"Master.."
"Are there really demons here?"
Selene asked while biting her fingertip.
When it came to words like demons, she didn't show the fear typical of children her age. Instead, she seemed quite excited.
"Yes, there are"
Receiving an affirmative answer, Selene's eyes immediately lit up. "Who is it? Is it that sister's sister? Or that sister's mother?"
Alex looked over and shook his head. "Neither"
Selene was about to continue asking when suddenly her little nose twitched, and tears uncontrollably flowed from the corners of her mouth.
"It smells so good.."
"Hungry?"
"Mm!"
Selene responded with a heavy nod.
At this moment, in her eyes, even the immortal sister was not as real as a mouthful of food.
Moreover, she had heard the conversation between her master and that sister just now. Although she couldn't fully understand it, she sensed the other party's impatience towards her master.
Coupled with what happened at the main gate earlier, Selene had actually been a bit angry.
'These people had no idea how amazing master was!'
'Yet they were talking nonsense, calling master a fraud...'
Thinking about this, Selene tugged on her master's sleeve.
"Master, let's forget about eating and just leave"
"What's wrong?"
Selene raised her little head and snorted.
"They're all big idiots who look down on Master. Selene doesn't want to eat with them"
Alex patted her head.
"But we came here to return something. Eating is just a side benefit"
Hearing this, Selene lowered her head, twirling two fingers together, feeling a bit annoyed. "If I had known, I wouldn't have eaten that pastry!"
She couldn't understand. "And didn't that sister give it to us willingly? Why do we have to return it to her?"
Alex smiled and led her towards the main hall.
"To put it nicely, this is called fate"
"What crappy fate!"
The little girl puffed out her cheeks, clearly disdainful.
But she immediately became curious again. "Then what if we don't put it nicely?"
"Not nicely…"
Alex pondered for a moment. "Hmm, let's just say we have nothing better to do"
...
...
Arriving at the banquet hall, as far as the eye could see, behind countless tables, there was a sea of people.
Whether they were elegant scholars or high-ranking officials, at this moment, they were all gathered together, toasting and chatting, mutually flattering each other.
You say "I've long admired you," and I reply "I don't deserve it"
Everyone had smiles on their faces, as if basking in the spring breeze.
This was the city lord's residence of Luoyang.
Scholars conversed and laughed, and no commoners were present.
Unfortunately, this harmonious scene was disrupted by a big and small pair of gluttons who had mixed in.
In an inconspicuous corner of the hall, Alex picked up a piece of candied fruit, made from who knows what, and brought it to his well-behaved disciple's mouth.
"Ah"
Selene took a big bite without hesitation, and cute little dimples immediately appeared on her face, showing her satisfaction.
"Thank you, Master!"
She swayed her head and picked up another tempting-looking pastry.
In the entire hall, perhaps only this master-disciple pair was truly in the mood to eat.
The two ate happily, unaware that all of this had caught the attention of a certain someone.
Young Master Wang Shaoze waved his hand, and the sycophant who had been waiting beside him hurriedly came over.
"Er Gou, look, isn't that the fraud who was stopped at the door earlier? How did he sneak in?"
Er Gou looked in the direction his master was pointing and immediately said, "That's right, it's him!"
Seeing the master and disciple who were focused only on eating and drinking, Wang Shaoze's lips curled into a sneer.
"Truly a hopeless case. With so many important people present, he doesn't even know to take the opportunity to ingratiate himself. Instead, he can only see the food in front of him"
Wang Shaoze clicked his tongue. "Ridiculous, truly ridiculous"
Er Gou hurriedly echoed his agreement. "Young Master is absolutely right. This kind of nobody who popped up from who knows where has such limited vision. How could he grasp the opportunity?"
As he spoke, he made a gesture. "Should I go and kick them out?"
Hearing this, Wang Shaoze waved his hand. He picked up a crescent-shaped cup, took a small sip, and laughed. "Why bother?"
"In the end, he's just a useless person who goes around freeloading. If you specifically target him, it would instead lower your own status"
Er Gou listened and repeatedly bowed his head in agreement.
"Young Master is indeed magnanimous and has a noble character, able to tolerate such vulgar trash"
"Enough, go stand to the side"
Wang Shaoze waved his hand, and after Er Gou retreated behind him, he picked up the crescent-shaped cup and walked towards the neighboring table.
There, a group of self-proclaimed elegant scholars were chatting with each other.
Seeing Wang Shaoze approach, they immediately beamed with joy and joked, "Young Master Wang, long time no see! I heard you recently took in two new concubines with exquisite figures. You're truly blessed and enjoying life"
"You must be joking. If you're interested, I can arrange for someone to send them to you tonight. What do you think?"
Wang Shaoze responded with a smile and a few more familiar pleasantries, easily blending into this small group.
Finally, he spared a glance at the Taoist in the corner.
Seeing that the other party was still single-mindedly eating, he felt even more disdainful, and a sense of superiority naturally arose.
Indeed, there was a gap between people.
Just like among beasts, how could the king of the mountains and the village stray dog be mentioned in the same breath?
Of course, Alex had no idea that this Young Master Wang had so many thoughts in his mind. Right now, he had transformed into a merciless pastry-picking tool.
Selene was responsible for eating, and he was responsible for feeding.
Time slowly passed like this until nightfall.
The lively banquet gradually quieted down.
Because everyone seemed to have noticed that something was amiss.
The banquet was about to end, but there was still no sign of the bride and groom!
And that Lord Ji, the legendary Miss Ji Er who knew immortal arts, hadn't come out to greet them even after the banquet had started for so long.
Some people in the hall already showed dissatisfaction on their faces.
Although this Ji Ping was the lord of a city, they were not ordinary people either.
Who present wasn't a leader in their respective fields?
There were guild presidents, officials holding important positions in the court, and exceptionally talented scholars and artists.
When had they ever been neglected like this?
"What's going on with this Lord Ji? He actually left us waiting here for so long?"
"Hmph! I say, it's better for each of us to go back to our own homes and families. If Ji Ping is going to put on airs, I won't stand for it!"
"Brother Li is absolutely right. I don't think we need to stay in this Ji Residence any longer!"
"Hey, hey, hey, everyone, don't be impatient. This old man has already sent someone to inquire and should receive a reply soon"
With these few remarks full of gunpowder-like tension, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone's expressions turned somewhat unpleasant.
They thought that if Ji Ping couldn't give a proper answer later, then don't blame them for turning their sleeves and walking out.
For a moment, the entire hall was as quiet as a crow.
Suddenly, a crunching sound rang out, sounding particularly loud at this time.
People couldn't help but turn their heads to look at the source of the sound. They saw a little girl with puffed cheeks, holding a piece of thin crisp larger than her head in both hands, crunching away happily.
The little girl sensed the gazes directed at her and instinctively shrank her shoulders, even reducing the volume of her chewing.
At this moment, a low voice spoke up beside her.
"Keep Eating"