"Director Wang from the River Creek Corporation personally wishes the old master a happy birthday and offers him a jade Guanyin statuette as a present!"
"Vice-Director Chen from the Long Castle Financial Group wishes the old master happiness as immense as the East Sea. May he live for a long time! Here's a nephrite gemstone as a present!"
"The wife of Vice-Head Researcher Ma from the Daluo Research Institute has come on behalf of her husband and presented the old master with a vial of muscle-strengthening medicine!"
Young people in gorgeous clothes were indulging in a life of luxury. The lives that people led in this world were irrational. Whenever ordinary people witnessed this, they felt as if they had been invited to partake in a huge feast with exotic delicacies, good wine and beautiful women. Everyone was immaculately dressed and walking with a relaxed gait. People with grease on their lips let out satisfied belches. They would all get luxurious marble gravestones when they died, so they would never be forgotten.
There were also some people in this world who didn't seem to have come from a woman's womb. They actually looked like they had escaped from prison. Their exhausting, helpless, isolated lives had racked their brains and strained their senses. To these people, life was a catastrophe and a sin.
Every single one of the people coming and going seemed to live in extravagance. Luo Yunyang and his family seemed out of place among them.
"Are you here to offer Old Master Ling your wishes, ma'am?" a man who appeared to be in charge asked Shen Yunying hesitantly.
Although Shen Yunying had already been living in Chang'an City for some time and was no longer her old ignorant, inexperienced self, when she was faced with this sort of questions, she felt unable to relax.
"What… What did you say? Who's Old Master Ling? My uncle's family name isn't Ling!" Shen Yunying stammered. Suddenly, a female server walked over quickly and whispered something in the manager's ear.
Although she was whispering, Luo Yunyang could hear everything she said clearly.
"They have been invited to the birthday reception of that Mu family, sir."
The manager frowned before he pointed to a small side door inside the hotel. "Your party is over there." As soon as he was done, he looked away.
Shen Yunying, who felt a little embarrassed, pulled her son away quickly. "Let's go. I think I made a mistake..."
Luo Yunyang was very displeased with the manager's attitude. If his mother hadn't been in a hurry to get to the birthday party, he would have given the manager a piece of his mind.
Luo Yunyang memorized the manager's face. When he got back, he would use his communication device to contact Chen Yong.
"Yunying! Over here!" A middle-aged man in his 40s with some strands of white hair beckoned at Shen Yunying from the side door.
Shen Yunying pulled Luo Dong'er over quickly as she said, "We nearly went to the wrong party, Brother. This is your uncle, Dong'er. Call him uncle!"
Luo Dong'er complied sweetly. The man laughed in reply before he turned his attention to Luo Yunyang.
"This is my son, Yunyang. He just got back, so I brought him along." Shen Yunying hugged her son around the shoulders as she introduced him.
The man's eyebrows furrowed for a second before he said, "Good, good, just in time. The old master loves lively parties."
Luo Yunyang entered the narrow room before he realized that his uncle was frowning again. Over 40 people were already gathered in that rather small room.
Although there were two tables arranged in the center of the room, some younger kids had to remain standing.
The old man, who had to be his great uncle, seemed to be in his 80s. Although he was really old, he still seemed to be full of vigor. When he saw Shen Yunying, he laughed heartily. "Your cousin wanted to flaunt his wealth by making a reservation here. An important family is also having a birthday reception today, so we have to make everyone suffer a little by squeezing in here!"
Luo Yunyang instantly liked this old man. The old master sized Luo Yunyang up before he said with a laugh, "Do you have a girlfriend yet, Yunyang?"
"No!" Luo Yunyang suddenly felt many eyes turn to him. Although he didn't feel bothered, thanks to his high Mind Attribute, he still felt his heart tighten a little.
"Oh, you have to seize every opportunity! You could get a few girlfriends. Ha ha! Back in the day, your great uncle threw his nets everywhere and caught a lot of fish!"
When he heard his great uncle's harmless joke, Luo Yunyang started to relax. Although the room was crammed, the atmosphere inside it was harmonious.
"I heard my aunt say that you joined the army, Yunyang. Although the army is good, I think it's just too dangerous. You should go to university instead. University life is amazing..." A slightly good-looking young man snickered. He was a male cousin of Luo Yunyang's.
Through his cousin's words, Luo Yunyang found out that he was his great uncle's oldest grandson. His name was Mu Junsheng, and he was currently a university student in Chang'an.
Their conversation was basically an incessant chatter between young men. As Luo Yunyang listened, he realized that his life was worlds apart from his cousin's.
"Source beasts are getting closer and closer. Will we be able to stop colossal source beasts the size of mountains? It's clearly an impossible task! There are so many tomorrows, but if you keep putting off everything for tomorrow, nothing ever gets accomplished. That's why we should just be happy while we can and enjoy life to the fullest!"
"I have quite a number of schoolmates who like soldiers. When I get back, I will introduce some beautiful girls to you!"
Luo Yunyang was dumbstruck as he listened to Mu Junsheng's fallacious reasoning. Mu Junsheng didn't have the slightest trace of fighting spirit, yet the logic behind his words didn't seem disagreeable either.
Perhaps it was normal for a young man in his prime to be thinking this way. Luo Yunyang had seen source beasts, so he knew that they were immensely powerful. If someone who had experienced this felt extremely apprehensive about facing a source beast, it made sense that Mu Junsheng would be even more so.
Luo Yunyang quickly blended in among the clamor and conversations around him. People kept talking about daily trifles at an unhurried pace.
Luo Yunyang slowly realized that something was wrong. They had all been seated for half an hour already. Why hadn't there been any indication that the food was about to be served?
Although his great uncle's two sons were chatting and joking around with their relatives, the worry on their faces couldn't be concealed.
Bang!
The door to the room was kicked open and a tall, sturdy man entered and said loudly, "Everyone shut up! Don't you realize that you are disturbing other people? We are already being generous enough by allowing you to hold your birthday reception here! Don't you have any sense of shame? If I hear any more noise, I will throw the lot of you out!"
A little kid who had been playing happily suddenly started crying out of shock.
The man reached out exasperatedly in an effort to grab the kid by the collar. Mu Junsheng's father, who was standing by the kid's side, immediately stopped him. "He is just a kid..."
"You are f*cking asking for it!" The man swung his palms at Mu Junsheng's father without another word.
Everyone watched as the man's palm descended before someone else's hand grabbed it. Before the thickset man could speak, Luo Yunyang had already started to exert force with his hand.
Crack!
A crisp sound was heard as the vicious man's arm twisted and snapped. The acute pain made the man shriek like a pig being slaughtered.
"What's going on?" In an instant, over 10 people had come rushing in. Among them was someone with a martial master badge pinned on his chest.
"Big Brother Lee! He hit me!" The vicious man took advantage of this opportunity to strike first. "My hand! My hand is broken!"