Imagine this: a tiger caged and starved for twenty-one days—just how crazy of a killing spree would it go on once released down the mountain?
It was as though one could already see the terrifying spectacle of a Great Emperor emerging from seclusion with an Ultimate Imperial Weapon, sweeping away the heroes of the realm...
Ji Jue felt as if an air conditioner had been installed in his mouth, frantically sucking in sharp breaths of cold air.
It was so cold it tasted bitter.
"She didn't quit drinking at all..."
Lao Zhang's voice sounded by his ear, a thin thread, sounding even more bitter. "Run, kid... She's been drinking like this for half a month already!"
What the hell?
Are you stacking a Soulstealer here? How does she even have an enrage mode?!
Ji Jue's scalp went numb. His legs went weak, and he nearly slid under the table, only to be yanked up by the collar.
"What kind of weird moves are you pulling, boy?"
Wen Wen's eyes were right in front of him, gleaming with teasing amusement. "Come on, drink."
*Smack!*
A bottle of booze was shoved into his hand, followed by a practiced clink, and then: *glug, glug, glug*.
Seeing Ji Jue still staring at her blankly, she flashed a mischievous grin. "What, want mine instead? How about we swap?"
Ji Jue rolled his eyes. He had never imagined that the very first thing he would test after reaching the Regeneration tier would be his alcohol tolerance. Fine, drink it is... If it won't kill him, he might as well drink like there's no tomorrow...
Otherwise, if he moved a fraction too slow, Wen Wen would just pour it straight down his throat.
"Good! That's the spirit!"
The moment Ji Jue set down the bottle, before he could even grab a bite of food, he felt Wen Wen's hand slap down hard on his shoulder—nearly fracturing his collarbone. Then, another bottle was shoved into his hand.
Wen Wen had found a worthy opponent, her fighting spirit blazing. "Come on, keep going!"
"Drink it is!"
Ji Jue rolled up his sleeves and looked at Wen Wen, his own competitive spirit igniting.
Today wasn't like the past. Back then, while he hadn't been as lowly as a mere pawn, today he was definitely going to show her that even within the Regeneration tier, there were levels!
He would show her what it meant to have someone greater beyond the heavens!
God of War, takeoff!
And then, ten minutes later... God of War, bedtime!
Embers comparing physical constitution with Huangxu? How could anyone dream up such a hilarious joke? He couldn't hold out, not even for a second!
Mainly because that little goofball Tong Hua was right beside them, eyes glued to Ji Jue, keeping strict watch to prevent him from cheating with material property interference.
Ji Jue couldn't even break down the alcohol in his stomach, not daring to use Crucible Blood.
He could only grit his teeth and endure.
After a few bottles, the world was spinning, and he had started drooling.
"Ugh... can we sue for peace?"
"Are you kidding me?"
Wen Wen grinned, throwing an arm around his shoulder as she shoved her bottle toward him. "Come on, bring out that tough talk from earlier... 'Without Ji Jue in this mortal sphere, the Dao of Drink would be eternal night,' was it? Xiao An, write that down for him! Drink!
"Good! Down the hatch! Brother Ji Jue is so amazing! Have another cup..."
Ji Jue lay sprawled in his chair, babbling incoherently.
Lao Zhang shook his head and sighed, Tong Hua gloated, Xiao An looked half-understanding while worrying over her big brother, and Wen Wen threw her head back in roaring laughter.
When Ji Xue pushed open the door according to the address, this terrifying scene was what greeted her eyes.
"Sorry, am I late..."
Her smile froze on her face, turning blank. "...or not?"
Instinctively, she tried to step back.
Unfortunately, it was too late!
Spotting an opportunity to divert the fire, that bastard Ji Jue leaped up, grabbed her, and shoved her down into a chair. "Late, are you? Drink a penalty cup first!"
*Smack!*
With the hand speed of Masterwork Nature blurring into afterimages, a cup appeared in Ji Xue's hand before she could even react. Then, a clink, *glug, glug, glug*, followed immediately by everyone turning their gaze on her.
In an atmosphere like this, not drinking... wouldn't really fly, would it...
