At dusk, the sun set behind the western hills.
The sky had already grown dark.
In Zhang Yifan's fenced courtyard, a bonfire burned and several lanterns were lit, illuminating the yard brightly.
After an hour of clattering and bustling about, Zhang Yifan had prepared an entire table full of dishes.
Such a lavish spread was rare even during the New Year.
It was the sort of feast one only saw at a banquet.
Old Ancestor Qilin, that Big Black Dog, had long since started drooling, wagging his tail as he darted around the table.
Queen Mother and the Seven Fairies were all amazed by Old Ancestor Qilin, the Big Black Dog. However, having already witnessed the Nine Golden Crows and heard the Jade Emperor mention him before, they did not pay him much attention.
What truly caught everyone's attention were the plates of food laid out across the long table.
Slurp~
Slurp~
Not only had the Seven Fairies secretly begun drooling long ago, but even the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother could not help swallowing.
It smelled incredible.
Just catching a whiff of the dishes, the Seven Fairies could faintly feel their cultivation realms beginning to loosen.
If Zhang Yifan had not yet taken his seat, they would have swept the table clean already.
"Grandpa, are you done? Come on over~" Eldest Princess Tianshou could not help calling out to Zhang Yifan. She was genuinely afraid she would not be able to control her mouth.
"Coming, coming~"
Zhang Yifan emerged from the inner room carrying several jars of wine. He set them down on the table with a thud. "My good son, good daughter-in-law, and my darling granddaughters, drink a hundred cups with this old man tonight! Hahaha!"
"I'll pour wine for Father." Queen Mother's eyes lit up. She had heard the Jade Emperor talk about this wine before. Compared to it, Jade Nectar was not even worth piss!
"Good, good, good~" Zhang Yifan laughed heartily as he stroked his beard.
After twenty years, this courtyard was lively again. Zhang Yifan was truly happy.
"I want some too! I want some too!"
"Me too~"
The Seven Fairies each held out their bowls, their eyes shining. The Seventh Fairy's drool had even run onto her clothes without her noticing.
"There's enough for everyone. Sit down properly, one at a time. What kind of behavior is all this fussing?"
Seeing his daughters making such a racket, the Jade Emperor put on a stern expression and assumed an imposing air.
Smack!
The Jade Emperor was slapped on the back of the head.
"You little brat, what are you putting on airs for? A family meal is supposed to be lively like this."
Zhang Yifan gave the Jade Emperor a solid whack on the back of the head. The Jade Emperor shrank his neck and smiled awkwardly, no longer stopping his seven daughters.
"Mmm~ What fragrant wine! It smells even better than the wine in Heaven~" Second Fairy Tianyang exclaimed after taking a sniff.
"Oh? Could it be that you've tasted Heaven's Jade Nectar before?" Zhang Yifan asked with a smile.
"No. But I believe Grandpa's wine must be the finest wine in the world!" Second Fairy Tianyang said with a giggle.
"Then drink slowly. This wine has quite the kick."
"Come, a toast to our family reunion!" Zhang Yifan raised his wine bowl, full of heroic spirit.
"To Father, cheers!"
"To Grandpa, cheers!"
Everyone drained their bowls in one gulp.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The instant the wine entered their stomachs, massive surges of energy erupted from within the seven fairy princesses. Yet those auras remained invisible and formless within the courtyard, completely concealed by the courtyard's energy.
Mid-stage Earth Immortal,
Late-stage Earth Immortal,
Earth Immortal Great Perfection,
Early-stage Heavenly Immortal,
Mid-stage Heavenly Immortal,
Late-stage Heavenly Immortal!
The Seventh Fairy was overjoyed!
After just one bowl of wine, her cultivation had soared directly from mid-stage Earth Immortal to late-stage Heavenly Immortal!
That exhilarating feeling was simply indescribable!
The other princesses' cultivation had improved by roughly the same amount. Each of them had crossed an entire major realm and ascended a huge step!
The seven fairies exchanged joyful looks, giggling and nodding to themselves. This was truly wonderful!
So cultivation could improve this easily, this happily!
Seeing her daughters' cultivation improve, Queen Mother was also delighted. She could not help draining the wine in her bowl as well.
Boom.
Likewise, vast power surged endlessly within Queen Mother like a raging ocean.
Her cultivation, which had long remained stagnant, had truly begun to loosen.
"Father's wine is truly marvelous," Queen Mother exclaimed.
"Exactly! Grandpa's wine is so delicious!" The Seven Fairies all nodded repeatedly.
"Do you like it?"
"We do!"
"Then come drink it often in the future! Hahaha!" Zhang Yifan laughed happily.
"Of course we will, hehe!" The Seven Fairies beamed. It would be strange if they did not move in here from now on!
"Come, eat."
Zhang Yifan invited everyone to help themselves to the dishes.
"I'll try this." Third Fairy picked up an egg with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
The moment the egg entered her mouth, Third Fairy's eyes widened, shining brightly.
Then, then she completely forgot about maintaining her ladylike image. She picked up eggs with her chopsticks as fast as a chick pecking at grain, tap tap tap, stuffing them into her mouth with incredible speed. Even when her mouth could hold no more, she still tried to force more in.
