Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 518 Four Generations of High Officials!

As dawn broke, the porridge hall in the east of Luoyang was already bustling with people.

Fang Yu walked barefoot across the bluestone slabs, followed by Sun Qian carrying a stack of rough porcelain bowls, while Jia Xu carried a bamboo basket with neatly stacked oil paper packages inside.

When the people saw the immortal master arrive in person, they all knelt down to pay their respects. But then Fang Yu saw a flash of lightning in his palm and said loudly, "No need to kneel before me!"

"Why are you kneeling? Get up and drink your porridge!" Bo Cai picked up a wooden spoon and tapped the porridge pot. The golden rice grains tumbled in the thick broth. "Today we're serving freshly pickled mustard greens, all you can eat!"

"The Immortal Master is benevolent!" The white-haired old farmer tremblingly picked up the earthenware bowl, the bottom of which was still covered with rice grains from last night. Upon seeing this, Fang Yu scooped up a spoonful of hot porridge to rinse it clean, and then placed a piece of amber-colored pickled vegetable on top of the porridge.

As the old farmer lowered his head to sip his porridge, murky tears dripped into the bowl.

Fang Yu took two steps, then suddenly bent down and picked up a piece of pickled radish from the bowl of the child next to him.

"Master! This..." The young woman in her early twenties hurriedly tried to stop him, but saw Fang Yu had already put the dried radish into his mouth and was chewing it with a crunching sound: "Salty, fragrant, and crisp! Madam's cooking is quite good!"

The crowd erupted in uproar!

This!
The emperor, a divine master who made porridge, actually ate the pickled vegetables from the common people's bowls?

A little girl with pigtails timidly held up a bowl: "Fairy brother, try my mother's pickled mustard greens!"

Fang Yu squatted down and took a bite with the girl's chopsticks. His eyes lit up immediately: "Wow! This mustard greens must be pickled with Sichuan peppercorns, right? It's so numbing and fragrant!"

Seeing that someone else was being praised, the people became bolder.

"Immortal Master! Immortal Master! Please try my cooking!"

"Master, please try my family's secret recipe for pickled vegetables!"

"Master, my mom's a professional pickler, and we have nothing but pickle jars at home! Have some of mine!"

"Try it all! Try it all!" Fang Yu said with a smile, picking up pickled vegetables from each person's bowl.

Sun Qian's hands trembled as he held the register.

According to the rules of etiquette, how could a monarch eat the food of commoners?

Not to mention it's from someone else's bowl.
The scene before my eyes brought tears to my eyes!
Sun Qian and Jia Xu exchanged a glance, both seeing a look of satisfaction in each other's eyes.

Sun Qian stroked his goatee and exclaimed, "The immortal master eats with the people; this is the style of the ancient sage rulers!"

A rare smile appeared on Jia Xu's sinister face as he whispered, "Only when the people's hearts are with you can you be a true dragon."

Just then, a sneer suddenly came from the crowd.

"Ha! How can a king of a nation eat from the same bowl as a lowly commoner? What kind of decorum is this?"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a disheveled scholar, reeking of alcohol, staggering to the front.

He had a wine gourd hanging from his waist, and his clothes were still stained with undried wine. It was Xu You.

Xu You squinted his drunken eyes and pointed at Fang Yu, mocking, "I thought he was some kind of immortal being, but he's just a country bumpkin who doesn't know any manners!"

He hiccuped. "The Rites of Zhou says: 'The ruler and the minister should each be in their proper place.' How can you govern your ministers and command respect from all quarters by lowering yourself to mingle with peddlers and laborers?"

A cold glint flashed in Jia Xu's eyes, and he took half a step forward: "Xu Ziyuan, you are nothing but a fame-seeking scoundrel, how dare you speak ill of the Immortal Master?"

Upon hearing this, Xu You burst into laughter, his breath reeking of alcohol as he sprayed Jia Xu's face: "Jia Wenhe, you venomous snake are indeed very loyal! What a pity!" He shook his wine gourd, "Your master doesn't even understand the most basic art of rulership! Governing a country relies on strategy, not handing out porridge!"

Jia Xu sneered: "Xu Ziyuan, you boast of your extraordinary talent, yet you can't even recognize a wise ruler. Cao Mengde is suspicious and fickle, Yuan Shao is outwardly lenient but inwardly suspicious. You are nothing but a clown caught in the middle."

He added ominously, "Sooner or later, they'll end up with their heads separated from their bodies."

