Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 135 The Number One Gang Leader in the World
This large bowl of wine contains at least half a jin (250 grams).

Jiang Mingzhe is experienced in drinking parties; he can tell at least forty degrees of alcohol just by tasting it.

Qiao Feng gulped it down in one go without changing his expression.

Jiang Mingzhe gulped down three large mouthfuls, exhaling a burst of hot alcohol vapor.

Duan Yu and A Zhu drank at least six or seven mouthfuls. After putting down their bowls, their pale faces were visibly red.

Abi held the wine bowl with both hands and gulped it down like a kitten drinking water, but it took her a long time to finish it.

Seeing her frail body trembling slightly and her face tightly scrunched up like a sour plum, Qiao Feng couldn't bear it and said, "This young lady doesn't drink alcohol, so please don't drink anymore."

He reached out to take her wine bowl, but Duan Yu, having already downed half a jin of wine, was suddenly filled with heroic spirit and snatched the bowl away, saying, "I'll drink it for Sister Abi!"

After saying that, he drank the wine in one gulp. It wasn't intentional; it was just a coincidence that the wine he drank came right from where Abi Fang's lips were sucking on it.

Abi understood perfectly. She let out a soft sigh, stamped her foot gently, and turned to look at Azhu, her eyes already red-rimmed.

Azhu gently shook her head, silently saying: He didn't do it on purpose.

Abi and Azhu entertained Duan Yu for two days and had long seen that he was a pure and honest man, not a lewd and wicked person. However, Abi still couldn't help feeling a little wronged.

Qiao Feng was unconcerned with such matters and naturally wouldn't care about these women's thoughts, but Jiang Mingzhe was observant and secretly watched everything, yet pretended not to know.

Duan Yu put down the wine, his face turning even redder.

Qiao Feng laughed and said, "You girls should eat some vegetables and drink some soup to calm your nerves. Then the two brothers and I will have another bowl."

Jiang Mingzhe laughed heartily, grabbed the wine jar and poured it out, saying, "Brother Qiao, you are the oldest among the three of us, so we are not worthy of being called brothers by you."

Qiao Feng picked up the bowl and laughed loudly, "Good, good, good! Then you are my brothers! Brothers, drink!"

After saying this, he drank it all in one gulp. Jiang Mingzhe and Duan Yu also raised their bowls and drank them down as well.

Duan Yu slammed down the bowl, swayed, and sat back down on the stool with a thud. If Jiang Mingzhe hadn't caught him, he would have almost fallen backward.

Jiang Mingzhe picked up the chopsticks and put them in his hand, instructing him, "If you drink like this on an empty stomach, you'll get drunk quickly. Eat more meat and rest for a while."

Duan Yu nodded and went to pick up some beef, but his chopsticks poked around on the plate and the table, making it impossible to pick it up.
At this moment, A'Zhu's drunkenness kicked in, her face turning as red as a cloth. She pointed at him and grinned foolishly, saying, "Young Master Duan, you really have a poor alcohol tolerance. Watch me, A'Zhu, try to force you to drink!"

As she spoke, she reached for the chopsticks, but her slender, jade-like fingers flicked and waved haphazardly, causing the chopsticks to fall off the table.

Qiao Feng chuckled and said, "This girl is just as bold as any man. I thought she had a good capacity for alcohol, but I was wrong."

Seeing that Azhu was awkwardly bending down to pick up the chopsticks, Abi quickly pulled her back, took out a handkerchief, poured some tea to wet it, and carefully wiped Azhu's hands. She then took chopsticks, picked up several large slices of beef, placed them in Azhu's palm, and whispered, "Don't be so picky, eat something to calm your nerves."

While eating beef, Azhu chuckled foolishly, "Abi is so good. Whoever marries you is blessed in their past life."

Abi blushed, rinsed the wine bowl with tea, and ladled out a shallow half-bowl of soup for her.

At this moment, Duan Yu was still poking at the beef with his chopsticks, tilting his head and staring wide-eyed, looking adorably silly. Abi turned her head and saw this. After hesitating for a moment, she still picked up a few slices for him and put them in his bowl, pushing them in front of him and saying, "You pick them out and eat them."

Duan Yu nodded obediently and leaned over to scoop some into his mouth.

Qiao Feng laughed and said, "Brother Jiang, would you like to drink some more?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "A thousand cups of wine are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend."

Qiao Feng exclaimed happily, "Great! Let's drink three more bowls and then eat!"

He then personally poured wine, and the two drank three bowls together.

Azhu, her mouth full of beef, clapped her hands without forgetting to do so.

Qiao Feng wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed loudly, "Good brother, good drinking capacity, how refreshing!"

After Jiang Mingzhe finished these three bowls of wine, including the previous two, he had already consumed nearly two and a half jin of baijiu!

The strength of this wine was comparable to that of later generations. He could have endured drinking so much wine slowly, but drinking it all at once had truly pushed him to his limit. He felt dizzy and as if a volcano was erupting in his stomach. He forced a smile and said, "I consider myself to have a good capacity for alcohol, but I have never seen someone with such a massive capacity as you, elder brother!"

Qiao Feng reached out and helped him sit down, then sat down himself, and said with a smile, "I am a rough and clumsy person. I drink like a water buffalo drinking water. The more I drink, the more energetic I become."

Jiang Mingzhe ladled out half a bowl of soup, drank it slowly, and then said, "Qiao Feng in the North, Murong in the South, if the dignified leader of the Beggars' Sect is so crude and stupid, then who in the world can be considered intelligent?"

He immediately revealed Qiao Feng's identity, and Abi's expression changed drastically. Azhu was also stunned, forgetting to chew the meat in her mouth. She stared at Qiao Feng with her eyes wide open and her mouth bulging, like a big squirrel.