Just one cup. Just one cup shouldn't hurt, right?
When her trembling hand instinctively lifted and she took that first sip, everything that followed was like a mudslide tumbling down a mountain.
A dozen or so minutes later, Ji Liu, having taken his sweet time riding over on his motorcycle, pushed open the door—only to see his own sister with one foot on a chair and the other on the table, her face flushed red as she boisterously recounted the thrilling battle against mermen.
"Back then, that fish was only centimeters from Ji Liu's crotch! Just a few centimeters!... Huh."
Turning her head and spotting Ji Liu, her eyes instantly went wide:
"—Halt, visiting general! State your name at once!"
*Gulp...*
Under the stare of all those eyes, Ji Liu instinctively sensed danger. Swallowing hard, he took a step back. "Sorry, wrong room."
Unfortunately, it wasn't just Ji Jue in here—his sister was here too.
"Halt, dog thief!"
*Whoosh.* Ji Xue flashed behind him, grabbed her brother, and dragged him back. Then Ji Jue pried his mouth open and poured the liquor straight in, like filling a thermos flask.
*Gurgle, gurgle.*
Ji Liu tried to struggle, but his arms were pinned down by his sister, who had finally found a scapegoat. She laughed maniacally: "Haha! Swallowed it down, swallowed it down! How does it feel? How does it feel?!"
"Brother Shan, save me—!"
Unfortunately, Brother Shan couldn't hear him. Brother Shan was still pinned down working one last shift, having only just sent an apologetic text message.
With no one showing the slightest sorrow over Ji Liu's defeat, the next to arrive at the scene was Xu Guan, completely oblivious to his impending doom!
It would normally have been discernible, but who told Tong Hua, an Aether practitioner, to be inside?
He hadn't sensed a single clue.
Rushing in with his head down and an apologetic look, he pushed open the door: "Sorry, the parking spot was bad—*what the fuck*... What are you guys doing?!"
Instantly, around the table, pairs of bloodshot eyes turned toward him.
Silent grins split their faces.
The conspirators sneered wickedly.
And then, friends were no longer friends...
Anyone who entered after that was seized and forced to drink, one after another, like a bottomless pit. Even the waiter who came in to change the plates barely escaped their clutches.
After fleeing the room, he told the floor manager: "Manager, call the police quickly! The people inside have lost their minds—they're chugging Spirytus straight from the bottle!"
With a numb expression, the manager glanced at tonight's guest list and let out a helpless sigh.
Was this kid new? This was barely getting started. "Go tell purchasing that our hard liquor inventory is in critical condition. Red, white, yellow, whatever—hurry up and send a truckload over first!"
When Tong the Vegetable finally arrived in a rush and pushed the door open, he felt as if he had crossed into another dimension... Why was a bunch of lunatics dancing around the table?
Is this still the fucking place I booked?
He stepped back, checked the name of the private dining room, and began to sweat.
Pushing the door open again, he heard Ji Jue's unhinged laughter: "Come on, Big Liu, do a trick for him!"
"Fuck it, let's roll!"
Hearing this, Ji Liu—stripped down to a single tank top—slapped the table, leaped up into a backflip, and caught the falling dice squarely with his dice cup. Slamming it onto the table, he bellowed his roll:
"Four sixes!!!"
Sixes my ass! You smashed them to pieces!
With bleary, drunken eyes, Xu Guan was just about to point and laugh when he suddenly noticed something off—the dice fragments spilling through Ji Liu's fingers, and specifically, a glint of silvery fluid among them...
Holy crap, why did the shattered dice have a filling?
Huh? Quicksilver?
Yet in the next instant, the quicksilver vanished without a trace.
Was he seeing things?
"What's wrong, Old Xu?" Ji Jue poked his head over with deep concern. "What happened? You can't drink anymore? If you can't, you can go sit over there, don't force yourself!"
"Bullshit!"
Xu Guan's face flushed crimson as he cast the minor oddity from his mind. "Open!"
Instantly, as if by magic, a fresh set of dice appeared beneath Ji Liu's hand. The others burst into laughter, provoking Xu Guan to fury once more. He raised his cup and chugged: *glug, glug, glug*, bottom's up!
