The officers sat scattered around the room. The head officer, Wei, wasn’t exaggerating when he said many people had come; the tables were almost full. The leader of the group was sitting in the middle, surrounded by officers, and the atmosphere seemed quite friendly, truly like a family of justice and evil.
Chi Xulong was scared and quickly lowered his head. Despite the rumors about him being arrogant outside, that was just the image he had built for himself. When he did bad things, he either disguised himself or covered his face, and he would avoid any officials he came across as much as possible.
Now, he couldn’t hide and could only pretend to be an ostrich.
“Head Officer Wei, I’m here,” Lu Yang said with a smile as he stood up to greet him.
Chi Xulong’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Lu Yang. So, you’re the owner of the shop!
“You’ve already started eating,” Head Officer Wei said somewhat awkwardly.
“It’s no problem. What are you eating?” Lu Yang asked.
Head Officer Wei waved his hand, “With so many people, let’s not order. Just bring out whatever you have.”
“Alright,” Lu Yang replied, knowing that Head Officer Wei was thinking the same.
The officers could smell the delicious food from Lu Yang’s table and instinctively swallowed. It was mealtime, and they were already hungry, and the aroma made them even hungrier.
Fortunately, Lu Yang had prepared ahead of time. Before Head Officer Wei and the others arrived, he had his ghost helpers cook some food, so when they got there, the dishes could be served right away.
Soon, Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu brought out plate after plate of grilled skewers for Head Officer Wei and the others to fill their stomachs.
Head Officer Wei didn’t say anything, but he was grateful to Lu Yang. Otherwise, they would have to wait and smell the food for a long time, and he would surely get complaints from his colleagues when they returned.
“Let me introduce you, this is our Chief Officer, Fang Qingyun!”
Fang Qingyun politely shook hands with Lu Yang. As a Golden Core stage cultivator, he could tell that Lu Yang was also a cultivator.
Not only could he tell that Lu Yang was a cultivator, but he could also see that everyone at Lu Yang’s table was a cultivator. He didn’t say anything, as there were many cultivators who opened shops. As long as they didn’t break the law, it was none of his business.
Running a grilled skewer shop wasn’t illegal. If they occupied a table, so be it. As the Chief Officer, he couldn’t use his power to pressure others; that would look bad if it got out.
After Lu Yang sat down with a smile, Chi Xulong quietly cursed him and complained to the leader, “You bastard, why didn’t you tell me the officers were coming earlier?!”
Lu Yang felt wronged, “I thought you should build a good relationship with the officers. You should seize this opportunity.”
Lu Yang pointed to a banner on the wall, “See that? That’s the banner Head Officer Wei gave me.”
He casually made up a story, “Before I joined the organization, I specifically found a good spot and built connections with the officials. This way, whatever I do, they won’t suspect me. When they come here to drink, I can even listen in on information.”
Chu, the leader, nodded. Lu Yang’s reasoning was sound and matched the leader’s assessment.
The leader had said that these three seemed to act recklessly, but there was actually deeper meaning behind their actions. One shouldn’t just look at the surface when judging their actions.
Just based on the fact that they actively built connections with the officials, their courage and ideas surpassed most people in the organization!
“Come, let’s drink.”
After a few skewers were eaten to fill their stomachs, Head Officer Wei and the others began to drink.
As more and more skewers were consumed, the officers got into the mood, drinking round after round, creating a lively atmosphere.
In sharp contrast to the lively surroundings was the leader’s table in the middle, where they were drinking cautiously, afraid that one of them might get too drunk and spill something.
Eventually, they even stopped drinking and switched to tea.
Seeing that the atmosphere at the leader’s table was lacking, Head Officer Wei felt guilty and took his drink over.
“Come on, don’t mind us. We’re just ordinary people when we’re off duty. Coming to a barbecue shop is all about having fun and enjoying drinks!”
“Let’s have a toast!” Head Officer Wei said to Chi Xulong.
