Chapter 99

A young orc girl stood there, with pointed ears adorned with yellow and black patterned fur, her round, chubby face looking somewhat cute, but her large eyes sparkled with a wild light.

And what surprised Jiang Xingchen was that this girl’s figure was clearly that of the person who had bought the two pink昙flowers at the market when they first arrived.

"Are you Jiang Xingchen?" The girl’s voice was a bit hoarse but sounded very pleasant, and her big eyes blinked as she asked.

"I am! What do you need from me?" Jiang Xingchen nodded, curious, though the performances over the past few days had made many people recognize him, no one had come to see him yet.

"Are you the Jiang Xingchen from Hongyuan City?" The girl asked again.

"Yes!" Jiang Xingchen was even more curious.

"Do you know Luo Yu?" The girl’s eyes started to shine, and she subtly pressed her lips together.

"Uh! I know him!" Jiang Xingchen vaguely understood.

Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Xingchen spoke, the girl let out a sudden cheer: "Haha, finally found you, I knew it was you who always performed the songs and dances!"

As she spoke, the girl rushed forward, grabbed Jiang Xingchen’s wrist, and said quickly, "Do you still have that kind of wine, the one you gave to Luo Yu... those bad guys won’t let me drink it..."

Jiang Xingchen’s eyes widened. This child was so innocent, running all the way from the orc alliance to the capital just for a drink. He couldn’t even describe how he felt at that moment.

"Do orcs like wine that much! This girl can’t be more than thirteen or fourteen, definitely younger than Meier. Running so far, not afraid of being kidnapped, or is there an adult with her..."

A series of questions made Jiang Xingchen’s head spin, and he quickly shook his head. "Did you come alone? Is there an adult with you?"

"Of course I came alone, why would I need someone to follow... Give me that wine quickly, or I won’t let Uncle Lion give you the cows. I’m the little leader of the cat clan, my words carry weight!"

After explaining, the girl eagerly asked for the wine, and even made a threatening remark, but it sounded more amusing than threatening.

"You really came alone, not afraid of encountering bad people on the way!" Jiang Xingchen found it hard to believe.

"This child, at least a Ninth Layer Inner Qi expert, of course she’s not afraid!" The old man came from behind and explained.

"Ninth Layer Inner Qi!" Jiang Xingchen was shocked. Although he had no concept of martial arts, he knew that Mo Hongxian and Du Rui were at this level, and this girl was so young.

"Is this a legendary genius!" Jiang Xingchen muttered.

"Absolutely a genius, I’ve seen very few in my life!" The old man nodded, staring at the little cat girl, his eyes shining, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Go, such a perverted smile!" Jiang Xingchen thought to himself and immediately said to the girl, "Wanting to drink wine is no problem, but you must be careful of this old man, he used to trick little girls like you to see gold... uh~"

Jiang Xingchen’s remaining words were covered by the old man’s hand.

At this moment, the old man’s forehead veins were bulging, his facial muscles distorted, and he gritted his teeth, "Boy, do you want to die!"

The little cat girl, hearing that drinking wine was no problem, immediately smiled, revealing her white little fangs. But when she saw the old man attack Jiang Xingchen, she was not happy. Her face tensed, and she punched the old man in the face.

The old man’s cultivation was too high for her to hit, and he easily dodged.

The girl, still angry, continued to attack. The old man, while dodging, sighed, "Genius, truly a genius, speed, strength, physical fitness..."

Finally, under Jiang Xingchen’s persuasion, the little cat girl stopped, baring her teeth at the old man, showing her wild nature.

The old man didn’t mind, chuckled, and said, "You want to drink, right? Here!" He took out a small clay bottle from his pocket and threw it to her.

"Go, is the old man not feverish? This half a catty of distilled wine, he usually hides like a treasure, never drinks it!" Jiang Xingchen looked at the old man strangely.

The little cat girl caught it, looked at it in confusion, and lifted the lid, releasing a strong smell of alcohol.

"It’s this!" The little cat girl exclaimed in surprise, then lifted her head and poured the transparent liquid down her throat, drinking the half catty of wine directly.

Seeing this, Jiang Xingchen’s mind suddenly conjured up another scene, from a movie where Lin Qingxia played Dongfang Bubai, holding up a wine bag, the liquid pouring down... that kind of heroism, that kind of freedom!

"It’s her!" Jiang Xingchen slapped his hand.

The old man, on the other side, didn’t pay attention to Jiang Xingchen, watching the little cat girl drink, his mouth twitching, his face showing pain.

After drinking the half catty of wine, the little cat girl wiped her mouth, took a deep breath, and smiled, her eyes squinting, "So good! I wonder why that bad guy Luo Yu wouldn’t give it to me..."

"Little sister, do you want to drink more?" Jiang Xingchen asked with a smile.

"You have more!" The little cat girl’s eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.

