Chapter 2219: Do I Count As Beautiful?

Wine could not be absent when friends met.

The wine was the Xuan Clan's ten-thousand-year-old wine, “Life is But a Dream.”

Lin Xun personally roasted a complete fifth realm Emperor Five-Colored Peacock. Watching him do it, Xuan Jiuyin marveled, Ling Kezi shook like a leaf, and Jintian Xuanyue was dumbstruck…

When she saw Xia Zhi, she sank even deeper into silence and became absent-minded. Xuan Jiuyin let out a long sigh seeing her like this.

Then, it was time to eat and drink. Three cups of wine down, and everyone couldn’t help but feel a light, airy sensation. Life is But a Dream was very strong.

And after a taste of the crispy skin, juicy peacock meat, Xuan Jiuyin dazed out for a good moment. Then, he excitedly wrapped his arm around Lin Xun’s shoulder. “For the sake of the quality of my future meals, Big Bro, please let me be your minion!”

Lin Xun grumbled, “You mean you’ll be my meal pal?”

Xuan Jiuyin was stunned. “It sure doesn’t sound very nice, but it doesn't matter. I’ll even give up the clan head position to follow you if it means I get to eat delicious stuff like this for the rest of my life!”

“Try it if you have the gall!” Xuan Shangchen, who was close by, stared deeply at his son until the latter was discomfited.

Xuan Jiuyin looked away, and upon seeing Ling Kezi wolfing down the roasted meat with large chunks, he slapped him. “Aren't you a monk who doesn't even touch meat broth? Why are you eating meat and drinking wine now?”

The slap on the back of his head didn’t stop Ling Kezi from chewing and swallowing. He mumbled with his mouth full, “Who would want the broth when there is meat?”

Saying that, he cut down a piece of wing, and as he was about to grab it, Big Yellow’s claw beat him to it. “Little monk, this wing is mine!”

A helpless Ling Kezi went on to cut a piece of thigh, but Xia Zhi reached out and snatched it away…

Ling Kezi was instantly anxious.

Aren’t you all a bit too overbearing here?

However, that was not the end. From outside the hall, a group of Xuan Clan elders rushed in clamoring.

“I heard that there is Five-Colored Peacock meat here?” One of them tried to act reserved.

“This smell…is heavenly!” Another deeply inhaled and revealed an intoxicated look.

“Alas, I’ve been alive for tens of thousands of years, but have never tasted the meat of a Five-Colored Peacock before. Little Friend, you won’t mind if we have a bite, right?” Someone donned a smile on their thick, wrinkled face.

At the same time they were speaking, these old fellows made themselves at home, directly sitting down in front of the barbeque and tearing at the meat with their bare hands.

By this point, even Xuan Shangchen couldn’t keep his cool. He fretted, “Uncles, please exercise restraint. You are the face of our Xuan Clan, the most respected and noble, how can you… Hey, don't take that, the neck is mine!”

Ultimately, he also threw all manners out the window and joined the fight over roasted meat.

It was only when Lin Xun spoke up that he would roast another Five-Colored Peacock that everyone revealed satisfied smiles and started acting according to their status.

“Lil’ Jiu, take this bone. What? You don’t want it? This is the precious bone of a fifth realm peacock, a mouthful of bone marrow is as good as a supreme pill!”

“This kid hasn't become an Emperor yet, so he naturally doesn't understand how valuable these things are.”

“Alas, Lil’ Jiu, it’s about time you grew up. Look at Emperor Daoyuan, and now look at yourself. How embarrassing for us all.”

The Xuan Clan elders ate and drank to their hearts’ content while nonchalantly rebuking Xuan Jiuyin, while Lin Xun became ‘the outstanding child of another family.’

Xuan Jiuyin wanted to burst into tears, but it wasn’t like he could argue as someone in the grandson generation…

While grilling the meat, Lin Xun noticed that Jintian Xuanyue seemed a little dispirited. He asked, “Xuanyue, why aren’t you eating?”

Jintian Xuanyue immediately gathered her restless thoughts and whispered, “My lord, I would like to have a toast with you.”

With that, she picked up the gourd and filled a cup for Lin Xun and herself respectively.

“Sure.” Lin Xun raised his cup with a smile.

Jintian Xuanyue's beautiful starry eyes gazed at him as she wanted to say something.

In the end, she sighed in her heart and said, “I wish you a safe trip to the True Dragon World, and that you’ll achieve what you set out for.”

She then raised her cup and drained it. Her fair, jade-like face was quickly flushed with a touch of red as the wine seemed to be above her tolerance.

However, she poured another cup and turned to Xuan Jiuyin with a winsome smile. “Young Master Xuan, I would like to have a toast with you as well, thank you for your hospitality during this period.”

Xuan Jiunyin couldn't help but feel a little worried. “Miss Xuanyue, Life is But a Dream is very strong. Drink slowly.”

Jintian Xuanyue smiled and once again drank it all in one go. Taking on a fiery red haze, her picturesque face was charming beyond comparison.

“Ling Kezi, come, have a drink with me.” She poured another cup.

Lin Xun watched Jintian Xuanyue drink recklessly in a daze and sighed in his heart.

Some things were hard to ignore…so how could he not feel it?

It wasn't long before Jintian Xuanyue got drunk and rested her face on a table. Her starry eyes glazed over, her red lips slightly parted as she murmured softly.

