"Sorry, we're leaving..."
Wan Yunting, holding two clean red plastic bags filled with leftovers, saw the young disciples from the Taoist temple approaching quickly. He grabbed Kang Nuolan, who was still leisurely eating with chopsticks, and pulled her up. "Stop eating, let's go..."
"Hey, you guys..."
Jiang Tingxia stood up, watching Wan Yunting leave towards the back of the mess hall with leftovers in one hand and Kang Nuolan in the other. He had noticed two unopened bottles of Xifeng wine on a table where the Da Dao Men disciples were sitting.
"Take this..."
Wan Yunting handed the bags to Kang Nuolan and then grabbed the two bottles of Xifeng wine. Before the Da Dao Men disciples could react, he dashed out the back door with the wine, dragging Kang Nuolan along.
"Stop..."
The Taoist temple disciples chased after them, leaving Jiang Tingxia and the six Emei Sect disciples stunned.
"Let's go..."
Wan Yunting, holding two bottles of Xifeng wine in one hand and Kang Nuolan with the other, urged her on. Although she didn't want to carry the leftover bags, her stomach wouldn't allow it.
"Forget it, don't chase anymore."
The Taoist temple disciples who had chased after them stopped when they couldn't catch up to Wan Yunting. One of them spat fiercely, "Consider those leftovers and wine fed to the dogs. Let's go back..."
"Phew, they stopped chasing..."
Wan Yunting looked back and saw they weren't pursuing, so he slowly slowed down. He turned to Kang Nuolan, who was carrying the bags, "Hold this. Let me see the dishes to make sure nothing spilled..."
"Nothing spilled."
Kang Nuolan took the two bottles of Xifeng wine he handed her. Wan Yunting looked back and noticed her strange gaze, his expression immediately turning stern. "Tsk, why are you looking at me like that?"
Kang Nuolan tossed her head proudly and said, "I just think it's embarrassing."
"Hey, you little girl, you're being disrespectful."
Feeling looked down upon by her, Wan Yunting shook his head helplessly. He carried the two bags of leftovers and followed her, and they soon returned to their lodging. Chang Wude was already sitting on the threshold of the room, a brazier in front of him, warming himself and eagerly awaiting their return.
"Old man, we're back."
Wan Yunting gently pushed open the wooden gate of the courtyard, carrying the two bags of leftovers, and called out. Chang Wude immediately stood up. "How did it go? Did you get any dishes and wine?"
"We got them. Here, two bottles of wine."
Wan Yunting turned and gestured to the two bottles of wine in Kang Nuolan's hand. Chang Wude's old eyes lit up with excitement upon seeing the wine. "Ah, that's great, that's great. As long as there's wine..."
"Nuolan, go into the room and bring out the small table."
Upon arriving at the door, Wan Yunting asked Kang Nuolan to bring out a small table from the room to put the dishes on. Chang Wude had already opened a bottle of wine and downed a third of it in one gulp, which made Wan Yunting speechless. "Old man, drink slowly. This bottle is yours, and that bottle is mine."
"Tch, what are you drinking alcohol for at such a young age?"
Chang Wude glared at him, then his gaze fell on the two bags in his hand. "Can you do it, kid? You got so many dishes, what's in them?"
"Here, put them down..."
Seeing Kang Nuolan bring out the small table, Wan Yunting told her to place it next to the brazier. He put the two bags of dishes on the table. "Don't worry about what the dishes are. It's good enough that we have something to eat..."
"Let me see..."
Chang Wude opened one of the bags and saw that it was all vegetarian dishes. He immediately widened his eyes. "Why are they all vegetarian? Is there no meat?"
Wan Yunting looked up and smiled at him. "Because I packed the dishes from the table where the Emei Sect disciples were sitting. They all eat vegetarian."
This left Chang Wude speechless, and he scolded him irritably, "You brat, why didn't you sit at that table? You had to sit with those old ladies from the Emei Sect and bring back these vegetarian dishes. Not even a shred of meat. How can this be paired with wine?"
"He fancies those female disciples from the Emei Sect!"
Kang Nuolan, who had calmly sat down on a small stool, even brought her chopsticks back. She picked up the dishes from the bag, ate, and said indifferently.
"...Wan Yunting's expression froze. He raised his hand and gently patted the back of Kang Nuolan's head, glaring and saying, "Hey, don't talk nonsense. Although I admit those Emei Sect female disciples are all beauties, I'm not that kind of person."
"Heh heh."
Kang Nuolan let out two cold, indifferent chuckles.
"Hmph, good for you."
Chang Wude gave Wan Yunting a look and sat down, rummaging through the vegetarian dishes in the bag. Although there was no meat, his stomach was terribly hungry, so he could only eat a little. "I wish I had gone to the back of the mountain to catch a wild rabbit earlier."
"Alright, old man. It's good enough that we have something to eat. Don't be so picky."
Wan Yunting also pulled a stool and sat down. He also brought out two pairs of disposable chopsticks, gave one to Chang Wude, and started eating himself. At the same time, he grabbed the bottle of Xifeng wine and told Kang Nuolan to get a water cup from her room to pour the wine...
