Naturally, Raiden Ei noticed Jiang Yan's little gesture.
She pursed her lips slightly, but didn't say anything.
"Now that everyone's here, shall we begin?"
Guizhong glanced at the dishes on the table, which had clearly been sitting there for quite a while, and frowned slightly.
"Otherwise, we could have the chefs heat them up again. The food's already gone cold."
At first, everyone had thought that Jiang Yan and the others would arrive soon. No one expected that he'd remembered the wrong location, delaying things by quite a bit.
"It's fine, it's fine. Leave it to me."
Jiang Yan smiled faintly and raised his hand.
The dishes on the table suddenly began to emit wisps of steam.
Sometimes, it really had to be said—vector manipulation was an all-purpose ability.
It could be used in combat, and it was just as useful in everyday life.
Like now, manipulating heat to warm up the food.
Super convenient!
After Jiang Yan reheated the dishes, the gathering of the Seven Gods officially began.
Everyone wore smiles as they raised their cups and drank together, the atmosphere growing increasingly lively.
It was just that, at some point, that liveliness began to take on a strange flavor.
"Hey! Azhdaha!"
"Drink!"
Jiang Yan and Barbatos had their arms slung over each other's shoulders, one foot planted on a stool, faces flushed red as they held their cups high.
Azhdaha and Marchosius were also red-faced, drinking heartily.
"Refreshing!!"
Jiang Yan laughed loudly.
Barbatos, his face beet red, kept letting out drunken hiccups.
All around them, wine jars of various sizes were scattered across the floor.
The new wine Jiang Yan had brought was long gone—no one knew when it had all been drunk. They were now drinking the wine ordered from the restaurant.
Aside from Morax and the people of Liyue, the gods and retainers from other nations had never seen a scene like this.
They all stared at Jiang Yan's drunken antics with astonished expressions.
This time, it really wasn't Guizhong ruining Jiang Yan's image.
Jiang Yan had done it himself.
Watching Jiang Yan laugh like a fool, Morax couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitch.
"Ahem… my apologies. Once the three of them start drinking, it's a bit hard to stop them…"
Morax offered a rather weak explanation.
And at that moment, Jiang Yan started acting up again.
He grabbed Barbatos, and the two of them climbed onto stools.
Then they began singing loudly.
Below them, Azhdaha and Marchosius twisted and danced nonstop.
Morax's face stiffened. The fine cracks spreading across the teacup in his hand betrayed his current mood.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Raiden Makoto covered their mouths and laughed. They had long since grown used to Jiang Yan's unruly, unserious side.
One could say that no matter what happened to Jiang Yan, they wouldn't find it surprising.
But the Hydro Archon, the Pyro Archon, and the Cryo Archon had never seen Jiang Yan behave so improperly.
This time, their horizons were truly broadened.
"Sorry about this…"
Morax chuckled awkwardly, trying to say something more.
But the other gods all waved their hands with smiles.
"Isn't this quite nice?"
Raiden Makoto said with a gentle laugh.
"Yes. It's been a long time since I laughed this happily,"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata added, clearly in high spirits.
"Hehe… is that so…"
"As long as you don't mind… as long as you don't mind…"
Morax said awkwardly.
With Jiang Yan, Barbatos, and the others livening things up, the banquet ended amid laughter and cheer.
When it was time to leave, Jiang Yan was still able to stagger along on his own two feet.
Azhdaha, Marchosius, and Barbatos, on the other hand, were already sprawled face-down on the table.
It wasn't that Jiang Yan's alcohol tolerance had improved.
Rather, throughout the entire drinking session, most of the alcohol meant for him had been blocked by Barbatos.
Sometimes, Barbatos had even grabbed the cups himself.
It had to be said—Barbatos truly lived up to his reputation as a god who loved to drink.
Good heavens, his tolerance was absurdly high.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this drinking session was Barbatos chasing the other three around and force-feeding them alcohol.
This gave Raiden Makoto, Raiden Ei, and the gods and retainers of the other nations an entirely new understanding of the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt.
This Wind God…
Really could drink.
This trait was quietly noted by the retainers of the other nations.
After settling everyone properly, Guizhong and the other gods planned to go out for another stroll. After all, since they were in Liyue, they naturally wanted to properly appreciate its local customs.
As for Jiang Yan, relying on his last shred of consciousness, he used his power to dispel the drunkenness in his body.
In the past, whenever he drank with Azhdaha and the others, it was usually until he completely lost consciousness—there was no chance to sober himself up.
But this time was different. With Barbatos acting as a shield, Jiang Yan had managed to stay at least somewhat aware.
After forcing the alcohol out of his system, Jiang Yan took Ganyu's small hand and walked along the road toward Yuehai Pavilion.
"Ah Yan, do you really not need to go back and rest?"
Ganyu asked, her eyes filled with concern.
After all, even though Barbatos had taken a lot of the drinks for him, Ganyu knew very well that Jiang Yan had still drunk quite a bit.
"It's fine. I've already neutralized the alcohol in my body,"
Jiang Yan said with a smile.
"Next time, I really can't drink like that at a gathering. That was seriously embarrassing."
He scratched his head awkwardly, feeling a flush rise to his face as he recalled his behavior in the restaurant.
Even though he knew that his image had long since collapsed thanks to Guizhong's mouth, thinking about those actions still made his face burn.
After all, this had been a gathering of the Seven Gods—not a private drinking party with Morax and the others. Making such a ruckus there was, in the end, rather disgraceful.
"Sigh, you… and Azhdaha and Marchosius too. The three of you really have no bottom line once you start drinking,"
Ganyu said with a light laugh.
"Every time, it ends with everyone sprawled all over the place."
"When the guests from the other six nations leave, just wait and see what the Lord of Geo has to say about you."
"Hahaha, my fault, my fault. Next time, I definitely won't drink like that,"
Jiang Yan said sheepishly.
Successfully drinking Azhdaha and the others under the table had been immensely satisfying.
Even though most of the credit belonged to Barbatos.
Still, this time had taught Jiang Yan a lesson—next time there was a gathering, he really couldn't drink like that again.
Once alcohol went to his head, he completely lost all sense of moderation.
Next time, he'd have to seriously work on his drinking manners.
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