It wasnât possible for Ye Junhou to have not noticed the Godly and Monster Continentsâ people arriving at the same time, and he had dispatched someone to deliver an invitation for a banquet when the ark landed on the outskirts of the Dark Capital. However, there was absolutely no mention of accommodation or any sort of ceremonial receptions for the envoys, clearly showing the attitude of making them deal with food and shelter themselves. It could be said that things were rather informal.
Ji Mo wasnât in the least surprised by this treatment, since Ye Junhouâs character was someone who only pursued the word âstraightforwardnessâ, and the label of being impervious to reason had been gleamingly pasted onto his forehead from the very first chapter of his novel. It was already quite polite of him to invite them to dinner.
After sleeping for a good while in his room, Ji Mo finally managed to calm down completely, regaining his usual indifferent attitude when he came out of his room. As he began to make the arrangements for their personnel, a divine attendant came forward to ask, âMorning Star Priest, will you bring a divine attendant skilled in diplomacy along with you?â
âNo, itâs not necessary.â
Knowing very well that mortals had no room to interrupt the battleground between the bigshots, Ji Mo himself did not intend on speaking much at the banquet, allowing Su Ge and Ye Junhou to deal with each other. However, when he cast a glance at Ye Mingjun, who clearly wouldnât wait obediently in his room, he still instructed resignedly, âXianjun, when you encounter any questions you donât know how to answer, just keep smiling and Iâll answer for you.â
Ye Mingjun wasnât actually too interested in the banquet itself, but felt worried about letting Ji Mo go out by himself when he recalled just how pale-faced he had looked a while earlier. Naturally, he wished to go along with them. From what he could recall of banquets, even the Peach Banquets hosted by the immortals were incredibly boring, so he probed, âIf Iâm bored, am I allowed to touch you?â
Donât say something like youâre about to do some sort of play in public! Youâve already been punished to comb my hair and wash my clothes, canât you behave for once?
Holding himself back from thinking of those developments commonly found in novels, and after taking into consideration how the immortal couldnât possibly sit still during the banquet, so as not to let the Systemâs outlandish punishments accumulate any further, Ji Mo ultimately bit out these two words, âYou may.â
Ye Junhou was a man who thought highly of enjoyment, so the Demonic Palaceâs decorations were ultra extravagant. They were greeted by the sight of resplendent painted pillars and magnificent carved beams on the way there, and even the lanterns hanging outside the servantsâ rooms were made of all sorts of colored glaze, transfixing dazzling patterns of light and color.
The Demon Lord loved fine women and fine wine, and would appoint the most beautiful women into his harem whenever he seized a new territory. At present, his harem had grown to be genuinely made up of 3000 beauties[1]. To Ji Moâs surprise, however, while he had accepted a multitude of concubines, the only son he had was Ye Po. Moreover, as he had been doting on this son in every possible way ever since his birth and didnât seem to have the intention of birthing another, the Demon Empressâ position in the harem was unshakable no matter how many newly-admitted beauties there were.
As The Legend of Darkness had yet to conclude, there naturally wasnât a storyline about the protagonist becoming a dad. It was already very hard to assess the current Ye Junhouâs behavioral pattern by relying on his characterization, and Ji Mo couldnât tell what sort of attitude he held towards the world. He could only make the final decision after seeing him in the flesh.
As they were led into Golden Hall where the banquet was held, Ji Mo, who had given himself the role of a mysterious Celestial skilled in predicting the future, coolly followed Su Ge into taking his seat. He used Wuyanâs spying function to make a stealthy sweep across the people seated at the banquet table, and as anticipated, Chang Hui was among them. Moreover, his seat was positioned right in front of them, an arrangement which was clearly done on purpose.
Apart from them, the rest were all Celestials who had pledged allegiance to the Demonic Continent and a portion of officials. The side chamber was decorated in thin gauze curtains, followed by attractive women the Demonic Continent had pillaged from their various expeditions. If there were any needs, all you needed to do was to wave a hand and they would come forward to serve. If any of them caught the eye of the guests, it wasnât impossible to bring them home with you.
This was a common sight in the Demonic Continent, which was why, in the past, all the ministers loved attending the Demon Lordâs banquets. Ji Mo had known of this beforehand and did not bring any members along with them, for fear of destroying the worldly outlooks of the pure-minded divine attendants.
However, as he cast a side-glance at Ye Junhou, who was flirting with a beauty right in front of his son, Ji Mo couldnât help but rebuke silently in his heart, So, Dark Black, are you sure you wonât get hit by your own wife for creating such a protagonist? No wonder you always update late at night, youâre probably too afraid to let your wife know what youâre writing.
As ruler of the Demonic Continent, Ye Junhou was naturally sitting in the highest seat of honor. Although he had all the power in the world, he was dressed casually in a simple black garment, his long hair hanging loosely down his head, strong and muscular pecs faintly visible under his crooked lapel. He reclined just like that on his throne, eyes half-lidded as a beautiful woman massaged his thighs. In contrast, Ye Po sat rigidly upright by his side, as anxious as a primary school student waiting for his dad to check his homework, not a single trace of his usual insolence left in him.