"Awesome! Badass!"
Ji Jue clapped his hands in praise, fanning the flames. "Way more straightforward than Big Liu!"
"Of course! He's weak!"
Xu Guan grinned, slinging an arm around a potted plant beside him with a chuckle. "Bro doesn't talk much, huh? No worries, Captain Tong doesn't talk much either. You two definitely have a lot in common. Let's do a drink together!"
"..."
Behind him, Tong Shan—who indeed had a lot in common with plants—felt his eyelid twitch violently.
Just look at this demonic circus. Barely an hour had passed, yet empty bottles were piled like a mountain in the corner of the room, while the food on the table remained completely untouched!
"You guys..."
He had barely opened his mouth when everyone pinned him down into a chair, slamming a fist-sized cup filled to the brim in front of him: "Drink!"
Tong Shan sighed. "I—"
"Who are you looking down on with that little bit? Bring out a basin!"
Ji Jue conjured a giant beer stein out of thin air and slammed it down. "Come on, fill it to the brim for Brother Shan! Xiao An, bring another crate over to let Brother Vegetable rinse his mouth!"
"You bastards..."
Tong Shan let out a long sigh toward the ceiling. Glancing at the malicious faces around him, he suddenly broke into a laugh. Tossing off his uniform jacket and tie, he rolled up his sleeves and looked down upon his opponents.
"Bring it!"
How many years had it been since he had felt this relaxed and happy?
Casting his grievances and bitter complaints to the back of his mind, he laughed heartily, raised his glass, and threw his head back to down it in one go.
In the end, not a single person got to eat a bite of food...
.
Two hours later, Xu Guan lay on the sofa drooling, Big Liu had nearly turned into a human fountain, and even Tong Hua was slumped across the table after being ruthlessly disciplined by her own brother.
Even Wen Wen was a third drunk. Only Lao Zhang remained as placid as ever, grinning and accepting every challenge.
That was the beauty of the Vortex lineage: pure alcohol could be drunk like water. If one truly wanted to knock this old geezer down, even dosing him with poison by the jin would hardly do the trick.
While a Celestial Chosen's physical constitution was exaggerated, there were liquors brewed specifically for Celestial Chosen, and their sales were far from low. With the Tong family's wealth, there was no chance of running short on that front.
Ji Jue and Tong Shan already had their arms around each other's shoulders, venting their grievances. "If you ask me, you're just too stubborn. If the job sucks, just quit! Come to Xinquan, and I'll make you the Springmaster!"
"What the hell is a Springmaster?"
Tong Shan laughed. "In charge of the faucets?"
"Not important. What matters is, how on earth did you endure that idiot Xu Chaoxian?" Ji Jue curled his lip, making a throat-slitting gesture. "If it were me, I'd have long since... you know what I mean?"
"Who wouldn't?"
Tong Shan sighed and shrugged, picking up another cup of liquor and draining it. "Sometimes I want to hack him to death too, but it's useless. You get it, right?"
In every sense of the word, completely useless.
Leaving aside whether that bastard could even be killed, as a 'Saint' chosen and recognized by the Heavenly Overseer, inheriting the sacred name of 'Solomon,' he could never die by accident unless he withered away of old age.
This authority was bestowed by the Heavenly Overseer. Even other Saints could not strip it away; in fact, they were forbidden from doing so and had to help keep him alive instead. After all, the existence of a 'Saint' could be seen as an extension of the Heavenly Overseer. Getting rid of Xu Chaoxian would only harm the Overseer's already meager spirituality.
That was how Xu Chaoxian had managed to walk away unscathed from his position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the last major reshuffling. His rivals could only cast him out of Midtown, purge his records and history, and use his limited remaining lifespan to constrain him, turning him into a mere ornament.
And true to expectations, Xu Chaoxian had completely slacked off.
Thoroughly, utterly lying flat.
He had turned into this pathetic, good-for-nothing mess that even dogs shook their heads at.
