Chapter 317 Counter-drinking

On February 2nd, according to the beam, the scorpion centipede had nowhere to hide.

Rumor has it that at this time of the year, a stinging True Dragon would raise its head and hibernate as a wandering snake.

In the streets and alleys of Chang'an City, lanterns were decorated with colorful lights. Some shops even displayed signs like Dragon Fang and Dragon Beard Noodles at the right time, beckoning passers-by to plow in the spring and pray for a good fortune in the weather.

Xu Han sat upright in his small courtyard.

There was a rare jug of wine on the stone table in front of him. Although it had not been unsealed, the wine cup had been cleaned and was properly placed there.

He seemed to be waiting for something to happen or for someone to arrive.

The Heaven Punishing Sword was placed between his knees. The expression on his face was cold and solemn, like the statue of a deity in a temple, silent beyond time.

The black cat sprang out from the corner of the courtyard and landed at Xu Han's feet. It swung its hair and scattered the rain that had touched it from somewhere on the ground. Then, it raised its amber eyes and looked at the youth with puzzlement, as if it was wondering what he was doing.

Then, the bored black cat rubbed his trouser legs, but the youth did not move at all.

The black cat tugged at the corner of the youth's clothes with its teeth, but the youth remained silent.

The black cat jumped onto the youth's knees, raised its head, and let out a series of soft calls. The youth reached out and touched his shiny hair head, and did not respond in the slightest.

The black cat was helpless. Finally, it could only quietly lie down on Xu Han's knees and accompany him to quietly wait for someone or something that was about to arrive.

…

As a result, the sun rose from dawn to dusk, the sky from bright to dusk, the crowd from noise to silence.

After a whole day, the youth was still sitting at the stone table, motionless.

Before night fell, after the last glow of the setting sun.

The door of the courtyard was suddenly pushed open.

Xu Han raised his head, and the black cat sat up as well. They looked at the entrance of the courtyard.

A violet-robed youth led a group of Jianghu Ranger-dressed men with swords on their waists and walked in.

Xu Han was stunned.

The purple-robed youth was also stunned.

After that, the cultivators behind the violet-robed youth consciously lined up at the entrance under the instruction of the violet-robed youth. Their auras were restrained, as if they were experts at the Heavenly Hunt Realm and above. There were also more than ten of them. Such a formation was extremely rare even in Chang'an City.

The purple-robed youth strolled over to Xu Han and sat down gently under his gaze.

"Looks like Brother Xu has been waiting for quite an hour." Song Yueming looked at the unopened wine jars and the wine glasses on the stone table and asked with a smile.

The youth, who had been sitting there for a whole day, did not say anything. He stretched out his hand and gently pulled open the seal on the wine jar. Then, he filled the glass with wine.

"Not long after, but I really didn't expect that Brother Song would be the first to come looking for me." Xu Han expressionlessly handed one of the glasses of wine to Song Yueming.

Song Yueming took the glass and raised his eyebrows. "Then who does Brother Xu think should be coming?" He asked.

"Department of Long Night, Tian Ce Mansion , anyone but Brother Song." Xu Han replied indifferently. His tone was relaxed, as if he was greeting an old friend he hadn't seen for a long time.

Hearing this, Song Yueming's expression changed slightly. He could tell something else from Xu Han's words.

However, he did not break it, and his expression quickly returned to normal. Then, he raised the wine cup in his hand towards Xu Han and said, "The last time we drank together with Brother Xu was in the small window of the Exquisite Pavilion. Today, we must drink a good drink of the Gu."

Xu Han also smiled faintly, as if he remembered his days in the Exquisite Pavilion.

"That's good too." He nodded and raised the cup in his hand.

The two of them raised their glasses in the air and drank all the sake in their glasses without saying anything else.

At this time, on the originally quiet street, bursts of noisy laughter suddenly came from the crowd.

On February 2nd, Long raised his head.

According to the season, today was a good time for spring plowing. The Great Zhou had been plagued by snow and drought over the years, and famine was everywhere. Therefore, the Imperial Court would lead a group of dragon dancers to perform on the streets of Chang'an on February 2 every year, hoping that the weather would be fine.

Of course, Chang'an was the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even if the residents of the city weren't nobles, they had already bid farewell to the status of peasants. However, this did not prevent the crowd from being overjoyed, watching the liveliness, and trying to be happy.

At this moment, the noise coming from the streets seemed to be the beginning of the dragon dance.

The two people drinking in the room obviously did not know about this tradition in Chang'an City. Of course, they did not care.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them drank three cups of sake in a row. The atmosphere in the courtyard became silent again. The row of Jianghu experts at the entrance were waiting with deep eyes. A faint killing intent filled the air. However, it seemed that they did not attack because they did not obtain Song Yueming's permission.

