Monarch of Evernight (Web Novel)
chapter-677

[V6C207 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

A fiery scene welcomed Qianye as he walked into the courtyard. The eyes of the noble ladies were practically ablaze, and neither of them showed any intention of concealing their desire for him. If gazes contained literal heat, they could’ve refined him by now.

Needless to say, Qianye’s appearance—influenced by his ancient vampire bloodline—was a level higher than Song Zining. All this time, Qianye had been killing constantly on the battlefield, and the people around him were mostly shaken by his terrifying accomplishments and combat strength. They had naturally overlooked how he looked since that was the most useless thing in war—it wasn’t as though the enemy would hold back because he was handsome. The attacks would go on all the same, just as they should.

However, these noble ladies had lived sheltered lives and had never been to the battlefield. Their cultivation talents were fairly mediocre, with the better ones among them being at rank five or six. Further cultivation would only be for their appearance and lifespan. The higher their origin power cultivation, the longer they would live and the more beautiful they would become.

These young girls didn’t know much about Qianye’s military feats. They knew he was really powerful, but had no concrete idea just how much. Qianye’s cultivation and military rank put him among the best in the younger generation but not at the very top. After all, there was a Zhao Jundu above him. Hence, all of this brilliance had less impact on them compared to his pure-blooded vampire looks.

The courtyard fell silent.

However, Qianye felt a chill from behind him—it crept up along his spine like a knife, threatening him openly and barbarically.

Ji Tianqing suddenly appeared beside him, almost as though she had always been there. Yet, none of those in the courtyard knew how she had emerged, not even Wei Potian.

In a moment, Ji Tianqing became the focus of all gazes. Especially those noble ladies, they simply couldn’t understand how this ordinary-looking major would appear here. If she were someone who did odd-jobs, how would she dare to stand beside Qianye? Imperial laws were strict when it came to ranks, and every level had a corresponding etiquette to observe.

“This is my aide, Major Ji. She was directly appointed by the imperial military.” Qianye’s introduction was simple and clear-cut.

Wei Potian had seen the lady before and thus said, “Join us since you’ve already come! In any case, there’s a lot of wine tonight. No one is allowed to leave the courtyard without falling to the ground!”

Since Wei Potian had spoken thus, the others stopped doubting Ji Tianqing’s existence.

At this point, the young calf had been roasted. The chef began carving the meat, and soon, dish after dish arrived on the table. Barrels of liquor were opened up, and the amber spirits were poured into the glasses on the table.

Moments later, with the feast fully prepared, everyone took their seats.

Wei Potian’s face was full of solemn determination as he took the main seat, his eyes locked onto Qianye. This was his single greatest enemy for the night.

Qianye looked at the cup in front of him with a miserable expression. The container in front of him was simply too large, no matter how he looked. He reckoned not many people in the empire would want to drink strong liquor with a beer glass.

Ji Tianqing took the seat beside Qianye as usual. She seemed quite pleased with her high profile behavior and seemed to have no fear of the murderous gazes cast by the young noble ladies. Song Zining was on Qianye’s right. With his position as the seventh young master, no one would fight him for this position if he wanted it. The only one who would dare to do so was Zhao Yuying, but the latter had taken a seat beside Wei Potian, one that was furthest away from Ji Tianqing.

The noble ladies all wanted to sit beside Qianye, but they had to keep up their posture under public eyes. During this short moment of delay, Ji Tianqing and Song Zining had actually taken up the best seats to the left and right of him. The thickness of their skin was truly dumbfounding.

With everything in order, Wei Potian officially announced that the battle royal had begun. His opening speech was oddly simple, so much so that it could be summed up in two words: “Bottoms up!”

Wei Potian finished the drink in one heroic gulp. Naturally, the others weren’t willing to be left behind—Zhao Yuying finished the glass as though she were drinking water. Song Zining drank elegantly, and even the way with which he held the glass was quite specific. Yet, his speed wasn’t lacking at all, and the glass was dried in the blink of an eye.

Ji Tianqing wasn’t in a rush to drink and simply sat there observing Qianye. The latter was sipping the drink with a pained expression, almost as though he were drinking medicine. His face was already flushed after finishing half the glass. At this rate, it seemed like he would more or less collapse after finishing it.

A smile emerged on Ji Tianqing’s face as she raised the glass and finished it immediately.

One after the other, the noble ladies followed suit. Drinking was a necessary skill for them, so they had long since received relevant training. Naturally, they wouldn’t lag behind at such a time.

The true battle began only after the first round.

The liquor was truly strong, and Qianye began swaying about after finishing a big glass of it. Unfamiliar people were secretly delighted after seeing this, but the others only felt a headache. This was especially true for Wei Potian—he felt his brows twitching when he recalled his defeat at the tavern. Qianye had been swaying about since the very beginning and kept on swaying all the way until everyone had collapsed.

Wei Potian gritted his teeth and was just about to move forward with the courage of a charging general when he saw a beautiful girl walk toward Qianye. Blushing slightly, she looked at him in the eyes and said, “My name is Yue Jinrong, and Marquis Smallmountain is my grandfather. Please allow me to toast the general. I’ll drink first as a sign of respect!”

With that, she finished the glass before Qianye could respond, highlighting a trace of heroism amidst her beauty.

