Birthday Banquet

Night had fallen. Wei Luo and Liu Changle had arrived before a grand residence in the eastern part of the city.

Two stone lions stood on either side of the gate. The courtyard within was brightly lit, and servants were waiting outside to welcome guests.

After finishing their work on the river, the two had followed the address Zhao Xiu had left them. If not for the plaque reading "Zhao Residence" hanging above the entrance, they would have thought they had come to the wrong place.

"I'd heard long ago that Brother Zhao's family was anything but ordinary. Never expected them to be such a wealthy household."

At the sight of the Zhao Residence's imposing gates, Liu Changle grinned and teased him.

Most of the people in the Sun Family Estate came from ordinary households, though there were a few exceptions.

Zhao Xiu was one of them. The Zhao Clan had originally run a medicinal business, and their family influence had once been considerable.

However, because the Zhao Clan had no martial artist capable of holding the fort, they had been suppressed for a time, and their family fortune had nearly been scattered to the winds.

That was why Zhao Xiu had devoted himself to the martial path. Only in recent years had the Zhao Clan begun showing signs of turning things around.

"Wei Luo, aren't our gifts a little too shabby? Should we go buy some jade ornaments or something?"

Having reached the entrance, Liu Changle looked at the large fish basket the two were carrying and stopped again.

The Liu Clan was also fairly populous along the riverbank, but compared with the Zhao Clan, they were nothing worth mentioning.

Now that he had truly seen Zhao Xiu's status, Liu Changle felt that what they had brought was somewhat too embarrassing to present.

The moment Wei Luo heard this, he roughly guessed what Liu Changle was thinking. He merely said calmly, "Don't worry. These two fish are heartfelt enough. Don't you know that rarity makes things precious?"

The basket contained nothing else but two koi, each more than a meter long—one black and one white.

The Hun River was rich in fish species. Treasure fish were difficult to find, but deducing the locations of ordinary fish was quite easy.

Given the size of these two koi, their rarity was no less than that of treasure fish. They would not fetch much in the hands of ordinary fishermen, but they were just right as gifts.

Liu Changle had not even learned all his characters, so naturally he did not understand what it meant for rarity to make things precious. Still, after Wei Luo persuaded him a few times, he said nothing more.

After confirming their identities, a servant led them into the courtyard.

They had arrived somewhat late. The courtyard was already filled with lively revelry.

Several tables of wine and food had been laid out, and the guests seated there appeared to come from all walks of life.

Servants attended them from all around, and quite a few drinking companions had even been hired.

Zhao Xiu sat in the seat of honor within the courtyard. Quite a few familiar faces sat at his table, all of them Sun Family crewmen. Shen Wu and the others were among them as well.

When he saw Wei Luo and Liu Changle arrive, Zhao Xiu hurriedly rose and pulled them over to sit down.

"We've been drinking for ages already. Why are you two so late?"

Wei Luo raised the fish basket in indication.

"We were preparing a gift and got delayed."

"The gift is fish?"

Zhao Xiu was taken aback when he saw the basket. The gifts he had received today had all been money.

Wei Luo and Liu Changle had brought two live fish instead, which piqued his curiosity.

Wei Luo had just been about to open the basket and show them off when someone at the table said in a sarcastic tone, "You're martial artists now, yet you're still just like those lousy fisherman trash. You don't understand the slightest bit of etiquette."

Wei Luo turned his head. The one who had spoken was Luo Sanhu.

Luo Sanhu's voice was not loud, but nearly everyone present was a martial artist with sharp senses. They had heard every word clearly, and the atmosphere immediately grew subtle.

Seeing Wei Luo look over, Luo Sanhu did not rein himself in at all. Instead, he continued, "Today is Brother Zhao's birthday. Everyone's gift money started at no less than two taels of silver. How much could your two fish possibly be worth?"

"I heard Brother Zhao helped you two find a way to make money, and you've earned quite a bit. Seems some people don't have the slightest heart to repay kindness."

"You..."

Liu Changle's temper could not possibly endure that. His face flushed bright red at once.

He wanted to curse Luo Sanhu out, but when he heard how much gift money the others had given, the words would not come out.

The reason Luo Sanhu was targeting them so fiercely had to do with Zhang Chi.