"I do have more, but you have to help me tomorrow... like this..." Jiang Xingchen lowered his voice.

The old man, standing nearby, was stunned, muttering, "Dance and music can be performed like this..."

On March 9th, the New Year’s dance and music performance began, not just in the capital, but throughout the empire, showing unprecedented prosperity. The New Year’s performance, though held in the capital, was a festival for the entire empire, even more so than the preliminary selection. All large and small dance and music troupes would perform, either on stages, in dedicated venues, or on the streets.

The people also flooded out, not only to watch the performances but also to buy cloth for new clothes, and even the poorest would improve their diet.

As Jiang Xingchen was on his way to the performance venue in the center of the capital, he couldn’t help but marvel that the scene was like a New Year’s celebration, with a very strong festive atmosphere, something he hadn’t felt for many years on Earth.

"Brother! Can we win today?" As they approached the venue, Meier suddenly asked. Although their new instrument hadn’t been used yet, the plucking of the Phoenix Troupe was too powerful. Clearly, they sang and danced better than Mo Hongxian and Wan Rou, but the audience thought they had the advantage.

"Ha ha!" Jiang Xingchen smiled, patted the little girl’s head, and said softly, "As long as Sister Hongxian performs normally, there’s no problem!"

Mo Hongxian, sitting opposite, was already a bit nervous and immediately glared at Jiang Xingchen. You guys just perform, why drag me into it? Don’t look at her usual bold and free-spirited nature, but the thought of facing so many people on stage made her a bit nervous.

But Jiang Xingchen insisted on performing himself, saying it was very serious, as if not performing would definitely mean losing.

"He he!" Jiang Xingchen chuckled to himself, usually always being teased by Sister Hongxian, now he had a chance to get back at her...

The performance center in the capital wasn’t as large as the preliminary selection venue, which could hold ten thousand people, but it could definitely hold more than five thousand, with a stage nearly a hundred square meters in size, very spacious.

After arriving, Jiang Xingchen immediately found the person in charge of the performance center and explained his setup, leaving the person in charge speechless.

He then immediately found people, as such a setup couldn’t be done by just one or two people.

As the performance approached, other dance and music troupes also arrived, all knowing that the grand prize would definitely go to either the Phoenix Troupe or the Purple Thistle Troupe.

They had all seen the previous clashes, and whether it was the Purple Thistle’s strength or the Phoenix Troupe’s plucking, they all admitted they couldn’t match them.

However, when they saw Jiang Xingchen’s group, they were all a bit puzzled: "Why don’t they have a hundred soldiers? Did they give up the stage setup? How can they compete with the Phoenix Troupe!"

Just as they were puzzled, the Phoenix Troupe arrived, with over a hundred people, led by Yuan Hao.

Passing by the Purple Thistle’s rest area, Yuan Hao was slightly taken aback, not expecting the hundred soldiers to be absent. But he quickly showed a self-satisfied smile, slightly raising his chin, and led his people forward.

Actually, he really wanted to put on an act for Jiang Xingchen, "You gave up the stage setup, it’s not fair for us to win!" But considering that it would make him look like a small-minded person, he didn’t go in.

Jiang Xingchen also saw the group passing by, but he didn’t look at Yuan Hao, his attention was on the instrument a woman was holding.

"This is the plucking! It looks so much like a lute... If the sound is similar, no wonder it harmonizes so well with the drum. If I had it, I’d definitely play 'Ambush on All Sides'..."

While Jiang Xingchen was lost in thought, the staff called them to draw lots to decide the performance order.

A short while later, the results were out, the Phoenix Troupe was eighth, and they were ninth, the last.

Seeing this result, Jiang Xingchen and Yuan Hao, in different rest areas, both smiled, "What a coincidence!"

While the dance and music troupes were preparing backstage, the performance center was already full, the entire venue filled with buzzing chatter.

"Who will win, the Purple Thistle or the Phoenix Troupe?"

"Definitely the Phoenix Troupe, their plucking is too powerful, creating various atmospheres. Although the Purple Thistle is strong, with Jiang Xingchen’s singing and Wan Rou’s dancing being top-notch, there’s no room for further improvement!"

"True! Initially, Jiang Xingchen won with the new instrument, the drum, an unprecedented evaluation! Now that the Phoenix Troupe has the plucking instrument, the Purple Thistle can still compete with them, which is already very impressive!"

"Stop! The Emperor has arrived!"

The venue instantly fell silent as the Emperor, surrounded by a group of high-ranking officials, entered and went directly to the second-floor box.

The performance then officially began, with the Xuanfei Dance and Music Troupe being the first to take the stage!

PS: Third update, Garlic will immediately start the fourth update! Also, we can’t compete with the big gods for monthly votes, but I hope the data looks good! And I also need recommendation votes! Thank you all!