52: Attending a banquet

The trading fair concluded with Perfection.

Lin Yan, this dark horse, had made the upcoming Sword Testing Tournament next month suspenseful.

Many people had already begun to show favor to Lin Yan in various ways.

Regardless of whether Lin Yan could defeat Luo Haoyu, Jiang Yizhou, and the others at the Sword Testing Tournament, it would not affect his reputation as the number one Genius of the Spirit Herb Hall.

Regarding this, Lin Yan also felt very helpless.

"People fear fame just as pigs fear being fat."

He only wanted to quietly farm.

For several consecutive days, people came to visit, which made Lin Yan incredibly annoyed.

He had to send word out to decline all visitors, and only then was he able to find some peace and quiet.

However, there was a benefit; the spirit wine business carried on as usual.

To show favor to Lin Yan, Lu Jingran had increased Lin Yan's share of the profits.

Now, Lin Yan could steadily earn over a hundred Spirit Stones each month.

During this period, with so many people visiting, Lin Yan realized a problem.

"It is time to renovate the house..."

There was plenty of open space in the Small Valley, and he planned to build another two-story building with a courtyard right next to his current wooden hut.

Before construction had officially begun, another visitor came to Lin Yan's home.

"Junior Brother, are you busy?"

Lin Yan looked up and saw Senior Sister Ye Wangshu standing outside the courtyard gate, wearing a pale green dress, her sleeves fluttering, holding an exquisite food box in her hand.

"Senior Sister Ye?" Lin Yan was slightly stunned, then smiled and went to greet her, "What brings you here today?"

Ye Wangshu smiled slightly and handed him the food box, "I specially made some spirit food today and brought it for you to nourish yourself."

Lin Yan took the food box, feeling somewhat surprised, "Senior Sister cooked in person?"

"What, do you think my cooking skills are poor?" Ye Wangshu feigned reproach, but there was a smile in the corners of her eyes.

Lin Yan hurriedly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I would be more than happy to have a taste of Senior Sister's cooking!"

The two chatted and laughed while walking into the house.

After Ye Wangshu sat down, Lin Yan opened the food box, which contained several exquisite dishes of spirit food.

There were not only pastries made from spirit rice but also Spirit Beast meat stewed with Mountain Ginseng, the aroma wafting out; it was clear a lot of effort had been put into it.

"Senior Sister, this... is too extravagant." Lin Yan felt a bit embarrassed.

"We are fellow disciples, why be so polite?" Ye Wangshu smiled softly, then changed the subject:

"By the way, Senior Brother Xiao Songlan is hosting a banquet tomorrow and invites you to go together to the Drunken Immortal Residence near the Mountain Gate."

"Senior Brother Xiao?" Lin Yan was slightly taken aback, "He invited me?"

Ye Wangshu nodded, "Why, is that strange? You are now the famous Genius of the Spirit Herb Hall; isn't it normal for Senior Brother Xiao to want to get to know you?"

Lin Yan pondered for a moment. As the Chief Senior Brother of the Spirit Herb Hall, Xiao Songlan had an extraordinary Family background; why would he take the initiative to invite him to a banquet?

He was no longer the novice who had just entered the sect; he knew many secrets now.

The families within the Sword Pavilion could generally be divided into three levels.

The first type was the Outer Sect families, whose members mostly took root and held positions in halls like the Spirit Herb Hall, such as the Sun Family that Sun Bowen came from.

Further up were the Inner Sect families, whose elders held a certain amount of authority within the Inner Sect of the Sword Pavilion, such as the Zhao Family.

Finally, there were the top-tier families that had existed since the founding of the Sword Pavilion, with a Legacy spanning ten thousand years; even within the entire Canglan Realm, they were considered prominent noble families.

It was rumored that the predecessors of the five branches of the Sword Pavilion were the five major families.

The Xiao Family was one of them.

Seeing his hesitation, Ye Wangshu smiled and said, "What, are you unwilling?"

"No, of course I am willing." Lin Yan shook his head, "It is Lin Yan's honor to be invited by the Chief."

Ye Wangshu nodded with satisfaction, "Then it is settled. Tomorrow at the hour of the Dragon, I will wait for you outside the Mountain Gate."

