Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 251 - 211: The Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Hong

After a brief interlude between mother and daughter and the bowl, the atmosphere of celebration quickly returned to the awards banquet as it should be, full of joy and harmony. People at the table enjoyed their food while enthusiastically chatting with those around them, as if the snow surrounding Wind and Cloud Tower seemed on the verge of melting from such fervor.

Wang Jiu sat at the main table, continuously welcoming and bidding farewell to waves of Li Family members coming to toast him, feeling that his proficiency in dealing with people was steadily increasing.

And as quantitative change leads to qualitative change, after accumulating sufficient expertise, Wang Jiu summarized a highly versatile formula for social chit-chat based on this experience.

Stand up, hold the wine cup, simultaneously pull the muscles at both corners of your mouth to create a sincere yet not overly enthusiastic gentle smile, then say in a clear yet respectful voice, "I've long admired you, a pleasure to meet, next up."

The entire process is clean and efficient, perfectly encompassing all key points of the social procedure, cutting out unnecessary formalities while enhancing both parties' social efficiency. Most importantly, it's highly versatile, equally applicable to men and women, young and old, with the same set of actions, cup height, arm posture, and specific wording unchanged.

Such a standardized social formula could simply be called a revolution in the history of social interaction.

As is well-known, the progress of human civilization largely depends on socialized mass production, during which standardization is an essential foundation for achieving socialized mass production. The best example is unifying script and vehicle tracks to enable different people to pull in the same direction, thereby increasing social production efficiency.

Similarly, if human social activities can also be highly regulated and standardized, reducing pointless waste, it naturally could improve social efficiency.

Wang Jiu is presently engaging in such a task.

"I've long admired you, a pleasure to meet, next up."

After dealing with who knows how many guests coming to toast him, Wang Jiu suddenly found the queue ahead empty, and the surrounding environment had quieted down.

Strange, could it be these people have such good insight that they've realized within a short period the milestone he established in the history of human social interaction, expressing shock and respect through this atmosphere of silence?

But the next moment, Wang Jiu saw, at the periphery of the banquet, a white figure slowly approaching.

Its presence was extraordinarily faint, and even with Wang Jiu's present perceptive ability, he couldn't detect it without relying on sight. Earlier, his view was blocked by the people toasting him, only now does he see that ghostly white figure.

A white gown, a milky mask, under the night's chill appearing like a ghostly apparition, yet carrying an ethereal fairy aura.

Holy Sect Immortal Envoy, Shen Ziyu.

With the arrival of the Immortal Envoy, even a family banquet of the foremost Cyan Cloud family must give way, soon Li Fengyun, Lu Xin, and others rose to greet him, though the atmosphere was a bit peculiar.

Why did he come at this time?

Generally speaking, shouldn't they wait another day or two?

Although in the earliest times, after the Holy Sect-supervised competition ended, the champion would immediately meet the envoy, receive Holy Sect gifts, and raise their questions. But more recently, over the past hundred years or so, the procedure has changed, usually giving the champion a few days to consider specific rewards and questions. The Holy Sect envoy would also stay for three to five days in the city before returning to Heaven-Reaching City.

At least, it wouldn't usually involve personally running to someone's home.

And as people puzzled over this, Shen Ziyu softly spoke, his voice still elusive and distant.

"Members of the Li Family, I am the Holy Sect envoy tasked with overseeing this Cyan Cloud Grand Competition. I apologize, the sect has urgently summoned me, and I must return to Heaven-Reaching City by early tomorrow morning, so I could only arrive uninvited to award the champion's prizes."

After this explanation, the banquet's atmosphere instantly lifted, erasing that hint of peculiarity and awkwardness; people enthusiastically raised their glasses, toasting the Immortal Envoy from afar, naturally not expecting any reciprocation—that's the privilege of patriarch-level figures.

Yet, this time, Shen Ziyu didn't even give face to several high-profile figures, slightly waving his hand at the welcoming wine glasses, "Time is limited, no room for chit-chat, I hope you understand."

Lu Xin and others didn't feel awkward, nodding as they drank their wine and sat down, chatting amongst themselves.

Shen Qingming, however, stood somewhat at a loss, her gaze sweeping over the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy a few times, awkwardly saying, "I, I haven't decided yet..."

Shen Ziyu's voice carried a hint of indulgence, "I can help you, there's no rush. But first, let's find a convenient place to talk."

Saying that, he waved his sleeve to open a door at his side, a door leading to his own cave abode.

Shen Qingming hesitated for a moment, then felt someone lightly pushing her from behind.

It was Lu Xin.

"Don't worry, after all, this is our home."

Shen Qingming smiled and stopped hesitating, stepping forward.

Shen Ziyu then turned to look at Wang Jiu, "You come too."

"Of course." Wang Jiu didn't hesitate, following behind Shen Qingming, entering Shen Ziyu's cave abode, leaving the banquet's lively noise behind.

——

The cave abode Shen Ziyu unfolded this time was a bamboo forest suffused with spiritual mist, bathed in bright moonlight, with a pavilion inside, and a stone table with three cups of fragrant tea and some tea snacks.

"Please sit." Shen Ziyu said, taking his seat first, then watching Shen Qingming and Wang Jiu, who appeared slightly nervous, with a playful gaze.