Seeing their third sister acting like that, how could the other six fairy princesses possibly wait any longer? They immediately began fighting over the food as well.
"Ah, eat slowly~"
Watching his granddaughters scramble for food as though they had not eaten in days, Zhang Yifan worried they might choke and urged them to slow down.
But how could this group of fairies possibly hear him now?
At this moment, their eyes held nothing but the food on the table!
Seeing his daughters being so unrestrained, the Jade Emperor's mouth twitched. He immediately picked up his chopsticks and joined the battle.
Queen Mother did not hesitate either. Her pair of chopsticks swept over plate after plate like flashing sword shadows. She was moving so fast she was practically a machine gun, leaving behind only afterimages.
Oh, come on!
Zhang Yifan stood in the night breeze, utterly bewildered.
No way?
What was going on?
Why did they all look like starving ghosts just from having a meal?
Could it be they had not eaten for months?
Why were they fighting over everything like this?
And look at Queen Mother, his daughter-in-law. Why was she licking the plates? She had licked them cleaner than washed dishes! This was completely unlike the elegant bearing she had shown when he first met her.
And those seven beautiful granddaughters—why were they all copying their mother? They were licking plates too, stretching out their tongues so far that they were even licking their sisters' plates.
One of his darling granddaughters was actually licking spilled soup from the table, taking little lick after little lick with her tiny tongue.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. This sight was simply unbearable.
Still, it was not all bad. It would save some effort washing dishes tonight.
Pah!
If they were not washed properly, would the plates not be covered in the saliva of that mother and daughters?
In less than two minutes, the Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, and the Seven Fairies had devoured an entire table full of food.
Not even a single grain of rice remained.
"Sigh." Seeing this, Zhang Yifan could not help sighing.
"What is it, Father?" The Jade Emperor was still not satisfied. He believed that if he ate another two meals, his cultivation would definitely break through to late-stage Quasi-Saint. He was incredibly excited.
"What is it? Stand up."
With anger in his eyes, Zhang Yifan pointed at the Jade Emperor and told him to stand.
The Jade Emperor obediently stood up.
The moment he did, Zhang Yifan kicked him to the ground.
That kick was not light. It sent the Jade Emperor sprawling facedown like a dog eating dirt.
The Jade Emperor was a little stunned. He thought Zhang Yifan was angry because they had eaten too quickly and had not left him any food.
"Sorry, Father. We ate too quickly and didn't leave you any."
"You didn't leave me any? Is that the reason?"
"Then what is it, Father?"
"What is it? Look at the husband you are! Look at the father you are! You've starved your wife and daughters into this state!"
Zhang Yifan's anger did not diminish as he pointed at the Jade Emperor's nose and scolded, "Look how hungry they are! They look like starving ghosts who haven't eaten for months. Are you that poor? Can't you even afford food? Huh?!"
"Ah, this..."
The Jade Emperor did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had thought something serious had caused the old man to fly into such a rage.
So it was because Queen Mother and his daughters had wolfed down the food, making Zhang Yifan think they normally had nothing to eat.
What a joke!
How could the dignified Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor's precious daughters possibly lack food?
They could have anything they wanted!
But no matter how exquisite Heaven's delicacies were, they could not compare to even a grain of rice from the old man's bowl!
Queen Mother and the fairies had been startled at first, but after hearing Zhang Yifan's words, they relaxed. Their hearts grew even warmer.
So Grandpa was worried about us!
Seeing the mighty Heavenly Emperor of Heaven, Haotian Shangdi, kicked to the ground and then scolded while being pointed at the nose by Zhang Yifan, the Seven Fairies could not help covering their mouths and laughing.
Such a warm scene had not appeared in millions of years.
"Father, you misunderstood."
"Yes, Grandpa, you misunderstood."
Queen Mother and the fairies all stepped forward to persuade him.
"It's just that Grandpa's food is too delicious, too exquisite. We drool when we smell it, and once we start eating, we simply cannot stop. Our hands and feet just wouldn't listen to us. We only wanted to keep eating."
The Seven Fairies hurriedly spoke up for their father, the Jade Emperor.
"That's right, Father. It was truly too delicious. Your cooking is incredible, Father, so we couldn't help ourselves. We just couldn't stop." Queen Mother echoed.
"Really?"
"Really!"
"That's good." Only then did Zhang Yifan's anger fade. He pointed at the Jade Emperor and told his granddaughters, "If your father ever refuses to let you eat your fill or drink your fill, tell Grandpa. I'll whip his backside!"
"Okay, Grandpa! Hehe!"
The Seven Fairies giggled.
Only the Jade Emperor stood in the night breeze, utterly dazed.
Who am I? Where am I? Am I still the Jade Emperor? Do I have any dignity left as the Heavenly Emperor? The Jade Emperor felt like crying without tears.
Afterward, Zhang Yifan cleared away the bowls and chopsticks before making several more small dishes.
This time, the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother behaved themselves.
The fairies did not eat anymore either. They knew those were Grandpa's drinking snacks and could not be snatched away again.
The seven fairy princesses ran beneath the large tree in the courtyard to play with the birds.
Yes, that was right, they had gone to play with the birds~
Before you continue