Chi Xulong cautiously lifted his tea cup, but Head Officer Wei frowned and said, “Drinking tea? Is that how you show respect? Pour some wine!”
Chi Xulong had no choice but to grit his teeth and pour himself a glass of thirty-year spirit, downing it in one go.
Seeing Head Officer Wei drinking in circles, the other officers, clearly a bit tipsy, followed suit and began drinking with the leader’s table, having a great time.
No one asked Lu Yang and his friends to drink; it wouldn’t be good if the boss got drunk.
The strength of the thirty-year spirit was too much for those at the Foundation Building stage to handle, and Chi Xulong and the others quickly became tipsy.
Seeing that they had drunk enough, the leader found an excuse to leave.
Once the boss was gone, under the influence of alcohol, people gradually let loose, and Chi Xulong and Shen Jinyi linked arms, determined to unite and make a name for themselves in the Undying Sect.
“Chi Xulong, your biggest flaw is being too impatient and too showy. You should tone it down!” Shen Jinyi advised Chi Xulong.
Chi Xulong was unhappy. He was naturally free-spirited and didn’t like being criticized: “Come on, I’m showy, and what about you? You’re just a turtle hiding in its shell, too scared to take action, letting a bunch of students do your work for you?”
“Always dodging like a coward!”
Shen Jinyi got angry: “Chi Xulong, don’t push your luck! I’m trying to help you, and you bite back!”
Chi Xulong was even angrier: “Who are you calling a dog?!”
With that, he punched Shen Jinyi in the face.
Shen Jinyi couldn’t just take that. If he swallowed his anger this time, Chi Xulong would surely take it further next time.
He picked up his drink and splashed it at Chi Xulong. Although Chi Xulong was drunk, he still reacted quickly, tilting his head to dodge, causing the drink to splash onto Bai Zifang’s face, who was watching the commotion.
Bai Zifang wasn’t an easygoing person either. After being splashed, he was determined to get back at them. He retaliated by splashing Shen Jinyi with wine and then smashed a plate in Shen Jinyi’s face.
The three of them got into a scuffle, and when others tried to intervene, they ended up getting hurt, fueling their anger.
They were just trying to help you avoid embarrassment, and you didn’t appreciate it? How dare you hit me?
You’ve gone too far!
The spirit’s alcohol content was too strong, and everyone’s heads weren’t clear. They didn’t care whether they were among officers or not; they started fighting.
Crash—
Someone knocked over a table, and things fell onto the next table.
The officers had never seen such bold people before, with cultivators fighting in groups.
And the officers were right there! If they weren’t, who knows how bad it would have gotten.
When cultivators fight in groups, it can easily lead to serious injuries or even death among bystanders, which is a serious matter that must be punished!
Seeing this, Chief Officer Fang Qingyun released his aura, directly suppressing the members of the evil sect.
“Take them away! Let them sober up in jail!”
The members of the sect instantly woke up and realized what had happened, breaking out in cold sweat.
So many people had come, and the two ghost helpers were so busy that they couldn’t keep up. Seeing this, Mang Gu stepped in personally, while Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou hurried back and forth between the backyard and the main hall, serving the grilled skewers at a visible speed.
Lu Yang lifted the curtain and apologized, “Sorry everyone, all the skewers are finished… What’s going on here?”
Lu Yang saw the unruly members of the sect sitting obediently while the officers looked at them with cold smiles.
Head Officer Wei quietly said, “Sorry, Little Lu. Your friends gathered and fought. The Chief Officer hates when cultivators do this. It’s too noisy, and people are noticing. If we don’t punish them, it wouldn’t be right.”
Lu Yang: “…”
To be fair, Lu Yang did have a mischievous intention in seating the sect members and officers together, but he truly didn’t expect these people to have the audacity to fight in front of the officers.
Meng Jingzhou frowned, “I told you not to drink; drinking never leads to anything good.”
…
On the day of the welcoming party, Chi Xulong and the others were detained for ten days due to the group fight.
When the leader, Chu, learned of this, he was stunned for a long time.
(End of Chapter)