Gamers Are Fierce

Two days later, the Annam Diplomatic Corps arrived as scheduled and entered Lvzhou City.

The portly Shu King, accompanied by high-ranking city officials and Yongling Temple Monks, waited outside the city to welcome the corps.

The citizens of Lvzhou lined the streets to welcome them. Devout Buddhist men and women had already bought up all the fresh flowers in the city, strewing petals of various colors on the streets before the diplomatic procession.

The fragrance of flowers filled the air, gongs and drums thundered, firecrackers burst in unison, colorful flags fluttered, and the scene was a sea of people.

Regrettably, the townspeople did not catch a glimpse of the much-anticipated Auspicious Beast—the corps' convoy had covered the iron cage of the Auspicious Beast with thick curtains and added all kinds of decorations, dressing it up like a parade float.

Fortunately, the Annam Monks chanting loudly on both sides of the float were considered worth the price of admission.

These Annam Monks were so thin their bones were barely covered by skin. The surface of their skin was painted with a layer of gold lacquer, making them look just like the arhats in temples—quite a miraculous sight.

Amidst the citizens' welcome, the Annam Diplomatic Corps entered Yongling Temple.

That night, the sound of Buddhist chanting echoed throughout the temple, unabated all night.

Outside the monastery walls, the clash of swords, the clanging of metal, and the sudden outbreak of battle cries arose, only to fall silent just as abruptly.

The next morning, aside from a few almost imperceptible drops of blood on the bluestone slabs, the several unidentified assailants who had attacked Yongling Temple that night had been completely erased from the world.

「At the Shu Palace, a banquet.」

The Shu King loved pleasure, and his Royal Mansion housed many dancing girls and female attendants. Dressed in fine silk robes, they played the Qin and pipa, dancing gracefully throughout the grand hall.

Rows of guests sat on both sides of the banquet table, toasting and chatting in high spirits.

Besides the prominent figures of Lvzhou, two silent Annam Monks were the most eye-catching. One old and one young, they quietly held their chopsticks, tasting the vegetarian dishes and occasionally conversing with the Yongling Temple Monks seated beside them.

Courses of food and wine arrived one after another, but the host of the banquet, the esteemed Shu King of Lvzhou City, had yet to appear.

Only the Butler of the Shu Palace was present, smilingly explaining to the guests that His Royal Highness had drunk too much at noon and was still sobering up.

Given the Shu King's noble status, the guests present dared not complain and continued with the feast.

"BUZZ BUZZ—"

Even though the four sides of the hall were enclosed with curtains as thin as a cicada's wings and lit with mosquito-repellent incense, mosquitoes and flies, drawn to the candlelight, still squeezed in through gaps in the rolled curtains. They circled in midair, making annoying sounds.

"Noisy."

One of the guests frowned slightly, pinched a mung bean from his bowl, then flicked it sharply with his finger, accurately hitting a fly in midair.

POP, POP, POP,

Mung beans flew across the room. By the time the bowl was empty, the mosquitoes and flies circling in midair had vanished.

"Lian Gong has amazing skills!"

The guests around him laughed and praised.

The man addressed as "Lian Gong," a Military Consultant Recorder in the service of the Shu Palace, smiled. He took a white cloth to wipe the droplets of water from his fingertips and said humbly, "This is but a trivial skill.

I have a friend who, with just two fingers, can move as swiftly as lightning to seize the hind legs of a fly and gather all the mosquitoes and flies into his palm. In just a few breaths, he can clear the sky of them. When he opens his hand, the mosquitoes and flies are still alive, their wings merely shattered. With a flick of his wrist, they all fall to the ground."

As he spoke, a gust of night wind blew in, lifting a side of the silk curtain and allowing a few moths and insects to fly in.

The Military Consultant Recorder's bowl was now devoid of mung beans. He was about to instruct a servant to fetch a new one when he heard a young scholar sitting opposite him laugh and say, "There's no need for Lian Gong to lift a finger. I too have a technique that can eliminate these moths and bugs."

