The Blood of Youth – CH 030

Chapter 30: Get Drunk and Ascend to Heaven

Lei Wujie and Xiao Se sat facing each other, completely silent, as they drank one cup after another of Sangluo, Xinfeng, Zhuyu, Songlao, Chang’an, Tusu, Yuanzheng, Guihua, Dukang, Songhua, Shengwen, and Banruo. Their tolerance for alcohol was amazing, and neither of them appeared the least bit tipsy.

When they were on the last cup of Banrou wine, Xiao Se finally spoke up, “Originally, we made a guess that you’ll be able to climb twelve floors, so I ordered these twelve cups of wine.”

“We?” Lei Wujie blinked in surprise. “You and who else?”

“Me,” a lazy-sounding voice offered, and Lei Wujie followed the sound to its source. He saw a man with a moustache dressed in blue robes walking over in a lazy manner.

“Your older brother?” Lei Wujie blurted after a brief thought.

The man with the moustache yawned, opening his mouth a little. Just like that, he inhaled that last cup of Banrou wine into his mouth.

Lei Wujie’s jaw dropped. He had heard of martial arts that could manipulate objects through the air, but he’d never seen this skill of drinking wine in midair.

“Has the wine been brewed?” Xiao Se asked.

The man smiled and shook his head. He walked up to the two of them and sat down. “It’s just short of a touch of moonlight.”

“May I ask who this is…” Lei Wujie could tell that the person before him was a martial expert, and his tone became a little more respectful.

“The owner of this wine shop.” The man narrowed his eyes slightly. “This Banrou wine is rather strong. I’m actually feeling a little tipsy now.”

Owner of the wine shop? But his tolerance for alcohol was so poor. Lei Wujie was somewhat bewildered, but he didn’t want to ask. All the wine was gone now, and Xiao Se played with the cup in his hand as he regarded the man with interest. “These twelve wines, to be honest, are all top-quality wines. I’ve drunk the White Autumn Dew from Heavenly Revelation City’s Diaolou Mansion, and it’s considered the absolute best wine under Heaven. Yet, it’s merely comparable to these wines. Were all these wines brewed by you?”

The man seemed to be a little drunk, and he narrowed his eyes. “But of course.”

“Is the Wind Flower Snow Moon even more divine than these?” Xiao Se also narrowed his eyes.

“So divine, as if made in Heaven.” The man closed his eyes and sniffed his nose, completely intoxicated.

Lei Wujie didn’t understand a word of what they were talking about. He just shook his head. “I still think the Old Homebrew from your Fallen Snow Villa tastes a little better.”

The man opened one eye to a slit. “Fallen Snow Villa?”

Xiao Se placed the wine cup back onto the table, neither lightly nor heavily. “Enough flattery. Just remember to pay back the money you owe.”

“But this Wind Flower Snow Moon is still not the most divine,” the man proclaimed suddenly.

“Oh?” Xiao Se’s interest was caught. “What could be more divine?”

“Meng Po soup,” the man stressed each word clearly.

“Meng Po soup?” Lei Wujie frowned. “Isn’t that something people will drink when they go down below?” As Lei Wujie said, Meng Po soup was a kind of soup that often appeared in supernatural stories. After drinking it, one would forget all their troubles as well as all the love, hate, and vengeance in their heart. The myth was that once a person died, his soul would have to cross the Naihe Bridge and head towards reincarnation. At that time, Granny Meng will be holding a bowl of this soup, and she will wait quietly for you to finish it. No matter how painful and difficult your life had been, after drinking this soup, you would feel a sense of relief, as if you had made a clean break with your previous life.

“That’s right, Meng Po soup. One cup is all it takes for you to forget everything that happened in the past. When you wake up, you can have a whole new life. Isn’t that wonderful? But, I haven’t been able to brew it.” The man hung his head even lower, looking well and truly drunk. Then, he slumped over and fell asleep on the table.

Xiao Se could hear the melancholy in the man’s words. He stood up and walked to the front door of the wine shop. The two of them drank twelve cups of wine from dusk till midnight. By the time Xiao Se walked to the door, the moon had already risen, and Xiao Se basked in the cold moonlight silently, as if in a daze. Lei Wujie joined him at the door and sat down on the doorstep. He looked at the Tower of Ascension in the distance and suddenly asked, “Xiao Se, did you live in Heavenly Revelations City before?”

Xiao Se was taken aback. “Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“I always hear you talk about Heavenly Revelations, and I have this feeling like you’ve lived there for a long time,” Lei Wujie said slowly.

“It’s just a place where I lived once.” Xiao Se tucked his hands into his sleeves and looked into the distance. “I don’t have a home.”

The two didn’t continue the topic and simply stood there. After some time, a cool breeze blew past them, and Xiao Se felt a sudden chill. He thought to himself that the owner must have really fallen asleep, and he won’t be able to taste that divine Wind Flower Snow Moon tonight, after all. He sighed and said, “Lei Wujie, let’s go.”

Lei Wujie responded, but when he turned sideways, he realized that the owner of the wine shop had woken up. The man in blue robes stood up, a faint smile on his lips. “May we be drunk every year under a perfect moon like tonight. The wine is done.”

The man turned around and walked towards the backyard. Xiao Se and Lei Wujie exchanged a glance before they followed after him. As soon as they stepped into the backcourtyard, they noticed the man standing in the middle of the yard, while all around him were lots of wine jars of varying sizes. On the table was a small pot of wine, and the camellia from earlier floated above the pot.

“Since the wine is done, we seek a cup to taste,” Xiao Se said.

