The next day, We Mao, upon receiving the invitation, was grave.
Simply connecting with relatives, even had the prefect invited, was somewhat overdone.
It wasn't about the drinking; We Mao felt there was a hidden agenda to this matter, far beyond the simple intent of forging relations.
Moreover...
We Mao looked at Lu Bei's name on the invitation, momentarily bewildered. Zhu Ting hosting a banquet at Bright Moon Tower and inviting him could be understood in several ways, but what did inviting Lu Bei mean?
Needed another guest to fill the table?
We Mao couldn't comprehend, yet still decided to attend. He couldn't afford not to give respect to the prefect. After messaging his superior County Guardian, he arrived at Bright Moon Tower at the appointed time.
Bright Moon Tower laid on the bustling main street, frequented by the wealthy merchants. As a famous place for local banquets, one had to make reservations in advance.
An establishment with over a hundred years of tradition, it stuck to its rules, no matter who the guest.
The prefect was the only exception.
The owner was clear; the breaking of rules had nothing to do with the prefect. It was purely out of his personal respect for the prefect.
Lu Bei accompanied We Mao to the banquet, where he met the prefect – an admirable gentleman in his middle age who had climbed to a high position through his own effort.
We Mao had to go to the military camp the next day, so he apologized and drank three cups of tea in place of wine. Zhu Ting took no offense, saying he was feeling unwell, and switched to drinking tea as well.
After three rounds of tea, Zhu Kui extended an invitation, suggesting that he had arranged a song performance in the next room, and asked Lu Bei to come and enjoy it.
Lu Bei was familiar with such scenes. The main characters of today were Zhu Ting and We Mao. The two of them had private matters to discuss and wanted to clear the room.
Lu Bei nodded at We Mao and followed Zhu Kui to the next room. Upon arrival, another banquet was spread out before him. To his disappointment, there was not even the shadow of a person behind the half-transparent screen, let alone an actual person.
"Mr. Lu, feel free to help yourself. Let's have a couple of drinks first," said Zhu Kui.
"No drinks."
Lu Bei waved his hand, "I can't hold my liquor. I can only have two or three cups. Let's get down to business instead!"
Where is the singer? Hurry up and call her in!
"Good, let's cut to the chase. Speak straightforwardly."
Zhu Kui applauded and opened the food box in the center of the table, slowly pushing it toward Lu Bei.
The box contained a stack of silver notes. Although they had no scent, their quality was excellent, and both their face value and quantity were very appealing.
"Mr. Lu, this dish is called 'Wealth Comes Naturally.' Please enjoy!" stated Zhu Kui solemnly.
"???"
An expression of confusion crossed Lu Bei's face as he exclaimed, "So this is how they dine in a world of spiritual power."
If he had known this, why bother making elixirs? It's much more enjoyable to dine out every day!
"Mr. Lu, how do you find it? Is there not enough food?"
"It's not less, but rather quite filling."
With a perplexed heart, Lu Bei was about to inquire, but he thought better of it and first pocketed the delicious meal for later. Then he said: "Young Master Kui, ill-gotten wealth isn't accepted. You're suddenly giving me wealth; honestly, I dare not accept."
Then why don't you take it out!
Zhu Kui sneered inwardly, but laughed: "Mr. Lu, I just praised you for speaking straightforwardly. Why suddenly... Ah, I see, the misunderstanding is already past, isn't it?"
Misunderstanding?
What misunderstanding? Could you please clarify?
Don't you know, you're quite annoying!
Lu Bei thought for a moment. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, he decided to be blunt: "Young Master Kui, could you please explain in detail what you mean by 'misunderstanding'? If the prefect wants to win my cousin over... honestly, he's a principled man. I'm afraid I can't be of much help."
"Hahaha, Mr. Lu, you're so humorous! I understand your meaning. The past is like smoke, blown away by the wind as if it never happened," Zhu Kui nodded continually, thinking to himself that Zhu Ting was worrying too much. The spy was a bit greedy, but overall he was quite decent.
This was clear. The hush money hadn't even cooled down when the guy had already forgotten everything.
How professional!
What do you mean 'the past is like smoke'? What on earth do you understand?
