Chapter 224: Restaurant

“Then do you still want to compete?” Jiang Ke’er asked.

“No, I don’t,” Gan Ruǎnruǎn replied, her expression turning a bit gloomy.

“Alright. By the way, where do you usually stay?”

“I just live at taverns.” Gan Ruǎnruǎn smiled.

“I stay at this one today, that one tomorrow… I’ve stayed at every tavern in this entire city! Impressive, right?”

“Impressive.”

“What about you?” Gan Ruǎnruǎn asked in return.

“Where are you from? Where do you stay?”

“Me?” Jiang Ke’er thought for a moment.

“I don’t know where I’m from, and I don’t really have any fixed place to stay right now.”

“Here’s to freedom~”

“Alright, I’ll finish this glass of milk~”

The two girls chatted in fits and starts.

They didn’t talk about family or places far away, just tossed casual words back and forth.

Jiang Ke’er wasn’t the talkative type, and she soon realized the other girl wasn’t either.

Unlike those slick, streetwise folks of the Jianghu, Gan Ruǎnruǎn seemed not to have talked to anyone normally in a long time, so the atmosphere between them was rather awkward and strange.

Gan Ruǎnruǎn quickly started slurring her words and got thoroughly drunk.

To Jiang Ke’er’s surprise, Gan Ruǎnruǎn didn’t become excited or act crazy when drunk, as she had expected.

Judging from her earlier, troublemaking attitude, Jiang Ke’er had thought Gan Ruǎnruǎn would use her drunkenness to make a scene, but unexpectedly, she became quiet instead.

Suddenly, she clutched Jiang Ke’er’s arm tightly, her eyes hazy, and her voice hoarse as she said, “Don’t close your eyes… bastard… don’t sleep… we won…”

After a while, she suddenly sobered up and apologized to Jiang Ke’er.

“Sorry, I haven’t drunk this much in a long time.”

“It’s fine,” Jiang Ke’er patted her on the back.

“If you have anything on your mind, you can talk to me.”

“Nothing,” Gan Ruǎnruǎn shook her head, suddenly wiping her eyes.

“Actually, you’re the first one willing to drink with me…”

“Why?”

Gan Ruǎnruǎn pouted angrily, downed her drink in one gulp, and slammed the cup on the table. “How should I know!”

Jiang Ke’er covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“Seeing how drunk you are, I thought you could really hold your liquor,” Jiang Ke’er said.

“I thought I could too…” Gan Ruǎnruǎn shook her head.

“After all, I’ve been living in taverns for so long…”

“What do you usually drink here then?” Jiang Ke’er asked.

“Milk.”

After she said that, Gan Ruǎnruǎn’s head thumped onto the table.

Well, here we go again, time to carry her back to the hotel.

Jiang Ke’er called over the little waiter.

While settling the bill, she casually asked, “Does Ruǎnruǎn usually stay here?”

The little waiter nodded.

“Sometimes she just orders a glass of milk and sits here daydreaming. She can daydream like that all day long.”

“And when she’s done daydreaming?”

“Then she goes off to pick a fight with someone!”

Truly a life of endless battle.

Jiang Ke’er hoisted Gan Ruǎnruǎn up and headed toward the hotel.

On the way, she ran into the burly man who had argued with Gan Ruǎnruǎn earlier.

Jiang Ke’er ran up and gave him a fierce kick.

“?”

The big man was utterly confused. “What did I do now?”

“Who told you to say Zhang Dàtǔ can’t sing well!”

After kicking him, Jiang Ke’er ran off, leaving just this sentence behind.

The big man was so angry he was trembling, and in the end could only throw his head back and roar, “Zhang Dàtǔ, I won’t let this go!”

Jiang Ke’er ran back to the hotel and tossed Gan Ruǎnruǎn onto the bed.

Fortunately, even if Cultivators drank too much, they wouldn’t end up vomiting all over the place, so Jiang Ke’er didn’t have to worry after putting Gan Ruǎnruǎn on the bed.

