Chapter 774: 774, are you looking down on my stars?
"Eh? Ying’er, your cultivation, how..."
It was not until they entered the banquet hall that Hua Beisheng finally noticed Hu Ying’er’s Meridian Qi Cultivation beside him, immediately revealing a shocked expression on his face, seemingly unable to believe his own sensing.
"Spirit Vein Realm Early Stage!"
Regardless of how hard it was for Hua Beisheng to believe, the Hu Ying’er in front of him was indeed a cultivator at the early stage of Spirit Vein Realm, which made him involuntarily inhale sharply.
It is worth mentioning that just half a year ago, Hua Beisheng’s sister had brought Hu Ying’er back to her maternal home to visit, and at that time, Hu Ying’er was supposed to be at the early stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, right?
Even if during these six months, Hu Ying’er’s Meridian Qi improved, reaching at most the middle or late stage of Meridian Rushing Realm would have already been incredibly noteworthy.
Hua Beisheng never imagined that Hu Ying’er, who had just faced great adversity, would break through two major ranks in one fell swoop, reaching the early stage of Spirit Vein Realm.
A fourteen or fifteen-year-old genius at the early stage of Spirit Vein Realm would probably be considered a standout even among those first-rate forces, and even among the top forces of those first-rate powers, it’s definitely impossible to break through two major realms within half a year without special grooming from childhood.
"Uncle, let me introduce you, this is Brother Xingchen. This time, Ying’er’s breakthrough was all thanks to Brother Xingchen’s help; he even saved our lives!"
During their journey, Hu Yuqing naturally relayed to Hu Ying’er the events of that day, making her gratitude towards Yun Xiao grow stronger. Upon hearing Hua Beisheng’s mention, she immediately ran over and pulled the dark-skinned young man who was at the back of the crowd to the front.
"A young man at the early stage of Spirit Vein Realm could save the Hu Family?"
Initially curious, Hua Beisheng, feeling the cultivation level of the dark-skinned youth only being at the early stage of Spirit Vein Realm, displayed a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
In fact, Yun Xiao had already recovered to his peak state, it’s just that he had used some methods to conceal his real cultivation level, as revealing it might attract the attention of certain individuals.
"Greetings, Family Head Hua!"
Since Hu Ying’er had introduced him, Yun Xiao, not wanting to appear too arrogant, clasped his fists in greeting, maintaining a neither servile nor overbearing demeanor, which caught Hua Beisheng’s attention.
"Alright, everyone, please take your seats!"
Despite being shocked by Hu Ying’er’s breakthrough, Hua Beisheng had more important matters to attend to and did not dwell on the topic, raising his right hand and calling out.
It’s worth mentioning that on this occasion, the Hua Family was only accompanied by Hua Beisheng, the Family Head; however, Hu Yuqing and the others did not suspect anything unusual given that Hu Ying’er’s mother belonged to the Hua Family but was much more distant to others except Hua Beisheng.
In fact, Hu Yuqing was secretly thankful to Hua Beisheng; after the Hu Family fell into dire straits and sought refuge with the Hua Family, if more of the Hua clan knew, there would certainly be cold sneers, making this gathering much less awkward.
"Brother Yuqing, everyone, since you have come to my Hua residence, from today onwards, consider the Hua residence as your own home. I imagine the Yang Family wouldn’t dare to strut around in this New Mountain City!"
Although Hua Beisheng is just a cultivator at the Peak of Qi Seeking Realm, his aura was extremely strong, and he didn’t seem to place the Yang Family, which possessed cultivators at the Seeking Origin Realm, in his eyes at all. Seeing him raising his glass and then finishing it in one gulp.
"Brother Beisheng is too kind!"
Hu Yuqing had not thought otherwise, and seeing Hua Beisheng had already downed his glass of fine wine, he responded loudly, then also prepared to emulate him and down his drink in one gulp.
"Wait!"
However, at this moment, a voice interrupted from the side, causing everyone to pause, turning their attention to the direction the voice came from.
"Brother Xingchen?"
Upon seeing, Hu Ying’er was the first to realize that the speaker was none other than the highly respected Brother Xingchen, unaware of why he chose this moment to speak up.
"Hehe, I have heard of Family Head Hua’s great reputation in other cities and have admired you immensely. May I have the honor of offering a toast to Family Head Hua?"
With so many eyes on him, Yun Xiao didn’t care in the slightest, instead holding the wine jug in front of him and gracefully walking up to the Family Head Hua, his words leaving the crowd somewhat puzzled.
Especially for Hu Yuqing and Hu Ying’er, who clearly knew that this was Yun Xiao’s first time in New Mountain City and he was obviously very unfamiliar with the Hua Family when he first heard it, where did the "immense admiration" come from?
However, given Yun Xiao’s performance at Yulei Mountain earlier, at this moment Hu Yuqing and Hu Ying’er naturally wouldn’t reveal his intentions, and they faintly felt that his actions were not without reason but had a purpose.