Shen Qingming felt increasingly uneasy, but knowing Wang Jiu was beside her, forced herself to calm down. She sat next to Shen Ziyu, picked up a teacup, took a sip, and immediately felt a rich fragrance flowing into her abdomen, quickly spreading throughout her body, nourishing every corner.

A cup of tea seemed to bring new progress to the recently breakthrough Immovable Tyrant Body.

The young girl sighed at the extraordinary prowess of the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy, thinking this fragrant tea might be some kind of Primordial heritage or a treasure of Xiangzhou. Meanwhile, she quietly urged Wang Jiu to quickly drink the tea, not to waste such a rare opportunity.

Although Wang Jiu was not human, it was uncertain whether this tea that nourishes the human body would be effective for him. Still, after being together for so long, during the reconstruction of the Sword World of the Celestial Divine Sword, Shen Qingming had some understanding; the gist was to just fill him with anything good.

This Whiteboard Stupid Sword lacked everything except thick skin.

Wang Jiu did not rush to act, instead, he merely inspected the tea before him, then sighed and said, "I never thought I'd see Mountain Opening Tea again."

"Mountain Opening Tea?" Shen Qingming asked.

"Hmm?" Shen Ziyu also voiced doubt.

Wang Jiu explained, "This tea tree was specially cultivated by Jing Hong Immortal Venerable for Shen Kaishan back then. The tea leaves contain a unique medicinal power, effectively nourishing the bloodline divine techniques of Shen Kaishan's Immovable Tyrant Body. I thought after the great battle, these tea trees had already become extinct; who would have thought they've survived till today."

Then, he pushed the tea over to Shen Qingming: "If others drink this tea, at most it fills them with a bit more True Essence, but for a cultivator with the Immovable Tyrant Body, it's an excellent tonic. So it's better for you to drink it."

"Really? Is that so?" Shen Qingming was quite surprised, and then looked very unexpectedly at Shen Ziyu, thinking that the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy was indeed omnipotent, even preparing such tailor-made tea leaves for her.

But then, Shen Ziyu shook his head, pushed his tea over too.

"I can't believe this tea has such mysterious qualities. All these years I've cherished it, yet only used it as Spirit Stone Tea, truly a waste! Like Ye Gong loving dragons without understanding them."

Shen Qingming was embarrassed to monopolize three cups and was unsure whether to decline the goodwill, momentarily stunned and at a loss.

Wang Jiu explained, "Ye Gong loving dragons is an idiom, talking about a person named Ye Gong..."

"I know it's an idiom!" Shen Qingming snapped out of her daze and drank all three cups in one go, then sincerely thanked the Envoy, "Thank you, Envoy, for the tea."

Shen Ziyu sighed and then slowly removed his mask, revealing an extraordinarily handsome young face.

Shen Qingming glanced, focusing her mind as she felt a sense of familiarity.

Between the eyebrows, there was a resemblance to a brainless, annoying, wealthy fan, yet this young and handsome man inexplicably filled her with an intense sense of intimacy, making her want to rush over immediately...

This, this really is...

Her heart stirred, forcing her to ask Wang Jiu through the mind passage, "Did he put some kind of love drug or mesmerization scent in the tea?"

Wang Jiu replied, "I haven't drunk it, so I can't accurately answer, but I can observe your subsequent reactions to respond to your question."

"Then it'll be too late, thanks!"

Looking at the young girl's wary face, Shen Ziyu shook his head helplessly, finally revealing his identity.

"Qingming, long time no see. I'm Shen Ziyu, your mother Shen Yue'e's brother. When you were very little, I held you once. Although I quickly got beaten by my sister for making you cry. But didn't we at least form a friendship through a fight?"

Saying that, Shen Ziyu extended his hand, attempting a cheerful and generous image to bond with his niece.

Shen Qingming cautiously stepped back half a step, her gaze filled with more suspicion.

Shen Ziyu, growing anxious, exclaimed, "I'm telling the truth! I really am your uncle! Don't you remember me at all?" Meanwhile, he instinctively stood up, wanting to walk to Shen Qingming's side.

Shen Qingming immediately signaled Wang Jiu for help.

Wang Jiu solemnly reminded Shen Ziyu, "If Shen Yue'e were still alive, she'd be preparing to beat you up a second time now."

"..." Shen Ziyu stopped dead, then asked Shen Qingming with a bitter face, "Can we form a friendship through a fight one more time?"

Listening to their conversation, Shen Qingming finally asked suspiciously, "Are you really my uncle? Also, Ah Jiu, did you know long ago?"

Next, not waiting for their answers, Shen Qingming suddenly burst into tears.

"Yes, I remember now. Indeed, when I was very little, my mother was still here... She did help me chase away the big bad wolf when I was crying."

Wang Jiu glanced at Shen Ziyu.

Shen Ziyu, feeling extremely awkward, explained, "At that time, I heard my sister telling Qingming the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and wanted to liven up the atmosphere by pretending to be the big bad wolf."

Shen Qingming sternly and decisively retorted, "You purposely transformed into a big wolf head with magic while holding me to scare me!"

Shen Ziyu remained silent for a long time, finally saying, "Back then, my sister broke two of my bones."

Shen Qingming nodded, "It's okay, I don't blame you anymore."