Li Meirong banged her fist upon the table, bristling at the mention of the silver-haired teacher. "Zhu Qingyue? Who is this Zhu Qingyue you're talking about? I don't see him anywhere! Can't you see that I'm alone again? It's not good to depend on men. How many times am I supposed to learn the same lesson?"
"What are you talking about?" Bao Li asked in confusion, hiccuping once more. "Then who are you supposed to depend on, women?"
"I meant to depend on myself!"
"The way you used to describe him, constantly fawning over you... It made me think that Senior Zhu was serious about you. It also sounded like you had a pretty good time depending on him, too!" Despite Bao Li's slurred speech, she persisted in speaking her mind.
Li Meirong grew solemn, replying in a hushed whisper, "Bao Li, he's gone, and he's… well, I think I over-thought the matter. It was too good to be true."
"It's clear to see how much his absence troubles you. I've never seen you this worried before. Once, I used to think you don't really place anyone deep in your heart." Bao Li patted Li Meirong's shoulder in a comforting manner, "He'll be back. He already came back once before."
"We met the second time by accident." Li Meirong corrected her. "And he is also ill. If he doesn't properly take care of himself, who knows how much time he's got left?"
"Well, maybe he went to look for a cure."
"Maybe he regretted his decisions." Li Meirong mumbled to herself.
Bao Li didn't seem to hear her response. She busied herself by serving another cup of wine.
Li Meirong sighed, keeping a close watch over her rattled friend who kept on consuming alcohol like it was water. She tried drinking in order to not think about troubling issues, and yet there she was, speaking about the most troubling subject which she tried to avoid.
She frowned as she noticed the way Bao Li's hand began trembling. "Stop drinking now. You've already had too much!"
"Not stopping!" Bao Li declared childishly. As if to prove her point, she brought another cup of wine to her lips again.
Once it became apparent that Bao Li's condition was taking a turn for the worst, Li Meirong immediately snatched the cup from her friend's mouth.
Bao Li puffed her reddened cheeks in annoyance, reaching to snatch the stolen cup from Li Meirong while resentfully bemoaning "How come you're not as drunk as I am? We drank around the same amount! Is it because your cultivation is higher than mine?"
The furrow between Li Meirong's eyebrows deepened. She hastily raised up her arm grasping the cup and evaded Bao Li's flailing attacks with ease. She tossed the object over to Chou and said, "Get that jug of wine too. I don't want her to drink anymore."
Chou rolled his eyes, "Finally. Chou was beginning to grow tired of this silly behaviour!"
A toddler with jade like skin and a mass of green, curly hair, stood guard by the door, grabbing the troublesome cup with his short fingers, and sending one of his vines to seize the wine jug from the table in the middle of the room.
"Silly human girls acting stupid, as usual," Chou grunted and grumbled as he brought the wine jug over to his side, holding onto the cup along with the obnoxious smelling drink that had caused both his master and her friend to turn into blithering idiots. He screwed his face in disgust and proclaimed, "This thing stinks!"
At the same time, the Turtle Demoness who kept dozing off at the corner woke up and slowly floated over towards Chou. Inside the room, her crystal encased shell glinted like the morning dusk by the glow of the dimly lit candlelight.
"That's rich, coming from you." Feng Huang drily remarked.