Venerable Ye edited and revised, writing a full ten pages of a plan, only then feeling it was foolproof.
Finding Si Lian’s residence was not difficult; she hadn’t hidden her tracks, and Venerable Ye soon found out which Hotel she was staying at.
This Hotel looked a bit too dilapidated.
For an Honored One to stay in such a place was a loss of status that was unimaginable to Venerable Ye.
He carried a wild chicken, a box of high-quality tobacco, and a jar of wine as he knocked on Si Lian’s door.
Si Lian couldn’t quite understand why Venerable Ye had come, especially carrying a load of gifts as if he were paying a New Year’s visit.
It was the ultimate interpretation of having ill intentions.
After a brief hesitation, Si Lian nonchalantly let Venerable Ye into the room… it was no big deal.
Since she was also an Honored One, she would deal with whatever dirty tricks he might have.
“I’ve booked the Main Hall downstairs. Since it’s the New Year, why make things so unpleasant? How about we go downstairs for a meal?” Venerable Ye’s face was honest, his gaze sincere.
Unmerited favors imply hidden motives.
Si Lian curled her lip and directly opened Venerable Ye’s tobacco box, pinched a bit to smell it, then placed it in her pipe and lit it.
A puff of grayish-white smoke was exhaled right into Venerable Ye’s face.
The pungent smell of tobacco mixed with the faint fragrance from Si Lian’s mouth made him squint his eyes.
“Let’s go.”
Si Lian followed Venerable Ye to the Main Hall downstairs.
Just as Venerable Ye had said, the Main Hall was empty and quiet with no other customers; the Xiao Er in the shop were only serving them.
Si Lian didn’t hold back: “On this page of the menu, this, this, and this… one portion of everything except these three.”
“That’s too little, add these pages too!” Venerable Ye waved his hand and added several more pages.
Si Lian looked at him suspiciously: “You… will pay the bill, right?”
A faint sense of contempt and discord rose in Venerable Ye’s heart.
These dishes wouldn’t even cost a few Magic Crystals. For an Honored One, that wasn’t even worth a few hours of expenses.
How miserably was Si Lian living as an Honored One?
“Don’t worry, don’t worry~” Venerable Ye forced a smile and handed the wild chicken to the Xiao Er. “Go and stew this fine chicken!”
The Xiao Er took the chicken and left with a bow.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkwardly silent. Si Lian had no intention of starting a conversation, clearly just there to freeload a big meal off a rich fool, continuing to puff away.
Venerable Ye was in no hurry.
When the table was full of hot dishes, he finally pulled out some high-quality Apricot Flower Brew.
As soon as the wine jar was unsealed, the aroma filled the Hotel’s Main Hall.
Si Lian’s calm face finally showed a ripple of emotion.
“This is… hundred-year cellar wine from the Ten Thousand Flowers Sect?” she asked in disbelief. “This stuff is hard to find even for ten thousand Jing!”
Even for Venerable Ye, the value of this jar of wine was somewhat absurdly high; he had really spent a fortune.
“It’s nothing. If I can gain a friend and turn weapons into jade and silk, what do these few Magic Crystals matter?” Venerable Ye smiled nonchalantly and then personally poured Si Lian a large bowl full of Apricot Flower Brew.
Si Lian performed a structural analysis of the wine in the bowl. After confirming it wasn’t poisoned, she took a gentle sip.
“It seems that Soul Seeking Crystal is very important to you,” Si Lian said.
“Let’s not mention the Soul Seeking Crystal; treasures are for friends!” Venerable Ye laughed heartily, but then a faint sadness appeared on his face.
“It’s just that today’s events reminded me of my daughter. I haven’t seen her for decades, and I don’t know how she’s doing now…”
“Your daughter?” Si Lian asked curiously.
——Plan proceeding!
Venerable Ye was ecstatic.
——Step two: Find a topic of interest amidst the clinking of glasses to incite a desire to talk.
——Specific method: Open up first by telling one’s own sad stories to make the other person feel your sincerity. This way, one can gain the other’s trust and get them to reveal their own secrets!
“Yes, my daughter was just as rebellious back then,” Venerable Ye gave a bitter smile.
“She always said I was too strict, that people should live freely, and that life shouldn’t just be about cultivation, but also poetry and distant horizons… I lectured her about not knowing the dangers of the world, and she insisted on running away from home to prove me wrong. Then, one day when I returned, she was gone.”
“My condolences,” Si Lian said sympathetically.
“Sigh, it’s too painful to look back. Cheers,” Venerable Ye raised his bowl and drained it heartily.
The Ten Thousand Flowers Sect’s Apricot Flower Brew was one of the few types of wine that could intoxicate an Honored One, but Venerable Ye was prepared.
He had taken a Sobriety Pill beforehand, which could reduce the potency of the Apricot Flower Brew to less than ten percent.
This way, the other party would get drunk first, and then he could do whatever he wanted with her!
Extracting her secrets was just a small matter; with some luck, he might even be able to finish her off with a Knife!
Si Lian, completely unaware, raised her cup in a salute and drank it all down just as readily.
“So, about kids nowadays—you can’t push them too hard!” Venerable Ye said casually, as if hinting at something.
“You can’t spoil them,” Si Lian said plainly.
“Push too hard, and they’ll probably just explode,” Venerable Ye clicked his tongue. “Not like our generations who endured the Three Disasters and Six Tribulations; everyone who survived knows just how dangerous the world is.”
“The Era has changed,” Si Lian couldn’t help but sigh.
“Come! Another bowl!”
Another cup down, and Venerable Ye recalled the details of his plan, secretly rejoicing.
That’s right, this is exactly the rhythm.
Six hours later
Venerable Ye looked at the wine jars by his feet, his face slightly pale.
That’s right, everything was progressing exactly as he had predicted.
A faint drunken flush appeared on Si Lian’s face, and because of the Sobriety Pill, his mind was clear, without a hint of intoxication.
But…
Venerable Ye stared at the more than one hundred empty jars of Apricot Flower Brew by his feet, his tears nearly falling.
One jar cost over ten thousand Magic Crystals.
That’s over a million.
Even if he was an Honored One, a Guardian Venerable of a city, an existence standing above the City Lord, he couldn’t afford to waste money like this!
“Has the wine arrived?” Si Lian looked at him with a smile.
“Soon…” Venerable Ye glanced at the Crystal with a pale face. “The rider is still two hundred miles away, just a blink of an eye.”
“Your Apricot Flower Brew has arrived!”
As he spoke, a knock came from the Hotel’s Victory Gate.
A rider stepping on a Flying Sword pulled out a Storage Bag with a warm smile, bowed slightly, and politely handed it to Venerable Ye. “Fifty jars of Apricot Flower Brew in total. Please check them.”
Venerable Ye nodded, his heart bleeding as he carefully checked the wine jars inside the Storage Bag.
This was no small amount for him either.
Fortunately, yes, fifty jars.
Venerable Ye waved his hand weakly. “None are missing.”
“Alright~ Please give me a good rating, thank you!”
The rider cheerfully flew into the sky.
Gritting his teeth, Venerable Ye waved his hand and brought out over fifty jars of Apricot Flower Brew, forcing a smile onto his face as he looked at Si Lian.
He had guessed the beginning.
But he hadn’t guessed the process.