Chapter 73: Righteous and Demonic as One Family

The constables spread out and took their seats. Constable Wei hadn't exaggerated; indeed, many people had come, and the tables were almost all full.

The helmsman's table was in the center, surrounded by constables. The atmosphere seemed quite harmonious, almost like a family gathering of both good and evil.

Chi Xulong was so scared that he quickly lowered his head. Despite the rumors of his arrogance, that was merely an image he cultivated. When committing misdeeds, he either disguised himself or covered his face, and he would evade officials as much as possible whenever he encountered them. Now he couldn't hide, so he could only bury his head like an ostrich.

"Constable Wei, I'm here," Lu Yang said, smiling as he stood up to greet him.

Chi Xulong's eyes widened as he stared at Lu Yang in disbelief. *So you're the owner, kid!*

"You've already started eating," Constable Wei said, a little embarrassed.

"No problem," Lu Yang replied. "What would you like to eat?"

Constable Wei waved his hand. "With so many people, let's not bother ordering. Just bring out whatever you have."

"Alright," Lu Yang agreed, having anticipated Constable Wei would think the same.

The constables smelled the aroma from the helmsman's table and instinctively swallowed. It was dinnertime, and they were already hungry; the aroma only made them hungrier.

Fortunately, Lu Yang had prepared in advance. Even before Constable Wei and his men arrived, he had the specters working at full capacity, grilling a portion of the food so that when they arrived, dishes could be served immediately. Soon, Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu brought out platters of grilled skewers for Constable Wei and his men to appease their hunger.

Constable Wei didn't say it aloud, but he was very grateful to Lu Yang. Otherwise, having to wait for a long time while smelling the food would surely lead to complaints from his colleagues back at the station.

"Let me introduce you," Constable Wei said, "this is our Chief Constable, Fang Qingyun!"

Fang Qingyun politely shook Lu Yang's hand. As a Golden Core stage cultivator, he could tell that Lu Yang was also a cultivator. Not only could he discern that Lu Yang was a cultivator, but he could also tell that everyone at the helmsman's table was one. He didn't say anything. There were countless cultivators who ran businesses, and as long as they didn't break the law, what business was it of his? Opening a barbecue shop wasn't illegal. If the tables were occupied, then so be it. As Chief Constable, he couldn't use his authority to oppress people; it would create a bad impression if word got out.

After Lu Yang smiled and sat down, Chi Xulong cursed under his breath, complaining to the helmsman, "You scoundrel, you had ulterior motives! Why didn't you tell us the constables were coming earlier?!"

Lu Yang looked wronged. "Wasn't this to help you build good relations with the constables? You should have seized this opportunity." Lu Yang pointed to the brocade banner on the wall. "See? This is a brocade banner Constable Wei gave me." He casually fabricated a story: "Before joining the organization, I deliberately found a stronghold in advance, laid the groundwork, and established connections with the authorities. That way, no matter what I do, the authorities won't suspect me. And when they come here to drink, I can even eavesdrop on intelligence."

Helmsman Chu nodded. Lu Yang's words were well-reasoned and consistent with the sect leader's evaluation. The sect leader had said that the trio's actions might seem reckless, but they actually held a deeper meaning, and one shouldn't judge their actions merely by their appearance. Just the act of proactively establishing connections with officials showed courage and foresight far exceeding most members of the sect!

"Come, let's drink."

After a few skewers had filled their stomachs, Constable Wei and his men began to drink. As more and more skewers were consumed, the constables grew more boisterous with their drinks. They drank round after round, clinking glasses, and the atmosphere was lively.

In stark contrast to the lively surroundings was the helmsman's table in the very center. They drank with extreme caution, fearing that a single drink too many might reveal something. Eventually, they stopped drinking alcohol altogether and switched to tea.

Constable Wei noticed the helmsman's table lacked atmosphere. He felt a pang of guilt, thinking his presence might be the cause, so he picked up his wine cup and went over. "Come on, come on, don't mind us," he said. "Once we're off duty, we're just ordinary people. When you come to a barbecue shop, aren't you supposed to eat happily and drink your fill!"

"Come, let's have a drink!" Constable Wei said to Chi Xulong.

