Zheng Qing wasn't sure whether the little sprite had become livelier.
But he felt that he ought to have been the loneliest customer in the entire bar—sitting amid the noisy, boisterous crowd, yet somehow on the edge of all that revelry.
The witch in the murals on the wall danced wildly in red shoes. Candles hanging upside down from the ceiling flickered, casting trails of candlelight threaded with musical notes. In one corner, Dark Wizards traded forbidden drugs; at the next table, two Bull-headed Men clutched each other and wept. Someone else was playing mahjong, the clatter of tiles mixed with the rhythmic shrieks of sirens. One wizard had turned his head into a rabbit's and was wandering bare-bellied between the tables.
Just as that line in the books said, human joy and sorrow were never truly shared. Zheng Qing only found them noisy.
When he came back to himself, he saw Elder Zhang, his face purple, with an arm around Fatty Xin, whose head had gone blue, pouring out his grievances. In his other hand, he held a half-empty bottle of Siren Rum, drawing the constant attention of the Multi-armed People bartender behind the counter, who clearly feared the drunk would smash it over some passing customer's head.
"...Sending a bunch of rookie hunters to handle the school and Trident Sword mission!" Zhang Jixin slurred, thumping his chest hard enough to make it boom. "And making me—the most senior, most experienced hunter in the You Zui Hunting Team—go home for the New Year? Is there a bigger joke than that? It could practically make the list of the year's most ridiculous hunting team plans..."
"I thought it looked more like the patriarchal society's casual disregard for gender inequality." A cool voice suddenly rang out behind the three wizards, startling