Chapter 221: Brotherhood and Banquet
The transaction took less time than the warning had.
The deacon offered his own cautions—more out of formality than genuine concern. But when he looked at Su Tianhao's face, he let out a quiet sigh and said nothing further. Some lessons could only be taught by experience.
Su Tianhao laid his token on the Cloud Ledger Array Plate, exchanged the required points without ceremony, and accepted the jade slip with the same unhurried calm he had carried since the moment he found the scroll. He returned it to its place on the spirit wood shelf with both hands—careful, deliberate, the kind of handling given to something that deserved it—and turned to find Su Lei and Wang Bing already waiting at the desk.
Neither of them brought up Chen Rui's warning again.
There was nothing left to say about it that Su Tianhao's walk to the desk hadn't already answered.
Su Lei and Wang Bing went through the same process in turn. Their chosen techniques were transferred into individual jade slips and the original scrolls were returned to the shelves. Su Lei's seven thousand Cloud Points fell to five thousand. Wang Bing's eight thousand did the same.
Neither of them minded. Satisfied smiles settled across both their faces.
Su Tianhao made a quiet note of his own balance.
9,500 → 8,500.
Still the highest. Not that he was keeping score.
Before they left, all three were checked—a formality, given that Elder Cang Mu's spiritual sense covered every corner of the building. No one had ever successfully walked out with something they hadn't paid for. No one was likely to start today.
They made their way to the first floor and stepped outside.
---
Wang Bing exhaled as the open air met them, her snow-white hair lifting slightly in the breeze. "I never expected this visit to turn out the way it did."
Su Lei drew a long breath and let it out slowly, his smile widening. The temperature regulation on the second floor had been efficient—but there was a tension in that space that only the outside could properly clear.
Su Tianhao glanced between them.
Wang Bing had already stored her jade slip. Su Lei still held both of his in one hand.
"You still don't have a spatial ring," Su Tianhao said. Not a question. A statement.
Su Lei laughed dryly. "The cheapest one costs a hundred low-grade spirit stones. What do you think I am—the Patriarch's son?"
"Don't you at least have a storage pouch?" Wang Bing asked.
"I do. I just didn't bring it today." He shrugged. "Never saw the need."
Su Tianhao was quiet for a moment. "I could buy you one from Elder Lin Yue. I still have eight thousand five hundred points."
"No." Su Lei's answer arrived almost before the offer finished. His silver brows drew together with rare seriousness. "You've already done enough for me, Tianhao. More than enough. I'd feel guilty."
Wang Bing watched the exchange without intruding. There were things between the two of them that didn't need a third perspective.
Su Tianhao held Su Lei's gaze for a moment. Then nodded once.
"Call me brother from now on."
Su Lei blinked.
Then the realization arrived—surprise first, then something warmer and less containable.
"Hahahahaha!" The laugh came freely, full-throated and genuine. "I knew I'd earn that eventually. Took you long enough." He pointed at Su Tianhao with mock authority. "And you—you no longer get to call me Su Lei either."
Su Tianhao's lips curved with genuine warmth. "Just make sure you keep up. It would be embarrassing if people started comparing us."
"Hahahaha~"
Wang Bing's laughter arrived like wind chimes—light, soothing, the kind that quietly dissolved whatever tension had been left in the air. "Then we celebrate. Lunch is on me. Let's find a restaurant."
"Excellent idea," Su Lei said immediately, already patting his stomach. "I thought you'd never ask."
He caught himself mid-breath. "Sister-in—" His mouth closed. "Wang Bing."
She caught the slip and smiled. If anything, her expression became slightly warmer for it.
"Do you know a place, Senior Brother Tianhao?" she asked, turning to him.
He nodded.
"Then lead the way." She reached instinctively toward his arm—then caught herself and clasped her hands together instead, without any particular awkwardness.
Su Lei noticed. He said nothing and looked forward, already thinking about the meal.
---
Su Tianhao led them through the Silverblade Peak at an unhurried pace, pointing out buildings and offering practical notes about each area as they passed. Su Lei and Wang Bing listened with the attentiveness of people seeing something for the first time and wanting to remember it properly.
Eventually the ordered stone pathways gave way to something livelier—the entertainment section announced itself before they fully arrived. The smell reached them first: roasted spirit beast, sweet herb smoke, freshly pressed juice from spirit fruits. Then the sound—not loud, but layered, the particular texture of a district that had been built for people to slow down in. Stalls and shopfronts lined both sides of the avenue, their signs hand-carved and their wares displayed without ceremony. Disciples moved between them unhurried, browsing or talking, the training intensity of the Peak's other sections entirely absent here.
