The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 459 Drinking, drinking, and drinking tea
In the bustling restaurant, people came and went, and the aroma of wine and meat mingled together, making it incredibly tempting and mouthwatering.

Xu Xingchen brought Duan Yu to Songhelou once again. Led by the waiter, they went up to the second floor, ordered a table of food and drinks with tea, and began to eat, drink, and chat.

"Brother Xu, didn't you say you were going to attend the Beggars' Sect meeting? Now all the beggars in the city have left for Xingzilin. Why are we still here eating and drinking?"

Faced with Duan Yu's confusion, Xu Xingchen was about to explain when his gaze fell upon a burly man following a waiter up the stairs. His eyes lit up, and he smiled as he pointed at the man, saying, "See that hero? That's the person I've been waiting for."

Xu Xingchen had exceptional insight; upon seeing someone on the road, he could tell whether that person practiced martial arts, the level of their martial arts skills, and the approximate depth of their internal energy.

The burly man possessed an aura as solid as a mountain, even more powerful than Murong Fu, and in no way weaker than Kumārajīva.

There must be someone in this world with such skill, and such a strong and robust physique, who happens to arrive in Wuxi City during the Beggars' Sect gathering.
Besides Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, known as "Murong in the South and Qiao Feng in the North," who else could it be?!

Duan Yu turned his head to look, and the big man also turned his head to look. A square face immediately came into their view.

The burly man wore a tattered gray robe, the edges of which were worn but clean. He was about thirty years old, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a high nose, and a wide mouth. He looked weathered and exuded an imposing aura.

Duan Yu couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fine man!"

Xu Xingchen nodded and smiled, "If nothing unexpected happens, this person should be Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, who is as famous as Murong Fu."

The burly man had sharp ears and eyes. As soon as he went up the stairs, he felt someone watching him. Then he heard people talking about him. He thought they were some strangers from the martial arts world, so he turned around and saw two unfamiliar young men commenting on him.

His sharp gaze swept over the two men. After a moment's thought, he strode over, sat down across the table with an air of authority, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "My two friends, do you recognize me? May I ask your honorable names and where you are from?"

Duan Yu quickly clasped his hands in greeting and said, "I am Duan Yu from Dali, greetings to Chief Qiao!"

Xu Xingchen clasped his hands and said, "I am Xu Xingchen, the master of Xiaoyao Manor. Greetings, Chief Qiao!"

Qiao Feng looked at the two of them thoughtfully, then asked Duan Yu, "Are you a member of the Duan family of Dali?"

Duan Yu felt a pang of sorrow when he thought about his past, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply nodded and admitted, "That's right!"

Whether his father was Duan Zhengchun or Duan Yanqing, he was ultimately a member of the Duan family, and that much is certain.

Qiao Feng then turned to Xu Xingchen: "I've only recently heard of the name Xiaoyao Manor. Rumor has it that it was recently built outside Suzhou City. So you are the owner of Xiaoyao Manor; it's a pleasure to meet you both!"

After greeting the two men with clasped hands and a "Nice to meet you," Qiao Feng's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he stared at Xu Xingchen and asked directly, "I heard Master Xu say earlier that he was deliberately waiting for Qiao Feng's arrival at this restaurant; I wonder how Master Xu knew that Qiao Feng would be dining here?"

Facing Qiao Feng's aggressive gaze, Xu Xingchen remained calm, smiled slightly, and continued to use the excuse he had used before: "This is my secret, and it is not appropriate to reveal it. Please forgive me, Chief Qiao!"

Qiao Feng's face darkened, and he sneered, "Does Master Xu think I'm a fool? I myself didn't even know I would be eating at this restaurant. How could Master Xu have known in advance? Please answer my question, Master Xu, otherwise, I will have no choice but to learn a few tricks from you."

Xu Xingchen waved his hand dismissively and said, "Let's not say anything that might spoil the fun. Let's eat and drink first, and then we can have the competition when we're full."

Qiao Feng stared at the composed Xu Xingchen for a long time, then suddenly laughed and said, "That makes sense. Even if we're fighting, we can't forget to drink first."

After saying that, he turned to the waiter who had been following behind him and said loudly, "Waiter, bring ten catties of sorghum liquor and three bowls."

The waiter's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "Sir, can the three of you really finish ten catties of sorghum liquor?"

Qiao Feng said, "Ten catties of wine is not much; let's just go for twenty catties, otherwise, we won't be able to drink it to our heart's content!"

The waiter dared not persuade him any further, responded with a sound of agreement, and hurriedly turned around and went downstairs to get the wine.

At this moment, Xu Xingchen picked up the teapot and poured tea into the teacup while saying, "Chief Qiao, I apologize, but I never drink alcohol and only drink tea; let my brother Duan beside me drink a few cups with you!"

Duan Yu was startled and said, "Brother Xu, I can't drink that much wine."

Xu Xingchen laughed and said, "You drank a lot that day in Suzhou, which almost scared the people eating in the restaurant."

Duan Yu smiled wryly and said, "I was just drowning my sorrows in alcohol."