Of course, whether it was Hu Yuqing, Hu Ying’er, or the other Hu family members present, none of them ever thought there would be a problem with the wine in their cups, they just subconsciously wanted to see what Xingchen was planning to do, hence none of them drank at that moment.
"Ha ha, Brother Xingchen is too serious!"
Hua Beisheng, as the Family Head of the Hua Family, naturally reacted quickly. Although he did not fully understand the intention of the youth, he swiftly grabbed the wine pot in front of him and was about to pour wine into his own cup.
Splash!
However, just at that moment, a Water Arrow took the lead before Hua Beisheng could act, entering his cup with precision and speed that somewhat exceeded Hua Beisheng’s expectations.
"Since it’s a toast, how can the Family Head of the Hua Family pour his own drink? I think the wine in these two pots should be the same, right?"
Yun Xiao lifted his head, looking at the somewhat stiff-faced Family Head of the Hua Family, his words imbued with a deeper meaning. But apart from himself and Hua Beisheng, none of the other Hu Family clansmen understood.
In the hearts of these Hu Family clansmen, the wine in the Family Head’s pot and in their pots naturally ought to be the same. Surely the host wouldn’t drink fine wine and give them inferior wine, right?
"Of course!"
Though shocked, Hua Beisheng kept his composure. Just as he finished speaking, he saw the dark-skinned youth across from him lift his arm and tilt his head back to swallow the wine in his cup, which puzzled him further.
The Family Head of the Hua Family, harboring his own guilty conscience, knew that the wine in his pot was different from that in the others’, except for the pot belonging to Hu Ying’er. The wine in the pots in front of clansmen like Hu Yuqing was, in fact, laced with a deadly poison.
Originally, this youth named Xingchen had come over to offer a toast, even pouring wine for himself first and then made that remark which made Hua Beisheng start to suspect that his plot had been seen through.
But if the youth knew that the wine was poisoned, how could he possibly drink it all? Wouldn’t that be akin to seeking his own death?
"Could it be that I am overthinking it? Did he really just come to offer a toast?"
At this moment, Hua Beisheng suddenly harbored such a thought, now genuinely confused about the dark-skinned youth before him. Had his schemes been seen through or not?
"Family Head Hua, please!"
As Hua Beisheng was lost in thought, the young man in front of him already gestured with his hand and then spoke softly, putting him back into a dilemma.
Aware of the deadly nature of the poison he had used, Hua Beisheng had gone to great lengths to procure this Earth Rank Low Level lethal poison to ensure foolproof effectiveness.
Because of this, Hua Beisheng, a formidable cultivator at the Peak of Qi Seeking Realm, also dared not let the poison enter his system. Although he possessed an Antidote, suffering the torment of the poison after ingestion was inevitable.
Especially now, his schemes might be exposed, which would certainly bring more trouble. However, at this time, Hua Beisheng seemed to have overlooked one issue: this young man in front of him had consumed the poisoned wine quite some time ago and yet appeared as if nothing had happened.
"What? Does Family Head Hua look down on me, Xingchen?"
Seeing Hua Beisheng’s hand trembling slightly while holding the wine cup, Yun Xiao sneered in his heart, yet verbally posed this question making everyone on the scene pensive.
Although Xingchen was not a clansman of the Hu Family, after a night of life-saving grace, all the Hu Family guards, including Hong Liu, held him in high regard. If Family Head Hua really refused to drink this cup, perhaps it would be seen as a slight not just to him but to all these Hu Family clansman.
"Or is it... Family Head Hua dares not drink this cup of wine?"
As a tide of thoughts rose in everyone’s minds, Yun Xiao’s voice came again, this time with less concealment. Thinking of that possibility, Hu Yuqing was the first to place his wine cup back on the table.
"What do I have to fear?"
Caught off-guard by the question, Hua Beisheng blurted out in response, yet his right hand holding the wine cup never reached his lips. This scene further solidified the spectators’ suspicions.
"Well then, drink it!"
Yun Xiao was twirling an empty wine cup in his hand, but the next moment, he spoke with a light smile: "Speaking of which, the method Family Head Hua used to poison this wine doesn’t seem very clever, ah? Surely any Meridian Refining Master of the Spiritual Rank would have noticed, right?"
"What? Poiso... Poisoned?"
As these words were spoken, not only did the color drain from the faces of Hu Yuqing and other Hu Family clansmen, making them hastily place their wine cups back on the table, but Hu Ying’er by their side also showed a face of utter disbelief, unable to accept that her own uncle could do such a thing.
"Ying’er, you need not worry. I think Family Head Hua only intended to poison the other Hu Family clansmen; your pot of wine is indeed poison-free!"
Seemingly noticing Hu Ying’er’s expression, Yun Xiao slightly tilted his head and pointed towards her wine pot with his wine cup, making Hua Beisheng’s expression undergo several changes.