The Spirit World

Chapter 43 The reception banquet

Chang Yufeng, it was not until the Prime Minister asked him about it that he understood what Chunxi meant yesterday about whether he should agree or not.

The entire Bailing Mountain started to get busy at three o'clock in the morning. Hundreds of personnel from the ten departments and six paths were all mobilized to prepare for tomorrow's, no, today's welcoming banquet. Some people were flying in the sky, holding red ribbons and hanging cloths in their hands, hanging one after another in the mountains. The huge red banners read "Welcome Young Master, Welcome Prime Minister". The feeling of universal celebration permeated the entire Bailing Mountain. Everyone was in high spirits, comparable to the grand scenes of some festivals. But in addition to these colorful flags, the most important thing is to arrange tables and chairs. The tables and chairs supported by blue magic energy flew neatly on the mountain. The chefs in the back kitchen were all sweating profusely, frying, boiling, steaming and frying. Things like this that affect the taste, magic is useless. In addition, there are delicacies from all over the country, and there are too many places where chefs need to operate. The whole Bailing Mountain was filled with a strong fragrance early in the morning. The delicacies from all over the world are cooked by the back kitchen, and today many dishes that are not usually available are on standby. The back kitchen, which is usually responsible for the meals of hundreds of people, is even busier today.

In addition to the delicious aroma that permeated Bailing Mountain, there were also many special cakes floating in the air, like colorful ribbons circling Bailing Mountain. The senior brothers and sisters who were rarely seen on weekdays were all wearing formal dresses that were rarely seen on weekdays. It was conceivable how important this welcoming banquet was.

Chang Yufeng was woken up early, dressed in a set of clothes that looked very gorgeous, and was taken to a small house where the chief steward and the prime minister were waiting.

Chang Yufeng bowed and the Prime Minister quickly helped him up and pulled him to sit next to him. The chief steward looked at him with a serious face.

"The young master of the Ning family is so polite. He is truly teachable!" The prime minister waved his fan happily and looked at him with a happy face, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Chang Yufeng sat there, not daring to speak.

"The Prime Minister asked you to come here today because he has something important to tell you. Young Master, you must listen carefully. Don't miss a single word." The chief steward reminded.

"Hmm." Chang Yufeng looked at him and responded very seriously. Then he looked at the prime minister and his smile was gone, leaving only seriousness.

The chief steward looked at the respectful young man and recalled the conversation yesterday. Every word made him shudder.

"Ten years ago, Huacheng was breached by a mysterious man, the Demon Sealing Well that the Ning family had guarded for generations was destroyed, the Great Demon King of the First Heaven escaped from the seal, and the Ning family's patriarchs Ning Ji and Ning Qing disappeared. Also ten years ago, the Xiyi Netherworld Sea was infested with varying degrees of ferocious beasts, and the whereabouts of the guardians were unknown. Fu An and General Jiang Boliang also lost at the same time."

The chief steward looked at him in confusion. He had a memory of the first one, but had never heard of the second one.

"For ten years, we have been searching for traces of the demons, but there was no trace. On the first day, it was as if the Great Demon King had never been rescued. We sealed Fu An and found nothing. It was not until a few days ago that the White Horse Kingdom of the Kingdom of Beasts was invaded by demons. We learned the secret that the demons had been planning for a long time."

He listened with his brows furrowed, as if a shocking big secret was about to come to light.

"Someone is behind the demons." The prime minister frowned tightly. "Thousands of years ago, demons came to the world, and all living things were destroyed. Seven demons were a disaster for the world. The twelve main gods representing the twelve races united and finally defeated them with great efforts. They were suppressed in the Demon Sealing Well, but the good times did not last long. Quetzalcoatl was bewitched and joined the other four main gods to openly rebel against the coalition army and released the demons back to the spirit world. The other main gods paid a painful price and defeated him together with the thousands of creatures in the spirit world, and sealed the demons again. But the infection of the demons could no longer be contained. This... The demons were released again. But this time, things are different. "The Prime Minister looked at him and said, "There are only four of the twelve races left. The other races are scattered and may not be as united as they were a thousand years ago. There is a black hand behind the demons, and everything in the Kingdom of Beasts is just an illusion. There are only infected soldiers there, and the real demons are hiding in any possible corner of the spirit world. The first great demon king has not touched any other demons for ten years. He must have some intentions to hide for ten years."

