The Man’s Decree – Chapter 6400

At the main table in the very center of the square sat the most honored seats of the entire feast.

Elder Cillian was pulled by Nathaniel straight to the seat of honor, whether he meant to take it or not. The table in front of him had been filled until there was hardly a bare inch left, Freevale's treasured cuts of meat, spirit-grain wine, mountain spirit greens, and every kind of cultivation tonic they could set out. The welcome had been laid on with everything they had.

Elder Cillian had spent long years in seclusion within Evershade. He lived on the spiritual essence of the world and its grasses and trees, drank morning dew, and ate spirit fruit. Long ago, he had grown used to the clean, plain diet of secluded cultivation. The human race's heavy meats, strong with oil and salt, and their hard liquor were another matter. No matter how gracious the table looked, his body had never learned to take to them.

But such warmth could not be refused. He would not let down Nathaniel or the people of Freevale after they had offered their hearts so openly, so he only picked from a few plates of sweet, fresh mountain greens. He chewed slowly, every movement calm and refined."

After three rounds of wine, the mood thickened. Noise rolled through the feast in warm waves, and in the middle of it all, Elder Cillian slowly set down the jade chopsticks in his hand.