523: Chapter 523 Night Banquet

In the center of Meigu Valley, the plaza in front of the sacrificial hall was brightly lit. The banquet was held in the open air, with long tables carved from solid blocks of giant stone; their surfaces were polished to a smooth, warm luster, and the tabletops were wide and flat, spacious enough to hold the unique bowls and cups of the Giant Clan.

Bronze pedestals held massive torches, the dancing flames illuminating the entire venue as bright as day, making every stone grain and every fold of clothing clearly visible. Dried branches of Fusang were inserted throughout the seating area.

Although these branches were withered, they still maintained a gnarled and vigorous posture, adorned with tiny fragments of Fusang amber that shimmered like stars fallen to the mortal world, casting a warm, flowing light in the firelight.

A clear stream flowed down from the northern mountains, winding past the edge of the plaza; the gurgling of the water intertwined with the rising laughter of the banquet, creating a warm and harmonious sound.

In the distant northern sky, dark red light occasionally flickered, gazing from afar at the lights of the banquet.

The seats for Ling Hao and his companions were arranged to the east of the main seat, with thick cushions spread out before the long table. As he sat down cross-legged, his line of sight happened to be level with the waists and abdomens of the Giant Clan women opposite him.

Yu Lingshuang sat to his left, her moon-white dress glowing softly in the firelight; Yue Xinlan sat a bit further away, her small face tense, her silver ornaments jingling in the firelight; Yu Zhaohua sat on his right...

At the main seat, Matriarch Ju Yingluo and Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu entered side by side.

Both wore vermilion, cross-collared, wide-sleeved long gowns, covered by an extremely thin, matching-colored, front-opening gauze shirt.

Their waists were cinched with wide, gold-woven belts that accentuated their slender waistlines, and the cuffs and hemlines were embroidered with subtle Fusang leaf patterns, with golden threads shimmering faintly under the candlelight.

The styles were almost identical, with only subtle differences in detail—the cuffs of Matriarch Ju Yingluo's gauze shirt were embroidered with a ring of Fusang flowers, while Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu's cuffs were embroidered with peach blossoms about to bloom.

Matriarch Ju Yingluo's long hair hung down to her knees, held up in a high bun by a long, red-gold Fusang branch hairpin, with a Fusang bird spreading its wings carved into the head of the pin.

Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu's long hair was half-up, secured with a red-gold Fusang branch hairpin, with the rest cascading down her back, a single strand hanging by her temple, adorned with a freshly picked peach blossom.

As the two walked over, with their similar faces, similar figures, and similar dresses, one was as tranquil as a deep pool, while the other was as bright as the morning glow.

Ling Hao's gaze shifted between the two, then he looked away.

Grand Elder Ju Yunlan followed closely behind, wearing a plain, moon-white straight-hemmed robe, covered by a grey-green gauze cloak, with a tassel belt woven from silver threads tied around her waist, swaying gently with every step.

Matriarch Ju Yingluo stood still at the main seat and raised her hands slightly, causing the noise in the plaza to quiet down.

Her gaze swept across the crowd and finally landed on Ling Hao, her voice low and solemn:

"Today, Meigu Valley hosts a banquet, please."

Ling Hao nodded in return, raised his cup, and accepted.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, the atmosphere at the banquet gradually warmed up. The women of the Giant Clan rose one after another to toast Ling Hao, the direct gazes from the day becoming even less restrained under the influence of the alcohol.

Ling Hao did not refuse; what was there to refuse?

When the Giant Clan women walked to Ling Hao's table with wine bowls, their gauze sleeves would slip down as they poured the wine, revealing sections of snow-white, slender forearms. When someone leaned over to refill his wine, the loose collar of her gauze shirt would dip slightly, and the candlelight shining from behind would cast the curve of her waist through the thin fabric for a fleeting moment.

Ling Hao sat behind the table, his line of sight perfectly level with their cinched waists and slightly rising abdomens, while further up were the full contours supported by their bodices, and lower down were the plump lines of their hips tightly wrapped by their long skirts.

Those tall figures loomed over him one after another, like warm clouds wrapping him in the center; the candlelight was mostly blocked, leaving only a small circle of light around him, along with the lingering, unique scent of the Giant Clan women—a sweet, grassy freshness mixed with a faint fragrance of powder.

