"I'll go take a look first thing tomorrow morning. You can return for now."
Hearing this, Li Hu's face lit up with joy. He bowed deeply to Bai Ran once more: "Thank you, City Lord, for your assistance!"
He left the hall filled with hope, while Bai Ran returned to her room and resumed her cultivation.
Time trickled by, and soon the night was in full swing. A cool breeze swept through, rustling the leaves of the trees in the City Lord's mansion.
Having advanced to the seventh stage of Body Integration, Bai Ran, as usual, released the carrier pigeon with her reply.
There were no expensive communication jade talismans sold in the lower realms, so ever since she left, she had been sending messages to Bai Zhantian daily.
"Knock, knock, knock!" The door was knocked, and Jing Feng's voice entered the room.
"Miss Bai, Miss Bai?" he whispered as if he were a thief, deliberately lowering his voice.
Bai Ran opened the door. Except for Jiang Ye, Zhong Zi, Dong Ling, and Jing Feng, the other three stood before her, each with a mischievous grin.
Bai Ran looked confused: "Why are you all gathered here instead of returning to your rooms to sleep?"
Jing Feng mysteriously produced a bowl of longevity noodles from behind him: "It's Jiang Ye's birthday today. We want to give him a different kind of experience."
The longevity noodles were steaming hot, clearly freshly made.
As soon as she heard it was Jiang Ye's birthday, Zhu Que, who was inside the house, darted out: "Alright! Let's see if I can't drive him crazy!"
Even the usually composed and indifferent Zhong Zi raised the wine jar in his hand and swayed it: "The wine is ready, vintage premium."
"He's so foolish, he probably doesn't even remember his own birthday."
Jing Feng seemed to have already envisioned Jiang Ye crying tears of gratitude.
Dong Ling smiled and took the slightly heavy wine jar from Zhong Zi: "I'll carry it."
Under the moonlight, Dong Ling was enveloped in a silver-white halo. His gentle gaze fell on Zhong Zi's face.
Zhong Zi looked away unnaturally, his ears turning slightly red: "Who asked you to carry it..."
A birthday... Bai Ran smiled: "Since we're celebrating, we must leave him with a profound memory."
"Of course! This guy has troubled us enough usually."
"He always bothers me." Zhu Que clenched her fists, seeming impatient: "It's finally my turn to bother him!"
"I'm going first!" With that, Zhu Que, relying on her speed advantage, rushed to Jiang Ye's room.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Jing Feng, close behind, followed Zhu Que.
Bai Ran and the other two walked towards Jiang Ye's room with smiles, not rushing.
Zhu Que, the fastest, flung open Jiang Ye's door, but the next moment, her face turned as red as a ripe fruit.
White mist swirled in the room, the steam making one's heart itch.
"You!" She hastily turned her back, her face flushed. He was actually bathing!!!
Jiang Ye, naked, blinked twice, then his entire face began to burn at a visible speed.
"No! You, you, you! How could you just barge in!"
The moment Zhu Que turned her back, he quickly reached for his clothes.
Zhu Que covered her face with her hands, stammering in shame: "Who! Who knew you were bathing!!!"
"Wow~ Nice physique~"
Jing Feng, arriving a moment later, rubbed his chin and grinned mischievously, brazenly looking Jiang Ye up and down: "Someone's in for a treat—"
His teasing was undisguised, making Jiang Ye wish he could sew Jing Feng's mouth shut right then and there.
"Miss Bai and the others will be here soon. Won't you show us a 'lotus emerging from the water'?"
"Jing Feng!!! You're dead once I'm dressed!!!"
Jiang Ye frantically put on his clothes, tripping in his haste.
Fortunately, when Bai Ran and the others arrived, he had already put on everything he needed.
Zhong Zi looked at Zhu Que, who was tightly covering her flushed face, and couldn't help but ask: "Why is your face so red?"
Bai Ran glanced at the lingering steam in Jiang Ye's room and raised an eyebrow: "Naturally, it's from shyness."
Zhong Zi was puzzled and looked at Dong Ling, but Dong Ling smiled: "It's like this, imagine I was bathing, and then you, Lord Zhong, suddenly barged in."
"And saw every inch of me."
In an instant, Zhong Zi's face turned as red as Zhu Que's, and he covered his mouth, looking away: "I... I understand... Stop talking..."
"Stop chasing me—! I know I was wrong—!"
Not far away, Jiang Ye was chasing Jing Feng, who was running away: "Just wait until I catch you liking someone!"
"If you keep chasing, the longevity noodles will get cold!"
Jiang Ye froze and stopped: "Longevity noodles? Why make longevity noodles? Whose birthday is it today?"
Jing Feng, panting from exhaustion, finally caught his breath. He had to admit, Jiang Ye's stamina was incredible.
"You can't even remember your own birthday?"
"My birthday?" Jiang Ye scratched the back of his head, looking at him in confusion: "But my birthday is in three days, not today."
Instantly, the entire courtyard fell eerily silent.
"Jing Feng—" Zhu Que slowly turned her head and spoke to him through gritted teeth: "So you got it wrong—"
"I..."
Seeing Zhu Que approaching him with anger, Jing Feng immediately turned and ran: "Perhaps I got it wrong!"
"Stop! Let me beat you to death!!!"
Jing Feng fled desperately, lamenting. No! How could these two have such abnormal stamina!
Turning back, Bai Ran and the other two were already inside, happily drinking wine and chatting.
"Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!"
A short while later, a bruised and battered Jing Feng huddled in a corner, looking wronged: "You guys... you're all bullying me..."
"I'm done!" Jiang Ye downed a mouthful of wine, feeling refreshed: "What excellent wine!"
Zhu Que held her wine glass, blowing bubbles, the blush on her face refusing to fade.
"Drink less, you have a low tolerance."
Dong Ling gently took the wine from Zhong Zi's hand, but Zhong Zi began to act like a scoundrel on the ground.
"Give it to me! *Hic*! I want to drink more! Why are you taking my wine! *Hic*!"
Dong Ling smiled helplessly: "It seems I spoke too late..."
Jing Feng, huddled in the corner, extended a hand holding a wine glass: "If you don't drink now, they'll finish it all."
He looked up to see Bai Ran smiling at him.
"Miss Bai... *sob sob sob*... You're the only one who's nice to me..."
Jing Feng took the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp, immediately forgetting everything that had just happened: "It really is good!"
"Save some for me! I haven't drunk much yet!" Saying this, Jing Feng lunged for the wine glass in Jiang Ye's hand.
The small bowl of longevity noodles was completely devoured, tasting like the most delicious delicacy in the world.
Bai Ran watched the lively scene in the room, her heart filled with a lingering sense of happiness.
The wine itself wasn't special... it was the company that made it so...
Though it was a quiet night, the entire room was filled with laughter and joy, brightly lit, as warm as daylight...