Leaving Gan Ruǎnruǎn alone at the hotel, Jiang Ke’er headed back to the tavern and ordered a strong drink herself.

But just a lick of it on her tongue left her eyes streaming with tears from the burn.

Clearly, drowning her sorrows in drink wasn’t her style.

She pushed the cup aside, only for a slim, bony hand to pick it up, raise it to her lips, and down it in one gulp.

“Don’t waste it, it’s pretty expensive.”

The newcomer smiled and sat down opposite Jiang Ke’er.

She wasn’t young, with the traces of years at the corners of her eyes, but it didn’t take away from her charm and allure.

The rose-red nail polish on her nails was slightly chipped.

She held a brownish-yellow lacquered notebook to her chest, which she set gently on the table, smiling at Jiang Ke’er.

Jiang Ke’er had already noticed her for a while—just as this woman had been secretly watching both Gan Ruǎnruǎn and herself during their earlier chat.

Curiosity sparkled in the woman’s eyes as she said, “I’ve been watching Gan Ruǎnruǎn for several months. This is the first time someone’s come to the tavern with her. Everyone else avoids her like the plague.”

“That’s because they don’t see her worth,” Jiang Ke’er said calmly. “Ruǎnruǎn is a loyal and good girl.”

“Indeed,” the woman nodded, as if she knew Gan Ruǎnruǎn well.

“So why are you following her?” A faint wariness rose in Jiang Ke’er’s heart.

“Was it you who took her kidney?”

“No, that was some medicinal herb dealers.”

The woman pulled out a name card and handed it to Jiang Ke’er.

“My name is Si Lian. I’m a Team Coach, currently looking for outstanding members of the Demon Race who want to join the Shenzhou Cup–Sect Alliance Tournament.”

Before Jiang Ke’er could reply, a nearby Bear Demon saw Si Lian handing out her card and immediately strode over, tearing up the card in her hand.

“Si Lian, I warned you, stop persecuting our people. The Demon Race doesn’t need to take part in that damned Shenzhou Cup!”

A trace of helplessness flickered in Si Lian’s eyes, but she still spoke.

“I’m not harming anyone, and I can’t force my kin to join my team… I just think the Demon Race needs to prove itself, to show the world that our innate talents are unique and valuable—just like Jiang Ke’er.”

“We don’t need to prove anything!”

“Don’t we? Then why did you get so excited when Jiang Ke’er showed up? Why did you celebrate, drink yourself into a stupor, and end up being sent to the Medical Hall?”

“…”

“You and I both know the value of confidence,” Si Lian gripped her notebook tightly.

“I’ve seen young children ashamed of their tails, using sharp stones to cut them off, even trying to slice off their ears, all just to look more like humans… Why? What do you think that’s for?”

“I know, but you’ve gotten enough of our kin killed already,” the Bear Demon said painfully.

“Don’t get any more of our geniuses, our future, killed.”

“I’m sorry,” Si Lian’s voice was hoarse.

“But I will get more killed, until the Demon Race holds up the Shenzhou Cup for all the world to see. You can call me crazy, you can hate me… but I believe our potential is far greater than this. In small-scale elite battles, we should be invincible, we should rule all!”

“No, I can’t let you stay here and lure more newcomers to their deaths.” The Bear Demon suddenly reached out, grabbing Si Lian’s shoulder.

“Sorry, but I have to take you out…”

“How many so far?” Jiang Ke’er suddenly spoke up.

The Bear Demon froze. “Hey! Little girl, don’t let her fool you!”

“Two!” Si Lian hurried to answer, clutching at this straw as if it was her lifeline.

“It’s only two so far, but I’ll gather more team members soon!”

“Don’t listen to her! She’s already killed five!” the Bear Demon shouted, his eyes bloodshot.

“She gets newbies killed in batches, and now she’s after you! She’s nothing but a madwoman!”