Su Lei's mouth opened slightly. "Brother... are we still on the Silverblade Peak?"
"It looks like a city built into the mountain," Wang Bing said, her composure present but visibly tested.
"You're not wrong," Su Tianhao said. A trace of amusement entered his eyes—quiet, contained. Even now, walking through it again, there was a particular satisfaction in seeing it through someone else's first impression. "There are restaurants through here. Pick one."
"That one," Wang Bing said almost immediately, pointing toward a building nestled between two spirit oak trees whose canopies leaned toward each other overhead.
The plaque above the entrance read: Mist & Ember Pavilion.
It was a two-story structure of warm-toned spirit oak and jade accents, red and gold lanterns strung along its eaves and swaying in the mountain air. A thin veil of fragrant mist curled around the entrance from an aroma formation inside—carrying the layered scent of roasting spirit beast meat, simmering herbs, and something sweet underneath it all. Most of the outdoor tables beneath the trees were occupied, the conversation easy and unhurried. Through the open windows, the interior moved with quiet life.
Not extravagant. Not trying to be. The kind of place where disciples came after a good mission to eat something real.
"According to Senior Sister Mei, the food here is fresh and the spiritual energy content is well-balanced," Su Tianhao said. "Neither too loud nor too quiet."
Su Lei was already moving toward the entrance. "Perfect. Let's go before I collapse."
---
Inside, the Mist & Ember Pavilion opened wider than its exterior suggested.
Tables were spaced generously, each one solid spirit wood—dark and worn at the edges from years of use, carrying the particular character of furniture that had been through a great deal without complaint. Less than half were occupied. It was early afternoon—most disciples would still be training. The evening crowd hadn't arrived yet.
'Fewer customers. Better.' Su Tianhao noted with quiet satisfaction.
The aroma was denser here, more concentrated—grilled meat and fragrant broth and something spiced that couldn't quite be identified but made the mouth respond before the mind caught up.
Grrr.
Su Lei's stomach announced itself. He smiled, entirely unbothered, and made immediately for the nearest table.
Su Tianhao stopped him with a word. "Larger table."
Su Lei blinked. Then his expression brightened. "Right! Over there."
He led them to one of the biggest tables on the floor—enough for eight, solid and worn and smelling faintly of chili oil from whoever had sat there last.
"We won't have to shout to order seconds," Wang Bing said, sliding into her seat across from Su Tianhao.
Su Lei was already waving down a server.
The young man arrived promptly—black trousers, formal white shirt, apron, practiced smile. "Welcome to the Mist & Ember Pavilion. What can I get for you this afternoon?"
"The menu first," Wang Bing said pleasantly.
He produced it with practiced grace and slid it across the table.
Wang Bing's expression shifted slightly at the state of the paper—stained at the edges, worn from many hands. The server caught it immediately.
"My apologies, Miss. We're due for new menus soon."
She didn't dwell on it. A quick look through, and she placed her order with the efficiency of someone who had done this many times in better establishments and wasn't going to make it anyone's problem.
"A small bowl of Nine Lotus Root Soup, grilled Spirit Chicken Breast with Silver Moon Cucumber Salad, a cup of Morning Dew Spirit Tea. And two pieces of Spirit Osmanthus Cake for dessert."
"Excellent choice."
Su Lei pulled the menu over before it had fully settled. He went through it with the intensity of a man whose stomach was making active input into every decision.
When he ordered, it came out in one continuous pour.
"Two Thunderhorn Bull Burgers, a large bowl of Cloudsilk Noodles in spirit broth, a plate of Fragrant Spirit Rice with Flame Pepper Calamari, and a large jar of Golden Cloud Wine."
The server turned to Su Tianhao.
Su Tianhao received the menu, went through it at his own pace, and set it down.
"Thunderhorn Bull Brisket. Two cuts of Crimson Flame Tiger Steak. Windstep Deer Ribs. Two large bowls of Dragon-Elephant Stew." He paused. "And everything those two ordered. Add it all to mine."
"Everything?!!"
The server's composure slipped for the first time since they arrived. "Are you sure young master? The Dragon-Elephant Stew alone is one of our premium—"
"Watch your tone." Wang Bing's voice arrived without heat, but with the particular quality of someone who didn't need to raise it to be heard. Her autumn eyes settled on the server with calm finality. "Take the order."
He bowed immediately, recovered his footing, and retreated toward the kitchen at speed.
Wang Bing watched him go. Once he was out of sight, the cool indifference softened entirely. She turned to Su Tianhao with warm amusement in her eyes.
"You really do stand out in everything," she said. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to eat the place out of business."
Su Lei laughed. "That's Brother Tianhao. When he eats, he eats like a dragon."
