Chapter 147: Menial Servant of the Sect

Outside the Hall of Merit and Virtue.

Sun Xiaolei raised his head cautiously to look at the old man standing before him. The old man appeared to be in his sixties, showing slight signs of age, yet his complexion was rosy. Draped in a grey long robe, he exuded an ethereal air of immortality.

"Master Dai is said to be over ninety years old, yet he looks even younger than my grandfather..." Sun Xiaolei marveled inwardly.

Noticing the old man's gaze slowly sweeping toward him, he hurriedly lowered his head to avoid meeting his eyes.

"I trust I need not reiterate the importance of this matter! It concerns the dignity of our Xuanyang Sect, and not a single mistake can be tolerated! Follow the exact procedures we practiced during the rehearsal!" The old man's resonant voice echoed in waves.

Sun Xiaolei straightened his posture, listening intently while a trace of anxiety flickered in his eyes.

Standing beside him were more than a dozen other youths. All of them wore matching small cyan robes and were teenagers brimming with youthful vitality.

Standing in quiet order, they listened earnestly to the old man's instructions.

The old man was Dai Ba, an outer sect deacon of the Xuanyang Sect.

"This banquet is of utmost importance and must be treated with the highest priority! Anyone who shames the Xuanyang Sect will be dealt with severely without mercy! Do you understand?!" Dai Ba's stern voice resounded across the courtyard.

The dozen or so youths dressed as handymen raised their heads and shouted in unison, "Understood!"

Sun Xiaolei swallowed hard. He was feeling rather nervous now; Master Dai, who usually appeared benevolent and gentle-tempered, was currently shouting with such stern severity, which clearly indicated that this task was far from simple.

"Good! Now, according to your assigned roles, go and make your preparations! At a quarter past noon, you will take your posts precisely on time!" Dai Ba commanded once more.

"Yes!"

Sun Xiaolei shouted his assent in a sharp voice, then followed the flow of people as they slowly walked out of the grand hall.

His heart was filled with apprehension. Experiencing such an important event for the first time made him extremely nervous, and his palms were constantly slick with sweat.

*Sigh... Out of so many handymen, why did it have to be me?* he sighed inwardly, walking forward with his head lowered.

Among the dozen or so youths, only five were registered disciples, while the rest were handymen, and Sun Xiaolei was simply one of those handymen.

To be chosen out of over a hundred handymen in the Xuanyang Sect left Sun Xiaolei feeling deeply depressed.

Preoccupied with his thoughts, it took only a brief moment for him to lag behind and find himself at the very tail end of the group.

Just at that moment.

"Xiaolei, what are you daydreaming about?" A gentle voice sounded beside him.

Sun Xiaolei raised his head. The speaker was a youth of about twenty years old, looking at him with a smile.

Naturally, he recognized this person. The young man was Niu Jie, a registered disciple of the sect who was usually responsible for managing some of the handymen and was the immediate leader of this small team.

"Brother Niu..." Sun Xiaolei mumbled, "I... I'm a little nervous..."

"Bah! What is there to be nervous about? It's just serving dishes at a banquet, it's very simple!" Niu Jie patted Sun Xiaolei's shoulder and said with a smile.

"But..." Sun Xiaolei looked somewhat cowed. "During Master Zhang's Foundation Establishment banquet last time, Little Xiaozi, who shares a room with me, was also serving dishes, but afterwards he was driven off the mountain... I don't want to be driven off the mountain..."

When all was said and done, his entry into the sect had been a matter of some luck. He and his grandfather had traveled more than five hundred miles to reach the Xuanyang Sect, and at the gate, he had been fortunate enough to encounter Master Bai Qingzhou. It was under Master Bai's recommendation that he had the good fortune to enter the Xuanyang Sect as a handyman.

Therefore, this opportunity had not come easily. Moreover, having lived here for more than two years, he had long since grown accustomed to life in this place, and he certainly did not want to be cast out simply over the task of serving food.