“No hurry.” The man smiled and waved his hand gently, pulling all of the wine in the pot out into the air. The man played with that pool of wine and jumped onto the roof. With a wave of his hand, the wine was pulled into a stream. For a moment, he looked as impressive as the dancers in the palace with their long white sleeves. The wine reflected the moonlight, twinkling and sparkling, looking like a miniature Milky Way.

The man continued to wave his hands as he closed his eyes and danced on the roof.

“Wish for a drunken dream to enter the Lunar Palace and dance with the goddess, then raise a cup of wine to the sky. Whoever is as fond of the heavenly moon tonight, come upstairs to play this jade xiao with me.”

Having finished reciting the poem out loud, the man gathered his blue sleeves, stopped dancing, and gently pointed a finger. The pool of wine flew back into the wine pot. The man leaped down, and in his left hand, he held the camellia that had fallen from the vine. His right hand picked up a wine cup and scooped a bowl, and with a light wave, he sent it straight into Xiao Se’s hand. He scooped another bowl and sent it into Lei Wujie’s hand.

“Drink it. This Wind Flower Snow Moon is perfect.” The man had dropped his lazy manner, and his eyes twinkled with light.

Xiao Se and Lei Wujie raised their heads and downed the wine. Then, he put down the cup and fell silent.

“How is it?” The man asked.

“Refreshing as wind, delicate as a flower, tranquil as snow, melancholy as the moon,” Xiao Se murmured.

“A good wine has one flavor. Diaolou Mansion’s Autumn White Dew claims to have three flavors. You could taste four flavors in this wine?” The man’s tone carried a sense of pride.

“All flavors of the world,” Xiao Se said indifferently, but suddenly, he jumped onto the roof and sat down facing the north. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky, and after a long time, he said slowly, “Yes, my home is in Heavenly Revelations City. One day, I will go back.”

Lei Wujie looked at Xiao Se, who was sitting with his back to him, and suddenly, he seemed like a stranger. He chuckled and said, “Tranquil as snow, melancholy as the moon. I don’t like this kind of wine. It seems kind of petty or something. The kind of wine I like is the type that burns like fire.”

Xiao Se had sunken into nostalgia while he sat on the roof, but unexpectedly, he answered Lei Wujie, “I know, that Old Homebrew from Fallen Snow Villa, right?”

“You know me best.” Lei Wujie raised his head and downed the cup of wine in one mouthful. But the wine was not as delicate as Xiao Se described. Lei Wujie thought the wine was as scorching as a burning knife, and instantly, he felt as if his body had been set on fire. The heat within burst out like steam, and his eyes turned red in an instant. His Blazing Arts had exerted itself without his control. Lei Wujie was sweating profusely, and he wiped his forehead as he panted heavily. He looked at the man who brewed the wine and gritted out, “What’s happening?”

However, the man was not surprised. He poured another bowl of wine and explained slowly, “I promise you, with every cup you drink, you’ll be able to climb one more floor of the Tower of Ascension. How about it?”

Lei Wujie didn’t have the strength to deal with him. He had to contend with the burning heat surging through his body. After a full incense stick of time, the heat in his body gradually dissipated. He opened his eyes and exhaled a long sigh of relief as an indescribable sense of ecstasy filled his body. Of course, he understood what that cup of wine did to his body. He looked at the man again, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Who on earth are you? What kind of wine is this?”

“I’m just the owner of a wine shop, and this is my Wind Flower Snow Moon. Now, I’m asking you again, do you want to drink the second cup?” The man swirled the cup of wine in his hand.

Lei Wujie didn’t speak another word. He grabbed the cup of wine and, once again, drank it all in one mouthful. As soon as the wine hit his stomach, he couldn’t hold back a loud roar. There were twelve wine jars in the backyard, and with the exception of the pot containing the Wind Flower Snow Moon, all the rest of the wine jars exploded instantly. The wine spilled everywhere, filling the backyard with a strong aroma of wine. Sitting on the roof eaves, Xiao Se turned a deaf ear to everything happening below while he continued gazing towards the north, never turning back even once.

“Now, you’ll be able to reach the fourteenth floor. Do you dare to drink this third cup?” The man waved his sleeve once more, and another bowl of wine fell before Lei Wujie.

Lei Wujie didn’t pick it up with his hands. Right now, his pupils were glowing red in color, and the muscles all over his body were tensed into knots. He actually copied what the man did earlier and inhaled deeply, sucking all the wine in the bowl into his mouth.

“Excellent,” The man praised with a small smile.

Lei Wujie sat down hard, and the wine that had spilled out of the wine pot floated towards him, but when it reached three zhang away, the wine instantly turned into steam. The man in blue robes also seemed to feel the blistering heat, and he scooped up the wine pot and retreated a small step. “The fourth cup. Will you drink it?”

Lei Wujie didn’t speak, but he slowly reached out his hand.

“If you drink this cup, you’ll definitely die.” The man held the wine pot in one hand and tapped it lightly with his other hand.

Lei Wujie didn’t withdraw his hand. His eyes burned, as if he wanted to set this man on fire.

“If you die, you won’t need to climb the Tower of Ascension anymore. You can ascend straight to Heaven.” The man laughed without foreboding.

Lei Wujie clenched his hand into a fist, gritted his teeth, and said, “Give it to me.”

“Hahaha.” The man laughed loudly, raised the wine pot suddenly, and threw his head back to finish the remaining wine. Then, he put down the wine pot and wiped away a drop of wine at the corner of his mouth. There was still a faint smile on his face. “You’re drunk.”

Lei Wujie hit the ground with a loud crash.

After three cups of wine, Lei Wujie’s Blazing Arts had broken through three realms instantly. According to his master, Lei Hong, he would have had to train another three years to reach this realm. However, today, he did it with only three cups of wine.

That’s right, he was drunk.

So drunk he could ascend to Heaven.