16 Chapter 16 The Land Deity's Great-Grandson_1

Grove clearing.

Yibai watched, wide-eyed, as the person who had mistakenly wandered into the demon's banquet found a spot right next to him and plopped down.

Why, with so many empty seats, would you sit next to me?

Yibai felt surprised.

But he didn't say much, let him sit if he wants to, after all, in his eyes, Yibai was probably just another human.

"Brother, I offer my respects."

The man, quite courteous and resembling a scholar, raised his hand to Yibai in greeting.

"Hmm."

Yibai had no intention of interacting with him.

Seeing that Yibai had no interest in chatting, the man didn't say much more either, only pulling out a piece of whitened cloth from his body to wipe his sweat.

"Why are you sweating so much late at night?"

Curled up in his seat, Yibai couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked, speaking human language.

He had once heard a friend say that excessive sweating at night indicated a deficiency of some sort.

How deficient must this man be to sweat so profusely in the middle of the night?

"During the daytime, I went to the neighboring county to look for work, but to no avail. It got late on my way back and I've been hurrying, thus the profuse sweating. Earlier, when I saw the bright lanterns here, I thought that there must be some banquet taking place, so I shamelessly came to ask for a cup of tea to drink."

The man still bowed politely, speaking in a literary fashion.

"You look like a scholar, so why are you also looking for work?"

Yibai asked again.

"Brother, should scholars not deign to lift a finger to menial work?"

The man replied with a smile.

"That's true," Yibai muttered to himself.

After some casual conversation, he found himself not minding the man's company.

Only, for a human to wander into a demon's banquet, how truly unlucky.

Yibai reflected.

But the banquet had already begun.

Many fox servants came out with many platters of dishes.

The fare was the kind eaten by humans, and quite lavish at that.

There was also plenty of wine and spirits.

Yibai wondered where the Hu Family had sourced all of this from.

But Yibai didn't ponder it long, for there was food to eat.

He took a bite of the dishes, only to feel somewhat disappointed.

His sense of taste was different from before.

Eating these foods, he only got the sensation of chewing wax.

It was the wine and spirits, however,

that he quite enjoyed.

Yibai continued to partake while watching the banquet that had now begun.

Soon, he spotted the guests of honor at the feast.

The groom, a weasel.

The bride, a multicolored fox.

Yibai took a simple glance and then paid them no more mind; after all, there was nothing particularly interesting about it.

"Tsk tsk, the bride is indeed a beauty unmatched."

The scholar beside him marveled, his eyes nearly popping out.

Yibai: "?"

How could she have anything to do with the words "unmatched beauty?"

She wasn't even human.

Yibai glanced at the scholar quite speechless.

But the scholar seemed oblivious to any mismatch, perhaps because he had drunk too much and was getting confused. He started to chatter away to Yibai.

From the scholar's eager conversation,

Yibai learned of the man's identity.

The scholar was named Huang Xu, hailing from a place called 'Jiangshui County' nearby. He came from an impoverished family, but Huang Xu had been diligently studying, aspiring to make a name on the list one day, earning himself a scholarly title.

"Don't look down on me for being poor with no title to my name; my ancestor was once a Scholar!"

Slurring slightly with flushed cheeks, Huang Xu declared.

"A Scholar? Was your ancestor close to becoming a higher Scholar, too?"

Yibai made casual conversation.

He didn't feel any aversion towards this scholar.

Well, he thought it should be the scholar who felt aversion towards him.

Being on close terms with a giant snake, that's really something for the scholar.

"Huh? You know my ancestor? How do you know my ancestor nearly became a Scholar?"

Huang Xu stared wide-eyed, looking at Yibai strangely.

"What was your ancestor's name? Huang Bo?"

Yibai's snake head turned to face the scholar.

"My great-grandfather was indeed called Huang Bo. How about that, do you really know my great-grandfather? Don't go scaring people in the middle of the night."

Huang Xu looked frightened.

Upon hearing this,

Yibai's vertical pupils involuntarily contracted. He hadn't expected that this person was actually the great-grandson of the Land Deity who was still living in the world.

What a coincidence, huh?

He had just met that Land Deity a few days ago, and now he had encountered the Land Deity's great-grandson.

When Yibai thought of Huang Xu's identity, he became much friendlier and said to him, "What are you talking about? Your great-grandfather was from so many years ago, how could I possibly know him?"

Huang Xu then relaxed.

"I thought so, how could you know my great-grandfather? Brother, we seem to have hit it off. If you don't mind, please join me for a drink..."

"No, brother, your hand—why do you always drink with your head..."

Huang Xu once again started to urge Yibai to drink with him.

After three rounds of drinks,

Huang Xu was already drunk.

Yibai also didn't resist accompanying the scholar to drink because he found the alcohol rather enjoyable.

As he drank, he suddenly noticed that at some point, the Monster Qi in Huang Xu's eyes had greatly diminished.

Uh-oh!

Yibai realized something was terribly wrong.

However, Huang Xu was already near unconsciousness. At that moment, he happened to turn his head and look towards another table.

When he saw what was there, his soul nearly fled his body.

Where there are people, there sat a two-meter long Centipede.

"Centipede!!!"

Huang Xu let out a cry that echoed throughout the banquet.

Suddenly, the originally cheerful banquet became silent, and all the demons' eyes turned to Huang Xu.

The atmosphere immediately became chilly.

An old fox seemed to have popped out of nowhere. With a gesture, a gust of black wind swept over, and Huang Xu fainted on the spot.

Yet the Centipede's eyes were blood-red, heading in Huang Xu's direction.

Having one's true form exposed.

It was a taboo in cultivation.

"Heavenly Dragon, please do me a favor. Today is my daughter's wedding, let's not have any fatalities."

The old fox stepped forward.

The Centipede's nickname, Heavenly Dragon, was also a blessing, hoping that it could indeed become a dragon of the heavens one day.

"Immortal Hu, it's not that I don't respect you. This man has ruined my cultivation; it's a taboo, and you know it too. I won't kill anyone at the banquet, but I'll take this man away and kill him outside. It's been too long since I've tasted human flesh; just right for a feast, and I shouldn't forget what human flesh tastes like," the Centipede said fiercely.

Upon hearing this,

The old fox wanted to say something more, but in the end, he sighed and stepped back.

That was the rule.

He couldn't really say anything about it.

Indeed, it was Huang Xu who had first revealed the Centipede's true form.

The other demons present had nothing to say.

Seeing this, Yibai sighed inwardly. While others might not stand up, he had to.

He owed a debt of gratitude to the Land Deity.

Now that the Land Deity's great-grandson was in trouble, he had to intervene.

Yibai looked towards the Centipede, and with one glance, he saw the black Monster Qi mingled with a few strands of sinister Qi.

One could tell it had feasted on humans, but not often.

It was probably not from a lack of desire, but a lack of capability.

Yibai glanced at the unconscious Huang Xu beside him, transformed, and his massive snake body blocked the Centipede's path...