clergé

Chapitre 21

Pang huddled in the corner, observing him. He thought to himself that this was indeed a very charming man—generous, tolerant, reasonable, proud but not arrogant, and even his appearance was just right—it was just a pity that his senior had taken him first.

Feeling increasingly unwilling to accept this, a question suddenly slipped out: "Does the Alliance Leader have a younger brother, cousin, or other male relative?"

Who knows, she might even be able to bring back her own male lead.

Gu Xiju looked up at her, a strand of hair falling from her forehead: "No."

Pang Wan was disappointed, but after thinking for a moment, she added, "My nephew will do too."

Gu Xiju shook his head: "I am an only child in my family, I have no brothers or sisters."

The solution he had finally come up with was blocked. Pang Wan sighed and slumped lazily onto the soft couch like a limp snake.

"Why are you asking this out of the blue?" Gu Xiju put down the letter in his hand and stared at her quietly.

"If, if..." Pang Wan buried her face in the cushion, muttering angrily, "If you had a younger brother..."

"What if I had it?"

In the next instant, Gu Xiju had already moved closer to the soft couch, leaning over her with his hands on the cushions, his straight nose pointing down at her.

Pang Wan refused to look up, only mumbling, "I just... I just..."

Still not hearing the second half of the sentence, Gu Xiju leaned even closer, his dark hair unexpectedly brushing against the girl's rounded shoulder. He casually brushed the annoying strand of hair aside and whispered again, "Hmm?"

"Alliance Leader, we've arrived!" A cold voice came from outside the carriage.

At the same time, the maidservant swiftly lifted the curtain, only to find two people in the carriage sitting properly on either side with calm, composed expressions.

"Tch," she scoffed inwardly, and said to Pang Wan irritably, "Get out of the car!"

One by one, the lights in the hall were lit up. Only Pang Wan was allowed to accompany Gu Xiju to the banquet. Pang Wan clearly sensed that Maid B instantly became furious.

Maid A, on the other hand, remained calm. She stood tall and proud at the door, sword at her side. She even helped Pang Wan as she passed by, which startled Pang Wan so much that she began to check herself up and down as soon as she entered. In the end, she realized that she had been being petty and gave up.

The banquet was quite grand, with about a hundred people in attendance. They all looked like arrogant martial arts experts. Pang Wan lowered his head and pretended to be obedient, following behind Gu Xiju, but his eyes secretly looked around through his eyelashes.

"No need to guess, they're all sect leaders," someone said above her head.

Looking up, I saw a smiling, white-robed man named Bai Xiaosheng.

Gu Xiju had already taken his seat. His table was set on the highest step, with Pang Wan and Bai Xiaosheng standing on his left and right sides behind him, like a pair of golden boys and jade girls, youthful guardian deities.

While everyone else was sitting down, Pang Wan asked Bai Xiaosheng in a very low voice, "Is this a martial arts tournament?"

Bai Xiaosheng shook his head and replied to Pang Wan in the same voice, "No, it's a quarterly report summary."

Gu Xiju cleared his throat, and the room fell silent. A burly man with a beard, sitting to the left, stood up first, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Xu Rong from Hengshan is here to pay respects to the Alliance Leader!"

“Duan Zhi Qiu of Dali is here to pay his respects to the Alliance Leader!” Another handsome young man stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Tang Feifeng of the Tang Clan greets the Alliance Leader!" "Ding Huaili of Songshan greets the Alliance Leader!" More and more people stood up and introduced themselves, including many who were much older than Gu Xiju, and their expressions and tones were quite respectful.

After everyone had reported their arrival—about thirty sects in total—Gu Xiju nodded and asked, "How have you all been lately?" His demeanor was somewhat like that of an emperor attending court.

Each faction quickly began reporting, most of them boasting about how many bandits and scoundrels their disciples had eliminated, and what treasures they had seized—all ways to claim credit and fame. The girl from the Tang Clan of Sichuan, Fei Feng, was quite interesting. When it was her turn to report, she said she had developed a new aphrodisiac that could make the victim see anyone as their beloved, thus allowing them to engage in illicit affairs without any qualms.

Aphrodisiacs have always been considered taboo, so before she could finish speaking, some people in the hall had already spat out disgusting sounds.

"Do you all know that the most difficult thing to understand in this world is the bond of love?"

Tang Feifeng wasn't angry; she just smiled and turned to look at everyone.

“Even the most potent aphrodisiac can be forced out by someone with profound inner strength, but if the target is someone you love, then…” She paused, her lips pursed, her eyes brimming with seductive charm, “Everyone says that aphrodisiacs are love potions, but if one has no feelings to begin with, why would they be aroused?”

The implication is that the aphrodisiacs currently on the market only control the body and not the mind, and are therefore of inferior quality.

Gu Xiju neither confirmed nor denied her statement, but simply asked, "What is the meaning behind Sect Leader Tang's remark today?"

Tang Feifeng chuckled: "I beg the Alliance Leader to give this medicine a name."

Gu Xiju frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "Since it can control people's minds, let's call it Nanke."

Tang Feifeng's smile widened: "Alliance Leader, you are so elegant! I was originally thinking of calling it Bliss, since taking this medicine will allow one to enter the Pure Land of Bliss. But now that I think about it carefully, what about going to the brothel with my beloved? What is fake can never become real, it's just a dream!"

“This girl is strong-willed,” Bai Xiaosheng whispered to Pang Wan. “She’s a tigress, just like you, a shrew.”

Pang Wan knew that this person was taking every opportunity to tease her, so she just glared at him and pouted.

Once the Tang Clan was gone, reporting back became dry and uninteresting again. Occasionally, two sects would bicker over trivial matters, but these were quickly resolved with the mediation of Gu Xiju. Pang Wan did some quick calculations and realized that the words "Demonic Sect" were still the most frequently heard. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly—how boring the martial world would be without the Demonic Sect!

An hour had passed in the blink of an eye, and the people in the room were still reporting and exchanging opinions. Pang Wan hadn't eaten anything since noon and was starving.

Gradually, she stopped listening to anything. All she could see were the untouched, plump fish and meat on Gu Xiju's desk, and a large pile of sweet and clear fruits and wines.

"Gulp." She stared at them with wide eyes, swallowing the saliva that was about to spill out.

Gu Xiju had been listening to Duan Shi from Dali talk about how to cultivate camellias. When Duan Zhiqi finished speaking, he beckoned Bai Xiaosheng over and whispered something in his ear.

Bai Xiaosheng bent down and listened intently, when suddenly his eyes lit up and he glanced at Pang Wan.

Pang Wan, unaware of what he was looking at, tilted her head and gave him a worried look.

Her meaning was clear—Big brother, I'm hungry.

Bai Xiaosheng nodded to Gu Xiju, then quietly withdrew. He soon reappeared, accompanied by a maid, A.

"Change shifts." He patted Pang Wan's shoulder and mouthed the words to her.