"Riding on my coattails? Give me a break, Big Bro..." Xu Luo said with a wry smile. "This is my first time in Celestial Room No. 2, too. We've all been to the Fengyue Building before, but who among us has ever actually seen Phoenix?"
Huangfu Chongzhi just smiled and said no more.
The group took their seats in the inner room. A moment later, several exquisitely beautiful women entered, carrying platters of fruit and jugs of wine. Their movements were so fluid and graceful, it was a pleasure just to watch them.
"Fifty-year-old Agarwood Brew! Haha, we're really in for a treat today!" Liu Feng couldn't help but exclaim in delight after just one glance at the wine jars.
"The Phoenix Pavilion Master said it's on her today, right?" Sui Yan asked one of the beautiful women pouring the wine, a completely straight face on him.
The woman smiled gently and nodded. "The Master said that all you Young Masters should drink to your hearts' content. Everything is on the house, by her invitation."
"Tsk, how generous!" Xu Jie's lips twitched. He then added, "If we were footing the bill for this round, the five of us would be cleaned out completely..."
"Young Master Xu certainly knows how to joke. I can afford to treat you to a few drinks." Phoenix's lazy, melodious voice drifted in from outside as she entered, her hips swaying with each step.
This time, Phoenix was not wearing a veil.
Huangfu Chongzhi and the others were all slightly taken aback.
The woman before them was no peerless beauty, but rather, someone with an ordinary face.
Of course, one couldn't call her ugly. With fair skin, delicate willow-leaf brows, a fine nose, and cherry-red lips, she could be considered attractive. But when compared to her stunning figure, her face was a major letdown.
In fact, her looks couldn't even compare to the women in the room playing the zither and pouring wine!
The only breathtaking thing about her was her eyes. They were exceptionally beautiful, yet not in a seductive way. They were remarkably pure, as if they could see right into a person's very soul.
"What's the matter? Finally seeing my face... are you a little disappointed?" Phoenix asked with a dazzling smile, not seeming to care in the slightest.
"To be able to see the Phoenix Pavilion Master's true face is a great honor. Besides, your worldwide fame doesn't rest on your looks, does it?" Huangfu Chongzhi said with a faint smile. "Please, have a seat."
Phoenix slowly sat down, taking a seat right beside Xu Luo. She looked at him and said with a smile, "They say the second son of the Xu Family is a disappointment to his great father, but in my opinion, the Second Young Master isn't lacking in the slightest."
Xu Luo skillfully concealed the flicker of surprise in his eyes and replied with a smile, "You flatter me, Phoenix Pavilion Master. I must thank you for everything today. And please, don't call me 'Second Young Master.' Xu Luo is fine."
"Hehe," she giggled. "You're too kind, Young Master. It's only proper to reciprocate. I'll call you Xu Luo, and you can just call me Phoenix." Phoenix said with a casual smile.
The corners of Huangfu Chongzhi's and the others' mouths twitched. 'Third Bro is really getting some special treatment,' they thought. 'We've never heard of Phoenix being this courteous to anyone.'
At that moment, Phoenix raised her cup and addressed the group. "I'm honored to be drinking with you young masters today. I'd like to propose a toast. In a little while, I'll have some girls come accompany you. Please, enjoy yourselves."
With that, Phoenix raised her cup and drained it in one go.
Xu Luo and the others drained their cups as well.
"This really is excellent wine!" Xu Jie couldn't help but exclaim.
"Excellent wine, indeed," Sui Yan agreed with a nod.
Huangfu Chongzhi and Liu Feng said nothing, but the looks of pure enjoyment on their faces said it all, their eyes half-closed as they savored the aftertaste.
"COUGH, COUGH... This stuff is potent!" Only Xu Luo reacted this way, sticking his tongue out. As the wine went down, it felt as if a ball of fire had ignited in his stomach—a sensation he had never felt before.
But then, the Shaking Light Star in his Dantian flashed, instantly suppressing the fiery sensation.
"Hehe." Phoenix chuckled softly. Her gaze on Xu Luo was probing as she asked, "Young Master Xu, this isn't your first time drinking. Why do you find it so potent?"
"I've never had anything quite this stiff," Xu Luo said, forcing a smile at Phoenix through a grimace.
Huangfu Chongzhi and the others gave Xu Luo a strange look. They knew he was lying. A man knows his own brothers, and though Xu Luo had always had a weak constitution, he had never been one to back down from a drink when they were all together.
A fifty-year vintage was expensive, but it wasn't as if they'd never had one before.
Though puzzled, none of them voiced their questions.
Phoenix smiled, then stood up and said to the group, "I feel like a third wheel here. I truly envy the bond you brothers share. I won't disturb you any longer. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening, Young Masters!"
With that, she excused herself and left.
Huangfu Chongzhi and the others watched Phoenix depart, then dismissed the beautiful attendants as well. The brothers were here today to drink away their frustrations, not to seek carnal pleasures.
Besides, they needed to properly debrief the day's events. None of them believed that Leng Ping and his cronies would let the matter drop so easily.
Once only the five brothers remained in the room, Huangfu Chongzhi nodded at Sui Yan.
Sui Yan promptly stood up, did a full circle around the room, and then returned, shaking his head. "No listening devices."
