Evan Chu looked at the crowd and said, "Thank you all for coming to my wedding despite your busy schedules. I'm truly grateful. Tonight, let's drink to our hearts' content—no one leaves until they're drunk!"
"Congratulations to Sect Master Chu for marrying four beautiful wives—truly enviable! As your junior, let me offer this toast first!" Young Lord Wenqin raised his cup and said.
"You're too kind, Wenqin. Having you here makes me genuinely happy. I'll drink this cup!" Evan Chu replied.
At that moment, Heaven Ape appeared in front of Evan Chu and whispered in his ear, "Lin Feng, that Soaring Feather Young Lord really is suspicious. I personally saw him pour some kind of white powder into the kitchen's water vat. The distance was too great for me to stop him in time, and by the time I checked, the powder had already disappeared—it must have dissolved into the water."
Evan Chu was slightly stunned when he heard this. Right now was exactly when the kitchen was sending out dishes—some foods taste best only when cooked fresh. If the guests ate food prepared with water from that vat, Frostbane Sect would be accused of poisoning the Nine Great Sects. That kind of crime would make the other eight sects attack them together.
Even if his strength was great, there'd be no way to fight off so many at once—Frostbane Sect could be wiped out entirely.
But he couldn't alarm the guests right now, which put Evan Chu in a tough spot. So he asked Heaven Ape, "Did you have the kitchen staff replace the water in the vat?"
Heaven Ape replied helplessly, "I did have them change it, but that guy actually drugged your usual drinking water—Dish Spirit Spring. No matter how many times you swap it out, it won't help."
"Truly ruthless. If Soaring Feather Young Lord did all this, he must have a reason. If I'm not mistaken, he's probably being controlled or has been hit with gu poison. The dark organization will definitely show up at Frostbane Sect tonight. Tell the disciples to tighten security—expand the perimeter to thirty li. If anything happens, send word immediately!" Evan Chu ordered.
Heaven Ape left right away. Evan Chu glanced at the crowd, then walked straight to the Sacred Sword Sect Master and said, "Sect Master, something's changed tonight. Go notify the other sect heads—I have something important to discuss. I'll wait for you all in the side hall."
Evan Chu acted completely casual, as if he were just reminiscing with the Sacred Sword Sect Master—no one would suspect a thing. He knew there were surely dark organization spies mixed in here, and if he did anything suspicious, his whole plan could fall apart.
After a few more rounds of drinks with the guests, Evan Chu excused himself. During the toasts, the Sacred Sword Sect Master discreetly called away the Freewind Palace Lord, the Bloodfiend Hall Master, and two other sect heads, all in a perfectly natural manner so no one noticed.
Once Evan Chu arrived at the side hall, the Freewind Palace Lord immediately asked, "Sect Master Chu, what could be so urgent that you need to be this careful? Is it that the dark organization is going to make a move tonight?"
The Freewind Palace Lord went straight to the point. Evan Chu smiled, "That's right. According to my disciples' reports, someone has quietly poisoned the food and drinks. The toxin is colorless and tasteless—impossible to guard against. Worst of all, it temporarily seals off Stellar Power, turning people into cripples. It's urgent, so I had to call you all here to discuss countermeasures."
"Otherwise, if something really happened, people would think Frostbane Sect was trying to harm you all. That's a charge I can't bear. I hope we can come up with a way to respond!"
"Is this really true? If so, it's a huge problem—quite a few people have already eaten from the banquet table!" the Bloodfiend Hall Master said.
"The earlier dishes were fine, but the ones coming out soon are questionable. Should we play along or have our disciples stop eating? If we do that, it'll definitely alert the dark organization and they'll never show themselves," Evan Chu said.
Everyone wanted to crush the dark organization, so they all fell silent in thought. After a while, the Sacred Sword Sect Master said, "Here's an idea—quietly tell your own disciples to only eat the earliest dishes and leave the later ones untouched."
"That won't work either. Doing it that way will easily arouse suspicion. Only if something distracts everyone will the dark organization fall for it—but how to arrange that is the problem," the Bloodfiend Hall Master said.
"I say let it be. This toxin is only temporary—it'll fade with time. As long as us sect masters don't eat, we'll be fine. Even if the dark organization shows up, we can handle it. You can quietly warn a few trusted disciples; as for the rest, don't worry for now. When the dark organization arrives, have those trusted disciples lead everyone else away." Evan Chu concluded.
"That plan works, but I'm worried—how long will it take for the poison to wear off? If it's ten days, half a month, or even longer, that's a real problem!" the Freewind Palace Lord said.
"It shouldn't last more than three to five days. Don't worry, Freewind Palace Lord—with me here, it's easy to cure this poison!" Evan Chu said.
"Alright then, we'll follow the plan—tonight we'll catch the dark organization off guard!" the Freewind Palace Lord agreed, and then everyone left the side hall.
Afterward, Evan Chu explained the situation to a few more sect masters. They were shocked at first, but after Evan's explanation, they all agreed to the plan.
When Evan Chu returned to the banquet, many dishes had already been served. He knew some of them were poisoned, so he quietly told Joan He and a few elders and Protectors in the sect who needed to avoid the food, then kept drinking with everyone as usual.
Time ticked by, and by midnight the celebration was winding down. Evan Chu naturally headed to his bridal chamber, while the others went to guest rooms that Frostbane Sect had prepared.
Just then, a beautiful firework lit up the sky nearby—the signal from Evan Chu's disciples. After the firework faded, hundreds of masked, black-clothed figures appeared in the air and then landed on the ground.
Evan Chu looked at the masked men and laughed, "You all came to my wedding—aren't you a bit late? Where's your sincerity? Hiding your faces—are you here to rob my brides or what?"
"Sect Master Chu, you really are lucky—marrying four beauties at once! I'm not here to congratulate you, though. I've come for your life!" one of the masked men said.
"Who are you, and why do you want to kill me? I have no grudge against you. Even if you want my life, shouldn't you at least give a reason?" Evan Chu asked.
By now, many disciples had been sent to guest rooms to cultivate. Of the Nine Great Sects' masters, all remained here. Among them, Lin Xue from Fragrant Pavilion was the weakest, so Evan Chu kept her close for protection.