On a moonlit night, Zhao Min and Gong Chenying sat under an old locust tree. The huge full moon in the sky was as cool as water, and its clear silver light spread over the small mountain village, making the distant mountains and nearby objects clearly layered.
Looking at the busy crowd around her, and the strong men and women who were running around and bringing out the delicious food that had just been cooked or fried, Zhao Min saw the amazement in their eyes towards herself and Gong Chenying as they passed by, but she didn't know what to do at this moment.
The women washed vegetables and added fuel to the fire, while Li Yu, led by several women in the village who were good at cooking, were shuttling back and forth in front of several large pots.
From time to time, there would be flames several feet high. As Li Yuyi was lifting the pot as if to show off, there would be a sudden burst of flames, startling the drooling children in the village. They would scream in surprise and immediately move away.
Aunt Chang was also busy running around. She either ran back home to get out ingredients or seasonings, or worked with a few other women to clean the kitchen and arrange tables and benches in a circle with a few old locust trees as the center.
In the distance, some of the young men had set up wooden frames with half of a monster hanging on them, and were chopping meat with knives;
Some were constantly transporting firewood, while Li Guoxin, Chang Bo, and several other elders in the village, formed a circle with Li Yan and talked non-stop.
Occasionally, they would pat the heads of the children, run around them in circles, and scold them with a smile, telling them to "be careful, don't fall..." and so on.
Although there were still some villagers who gathered together to chat and occasionally came forward to help, most of the time they stole glances at the two women, but did not dare to approach them to talk, and could only whisper from a distance.
Meanwhile, Gong Chenying stood up and wanted to help clear the tables and chairs, and Zhao Min also stood up. However, as soon as the two girls took a step, Aunt Chang, who was staring at them from time to time, hurried over and scolded several people nearby.
"Xiao Shan's mother, how could you women be so ignorant and let the distinguished guest take care of everything on his own..."
While half pushing and half pulling the two girls, he invited them to sit under the old locust tree. With an apologetic smile, he continued to nag at the women and went about his business with brisk steps.
Zhao Min looked at everything in front of her, it was so strange, it was all incompatible with her imagination, and she had a strange feeling in her heart, although she and Gong Chenying seemed so out of place sitting here.
But when they saw the people around them looking at them with respect, they had natural and respectful expressions on their faces, as if everything was so harmonious.
"Sister Ying, is there such a situation in your hometown?"
Smelling the fragrance of locust flowers above her head and listening to the noisy and energetic sounds around her, Zhao Min suddenly spoke.
Gong Chenying was staring at the flames rising from the stove in the distance, lost in thought, when she suddenly heard Zhao Min's voice beside her. She slowly turned her head and looked at Zhao Min, then saw the full moon through the gaps between the branches hanging diagonally in front of her.
“When the tribe holds sacrifices, it is somewhat similar, but without the atmosphere of fireworks, it is more solemn.
When I was a child, every time I participated, apart from being ordered to strictly abide by the various racial rules during the sacrifice, the rest was just constant fear throughout the day, fearing that I would make a mistake in some link. "
She paused for a moment, then continued.
"Cultivating immortals means more loneliness and less flavor of the human world!"
As she spoke, her gaze turned to a fire rack, where a whole calf-sized monster was being rolled and roasted, and waves of rich aroma wafted over.
"I have even forgotten the taste of food. It is common for me to go without food or drink for months or years! We practice, fight, rob resources, and practice again... This is the life of a cultivator."
"Then why are there so many people and so many families scrambling to cultivate immortality, even if it means giving up everything?"
Zhao Min also looked at the monster that was rolling and being roasted, her eyes blankly fixed.
"Perhaps it is to pursue greater power, and also to be reluctant to give up the glory of this life, hoping to exchange it for eternal life, but when you really set foot on this road, you will find that the glory and wealth are nothing but clouds and smoke, and there is only blood and struggle on the road...
Looking back, my enemies are already behind me. The power I have cultivated will never be enough!"
Gong Chenying murmured.
"He has it, but I only have a short memory of it when I was little."
Zhao Min suddenly said something that made no sense.
Gong Chenying looked at Zhao Min again with her beautiful eyes. Her graceful face, like a carved jade, was even more stunning under the moonlight.
“Coming here today, I felt a little bit of it again, didn’t I?”
Zhao Min was stunned. She remembered the motherly warmth that spread throughout her body when the old woman held her hand.
The villagers showed curiosity and enthusiasm in their respect for the two of them. They were completely unlike the people from the immortal sects or families. Although they showed respect when they saw them, what could be seen in their eyes was fear and even greed.
These deep memories made her feel a sense of strangeness in her heart from the moment she stepped into the fields of the mountain village today, but she didn't want to push this strangeness away from her heart.
As she thought about it, the lines on Zhao Min's face that seemed to have been frozen slowly softened, but she was so stunned that she didn't notice it.
Suddenly, the noise became louder, accompanied by the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer. The two girls looked up and saw the burly village chief and Li Yan and others walking towards them. Li Yan was looking at them with a smile on his face.
Li Guoxin and his companions came under the big locust tree. He clapped his hands in the air, looked at the dozen or so tables that were already served with steaming hot delicacies, and spoke loudly.
"Okay, okay, Brother Yan is coming home today. We all know that he is now a high-ranking official in the court. In the past few years, he has brought blessings to the village. In addition, there are distinguished guests coming to visit. This is a big event. The next step is to hold this banquet, but I have to say something ugly in advance. It's okay to drink too much, but don't lose your sense of proportion and embarrass Brother Yan in front of the distinguished guests.
