The drinks were quickly served, and as the alcohol took hold, the initial awkwardness between them evaporated.
Feng Hao had wanted to get to know Dongfang Qi and Nanyuan Xu for a while. For one, they were all from Rongcheng, and for another, he had a good relationship with both the Dongfang and Nanyuan Families.
Although those two old geezers, Dongfang Wuji and Nanyuan Bo, were decent enough, the age gap was undeniable. There was always a bit of a generation gap when they talked, so it was much easier and more comfortable chatting with people his own age. The Xiyue Family always had the two sisters to talk to, and now it seemed the Dongfang and Nanyuan Families were finally catching up.
"How have your fathers been lately?" Feng Hao asked, raising his glass and taking a drink.
"Great! They’re doing great," Nanyuan Xu said, his face flushed and his words slurred with drink. "My old man is an expert at making his own fun, especially after putting the Beixing Family in their place. He’s been going absolutely wild."
Dongfang Qi smiled calmly. "My old man’s doing fine, too. He just mentions you a lot, always complaining that he has no one to play chess with."
"Really? I was actually planning on heading back for a visit soon. I’ll be sure to play with your father until he’s had his fill," Feng Hao laughed.
"That would be fantastic." Dongfang Qi’s eyes lit up, but then his expression turned a bit helpless. "It’s a shame Rongcheng doesn’t have an Origin Node, or I could let my old man know right now."
"Let’s not. It’ll be a nice surprise for him," Feng Hao chuckled.
"Good point." Dongfang Qi seemed to be handling his liquor well, unlike Nanyuan Xu who was completely smashed. He asked curiously, "By the way, bro, how did you manage to get on Yao Ying’s bad side?"
Feng Hao paused, then grinned. "She was the one who kept provoking me. She pissed me off, so I just gave her a couple of kicks."
"Impressive!" Dongfang Qi gave him a thumbs-up, his eyes full of admiration. "That woman is seriously annoying. If she wasn’t so good-looking, I’d want to give her a couple of kicks myself."
Feng Hao asked with a wry smile, "So, are you two both chasing after Yao Ying?"
"Not exactly chasing, it’s just..." Dongfang Qi started to explain, but Nanyuan Xu cut him off.
Nanyuan Xu swayed his skinny frame, burping as he spoke. "How could we possibly like a piece of trash like her? At most, we just want to nail her. I mean, she’s the second-prettiest girl in the academy, and she’s so damn slutty. What’s that saying again? Right! Slutty and asking for it! Slutty and asking for it!"
"Crude!" Dongfang Qi shot him a disdainful look. "Can’t you be a little more refined?"
"You Dongfang Family people are so pretentious," Nanyuan Xu scoffed. "Go on, you tell me. How do you say something like that elegantly?"
"It’s called ’wanting to take her to bed.’ This ’slutty and asking for it’ stuff is just vulgar!" Dongfang Qi declared righteously.
"Tch. Like that’s any more elegant."
Feng Hao watched from the sidelines, dumbfounded, completely forgetting to drink. ’Damn, the Four Great Families of Rongcheng sure produce some real characters,’ he thought.
The two of them argued for ages over the merits of "nailing her" versus "taking her to bed," without reaching any conclusion. Perhaps tired of bickering, they turned their attention back to Feng Hao. "By the way, bro," Dongfang Qi said, "I heard you managed to tame the Xiyue Family’s little she-devil. Tell us, how’d you do it?"
"It was nothing, really. Yaoyao is actually very cute when she’s quiet," Feng Hao said with a fond smile.
His comment instantly earned him eye-rolls from both of them. Nanyuan Xu even did a spit-take with his wine, exclaiming in astonishment, "Holy crap, that girl has a quiet side?"
"Exactly," Dongfang Qi chimed in emphatically. "We practically watched her grow up. To be honest, I’ve never once seen her be quiet. Now, if you’d said Xiyue Frost, I’d believe you. That girl is quiet to a fault. Growing up, she only ever said one thing to me—’Thank you’—and that was when I was playing in the damn mud, of all things."
