The location of the lavish banquet in Chaoge was undecided from the start. It was rumored that the final choice was made that evening at a "not so famous" hotel in the city, and this was it: the "Liuyang River Grand Hotel"!
Qin Yexuan stood in front of the hotel, looking at it with surprise.
Was it merely "not so famous"?
It was laughable.
Not only him, but Sun Qinglu and Wang Jiaqian were also dumbfounded.
The Liuyang River Grand Hotel sounded grand, but it was actually a small restaurant serving home-style dishes. Behind it was a redevelopment zone, with flies buzzing all around and garbage like plastic bags littering the ground.
Now, the small restaurant had been temporarily remodeled at the fastest speed, with the sides knocked out and a shed built in the back. It looked more like a funeral arrangement.
This so-called "banquet hall" was actually the back courtyard of the original small eatery. Chicken and duck troughs were still visible, not even completely removed.
"My heavens, this is Chaoge's most luxurious banquet? Here?" Wang Jiaqian couldn't understand.
Sun Qinglu tried to explain forcefully, "It's said that Commander Li is a strict person and dislikes extravagance. Perhaps the organizers chose this place to show frugality."
Qin Yexuan laughed, "Do you think this place is cheap?"
Sun Qinglu scratched his head, "This disciple doesn't understand the suffering of the common people and is only speculating."
Qin Yexuan shook his head, "Choosing this place is more expensive, costing more than three times what a five-star hotel would."
Wang Jiaqian asked naively and cutely, "Why?"
Qin Yexuan chuckled, "Professional five-star hotels have all the necessary equipment ready for such banquets. You can use whatever you need for dining, drinking, or meetings. They have professional staff responsible for everything, and the process is straightforward."
"But here, first, this temporary renovation is a waste of resources. Then, they have to hire chefs, service staff, and stage designers from outside. Just transporting the drinks alone would be a huge expense."
"But the biggest expense is security."
"Today's guests are all wealthy and influential. To arrange security in a place like this, with gaps everywhere and numerous sniper points, requires ten times more personnel than a normal hotel."
"The security costs alone could fund ten banquets."
Qin Yexuan sneered, "The people organizing this banquet must know this. Their choice of location is very problematic, extremely problematic!"
Outside, the restaurant was dilapidated, but the temporarily renovated hall inside was spotless.
The newly laid carpet was brought in from all over the city. It was said that there were even a few carpets from the Qilian Mountains in the Western Regions, borrowed from the richest man, Sun Yongan.
The cost of just this carpet exceeded a million.
Wang Jiaqian began to understand, "Then it's really strange."
At this moment, on one side of the banquet venue, a plump woman was directing chefs to move things.
It was Liu Meihong, the one Wu Yuefeng was flattering.
Qin Yexuan frowned. He saw Liu Meihong tightly holding a plastic bag, and something inside the bag gave him a bad feeling.
Through the plastic bag, he could see that it was a ceramic jar, about half the size of a thermos, with an extremely strange shape.
On Liu Meihong's plump body, three blood-red lines were still entwined and moving.
These three lines were arranged in a strange inverted triangle around Liu Meihong, forming something like a rune.
"You two wait here for now," Qin Yexuan instructed and immediately contacted Jun Mengyao.
"Mengyao, has your subordinate, who uses electromagnetic imaging to see red lines of demonic energy, finished preparing it?" Su Dan Novel Network
"Master, if you need it now, we can only use a drone for temporary filming, but the range is limited to one kilometer."
"That's enough. Lock onto the banquet hotel, especially Liu Meihong. Keep an eye on her now."
Wang Jiaqian, in a gorgeous evening gown, stood with Sun Qinglu at the dilapidated hotel entrance, feeling uncomfortable all over.
Sun Qinglu had the car driven over, and they sat inside waiting.
"Classmate Sun, what is Qin Sheng's background? Is he the son of some high-ranking official in the capital?"
Wang Jiaqian was still lost in thought.
Sun Qinglu smiled, "No, I think Master is the father of those high-ranking officials in the capital."
As they chatted, they could only wait in the car.
Meanwhile, Qin Yexuan received drone support from Jun Mengyao and tracked Liu Meihong. He made another discovery.
At this moment, Liu Meihong was in the remodeled area behind the restaurant. Hidden by a pile of steel and concrete debris, she met with three people.
"I'm in charge of catering."
"Old Zhou is responsible for the sound and stage."
"Brother Zheng is leading the service staff group."
"Uncle Wang is in charge of the drinks."
Liu Meihong looked at the three people and slowly opened the plastic bag.
Then, the ceramic jar appeared.
A peculiar look of worship flashed in the woman's eyes. She slowly opened the jar, reached in, grabbed a handful of something, and stuffed it into her mouth.
The other three did the same.
They four ate the grayish-white, muddy substance from the jar.
"Master, my heavens, all four of these people have red lines on them, and they are shaped the same!"
The information from Jun Mengyao was the same as Qin Yexuan's judgment.
On the surface, these four people were unremarkable at a banquet attended by the wealthy.
But in reality, they four were the main characters of the banquet.
"Catering, drinks, stage, service... these four people control the entire banquet venue! And they are all puppets from the Shituling Club!"
Over there, Liu Meihong and the other three were kneeling on the ground, holding their fingertips and placing them on their knees, chanting words.
This was a very ancient ritual!
Qin Yexuan's eyes narrowed, "The sacrificial ritual of the ancient Great Wilderness Witches!"
It was only from distant memories that he recalled this long-lost ritual!
"What exactly is in that jar?"
"Why are they performing this ritual before the banquet?"
"Did the demon race actually have contact with the ancient witches?"
Qin Yexuan felt extremely strange.
Even he was a little nervous now, "If the mastermind behind the Shituling Club is the Great Celestial Master Xu Chunyang, then the Daoist and even Buddhist sects are involved. What are they trying to do?"