The Prime Minister suddenly told him this, and the chief steward felt pressured. He had already heard about the demons in the past three years. The seven demons were sealed in seven demon wells, and the Ether Empire and the Principality of Allan each had two demon wells.

"The news from Huacheng was strictly blocked, and the Nether Sea's alert was at its highest level in the past ten years. However, on the first day, the Great Demon King and the mastermind did not make any moves, as if this incident had never happened. I have been thinking about what their next plan will be. I think they are still missing a key person."

The chief steward swallowed his saliva and listened with fear and trepidation.

"That is, the young master of the Ning family, Chang Yufeng!" The prime minister looked at him seriously.

“He’s going to be the key to all of this.”

"This……"

"Don't be afraid. Ten years ago, when I heard that the Demon Sealing Well in Huacheng was breached, I paid attention to any anomalies. I looked through ancient books, looking for all the ways to seal the demons again. I thought that the demons would come back to the world and would cause great suffering and disaster." The Prime Minister looked at him: "But no, everything returned to peace until today, when I heard the news of the return of the young master of the Ning family, and then I had some clues."

The chief steward stared at the prime minister with his eyes wide open, and couldn't help feeling a little nervous after hearing the prime minister's strange guess.

"Ten years ago, the baby rescued in Huacheng, ten years later, the young master of the Ning family will definitely become the key to this game. I must come and see what is so magical about this young man."

The chief steward looked at the young man in front of him today, and an unprecedented feeling surged from the bottom of his heart. In the past, when he held him in his arms, he was not as well-behaved as he was today. His current behavior was indeed a little strange. It was not the expression that a person who had been fostered outside for so long and returned to his own home should have, even if he had been sleeping for a hundred years.

"Today is your welcoming party. I will ask you a few questions. Just in case, let's rehearse it in advance."

The prime minister was indeed very shrewd. In order to avoid any accidents at today's banquet, he actually wanted to rehearse today's answer. What a bad old man! He is very bad. If I don't answer well now, it may be difficult to change it later.

Chang Yufeng responded obediently, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Young Master, if you were destined to be with the Princess, what would you do?" The Prime Minister asked this question directly, which was what Chang Yufeng had anticipated yesterday.

"Excuse me Prime Minister, what is marriage?" He asked loudly, looking well-behaved.

The prime minister looked at him, stroked his mustache and said with a smile: "Marriage is nothing more than the will of parents and the words of matchmakers."

Chang Yufeng looked at the chief steward, who was watching him from the side: "The princess and I have never met before. Even with the permission of our parents and the matchmaker, it is difficult to agree to it." He looked at the prime minister and continued calmly: "Besides, men should focus on their careers. I am only ten years old. It is too early to talk about marriage."

"Not too early, not too early. This time the young master can come back to continue the engagement. Now I am here on behalf of the emperor, just to make things settled, not in a hurry." The prime minister seemed to be determined about this matter. To be honest, if there really was such an engagement, it would be absolutely impossible to explain it rationally. "To be honest, I have an engagement myself. In the Principality of Allan, my adoptive parents have already betrothed a woman to me. I also like that woman. Therefore, the engagement with the princess is really difficult to handle. I hope the prime minister can make a decision for me." Chang Yufeng looked embarrassed, and Dada also grabbed his ears, as if he was not listening to them.

The atmosphere suddenly became so awkward that even the air froze.

The Prime Minister seemed to have expected him to say such a thing.