Xu You's face stiffened for a moment, then he regained his drunken state and waved his hand, saying, "Enough, enough. I was just passing through Luoyang today and wanted to see what kind of person this legendary 'Porridge Immortal' was." He glanced at Fang Yu and sneered, "After seeing him today, he's nothing special!" With that, he turned and left, his steps unsteady but deliberately nonchalant.

Fang Yu suddenly spoke up: "Wait a minute."

Xu You waved his hand without turning his head: "What? You want me to stay for some porridge? I, Xu Ziyuan, may enjoy wine, but I disdain to offer it to you."

"Inviting you to have some porridge? You're dreaming." Fang Yu said with a smile.

"Then what are you going to do? Are you going to lecture me?"

"Oh? You've reminded me of Bo Cai!" Fang Yu shouted, "Give him a hundred slaps! Help him sober up!" Before Fang Yu finished speaking, Bo Cai had already strode forward with a sinister grin, and grabbed Xu You's collar with his iron-like hand.

"You...you dare!" Xu You's eyes were wide with drunkenness, but before he could finish speaking, a crisp "smack" was heard!
The slap sent Xu You spinning in place, his wine gourd clattering to the ground, spilling wine everywhere.

"One!" Bo Cai called out the number with a strong voice.

The people were all dumbfounded, and some children even stood on tiptoe, afraid of missing this rare spectacle.

"two!"

"three!"

Xu You's face swelled up at a visible speed, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He tried to struggle, but Bo Cai held him down firmly with one hand, making him look like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered.

When he hit the twenty-seventh time, Fang Yu suddenly raised his hand and said, "Stop."

With half his face swollen, Xu You slurred, "Ah, scared now? I'm Xu Ziyuan!"

“Bo Cai,” Fang Yu picked at his ear, “you’re fighting on both sides like this, how is he going to face anyone when he gets back?”

Bo Cai was taken aback: "What does the Immortal Master mean?"

“If you’re going to fight, fight one side.” Fang Yu smiled innocently. “Let Mr. Xu at least save half his face, so he can use the other side to put on a show when he meets people in the future.”

"Huh? Hahahaha!" The surrounding crowd burst into laughter. An old man selling vegetables slapped his thigh with laughter: "The immortal master is brilliant! This move is even more ruthless than killing someone outright!"

Xu You was trembling with anger and was about to curse when Bo Cai's thirtieth slap came whistling through the air!

"Snapped!"

This time the blow was exceptionally fierce; Xu You spat out two back teeth, and blood splattered all over his face.

"Thirty-one! Thirty-two!"

The next slap was exceptionally crisp, and Xu You's head swayed from side to side like a rattle.

Although Bo Cai strictly followed the Immortal Master's instructions to only strike the left cheek, the force was too great, causing the right cheek to tremble as well.

By the sixtieth strike, Xu You's eyes had rolled back, and his body slumped limply downwards.

Bo Cai grabbed his hair and said, "Stop pretending to be dead!" He then slapped Xu You awake.

The surrounding people watched with great interest.

One woman even took out some melon seeds from her basket and shared them with others: "The immortal master's punishment of this pedantic scholar is more satisfying than watching a grand opera!"

By the ninety-ninth strike, Xu You's left cheek was swollen and shiny, looking just like a ripe peach.

Bo loosened his wrists and swung his arm in a wide arc.

"one hundred!"

This slap sent Xu You flying, rolling several times on the ground before stopping.

The crowd cheered, and several children even imitated Bo Cai, pretending to slap each other.

Fang Yu walked over to Xu You, squatted down, and poked his swollen, shiny left cheek: "Mr. Xu, are you still going to swear?"

Xu You opened his eyes, barely breathing. The remaining half of his good face was flushed red, but he dared not utter another sound.

"I'll remember that." Fang Yu stood up and dusted off his sleeves. "If you mess with me, I'll settle the score on the spot." He pointed to Xu You's left cheek, which was swollen like a pig's head. "This is what will happen to you."

After saying that, he turned around and waved to the people in front of the porridge hall: "Come on, come on, keep drinking porridge!"

The people cheered and rushed toward the porridge vat, no one giving Xu You, who was lying paralyzed on the ground, another glance.

Xu You staggered to his feet, gritting his teeth and muttering, "I'll immediately defect to Yuan Shao and have this family of high-ranking officials attack Luoyang! Just you wait!!!"

(End of this chapter)