"Don't you want to go over there and have a bite?"

As soon as his confidant spoke, Fu Yong's Adam's apple bobbed and he swallowed hard.

How could he not want to go over there and have a bite? He wanted it desperately! But he and the Third Elder had a grudge; wouldn't showing up uninvited be even more humiliating? His original intention was to make fun of the Third Elder and embarrass him!

"Sect Leader, the feast at their table is absolutely incredible. Sitting down with them wouldn't be a loss of face," his confidant, who clearly understood Fu Yong's thoughts, said. "Besides, if you eat all their good food, won't that sicken them even more? They deliberately put all that out just to show off..."

Fu Yong's brow furrowed in thought for a few seconds before relaxing. He opened his mouth and said, "You're right!"

After that, Fu Yong straightened his clothes and strode toward the banquet hall with his confidant.

The moment he stepped over the threshold, a rich fragrance assaulted his senses, instantly lifting his spirits. His taste buds unfolded layer by layer as drool flowed uncontrollably. Even his stomach, which hadn't been hungry, began to growl. He couldn't recall a single delicacy ever having such an effect on him. His pace quickened, and his strides grew even larger. When he was just three or four meters from Su Xuan's table, he enthusiastically clasped his hands and grinned broadly. "Hahaha, our honored guests have arrived! I apologize for not coming out to greet you sooner, how rude of me!"

The Third Elder turned to look at Fu Yong, still chewing on half a golden ginseng. Only then did he stand and symbolically clasp his hands in return. "Greetings, Sect Leader Fu."

"Good, good!"

Fu Yong nodded, took a step forward, and sat down unceremoniously without waiting for an invitation from the Third Elder or Su Xuan. Besides, this was his territory, so it wasn't exactly inappropriate. He then feigned guilt, saying, "Look at this, how embarrassing. I was just tied up with something and was planning to prepare some food for you two, but you've already handled it yourselves. I've been a poor host, failing to show you proper hospitality! After all, it's been so many years since we last met..."

After speaking, he stretched out his right hand. His confidant, ever perceptive, placed a pair of chopsticks in his hand and even set a small bowl down in front of him.

With chopsticks in hand, Fu Yong looked at the Third Elder and asked, "Shall we eat together?"

Seeing Fu Yong's utterly shameless behavior, the corner of the Third Elder's mouth twitched as he cursed inwardly. Shameless creature!

On the surface, however, the Third Elder still allowed Fu Yong to save face. He sat back down, about to offer some pleasantries so he could bring up the matter of borrowing the furnace, but Fu Yong was already waving his chopsticks vigorously in the hot pot. In the blink of an eye, he had filled his small bowl to the brim.

Fortunately, the Third Elder wasn't too heartbroken, since he and Su Xuan had already eaten most of the most valuable ingredients.

"Ahaha!" Fu Yong swiftly stuffed his mouth with food and mumbled, "You're really... too generous. And you two are quite resourceful. Where did you get all these amazing treats? They're simply… irresistible!"

Yes, this was his plan. Eat his fill! Make the Third Elder and Su Xuan's hearts ache from the loss!

Noticing that the wine jug Su Xuan had brought out was now empty, he gestured to his confidant. "It seems we're out of wine. Go get some more."

"Yes, Sect Leader." The confidant was about to leave.

"No need," Su Xuan said, waving his hand. He placed a jug of wine in front of Fu Yong with a soft thud. "Drink this instead."

"This wine…" Fu Yong naturally knew what it was but feigned surprise. "Could this be the treasured wine from the Yu Xian Sect, the kind that Ancestor Meng favored?"

"That's right," Su Xuan said with a smile.

"Well then, I must have a few more sips!" Fu Yong opened the jug and took a long swig. His cheeks flushed instantly as he exclaimed, "Truly a fine wine! No wonder Ancestor Meng liked it so much. It's so potent and fragrant!"

The Third Elder cast a discreet glance at Su Xuan. He seemed to be blaming Su Xuan for giving Fu Yong too much face, especially when Fu Yong was already being so disrespectful.

Su Xuan shook his head slightly at the Third Elder. Then, like an elder addressing a junior, he said to Fu Yong, "Sect Leader Fu, I have come to visit, accompanied by the Third Elder. Please, consider this hot pot a small token of my respect for you."

"Too kind, too kind." Fu Yong continued to eat and drink.

Watching him, the disciples of the Ten Cauldrons Sect began to drool. Far from complaining about their Sect Leader losing face, they were overcome with envy. If only they could be sitting there eating!

Seeing Fu Yong pop a morsel into his mouth, Su Xuan asked, "Sect Leader Fu, how does this Linghao grass taste?"

Fu Yong chewed heartily and replied from the soul, "Good!"

After Fu Yong finished the Linghao grass and stuffed another piece of food into his mouth, Su Xuan asked again, "And how do these Tuoluoguo Slices taste?"

"Good!" Fu Yong praised immediately before continuing to eat.

Su Xuan then inquired, "How about the taste of this Twisted Silk Bamboo Shoot?"

GULP! GULP!

Fu Yong chewed the Twisted Silk Bamboo Shoot to bits, washed it down with the fine wine, and said, "Good!"

Fu Yong kept eating.

Su Xuan kept asking. "Then how would you feel about me borrowing your Huo Yun Furnace?"

Without a second thought, Fu Yong replied without hesitation, "Sure! That would be fantastic!"

The Huo Yun Furnace was the very cauldron capable of refining top-quality elixirs.

The Third Elder's eyes flew wide open. So Su Xuan was lying in wait for Fu Yong all along! It was an unsophisticated trap, but one Fu Yong had fallen headfirst into! It was as simple as tricking a child! And in front of so many disciples of the Ten Cauldrons Sect, no matter how reluctant Fu Yong was, he could hardly go back on his word now!

As expected, Fu Yong instantly realized his blunder. He had been duped.

"Eh?" His mouth twitched. Blinking, he stared at Su Xuan. "You... you're quite an interesting person!"

Su Xuan chuckled. "I simply felt an instant connection with Sect Leader Fu, so I speak my mind freely and hide nothing."

GULP! GULP!

Fu Yong took another large swig of wine.

Beside him, his confidant turned away and smacked a fist into his own palm. What in the hell was this? Weren't we supposed to be antagonizing them? How did we end up being the ones who got played?

...

In an exquisite attic in the northwest corner of the Ten Cauldrons Sect, a woman leaned on the railing, gazing toward the banquet hall as she muttered to herself.

"Elder Brother Xie, you really shouldn't have come.

"No matter your difficulties, you shouldn't have come to visit Fu Yong. He has not forgotten the incident from the past; in fact, he has turned it into a knot in his heart that he can never untie. Because of what happened back then, I too have suffered his humiliation.

"You're just asking for trouble by coming here, and I cannot persuade him to send you away.

"I hope you can make it through this ordeal safely! I truly hope that your reputation as the Third Elder of the Yu Xian Sect isn't ruined here in the Ten Cauldrons Sect..."

The woman turned around, no longer looking toward the banquet hall, her eyes already rimmed with red.

The Third Elder's visit had given Fu Yong an opportunity to vent the resentment that had been pent up in his heart for years. He was sure to make the Third Elder suffer greatly, and even that handsome young man would be caught in the fallout... But she had never imagined that events would so quickly spiral beyond her expectations...

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