The two of them sat upright and looked at each other. The black cat had obviously known Song Yueming for a long time, but it did not notice him. Instead, it gently jumped from Xu Han's knees onto the stone table. He looked curiously at the wine cup on the stone table and thought that it was something strange. He leaned closer to his nose and sniffed, but he couldn't smell anything. He simply extended his tongue and licked it. The pungent and spicy smell caused the black cat's pupils to suddenly dilate. It let out a strange cry and swung its nose, landing beside Xu Han. Then, he shook his head vigorously, clearly feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"You know how to be greedy." Xu Han helplessly placed the black cat on his knees again and reached out to stroke its head to placate it.

"Xuan'er is still so cute." Song Yueming smiled as well, but then he changed the topic. His gaze landed on the Xing Tian Sword on Xu Han's knees, "Brother Xu, I'll listen to the next sentence. Hand over the Xing Tian Sword."

Hearing this, Xu Han raised his head and raised his eyebrows. "Why do I feel that Brother Song cares more about my Xingtian Sword than Zhu Xian and Sikong Bai zhi?" He asked.

Song Yueming's expression changed slightly, but in the blink of an eye, he returned to his normal state. He calmly replied, "It's just that he has received his master's orders and obeyed the will of the heavens. Why would Brother Xu risk his life for a mediocre emperor?"

Xu Han shook his head and whispered, "I'm not that noble. All I did was protect myself."

"Looks like there's something I don't know about this." Song Yueming poured a pot of wine for the two of them and said.

Xu Han stretched out his hand and picked up the glass that was filled again. "What I know, however, is not much more than Brother Song," he said.

After saying that, he looked up at the experts behind Song Yueming and said, "Furthermore, looking at Brother Song's posture, it doesn't seem like he just wants Xu Yue Ming's sword to be that simple."

Hearing this, Song Yueming's lips curled into a faint smile. His hand also held the wine cup in front of him, but he did not raise it.

"Brother Xu is indeed smart."

"Hmph. Intelligent?" However, Xu Han snorted coldly, "It's just self-righteousness. In the end, I'm still being pulled to become a chess piece. I still don't know."

Song Yueming was a little surprised by this. Thinking about the rumors of the past few days, she could vaguely guess Xu Han's current situation.

However, he did not accept this. Instead, he gently raised his glass at that time. "Then Brother Xu, do you know something else about me? Why?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Zhu Shouzuo should still let Brother Song take Xu's life." The expression on Xu Han's face turned cold at that moment.

Song Yueming smiled faintly, as if he was certain of Xu Han's answer, but he didn't seem to care about it.

He raised his wine cup and bowed towards Xu Han from afar. Regardless of whether Xu Han responded or not, he raised his head and drank alone.

The crowd on the streets became more and more noisy.

The dragon dance team had already set up their posture at the intersection of the street. The drinkers and shouting vendors had temporarily stopped their work at that time and looked sideways at the team on the street.

A middle-aged man dressed in linen stood in front of the line with a smile. He took out a torch and blew hard a few times to light up the flames inside. Then, he placed his hand to the side in front of the high-hanging firecrackers.

The lead of the firecracker was ignited, and the scorching sparks lit up, accompanied by a chi sound, continuously surging upwards.

As soon as the firecrackers sounded, the dragon dancing procession would begin to march.

Everyone in Chang'an City looked sideways at that time, waiting for this moment to arrive.

Bang!

With a light sound, the firecracker was lit.

The noisy sound of gongs and drums rose at first sight.

That voice was like a signal. The murderous intent in the small courtyard surged to the surface of the water at that moment.

The experts lined up at the entrance surged with True Essence. At that moment, they suddenly took a step forward and charged towards Xu Han with a leap.

Xu Han's eyes turned cold as he fiercely pressed his hand onto the hilt of the Heavenly Punishment Sword and was about to draw his sword.

The purple-robed youth, however, was like a towering mountain standing in the cold wind, resolutely motionless. He leisurely picked up the wine jar on the stone table and poured himself a glass of wine.

The clear wine slowly fell into the cup through the mouth of the jar, forming a thin line in mid-air.

Those experts crossed his body and were about to kill Xu Han in the blink of an eye. At that time, Xu Han's sword was unsheathed a foot and two inches. The boundless sword intent carried the dragon's roar as it surged out of his body.

The purple-robed youth's wine cup gradually filled up. His eyes suddenly narrowed, and his other hand lightly flicked in front of the wine cup.

The wine in the cup turned into tiny droplets of water that shot out.

The droplets of water seemed to be irregular, but they were neatly distributed behind the experts who were slaughtering Xu Han.

Then, when the experts arrived in front of Xu Han, they arrived at their backs.

Clear wine gushed into their clothes from behind, and hot blood gushed out from the same spot in front of them.

One Heavenly Hunt Realm expert after another even fell to the ground at that moment, and in an instant, the enormous momentum stopped abruptly. Everything happened too suddenly, suddenly breaking Xu Han's sword that was about to be unsheathed. The blade of the sword was still hidden in the sheath, not knowing when to enter or retreat.

The purple-robed youth picked up the cup that still had half a glass of wine left and lifted it towards Xu Han again.

"Of course I have other matters to attend to."

"For example, protect Brother Xu's life."

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