Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 356 - 93: No Feast Is a Good Feast
March 2, 2018
In the blink of an eye, it was the centennial birthday of the City Lord of Shen City. On this day, the entire Shen City was immersed in a celebratory frenzy.
From early morning, fireworks soared into the sky, spreading vibrant lights across the city with the dawn, making the decorated city exceptionally splendid. The citizens of Shen City also began singing and dancing with the joy of intoxication from early morning, further enhancing the festive atmosphere.
For most people of Shen City, the City Lord’s grand birthday was a cause for celebration, as City Lord Shen Ruoshi was indeed a rare exemplary leader.
According to the citizen approval ratings of the leaders from various major cities of Xiangzhou published by Heaven-Reaching City, Shen Ruoshi consistently ranked in the top three, only following the revered Sect Leader of the Saint Sect and the remarkably talented City Lord Golden Jade.
Unlike other cities, Shen City’s public support didn’t require much complexity. There wasn’t a need for an economic boom or prosperity among the populace during the tenure, nor the creation of a people-friendly image, even less so any eloquent speech to win followers.
For Shen City people, supporting a leader has only one reason: unparalleled strength.
For the martial and combative people of Shen City, a City Lord who is unbeaten across the world is far more attractive than a City Lord who is incorruptible and fair-minded.
In his youth, Shen Ruoshi displayed overwhelming strength; at the age of 18, he won the championship of Shen City’s grand competition, the following year he went to Heaven-Reaching City, where he defeated all contenders to win the title of number one in the world, becoming renowned across Xiangzhou. From then on, all of Shen City unerringly regarded him as the next City Lord candidate. In the subsequent decades, although Shen Ruoshi never surpassed the limits set by his predecessors to become the true number one, he never fell out of the top ten in any cultivator rankings. When he broke through the bottleneck of the Mountain-Overturning Realm into the Sea Overturning Realm, he firmly held a place among the top five in the world.
This kind of leader perfectly fits with the aesthetic of the people in Shen City, hence Shen Ruoshi’s centennial birthday was wholeheartedly embraced by the people.
——
Amidst the clamoring of drums and gongs, a Flying Shuttle slowly descended in front of the Divine Sword Tower, with several Golden Armor soldiers emerging from it, instantly drawing the attention of countless people.
In Shen City, only the Personal Guard of the City Lord’s Mansion would wear such flamboyant armor, any set of which is worth as much as the total assets of some small sects. However, compared to the armor, the cost to cultivate these armored soldiers is actually several times higher.
These Personal Guards of the City Lord’s Mansion never move easily, so every action indicates a major event is about to unfold.
The Flying Shuttle bringing down ten Golden Armor Guards is, by Shen City’s usual standard, reminiscent of a significant family member’s defection; such commotion is rare.
However, moments later, people didn’t witness the expected heaven-shattering conflict, nor a battle of immortals enough to sweep through half of Shen City. The ten Golden Armor Guards were merely there to escort esteemed guests to a banquet.
This level of formality astonished the onlooking people of Shen City.
In Shen City, who else warrants such high-level reception from the City Lord’s Mansion? Ten Golden Armor Guards acting as escorts is comparable to a visit from the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect.
Amidst the chattering crowd, a group of five from the Li Family, under the protection of the Golden Armor Guards, boarded the Flying Shuttle, subsequently flashing across to arrive at the Inner City of Shen City, in front of the City Lord’s Mansion.
——
After days of preparation, the City Lord’s Mansion was arranged like a celestial paradise. Upon entry, one is greeted with dazzling treasures, flanked by two crystal-clear Gem Battle Armors, one holding a wine goblet, the other grasping a large roasted beast leg, with a joyful smile gracing their faces.
To the people of Shen City, with wine and meat, a banquet is a good one. During the pioneering stage of Shen City, thorns covered the land and life was extremely difficult. Even the senior Great Cultivators of the Shen Family often found themselves trapped on the battlefield, running out of supplies, and starving. Even after a great victory, besides the heaps of spirit monster corpses, there were no spoils of war, and organizing a celebratory banquet was a headache—the corpses of spirit monsters were often poisonous, extracting Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi for their existence, they didn’t produce anything that could be looted. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
From that time, the culinary customs of Shen City became filled with an exuberance incomprehensible to outsiders, with wine and meat being enough to ignite a passion for revelry, even if it was bad wine and rough meat. The saying "fine food is never too fine" only gradually spread after hundreds of years when resources truly became abundant.
But regardless of how prosperous Shen City has become, whenever the Shen Family holds a grand feast, these two Gem Battle Armors always stand at the entrance, not just as part of inseparable traditional culture, but as a sign that the people of the Shen Family remain true to their original aspirations.
And when the group from the Li Family appeared, the two Battle Armors suddenly twisted their bodies and smiled. The armor on the left held the wine goblet with both hands, while the one on the right sliced off a large piece of tender meat from the beast leg with a waist knife and handed it over.
