Birthday Banquet

Day turns to night, stars shift, and the passage of time remains unchanged by anyone's will.

Even though the City Lord was found dead in his residence, the Liu family's birthday banquet still had to be held.

Not only would the banquet be held, but it would be a grand affair. They intended to use it to draw out the undercurrents lurking in the darkness and capture them all in one fell swoop.

With the shock of the City Lord and his son both dying within two days, and with Liu Zhengde staking his reputation as collateral, the entire Pei Commandery was fully prepared to face the invading enemy here.

The main Liu family estate was located on a large plain, with a river nearly ten meters wide flowing through the middle, dividing it into eastern and western sections. The eastern section was the residential area, and the western section was the reception area. This birthday banquet would be held in the western section.

The banquet hall was bustling with people, and those with power and influence could be seen everywhere.

As the banquet had not yet officially begun, the guest of honor had not yet appeared. It was worth mentioning that Liu Tian's younger sister, affectionately known as Hua'er, was born three days ago.

Unlike Liu Tian, Hua'er inherited her father's black eyes. However, due to her young age, she had not yet grown hair, so her hair color could not be determined.

"Little Hua, Little Hua." Without any intention of meeting new people, while Liu Yun went to accompany his grandfather, whom he had only met a few times, Liu Tian was by his mother Sophie's side, idly playing with his sister. Having been traveling for nearly six days, he couldn't be bothered to think about anything else.

"Hmm?" Perhaps due to their blood connection, Little Hua wasn't afraid of her seemingly tall and strong brother at all. While her dark, glistening eyes stared intently at Liu Tian's fingers, she didn't forget to smack her lips and suck hard on her milk bottle. However, limited by her lung capacity, she could only take small sips at a time.

"So cute." Liu Tian always had enough patience and love for human infants who didn't require his care for the time being, and he continued to play with her gently.

"Alright. Stop fooling around!" Sophie cradled her daughter and gently rocked her, looking with satisfaction at the interaction between her son and daughter. "With such a grand banquet, why don't you go and meet some people? Many of them are your cousins. Your mother isn't so old that she needs you to stay by her side."

"Because I might be recognized by some people." Liu Tian shrugged, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding crowd. Many of them were family representatives who had visited him in disguise these past few days, and many were people Liu Tian knew on a one-sided basis.

Although he had learned his lesson and not only disguised himself but also made other preparations, he couldn't be sure if they wouldn't recognize him through his build, voice, movements, or even some so-called intuition.

Even though he was completely fearless now, he was too lazy to cause any trouble.

"I think you're just lazy." Sophie said with a doting smile. "Besides Wenhan and Wenqian, who else here would recognize you?"

"That's not necessarily true." Liu Tian, in a very good mood, shrugged. "Someone like me is like a white crane standing in a flock of chickens, so eye-catching. Perhaps many people have already gathered information about me?"

"I can't argue with you. Do as you please, my son." Sophie didn't really insist on Liu Tian socializing with these people, with whom he might have few opportunities to interact in the future. "Since you don't want to, then don't. What was that ancient poem from the empire? -- 'Stealing half a day of leisure from a fleeting life.'"

"It truly is stealing half a day of leisure from a fleeting life," Liu Tian said, mentally counting the number of protectors, both overt and covert, for tonight and next year. There were at least two digits worth of Fighters, and a three-digit number of fully armed protectors. Coupled with the nearby garrison troops who could be mobilized at any moment, the defensive capabilities of the entire Liu estate were not to be underestimated.

This strength, combined with the advantageous terrain, was barely adequate. At least the snake he encountered before had no chance to break through.

Liu Tian evaluated silently.

"Are those two sitting in the corner the wife and son of your Fifth Uncle that I've only heard about but never seen before?" Bai He nudged Liu Wenqian's chest. "Then my brother, whom I haven't met, looks very strong. Does he look like he can fight at first glance?"

"What good is being able to fight?" Liu Wenqian rolled his eyes. "This is the age of technology. Ten years of martial arts training is not as good as a single gunshot. Unless you cultivate to the level of a Fighter like my dad, and that's not an easy feat."

"That's true. Ever since I faked my unconsciousness last time, my dad hasn't forced me to practice the family's martial arts anymore," added the chubby Li Hua. "Practicing martial arts is tiring, and it's not very useful..."

"Exactly, exactly," Bai He agreed with deep empathy. "I think as long as we have people protecting us, we don't need to practice ourselves. I've been practicing for almost ten years, and I haven't even entered the threshold..."

The group sitting together were all children from well-connected families in Pei Commandery and a few neighboring commanderies. They had two things in common: they were of similar age, and they all had no desire to practice their inherited Secret Martial Arts.

They had known each other since they were young, and later, due to their similar circumstances and their shared desire to find a permanent way to avoid practicing martial arts, their bond deepened, and they became close friends who could talk about anything.

Liu Wenqian was always the one to come up with ideas. He held a certain prestige within their small group and was the most resourceful. The idea of Li Ye escaping martial arts training by faking a coma was Liu Tian's idea, and it had been very effective.

"Let's not talk about that. But I heard that you've all been having trouble with thieves recently?" Liu Wenqian waved his hand, changing the subject.

Giving up martial arts was always a topic they were reluctant to bring up. Except for Li Ye, who genuinely didn't want to practice martial arts, the others weren't necessarily against it.

However, they were limited by their personal aptitude, and no matter how hard they practiced, the results were poor, with no tangible feedback. After years of hard work, they hadn't even crossed the threshold, remaining outsiders. Coupled with the advancement of technology, their families didn't really need them to practice and ensure their legacy through martial arts, so they gradually gave up practicing one by one.

"Yes!" Chen Qichao, who had been silent until now, replied. He was a descendant of a family from the neighboring Changhe Commandery. "It's not really trouble, just that the family's treasure room was ransacked. The items were reportedly not missing, but it did startle my father. Otherwise, my father wouldn't have been willing to let Uncle Peng leave the family this time."

"You know, Uncle Peng has never left Changhe Commandery since I can remember. But if I can keep an eye on that little thief, I can use it as an excuse to ask to come along all the time—those cram schools are so hard to learn..."

"Speaking of which, we were also robbed. The consequences were the same. I don't know who has such great ability. From the news I've gotten, all the surrounding families have been visited, but they haven't caught anyone. They only ever see a silhouette." Bai He, who was the most well-informed, said, "According to Old Feng, he's at least a master who has cultivated a specialized Secret Martial Art to break through as a Fighter. If such a master isn't cornered in a dead end, no one can catch him."

"I'm so envious. If only I could run as fast as him, then I wouldn't have to learn so many messy things."

"Yeah, so envious..."

Just as the small groups in various places were continuously strengthening their bonds, Liu Zhengde and Liu Yun, pushing the guest of honor for tonight's banquet, arrived