"Okay." Lin Yan nodded.

"Junior Brother, cultivating immortality is often not just about fighting and killing; there are also many social obligations." Ye Wangshu said slowly.

"I know, but I only want to farm with peace of mind." Lin Yan said.

"That may be so." Ye Wangshu shook her head slightly and said:

"When one is in the Jianghu, one cannot always act according to one's own will. If you truly want to farm peacefully, the best way is to actively integrate into their circle..."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Hearing this, Lin Yan couldn't help but ponder deeply. It was truly a case of the tree desiring stillness, but the wind would not cease.

He nodded slowly and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister. Junior Brother has learned a lot!"

"It is good that you understand." Ye Wangshu smiled.

After Ye Wangshu left, Lin Yan called the Little Fatty over to enjoy the spirit food together.

"It is too delicious!" The Little Fatty took a sip of the Spirit Beast meat soup, his eyes squinting, his face full of enjoyment:

"If I keep eating like this, my cultivation will soon surpass that guy Lu Zhengfeng."

Under Lin Yan's generous feeding, the Little Fatty was now approaching the Refining Qi Fourth Layer.

It had to be said, this fatty really had a knack for eating.

Spirit food was not something where the more you ate, the better; one needed the corresponding digestive ability.

Some people could digest one bowl of spirit rice a day, while others could digest two; talents varied.

And the Little Fatty belonged to the gifted type; he could eat three big bowls of spirit rice a day!

"If you like it, eat more." Lin Yan smiled.

"I didn't expect Senior Sister Ye to be not only beautiful but also have such good cooking skills." The Little Fatty looked at Lin Yan with an inexplicable gaze, full of deep meaning:

"Senior Brother, you are truly blessed!"

Lin Yan reacted instantly and scolded angrily, "What are you talking about? Can't eating shut your mouth? Don't talk nonsense!"

"Hehe, Senior Brother is truly wise for a lifetime, but confused for a moment..." The Little Fatty laughed.

"If you don't want to eat, you can go weed the fields..."

"Eat, eat, eat..."

The next day, Lin Yan followed Ye Wangshu as agreed to attend the banquet at the Drunken Immortal Residence.

In a private seat on the second floor of the Drunken Immortal Residence, Xiao Songlan was already waiting.

Present were two other acquaintances of Lin Yan: Senior Sister Su Wan Yue and Senior Brother Cheng, who had been in charge of the Outer Sect Disciple assessment back then.

Seeing Lin Yan step in, Xiao Songlan immediately stood up to welcome him with a gentle smile:

"Junior Brother Lin, I have long admired your name! Today, I am hosting this banquet just to get to know you, and I hope you will not hesitate to share your wisdom."

Lin Yan cupped his hands and smiled, "Senior Brother Xiao is too polite. Lin Yan only won by luck that day; how can I deserve such an honor?"

"Junior Brother is truly too humble." Xiao Songlan said with a smile:

"When I comprehended Human-Sword Unity, I was already twenty-four years old. Compared to Junior Brother, I am far behind!"

Xiao Songlan's tone was very polite, which made Lin Yan feel even more that today's banquet was not that simple.

Sure enough, after a few pleasantries, four more people entered the private room.

Some of them were even acquaintances of Lin Yan.

First were the two brothers, Zhao Qiyan and Zhao Qiyang, followed by Sun Bowen and another young man.

As soon as Zhao Qiyang entered the door, he stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Lin Yan with a hint of apology:

"Brother Lin, I offended you previously. Today, I have come specifically to apologize; I hope you can be magnanimous."

Lin Yan finally understood the purpose of today's dinner.

So it was just to reconcile with him.

Regardless of how he felt inside, he had to make sure the surface appearances were kept up first.

Lin Yan smiled indifferently, "Brother Zhao, you are too serious. It was just a small friction; how could Lin Yan hold a grudge?"

"Junior Brother Lin is magnanimous!" Zhao Qiyan, who was on the side, chimed in:

"My younger brother is the most useless one; I hope Junior Brother will give him more guidance in the future!"

"Easy to say, easy to say..." Lin Yan was amazed at the change in Zhao Qiyan's face.

When they first met, it was not like this.

Perhaps this was the so-called cultivation of Family disciples...