if you were taken hostage.

"It's already so late. You've had a lot of fun today, so we should say goodbye. Teacher Yuezheng, you also have class tomorrow, so don't sleep in too late and be late."

"Don't talk like I'm unreliable. I'm always well-prepared for class." Yuezheng Yao waved her hand.

"I suspect that Yuezheng Yao is most likely the Remote Heaven Society member wearing the peacock mask. She has the ability to Hongdou. Although her Internal Cultivation may not be as good as Hongdou's, it won't be too far off. She's at least a Spirit Transformation. And to have such an ability and still deliberately conceal it, having someone else act as her bodyguard, clearly indicates that she has a grand plan. Should we find an opportunity to test her?"

After returning from the birthday party, Si Ming approached Yu Shuying and told her what he had seen and heard that night. Although this evidence did not prove that Yuezheng Yao was the woman in the peacock mask, perhaps she was just a hidden master, but she was undoubtedly the most suspicious.