Seeing him, Ye Junhou chuckled deeply, casually throwing down his priceless luminescent cup to clap his hand on his sonâs shoulder, âYou can drink once youâre eighteen, this isnât a good thing per se.â
After saying this, he realized that his words were not convincing at all as someone who reeked of alcohol, then added on with a grin, âBut your old man isnât a good thing either, so Iâm allowed to drink all day.â
Taking this all in, Ji Mo did not touch the wine glass on the table. He inwardly thought, looks like Ye Junhou really did dote on his one and only son.
To make things convenient for the beauties to attend to them, the banquet was arranged in single seats. However, when Ye Mingjun saw these men and women hugging each other, he figured he couldnât possibly let anyone else snatch the little guy whom he hadnât even had the chance of hugging yet, so he righteously carried a chair to sit by Ji Moâs side. Luckily, the tables were spacious enough to fit both of their dishes, but as they were the only two men sitting together, it was hard to avoid anyone from raising their eyebrows.
Detecting the gazes cast at them every now and then, Ji Mo could more or less guess what they thinking, but all he did was shake his head helplessly,
Ye Mingjun, a normal person would usually take pictures of their pets to post on Weibo, your actions are getting pretty dangerous.
Yet, Ye Mingjun, who was completely uninterested in table talk, started feeling bored as expected. After observing the intimate actions between everyone around them for a long moment, he curiously gripped Ji Moâs hand and asked, âCan I hug you like that too?â
Oho!
At the collective glances of everyone present in this room, Ji Mo instantly felt their inner voices and expressionlessly drew back his hand, refusing him apathetically, âXianjun, a normal person will not act indecently in public spaces, please do not learn from them.â
It was fortunate that he had no time to pick up any bad habits, as Ye Junhou finally focused his attention on his guests. After casting a side-glance at Su Ge, who sat in repose with his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep, he said with a raised eyebrow, âOld Quack, do you hold the Demonic Palaceâs chefs in contempt? You have yet to touch any of the food on the table.â
The moment he spoke those words, Ji Mo looked silently at the food on the table. Stir-fried pigeon eggs, braised pigeon with chili oil, crispy fried pigeon, jujube pigeon soup⊠This entire table of pigeon dishes attested to the fact that Ye Junhou was indeed a Celestial who could really hold a grudge.
Having his love and peace simmered in a large pot by a vengeful protagonist, Su Ge was naturally not interested in taking a bite. Languidly opening his eyes as if waking up from a deep sleep, he said serenely, âYe-xiaozi, how have you been?â
At the sound of his monk-like voice, Ye Junhou was reminded of that night where the pigeon had landed by his bedside. At the thought of his concubineâs doubtful gaze, his face instantly blackened, then taunted snappishly, âIâm naturally well. As for you, how do you feel about your own dog jumping into that white donkeyâs nest?â
In Ye Junhouâs eyes, regardless of Chang Hui, the stumbling block who had prevented his own supremacy, or that oddball Su Ge, none of them were good birds, and he was naturally delighted to see two bad birds pecking at each other.
However, the moment he spoke those words, Ji Moâs chopsticks stabbed into the head of the pigeon on the table, Youâre the f*cking donkey, thatâs a white deer, you blind fool!
After rebuking, he realized that these words seemed like a 10000 critical damage to himself, and as he touched the mask over his eyes, he decisively waved a servant over, âA plate of deer meat, thanks.â
Seemingly being reminded of the fact that he could order his own dish, Su Ge tacked on in good time, âI want fruit.â
Ye Junhou hadnât had any good intentions when ordering this table of pigeon meat, and naturally, they wouldnât stand on ceremony with him. Unexpectedly, Chang Hui, who had been quietly drinking wine, also said cooly, âClear fungus soup, make it a little blander.â
Seeing this group of people freeload off him to order their own food, Ye Junhou was once again acquainted with how unparalleled the Celestialsâ thick skins were. However, he wasnât so stingy as to deprive his guests of food, so he waved a hand to allow it. However, he glanced doubtfully at Chang Hui, âYouâre not eating pigeon?â
In other wordsâ Iâm tormenting the Godly Continent, what is a traitor like you butting in for, could it be that you still hold some affection for them?
Regarding this matter, Chang Hui replied with a polite smile, âSince the Demon Lordâs pigeons are used to feed dogs, it goes without saying that a human such as myself cannot eat it.â
Oh, I was mocked, so Iâm taking the opportunity to gross you out.
This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org
His manner was very clear-cut, but the everyone present at the table halted their chopsticks the moment those words came out of his mouth. From what Ji Mo could guess, they were most likely secretly cursing at him, Why the f*ck do us onlookers have to get hit in the crossfire while you bosses are taking shots at each other?
After all, they had been opposing each other for many years on end, and it appeared that Chang Hui had a much lower impression of Ye Junhou than Su Ge. He didnât seem to have any intention on joining hands with the Demonic Continent, and would only be content with obstructing the Godly Continent.