Yet all these inside details weren't something he could share with Ji Jue. No matter how close they were, telling him would do neither of them any good. Under the surge of alcohol, he could only let out a disgusted, lingering sigh: "Sometimes, I even feel he has it pretty rough."
"However hard he has it, could it be harder than the scavengers outside the city?" Ji Jue let out a cold laugh. "Could it be harder than the man who had lost everything and came to assassinate him today?"
Even the scavengers knew how precious the opportunity was to leave the past behind and live an honest life, if ever given the chance.
Yet Xu Chaoxian refused that choice. Did he not deserve what he got?
Perhaps there were reasons to slack off. But slacking off was one thing; raking in dirty money was another; being a useless figurehead drawing a salary was another; and letting the situation deteriorate to this point was yet another.
At the end of the day, this was his own choice.
Why shouldn't people hate him?
Besides, Ji Jue hadn't pulled out Pan Ying and Chunjun to chop off his dog head, had he?
Tong Shan shook his head. "If Xu Chaoxian dies, things still won't get any better. Who knows what kind of creature they'd send next? Someone like the one in Chaocheng? They've already collected taxes fifty years into the future..."
Every single one of the governors dispatched from Midtown was scum. When close to Midtown, they at least maintained a shred of dignity, but the farther out into the boondocks they went, the uglier their true colors became.
For the sake of political achievements, they stopped at nothing.
In comparison, Xu Chaoxian merely acted as an ornament.
At the very least, life in Yacheng and Haizhou remained relatively bearable. Aside from his obedience, that was the single redeeming grace.
When the Federation was first founded, among the various taxes set by the Heavenly Overseer for each city, the most important was the spiritus tax, used to maintain the operation of the Law of Heavenly Overseer.
Yet over the course of four hundred years, with changing circumstances and all manner of chaos, the spiritus tax—originally one in twenty—was now approaching one in ten.
To demonstrate their competence, the governors of various regions would only push it higher, never lower; they would only demand more, never less.
In his state of total slack, Xu Chaoxian had given up on political achievements and kept the spiritus tax at one in thirteen, loosening the reins around Yacheng's neck by a fraction. For that alone, people were already thanking the heavens.
As for anything more...
It was simply too much to expect.
Just remain an ornament and stop screwing things up, and that would be enough.
"Another cup!" Ji Jue raised his glass.
Tong Shan chuckled. "What's the toast for this one? Wishing me smooth travels, wishing me a boundless future, wishing me steady promotions... haven't we covered all of those already?"
"Hmm, then let's toast to illness conquering Xu Chaoxian as soon as possible."
Ji Jue grinned too. "Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
*Clink!*
They drained their cups.
"When are you leaving?"
"The day after tomorrow, early morning. Don't come see me off—it's inconvenient."
Being transferred from the Minister of the First Department of the Yacheng Security Bureau to supervisor of the Mid-Continent Operations Division seemed like a lateral transfer with the same rank on the surface, but in reality, it was a qualitative leap.
After all, the Yacheng Security Bureau was merely a local agency, whereas the Mid-Continent Operations Division was directly subordinate to the Midtown Headquarters of the Federal Security Bureau. The material and resources it could command were leagues beyond his current post.
On paper, it was an operations division; in truth, it was the Security Bureau's Mid-Continent branch. On top of that, there were unknown covert identities and responsibilities attached. From now on, Brother Vegetable would be just like the commanders of intelligence agencies in the movies, sitting in a command tent and remotely directing agents in all sorts of operations.
Any achievements he produced would easily reach the Heavenly Hearing, and promotions would come at lightning speed.
If everything went smoothly, that is...
Even thinking with one's heel, it was obvious how deep the waters ran. With such vast power and resources involved, given Tianyuan's disposition, they'd likely beat each other's brains out in internal strife first.
Furthermore, in that godforsaken place called the Mid-Continent, all sorts of monsters and freaks sprouted like chives, one crop after another.
The White Nation had been destroyed for so many years, yet White Kings arose endlessly no matter how many were killed. Now they were even trying to restore their nation, arm-wrestling with the Red Nation once again.
On the Empire's side, after a hardline hawkish Prince Regent took power, their foreign policy had turned aggressive once more. It might well turn into another proxy war...
"Stay safe."
Ji Jue patted his shoulder, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Want me to get you some potent stuff?"
"Sure."
Tong Shan nodded decisively without hesitation. "Though, when it comes to safety, there's no need to worry."
He paused. With a subtle flow of spiritus, an aura flared for a split second before vanishing just as swiftly, sealed tight once more.
Only the smile playing at the corner of his lips grew increasingly pleased.
Ji Jue froze in place.
Sensing that brief surge of surging aura, he went blank.
Holy shit, I haven't even flexed on you yet, and you're already flexing on me?!
Which one of us is the real dog here?!
More importantly, Tong the Vegetable's aura just now had undoubtedly touched upon the true quintessence of Exaltation. What's more, it carried the characteristics of a domain enclosure, ready at any moment to transform his surroundings into a domain of his own...
"How did you reach Exaltation?!"
Ji Jue was stunned. "When?"
Tong Shan took a sip of the hard liquor and remarked with sentiment, "Last time when you stirred up trouble, I got some inspiration. A few days ago, while working overtime out on international waters, I broke through."
"What last time?" Ji Jue asked blankly. "Which time?"
"..."
For a moment, the entire dining room fell into silence once more.
Now, it was Tong Shan's turn to stare in shock. He looked over, his voice cracking in disbelief:
"What *else* did you stir up?!"
"..."
Ji Jue lowered his head awkwardly and coughed twice. "Well, not that much. Just, you know, a little bit here and there, big and small."
Tong Shan didn't want to say another word.
Treating it as nothing more than a dog barking, he rolled his eyes.
Drink!
I broke through to Exaltation and got transferred to the Mid-Continent, and you forged a Heavenly Artifact and then stirred up even more trouble—we both have bright futures ahead of us, okay?
"By the way, take this."
After drinking heavily until dawn, as they were finally wrapping up, Ji Jue pulled an object from his pocket and tossed it into Tong Shan's hands.
"An employee badge?"
Tong Shan paused, squinting as he held it closer, and was amused. "'Haian Industries Mid-Continent Branch Acting... Supervisor'? What kind of ghost trick is this? Asking me to work for you and expand your business?"
"Relax, I won't need you for actual work. Aside from you, this branch doesn't have a single person—it's an empty shell. If you have time, you can help me hawk some goods."
Ji Jue waved his hand casually, then paused and told him, "If there's any... little matter that's inconvenient for you to handle, take this and look for the Knights of Homecoming. They'll definitely take care of it cleanly for you.
"Of course, you still have to pay the fee, you know!"
Turning the badge over, Tong Shan felt its back and immediately detected a hidden spiritus circuit inside—evidently some kind of identification credential.
Since Ji Jue could bring this out, it clearly wasn't some ordinary membership card.
If he said they would take care of it cleanly, they definitely would.
Still, wasn't this connection a little too wild?
"Just what I need."
Tong Shan smiled and slipped it into his breast pocket. "Thanks."
"Alright, off you go."
Ji Jue gave a final wave. "Wishing you smooth sailing in the Mid-Continent, Supervisor Tong!"
"That doesn't sound like a compliment."
Tong Shan let out a soft sigh. He turned back for one last look at the smiling faces at the street corner. After remaining silent for a long time, he finally smiled and waved:
"Goodbye, everyone."
And so, taking Tong Hua with him, he boarded the departing car.
And vanished from sight.
"He's gone," Lao Zhang remarked with feeling.
"He's gone," Ji Jue sighed softly.
"He's gone," Xiao An repeated instinctively, half-understanding.
Wen Wen leaned against her motorcycle, smoking a cigarette. After a long while, she sighed from the bottom of her heart: "Must be nice."
"Hmm? Promotion and a raise?" Ji Jue chuckled. "The Vegetable's left—are you planning to climb the ladder, Sister Wen? You have my vote for sure!"
"...And then off Xu Chaoxian on my first day in office?"
Wen Wen considered it, laughed at her own thought, and waved her hand without another word: "I'm heading out first."