Feeling that things were not right, Lu Bei found the silver notes in his pocket a bit hot to handle. He promptly threw them into his Universe Bag, straightened his face and said: "Young Master Kui, let's stop beating around the bush. If you don't spell out exactly what misunderstanding occurred, I'm leaving."
"Bro, that's not cool, some things are better left unsaid, it hurts relationships!"
Meanwhile, in the room next door.
Zhu Ting, holding his teacup, wavered slightly, showing a bit of embarrassment: "General Wei, is that really the case?"
We Mao remained silent for a while, then reluctantly said: "My lord, you know what kind of person I am, I have no intention to manipulate the situation. Lu Bei is not a spy, he's my wife's junior brother, he came here to lodge for a while."
"Then..."
"Misunderstanding."
"..."
Zhu Ting felt humiliated because of his self-exposure. Luckily, Zhu Kui wasn't around or he would have strangled him on the spot.
We Mao pretended as if nothing had happened, raised his teacup, had a few drinks, and then the two of them bypassed the awkward atmosphere, laughing and discussing politics.
These two officials, having been in office for many years, had their dignity and thick skin. They could laugh off any embarrassment. But the situation with Lu Bei and Zhu Kui wasn't the same.
"Damn it, you cheated me out of my money!"
"Damn it, you sold fake medicine!"
Zhu Kui was dumbfounded, so was Lu Bei. Their glances at each other became increasingly unfriendly. No wonder he had not been able to perfect the Spirit Awakening Elixir for a whole month. There was a problem with the raw materials.
He had thought that the 'Emperor's Supreme Elixir Cultivation Skill' was mediocre and that the top quality was only achievable for finished products while a masterpiece was out of reach.
"So it's you who screwed things up!"
Lu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. The quality of the Spirit Awakening Elixir affected the amount of experience he could gain. Without quality products, he had at least lost tens of thousands of experience points, which rounded up to one hundred million.
How could he bear the loss of one hundred million experience points!
Lu Bei couldn't tolerate it, Zhu Kui couldn't bear it. He slapped the table, "You brat, if you know what's good for you, hand over the money honestly, or else don't blame me for turning against you."
"Money? What money?"
"Don't play dumb, the money I just gave you!"
"Pah!"
Lu Bei spat out a mouthful of saliva and angrily said: "When you gave me the money earlier, I said I couldn't accept payment without performing any service, but you insisted on giving it. I tolerated it then. Now you want to take the money back. You're simply too unreasonable."
"You, you..."
Zhu Kui tremblingly extended his hand: "I've never seen anyone as shameless as you."
"What? A quack like you never looks in the mirror!"
Lu Bei widened his eyes: "True, look at your features, all over the place, incompatible with each other. Not looking in the mirror would indeed help you live longer."
Bang!
Angered, Zhu Kui slapped the table, lunging at Lu Bei.
"Are you sure?"
Lu Bei didn't move an inch, smirking and saying: "I don't mean to frighten you, but the governor and my big cousin are having a jolly good time right next door. You touch me and see what happens."
Hearing this, Zhu Kui almost vomited blood. He retracted the hand that was about to strangle Lu Bei and gritted his teeth, "The governor... is my uncle, your cousin is nothing more than a mere County Guardian, a nobody."
"It's precisely because the governor is your uncle and my big cousin is just a nobody that you're in deep trouble."
Lu Bei scorned: "Haven't you thought about it? The dignified governor disgracefully disclosing the family's scandal and losing face in front of a County Guardian, he must be harboring a lot of anger. Do you think good things are headed your way?"
"Ah, this...."
Sweat beaded on Zhu Kui's forehead as he drew a deep breath.
"I mean look at you. I was just refining some elixirs and didn't bother anyone, nor provoke anyone. Why are you blaming me?"
Lu Bei ridiculed: "Well now, next time I see you, I will be attending your funeral."
"This is all your fault!"
Zhu Kui grinded his teeth and couldn't come up with a response, he sarcastically said: "You never leave the front door, nor the back door. I invited you to Cloud Water Tower but you refused. You claim to be normal, who would believe that!"
"Come on, dare to invite me again and see if I agree!"
"..."