Little Gathering 1

Qin Leyan had been unconscious for over a month, yet she still had not awakened. Ruan Siyao came to see her every day. At first, she had patiently waited for her daughter to wake up, but as time passed, she grew increasingly anxious.

"She's been asleep for over a month. Why isn't she awake yet?"

It was not just Ruan Siyao who was worried. Qin Che and Qin Xiaoran were worried as well, so they summoned Song Junning, Qu Lanxin, and Zheng Zefang to examine her together.

Zheng Zefang was a proper medical cultivator, and his healing skills surpassed those of Song Junning and Qu Lanxin.

After a thorough examination, he said there was nothing wrong. Her exhausted soul merely needed proper rest after so many years. Still, she could not remain asleep forever. Every few days, he came to perform acupuncture on Qin Leyan, stimulating her soul so it could adapt to her body more quickly.

After his treatments, Qin Leyan still did not wake up, but her body began to react. Sometimes her fingers twitched, and her eyes moved beneath her eyelids.

Only after seeing genuine signs that Qin Leyan was about to awaken did Ruan Siyao finally relax. At last, she had the mood to deal with Ling Ji, who had harmed their entire Household.

Yan Ke knew the fury in her heart, so when Ling Ji begged him for help while being tortured, he pretended not to know anything.

He allowed Ruan Siyao to torment her. Sometimes she dragged Ling Ji beneath a waterfall and let the powerful torrent pound against her; other times, she kicked her into an ice cave. Whenever Ruan Siyao sent Ling Ji back, Ling Ji's soul was a little fainter than before.

Yet Ling Ji cultivated illusion arts, so she had her own methods of cultivating spiritual power and repairing her soul.

Thus, the two of them entered a tug-of-war. One did everything she could to torment the other, while the other stubbornly endured and returned to recuperate.

It was their own affair. Even though the others knew about it, they had no intention of interfering. Besides, everyone thought Ling Ji deserved it, so naturally no one pleaded for her.

A century-old crabapple tree stood before Qin Xiaoran's Peaceful Residence. As the setting sun slanted westward, its golden afterglow spilled across the flowering tree, casting dappled shadows.

A gentle breeze passed by, stirring both blossoms and shadows. A faint fragrance drifted with the wind, lingered briefly at their noses, then vanished.

The scenery was beautiful, but the two people wolfing down food beneath the tree rather spoiled the view.

"Senior Brother, did you prepare enough food? Why do I feel that if those two keep eating, we won't get any?"

Meng Hongying's words drew agreement from Shen Ziheng and Feng Wuhen. Qin Xiaoran looked at the way those two were eating beneath the crabapple tree and was utterly speechless.

Both of them had already reached fasting cultivation and had lived for a century. What delicacies had they not eaten before? Yet today, they were actually fighting several teenagers for food.

Fortunately, he had prepared extra. He had originally intended for them to take it with them when they left, but now it seemed he could only bring it out early.

"Don't worry. I prepared plenty today. I originally planned to let you take some back with you. But looking at things now, you'll probably have to eat it here."

Feng Wuhen and the others were hungry too. They walked over, sat down on the stone stools, and began eating the pastries and roasted meat.

Feng Wuhen picked up a pink pastry and began eating. Sitting beside Bing Ling, he watched her gnaw on a drumstick larger than her head and reminded her, "Lingling, eat more slowly. Look at all that oil on your face. You're filthy."

Hearing that, Bing Ling raised her hand to wipe her face with her sleeve. Feng Wuhen quickly caught her hand and handed her a clean handkerchief.

"Use this. Since you like that outfit so much, don't get it dirty."

Bing Ling wiped her mouth with the handkerchief he gave her. "It's fine. Even if it gets dirty, I have the Dust-Cleansing Formula. When the time comes, all I need to do is form a hand seal, and all the grime on my body will be gone.

"But Little Feng is right. You should take better care of things you like."

Once Feng Wuhen saw that the oil had been wiped from her mouth, he poured her a cup of tea to settle her stomach.