"See you later."
She put on her helmet and started the motorcycle.
Amid the roar of the engine, the bike merged into the bustling traffic, weaving nimbly through as it surged forward.
In the wind whipping against her face, Wen Wen grew absentminded.
As the motorcycle swept across an elevated highway, she glanced back at the sparkling ripples of the distant sea.
Snapping back to reality, she realized she had long since grown accustomed to this scenery.
She had originally thought of changing environments, going to a place where no one knew her to turn over a new leaf and start afresh. Yet after so many years, it was still...
Old habits die hard.
Suddenly, she craved a drink.
Right then, her phone rang, and the call connected.
Lyu Yingyue's voice came through.
"Hello?"
"I'm here," Wen Wen said. "You should have seen the email from a few days ago, right?"
"I had planned to call you this afternoon, but thinking about it, you probably haven't gone to sleep yet. Am I disturbing you?" The voice on the other end chuckled. "Sorry, I only just saw it."
Wen Wen instinctively twisted the throttle, accelerating. "What do you think?"
"What do I think about what?" Lyu Yingyue feigned ignorance.
"My email. My resignation letter," Wen Wen said. "Even if it has to go through procedure, isn't this taking a bit too long?"
"I called precisely to talk to you about that."
Lyu Yingyue paused and let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, but I cannot approve it. As for the reasons, there are plenty. If you like, I can give you as many as you want."
Wen Wen frowned. "That wasn't what we agreed upon!"
"Indeed. Back then, we agreed to let Yacheng be your foothold, granting you the widest scope of authority, free to come and go as you pleased." Lyu Yingyue sighed. "The crux of the matter is, are you truly free, Xiao Wen?"
"Warden Lyu, can we not play word games?" Wen Wen snapped, annoyed. "How am I not free? I'm free as hell. After I resign, I'll be even freer, alright?"
"And then? Plunge headfirst right back onto your old path?" Lyu Yingyue countered. "You wrote so many reasons for resigning, so why did you leave out the single most important one?"
"..." Wen Wen fell silent.
"Because of Wen Zheng, isn't it?"
Lyu Yingyue said, "You heard news of that man, fury surged in your chest, and you can't wait to draw your blade to fight it out—to win cleanly, or die swiftly?
"But will that man truly let you have your wish? As the Holy Fool known as the Guide, isn't his greatest specialty subtle guidance and manipulation?
"Without the shackles of the Law of Heavenly Overseer, how will you suppress the nature you so loathe and resist? Or do you intend to step onto the 'proper path' he has laid out for you?"
When Wen Wen instinctively twisted her wrist, she realized the throttle was already twisted to the stop.
She retorted, "Could it not simply be that I can't stand that dog Xu Chaoxian, want to crush his dog head in my bare hands, and don't want to work anymore?"
"Unfortunately, no," Lyu Yingyue said with a shake of her head. "If it were really you, by the time you said those words to me, Xu Chaoxian's head would have already been crushed."
Wen Wen had nothing left to say.
"So, consider it me breaking our agreement... Xiao Wen, I cannot allow you to step onto the wrong path and repeat past mistakes. Casting off burdens and shackles sounds wonderful, but where is it that you are actually heading? Is everything you're discarding truly worthless?
"Can you really march forward without hesitation, never looking back?"
Wen Wen remained silent.
At some point, the call had disconnected.
The motorcycle roared, weaving through the morning rush-hour traffic, grazing past trucks as it sped past. It went faster and faster, yet had no destination, merely hurtling forward on instinct, pressing on in numbness.
Not until the gas tank burned dry and the overheated metal groaned in protest did the motorcycle coast to a stop by the curb.
Looking up, she realized that without noticing, she had driven all the way back to the Beishan District Branch office. On the street outside the shopping mall, crowds bustled back and forth.
Wen Wen took off her helmet, raised her head, and gazed at the sunlight reflected on the glass curtain wall of the office building.
After a long time, she let out a silent sigh.
And cursed under her breath.
In the crowd, a girl in a white dress watched her quietly. After a long while, she turned and walked away.
Chapter 468