Half an hour passed.
"Woof, woof, I can't do it anymore. I'm not in good shape today, so I can't hold my liquor. Let's... let's fight again another day!"
Thud!
Sure enough, Ning Fengzhi was the first to go down. After only six jars of wine, he was already a lightweight.
From Fu Ye and the others' conversation, Liu Erlong had just learned that the man barking like a dog here was actually Ning Fengzhi—the greatest genius of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!
Her job was actually quite simple: pour tea and urge the kitchen along. But Fu Ye and the others were drinking straight from the jars, and all the dishes had already been served, so she was simply standing there to watch the show.
"Look at that. Young Sect Master Ning is such a loser."
Fu Ye looked at the unconscious Ning Fengzhi sprawled over the table and mocked him right to his face.
"Oh? So you're saying you're really tough?"
"I'm insanely tough, okay? Toss this guy aside and let's keep going!"
In the end, Gu Rong thoughtfully carried him over to the sofa before returning to battle for another three hundred rounds.
Another hour passed.
Thud!
Gu Rong finally collapsed drunk as well, and Chen Xin took the chance to mock him.
"You old bones can't hold your liquor either! Hahaha! What a loser."
Yet the next second, he felt the scene before his eyes gradually darken until, finally—
Thud!
In the end, Fu Ye crushed all three of them with absolute strength. At this moment, he was the only one still relatively sober.
"Three lightweight losers. You don't even know how to drink."
Seeing that quite a few dishes remained, Fu Ye took a clean plate and filled it with some food. Then he turned back to look at Liu Erlong, who was still standing in the corner and secretly giggling.
"Girl, have something to eat. Otherwise, it'll go to waste."
Fu Ye placed the small plate of food on the little tea table behind him.
In the past, he never tolerated waste. Now, he simply tried his best not to waste anything.
He had thought Ning Fengzhi and the other two could really eat. Turns out they had only been drinking, leaving nearly half the dishes untouched.
"Huh? Is this for me?"
The rich aroma had long since made Liu Erlong's mouth water, but the rules here prohibited her from touching anything left over by guests. Even untouched food had to be thrown into the trash.
It was not that Fu Ye was stingy or anything for not serving Liu Erlong first. Their statuses were what they were; she was merely a newly arrived server, and if she started eating before the guests had even finished, what would that look like?
Besides, everything Fu Ye had put on Liu Erlong's plate was food they had not touched at all. There was no question of whether it was clean or not.
"Go ahead and eat. You've been secretly laughing for so long. You must be tired by now."
Fu Ye slowly rose and walked toward the three drunkards: Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong, and Chen Xin.
"No, I wasn't secretly laughing."
Liu Erlong covered her slightly reddened cheeks, flushed from laughter, and retorted.
But Fu Ye merely nodded and said, "Gathering Fragrance Pavilion stays open until nearly ten at night. Your home is in the Outer City District, and it isn't safe for a girl to travel alone in the middle of the night. There's an empty room on the top floor. If you're willing, you can stay there tonight."
Ahem, these were all Fu Ye's sincere thoughts. It wasn't that he was some pervert who would even make a move on an underage girl. The main thing was that going back and forth between the Outer City District and the imperial city for work was bound to be somewhat dangerous and troublesome for a girl.
"I'll take these three drunks to the guest rooms on the sixth floor first. Once you've made up your mind, just go to the top floor."
Fu Ye dragged Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong with his left hand and hauled Chen Xin along with his right, climbing upstairs step by step. He left Liu Erlong standing alone in the room, lost in thought.
By the time they finished drinking, it was already nearing dusk. Fu Ye had drunk quite a bit himself, and after taking a sobering bath, he returned to his room, lay down on the bed, and began to doze off.
It had been too long since he had last drunk, and his alcohol tolerance had declined somewhat.
He did not know how long had passed before someone knocked on his door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
Hearing the knock, Fu Ye instinctively opened his eyes.
Looking at the moon's position, he estimated that it was around nine thirty at night. Gathering Fragrance Pavilion should be closing soon as well.
Who would come disturb his beauty sleep at a time like this?
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
Fu Ye rose with some difficulty. Since he had just showered, he wore only his black pajamas. But he was a man; showing a little chest was not against the law, so he did not care much.
Creak.
Fu Ye opened the door, only to find the red-haired girl, Liu Erlong, standing outside.
"Hm? What are you knocking on my door for in the middle of the night, little girl?"
Fu Ye felt rather helpless. If she wanted to stay, she could just stay. The key to that room was even stuck outside the door.
"Boss Fu Ye, I want to... gulp."
Fu Ye's perfectly sculpted upper body was exposed right before Liu Erlong's eyes. It was the first time she had ever seen a man with abs like that!
"Alright, rein in your gaze. I'll take you over there."
This little girl Liu Erlong was being somewhat disrespectful to him. Had she never seen such a perfect physique before? She was staring straight at his body and swallowing. Couldn't a girl be a little more reserved?
Thus, while Liu Erlong stood there in a daze—
Fu Ye grabbed the back of her collar and lifted her up like a chick. Then, beneath her utterly incredulous gaze, he opened the door to the room and tossed her onto the bed inside, key and all.
Click.
The door shut, and Fu Ye yawned as he returned to catch up on his sleep.
Then his system gave a notification.
Liu Erlong Favorability: 55%
Hm? Her favorability rose that quickly?
But after thinking about it, it seemed normal. After all, in the original story, Liu Erlong was a hopeless romantic. Even knowing Yu Xiaogang was her cousin, she had still waited for him for more than ten years.
"Ahh, I'm exhausted. Back to sleep."
Elsewhere, in Spirit Hall's Pope's Hall, inside the Interrogation Room—
Yu Xiaogang was bound to an iron bed by six burly men, his face filled with despair. Half a year had passed, yet he still had not yielded to those men. Though he lived in torment every day, he firmly believed that where there was a will, there was a way!
He believed his Father would come save him!
"You lot, hurry up and clean this place. Put some clothes on this Spirit Hall traitor. The Saintess will be coming to inspect this place shortly!"
Upon hearing the guard's words, the six men immediately stopped hesitating. They moved quickly, and in less than fifteen minutes, they had cleaned the entire Interrogation Room until it was spotless.
After confirming there was not a trace of odor and that the room was absolutely clean, the guard went back to report.
Not long afterward, Bibi Dong arrived.
Looking at Yu Xiaogang, who was still tied to the iron frame, she was surprised to discover that the beast had actually put on some weight.
"Yu Xiaogang, Yu Xiaogang. I never expected you to still be alive. Why don't you tell me how you've felt over the past half year?"
Though Bibi Dong wore a smile, her eyes stared at Yu Xiaogang like a viper.
"Devil! You're a devil! Bibi Dong, you'll pay the price for everything you've done!"
After half a year apart, Yu Xiaogang's venomous tongue remained as sharp as ever.
"You call me a devil? Heh, perhaps I am. But what you did was far worse than anything I've done. You tortured the person I cherished for so long, and in the end, you even killed him. For that, I will absolutely let you know what it means to wish you were dead."
As she spoke, an Image Crystal suddenly appeared in Bibi Dong's hand.
"Yu Xiaogang, Yu Xiaogang. You wouldn't want Spirit Hall to spread your experiences from the past half year across the entire continent, would you?"
At this moment, Bibi Dong's smile looked as venomous as a snake or scorpion to Yu Xiaogang.
"No, you can't do this! You can't!"
Yet as his words fell, a mountain-like pile of Image Crystals appeared behind Bibi Dong.
Before you continue