Chapter 78: Righteous and Demonic, One Big Family

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

The bailiffs spread out and took their seats, and Constable Wei wasn’t exaggerating; indeed, many people came, nearly filling all the tables.

The helmsman’s table sat in the middle, surrounded by bailiffs. The atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious, embodying the saying “righteous and demonic, one big family.”

Chi Xulong quickly lowered his head in fear. Despite his notorious reputation, it was all a facade he had built for himself. When committing misdeeds, he either disguised himself or wore a mask, always avoiding officials as much as possible.

Now that there was no escape, he could only keep his head down and pretend to be an ostrich.

“Constable Wei, I’m here,” Lu Yang said with a smile, standing up to greet Constable Wei.

Chi Xulong’s eyes widened in disbelief as he realized Lu Yang was actually the owner!

“You’ve already started eating,” Constable Wei said, a bit embarrassed.

“No problem, what would you like to eat?”

Constable Wei gestured, “With so many people, let’s not bother ordering specifically. Just bring whatever you have.”

“Alright,” Lu Yang agreed, anticipating Constable Wei would say this.

The bailiffs, smelling the delicious aroma from the helmsman’s table, involuntarily swallowed their saliva.

It was mealtime, and they were already hungry. The smell of food only made their hunger worse.

Fortunately, Lu Yang was well-prepared. Before Constable Wei and his men arrived, he had the specters start grilling a portion of the food early so it could be served as soon as they arrived.

 Soon, Meng Jingzhou and Barbarian Bone brought out plates of skewers, allowing Constable Wei and his men to tide over their hunger.

Constable Wei didn’t say much, but he was genuinely thankful to Lu Yang for not having to wait while smelling the food, avoiding complaints from his colleagues.

“Let me introduce our head bailiff, Fang Qingyun!”

Fang Qingyun shook hands with Lu Yang politely. As a Golden Core stage cultivator, he could tell Lu Yang was a cultivator.

Not only could he tell Lu Yang was a cultivator, but he also realized everyone at the helmsman’s table were cultivators.

He didn’t say anything. Many cultivators ran businesses, and as long as they didn’t break the law, what did it have to do with him?
Running a barbecue restaurant wasn’t illegal.

Even if the table was taken, as the head bailiff, he couldn’t bully others with his status, as it would look bad if word got out.

After sitting down, Chi Xulong whispered angrily to the helmsman, complaining, “You scoundrel, why didn’t you tell us the bailiffs were coming?!”

Lu Yang felt wronged: “I just wanted you to build a good relationship with the bailiffs. You should seize this opportunity.”

Lu Yang pointed to a banner on the wall: “See? This is a banner Constable Wei gave me.”

He fabricated on the spot: “Before joining the organization, I specifically found a good location and established connections with the government. This way, no matter what I do, the government won’t suspect me. I can even eavesdrop on intelligence when they come here to drink.”

Helmsman Chu nodded, Lu Yang’s reasoning was sound and matched the Sect Leader’s evaluation.

The Sect Leader had said these three might seem reckless in their actions, but there was deeper meaning behind them. One shouldn’t judge them merely by their appearance.

Just the act of proactively establishing relations with the government alone demonstrated more courage and thoughtfulness than most in the sect!
“Come, let’s drink.”

After a few skewers to line their stomachs, Constable Wei and his men started drinking.

As more skewers were consumed, the bailiffs got more into the spirit, drinking round after round, toasting each other, creating a lively atmosphere.

In stark contrast to the lively surroundings was the helmsman’s table in the middle, where they drank cautiously, fearing someone might drink too much and let slip something they shouldn’t.

Towards the end, they stopped drinking alcohol and switched to tea instead.

Seeing that the helmsman’s table seemed to lack atmosphere, Constable Wei felt guilty, thinking it might be because of his arrival. Holding his wine cup, he approached them.

“Come on, don’t mind us. Once we’re off duty, we’re just ordinary folks here to enjoy some good food and drinks!”

“Here’s to us!” Constable Wei said to Chi Xulong.

