Soul Trigger

Chapter 637 Corpse Fruit
When Ji Li arrived at the party, it was already completely dark.

The party was held at a small manor in town, and there were adults and police officers from the town, students, and even Anya's father, the mayor, there.

This party was held for Ji Li and the others, who were involved in the Blood Bear attack.

The students had previously held a party to celebrate the bear's escape on the same day, and this time it was hosted by the mayor, since both of his daughters were present.

However, two main characters, Jason and Equiel, were absent. Jason was still busy with the Knights' investigation and had been so focused on it that he hadn't had time to try to win Anya's favor these past few days.

Before the party began, students held drinks while adults held alcohol, and the mayor paid tribute to the main figures in the bear attack during his speech.

Ji Li, in particular, although he was almost unconscious the whole time, earned the respect of the entire school and the personal gratitude of the mayor for the bear bite he took for Sally.

Even the opening remarks of this party were made by the mayor holding up Ji Li's bandaged hand.

Amidst a burst of joyful laughter, the party began.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with a few adults who came forward, Ji Li slipped into the crowd and quickly glanced at his wrist.

The gravedigger had reached the marked location, and Clementine was lurking nearby.

The former is currently casting a spiritual spell, but doesn't yet know what it's going to do, so it's best to wait and see.

He glanced at Anya and Sally, who were being pulled by their father, the mayor, to meet with several officials from out of town, all of whom had come to the area because of the county sailing race.

The town mayor took this very seriously, because he usually didn't have the opportunity to meet these people directly, especially some of the city's figures.

In other words, he was most likely after the dumplings wrapped in vinegar.

Anya and Sally smiled throughout, but in reality, they kept glancing at Ji Li, hoping it would end quickly so they could take Ji Li to join the party with their peers.

Ji Li nodded to the two of them, meaning they could go about their business while she wandered around by herself for a while.

Then he would occasionally glance at his wrist as he moved around the court.

Just as he was about to put down his drink and grab a glass of cider, his hand was suddenly grabbed by another hand.

Turning his head, he saw a bearded man with curly hair parted in the middle, quite handsome, who raised an index finger and waved it at Ji Li:
"Dude, you're not an adult yet."

Ji Li's heart stirred:
He recognized the man; he was Sika from the Knights squad.

"you are?"

“Sika Brandy, you can also call me…the Wine Knight.”

He magically produced a series of ice curlers and bartending tools from his pocket, took the cider that Ji Li had prepared, and began a dazzling bartending dance, quickly attracting the attention of the entire audience.

As a glass of crystal-clear, blue-orange liquor appeared before Ji Li, it won a round of applause.

He gracefully greeted the others and then showed the wine to Ji Li.

Just when Ji Li thought he was going to give the wine to him, this guy grabbed it and downed it in one gulp, then opened his arms to the entire room of guests:

"Unfortunately, minors are not allowed to drink alcohol..."

A burst of laughter erupted from all around, and a waiter handed Ji Li a cup of bread and soda with a smile.

Ji Li looked at this show-off with a speechless expression.

Clearly, his flamboyance is one aspect, but the title of "Drunken Knight" should be a manifestation of his abilities, although we can't see any clues yet.
"You're with Ms. Laurent, aren't you? She's not here today either?"

Sika smiled and put her arm around Ji Li's shoulder, leading him toward the side hall:

I cannot reveal her whereabouts to you.

“Then I’m even more curious.” Ji Li blinked and entered Clementine’s perspective:
The gravedigger completed his spiritual incantation, then retrieved a strange, pale blue severed limb and buried it in the sand, beginning his incantation—

This was the gift he had prepared for the Knights Squad.

"Should I stop him?" Clementine asked.

No need. His goal is to have the knight squad deal with this thing, satisfying them and allowing them to leave, thus concealing his true objective and eliminating these destabilizing factors. Our objective contradicts this; we will continue to wait until he finishes.

Ji Li took the curling stone that Sika was playing with:
"You know how to mix drinks?"

Sika laughed:

"Grandmaster."

"How big is it?"

"The entire White Island is no bigger than a hand. Globally, I should be in the top 30."

"I'll mix you a drink you've never had before."

"Oh?" Sika became interested: "You've studied it?" "Yes, I have."

"how long?"

"A few hundred years."

Sika chuckled:
What tools do you need?

"casual."

Sika led Ji Li to a corner, and magically produced various items from her bosom, quickly filling the entire tabletop:
"Materials, tools, everything is available. This centuries-old gentleman, does he still remember which pose is the coolest?"

He meant whether he wanted to teach Ji Li a few cool moves, and glanced at the Foster sisters who kept casting glances at him from the crowd—

As an awakened being, he could clearly perceive these spiritual gazes.

In his view, Ji Li just wanted to show off in front of the pretty girl who had been paying attention to him, since his behavior just now had stolen the limelight from the Pulitzer Prize protagonist.

Ji Li ignored him, counted the tools and materials, and picked up a cup of paste-like substance with some surprise:

"Fermented reed jam?"

"Reed jam? You mean, loquat jam? Yes, it is indeed fermented. You have a good nose."

Sika slightly suppressed her playful mood, because Ji Li could tell at a glance that it was fermented, rather than thinking it was some kind of expired food.

Ji Li picked up another one, glanced at his wrist, and said:

"Black garlic syrup?"

"That's right. You've studied cooking?"

"I do not know how to cook."

Ji Li lowered his wrist. The tomb keeper seemed to have entered the final stage of the spell. The psychic artifact, which appeared to be made from a malevolent derivative, had penetrated deep into the ground and was beginning to affect the sea surface slightly.

Ji Li opened his eyes, checked a few more materials, and looked at Sika, who was now focused.

"Mr. Wine Knight, how about we make a deal?"

"what do you want?"

“I’ll mix you a cocktail you’ve never experienced before, and you tell me Ms. Laurent’s complete rules for drinking blood.”

Sika squinted:

How do you know she drinks blood?

“My sister told me that when Ms. Laurent signed a confidentiality agreement with Aquar Wright, she revealed a little bit about her being a ‘vampire.’”

"Then how do you know about the rules?"

"Didn't Ms. Laurent mention things like 'restorative objects' and 'rules'? Since you all can use superpowers because you've fused with 'restorative objects,' there must be rules too, right?"

"And I just wanted to know the rules of Ms. Laurent's blood-drinking practice; there shouldn't be anything wrong with that."

“What you said is indeed correct, but what I don’t understand is why you want to know her ‘blood-drinking’ rules?”

Ji Li shrugged:

“I’m a vampire enthusiast. You see, I’m not interested in your Drunken Knight rules at all.”

Sika returns to normal:
"Interesting. You'd better put in some serious effort, since the price of drinking this glass of wine goes a little beyond entertainment. I probably won't be buying it..."

"That's not certain."

Take the wine, let it flow, and pour it into the glass.

Sika's eyes flickered. He could tell from just one move that his opponent was an absolute veteran, and was even showing off his skills.

But it's not his dazzling bartending dance; rather, it's a kind of skill that only a bartender can appreciate—a skill that focuses on the quality of the drink itself, rather than the movements.

The force of the shaking, the combined techniques, the rotation of the curling stone, and the absolute precision of the measurement:
Add 1 drop of smoke liquid to 45 ml of whiskey to create a mist.

30 ml of fermented loquat clay, with a sweet and fresh taste and a hint of fermented odor.

15 ml of black garlic syrup, with its unique flavor, wafted into his nostrils.

Finally, the meal concluded with a touch of perilla plum wine, popping candy, and a perfectly timed burst of burning wormwood.

"【Corpse Fruit】, drink it."

(End of this chapter)