As the banquet began, everyone started to loosen up, especially Zhao Xin and Liu Chuang, who revealed their true selves after a few drinks.
"Angel sister, do you have any other angel sisters who need a male god? What do you think about me?" Zhao Xin, emboldened by the alcohol, cozied up to Angel Leng, trying to flatter her.
Zhao Xin had given up hope of pursuing Di Leina, and with Ge Xiaolun liking Qiangwei, he didn't want to get involved. In Zhao Xin's eyes, Qilin and Ruimengmeng had nothing to do with him, so he set his sights on the angel girls instead. After all, among his three best friends, two had already found angel wives, and Zhao Xin didn't want to be left behind.
When Zhao Xin approached Angel Leng, her instinct was to frown, but she quickly relaxed, remembering that Zhao Xin would be Ge Xiaolun's future deputy.
"You're Xiaolun's brother, and I have plenty of single sisters. Leave it to me. I'll ask around when I get back to see if any of them are interested in the Spear of De Xing," Angel Leng said, deciding to take Zhao Xin's future into her own hands, while also recalling if there were any suitable young angels among the new arrivals.
"Thank you, Sister Leng! I'll leave my future in your hands," Zhao Xin said, completely abandoning any sense of shame in his quest to find a partner. Hearing Angel Leng's agreement, he immediately started bowing and expressing his joy. Zhao Xin felt that Angel Leng and Ge Xiaolun were a perfect match; even before they were officially together, she was already helping his brother solve personal problems. He imagined that once they were together, Ge Xiaolun would be the happiest man alive.
Watching Zhao Xin's sycophantic behavior towards Angel Leng, Di Leina felt a wave of displeasure. But since it was a happy occasion and she wasn't really interested in Zhao Xin, she decided to let it go. However, the petty Goddess of the Dawn made a mental note to double Zhao Xin's training later, to ensure that he wouldn't be too exhausted to satisfy an angel.
"Xiaolun, let's drink," Liu Chuang said, noticing Ge Xiaolun's eyes darting between Du Qiangwei and Angel Leng, understanding the dilemma his brother was facing.
"Yeah, let's drink," Ge Xiaolun replied, raising his beer to clink with Liu Chuang's before downing it straight from the bottle.
"Cheers, brother," Liu Chuang responded. He was also a straightforward guy, and seeing Ge Xiaolun drinking from the bottle, he did the same.
"Brother, don't overthink it. I heard from Sister Lingxi that Sister Leng seems to have made some kind of vow for you, though I didn't quite understand it. But the gist of it is that she's probably already considered your wife in the angel's eyes," Liu Chuang said, trying to help his brother out.
"What? How is she already considered my wife? What about Qiangwei?" Ge Xiaolun was startled by Liu Chuang's words. How could he suddenly be married when he hadn't even decided who to choose yet?
At that moment, Ge Xiaolun's face displayed a mix of emotions—happiness, disappointment, and reproach—all rapidly changing.
"Brother, stop making faces. I just finished drinking, and it's making me dizzy," Liu Chuang said, feeling a bit nauseous from Ge Xiaolun's ever-changing expressions, though he admired his brother's ability to do so. But he had drunk too much and couldn't handle it anymore. If it continued, Liu Chuang feared he might end up vomiting.
Hearing Liu Chuang's words, Ge Xiaolun's expression became even more unpleasant, but he decided to ignore Liu Chuang. At that moment, he thought of the public favorite, "Jingjing."
Zhao Xin was still busy trying to flatter Angel Leng, while Ge Xiaolun went off to find the public favorite, and Liu Chuang, a bit tipsy, went to find Sister Lingxi.
Now, the only men left at the table were Cheng Yaowen, Sun Wukong, and Zhang Zheng. Sun Wukong was a monk and didn't drink with everyone. Zhang Zheng and Cheng Yaowen sat together, with Cheng Yaowen being more reserved and not yet drunk. As for Zhang Zheng, he hadn't gotten drunk since that one time on Lieyang Star.