Previously, they had followed Zhang Chi into dangerous waters to catch treasure fish. Not only had they nearly lost their lives, they had also thoroughly offended Zhang Chi.

These days, they did not even dare leave the Sun Family Estate, afraid Zhang Chi would retaliate against them outside. Going out to make money like Wei Luo and the others was out of the question.

Only afterward did Luo Sanhu realize that Wei Luo had noticed something wrong with Zhang Chi from the beginning. But Wei Luo had not said it outright, which was what had led him into his present predicament.

And so, he came to bear a grudge against Wei Luo and Liu Changle as well.

Zhao Xiu had invited Shen Wu to his birthday celebration.

Luo Sanhu had forced his way into attending. To do so, he had scraped together four taels of silver as gift money. When handing it over, he had looked over the list and seen that no one had given more than he had.

He had gone to such lengths because he wanted to build a good relationship with Zhao Xiu, hoping Zhao Xiu might help mediate matters for him.

His goal was simple: show himself off before Zhao Xiu, and conveniently step on Wei Luo and Liu Changle to make himself look better.

When Luo Sanhu saw Liu Changle grow angry, he became even more smug.

"I prepared four taels of silver in gift money for Brother Zhao. That is my sincerity."

Originally, no one had said anything about gifts. But after Luo Sanhu's remarks, the expressions of everyone at the table changed.

Compared to Luo Sanhu, Wei Luo and Liu Changle seemed to be "truly" rather stingy.

Words like "fishermen" and "don't understand etiquette" buzzed through the air.

Seeing the awkwardness of the situation, Zhao Xiu hurriedly spoke up for them. "Everyone here is a friend. Gift money and gifts are the same—they're both heartfelt gestures. There's no need to fuss over such things."

Zhao Xiu did not actually care much about money, nor did he want Wei Luo and Liu Changle to lose face over this.

But Luo Sanhu refused to let it go. In a joking tone, he said again, "Since you two brought fish, why not let everyone see what kind they are? Don't tell me they're treasure fish?"

At that moment, the woman seated beside Shen Wu also chimed in. "Yes, let everyone have a look. If it's a treasure fish, we can make it into a dish and celebrate properly."

The one speaking was Li Yue. At this moment, Li Yue was almost like a completely different person from two months ago.

With bright eyes and crimson lips, dazzling beneath rouge and powder, she dressed exactly like the young lady of a great family.

Now that she had Shen Wu to rely on, she no longer regarded Wei Luo highly.

Wei Luo narrowed his eyes as he looked over Luo Sanhu and Li Yue, finding the two increasingly disgusting.

"Don't you just want to see the fish? Then keep your eyes open and see whether my fish are worth anything."

Wei Luo directly took the two fish from the basket, one black and one white.

The instant the two fish appeared, everyone was stunned.

Koi were rare enough, and ones that had grown this large were even rarer—let alone a matched pair in yin-and-yang colors.

If sold to a wealthy household, these two fish would truly fetch a good sum.

Zhao Xiu examined the two koi, clearly very pleased.

Koi symbolized the summoning of wealth. The Zhao Clan was now showing signs of rising again, and Wei Luo and Liu Changle's gift had struck straight to his heart.

"Haha, you two really brought an excellent gift. Today's birthday banquet doesn't count—another day, I'll treat you both at a restaurant."

At this, Luo Sanhu's expression stiffened. He had intended to make himself stand out, only for Wei Luo to steal the limelight instead.

The people at the table also stopped mentioning gift money. Compared with those two koi, their monetary gifts did indeed seem somewhat vulgar.

Just then, the Zhao Family's old steward led a young man into the courtyard.

"Zhao Xiu, I've brought you a treasure fish as a gift."

The young man was dressed in luxurious clothes. What drew the most attention, however, was the treasure fish being carried by the servant beside him.

Giving a treasure fish as a gift instantly overshadowed everyone else.

Zhao Xiu immediately rose to welcome him. The old crewmen at the table seemed to recognize the young man as well, and they all stood to greet him.

Even Shen Wu, who had always been arrogant, rose to his feet and respectfully clasped his fists.

"Oh? Looks like someone gave fish just like I did."

The young man was somewhat surprised to see the two koi and looked toward Wei Luo and Liu Changle.

At this moment, Wei Luo also recognized who he was: the Sun Family's Fifth Young Master, Sun Qianchuan.