Xu Xingchen said, "You can drink to drown your sorrows, and you can also drink with this Chief Qiao; Brother Duan, I have high hopes for you!"

Duan Yu was speechless: "."

Unexpectedly, Qiao Feng, sitting opposite him, couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Master Xu, as the saying goes, 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.' Since neither of you can drink, then don't drink; I can drink by myself and enjoy it just as much!"

Xu Xingchen nodded and said, "In that case, let's each drink in our own place."

Accompanied by the heavy thumping of footsteps as he went upstairs, the waiter came over quickly carrying a large wine jar, placed it on the table, and then lined up the three wine bowls stacked on top of the jar.

Xu Xingchen instructed, "Cut three catties of beef for this gentleman, and serve four other dishes."

While the waiter ran off, Qiao Feng had already smashed open the seal of the wine jar with a single palm strike, pouring the slightly transparent sorghum wine into three bowls. With a thud, the jar was placed back on the table.

Qiao Feng picked up a bowl of wine and said to Xu Xingchen and the other man, "Brother Duan, Master Xu, how about we share a drink first?"

He looked down on Xu Xingchen's pretentious mysterious manner, so when he spoke, he put Duan Yu first.

“Alright!” Xu Xingchen replied, picking up his teacup without batting an eye, and said, “I will drink tea in place of wine with Chief Qiao.”

Duan Yu, standing nearby, picked up his wine cup and said boldly, "Come on, Chief Qiao, Brother Xu, let's drink a cup together."

A bowl of wine, a cup of wine, and a cup of tea were each consumed by one of the three men.

Qiao Feng quickly picked up his second bowl of wine and said, "Come on, let's keep going. Drink this twenty jin of sorghum wine with me."

Xu Xingchen refilled the teacup and raised it without showing any weakness: "Cheers!"

Duan Yu's lips twitched. He looked at Qiao Feng's wine bowl filled with half a jin of wine, then at Xu Xingchen's teacup filled with tea, and felt that the two were very different.

But he had no choice but to raise his glass and say, "Cheers!"

After drinking three bowls of wine, Qiao Feng finally saw clearly that the manor lord surnamed Xu in front of him was indeed a teetotaler, yet he could still shamelessly toast with him using tea instead of wine.

The young men from the Dali Duan family next to me, who could drink, were using small cups, which was quite displeasing to watch.

"Sir, the meat is here!"

With a shout, the waiter placed a plate of beef in front of Qiao Feng, and soon brought out the other four dishes.

While eating meat heartily, Qiao Feng drank with Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu. In no time, he had finished most of the beef on his plate, and the 20-jin sorghum wine jar was also half empty.

Duan Yu could hardly stand the pungent smell of the sorghum wine. He couldn't understand how the Beggar Clan leader could drink bowl after bowl of it without his eyes being clear and showing no signs of drunkenness.

However, he couldn't help but admire the other person's bold drinking style.

Xu Xingchen sipped tea and ate her food, watching the two people in front of her with a strange look in her eyes, thinking to herself, "Because of my interference, their famous drinking session at the restaurant has been ruined."

"So, does that mean their sworn brotherhood is over?"

"Forget it, I was just trying to change some things anyway, so one more thing won't make a difference."

After Qiao Feng finished eating the beef and food on the table, he also drank twenty catties of sorghum liquor all by himself.

His face glowed with a rosy light, yet his eyes remained clear, drawing cheers from those secretly watching him.

Xu Xingchen witnessed Qiao Feng's drinking capacity firsthand, and it was indeed extraordinary.

Duan Yu drank with his companion, finishing pot after pot of wine. Although it wasn't much and the wine wasn't strong, his alcohol tolerance was too low. Halfway through, he had to use the Shaoze Sword of the Six Meridians Divine Sword again to force the alcohol out of his body through the Shaoze acupoint on his left little finger.

Qiao Feng was puzzled by Duan Yu's cycle of getting drunk and sobering up, then getting drunk again, and then sobering up again. But when he saw Duan Yu's little actions, he felt relieved and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

After finishing the last bowl of wine, Qiao Feng put the bowl back on the table, glanced at the empty bowls and plates, looked up at Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu, and said, "Now that you've eaten and drunk your fill, why don't you two accompany me for a walk to clear your head before we discuss our martial arts skills?"

Xu Xingchen gestured and said, "Chief Qiao, please!"

The two stood up together, and Duan Yu quickly followed suit.

The three of them went downstairs. Xu Xingchen tossed a silver ingot on the counter and then left Songhelou.

"Let's go out of the city!"

Qiao Feng shouted and took the lead, walking faster and faster until he had covered a great distance on the street in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Duan, use the Lingbo Weibu!" Xu Xingchen instructed, took a big step, and quickly followed through the crowd.

"Hey, wait for me!" Duan Yu shouted, quickly using his Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) to follow behind.

The three moved seemingly slowly but actually quickly. The dense crowd of pedestrians on the street could not hinder their steps in the slightest. They moved nimbly and moved through narrow gaps.

Pedestrians on the road felt a gust of wind pass by, making their clothes flutter, but when they looked closely, they could see nothing.

(End of this chapter)