"My physique requires it," Su Tianhao said simply, leaning back in his chair. "And I haven't eaten properly in over a week."
"A week?" Su Lei's voice arrived with disbelief. "How are you still functioning?"
"Fasting pills."
Su Lei stared at him. Then stared at the table. Then chose to make peace with it.
Wang Bing shook her head slowly. "You are more talented than anyone I've met—and somehow you still push harder than all of them." She sighed with the particular exasperation of someone who had decided to stop being surprised by this and hadn't quite managed it. Then her expression settled into something genuinely warm. "Eat as much as you want. Don't worry about the bill."
---
The server returned with a large wooden cart, his composure fully restored.
Wang Bing's order arrived first—Nine Lotus Root Soup shimmering faintly in a small elegant bowl, Spirit Chicken Breast grilled to a clean finish beside a Silver Moon Cucumber Salad, two pieces of Spirit Osmanthus Cake, and a cup of Morning Dew Spirit Tea steaming at the edge.
Su Lei's spread followed: two towering Thunderhorn Bull Burgers, a large bowl of Cloudsilk Noodles in fragrant spirit broth, Fragrant Spirit Rice with Flame Pepper Calamari arranged beside it, and a large jar of Golden Cloud Wine.
Then Su Tianhao's order arrived. And kept arriving.
The table received each dish with the stoic endurance of furniture that had seen a great deal. Thunderhorn Bull Brisket, generous and well-rested. Two Crimson Flame Tiger Steaks still releasing heat. Windstep Deer Ribs glazed with spirit herbs. Two large bowls of Dragon-Elephant Stew that filled the air around them with a deep, layered richness that made the other dishes briefly irrelevant. And beneath it all, the duplicates of Wang Bing's and Su Lei's orders, arranged in whatever remaining space the table offered.
Su Lei looked at it for a long moment.
"Brother. You weren't joking."
Wang Bing's lips twitched.
They ate.
Su Lei ate with enthusiasm and commentary in roughly equal measure, talking between bites about his new techniques, about the examination, about what he intended to do with the Flowing Sword Barrier once he reached the Martial Core Realm. The food disappeared quickly on his side of the table.
Wang Bing ate with unhurried elegance—small bites, occasional glances at Su Tianhao, the particular expression of someone who had stopped pretending they weren't watching and was simply watching with more dignity.
Su Tianhao ate with quiet focus and a consistency that drew the eye. His chopsticks moved steadily, never rushed, and the food on his side of the table receded at a pace that didn't match his unhurried manner. The Dragon-Elephant Stew went first. Both steaks followed. He worked through the rest without particular ceremony.
"Senior Brother Tianhao," Wang Bing said at one point, her voice carrying soft laughter. "Are you sure your stomach follows normal human rules?"
Su Tianhao looked up. Swallowed. "I'm built different."
Su Lei inhaled noodles and nearly didn't survive it.
The conversation moved easily—Su Lei's enthusiasm carrying most of it, Wang Bing's occasional observations sharpening it, Su Tianhao's short and precise contributions landing with the particular weight of someone who only speaks when they have something worth adding. The afternoon light shifted through the open windows. Lanterns began to glow more noticeably as the day moved toward evening.
When the last plate was finally empty—emptied mostly by Su Tianhao—the server returned with the bill, looking somewhat altered by the experience.
Wang Bing reached for her token.
Su Tianhao was faster. He set his on the table without a word.
"I'll handle it."
"Senior Brother—"
He gave her a look. Brief, calm, and not particularly interested in discussion.
She relented with a small sigh.
The total came to 25,000 gold coins, equivalent to 250 spirit stones, or in this case—250 Cloud Points.
8,500 → 8,250.
Su Tianhao paid without expression.
"We just spent two hundred and fifty Cloud Points on one meal," Su Lei said, with the voice of a man watching his own money leave the room even though it wasn't his money. "That's two low-grade spatial rings. With change."
Wang Bing laughed—openly, freely, the kind of laugh that arrived without any calculation behind it.
Su Tianhao's shoulders moved once. The closest thing to a laugh he was willing to offer in public.
---
They left the Mist & Ember Pavilion as the evening sun settled over the mountain in long, unhurried gold.
Su Lei walked with his hands behind his head, stomach full, contentment visible in every step. Wang Bing drifted beside Su Tianhao at an easy distance, occasionally glancing at him with an expression she had stopped trying to account for.
The path back to the Stonehaven Grove was quiet. The kind of quiet that settles after a day that went unexpectedly well—not dramatically, not memorably, just genuinely well. All three of them moved through it without rushing.
None of them knew that the quiet was almost over.
Trouble was already waiting.
At his door.