noffsinger Chapter 59 Attentiveness
Chapter 59 Attentiveness
The disciples all bowed their heads in agreement, their expressions varying.
Some people were envious, some were unconvinced, and some remained calm and composed.
After Wang Zhiwei received his reward, he returned to the ranks of the true disciples.
"Third Junior Brother is truly lucky! To receive such a generous reward from Master is something we can only envy!"
Feng Shu patted his shoulder forcefully, looking proud of him, but his smile seemed a bit stiff.
Looking at the scars on his second senior brother's face, Wang Zhiwei couldn't help but smile sincerely: "Senior brother is too kind. How can Zhiwei compare to you, senior brother, for your hard work and great achievements..."
It would be a pity if such a handsome man as Senior Brother Feng had his appearance ruined.
As luck would have it, I have a "Crimson Marrow Minor Rejuvenation Pill" bestowed by my master, which can lend you a hand, senior brother...
If that Fairy Pei from the "Three Peaks Taoist Temple" were to see this, perhaps she would change her mind?
Feng Shu's face turned ugly, his pair of fierce red eyes staring intently at him. Wang Zhiwei's bringing up of the old matter was mercilessly tearing open his wounds.
"Heh... that's not necessary."
After all, it was bestowed by our master, so how could we take away what belongs to someone else? I suppose my junior brother will use it someday…”
Feng Shu gripped the scabbard with his knuckles, answering with a forced smile, gradually concealing the anger in his eyes, before turning away and remaining silent.
Wang Zhiwei chuckled silently to himself, knowing full well that since that incident, his once spirited senior brother Feng had no longer been valued by their master.
As for what it is?
Ha ha……
It was nothing more than that during one of Wang Zhiwei's missions, this senior brother Feng developed feelings for the fairy Pei from the Three Peaks Taoist Temple...
He secretly contacted Fairy Pei and had her and Senior Brother Feng put on a show.
After Pei Xianzi and he pretended to be lovers and engaged in dual cultivation using the "Three Peaks Harmony Technique," it became a real affair.
Who would have thought that this Senior Brother Feng would fall deeply in love and be unable to extricate himself from it?
After witnessing Fairy Pei's close relationship with other outstanding figures from the immortal sects, he was so enraged that he lost his composure and attacked the two of them in a frenzy.
But Fairy Pei and that talented young man from the immortal sect were no pushovers either, and they left a scar on Feng Shu's face.
After several rounds of fighting, the three hastily ended the matter and left unresolved.
Because this matter involved scandals from two major immortal sects, Feng Shu and Fairy Pei were also confined to their quarters for a period of time.
But such romantic escapades are always impossible to stop; they spread like wildfire throughout the entire sect in no time.
After this incident, Feng Shu never recovered and became a laughing stock.
In July of the same year, Wang Zhiwei successfully became a true disciple.
"Senior Brother Feng, if you have someone to blame, blame yourself for being too naive... You actually wanted to give your heart away and let that infamous Fairy Pei ruin it!"
Wang Zhiwei sneered inwardly.
Just thinking about how the simple tricks he had used earlier had been enough to bring down this promising disciple from his pedestal.
A sense of pride, belonging to the victor, arose within him.
His humble demeanor today is nothing more than a performance for his master and the elders.
The important thing is that after putting on this show, his ranking in the lineage will be eligible to be moved up.
Thinking of this, he became even more respectful and humble.
……
……
That night.
Jade Pot Peak, the bright moon hangs like a hook.
At the mountainside, in a secluded courtyard belonging only to Yao Ye, the lights were on.
There were no disciples on duty outside the courtyard gate, but several trusted servants of the Yao family were waiting under the corridor.
The sounds of string and wind instruments drifted out from the courtyard, mixed with the laughter of women, which was out of place with the usual quiet atmosphere of Lingjian Mountain.
Upon entering the main hall, a very lavish banquet was laid out on the table.
In the center of the table is a whole roasted grenadier, golden and crispy.
Surrounding the area were seven or eight exquisite dishes, all rare and precious delicacies made with rare ingredients.
"Dragon Palace Jade Slices"
Take a dragonfish with a slight dragon bloodline, and take an inch of white flesh from its belly. The flesh is as thin as a cicada's wing, sliced into snowflakes, and cooled in an icy spring for half an incense stick's time. Then dip it in jasmine dew and ginger vinegar.
