The old trick of slipping something into food—really, was there any trope more overused?

  It wasn’t that Bubai was careless.

  He simply didn’t believe these guys were trying to harm him because they clearly had something to ask of him!

  Nobody will risk antagonizing a potential ally for no reason.

  As for enemies? There were no grudges between them.

  Even if there was, nobody was stupid enough to use underhanded tricks under the watch of the ancestor above!

  And just like he expected, he wasn’t left in the dark for long.

  Qian Bage winked and flashed his teeth like a peddler about to close a deal.

  “Ouuu~ Brother Bai can feel it too, right? That’s the specialty of this honey!”

  “It carries a natural hint of heat, not quite as strong as the aphrodisiacs sold in the market, but enough to spice up the mood. Too bad it won’t last long, ou!”

  Well, this... wasn’t totally unexpected.

  Bubai knew flower mosquito nectar was an unspoken rule used by those brothel courtesans and dolls. It’s hardly surprising it had an aphrodisiac effect.

  Besides, the heat from this honey was really too mild to take offense over.

  There’s no need to ruin the big thing for the small.

  So he simply grinned back. “A little heat, I have no trouble handling.”

  That was enough to heat up the atmosphere between bros.

  “Yeah, yeah, that’s right, that’s right! What man can’t handle a little heat?”

  “Ai! Right? But that’s only a small taste. The real deal is Lao Er’s wine...”

  Qian Feifu smirked and passed over a ceramic bowl filled with red wine dark as old blood. “Now this—this is where it’s at. Haha, Brother Bai, dare to give it a try?”

  Bubai immediately smelled the rich, heady aroma coming from the bowl. Definitely strong wine.

  They clearly hinted at its other effect as well.

  But Bubai wasn’t worried. He was pretty confident about his physique’s drug resistance and alcohol tolerance.

  At worse, if all else fails, just cleanse himself with a dew.

  “Good wine—who could refuse?” Bubai chuckled and happily accepted the bowl.

  The brothers roared with approval.

  “Good! Good! That’s what a real man is like!”

  “Ouuu! I just knew brother had good taste ever since we first met!”

  “Ai! Come, let’s drink together!”

  The final bowl got passed over to the youngest. Then everybody toasted each other.

  “Drink this, and we’re real brothers in arms!”

  “To my brothers!”

  “To our new brother!”

  Clink! “Ouu! Gan!”

  Then everybody raced to down their bowl of wine.

  The cool, spicy wine teased the tip of Bubai’s tongue before burning its way down his throat...

  His mind shook from the rich flavor.

  He wasn’t much of a wine enthusiast, but by Merlin’s goblet, this was good stuff!

  Probably the best drink he had since transmigrating to this world!

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  But as the rest of the bowl poured down his throat, the cool aftertaste quickly got replaced by a fiery inferno that grew greater and greater in his belly.

  The fiery heat spread like a wildfire through his veins, and then—an evil beastly little brother stiffened.

  No, it didn’t just get stiff—it turned rock hard! It roared to life like an evil earth dragon, almost bursting!

  Holy Merlin’s beard!

  Bubai almost couldn’t resist pushing down the redhead on his laps right then and there!

  THUD! A bowl slamming down grounded his willpower back to reality.

  “Ahahaha!” Qian Zhongta laughed proudly and wiped his mouth. “Hurry, Lao Er! Pour me another bowl!”

  Qian Feifu smacked his parched lips. “Ai, really... Lao Si, you really don’t know how to savor fine wine.”

  “Nonsense! It’s because it’s good that I have to drink it faster! Otherwise, there won’t be any left with you hungry ghosts here!”

  “Ouuu! Lao Si, don’t think you can hog it all!”

  The ruddy-faced Qian Bage stuffed his wine bowl into the hands of Qing San. “Go, get me another bowl!”

  “Oi, oi! Xiao Ba, line up!”

  “Yeah, yeah, me first!”

  The hungry eyes of the wolves chased after the butterflies carrying their alms bowls over to the first seat.

  But for now, the wolf pack could still restrain themselves, enough to pay attention to the guest stiffly sitting in his seat.

  Qian Bage drunkenly patted his shoulder. “Ouuu, Brother Bai, only one drink? Chickening out already? Hahaha!”

  Bubai’s lips twitched. Goading him? Think he’s scared? Ple-lease!

  After cycling a round of Qi to suppress the faint dizziness, he passed his bowl to Xiao Hong.

  “I was going to let you all drink an extra bowl, but since you’re insisting… well, then Bubai won’t be polite.”

  Qian Zhongta slapped his thighs. “Xiao Ba, you and your big mouth!”

  “Ouhahaha! Don’t be selfish now! Brothers should share both fortune and misfortune together!”

  “Fine, fine, it’s just drinking a little less...”

  The half-smiling Qian Fusha finished tipping out the last drop of wine and set down the small wine jar. “Okay. Last bowl. Please enjoy it slowly.”

  Seeing her fellow sisters carrying the bowls back to their respective owners, the blue bird perched on Qian Fusha’s lap giggled softly.

  “Lord Fusha, how about letting us sisters feed you this last bowl?”

  “Oh? Haha. Good suggestion. Why not?”

  Getting permission, all the Qingmen sisters playfully giggled and each took a mouthful of wine.

  Then, like like fox spirits in a lover’s dream, they rode on their partners’ laps and fed them... mouth to mouth!

  Seeing the hot scene all around, Miss Hong blew aside a stray bang and arrogantly stared down at the man expectantly smiling at her.

  “Tsk.” She scoffed and tilted her head back to gulp up some wine...

  Tac. The bowl found its place on the side table.

  Then, the red-hot fox spirit climbed onto his lap, her arms naturally winding around his his neck like a silken noose.

  Bubai barely had time to react before those plush lips pressed against his.

  The rich taste of wine spilled into his mouth, but that wasn’t the only thing invading...

  He wasn’t sure if it was the intoxicating wine or her, but he felt his blood boil all over, especially down there...

  Even when the last drop of wine got swallowed, it was too late to stop what was already happening.

  He nearly lost himself in her warmth—until, finally, her need for air broke them apart.

  “Hah… hah...”

  Bubai licked the aftertaste off his lips and took a quick peek to the sides, just to see they’ve already moved on to... the next stage of oral communication.

  No-touch policy? Bai Hua Lou only sell skills and not flesh?

  If there’s enough money involved, anything can be a lie! Haha.

  Grinning, Bubai pinched the chin of the breathless, rosy beauty and ran this thumb over her swollen lips.

  “You made it angry. Now get down and solve it for me.”

  Those dazed, watery eyes stared back at his, until the familiar glint of arrogance surfaced once more.

  But she didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.

  Like a proud, untamed rose bowing to the inevitable, she slowly slid off his lap and got down on her knees…

  Seeing the rose taming the monster, Qian Bage can’t help but let some flattery slip out.

  “Ouu, ouuuu… Brother Bai really is a dragon amongst men! Admire! Admire!”

  “Hey, hey, you flatter me. It’s you brothers who have the dragon lineage running in your blood!”

  “Ahahaha! We’re not worthy of it! We’re not worthy! Especially Lao Wu!”

  “Haha...” Qian Feifu was the first to finish and relaxed like a cat basking in the afterglow of having fun with a mouse.

  “Ai. What’s all this talk about being worthy or not? With good wine to drink, good beauties at our beckon, and a good show to watch, what more can a man ask for? Life can’t get much better than this.”

  “Life feels much better when you got better endurance!”

  “Lao Si, not everybody is like you. Most of us prefer a flash in the pan.”

  “Che. Excuses!”

  “Ou, ou, quit arguing you two! Pay attention to something more exciting, like what they’re doing below—ouuu, ouu, yess, drink it all!”

  Crossing his arms, Qian Zhongta scoffed and threw a glance down at the peony in red still hard at work then switched his focus to the battle outside.

  “Heh. Just paper tigers dancing. Flashy, but no substance!”

  “Ai, Lao Si, things can’t be said like that. To survive the secret realm, everybody must have a brush or two.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Can’t wait to see what tricks these two have hidden up their sleeves. If it’s not good enough... heh.”

  Predatory glints flashed in the eyes of everyone. Everybody had their hunting lists.

  Whether the duo downstairs were worthy to be on his list or not...

  Bubai also can’t wait to see.

  Just like how he can’t wait for his heat to die out...

  He sat back and relaxed, waiting for the climax to arrive.

  What kind of ultimate climax?

  Ahem. There’s no need to put the details into words regarding the battle below.

  Even an author will probably be too lazy to go too in-depth into it, unless there was a twist worth milking to pad word count.

  Perhaps there will even be a short time skip to speed up the pacing of the story…

  Of course, his life wasn’t a novel.

  Time didn’t skip ahead conveniently—it dragged forward like it always did, stubborn and steady.

  Soon, the fight below escalated to its climax...