Qiao Feng remained unfazed and smiled, "Brother, when did you realize my identity?" Jiang Mingzhe reached out and gripped the edge of the table, channeling his inner strength to lift it up smoothly. Qiao Feng's eyes lit up.

Jiang Mingzhe then put down the table and smiled, "Brother, you were clearly no ordinary person when you showed your skills just now. Moreover, your clothes were neat, but you deliberately didn't mend the several tears. You also mentioned the Beggars' Sect's southward journey. In addition, your surname is Qiao. I can't think of anyone else but Qiao Feng from the North."

Qiao Feng laughed and was about to speak when he heard footsteps. Two beggars came upstairs. One of them was limping and using a cane, while the other looked worried and was very old.

The two walked straight up to Qiao Feng, bowed, and Qiao Feng nodded and looked at them.

The lame man glanced at Jiang Mingzhe and the others, then remained silent. Qiao Feng said, "It's alright. These are my new friends. They know my identity, so there's no need to hide anything."

The lame man whispered, "Reporting to the leader, the people from Yipintang have arranged to meet at Huishan Pavilion early tomorrow morning!"

The old man then said, "Chief, we originally planned to meet him three days later, but unfortunately, he probably knew we were short-handed and made sarcastic remarks, saying that if we were afraid, we didn't need to go."

Qiao Feng sneered, "Since that's the case, then pass on my order: everyone should gather at Huishan at midnight tonight. We'll wait for them."

The two men bowed in agreement and turned to leave.

At this moment, the waiter brought the large wooden tray to serve the dishes, which soon filled the table, and then he put down two jars of wine.

Qiao Feng picked up his chopsticks and put a lot of food in Duan Yu's bowl. He said to Abi, "Please take care of that young lady. You should also eat more."

He then said to Jiang Mingzhe, "Brother, you should eat something too."

Jiang Mingzhe nodded, ate two pieces of fragrant meat, and casually asked, "Brother Qiao, the Yipintang you mentioned, could it be the Yipintang of Xixia?"

Qiao Feng looked slightly surprised, then his expression showed understanding.

He laughed and said, "I forgot that the Xingxiu Sect is located in Tibet, which is not far from Western Xia. No wonder you know the name Yipintang. That's right. Instead of staying in Western Xia, they have come to my Great Song territory for some reason. The messenger who just came to deliver the message was a brother from my Beggar Clan branch. People from Yipintang came to the branch to issue a challenge. I wonder what their intentions are."

Jiang Mingzhe pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "The Song and Liao dynasties have not fought a major war for many years. In recent years, most of the wars have been between the Song and Xia dynasties. In the Central Plains martial arts world, Shaolin and the Beggars' Sect are the two pillars. The Xia people have come here mostly to dampen the morale of both sides in order to boost the national fortune."

Qiao Feng nodded and said, "What you say makes sense. Hehe, but I'd like to see what makes them so sure they can break my spirit."

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and said, "Although the Beggars' Sect came south this time with the intention of investigating, once they confirm that the Murong family is the murderer, they will probably start fighting immediately. Therefore, this trip must be full of experts. It is unwise for the Western Xia people to challenge you at this time. Therefore, they must have extremely powerful methods to have such courage."

Qiao Feng's expression hardened, and he nodded, saying, "That's right! Brother, what methods do you think they'll use?"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "People in the martial arts world are very wary of my Xingxiu Sect. Brother, what are you wary of?"

Qiao Feng immediately realized: "Ah, you mean the Western Xia people are going to use poison?"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded, opened his palm, and blue poisonous gas slowly rose from his palm. Before it could dissipate, it was drawn back into his palm.

Qiao Feng exclaimed in admiration, "Impressive skill! Is this the Poison Palm technique of the Starry Constellation Sect?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "This is just a little trick I came up with myself, but brother, why don't you imagine what would happen if I challenged you to a duel at dawn or night, and my poison was white or even colorless, and I used my lightness skill to release it in large quantities?"

Qiao Feng, his face solemn, slowly said, "If we are not on guard, apart from a few experts with advanced internal strength who can resist, most of the gang members will suffer."

Jiang Mingzhe said, "If my poison is potent enough, even someone with profound internal strength might not be able to stop me."

Qiao Feng asked with concern, "Is there such a potent poison in the world? Would Yipintang possess it?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "The world is full of wonders. After all, Yipintang is backed by the Western Xia Kingdom and has the strength of the whole country. What kind of poison can't they make? Anyway, apart from poisoning, I can't think of any reason why they dare to go against the Beggars' Sect at this time."

Qiao Feng frowned.

Jiang Mingzhe suddenly laughed and said, "Brother, why make things difficult? Actually, there are ways to deal with it."

Qiao Feng was overjoyed and quickly clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Please enlighten me, brother."

Jiang Mingzhe waved his hand and said, "I wouldn't presume to offer guidance, just a humble suggestion. First, divide the gang members into several teams, keeping them at a distance to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop. Second..."

He straightened his back and looked intently at Qiao Feng: "If you trust me, I am willing to accompany your gang to meet with Yipintang!"

Qiao Feng thought to himself that he was from the Xingxiu Sect and must have some ingenious methods for using poison to cure poison. He immediately felt reassured and laughed, "Brother, you are a kind and honest man. How could I not trust you?"

After drinking a few bowls of soup, Duan Yu's effects from the alcohol wore off, and he became excited upon hearing this, laughing, "The Western Xia people are no good! Brother, let's join forces this time and help Brother Qiao deal with them!"

Jiang Mingzhe looked at him and said, "There's no rush for the two swords to combine. I'll have the waiter make a bowl of hangover soup right away. Drink it and sober up. I need you to make a trip to Suzhou for me and invite a very important helper!"

(End of this chapter)