I defeated the saint with a parry.

Li Yang was lost in thought when Xu Ling suddenly called his name, startling him.

"What are you thinking about? There's so much food in Fanlou, don't waste it."

As he spoke, Xu Ling placed a monster's leg between his legs in front of Li Yang.

Xu Ling smiled and said, "Your body is too weak right now. You need to eat something good so you can grow stronger. Although the martial arts school provides monster meat, it can't compare to what Fan Lou offers."

Without a doubt!

Fanlou is a property of the Li family, and all the materials used by the Li family are specially sourced from outside.

The meat here is guaranteed to be from monsters at the Qi Opening Realm, and some are cooked using special methods, and some even have medicinal uses.

For example, most of the dishes Xu Ling ordered today can replenish qi and blood and strengthen the body's foundation, which is perfect for Li Yang to eat.

Li Yang stood up respectfully to express his gratitude: "Thank you, sir!"

"Hey! You child, why are you still so polite?" Xu Ling thought to himself that this child was good in every way, but he had lived in the Li family for too long, and his behavior was too stifled, like a bird tied in a cage.

"Sit down, sit down! Everyone's watching." Xu Ling gestured for him to sit before asking, "How was your first day at the martial arts school?"

"Very good," Li Yang said with a smile. "I didn't expect a martial arts gym to be like this."

Zhang Li continued, "Other martial arts schools are different. Our school owner is unique in Fancheng. He does everything personally."

"Hahaha, you can rest and recuperate in the temple. If you can achieve success in your cultivation in the future, then it will be time for you to soar like a bird in the sky."

After Xu Ling finished speaking, he felt a sense of joy in his heart. This was the first time since he transmigrated that he had felt such a sense of belonging.

Let's drink a big cup of wine.

The three of them drank together and talked freely.

Li Yan was too young and wanted to drink, but Xu Ling only allowed him to have a sip of wine as a taste, and then forbade him to drink any more.

The three drank until 9 PM, when Xu Ling leisurely left Fanlou. He had spent ten thousand spirit stones at Fanlou, eating and drinking his fill that night.

"So happy! I'll come again next time!"

The first and second floors are for dining; the third floor and above is where the real paradise is.

They certainly didn't go, and it certainly wasn't because they didn't have the money.

After seeing Zhao Yi and Zhang Li off, Xu Ling led Li Yang slowly toward the martial arts school.

This world also has a curfew, starting at midnight. It's only just past midnight now, and there are still quite a few people on the road.

Xu Ling couldn't help but sigh, "You can't see a scene like this in Zhangye."

The border region is not only plagued by demonic calamities, but also by the war pressure from the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons. People are lucky to have enough to eat, let alone have the energy to enjoy life abroad.

In order to maintain stability and facilitate management, the curfew at the border was set much earlier than in the bustling city.

Even within the Demon Suppression Division, the rules are much stricter than those in Fancheng.

Li Yang asked, "Sir, you've come from the border; what are your thoughts on the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons?"

"What else can you think of it? It's a conflict between our country and our people. Why ask that?"

"I was just moved by what Lord Zhang said about his demon-slaying exploits."

"Don't listen to his bragging. You can listen to the garrison commander's deeds, but don't believe his own petty squabbles!"

"The border wars have dragged on for so long, will these hard times ever end? ಥ_ಥ"

Xu Ling pondered for a moment. In his predecessor's memories, he had seen many bitter consequences of war between the two countries. As a human, he naturally believed that the Great Chu and the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom were enemies, without a doubt.

"When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer. As long as there is war and chaos caused by evil spirits, it is always the common people who suffer."

Xu Ling pointed to the beggars heading southwest by the roadside and sighed, "Look at this bustling city, seemingly prosperous, yet there are still beggars. I accompanied your sister all the way here; at first, there were corpses of the starving everywhere. I thought that once we arrived here, we wouldn't see such scenes, but look, what's different?"

The Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons was not responsible for all of this.

I've heard that the chaos caused by the demonic calamity within the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons is even worse than in our Great Chu. The ordinary demon race, already living a primitive life, not only has to contend with the mindless demons and monsters affected by the calamity, but also must guard against their own kind suddenly transforming into such evil beings. If even some powerful demons are affected by the calamity, the destructive power will be absolutely terrifying.