Meng Hongying bit into a piece of fruit as she watched them. "You two really are close!"

Bing Ling raised her chin proudly at those words. "Of course! We're martial siblings. He only has me as his senior sister, and I only have him as my junior brother. Naturally, we're close."

Seeing Bing Ling show off in front of her, Meng Hongying could not help boasting as well. "My senior brothers and senior sisters are very good to me too. Since I'm the youngest, they all treat me like a little sister.

"They bring me tasty pastries, and Senior Sister even does my hair in beautiful styles. Look, Senior Sister did my hair for me today."

Seeing that the two were about to start competing, Feng Wuhen spoke up to interrupt them. "Lingling, didn't you say yesterday that you were bringing us a surprise? Hurry up and take it out for us to see. I've been curious all night!"

If Feng Wuhen had not reminded her, Bing Ling would have nearly forgotten about it. "Right, right, right! For today's banquet, I went to the back mountain and dug it up."

Several wine jars appeared in Bing Ling's hands. When she unsealed one of them, a rich aroma of wine rushed toward Feng Wuhen and the others.

The instant Shen Ziheng smelled it, he recognized what it had been brewed from. "Is this wine made from Red Yeast Fruit?"

Bing Ling conjured cups and poured one for each of them. "Your nose is really sharp. It was brewed with Red Yeast Fruit, Evening Primrose, Honey-Scented Flower, and several other ingredients.

"Momo brought it back long ago. I hid some of it and buried it in the back mountain. I heard that wine tastes better after being cellared for a long time.

"From the time I buried it until I dug it back up, it had been buried for over twenty years. It should taste better than before."

Bing Ling was not entirely sure herself. Once she had poured the wine, she picked up a cup and tasted it first.

"Mmm, it really is quite good. It's sweet and smooth. It tastes much better than the wine Elder Guo drinks every day."

Qin Xiaoran picked up a cup and tasted it. Just as Bing Ling had said, it was sweet and gentle on the palate, so much so that it hardly seemed like wine at all.

As for Elder Guo, whom Bing Ling had mentioned, he was Mount Grand Mystery's famed wine maniac. Wine never left his hand. Most of the wine he drank was strong and fiery, and even the rare bottles that were not so strong had a powerful aftereffect.

Mount Grand Mystery's elders and peak masters did not like drinking with him, because none of them could outdrink him. Only his few disciples, who had been drinking with him since childhood, had somewhat better tolerance and could accompany him for several jars.

Although Feng Wuhen felt that drinking at their age did not seem very appropriate, they were cultivators after all, so a little wine should be fine. He picked up the cup before him and drained it in one gulp.

It tasted truly wonderful—sweet, without the slightest trace of alcohol.

Feng Wuhen liked it quite a bit, so he asked Bing Ling to pour him several more cups. Seeing him drink two cups in a row and reach for a third, Shen Ziheng placed a hand over his cup.

"This wine tastes sweet, but its aftereffect is not small, especially after being cellared for over twenty years.

"Take a moment first. If you don't feel unwell later, it won't be too late to drink more."

Feng Wuhen listened and did not continue drinking. Instead, he watched Bing Ling and Xiao Yu'er compete in drinking, while Meng Hongying raised her cup and joined in. The three took turns drinking cup after cup, as if they were drinking water rather than wine.

As he watched, Feng Wuhen began to feel lightheaded, and the scene before him gradually grew blurry.

He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his head, but aside from making his eyelids more tired, it did nothing.

Shen Ziheng saw his reaction and knew that he was drunk.

"Senior Brother, Wuhen has had too much to drink. Is there somewhere he can rest?"

Qin Leyan was still lying inside Qin Xiaoran's Peaceful Residence, so it was naturally impossible to let Feng Wuhen sleep there. Shen Ziheng asked because he wanted to know whether Qin Xiaoran had a couch or reclining chair where Feng Wuhen could rest.

Qin Xiaoran remembered that there was a reclining chair in his room, so he went to carry it out. Shen Ziheng helped Feng Wuhen lie down on it, then found a blanket to cover him.