After Elder Gray Crane blocked the small spout that had been spraying wine, he hefted the earthen jar onto his shoulder. I could hear the liquor sloshing inside and licked my lips.
"Alright, everyone, I hope you all have fun. The next round of the drinking game will be tonight."
I saw Grace Hughes and Sage Newton both greet him respectfully. He must be Vincent Swallow's junior.
I watched longingly, still wanting another drink—just a small cup would do.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out—it was Lan Yin. He walked in, followed by the other Ten Guides.
Mr. Brown said, and Lord Shenyan, for once, showed a rare smile but did not respond.
"Friends from the Hades Circle, this way, please."
Yuna Ji spoke, setting her cup down on the table with boredom. Suddenly, the cup turned into a puff of white mist and vanished—it was quite strange.
"Oh, these guys have some real sleight-of-hand skills. If, after the negotiations, they could come perform at one of my events, that would be fantastic."
Redmond said, letting go of the cup. Before it could hit the ground, it dissolved into white mist and disappeared.
Then I saw wisps of white mist, and just like that, the cup vanished without a trace. I tried to use my Ghost Network to sense the cup, but found it was just an ordinary cup. I was baffled, turning it over and over in my hand.
"Stop staring at it, brother."
John Chou said. I gave an 'oh' and planned to pack the cup and take it back. Even if I didn't know what it was, once I messaged The Engineer, he'd surely be interested.
But just as the cup slipped from my hand, it instantly turned into a wisp of white mist and disappeared.
Redmond muttered, then burst out laughing.
"No wine?"
It was Victor Chen, one of the Three Poisons of the Renegade Monks. I looked over—he was just the same as ever. As soon as he entered, he started yelling. Beside him were two monks: one looked frail and sickly, the other was extremely fat, with a round head and big ears, his body barrel-shaped. As soon as he came in, he sat down, panting heavily.
"Bring out the wine, you stinking Taoists!"
John Chou said quietly, Yuna Ji giggled, and Redmond burst out laughing.
"Master Victor Chen, right this way."
The one speaking was Sage Newton, and the female Taoist beside him was Grace Hughes.
It turns out, everything said last night was true—these Taoists aren't as stubborn and abrasive as I expected. The only real misfit seems to be Master Jasper Jade; the other eight look pretty decent.
"Masters, please, this way."
Grace Hughes said, just as the frail, sickly guy started chuckling.
"Oh, Taoist, you're quite handsome. Are you married? If not, why not marry me? What do you say?"
"Hmph, what's so good about an old woman over a hundred years old? Ignatius Reed, you must be blind."
"A woman is a woman, after all."
The frail one turned out to be Ignatius Reed, one of the Three Poisons. In that instant, all I could think about the Renegade Monks was: filthy, chaotic, low-class—their manners were appalling.
Originally, thanks to the drinking, my impression of them had improved a little, but now, it was utterly ruined.
I saw Elder Arthur Young at the edge of the stage, already holding back Master Claude Long, who had rushed over, and Elder Peach, who was still drinking.
"Let go, I want to challenge the Three Poisons and see how strong they really are."
"Great, looks like we're in for a good show."
Yuna Ji seized the moment and started shouting.
"Hurry up and fight! We'll be your referees."
Red Hair muttered, then burst out laughing.
I shot the two of them a glare.
"Don't stir up trouble, okay? You two."
I said, walking over. Samuel Young stood nearby, grinning, but I noticed Grace Hughes didn't seem upset at all; she acted like nothing had happened and said:
"Masters, please go over there to drink. Soon, friends from Netherhell will be arriving."
"Amitabha, goodness, goodness. Please forgive my two unruly disciples for their rude words."
At that moment, I saw an old monk in a brightly colored robe walk in. His earlobes were large, two white whiskers hung from his face, and his eyes were half-closed—he looked every bit the part of a venerable Buddhist.
"Master Cloud."
I saw Grace Hughes and Sage Newton both greet him respectfully. He must be Master Swallow's junior.
"Hey, what's the holdup? Move it, you idiots. Get lost."
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out—it was Lan Yin. He walked in, followed by the other Soul Collectors.
Apparently, just outside the door, they'd also witnessed the Renegade Monks' behavior.
"Friends from the Hades Circle, this way, please."
Samuel Young saw things getting tense—even Master Cloud's eyes opened, and he looked a bit angry.
"Pah, even the lapdogs get to come in."
"No, they're not lapdogs—they're just mutts. Woof, woof, woof."
Victor Chen said this, and Ignatius Reed chimed in, even imitating a dog by sticking out his tongue, constantly mocking Lan Yin and his group.
In that moment, Master Jasper Jade strode right over.
"Everyone, please hear me out."
Things were getting out of hand—it looked like a fight was about to break out, but Master Jasper Jade stepped in to stop it.
"We're all gathered here for a reason, which everyone knows well. Let's not give those evil spirits a reason to laugh at us."
Master Jasper Jade spoke, his eyes blazing with anger as he looked in our direction.
Then the Dao Sect members separated the Hades Circle and Renegade Monks, but Lan Yin looked furious, wanting to fight, held back tightly by Zane Zhao and Wang Su.
"Looks like this is going to be interesting."
John Chou said quietly, Yuna Ji giggled, and Red Hair burst out laughing.
At that moment, Ignatius Reed suddenly looked at Lan Yin and said: