Chapter 719 - 218: Return to Snow Cliff Pass
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Chen Yan’s arm, nodding vigorously: "It’s good to have you back!"
Although Chen Yan didn’t plan to disturb the Brotherhood on this trip to the Domain Realm, he had his own reasons for coming here. But since he was here, he wasn’t going to be coy—besides, everyone in the Brotherhood had always treated him well, and he was grateful for this friendship.
Chen Yan stared at Gu Jinjia for a couple of seconds and then suddenly laughed: "Brother Jin Jia, long time no see, your demeanor has changed—compared to before, you seem to have a more grand presence, hmm... looks like you’ve got a touch of that official air."
Gu Jinjia laughed and swore: "What nonsense official air, it’s just that during the siege, I was recruited by the Commander’s Mansion and given some temporary tasks to help out."
Pausing for a while, Gu Jinjia waved at Chen Yan: "Let’s save the rest of the talk for later and drink first! Today, we brothers are hosting a feast to celebrate driving back the Fierce Beast Race. This victory was significant, and our Brotherhood contributed significantly to it.
Today’s banquet is a celebration for our brothers.
Later, if you can’t drink a hundred cups, it won’t count as passing!"
Chen Yan had been in the Brotherhood for not just a day or two, and he knew that encountering such a scene of "drinking in big bowls and eating meat in large chunks," it was inevitable to get thoroughly drunk.
Thinking there’s no point in resisting, he simply opened his heart, sat down beside Gu Jinjia, casually tossed Big White, who had turned into a cat, onto the floor, letting it find a spot on its own, then grabbed a jar of wine from the table and started drinking heartily with the brothers.
Naturally, in the end, he got thoroughly drunk and was carried back to his room.
·
When Chen Yan woke up, he realized he wasn’t in an ordinary guest room at the Brotherhood’s base.
The big bed beneath him was wide and firm. Opening his eyes, he saw that this room was also quite spacious, not cramped like those ordinary small guest rooms.
He sat up from the bed and immediately saw someone else lying on the bed. Gu Jinjia was sleeping in his clothes, snoring loudly.
And it wasn’t just Gu Jinjia in the room.
Apart from himself and Gu Jinjia, there were two other brothers sleeping on this big bed. Among them, one guy had an arm dangling off the bed, with a wine jar placed beneath his fingers.
In this large room, there were several others sprawled haphazardly on the floor.
The room was filled with a strong smell of alcohol and resounding snores.
Chen Yan got down from the bed, feeling parched, and walked over to the table in the room. On that table was a jar of clear water already prepared—presumably by Ruyi.
Chen Yan took a bowl, poured himself three bowls of water in one go, and drank them down, finally sighing with relief.
Suddenly, he heard Gu Jinjia’s voice from behind: "Brother, pour me a bowl of water too, I feel like my throat’s on fire."
Turning around, Chen Yan saw Gu Jinjia also awake, sitting up and staring at him with wide eyes.
Chen Yan laughed heartily, simply carried the entire jar of clear water over, and Gu Jinjia quickly took it. Skipping the bowl, he drank a few big gulps straight from the jar’s opening, then wiped his mouth vigorously and let out a comfortable sigh: "Much better!"
As he spoke, Gu Jinjia pointed at the door and said to Chen Yan: "Let’s talk outside."
The two of them tiptoed out of the room one after the other, leaving behind a room full of slumbering brothers snoring like rolling thunder.
This was Gu Jinjia’s place at the Brotherhood, where Chen Yan had been once before. After they walked out, Gu Jinjia gently closed the door, pointed into the distance, signaling Chen Yan to follow.
·
A moment later, the two were in the Brotherhood’s bathhouse.
The two big men soaked together in a large bath, slightly hot water covered Chen Yan’s chest, making his skin redden slightly and sting a bit, but offering a pleasant comfort.
Because of the drunken revelry last night, most people in the Brotherhood were still asleep, and here in the bathhouse, it was just Chen Yan and Gu Jinjia soaking in the bath.
Apart from them, the only things that could move in the bathhouse were two puppets specifically there to scrub people’s backs.
Chen Yan vigorously washed his face, feeling his whole body completely relaxed, then heaved a long sigh of relief, looking at Gu Jinjia in the bath with a towel over his face: "Brother Jin Jia, did you want to talk to me about something?"
Hearing him, Gu Jinjia gently took off the towel from his face, stared at Chen Yan for several seconds, and then slowly said: "Do you know how significant our victory was this time?"
Chen Yan thought for a moment and slowly said: "Before I entered the city, I saw the sky in the direction of Evil Land Mountain was red with flames."
Pausing again, Chen Yan said softly: "...Sea of trees?"
Gu Jinjia nodded, smiling: "That’s right, it was the Sea of trees!"
Chen Yan couldn’t help but take a breath: "You... burned the Sea of trees? No! How did you manage to do that? Cross the Snowfield, get behind the Fierce Beast Race’s army, reach the Sea of trees, and set it on fire?"
Gu Jinjia shook his head: "Who said ’burned’ the Sea of trees? No matter how we scheme and plan, it’s impossible to entirely ’burn’ that Sea of trees."
He paused and then laughed: "It was just that we took advantage of this war to plan and scheme to remove a significant part of the Evil Forest Spirit that harms the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. Although we couldn’t destroy it completely, taking out such a large portion would seriously hurt the Fierce Beast Race, losing them a substantial piece of their territory, reducing the suppression of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi outside the pass so that in the future, when our people go out, the safe zone where Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi exists will be even larger."