"Yaowen, come with me for a moment. I need to talk to you," Zhang Zheng said, standing up and taking a bottle of wine, walking over to Cheng Yaowen and pulling him up.
"Hmm, what's the matter?" Cheng Yaowen asked, confused, but he still followed Zhang Zheng to a quiet spot, where they sat down on the ground, not caring about the dirt.
"Yaowen, you know about Leina's identity, right?" Zhang Zheng asked after taking a sip of wine.
"Yeah, she's the Goddess of the Sun from Lieyang Star, the granddaughter of the old Sun God," Cheng Yaowen replied, his face showing a flash of hatred at the mention of the old Sun God, his expression turning menacing, and his teeth grinding audibly.
"Do you hate Leina?" Zhang Zheng asked calmly, seemingly unfazed by Cheng Yaowen's menacing face.
"Leina? No, I don't hate her," Cheng Yaowen said. "It wasn't her who blew up the Deno Galaxy, and besides, she's just a childish girl who happens to call herself a goddess."
Cheng Yaowen was rational and kind, so he hadn't transferred his hatred to Di Leina, especially after seeing her often childish behavior. A rare smile appeared on Cheng Yaowen's normally grim face.
"'The earth's capacity is like that of a gentleman, who sustains all things with his great virtue.' Yaowen, you truly live up to being the heir of the Guangdun family and the Heart of the Earth. Your magnanimity is admirable," Zhang Zheng said sincerely.
This wasn't just flattery—Cheng Yaowen indeed had a broad mind, which was evident even in the original story.
"Heh, Zhang Zheng, what's gotten into you today? You didn't call me over just to praise me, did you?" Cheng Yaowen laughed. It had been a long time since anyone had remembered the Guangdun family and their legacy of great virtue. He hadn't expected Zhang Zheng to know about it.
"Yaowen, do you know the story from back then?" Zhang Zheng asked, ignoring Cheng Yaowen's teasing and instead asking about the past.
Although Cheng Yaowen didn't know why Zhang Zheng kept bringing up painful memories, he knew Zhang Zheng wouldn't do so without reason, so he told Zhang Zheng everything he knew.
"Heh, Yaowen, do you want to know why the Sun God got involved in your war back then?" Zhang Zheng asked after hearing Cheng Yaowen's account, realizing that the young Cheng Yaowen hadn't known the full truth.
"Hmm, do you know what happened back then?" Cheng Yaowen asked, not rushing Zhang Zheng to recount the past, but instead curious about how Zhang Zheng knew.
After all, even Di Leina wasn't fully aware of the events of that time.
"I've been to Lieyang Star, as you all know. What you might not know is that I fought their guardian for two months. During those two months, we talked a lot about what happened back then. Maybe it was because I helped them restore Lieyang Star, but they didn't hide anything from me, so I found out," Zhang Zheng explained, knowing that Cheng Yaowen might not believe him, but he understood that it was natural. After all, if someone randomly told you they knew about your ancestors, you'd probably want to punch them.
"Oh, then tell me about it. Dukao never told me," Cheng Yaowen said, trusting Zhang Zheng since he couldn't think of a reason for him to lie.
Zhang Zheng then recounted what Pan Zhen had told him.
"So, it was our internal conflict that dragged Leina's father into it and got him killed, causing the Sun God to go mad and blow up the Deno Galaxy's sun," Cheng Yaowen said, finally understanding why his father had asked him to let go of his hatred. They had inadvertently killed someone who was trying to break up their fight, and then his family sought revenge. How could he still hold a grudge?
Zhang Zheng watched as Cheng Yaowen's expression gradually softened, feeling much better.
"Have you let it go?" Zhang Zheng asked with a smile.
"Yes, I have," Cheng Yaowen replied with a smile. After saying these three words, Cheng Yaowen felt a long-standing gloom lift from his heart. His smile became more natural, and even the Heart of the Earth, which had been stagnant for a long time, became more active and easier to control.