Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 947 - 65: Pandemonium at the Qing Celebration Banquet (Part 1)
The Three Great Clan Leaders were full of spirit, with Sect Leader Yue Nian and Huasha City Lord Ye Huacheng following closely behind.
Lie Rou had never seen the clan leader of the Holy Beast Clan before. She wanted to see what kind of three-headed and six-armed figures these Four Great Clan Leaders were, but just as she lifted her head, the crowd behind pushed forward.
An elderly man with a long beard was pushed to the ground, groaning in pain. The rest were too busy watching the ceremonial carriage and paid no attention to the old man’s reactions.
Seeing this, Lie Rou couldn’t bother to watch the ceremony and hurriedly bent down to help the old man up.
"Oh dear, they’ve trampled me to death! Easy there, don’t push," grumbled the old man as Lie Rou pulled him up, rolling his eyes at the crowd pushing around him.
Why bother watching those three young guys who haven’t even grown all their hair?
The old man was about seventy or eighty years old, bald, and short. His face was so wrinkled that it was almost hard to discern his eyes and nose. His hunched back was so severe, it seemed he had a large turtle shell on his back. Even standing up, he only reached Lie Rou’s shoulder.
"Old man, be careful. There are many people here. Let me help you to a less crowded spot," said Lie Rou, turning her back and guiding the old man to a quieter corner of the street.
As she walked away, Yue Nian and Ye Huacheng rode past side by side.
The old man glanced at Lie Rou with cunning eyes.
"Kind young lady, you are truly good-hearted. If it weren’t for you, I’d have been trampled to death," said the old man unabashedly, clasping Lie Rou’s hand, and as he released it, he checked her pulse.
Lie Rou didn’t notice.
"Old man, where do you live? I’ll take you home," said Lie Rou. Today Huasha City Lord Mansion was hosting a feast, and Ye Huacheng was busy with it, leaving him unable to manage whether he was still at the mansion or not.
Lie Rou saw it was still early and was worried about leaving such a frail elderly man, who looked like he could faint at any moment, alone on the street, so she wanted to take him home.
"I’m not going home; I’m here in Huasha City to drink today. Kind girl, accompany me there," the old man clutched Lie Rou’s hand once more, pleading for her to take him to the banquet.
Lie Rou hesitated, but without much thought, she followed the old man’s directions, winding through several alleys.
After passing through a few alleys, Lie Rou stopped at a residence that struck her as familiar.
Lie Rou thought to herself, wasn’t this the back gate of the City Lord Mansion? Why was the old man leading her back to the mansion?
She had just sneaked out from here.
People from the City Lord Mansion were all gathered at the front to greet several Holy Beast Clan Leaders, leaving the back gate deserted.
Lie Rou wanted to leave, but the old man pulled her firmly, somewhat surprisingly, for this old man with white hair seemed frail just moments ago as if he might faint in the next instant. But as they arrived outside the City Lord Mansion, his spirit suddenly surged, and his small eyes gleamed brightly.
Lie Rou felt as if her hand was bound and couldn’t break free.
The old man grumbled, "Oh dear, I’m starving. I woke up without having eaten anything yet, and this household seems bustling, likely celebrating a joyous occasion. Young lady, accompany me inside to beg for some food."
Lie Rou sighed in dismay, pondering if she should retrieve some food from her own place to placate the old man before slipping away.
Yet, the old man paid no heed and briskly made a beeline for the banquet in the flower garden.
The celebration feast tonight was an outdoor setup.
By now, the Three Great Clan Leaders had been ushered into the crowd, and several City Lords from the vicinity of Huasha City had settled into their seats.
The seats for the Three Great Clan Leaders were centrally located, while Divine Empress Muhua sat prominently beside Yue Potian.
Further down the table were Yue Nian, Cangdai Goddess, Ye Huacheng, and others.
Due to the old man’s age and Lie Rou being a distinguished guest of the mansion, neither the maids nor servants blocked their way and simply assumed the old man was one of the City Lords attending the celebration feast.
Lie Rou followed him, easily moving into the flower garden.
Fortunately, while the old man was impolite, he wasn’t ignorant. Instead of pushing into the bustle, he chose a secluded table shaded by pine and cypress, and sat down.
The table was already laden with exquisite food, fine wine, and meat. The old man gestured for Lie Rou to sit below him, and proceeded to eat and drink without reservation.
Lie Rou looked around; everyone had settled in, and the crowd was converging toward the flower garden. If she stood up to leave, she would stand out even more, so she lowered her head, trying to remain unobtrusive.
At the same time, on the northern side of the City Lord Mansion, in a dungeon guarded by only a few sentinels, Yue Jinghua, disguised as Lie Changgong, was surrounded by a subtle golden leaf light.
Her face seemed enveloped in a layer of golden mist.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes, a sharp gleam flashing in her black pupils.
She slowly absorbed the golden energy back into her body, opened her palms, and saw that within each of her palms lay star lights, representing the Hexagram of the Demon Summoner and the Five-pointed Star of the Summoner.
With a thought, Yue Jinghua could instantly summon her Dark Beast Demons.
Having breached the Gold Summoner and Dan Realm, Yue Jinghua’s Dark Beast grades had soared.
The greatest change was seen in the Cannibal Small Qingpu, whose leaves had grown to the height of a person, each leaf gaping with a maw lined with sharp carnivorous teeth, dripping with poisonous slime.
"Breakthrough," Yue Jinghua rejoiced to herself.
The dungeon of the City Lord Mansion was rich in Evil Qi, and upon realizing that, Yue Jinghua had decided to use this place to enhance her Demon Summoner’s level.
Following Yue Nian’s orders, nobody disturbed "Lie Changgong," providing Yue Jinghua an excellent opportunity for breakthrough.
Initially, she merely intended to use this chance to breach the Silver Demon Summoner level. Unexpectedly, upon successfully breaking through, a torrent of Dark Energy surged through all the vital points of her body.
With her previous experiences, Yue Jinghua knew she was going to break through again.
This breakthrough wasn’t just an advancement in the Dark Realm but an ascent to Gold Summoner and Demon Summoner.
Originally, Yue Jinghua’s summoning and Demon powers complemented each other, and after breaching the Double Silver Rank, her Dark Power and Evil Power integrated with the Liangyi Pill within her body, directly blasting through the bottleneck of Gold Summoner and Demon Summoner.
"The celebration feast is held today; it seems a good time to see how Yue Potian handles this grand feast," Yue Jinghua’s thoughts stirred again, knowing one of her puppets, Changsun Gongyang, had already entered the City Lord Mansion.
Yue Jinghua sneered coldly, exerting force on her chains, and they shattered instantly.
The sound of the chain falling alarmed the dungeon guards, and several immediately rushed over.
As they opened the gate, they met the gaping maw, ready to consume them, of the Cannibal Small Qingpu’s deadly strike.