Even though he was surrounded by people looking down at him, that sense of oppression was tempered by their warm body scent and downcast eyes into an indescribable ambiguity.

Ling Hao turned his head slightly, picked up his wine bowl, and took a sip, then another.

The crowd toasting him formed circle after circle, with delicate voices rising and falling. Some, while clinking cups, would inadvertently brush their fingertips against the back of his hand; others, leaning over to pour wine, would let their gauze sleeves slip, the candlelight shining through the fabric, revealing the curve of their waists for a fleeting moment.

Ling Hao was overwhelmed; his wine bowl was emptied and refilled, again and again, until he couldn't even remember how much he had drunk.

Just then, a muffled sound suddenly came from the depths of the northern land. The candlelight throughout the plaza dimmed simultaneously, the flames of the torches pressed down by some invisible force until they almost touched the bronze pedestals; even the sound of the stream seemed to be swallowed up in that instant.

Matriarch Ju Yingluo set down her wine cup, her expression unchanged:

"It is nothing, the earth veins are occasionally restless. Let the banquet continue."

After several more rounds of drinks, as Ling Hao was looking down to pick up a piece of the amber-colored cold dish on his table with his chopsticks, he caught a glimpse of Matriarch Ju Yingluo suddenly rising from her seat.

Carrying a wine pot and cup, she stepped down from the main seat; the candlelight shone from behind her, casting a hazy halo through her extremely thin, front-opening gauze shirt, outlining her plump and slender figure even more clearly.

The lines of her shoulders and neck were smooth and sculpted, the full, lush curves of her chest stretching the bodice into a deep cleavage, the plump silhouette beneath the gauze shirt rising and falling slightly in the firelight; her waist was cinched extremely narrow, and beneath the tightly wrapped long skirt, her hip line was as round as a full moon, causing the fabric to sway gently with every step she took.

She walked to Ling Hao's table and bent over to fill his cup. The table set for Ling Hao was originally low relative to the giants, and for Matriarch Ju Yingluo, who was over nine feet tall, to lean down to be level with the seated Ling Hao, she had to bend her waist into a very deep arc.

She braced one hand against the edge of the table and held the pot with the other; the front of her vermilion long gown dipped slightly due to this deep lean, and the gauze front-opening shirt slipped a few inches along the lines of her shoulders and neck, the candlelight shining through from behind her, outlining that plump, slender figure clearly and warmly beneath the gauze.

Sitting behind the table, Ling Hao's view was filled with her drooping gauze sleeves, the slightly tilted collar as she handed over the wine pot, and the vaguely perceptible, plump, and warm aura beneath her black inner garment.

Matriarch Ju Yingluo seemed to notice something, covered her chest slightly with her hand, quickly straightened up, raised her cup, and gazed at Ling Hao with her molten-gold eyes in the firelight.

"Moon Shadow Sect Master, this cup is to thank you for your generous gift of the spring."

Ling Hao stood up, raised his cup in return, and said, "Clan Chief Ju is too polite."

Matriarch Ju Yingluo set down her wine cup and added, "Since Fellow Daoist Yu and the others came to Meigu Valley, they have been staying in the Peach Forest. It is quiet there, the pool water is clear and cold, and the scenery is also beautiful; ordinary tribespeople will not go there to disturb them."

"If Moon Shadow Sect Master does not mind, you may also stay in the Peach Forest. Of course, if you have other arrangements, there is an Elder Ju Yunluo from my tribe who is stationed in Fusang Main City; I can have her handle everything for you to facilitate your entry and exit from the Main City."

Ling Hao raised his cup in thanks, "The Peach Forest will do; it is quiet, which is just right."

When Ling Hao set down his wine cup, he happened to meet Matriarch Ju Yingluo's gaze. Separated by the distance of a table, the candlelight flickered in the air between them, and he saw some emotion flash deep within her molten-gold eyes.

But Matriarch Ju Yingluo quickly lowered her eyelids, finished the remaining wine in her cup, and turned back to the main seat.

Ling Hao watched her retreating figure; the firelight shone on her vermilion long gown, and the smooth lines of her back were vaguely visible beneath the thin gauze.

Just as he withdrew his gaze, he caught a glimpse of another vermilion figure rising from her seat.