But... if you can make Brother Yan drunk, it depends on your ability, hahaha..."
Li Guoxin laughed out loud. When he was talking with Li Yan just now, he asked about the personalities of the two girls to prevent the country boy from acting recklessly and being impolite.
Li Yan told him that the two girls had often come to the army since they were young, and they were worthy of the title of heroines because they were not fussy about trivial matters.
Li Guoxin was overjoyed when he heard this. He was worried that he might be impolite by not greeting her properly, and also that the other person was a rich lady who would dislike such vulgar etiquette. After hearing Li Yan's words, he felt relieved.
All of a sudden, the place became lively. People who lived close to each other simply pulled a few people together, gathered around a table, put out a row of bowls, picked up the wine jars on the ground, sealed them with mud, and poured wine like a whale spitting water. Under the curtain, the aroma of the wine filled the place.
After the children were initially cautious and tentatively stretched out their hands to take a few of their favorite foods, they gradually grew bolder when they saw that the adults did not scold them like they usually did at home, but just chatted and drank with them.
Finally, some children picked up a big chicken leg or a small bowl of animal meat and started chasing and playing between the tables.
For a moment, clear children's voices could be heard from far and near in the moonlight. Even the family dog, which usually barked wildly when night fell, lost its usual temper.
From time to time, it wags its tail more happily, hoping to attract the attention of the people at the table and throw them a piece of delicious food; or it lies under the table, gnawing on a large piece of bone and meat in its mouth, constantly making whimpering sounds to protect its food.
Aunt Chang even picked a few girls or women who knew etiquette and had seen the world to sit next to Gong and Zhao.
These people were initially reserved, but after seeing that the two women were cold but polite, and did not seem annoyed by their questions, they gradually became talkative.
Starting with a girl from a family in the village, he slowly asked about the two girls' life experiences. Although the two girls were ignorant of worldly affairs, they were extremely smart. They would occasionally say a few words about things they could, and would just smile away things they could not say.
For a moment, the atmosphere here was no less than that at the drunken tables.
But as they chatted, even these women didn't notice that they slowly turned the topic to Li Yan. One of the reasons was that Aunt Chang proudly mentioned her own fifth son from time to time;
Secondly, it was also the first time that he met the two girls. The only common topic was naturally Li Yan as a bridge;
Thirdly, intentionally or unintentionally, the two girls seemed to want to direct the topic to Li Yan.
Gradually, the two girls found out everything about Li Yan's childhood, even how old he was when he wet the bed, when he learned to walk, and which little girl had been thinking about him. The two girls would occasionally lower their heads to hide their chuckles when they heard it.
Li Yan still knew nothing about it. In this atmosphere, he did not send out his spiritual sense to eavesdrop on what anyone said. Instead, he was chatting and drinking with Li Yu, Li Shan, Li Wei, and several childhood playmates at another table.
Li Yu had an apron tied around his waist. He was tall and thin, a head shorter than Li Yan and Li Shan, but because of his thinness, he also looked tall.
In the evening, Li Shan picked him up from the city on a fast horse. After returning, he naturally became the chef for tonight. At this moment, his fair face was already slightly red.
"Brother Yan, you said you wanted to try my cooking skills, but I didn't hear from you after we parted. Now I have to give it a try.
Come, come, try this 'Golden Crispy Spirit Tail Chicken', it has a trace of first-level monster blood, plus golden powder, flying beard branches... "
As he spoke, he pointed with his chopsticks at a plate of tender, crispy and yellow meat on the table.
Li Yan nodded with a smile, picked up a piece and put it into his mouth. He immediately felt his teeth and cheeks watering, and the taste was crispy and smooth. He couldn't help but give Li Yan a thumbs up. He was not praising him in vain, but really thought it was delicious.
With the improvement of his cultivation, even if he does not take the "Bigu Pill", he can keep his body in the best condition by not eating or drinking for several months and just breathing in the spiritual energy of the weather.
Today, after eating these delicious dishes carefully prepared by Li Yu, his long-lost appetite was aroused. He couldn't help but salivate. He couldn't help but glance at Gong Chenying and Zhao Min, who were surrounded by several people at the main table.
He found that the two women were also constantly picking up food and putting it into their mouths to chew slowly. He couldn't help but smile in his heart. It seemed that even cultivators could not escape the desire for food.
Li Shan and several of his childhood playmates nearby occasionally stole a glance at Gong and Zhao, with amazement in their eyes. Then they exchanged glances and raised their wine bowls to Li Yan.
Li Yan smiled as he drank with them one by one. How could he not know what these people were thinking? Since they met, they had been trying to get questions from him to confirm whether the two girls were interested in Li Yan.
Li Yan neither admitted nor denied it, and they finally made a private bet to see who could get the truth out of Li Yan first.
But they all knew Li Yan's character. He was not talkative since he was a child, but he was extremely smart. Whenever they had any intentions towards Li Yan when he was young, they would always suffer in the end.
Now, as they looked at each other, they knew that Li Yan had to be drunk. Even Li Wei on the side smiled and said nothing, just watching the fun.
With Li Yan's current level of cultivation, let alone ten or twenty bowls, even a hundred or a thousand bowls, he wouldn't even need to get up. As his spiritual power circulated, it turned into wisps of mist that dissipated from his hair.
But tonight he did not do so, and instead forced himself to drink with everyone. After all, his physique was no longer that of an ordinary person, not to mention he had the Qiongqi Purgatory Technique, the world's top body refining method, to protect his body.
After drinking three bowls each with seven or eight people, he still looked normal, but made the other seven or eight people dizzy.