Chi Xulong cautiously picked up his teacup. Constable Wei, displeased, said with a stern face, "What's with drinking tea? Are you disrespecting me? Pour the wine!" Chi Xulong had no choice but to brace himself and pour the thirty-year spirit wine he had brought. He downed it in one gulp.

Seeing Constable Wei making the rounds and drinking, other constables, clearly already quite drunk, followed suit. They drank with the helmsman's table, drinking to their heart's content. No one bothered Lu Yang and his two companions for a drink; the owner couldn't possibly get drunk.

The potency of the thirty-year spirit wine was too much for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to handle, and Chi Xulong and the others were all heavily intoxicated. The helmsman saw that they had drunk enough, found an excuse, and left.

Once their leader was gone, under the influence of the alcohol, people gradually became unrestrained. Chi Xulong and Shen Jinyi put their arms around each other, determined to unite and carve out a name for themselves in the Immortal Sect.

"Chi Xulong, your biggest flaw is your impulsiveness and ostentatiousness; you should rein it in!" Shen Jinyi said, thinking for Chi Xulong.

Chi Xulong was displeased; he was naturally free-spirited and disliked criticism. "Oh, come on," he retorted. "If I'm ostentatious, should I be like you, a timid turtle who doesn't dare to act himself, but instead teaches a bunch of students to do his dirty work?"

"Sneaky and timid like a woman!"

Shen Jinyi was furious. "Chi Xulong, don't be ungrateful! I'm thinking for your sake; don't bite the hand that feeds you!"

Chi Xulong was even angrier than Shen Jinyi. "Who are you calling a dog?!" With that, he punched Shen Jinyi in the face.

How could Shen Jinyi suffer such an indignity? If he swallowed his anger this time, Chi Xulong's nature would surely lead him to press his advantage. Shen Jinyi grabbed a wine cup and splashed it. Although Chi Xulong was drunk, his reactions were still quick. He tilted his head to dodge, and the wine splashed onto Bai Zifang's face, who was watching the commotion. Bai Zifang was not an easy person to deal with, and he certainly wouldn't tolerate such an unprovoked attack. He returned the favor, splashing wine all over Shen Jinyi. That wasn't enough; he then threw a plate at Shen Jinyi's face.

The three men started wrestling. Others tried to intervene but got caught in the crossfire, which infuriated them. "We tried to save you from making a spectacle of yourselves, and not only are you ungrateful, but you dare to hit me? You've got some nerve!"

The spirit wine was too strong, clouding everyone's judgment. They disregarded the presence of constables and started fighting. *Crash!* Someone overturned a table, and items landed on the next table.

The constables had never seen such arrogant people—cultivators engaging in a group brawl. And this was with constables right there. Who knew what kind of chaos would ensue if they weren't present? Cultivators brawling in a group could accidentally kill bystanders. This was extremely malicious and warranted punishment!

Seeing this, Chief Constable Fang Qingyun released his spiritual pressure, immediately subduing the demonic cult members. "Take them away," he commanded. "Let them sober up in jail!" The cult members instantly sobered up. Realizing what had happened, cold sweat streamed down their faces.

This time, an overwhelming number of people had come all at once. The two specters were so busy they were almost turning into blurs, unable to keep up. Seeing this, Mang Gu personally joined the cooking. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou shuttled between the back kitchen and the main hall, and the prepared skewers disappeared at a visible rate.

Lu Yang pushed aside the door curtain and apologized, "Excuse me, everyone, all the skewers have been grilled... What's going on here?" He saw the arrogant cult members in the hall now sitting meekly, while the constables watched them with cold smiles.

Constable Wei whispered, "Shopkeeper Lu, I'm sorry. Your friends were brawling in public. The Chief Constable dislikes cultivators doing this, and the commotion was too big. Passersby noticed, and it wouldn't be right not to punish them."

Lu Yang was speechless.

To be fair, Lu Yang had indeed intended to play a trick by seating the cult members and constables at the same table, but he truly hadn't expected them to be so audacious as to fight in front of the constables.

Meng Jingzhou pouted. "I told them not to drink; nothing good ever comes from drinking."

On the day of the welcoming party, Chi Xulong and the others were detained for ten days for public brawling. After Helmsman Chu learned of this, he was stunned for a long time.