Chapter 145 (1): Fang Che's Sister-in-law

Everyone knew that their future wives could perhaps be beautiful, possess formidable cultivation bases, and come from privileged backgrounds, but it was impossible to say what their personalities were going to be like.

Generally speaking, women from major clans were all quite proud and conceited, so their personalities often left much to be desired.

If they could find wives that were as understanding and thoughtful as Ye Meng, then they would count themselves extremely fortunate.

What had Fang Che done to deserve such a good wife? And one that was so exceptionally beautiful, to boot!

In the beginning, everyone was rather restrained and careful, wary of the fact that this place belonged to Bing Qianshan, but as the wine flowed, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

As the subject of everyone's envy, Fang Che was being made to have one drink after another, but he didn't back down.

Instead of begging for mercy, he began verbally retaliating.

"All of you are older than me, are you not? How come you're all still single dogs? Are you that unpopular with the ladies? Not even a single one of you is married? Tsk, tsk, I don't even know what to say... All of you have to be close to thirty, right? Are you not in a hurry to find someone? If you miss these golden years, you could end up single for life!" Everyone was very embarrassed, and they began protesting vehemently.

"I could easily find a wife, I just haven't found a suitable woman!"

"I enjoy being single!"

"Me too! Having said that, if an exceptional woman comes my way, I won't turn her away. If I find someone as beautiful and smart as your wife, I'd swoop her up in a heartbeat!"

"Speak for yourself! I don't plan to find anyone! The single life is the best!"

There were many stubborn lies being told at the table.

"My wife actually has a younger sister," Fang Che said. "She's seventeen this year, and she's every bit as beautiful and personable as her older sister."

Thirty-five pairs of eyes instantly lit up, resembling seventy lanterns in the night.

All those who were just talking about how much they enjoyed the single life immediately changed tunes, clamoring for Fang Che's attention to see if he could introduce them to such a fine woman.

"What do you think of me, Boss Fang? Would she take a liking to me?"

"Boss Fang, I'm your loyal brother!" Feng Xiangdong yelled. "Can you introduce me?"

"Boss Fang, you'll be my boss for life if you introduce me to your sister-in-law!" Luo Shishui declared.

Chu Wuqing was the one who had been forcing Fang Che to drink the most, and Fang Che decided that it was time for revenge.

"You guys wanna meet my sister-in-law? I'll pick whoever can make him drink the most!"

Tan Dashi immediately sprang to his feet with a menacing expression.

"Chu Wuqing, how dare you offend our boss! Come! I'll take you on one-on-one!"

Fang Che then thrust a jar of wine into Yu Zhongkuang's hand before pointing at someone else at random as he yelled, "Make him drink!"

Yu Zhongkuang immediately obliged. Fang Che repeated this ploy several more times, pointing at different people to be antagonized.

"Get him!"

"Get him!"

"Get him!"

"Whichever one of you lasts until the end, I'll introduce you to my sister-in-law! Her and Ye Meng are really close, so she'll listen to anything Ye Meng says, while Ye Meng listens to everything I say, so as long as I put in a good word for you, my sister-in-law will be as good as yours!"

With such a tantalizing prize on the line, everyone immediately began turning on each other, forcing as much wine down the throats of others as possible.

There were some lucid ones among them, and they yelled, "Stop! This is clearly a ploy from Boss Fang to turn us against one another! Don't fall for it!"

"Shut up! You think you're smarter than everyone else?"

"Drink up! Unless you're a coward, that is!"

As the instigator, Fang Che was able to sit back and relax as he watched everyone fight over the chance to meet his non-existent sister-in-law.

The festivities continued well past midnight, at which point everyone was thoroughly drunk.

Tan Dashi was the final survivor, his belly as swollen as that of a heavily pregnant woman, and there was wine audibly sloshing around inside.

"Don't forget... Boss Fang... My wife..."

"Yes, yes, I'll have it arranged. Take a rest for now. Sit down and close your eyes... There you go, what a good boy!"

***

After everyone had fallen asleep in the courtyard, Fang Che sat on his own, looking up at the starry night sky.

He couldn't help but wonder what the concept of a god entailed.

If a god truly existed, were They in the sky or on another star?

Was the centipede that Jun Lin had destroyed at the cost of detonating his own soul really the avatar of a god?

In the peaceful night, he could sense some type of unprecedentedly pure spirit qi slowly entering his body.

He could see faint mist rising up from the ground before seeping into a tangled mass of vines in the courtyard, and even the starlight seemed to have been drawn into, injecting into the vines wisps of spirit qi that didn't belong to this world.