Shen Qingming, who was walking at the front, was somewhat at a loss: "What is this?"
"Please accept it, this is the Shen Family’s custom for welcoming the most honored guests." A leading Golden Armor Guard explained.
Before Shen Qingming came to Shen City, she had crammed on Shen City culture and naturally knew it was a courtesy for guests, but... this gift was too significant.
At the same time, the guests who had arrived earlier in the venue were also astonished as they watched the actions of the Battle Armor guard at the door.
What the guard said was indeed true, this was the Shen Family’s custom for welcoming guests, but throughout the banquet, the Gem Battle Armor would only toast and serve meat to one guest—the one who held the highest status or was most respected by the host.
The wine in the goblet was ancestral wine brewed 1800 years ago after a great victory by the people of Shen City, concocted with great difficulty using all available resources. It holds unique historical value, and after enduring centuries, this batch of ancestral wine is now extremely rare, making it hard to be valued in mere money.
Similarly, the tender meat on the beast’s leg is no less valuable. Although it doesn’t have a history of 1800 years, it is undoubtedly from the fiercest and strongest beasts captured in recent years during hunts around Shen City. Roasted with secret techniques, it possesses magical properties rivaling top-grade Spirit Pills.
This cup of wine and piece of meat are invaluable treasures, and being recognized by the host of Shen City to receive such treasures is an immense honor. However, as the saying goes, "What is feared is not scarcity but inequality." When one receives this honor, it signifies others cannot, inevitably breeding conflicts.
Today’s centenary birthday banquet for the City Lord attracted countless major figures, besides representatives from the Seven Great Noble Families, a considerable number of leaders from secondary Cultivation Clans and Sects came in person. These prominent figures hold similar standings, making it challenging for even the most shrewd political experts to choose someone worthy of such honor. Thus, prior to this, it was assumed nobody would receive this honor at the banquet today. Unexpectedly, it was given to a young girl from the Cyan Cloud Li Family!
Yet, after a moment of shock, the guests quickly wiped the astonished looks off their faces, instead wearing enthusiastic expressions as they greeted Shen Qingming and others, without any hint of feeling slighted.
If Shen Qingming were just an ordinary Wind-Rising Realm girl, this wine and meat would indeed make other guests feel overlooked. Even the championship title from the Cyan Cloud Competition wouldn’t justify this wine and meat. But as the representative of the Cyan Cloud Li Family, granddaughter of City Lord Shen Ruoshi... these titles alone are exceptional, especially considering the rumors circulating in Shen City recently: City Lord Shen Ruoshi is about to re-establish ties with the Cyan Cloud Li Family, seemingly resolving the enmity of the past 20 years. Therefore, the Shen Family’s open gift of wine and meat to Shen Qingming could just be a powerful statement directly from City Lord Shen Ruoshi.
Given this consideration, this girl, not yet 15, indeed deserves this cup of ancestral wine.
However, as the person involved, Shen Qingming couldn’t help but feel this cup of wine seemed somewhat too much.
It was unclear exactly what the issue was, but the grandeur of this welcome gift was overwhelming... Moreover, the grand escort of those 10 Golden Armor Guards earlier filled her with a vague unease.
"Ah Jiu, what to do?"
Instinctively, Shen Qingming first turned to the person she trusted the most for help.
However, before Wang Jiu could respond, a waiter quickly approached him and said respectfully, "Mr. Wang Jiu? Your and Li Xinyu’s seats are on the second floor, please follow me."
Holding the wine and meat, Shen Qingming was startled when she heard this: "Wang Jiu isn’t sitting with us?"
The waiter showed an apologetic expression: "Yes, the seats for the distinguished guests have been arranged differently; there are so many guests at the banquet today, the seating arrangements might be somewhat inconvenient, we hope the honored guests can understand."
Feeling a bit bewildered, Shen Qingming looked at Wang Jiu, then at Li Wanqing and the others, a vague unease lurking in her heart.
Objectively, there was no issue with such banquet arrangements; in their party, the true protagonist was only Shen Qingming, the others like Wang Jiu were just leaders, and Li Wanqing and Li Chaolu mere accompanying members. To the organizers, the status was naturally different.
Therefore, besides Shen Qingming deserving a prominent seat, others could only be arranged elsewhere.
In fact, such an arrangement could be more beneficial. It signifies the Shen Family is treating them as an envoy group from the Li Family, rather than mere winners of the Outer Courtyard competition. They traveled a long way from QingCyan Cloud yun City to Shen City, not to overshadow the Outer Courtyard but to mend relations between the two great families, being hosted as an envoy group is exactly what they wanted.
But why does it feel that things aren’t just that simple?
Seeing Shen Qingming’s look of hesitation, the waiter did not press further and said with a smile: "There’s still some time before the banquet starts, and before formally being seated, you can move around the hall freely. I’ll come to escort Mr. Wang Jiu upstairs once the banquet begins."
Shen Qingming couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Alright, let’s talk about it later then."