“无妨无妨，要娶就一起娶，哈哈哈，男人嘛，三妻……”丞相话还没说完，就被大总管打了一拳。咳咳两声，他又说到:“这就很难办了，你要我定夺，我还真的很难办啊！”丞相也面露难色。大总管看着他的样子，不由得摇摇头，这个老东西，敢教坏小主人我就揍的你下不了山。

"My adoptive parents treat me like their own family. It's my parents' order and the matchmaker's words. It's hard for me to refuse. As for the princess, let's..." Chang Yufeng wanted to say something while he was still thinking: "How about keeping it a secret? Just pretend it never happened. When I reach the age, the princess will have already married and become a mother."

"No, the entire royal family already knows about this, so I came here to ask your opinion. The age difference between you two is actually my fault, so how should we withdraw from this matter now?"

Chang Yufeng saw that the Prime Minister had no intention of going any further: "In fact, the princess came to see me yesterday, also for this matter."

"I know." The prime minister was still in deep thought and just responded casually.

"Hmm?" Chang Yufeng didn't know what to say and could only look at Dada. In his eyes, Chang Yufeng saw his own face.

This matter may not end in vain, but even if the emperor of the Ether Empire asked, I would do the same.

"Okay, young master, you don't need to worry about this. I have already thought of a good idea. Today is your welcoming banquet, so please don't mind it."

"It's okay, it's okay. The Prime Minister cares about me. Yu Feng couldn't be happier."

But he always felt that this matter was not over yet.

The Prime Minister's thoughtful look as he fanned himself made him feel that he was not very reliable.

Fortunately, no questions were asked at the welcoming banquet. Chang Yufeng toasted with tea instead of wine to each department one by one. They were all unfamiliar faces. He did not see Chunxi, Zhaozhao, or even Erica and Lin'er. He did not see anyone.

He had to smile all day, but he felt bitter and embarrassed in his heart. Fortunately, he had the chief steward to help him. Although everyone was very nice to him, he still felt uncomfortable. The princess did not attend, so Chang Yufeng did not see her.

The chief steward was sitting in the front, and Chang Yufeng had no time to ask him. For the whole day, everything seemed to be wasted, and time passed abnormally slowly.

In the midst of all the noise and bustle, only Chang Yufeng was very quiet. He smiled quietly, drank tea instead of wine quietly, and sat quietly as the protagonist of the banquet. However, his heart was in turmoil and there was never a moment of silence.

He sneaked away, just like escaping from the banquet. He disliked this place more and more, and disliked this identity more and more. He had spent ten years in Wenti County, but he still had not integrated into the crowd. The secluded pastoral life of Rajel and Emina made him live too comfortably. He had also thought about wandering around the world to find his real parents, but now that he was about to find the answer, he suddenly felt that he did not expect it that way.

He was walking in the mountains, his clothes bright and colorful, but the green pines and gray stones were more real than his clothes.

Before he knew it, he arrived at Chunxi and Zhaozhao's residence. Erica and Lin'er slept in the same room with them.

"Ha! You lose, you lose! Have some tea, have some tea!" It sounded very much like Erica's voice. Chang Yufeng was about to enter the room with a smile, but he was stunned when he entered the room. It was not Erica, but some children, not the people he wanted to see. He left in a hurry to avoid being detained.

Where will they go?

Chang Yufeng heard some crying sounds. On a balcony, there were all the people he wanted to see.

He watched from afar, Chunxi sobbed on Zhaozhao's shoulder, Zhaozhao patted her back and said something to comfort her, Erica hugged Chunxi, not wanting her to be sad. Lin'er looked at the mountains in the distance, her purple hair was blown by the wind, and the green mountains remained in her purple eyes.

Don't know what she is thinking.

Chang Yufeng stood there stupidly, as if there was a mountain between them that they could not climb over.

His originally noisy heart suddenly became very quiet, and he could hear his own heartbeat, one, two.

The sun has already set,
Will tomorrow be better?

Chang Yufeng thought so.

(End of this chapter)