"The cause of all that was not our Great Chu."

"In reality, the Great Chu and the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons share a common enemy."

"There's a legend on the border that the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons might have a way to suppress the demonic scourge, allowing those evil spirits to control their emotions and thus reduce the damage. Unfortunately, this is just a rumor and shouldn't be taken seriously."

Li Yang asked, "What if it's true?"

Xu Ling replied: "Perhaps one day, the war will end forever, and everyone will be able to recuperate and rebuild their lives... or even that the world will be a commonwealth, and everyone will strive for communism, allowing humans and demons to coexist."

"Humans and demons coexist? Your words are truly shocking, sir. If the teachers at the academy heard this, they would probably point their fingers at you and curse you." Li Yang chuckled.

"Hahaha, let's not talk about those pedantic scholars." Xu Ling awkwardly wiped his face, thinking to himself that he had drunk too much and had said something like "the world coexists." This world is not suitable for such talk, and he shouldn't have said those words.

Drinking really does lead to trouble... Xu Ling felt a lingering fear, but still found something strange.

He was always cautious and never boastful. It was as if his nerves, which had been taut since he transmigrated, had suddenly relaxed.

Perhaps it was the magic wine that caused this.

Xu Ling tried to smooth things over, saying, "I was just talking nonsense, please don't take it seriously. Even if the demonic calamity disappears, humans and demons can't coexist; there are too many interests involved."

"Oh?"

"Ultimately, it all comes down to resources. Even without the demonic calamity, there would be a human calamity. The world needs such a calamity to resolve the resource issue." Xu Ling finished speaking slowly and then changed the subject.

"Besides, what way is there to solve the calamity caused by this demon?" Xu Ling sneered. "We don't even know what the cause of this trouble is, so how can we talk about a solution?"

He remembered the promise the town garrison had made: if he solved the Li family's case, he would tell him the relevant information.

But even though the matter of the White Snake was settled, the town garrison did not seek him out.

Seeing this, Li Yang quietly advised, "Sir, you should stop drinking in the future."

"You're right, don't follow my example, we must quit drinking!!" Xu Lingshen agreed. Tonight, he had shared too many of his past thoughts with this little guy, so he really had to be careful.

He mustn't let something as careless as talking cause him trouble.

But you know what, the spirit wine from Fanlou is truly delicious.

The fruity aroma soothes the throat, and the invigorating energy permeates the body, making even the soul tremble – it's intoxicating.

When Xu Ling drank, he couldn't retain any spiritual energy; it all dissipated from his limbs and bones, leaving his soul feeling as if it had been hit by mint. A very small amount of spiritual energy nourished his physical body, but it only replenished his blood and qi, and couldn't improve his cultivation level at all.

So what he was intoxicated with was his mind and spirit.

Unlike Zhao Yi and Zhang Li, they were all able to dispel the spiritual energy and also get rid of the smell of alcohol.

Xu Ling could also dispel the smell of alcohol, but spiritual wine is spiritual wine after all, and since it was his first time drinking it, he lacked experience. Being treated like a fool by the two seasoned veterans, it was natural that he drank too much and got drunk.

After escorting Li Yang back to the martial arts school, Xu Ling practiced boxing there for a while. Once the effects of the alcohol had dissipated, he went straight back to the inn and slept until dawn.

The next day, Xu Ling was summoned by the town's guard as soon as he arrived at the Demon Suppression Division.

Standing next to Xu Huaixu, who was guarding the town, was also a shadow.

In the same pavilion, Xu Huaixu was still drinking tea. Upon seeing Xu Ling arrive, he began, "The world belongs to all..."

"Xu Ling! How dare you!!"

Xu Huaixu placed the teacup he had picked up on the coffee table. The crisp sound of the teacup hitting the coffee table was like a thunderclap, exploding in Xu Ling's ears.

The town garrison commander of Fancheng, who had just issued a garrison order and targeted Jin Yulou because of him, stared at him coldly without any attempt to hide his aura. His imposing presence was like a raging flood, rolling in.