"Songhe Yunzi"
This is a vegetarian dish. The resin of a thousand-year-old pine tree is taken, put into a jade bowl, and pounded a thousand times with the juice of crane's saliva grass and the marrow of cloud and stone. It is then condensed into translucent white balls the size of dice, coated with a thin layer of lotus root starch, and then scooped out after being poached in boiling spiritual spring water.
It has a chewy, bouncy texture, and when you chew it, your mouth is filled with the aroma of pine, like walking through a pine forest in the snow.
"Matsutake Mushroom Stew", "Drunken Crab", "Five-Colored Sesame Cake"...
It was an absolute feast for the eyes, enough to make one's mouth water.
There are two wine jugs on the table.
The celadon pot contained "Songheqing," a century-old spirit wine that Yao Ye had taken from the clan's private treasury.
There was also a black jade teapot, the contents of which were unknown, the lid of which was tightly sealed and had never been opened.
Yao Ye sat in the host's seat, having changed into a dark-patterned brocade robe. The pearls on her hair ornament shone brightly under the lamp, and she looked radiant and attentive.
In the main seat, Wang Zhiwei leaned back in a grand master's chair covered with thick brocade cushions.
Unlike his solemn demeanor in the main hall during the day, he wore a loose, dark-colored robe with the collar slightly open.
Wang Zhiwei held a wine glass in one hand and had his other arm around the slender waist of a young girl.
The girl looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, petite and delicate, with charming eyes and brows.
She was wearing a thin pink gauze dress and was leaning against Wang Zhiwei's chest, her cheeks flushed.
On Wang Zhiwei's other side sat a young woman with similar features but a more voluptuous figure, who was pouring him wine.
Both girls were rare beauties, and there were some similarities between their eyebrows and eyes, so it was easy to tell that they were sisters.
These two young girls were personal maids that Yao Ye brought from his clan. They were selected and trained in the Yao family from a young age, and were exceptionally beautiful and talented.
Yao Ye had always regarded them as his own private possessions and had never shown them to others easily, but today he took the initiative to bring them out.
Yao Ye raised his wine cup, gestured towards Wang Zhiwei with a broad smile, and said, "Senior Brother Wang's suppression of the beast tide this time has demonstrated his great power, which truly earns the admiration of us inner disciples."
I have prepared a simple feast to welcome you, senior brother. It is of little importance, but I hope you will do me the honor of attending.
Wang Zhiwei took a sip of wine, his gaze sweeping over Yao Ye's face, a half-smile on his lips: "Junior Brother Yao, you're very thoughtful."
"The wine tonight is quite good."
He swirled the clear liquor in his glass, brought it to his nose to sniff, and nodded slightly. "Songheqing? How many years has it been aged?"
Such fine wine cannot be bought in the market.
"It was brewed by the clan and has been stored for over a hundred years."
Yao Ye said modestly, and seeing Wang Zhiwei's expression soften, he was secretly pleased, feeling that the groundwork for tonight had been laid. He then waved his hand behind him.
Several female musicians playing the zither and flute quietly left the hall, leaving only the two of them and the two girls inside.
"Senior brother."
Yao Ye offered another toast, leaning forward slightly under the influence of the alcohol. He lowered his voice, his tone becoming both respectful and intimate, "Actually, there's something else I'd like to ask you tonight, Senior Brother."
Wang Zhiwei lifted his eyelids slightly, said nothing, and simply drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Seeing his tacit agreement, Yao Ye cautiously began, "It's like this..."
I am of dull talent and have wasted several years in the inner sect, yet I have never been able to make any breakthrough in swordsmanship.
I've heard there are still vacancies for the promotion of true disciples in the sect. I dare not hope for it, but if I could receive some guidance from my senior brother, perhaps—"
He paused, carefully choosing his words, "Or perhaps you could put in a good word for me in front of the elders? I would be eternally grateful."
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the hall paused slightly.
"Bang."
Wang Zhiwei slowly put down the wine glass in his hand, the bottom of the glass tapping on the rosewood table with a very slight sound.
The sound wasn't loud, but to Yao Ye, it felt like a muffled drumbeat pounding heavily in his heart.