Chi Xulong carefully picked up his tea cup, but Constable Wei, displeased, sternly said, “What’s with drinking tea? Are you not giving face, pour the wine!”

Chi Xulong had no choice but to reluctantly pour his thirty-year-old spiritual wine and down it in one go.

Seeing Constable Wei making rounds for drinks, and other bailiffs obviously drunk, they began to drink with the helmsman’s table, enjoying themselves to the fullest.

Nobody asked Lu Yang and his friends to drink; the owner getting drunk would certainly be bad.

The potency of the thirty-year-old spiritual wine was not something those at the Foundation Establishment stage could handle, leaving Chi Xulong and others utterly intoxicated.

Once the helmsman saw they had drunk enough, he found an excuse to leave.

With the boss gone and under the influence of alcohol, people started to let loose. Chi Xulong and Shen Jinyi, arm in arm, resolved to unite and carve out a place for themselves in the Everlasting Sect.

“Your biggest flaw, Chi Xulong, is your impatience and flamboyance. You should be more restrained!” Shen Jinyi advised, considering Chi Xulong’s best interests.

Chi Xulong, who valued his freedom, did not appreciate being criticized: “Enough with that. So, I’m flamboyant, and you? A shrinking turtle, afraid to act on your own, teaching students to do your bidding?”

“Skulking around like a woman!”

Shen Jinyi, enraged, retorted: “Chi Xulong, don’t be ungrateful. I’m thinking of you, don’t bite back!”

Chi Xulong, even more angered, retorted: “Who are you calling a dog?”

With that, he punched Shen Jinyi in the face.

Shen Jinyi couldn’t just take the hit; if he did, Chi Xulong, given his temperament, would surely push further.

Shen Jinyi splashed his wine cup at Chi Xulong, who, despite being drunk, dodged quickly, causing the wine to splash onto Bai Zifang, who was watching the excitement.

Bai Zifang, not one to take things lying down, retaliated in kind, splashing Shen Jinyi with wine, and didn’t stop there; he also smashed a plate on Shen Jinyi’s face.

The three scuffled into one mess, and others tried to intervene only to get hurt themselves, fueling their anger.

They had intended to prevent the others from embarrassing themselves, but instead, they didn’t appreciate it and even dared to hit them.
How dare they!

Under the influence of the potent spiritual wine, everyone’s judgment was clouded, and they didn’t care they were in the presence of bailiffs, starting a brawl.

Clatter—

Someone overturned a table, and items fell onto the table next to them.

The bailiffs had never seen such audacity, cultivators brawling in a group.

This was in front of the bailiffs; if they weren’t there, who knows how bad it could have gotten.

Cultivators brawling in groups could accidentally kill bystanders, a grave matter that demanded punishment.

Seeing this, Head bailiff Fang Qingyun exerted his spiritual pressure, immediately subduing the sect members.

“Take them away, let them sober up in jail!”

The sect members instantly sobered up, realizing what had happened, and broke out in cold sweat.

With too many people coming all at once, the two specters were overwhelmed, and Barbarian Bone, seeing the situation, took charge. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou rushed between the backyard and the main hall, serving skewers at a visibly fast rate.

Lu Yang lifted the curtain, apologizing, “Sorry, everyone, we’ve grilled all the skewers… What’s happening here?”

Lu Yang saw the normally arrogant sect members sitting meekly, with the bailiffs smirking at them.

Constable Wei whispered, “Sorry, Manager Lu, your friends started a brawl. The head bailiff hates it when cultivators do this, it’s too loud, and passersby have noticed. We have to punish them, or we can’t justify it.”

Lu Yang: “……”

Fairly speaking, Lu Yang did arrange for the sect members and bailiffs to sit together, partly in jest, but he truly hadn’t expected this group to be bold enough to start a fight in front of the bailiffs.

Meng Jingzhou grimaced, “I told you, we shouldn’t drink alcohol. It never ends well.”

…

On the day of the welcoming party, Chi Xulong and others were detained for ten days for brawling in a group.

After hearing about the incident, Helmsman Chu was stunned for a long while.

(End of the chapter)