Chapter 21

The group wandered the main street, finding it much like Guangyu County, just with more shops and fancier goods. It held little appeal for them. Though Little Wu and A Xu were itching to buy some gold, silver, and treasures, no one knew if they could even take such things away, and they'd just be dead weight. Better to wait until after winning the competition and ask the emperor for rewards than haul a bunch of loot home now.

After all, the emperor's gifts were bound to be generous. Once Xu Haoyue shared his thoughts, everyone agreed. So, aside from food, they bought nothing else on the way. Su Heng had brought plenty of silver, never expecting to spend so little, which left him feeling a bit disappointed.

He had planned to introduce them to the contestants from the other provinces as they walked. But just after finishing with Cangzhou, Xiao Ai protested, "Good grief! So many people from just one province, and there are seven more! Brother Su Heng, please stop. I can't remember them all!"

The fatty, Little Wu, and A Xu nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Too many people, our brains are full."

Youyou was busy rushing ahead taking photos and simply wasn't listening, so she had no opinion. Xu Haoyue and Jing Yuan both wore solemn expressions, but in reality, the two had been debating which of the Nine Provinces' flags looked better. Finally, seeing their utter lack of interest, Su Heng let out three long sighs and said no more.

The group returned triumphantly, loaded down with goods; the variety of pastries and snacks they bought was probably enough to last them days. Though Su Heng didn't get it, he dutifully paid up anyway. He even got to taste many foods and novel dishes he'd never experienced before. Well, good food really can make you forget your principles.

Not long after they returned to the courtyard, someone arrived with an imperial decree. It announced a royal banquet would be held that evening; the Emperor of Qingzhou was hosting a feast for all contestants from the Nine Provinces. Upon hearing this, apart from the fatty who looked thrilled, everyone else wore bitter expressions, which greatly alarmed the eunuch delivering the decree.

Fortunately, Su Heng noticed in time and offered some comforting words. Before sending the eunuch off, he even slipped him some silver to soothe his nerves.

The moment the eunuch left, Xiao Ai and Little Wu immediately collapsed on the ground, moaning, "Oh man, it's all Fatty's fault for buying so much. I'm stuffed to the brim."

"How are we supposed to eat anything later?!" Youyou also wore a look of deep resentment.

Xu Haoyue loosened the belt around his belly, urged everyone to get up, and shouted, "Don't just sit there! Get moving, help with digestion. Su Heng, about when does that royal banquet start?"

Su Heng looked up at the sky and said, "Probably in about two hours."

"Alright, alright, listen to Haozi. Everyone, start running. Oh, I need to use the toilet." Jing Yuan also shouted a couple of times and hurried off. Not long after, A Xu and Little Wu, holding up their pants, also dashed toward the toilet.

Su Heng watched them with a helpless sigh, realizing his own stomach was also feeling a bit off. He rubbed his eyes and glanced toward the direction of the toilet.

The royal banquet, which should have been highly anticipated, came at an unfortunate time. As they followed the palace eunuch inside, everyone seemed less than excited. The thought of such a rare, sumptuous feast with no appetite filled them all with deep regret.

Two hours passed quickly, and it was soon time to attend the royal banquet. Afraid they might embarrass themselves, Su Heng specially requested a few palace maids to help them get properly dressed.

Xiao Ai and Youyou both wore pink-purple dresses. Considering they were competitors, they weren't given long, trailing gowns but rather luo skirts that reached just to their heels. The upper garments were cross-collared with narrow sleeves.

The five guys were even easier to handle; they all wore red-and-white outfits somewhat similar to their training clothes. But the ancient-style attire still felt awkward, and the whole group of seven shuffled hesitantly all the way to the banquet venue. Fatty, obsessed with food, and A Xu, curious about what the experts from the Nine Provinces looked like, urged Jing Yuan to charge ahead. Whoa, the sight of a banquet venue at least the size of a football field packed with nearly a thousand people gave them a real shock.

As for the rest, Le You was busy taking photos non-stop along the way, while Xiao Ai, glancing around, wanted to curiously touch everything with Little Wu. They almost climbed onto the rockery several times. Xu Haoyue, finding it too much to bear, grabbed one in each hand and hurried along, finally dragging them obediently to the royal banquet site.

The dense crowd made Little Wu and Xiao Ai feel timid; they hid behind Xu Haoyue, secretly observing. They noticed the venue was roughly divided into nine areas, arranged in a three-by-three formation.

Youyou, after quickly snapping a few more photos with her phone, walked behind them and gently patted Xiao Ai and Little Wu on the shoulders.

"Oh my gosh!" Before Le You could speak, Little Wu got so scared he sat down on the ground.

Xu Haoyue turned back, looking at the terrified Little Wu, and asked, puzzled, "What's the deal? With so many people here, you still get scared? Your courage is way too small."

"No way, no way, Haozi—it was Youyou who suddenly ambushed me. That's why I got scared, okay?" Little Wu protested. Xiao Ai shot him a look and teased, "Heh, let's be real—you're just a coward. Don't go blaming Youyou."

"There are so many people here." Youyou finally took in the scale of the royal banquet and couldn't help marveling.

Xu Haoyue gave a cold snort, hands in his pockets, eyes fixed ahead. "It's fine. Compared to our school days, this isn't even that many people." Little Wu glanced at him sideways. "Haozi, the numbers back then don't even come close to this place."

"Hey, where are Jing Yuan and the others?" Youyou suddenly realized the rest of them were missing.

Xiao Ai pointed toward the farthest area in the front row. "Su Heng took them over there. Should we head over too?"

"Let's go, let's go! Hurry it up." A few oddly shaped people in front were staring at Little Wu, totally creeping him out. Prodded by him, Xiao Ai stepped forward a couple of paces and noticed them too.

One woman—who looked relatively normal—had a fluffy white tail swishing behind her. To her left stood an incredibly tall, bald man who somehow didn't look like a monk. Those were bearable, but the guy on her right, covered head to toe in scales, was just plain disgusting. Xiao Ai and Youyou barely held back their gag reflex, hands clamped over their mouths.

The four of them sprinted past those individuals, only to find even more bizarre-looking people packed in the crowd. Luckily, among Qingzhou's group, even though a few had odd features, at least they still looked human.

When they arrived, Jing Yuan came over with a bowl of fruit and handed it to Xu Haoyue. Watching Xu Haoyue take it while Jing Yuan's hands ended up empty, Xiao Ai and Little Wu grumbled, "Brother Jing Yuan, you only brought some for Haoge? What about us?"

Jing Yuan shot them a look. "Just ask A Xu and Fatty to grab some for you."

"Tch~~" Letting out their dissatisfaction, Xiao Ai and Little Wu turned around to hunt down Fatty and the others. Jing Yuan, meanwhile, slung an arm around Xu Haoyue's shoulder and walked toward Su Heng.