With the integration of the spirit qi, the vines became more and more vibrant, and they began releasing spirit power throughout the entire courtyard.

Somehow, the spirit power remained contained within the courtyard, as if trapped in a container, slowly nourishing the meridians of everyone inside.

It was a very slow process, but it was constantly taking place.

Sure enough, none of the King tier representatives were fools.

They had intentionally gotten drunk so that they could stay here and reap the benefits for an entire night.

It was a rather calculated move, but Fang Che didn't mind.

The jade tablet that was carrying was glowing, and he closed his eyes to channel his Boundless Sutra.

As soon as he did this, the jade tablet began to glow even brighter, and the space around him began to ripple slightly.

All of the otherworldly spirit qi in the courtyard converged toward him at once, and he opened his eyes with a surprised expression to discover that none of the spirit qi was being spared for anyone else.

He could only cease his cultivation with a wry smile, then stood up and made his way to his and Ye Meng's room.

Due to the presence of the spatial array, the courtyard felt like a different world that he was leaving behind.

Inside the courtyard, Feng Xiangdong and the others remained laying still on the ground, but looks of gratitude had appeared on their faces.

They were all well aware of the benefits to be reaped in these deluxe courtyards, and they had shamelessly asked to come here so that they could bask in the spirit qi here for a night.

They were all pretending to be drunk, and in the instant that Fang Che ceased his cultivation, they knew that he had seen through their intentions.

Thus, they were very grateful for his departure.

***

Late at night, Dongfang Sansan had finally finished his work for the day, and he sat back in his chair as he gulped down a large mouthful of tea.

He took an envious glance at Xue Fuxiao, who was laying on the reclining chair in his office, and he asked, "Are you just going to sleep here tonight?"

Xue Fuxiao had been here since the afternoon, and was most infuriating of all was that he had fallen asleep!

How Dongfang Sansan wished that he could fall asleep like Xue Fuxiao without a care in the world!

"I'm thinking about some things," Xue Fuxiao said. "I look like I'm sleeping, but I've actually been thinking this entire time."

"Thinking while snoring?" Dongfang Sansan scoffed. "I say don't bother. With your paltry brainpower, what good could possibly come out of your thinking?"

"What do you mean? I'm a smart guy!"

"Leave professional jobs to professional people. Your brain wasn't made for thinking, that's something that you have to understand."

"Can't you go just a single day without mocking me?"

"I can, but it would a miserable day for me."

"......"

"What're you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about Yan Nan's proposal for all of us to spectate the friendly matches. It seems like Yan Nan is very interested in these matches. Why would a bunch of deputy popes from the main church come to watch some battles between what are essentially mere ants to them? That's clearly not normal."

"How so?" Dongfang Sansan asked as he took a sip of tea. "We'll also be in attendance as a gesture of respect."

"Why is it that both you and Yan Nan seem so invested in this? You're clearly hiding something from me!"

"I already told the reason last time, so I won't explain it to you again. What else is on your mind?"

"That kid is here in our Guardian headquarters, and Qianshan has arranged for him to stay in his deluxe courtyard. Are you not going to visit him? Alternatively, I could bring him here to see you?"

"Can you think for even just a moment before you speak?" Dongfang Sansan sighed. "How could I meet him at a time like this? Cast the thought completely out of your mind. Otherwise, Yan Nan will notice something amiss."

"Alright, but make sure to clue me in after everything is said and done."

"I will. What are you going to be doing on the day?"

"I'll be spectating the matches with Duan Xiyang."

"I don't want you saying even a single word on that day."

"Why?"

"Just promise me that. There's going to be a fierce contest between me and Yan Nan on that day, and the last thing I need is for you to be running your mouth!"

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Fine, but there's one more thing that I don't understand."

"What is it?"

"Why did you send me to ask Dong Changfeng for a name last time? Couldn't you have asked him yourself? You could've easily asked him via communication jade, so why did you make me ask him?"

"If you didn't go, then who would've been able to oppose Duan Xiyang? If you weren't there, Dong Changfeng would already be dead by now!"

"Don't try to trick me! I was already there at the time, so that's clearly not the reason! Tell me the real reason!"

"You ran into Bu Chou, Dong Changfeng, and Yang Luo when you went there, right?"

"That's right."

"All three of them made breakthroughs, is that right?"

"Yang Luoyu didn't, but he's close."

"You then went out drinking with them, right?"

"That's right."

"After having a few drinks, you raised the same questions to Dong Changfeng, correct?"

"Yes... How did you know? Did Dong Changfeng tell you?"