“Life is But a Dream… Good name… How great would it be…if it’s all just a dream…? Because at least I’ll wake up from it one day…”

Two lines of tears quietly streamed down from her eyes, but no one could see it as she had turned around so that her forehead was resting on her arm.

“As long as you are well, my heart is free of worry.

“As long as you are well, there is nothing else I want in life.

“As long as you are well, I cannot linger.”

Mumbling, Jintian Xuanyue drifted off, as if too tired, or as if so intoxicated that she had fallen into a fleeting life in her dream.

……

Lin Xun woke up from his hangover the next morning. Recalling the joyous and lively scenes from the previous night, he couldn't help but smile. He hadn't been that relaxed in a long time.

He got up and walked out of the room to see Xia Zhi, who had long been waiting there, cracking and eating roasted seeds at the table. They were a kind of plump and crystalline seeds full of aeth qi harvested from Snow Spirit Sunflowers. The seeds were like diamonds with a fresh taste and a crunchy texture.

Big Yellow was also there, still sleeping like a log with a bone in its mouth.

Ling Kezi was sitting cross-legged with a solemn appearance, his finger turning the rosary beads while he recited, “All things constrived are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble and a shadow, like dew and lightning… Must not eat too much next time… ”

Lin Xun scanned the room without finding Xuan Jiuyin and Jintian Xuanyue, which startled him.

While he was in thought, Xuan Jiunyin walked into the hall with a grin. “Good morning, big bro.”

Lin Xun asked, “Where is Miss Xuanyue?”

“Uh…” Xuan Jiunyin sighed, “Gone.”

Lin Xun was stunned. “Gone? Gone where?”

“Home. She said she had been out training for too long so her family and friends at home must be worried. She left very early in the morning.” Xuan Jiuyin then glanced quickly at Xia Zhi and whispered, “Big bro, you can’t

not

have seen it, can you? Miss Xuanyue…”

Lin Xun waved his hand. “There's no need to say it, I understand.”

Xuan Jiuyin was angry. “Since you understand, why did you have to break her heart?”

Lin Xun's heart was also in turmoil.

Jintian Xuanyue was the most dazzling pearl of the Imperial Jintian Clan, the most beautiful woman of White Emperor Star Field. She was also a genius in cultivation with peerless grace…

In the nebula’s younger generation, her talent, heritage, strength, and origin could be considered top-class. No matter where she went, she should be surrounded and revered by admirers.

Yet, such an exceptional woman had been following him since the days on Whirlwind Ship, taking care of his daily life and doing her best to assist him…

Only now did Lin Xun realize that he had gotten used to her being around over the years. She had learned and understood his character and his preferences while making her presence as comfortable as the spring breeze for him. She had quietly walked with him through storms and tasted the ups and downs without complaint.

However, she had never once made any request for herself…

Lin Xun felt a pang of guilt at this thought.

Lin Xun had thought that he had never disappointed anyone in his life, but today, Jintian Xuanyue's departure made him feel like he had failed her. It punched a hollow in his heart.

He felt lost.

“Big brother…” Xuan Jiuyin wanted to say something else.

Lin Xun waved his hand. “If you really consider me a brother, then do not mention this anymore.”

Dropping these words, he turned around and walked into his room. He needed some time alone.

A helpless Xuan Jiuyin scratched his head, truly puzzled why a mighty supreme Great Emperor like Lin Xun could be so dense when it came to love.

Since the dawn of time, who on the Ancient Nebula Road with brilliant talent didn’t have multiple lovers?

Not to mention having lovers, many even had plenty of concubines!

His father Xuan Shangchen, for example, had been a flirtatious young man, dispensing love everywhere he had gone. As a result, Xuan Jiuyin had like eighteen step-mothers… Each one of them was as stunning as a goddess!

Growing up in such an environment, Xuan Jiuyin really couldn’t understand how Lin Xun could be so hard-hearted.

He couldn't help but look at Xia Zhi. Her face was covered by her hat, but even when she was sitting casually, her every movement gave off a kind of indescribable, mysterious beauty.

However, Xuan Jiuyin didn’t think that Jintian Xuanyue would be inferior!

Beauties of this world were like different flowers that excelled in their own way. There was no such thing as ‘the most beautiful.’

Therefore, Xuan Jiuyin wondered if Lin Xun was being watched too closely…

“Miss Xia Zhi, do you think Miss Xuanyue is nice?” He walked up to Xia Zhi, who was still munching on sunflower seeds, and sat opposite her.

Xia Zhi nodded.

Xuan Jiuyin continued, “Is Miss Xuanyue pretty? Of course, it’s not appropriate to ask a woman if someone else is beautiful. What I mean is that, let’s not allow Big Bro to turn into a ruthless man, right? Any other man won’t be able to bring themselves to hurt such a beautiful girl…”

After a moment of silence, Xia Zhi asked, “As long as a woman is beautiful, no one can bear to hurt her?”

Xuan Jiuyin said without thinking, “Of course! It also applies to men as well. Such as Big Bro, he is the first supreme cultivator in one hundred thousand years to become an Emperor and make a legend. He is handsome and noble like dragons and phoenixes, as bright as the sun and as elegant as an immortal. All the girls can’t help but love him…”

He abruptly stopped mid sentence.

Opposite him, Xia Zhi had lifted the brim of her hat. Her clear, star-like eyes were fixed on him as she asked this.

“Do I count as beautiful?”

Xuan Jiunyin could no longer push out a word. He had frozen from head to toe, his eyes losing focus. He was in a state of utter shock from inside out, and his mind was blank as if his soul had left his body.