Nanyuan Xu immediately burst out laughing. "You weakling! Xiyue Frost has said two things to me."
"You’re the weakling! That’s just because she also told you to ’get out,’ isn’t it?" Dongfang Qi shot back.
"Hey, one more is still enough to brag about for a lifetime," Nanyuan Xu said smugly.
Feng Hao felt his patience wearing thin, and he was starting to regret inviting them over for drinks. ’These guys are impossible.’ "What if I told you I can have a normal conversation with Xiyue Frost? Would you believe me?"
The two of them froze, their eyes instinctively locking onto Feng Hao. Dongfang Qi clicked his tongue. "Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I’m joking?" Feng Hao said with a smirk.
"Damn, bro, you’re really something else!" Dongfang Qi marveled. "No wonder you got on my old man’s good side. He even says his own son can’t hold a candle to you. Pisses me off just thinking about it."
"I know exactly how you feel," Nanyuan Xu added, nodding in solemn agreement.
Feng Hao was taken aback. He hadn’t realized he held such a high place in Dongfang Wuji and Nanyuan Bo’s esteem. He then smiled faintly at the two of them. "I think your fathers just miss you. Why don’t you come back home with me for a visit?"
Dongfang Qi and Nanyuan Xu both fell silent, a rare look of sorrow crossing their faces.
"Yeah..." Dongfang Qi nodded wistfully. "Come to think of it, it’s been more than two years since I’ve been back."
Nanyuan Xu was in the same boat. "Then it’s settled. Let’s exchange Spiritual Marks now, so you can give us a heads-up."
"No problem," Feng Hao agreed readily. ’With them along, at least the trip won’t be so lonely.’ "You two can just pick up an off-campus mission near Rongcheng. That way you can earn some credits, too, right?"
"Sounds good. We’ll check the Celestial Secret Tower over the next few days. We should be able to find a mission near Rongcheng," Dongfang Qi said with a nod and a smile.
...
By the time he saw the two out, it was already noon. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, he headed out again to research the Outer World fiends.
After several days of collaborative research, they had made significant progress on applying the fiend toxins. He figured it wouldn’t be long before they had some preliminary results, and then he could make the trip back to Rongcheng with Dongfang Qi and Nanyuan Xu.
The research continued late into the night. As usual, Feng Hao said goodbye to Sun Yaowen and piloted his Mansa back to the pharmacy at breakneck speed. What could he do? Driving at night meant he could be as reckless as he wanted; there were no speed limits to worry about.
Just as he got back to the pharmacy, he saw a vaguely familiar flyer parked out front. Its small, elegant frame clearly marked it as a woman’s model.
While Feng Hao was wondering about it, the small flyer’s headlights suddenly began flashing wildly at him, nearly blinding him.
"Who the hell is that? How rude!" Feng Hao was instantly annoyed and flashed his Mansa’s headlights right back.
On the dead-quiet street, the two flyers flashed their lights back and forth, seemingly having the time of their lives.
Finally, the small flyer stopped flashing. A graceful figure emerged from inside. The moment he saw her, Feng Hao was dumbfounded. It was Yu Xiaoxiao, the woman he had treated for poison.
Feng Hao awkwardly hopped out of his Mansa and walked up to her. "Didn’t you go back to Dust Wind Country? What happened, are you poisoned again?"
"You’re the one who’s poisoned!" Yu Xiaoxiao shot back, rolling her eyes. "I waited for you all afternoon," she complained. "I was starting to think this pharmacy of yours had gone out of business!"
"You’re not poisoned?" Feng Hao paused, eyeing her suspiciously. "Then what do you want with me? Don’t tell me you’re here to get the sappanwood and the Demon Jade Talisman back. Because I’m not giving them to you."
"Look at you, all scared." Yu Xiaoxiao covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "Relax, I’m not that petty."
"Good." Feng Hao breathed a silent sigh of relief. He turned and unlocked the shop door. "It’s late. Come on in and we can talk."
"Mhm." Yu Xiaoxiao nodded and followed him inside with light, graceful steps.