"Don't even mention that fool Little Xiaozi!" Niu Jie muttered softly, annoyed. "He actually dared to stare fixedly at a female immortal during the banquet, completely blocking the path, and in the end, he spilled all the food and dishes onto the ground. It's a miracle the immortals didn't punish him; getting expelled was getting off easy!"

"But..." Sun Xiaolei said with fear, "I'm afraid I might make a fool of myself in the same way..."

Watching Sun Xiaolei shrink back in apprehension, Niu Jie comforted him, "It will be fine. When the time comes, just keep your head down and quietly serve the dishes; there certainly won't be any problems!"

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Besides, didn't you say you were able to enter the mountain gate thanks to Master Bai's kindness? This is Master Bai and Master Ji's Foundation Establishment banquet, shouldn't you put on a good showing?"

Hearing the name "Master Bai," Sun Xiaolei's eyes lit up. The image of Master Bai descending from the heavens that day resurfaced in his mind, and he murmured under his breath, "It's Master Bai's Foundation Establishment banquet..."

"That's right! You must perform well!" Niu Jie draped an arm around Sun Xiaolei's shoulder and smiled. "Alright! Relax! Let's go to the back kitchen and make preparations first!"

"Mm-mm." Hearing this, Sun Xiaolei nodded earnestly.

The two of them walked forward, catching up with the group ahead.

At this moment within the Xuanyang Sect, not only were red lanterns strung all along the pathways, but various colorful ribbons were also tied between the trees. The stone steps and houses had all been meticulously cleaned, and the handymen and registered disciples walking along the paths had all changed into new clothes. Coupled with the sound of firecrackers echoing from afar from time to time, a festive atmosphere permeated the sect.

Before long, the dozen or so people arrived at a small courtyard. This was the back kitchen of the Xuanyang Sect, and right now, several shirtless, burly men were bustling about busily inside the courtyard.

Looking at these unkempt men who seemed utterly devoid of decorum and ordinary in appearance, Sun Xiaolei knew the truth. In reality, every single one of these burly men was an immortal; they were said to be chefs specially invited from the marketplace by Master Dai to take charge of the cooking for this banquet.

One of the shirtless, burly men inside the kitchen suddenly noticed the group, pointed a finger at them, and barked harshly, "Hey! You brats! You're all here to help in the kitchen, right? Hurry up and wash these greens and meat! Move it!"

With that, he pointed toward a corner of the room, where a considerable amount of food was packed inside cloth sacks.

"Yes, yes, yes, Immortals, we'll get right on it!" Niu Jie, acting as the leader, hurried forward and spoke respectfully.

At Niu Jie's prompt, the crowd rushed forward in a flurry and began lining up to fetch the meat.

Soon it was Sun Xiaolei's turn. He stepped forward to take the beast meat handed over by Niu Jie, and the sudden increase in weight caused his hands to sink abruptly, nearly making him drop it.

Seeing this, Niu Jie reached out to steady it and reminded him, "Xiaolei, hold on tight, this is beast meat."

"Yes!" Sun Xiaolei exerted strength in his hands and immediately hoisted the meat upward.

Looking at the piece of meat in front of him that appeared to weigh only around ten jin, its actual weight was close to a hundred jin. This discovery made Sun Xiaolei marvel inwardly.

Fortunately, after living in the sect for two years and being continuously nourished by spiritual energy and spring water, his physical strength had greatly increased. Lifting a weight of a hundred catties with a firm effort was still within his capabilities.

Gripping the chunk of meat with both hands, he walked slowly toward the stone basin and began meticulously washing it.

Feeling a stinging sensation radiating from his palms, he couldn't help clicking his tongue. The ferocious beast had been dead for so long, yet touching its meat still produced a stinging pain.

If it was like this even in death, wouldn't a living ferocious beast be capable of destroying the heavens and the earth?

How terrifying...

As he washed the meat, Sun Xiaolei's imagination ran wild, picturing what a ferocious beast might look like...