Inferring the subtle hostility between the three Celestials, Ji Mo took all the newly-ordered dishes to his table, unperturbed, even smoothly filling a bowl of clear fungus soup for Ye Mingjun.
Using a spoon to stuff the immortalâs mouth before he could say anything alarming and seeing him obediently take the bowl without a word, Ji Mo finally lowered his head to eat in silence, continuing his secret observation.
Yet, his actions generated countless scenarios in the onlookersâ minds, all of them sighing deeply in their hearts, Ah, what a pair of affectionate cutsleeves.
Ye Junhou was naturally aware of the fact that the Godly Continent had suffered huge losses from Chang Huiâs departure. Knowing that Su Ge had surely come here in person to request something of him, the attitude he exuded was therefore unconcerned conceitedness.
As a result, this group of people had come, but Su Ge always had his eyes closed as if he was preparing for eternal sleep, and Chang Hui kept on blindly rambling onâ he had yet to get down to business after flattering everything about his son to the embroidery of his insoles, wasnât this utter rubbish? Did he need an outsider to tell him that his son was the most adorable person in the world?
As for that Ji Mo, he was even worse, flirting brazenly with a man at his banquet, feeding soup and placing food on his plate, these two damn gays, simply intolerable!
Seeing Ji Mo move closer to that white-robed man to whisper once more into his ear, a chill ran down the ultra-straight Demon Lordâs back as he subconsciously imagined the contents of their conversation. He was finally unable to endure any longer, and asked bluntly, âWhat did you guys come here for?â
Su Ge couldnât possibly mention the merging of two continents without careful consideration, and only answered with an excuse, âReparations.â
Chang Hui had come here just to set himself against the Godly Continent, and so he said smoothly, âPrevent him from getting reparations.â
On this matter, the irritable Demon Lord had only one thing to say, âThrow them out.â
The moment those words came out of his mouth, his ministers became exhilarated, and this crowd of brawny men rolled up their sleeves in preparation to flip the table. With the Demonic Continentâs ethos, it wasnât impossible for them to actually sweep them out the door, so Ji Mo finally spoke out in a long, drawn-out voice, âThe High Priest has important affairs to speak privately with the Demon Lord.â
However, would Chang Hui, who had come here specially to cause a ruckus, let go of this chance?
Of course not, so he added on with a smile, âWhat a coincidence, so do I.â
Seemingly perceiving something from their attitudes, Ye Junhou revealed a trace of a ruminating smile. He gave a downward gesture, following which the eager ministers sat back in their seats, and said lazily, âYou guys have established quite a rapport after colluding with each other for so long, but my nights will only be spent with women in bed. As for when I will meet you men, that depends on my mood.â
Well aware that the Demonic Continent was intending on watching two tigers fight each other from the hilltop, reaping the benefits afterward, Chang Hui lifted his head in slight mockery, but there was still a polite smile on his face, âNo matter. I do know the Demon Lordâs daily schedule after spending some time in the Demonic Palace as an attendant, so I will find a suitable time to pay a visit.â
Ji Mo knew that Chang Hui had sock puppets all over the word; there wasnât a place in the five continents where he couldnât slip into. The reason why he had been able to contact the Monster King was probably that he had become one of the high-ranking figures in the Monster Continent, but he didnât think this would instigate rebellion instead, rendering the Godly Continentâs originally unbeatable information network completely useless.
Only Ji Mo was aware of Chang Huiâs espionage prowess, so Ye Junhou was momentarily unable to determine the truth of his words. However, he had always been someone wildly arrogant, and returned provocatively, âHow interesting, why donât you try picking a time to enter the Demonic Palace? If you get caught, youâre my son.â
The temper Chang Hui had fostered in the thirty years acting as Su Geâs nanny was unparalleled under the heavens, and so he made light of this provocation, casually shifting the flames of war with a smile, âThe Demon Lord surely jests, His Highnessâ military exploits in the south are well-known to all, I have no intention of following his footsteps.â
âNow that you mention it, I did hear that the Morning Star Priest made a quite impressive show back in Lingguang City.â
The moment he spoke those words, Ye Junhou was reminded of how his own son had been bullied by Ji Mo at the Godly Continent, so he switched his gaze to the Morning Star Priest, whom he had been too lazy to look at earlier.
Alright then, Chang Hui really did hate authors the most.
Silently placing down his spoon, Ji Mo was once again given a taste of Chang Huiâs deep malice toward himself.
He wasnât even Chang Huiâs author, he wasnât the one who had killed off this guyâs wife. Not only was that damn son of his being disobedient, he even had to be attacked by anotherâs protagonist while eating his food, what an undeserved catastrophe!
Compared to this crowd of protagonists, Ye Mingjun who only needed a kiss and cuddle to quietly drink his soup was simply too adorable!
TL Notes
[1]
âgenuinely made up of 3000 beautiesâ â âA harem of 3000 beautiesâ comes from the poem The Song of Everlasting Sorrow by Bai Juyi, which talks about a figurative number of concubines in an emperorâs harem, but in Ye Junhouâs case, he actually has 3000 women.