PHEW!
They all let out a long sigh of relief, the tension in the room easing.
Even though they were all sons of Dukes and Generals, they felt not an ounce of superiority in the face of Phoenix's overwhelmingly powerful aura. Her behavior today, especially, had left them completely baffled.
"Third Bro, what was that all about?" Xu Jie asked Xu Luo, his brow furrowed. "No wine is strong enough to make you react like that, is it?"
Xu Luo forced a smile. "What I drank wasn't the same as what you all had."
"Hmm?" The expressions on the faces of Huangfu Chongzhi and the others changed instantly.
Xu Jie's face turned to ice, and Sui Yan's sharp, sword-like eyebrows shot upward.
Xu Luo waved a hand dismissively and smiled. "It's nothing. She meant no harm. I think... she just wanted to test me."
Liu Feng picked up the cup from in front of Xu Luo and took a light sniff. His face immediately turned cold. "A test? This was no test! She was trying to seriously harm you!"
"What do you mean?" Huangfu Chongzhi and the others tensed up again.
"This is wine, yes! And it's good wine, top-quality! But this is a five-hundred-year-old cellared Agarwood Brew! For a Martial Artist, drinking this would be fine; it might even increase their True Essence. But for a normal person... it would burn right through their stomach and intestines. It's no different from poison!" Liu Feng explained, his face grim.
"Son of a bitch! And here I was thinking she was being kind. Turns out she's in league with that bastard Leng Ping!" Xu Jie slammed his hand on the table in a rage. "I don't care how powerful this Fengyue Building is! If they dare to frame one of our brothers, we can't just take this lying down!"
"Second Bro, sit down," Huangfu Chongzhi said calmly.
"But, Big Bro..." Xu Jie's chest heaved, clearly consumed by rage.
Sui Yan remained silent, but the frigid expression on his face showed he was on the brink of erupting.
"Sit down. Third Bro is right; Phoenix meant no harm," Huangfu Chongzhi said, then turned to Liu Feng. "Go check the jar of wine that was by her seat."
Liu Feng went over and opened the jar from beneath where Phoenix had been sitting. A cool fragrance wafted out. He immediately smiled. "Five-hundred-year-old Hundred Ice Brew. It's the perfect counter to the fiery nature of the Agarwood Brew. If you mix the two together, you can create the legendary Ice and Fire Divine Brew. This Phoenix Pavilion Master... she really is incredibly generous!"
"But... even if she left a jar of Hundred Ice Brew, what just happened to Third Bro..." Xu Jie was still not appeased.
"Second Bro, this isn't your area of expertise, let me explain. While the Agarwood Brew is potent enough to scorch a person's insides, as long as you drink the Hundred Ice Brew within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, you'll be completely fine."
Liu Feng's explanation finally dispelled Xu Jie's anger. He sat down, looking a bit sheepish, and said to Huangfu Chongzhi, "Sorry, I didn't mean to blow up at you."
Huangfu Chongzhi smiled gently. "It's fine. We were all just worried about our brother. You did nothing wrong."
"But why would Phoenix suddenly treat Third Bro so well?" Xu Jie asked, still confused.
Everyone's gaze then fell upon Xu Luo.
Seeing the expectant looks from his brothers, Xu Luo said softly, "After I fainted the other day... my constitution suddenly changed. I can cultivate now."
"What!" Huangfu Chongzhi and the others were stunned for a moment, then their faces broke out in joyous surprise.
Huangfu Chongzhi said, "We have to keep this under wraps. Remember, not a word of this gets out!"
The others nodded in unison, all understanding the gravity of the situation.
There was an accident during the Centennial Star Festival. The festival failed. And yet, Xu Luo suddenly gained the ability to cultivate...
Even if the two events were unrelated, it wouldn't stop people with malicious intent from speculating. If an enemy were to use this against him, Xu Luo would be in grave danger!
Even as the second son of the Grand General of National Guardian, he could not bear the responsibility for the failure of the Star Festival!
"There's more..." Xu Luo looked at his brothers and said quietly, "Phoenix is wearing a human-skin mask. That wasn't her real face!"
HISS!
The others couldn't help but gasp, staring at Xu Luo in utter astonishment.
"Are you certain?" Huangfu Chongzhi asked.
Xu Luo nodded. The reason his gaze had been so strange when he first saw Phoenix was because his eyes had, for a moment, seen straight through her face to the one hidden beneath!
That face, beautiful beyond description, was the real Phoenix!
"That has nothing to do with us," Huangfu Chongzhi said, quickly regaining his composure. He looked at the others. "Like Third Bro's situation, this is not to be spoken of outside this room."
Huangfu Chongzhi and the others didn't even ask how Xu Luo knew the face wasn't real, nor did they ask what the real Phoenix looked like.
For the Fengyue Building to have stood firm in the Cangqiong Kingdom for over a thousand years, it had to possess a depth of power that ordinary people couldn't possibly fathom. Especially for men of their status, some secrets were far safer left unknown.
...
In another room, Phoenix sat across from a plain-looking, middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man smiled and asked, "Well?"
Phoenix frowned slightly. After a moment of thought, she shook her head. "I can't read him at all."