Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 72 Song Zhongqi's Treat

At this moment, Zhou Ye unexpectedly encountered a distinguished guest, who was also an old acquaintance, Wang Zhengyu.

"Young Master, are you here to attend the ceremony today as well?"

"That's right! Little..." Wang Zhengyu was quite quick-witted; he knew Zhou Ye wanted to conceal his identity. Since he didn't know how to address him, he simply left it at that. "So you're from this Fenglei Martial Arts School?"

"Yes! I am a disciple here."

"Do you have any recommendations? Someone with good character and decent skills? As you know, our pharmacy has lost a lot of manpower, so as long as they're willing to work hard, that's fine. The most important thing is that we trust them."

"Um... I have a fellow disciple who hasn't been in the Qi cultivation stage for long, but he's already at the mid-stage. He's a reliable and hardworking person, and I can vouch for him."

"That's good. I can definitely trust your guarantee."

"Then shall I call him over so that you, young master, can give him some pointers?"

"sure!"

Upon seeing Wang Zhengyu agree, Zhou Ye immediately found the bewildered Wu Jun and pulled him in front of Wang Zhengyu. He then stepped aside to let the two of them talk…

More than half an hour later, Wang Zhengyu smiled with satisfaction, waved, and left.

Wu Jun's face was filled with surprise and joy. When he approached Zhou Ye, he still seemed incredulous: "Ah Ye, is it true? Can I really get a temporary post? It's really true? Four taels of silver and ten catties of meat a month?"

Huang Sheng, who was standing nearby, was also very happy: "That's great. I didn't expect Ah Jun to be assigned to his post before me."

Wu Jun then asked, "Ah Ye, how did you meet the young master? Thank you so much."

"No, no. I just collected the herbs while hiking in the mountains and sold them to Wang's Pharmacy. Perhaps the young master remembers this favor, so he asked me to help recommend them."

"Well, thank you anyway. But Ah Ye, why aren't you going?"

"I'm running in the mountains so I can focus on practicing martial arts in the future. If I'm only given a temporary position, how can I focus on practicing martial arts?" Zhou Ye explained with a smile. "But Ah Jun, and Ah Sheng, don't tell anyone about this. Just say you know the young master."

"I understand, I understand."

"Also, before officially starting your job or taking up a temporary post, you must keep it a secret from everyone else. This is to prevent anyone from doing anything sabotaging you behind your back."

"Yes, yes. I know. We would never say that in the martial arts school."

"That's good."

"Exactly. It's really good. Really good. Best brother, forever!"

"..."

Zhou Ye was also happy to be able to help his friends.

However, right after they broke up, two senior students from the inner court suddenly approached Zhou Ye.

"Junior Brother Zhou, are you free tonight?"

"Uh? I have a moment. What can I do for you, Senior Brother?"

"Do you know the Ten Talents of Fufeng?"

"I don't know." Zhou Ye was completely baffled. Who knew what this "Shi Jun" was?

The two senior students were equally puzzled: "Do you know Song Zhongqi?"

"I don't know him." Zhou Ye was increasingly confused.

The two senior brothers exchanged glances. They said, "Junior Brother Zhou, Song Zhongqi invited us to dinner at a restaurant in the inner city tonight, and he specifically invited you as well. It seems you're the only one from the outer courtyard who was invited?"

"Huh? Senior brother, do you know why?"

"Well... anyway, it's a good thing. If you're free, you can come along!"

"Understood. Thank you, senior brother."

Even after entering the opulent inner city restaurant, Zhou Ye was still completely baffled. However, seeing that almost all the inner court disciples had arrived—except for Yuan Zhen, who was nowhere to be seen—and with his third senior brother Han Guang and junior sister Du Juan present, it seemed they were indeed just having a drink…right?

To my utter surprise, they actually ended up drinking and chatting at the dinner table later.

Zhou Ye couldn't care less about all that. Being the youngest in the family, after offering a few rounds of toasts, he obediently remained a nobody. Anyway, the food and drinks at the table were indeed excellent, and he could certainly enjoy a good meal…

Finally, the waiter brought out the main dish: "This is stir-fried fire lizard meat. Please enjoy."

Before Zhou Ye could react, a senior female disciple exclaimed, "Wow! Isn't a fire lizard a demonic beast? Junior Brother Song is being so generous today? This dish must cost several taels of silver!"

"Hehe, not that much. It's nothing to mention." Song Zhongqi maintained his composure perfectly, like a refined gentleman. "It's just the meat of a demon beast in the early stage of the Qi Refining realm, worth only a little over one tael of silver. However, it's my honor to have the opportunity to get to know all of you senior brothers and sisters."

Zhou Ye became curious. He had always heard that monster meat was very good, but he didn't know why.

The fire lizard meat tasted...not bad! But after one bite, I felt a burning heat all over my body, and my blood and energy seemed to increase slightly at the end?

Holy crap! Eating monster meat can increase your health and vitality? This stuff is really amazing!

No wonder the scions of aristocratic families cultivate so quickly. Are they taking pills and eating demon beast meat at the same time? Their experience points must be skyrocketing!

Since he was able to eat such good food, Zhou Ye decided not to be polite. He finished the entire dish in just a few bites.

After finishing the meal, I felt a little unsatisfied. Although the dish had many side dishes, the actual salamander meat was only about two ounces. But it was equivalent to gaining a few percent of experience points?

What's even more encouraging is that such dietary supplements do not interfere with drug use and have no side effects, such as erysipelas. Therefore, they can be used in combination to accelerate one's cultivation speed.

Zhou Ye's eyes lit up. So that's how it is? Didn't he still have so much demon bear meat?

And so, after they had eaten and drunk their fill, Wang Zhengyu stood at the restaurant entrance, bowing and bidding farewell to his fellow martial arts brothers one by one. Even when he encountered Zhou Ye, he politely patted Zhou Ye on the shoulder: "Junior Brother Zhou, I'm sorry for the neglect. If there's a chance in the future, let's get together again."

"You're too kind, Senior Brother Song."

And so, Zhou Ye found himself inexplicably treated to a lavish meal, including the infamous meat of a demonic beast. Even after returning home, Zhou Ye still couldn't understand why Song Zhongqi had invited him for drinks.

However, when Zhou Ye went to the martial arts school again the next day, he was immediately called over by Du Keyuan.

"Xiao Zhou, you should have seen Zhongqi last night, right? You mean Song Zhongqi?"

"Yes, Master Du."

"Then you should soon find out that Zhongqi is getting engaged to your junior sister."

"Um?"

Zhou Ye was shocked. If he remembered correctly, his junior sister was only 14 years old. This guy was a beast! Before he transmigrated, that would be at least three years old, and at worst, execution?

But then Zhou Ye became even more suspicious. Who Du Juan got engaged to, what did it have to do with me?

Why did Du Keyuan specifically seek me out and bring up this engagement? Is there something I don't know about this?