If the Lvzhou merchant Wang Bu had been present, he would have recognized this youth as the scholar who had sought the Dragon's Beard, only to be preempted by the Tianzhu Monk Qi Yu.

The scholar's surname was Song and his given name was Shuqing. He currently served as a Guest Elder under one of Lvzhou's dignitaries.

He borrowed a silk handkerchief from a dancer beside him. Holding it in his hand, he pointed at it using a sword technique.

The silk handkerchief, without any wind, moved on its own, swiftly folding itself into the shape of a white crane. It stood in his palm, pecking at its feathers with a lively and spirited motion, appearing remarkably lifelike.

"Go."

Song Shuqing chuckled and gave his palm a gentle nudge. The silk white crane immediately took flight, heading straight for the moths. It opened its beak and swallowed one down with precise and swift movements.

The white crane was light and graceful, appearing almost translucent under the candlelight. Everyone in the hall could clearly see the moth struggling and writhing inside the crane's belly.

"Bravo!"

The guests from all sides cheered in approval.

The scholar responded with a slight smile, then with a flick of his finger, the white crane swooped towards the candle flame and, along with the moth inside it, turned to Ash.

However, the dancer who had been pouring wine for the scholar beside him was not pleased. She clung to Song Shuqing's arm, coquettishly complaining and demanding he compensate her for the silk handkerchief. This left the scholar no choice but to repeatedly beg for mercy, much to his embarrassment and the amusement of everyone present.

The Shu King himself had a fondness for Odd Arts and kept a number of Guest Elders in his Royal Mansion who were adept in arcane lore. As the saying goes, "What the ruler desires, his subjects will pursue with greater zeal." Consequently, the nobility of Lvzhou City was more tolerant of Necromancers and Magicians compared to other cities.

"Heh."

An elderly Guest Elder from the Shu Palace shook his head; How could they let an outsider steal the show at the Royal Mansion's banquet? He then smiled and said, "I too have a technique to share with you all."

He glanced sideways at his Disciple. The Disciple immediately understood, took a huge, yellowed bamboo tube from his waist, offered a word of apology, then unscrewed the cap and set one end of the tube on the ground.

The elderly Guest Elder casually took out a bamboo flute from his robe, took a deep breath, and began to play slowly.

The sound of the flute was ethereal, clear, and resonant, filling the air with its pure and tranquil melody. However, what drew more attention was the yellowed bamboo tube.

One after another, spiders emerged from the tube.

These spiders were as large as a fist, their bodies pitch-black and covered with brown, needle-like bristles. Their chelicerae were sharp and long; a single bite felt like being shredded by knives.

The more timid guests at the banquet cried out in alarm, while the dancing girls and female attendants turned pale, their composure lost.

The old Guest Elder, however, merely smiled faintly and continued to play his bamboo flute.

Suddenly, a dozen or so wolf spiders, as if responding to a command, began to move their sturdy, spiny legs. They arranged themselves neatly into three rows, faced the Guest Elder, raised their front legs, and swayed their bodies from side to side, just like soldiers on a parade ground performing drills on command.

The guests had only heard of serpent dancers from Tianzhu; they had never heard of spiders that could dance to a tune.

"Nice trick, very impressive!" Bai Yongyan, sitting not far from the Old Spider Dancer, remarked while munching on crab claws and clapping vigorously. "It's a pity you're not playing a suona. Otherwise, with a few toots, you could have joyfully sent the whole spider family on their way!"

Upon hearing this, the Old Spider Dancer's expression soured.

Both he and Bai Yongyan were Guest Elders at the Shu Palace. As the saying goes, "colleagues in the same trade are rivals." Since both were Necromancers, they often competed. Beneath their rivalry lay not insignificant grudges.

"Oh?"

The Old Spider Dancer put down his bamboo flute, ushered all the wolf spiders back into the tube, and looked at Bai Yongyan. He said calmly, "I wonder, Brother Bai, if you have any novel arts to share with everyone?"