Chapter 1179: Guests Gather

"Your Majesty, the banquet has begun."

Minister Han checked the time and walked slowly behind Ying Fu, who was taking a nap, and spoke softly, "Fu Kun and Zheng Zhiqing have already taken their seats, just waiting for us..."

Ying Fu slowly opened his eyes, a flash of fatigue crossing them.

Minister Han caught this subtle change.

"Your Majesty, has that era encountered trouble again?"

"...There was a slight complication." Ying Fu didn't seem to intend to reveal more to Minister Han and just stood up slowly. "We must speed up our plan."

Ying Fu put on the glasses Minister Han handed him, once again restraining the imperial aura on his body. Looking at the reflection in the mirror, he looked like an extraordinary young college student.

Minister Han also tidied up his attire, pushed the door open, and walked out, with Ying Fu following calmly behind.

"I... this is my first time attending a banquet in this era. Is there anything I need to pay attention to?" Ying Fu asked suddenly.

Minister Han thought carefully, "This banquet is relatively informal. It seems to be a Wushan-style hot pot. Everyone has a seat. The banquets hosted by Bureau 749 are always very meticulous; they will place name tags on each seat in advance, so you just need to sit in the corresponding seat.

Besides that, the seating is likely arranged according to seniority and rank... Your Maj... your current identity is my student, so you should be arranged next to me."

"That is as it should be," Ying Fu nodded slightly.

"I remember you told me that among the White Hands of Bureau 749, you have the most seniority... So, our seats will be at the very front?"

"This..."

Minister Han's expression was a bit awkward. "In the past, that would indeed be the case... but this time is different."

"How is it different?"

"I heard that this time, a gentleman with even more seniority has returned from overseas."

Minister Han paused for a moment. "Before you found me, I had been retired from Bureau 749 for many years, so I haven't met that gentleman... But I heard that even Sun Zhongliang received his favor when he was a child. His history is even older than Bureau 749."

"Oh? There is such a person?" Ying Fu seemed very interested.

"Yes, he is also on that list. When we get to the venue in a moment, I will point him out to you."

As they spoke, the two went downstairs and arrived at the entrance of the banquet venue. Four or five Bureau 749 staff members in suits were registering guests at the door.

Seeing Minister Han walking toward them, these people immediately spoke respectfully:

"Mr. Han, you're here."

"Mm." Minister Han nodded slightly, his temperament already different from when he was in front of Ying Fu. A faint sense of oppression radiated from him. He glanced into the venue, "Has it started?"

"Most of the guests have arrived, but we are waiting for you and the other gentleman to arrive before starting."

"And the seats?"

"Everything has been arranged for you."

The staff member looked at Ying Fu behind Minister Han and lowered his head to check the list, "Is this the student accompanying you? The name is... Li Fu?"

"Yes, that's me," Ying Fu replied faintly.

"Mr. Han truly has students everywhere." The staff member didn't dare to be negligent and immediately made a gesture of invitation, "Let me take you two to your seats. Please follow me."

Led by the staff member, the two walked straight into the venue.

Calling it a venue, it looked more like Bureau 749 had rented out the restaurant next door and used the entire floor as the banquet area. Although the decoration was a bit old, it was spacious enough.

In the center of the venue was a large square stage, surrounded by circles of independent small tables. Guests sat cross-legged on the floor, and the hot pots on the small tables were bubbling with steam. Combined with the unique folk regional style of the decorations, it looked very much like a song and dance banquet of an ethnic minority.

Ying Fu was seeing this form of banquet for the first time. His eyes behind the lenses were constantly observing the surroundings. At the same time, Minister Han lowered his voice and said:

"Every year, Bureau 749's conference is publicly claimed to be an Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference, so the banquet layout focuses more on cultural characteristics, and the format is different every year."

Ying Fu nodded slightly.

As soon as Minister Han and Ying Fu entered the venue, they attracted many people's attention. Most of them focused on Minister Han, their eyes full of awe and curiosity... To them, Minister Han was their senior, their teacher, and a legendary figure of the Book Divine Path who had become famous in his early years.

"Grandma, who is that old man?" Yao Qing asked in a low voice while drinking the cola on the table.

"He is Han Shuzhi, the pinnacle of the Book Divine Path in this era... and also your grandma's old rival." Xiao Chunping looked at Minister Han walking slowly toward them, as if recalling the past, and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"In our early years, when we were both young, we had plenty of friction because of the differences in philosophy between the Book Divine Path and the Green Divine Path... Later, as we got older, we couldn't fight anymore, so we both retired."

"Oh~ so he's Grandma's arch-rival!"

Yao Qing immediately turned to Xiao Chunping and said sarcastically,

"I knew I didn't like the look of that old man... And the guy behind him, he looks like a poser!"

Xiao Chunping laughed out loud, her wrinkled palm affectionately patting Yao Qing's head, "As expected of Grandma's good grandson."

Just as the two were talking, Minister Han and Ying Fu passed by their table. The former caught a glimpse of Xiao Chunping out of the corner of his eye and let out a soft "Oh?"

"Teacher Xiao, long time no see."

Xiao Chunping stood up from behind the table and shook hands with Minister Han. "Oh my, it's been so many years, we're both old now... When I saw you just now, I almost didn't recognize you."

"Haha, Teacher Xiao is joking. I pay great attention to maintenance in my daily life. My students say I look young... On the other hand, Teacher Xiao, it seems the pressure of life after retirement is quite high?" Minister Han's face was full of smiles.

"People have to accept getting old. Dyeing your white hair black doesn't count as maintenance," Xiao Chunping also laughed.

The corners of Minister Han's mouth stiffened, and he naturally changed the subject:

"Is this your grandson?"

"Yes, my good grandson Yao Qing." Xiao Chunping smiled while patting Yao Qing's head. "At such a young age, he has followed the Green Divine Path just like me. I decided to bring him to the Wushan Conference to see the world... I feel that no matter how many students you recruit, if you aren't responsible, it's not as good as carefully cultivating one good seedling. Teacher Han, don't you agree?"

The smile on Minister Han's face gradually disappeared, but he still waved his hand dismissively, "Teacher Xiao, the children are still young. How they will develop in the future... it's really hard to say."

Ying Fu's gaze fell on the young Yao Qing, his expression subtle.

He naturally recognized the leader of the Green Divine Path in the Nine Monarchs era, the first demigod of the Red Dust Realm, and the chief of the Floating Life Painting, Yao Qing...

It was just that Ying Fu didn't understand why Yao Qing was staring at him with ill intent, even though he had never crossed paths with the young Yao Qing.