“Good!!! I’ll accompany the toast!” Wei Potian cried out and dried his glass.

The noble ladies cursed Yue Jinrong inwardly for her craftiness. It was quite clear that Qianye couldn’t drink and might collapse after this cup. How would he remember who was who after waking up on the morrow? It was quite likely that he would only have some impression of the first one to toast him.

Qianye raised his glass. Knowing that he had no choice but to finish it, he gradually swallowed the liquor despite the dizziness and returned to his seat.

All the noble ladies’ eyes brightened upon seeing Qianye upright; they felt that they still had a chance. Everyone rose from their seats with the same thought and nearly bumped into one another. Killing intent appeared in their gazes.

Just as they were locked in a stalemate, the banquet was filled with a sudden chill as Li Kuanglan’s icy voice rang out in the area, “Why did no one invite me to the liveliness?”

She appeared out of the blue, clad in her usual blue robes and wearing an icy expression.

The ladies’ eyes lit up and some even covered their mouths to avoid crying out. Li Kuanglan’s near-enchanting beauty was even superior to Qianye’s. Moreover, her icy attitude brought her attraction to the next level.

Wei Potian rubbed his head and said in a vexed tone, “You… this… how can I not invite you if you wanted to come? I’ve honestly never heard that you liked to drink!”

Everyone from the aristocratic inner-circle knew that Li Kuanglan had set her heart on the martial path and tended to ignore everything else. Such a person naturally had no interest in drinking parties and might even be offended if someone were to invite her.

Li Kuanglan shot a glance at Qianye and Ji Tianqing. “Since even they are willing to drink, this young master has nothing to complain. The wine table is also a battlefield, it’s not a bad idea to compete using liquor as blades.”

Ji Tianqing’s eyes narrowed as her gaze landed on the icy blue blade on Li Kuanglan’s back. She chuckled. “You finally decided to use the good sword? At least you’re not entirely stupid.”

These words brought the young ladies’ attention to the sword. All of them had good eyesight and could tell that this blade was an extraordinary item. Such a divine weapon highlighted Li Kuanglan’s qualities even more.

Some of the clever ones also discovered that Ji Tianqing wasn’t as ordinary as she seemed. Her words proved that she didn’t fear Li Kuanglan at all.

The latter said nothing. She simply grabbed a barrel and filled three large bowls with the strong liquor, taking one for herself and placing the other two in front of Qianye and Ji Tianqing. “The glasses are too small for satisfaction. Use these! Bottoms up!”

Li Kuanglan raised the bowl and finished her drink without waiting for a reply.

Qianye gazed vacantly at the bowl and couldn’t help but say, “Why must you bring me into a fight between you two?”

Li Kuanglan snorted. “I just don’t like you!”

Ji Tianqing was all smiles as she placed a hand on Qianye’s shoulder and leaned in. “See? He doesn’t like you, so why not destroy him? It’s just a bowl of liquor!”

“Just a bowl of liquor!? My ass!” Qianye wanted to curse thus, yet he couldn’t bring himself to voice it out loud. After all, Li Kuanglan herself had finished the bowl first. His thoughts were already floating about at the moment, so much so that he didn’t notice Ji Tianqing leaning onto him entirely.

The latter’s smile froze all of a sudden, and she shot away from Qianye at lightning speed. There was a red spider lily blooming where her hand was just now. Had she continued hugging Qianye’s shoulder like so, that shore flower really would have withered on her hands.

A beautiful voice filled with killing intent rang out in the air, “Keep your claws hidden and don’t throw them about carelessly!”

Ji Tianqing’s eyes narrowed as she looked up to find the airborne Zhao Ruoxi. The former’s pupils contracted slightly and along with them, her killing intent. “So it’s the young miss of the Zhao clan. Why the need for all this? It’ll only hurt your elegance.”

Zhao Ruoxi smiled sweetly. “It’s good enough that this young miss looks good. There’s no need for elegance, especially when dealing with certain people. It’s not like we can eat it anyway.”

Ji Tianqing froze up momentarily, but she soon came up with a retort, “You can’t decide beauty from just a brief moment. Who knows if I’ll be more beautiful tomorrow? Right?”

Zhao Ruoxi landed slowly and her smile became even more sinister. “Tomorrow is a different matter. I look better tonight and that’s enough for me.”

Ji Tianqing’s expression darkened. Before she could do anything, however, she felt a sudden chill lock onto the back of her head. Clearly, this was the work of Li Kuanglan, preventing her from changing her appearance.

Ji Tianqing knew she couldn’t do anything under Li Kuanglan’s restraint. She could only sit down while gnashing her teeth, her smile nowhere to be found.

At this point, Qianye had completely sobered up after seeing Zhao Ruoxi and that silver wolf she was carrying in her hands.

He looked again and again, finally confirming that it was indeed William and not a random wolf. Silver wolves were rare, to begin with, and one with a golden mane was virtually unique.

“This, this is…” Qianye pointed at William, not knowing what to say.

“A big dog I found outside. I brought him back because he’s so cute,” replied Zhao Ruoxi.

“Big dog!?” Qianye couldn’t believe his ears.

William: “Woof!”

Qianye immediately banged his head on the table.