"I'll drink too."
Kang Nuolan also took out her water cup. Wan Yunting glanced at her, "A young lady like you, why are you drinking baijiu?"
"I am already 23 years old."
Kang Nuolan said with her usual indifferent and expressionless demeanor.
This made Wan Yunting unhappy. He put the wine bottle on the table and turned to look at her, saying angrily, "Is it great to be young?"
"It is great..."
Kang Nuolan picked up the wine bottle and poured herself a small half cup. Wan Yunting glared, "Hey, hey, hey, pour less. This is high-proof baijiu, can you drink that much?"
As a result, the stubborn Kang Nuolan drank the half cup of Xifeng wine in one gulp.
"Haha, worthy of being my disciple, heroic!" Chang Wude laughed twice and gave Kang Nuolan a thumbs-up.
"Tch, don't throw up later."
Wan Yunting sneered disdainfully. The three of them sat around the small table, eating and drinking the leftover vegetarian dishes and wine...
"Junior Brother Wan, Uncle-Master Chang, I'm here..."
After the three of them finished the two bags of vegetarian dishes and drank all the wine, Li Zihang's voice came from outside the courtyard gate. Wan Yunting knew he was bringing food, so he glared angrily, went to open the wooden gate of the courtyard, and saw the young man holding two large bags of things, with three bottles of Xifeng wine in his left hand. He cursed, "What time is it? You're only bringing it now, we're already full."
"Full?"
Li Zihang came in, looking at Kang Nuolan sitting in front of the door. Because she had drunk a cup of Xifeng wine, her pretty face was flushed, and she was already a bit dazed. Chang Wude, on the other hand, hadn't had enough and was still picking at the leftover vegetable leaves in the bag with his chopsticks.
"Alright, give them to us."
Wan Yunting, too lazy to argue with him, took the things from Li Zihang and put them on the small table. Seeing Kang Nuolan leaning against the wall, drunk and her face flushed, Wan Yunting shook his head helplessly. "I told you not to drink, but you got drunk."
Although he blamed her, Wan Yunting still pulled Kang Nuolan up and helped her back to her room to rest...
When he came out, Chang Wude was already drinking with Li Zihang. This kid had stolen a whole roasted duck, as well as pork head meat and other meat dishes to go with the wine, which Chang Wude was happily eating...
"Hey old man, give me a duck leg..."
Seeing Chang Wude gnawing on a whole roasted duck, Wan Yunting glared and went to snatch it...
The next morning at five o'clock, Wei Ping, Zeng Yongchang, and Qi Wu, along with other disciples, were up early, arranging matters for today's Ancestral Worship Ceremony.
Representatives from various sects were still resting. The Ancestral Worship Ceremony was scheduled to begin at eight o'clock in the morning.
"Cough cough..."
At this time, in the abbot's residence, Duan Wuyu, lying on the bed, had a head of pale long hair pressed under him. His pale and haggard old face made him look even weaker. After coughing twice, he looked at Yang Jingyi, who was sitting by the bed, and asked weakly, "The Ancestral Worship Ceremony... how are the preparations...?"
"Yes, Boyong and Junior Brother Wuwei are already preparing. You don't have to worry."
Yang Jingyi saw her husband becoming weaker and weaker. Although he had been taking the medicine prescribed by Sima Boyong for the past two days, there was no sign of improvement, which made Yang Jingyi increasingly worried.
Duan Wuyu weakly asked, "What time is it now?"
"It's six in the morning," Yang Jingyi replied.
Duan Wuyu nodded and said, "Wake me up at seven. Cough cough, I have to preside over the Ancestral Worship Ceremony..."
Yang Jingyi shook her head slightly and said softly, "You are so ill, just rest at home. Presiding over the Ancestral Worship Ceremony can be handled by Junior Brother Boyong and the others. You don't need to worry about it."
"Cough cough..."
Duan Wuyu coughed weakly again and said, "How can that be? I am the abbot, how can I be absent from such a grand ceremony... this is our Wuliang Daoist Temple's once-in-a-decade Ancestral Worship Ceremony. I must participate..."
"No."
Yang Jingyi's expression turned stern and she said, "You can't even get out of bed now. If you still insist on participating and something happens, won't it make the people from the various sects laugh? If that's the case, it's better for you to stay at home. I'll have Yingying take care of you at home, and I'll preside!"
"But I am the abbot..."
Duan Wuyu's voice was struggling, but he also knew his current physical condition, he couldn't even walk. However, he couldn't let go of his responsibility.
"Alright, with Junior Brother Wuwei and I here, the Ancestral Worship Ceremony will proceed smoothly. You should rest well." Yang Jingyi pulled up the quilt for him and comforted him softly.
"Alas..."
Seeing this, Duan Wuyu could only sigh regretfully and slowly closed his eyes.
Yang Jingyi's eyes showed sadness. She sat by the bed and quietly looked at her husband...