The candle flame suddenly burst into a spark, casting the scholar's expectant eyes in flickering light and shadow.
The young scholar watched Mu Yun finish his drink and asked hurriedly, "How is it?"
As Mu Yun wiped the corner of his mouth, his fingertip touched a drop of leftover wine. A night breeze carried the lingering fragrance into his nose, making him shiver. He said, "Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Those two "wonderful"s carried different meanings.
The first "wonderful" was the bravado of someone drinking after many years—the burning, searing pain in his throat had not yet faded. The second "wonderful" came from the phantom of clashing weapons surging in his chest, as if a blood-drinking long blade were humming along his meridians.
"Hahaha… good!" The young scholar tapped the edge of the table with his finger, sending ripples of red through the remaining wine in the night-shining cup.
He had clearly understood the hidden meaning: all those pedantic scholars who wrote essays about the color and flavor of wine—how could they compare to this young friend's "wonderful" two words?
As he spoke, he tilted the gourd, pouring out a scarlet stream. The wine striking the cup wall produced a clear, sword-like chime. "As they say, drinking together makes brothers. Why don't you call me Brother Yumo?"
"I was just thinking the same!"
Mu Yun immediately raised his cup. "I know little of the world's ways, little brother. This cup I dedicate to you, big brother."
The crisp clink of porcelain cups startled the night birds perched on the beams. The sound of flapping wings mingled with the wine's fragrance, swirling among the pillars.
"Today, three great cups are in order!"
Yumo's Adam's apple bobbed as he downed the strong wine. The pale green veins on his neck looked like wandering ink strokes in the candlelight.
"Haha… drinking tonight is truly a joy!" The scholar threw back his head and finished his cup, then laughed heartily. He asked, "Young friend, you've reached the mid-stage of Body Refining at such a young age… may I ask who taught you, and where your home is?"
The moment Yumo uttered the words "mid-stage of Body Refining," a fine, sharp prickling rose on the back of Mu Yun's neck.
Mu Yun knew it was the Zeus System passively defending and analyzing the fluctuations of the other's leaking spiritual power.
He shook his head with a wry smile, his expression flawless.
"Your little brother's surname is Mu, given name Yun. I practice martial arts haphazardly with my grandfather in the mountains…" As he spoke, Mu Yun dipped his finger in water and traced the characters on the wooden table.
Yumo's gaze followed the movement of Mu Yun's finger.
He thought to himself: The Mu surname is an ancient and great one. Just now I sensed an extremely sophisticated artifact-refining formation inside Mu Yun's body, protecting him. Could this boy be connected to that Mu clan…?
Ah well… everyone has their own fortunes, their own stories. Why dwell on it?
With that thought, Yumo did not probe further.
Mu Yun had never heard his grandfather mention his own level of strength. Hearing Yumo bring up his own cultivation now stirred excitement and curiosity. He pressed on, "Brother Yumo, do you know who in Qingchuan City are the most powerful among my peers?"
Yumo took a sip of wine, thought for a moment, then smiled at Mu Yun and said, "One is Lei Yu, son of Lei Gang, the master of the Fengyun Martial Arts Hall. He is fourteen years old and has already reached the Sharpening Senses stage."
Mu Yun recalled the tall, imposing middle-aged man he had met at the door a few days ago.
Yumo continued, "The second is Mu Liner, eldest daughter of Mu Feng, the lord of Qingchuan City. Her strength is above Lei Yu's; she is at the Miniature Realm."
"As for the third…"
Yumo took another sip and lowered his voice. "The third is the most powerful youth in Qingchuan City at present. His name is Pei Heng. He has no powerful backing. If you ever make an enemy of him in the future, you must be very careful."
Mu Yun committed Yumo's words to memory and said, "Thank you, brother, for telling me."
Then they raised their cups together and drank.
…
Master Li had actually returned long ago, but seeing the scene unfolding, he wisely waited aside, not disturbing them.
He had naturally overheard the conversation between Mu Yun and Yumo, and the more he heard, the more astonished he became. He was surprised by Mu Yun's cultivation level, and even more by the breadth of experience the shabby scholar casually revealed.
After all, the greater a person's strength, the richer their experience!
Seeing that the two had paused their conversation, he stepped forward with a jar of wine.
"This is the sorghum wine our establishment has stored," he said, setting the jar on the table and lifting its lid himself. "Since you two distinguished guests do not disdain my humble inn and have bonded over wine, I will give you this sorghum wine to drink to your hearts' content."
He poured himself a cup and continued, "Tonight, I will toast with wine. First, to this young brother—young as he is, his cultivation is high, and his future is boundless." Master Li turned his gaze to the scholar. "Second, to this brother—bold and free, unrestrained and untrammeled." Master Li dared not presume to assess the young scholar, so he praised only his character.
Mu Yun and the young scholar exchanged a smile, seeing through the innkeeper's intentions, but raised their cups nonetheless.
The young scholar laughed. "Master Li, you flatter us. As the ancients said, 'A mountain need not be high; if there is a dragon, it is famous.' Though this inn is humble, it has you, Master Li, and it has this century-old fine wine."
With that, he downed his cup in one gulp. Then Yumo's expression turned serious. "I am naturally happy to drink with my newly found brother today, but I have not broken my own rule. I will pay for the wine." Master Li realized that the young scholar had seen through his thoughts. His face showed a trace of embarrassment, but he said nothing.
No good deed comes without a motive, Mu Yun thought. This Master Li must have seen Brother Yumo's extraordinary nature and offered fine wine to curry favor. He felt a touch of disdain.
Seeing that Yumo had politely refused, Master Li took the hint. The three of them shared another cup. Yumo said, "The night is late. My brother and I regret not meeting sooner and wish to drink our fill. Master Li, why don't you go rest?"
Master Li understood. After another shared cup, he personally went to the kitchen to fry a few dishes to go with the wine, secured the doors and windows, and left.
By now, it was deep into the night. The clappers of the night watchmen in Qingchuan City reached Mu Yun's ears.
Mu Yun was already tipsy. His cheeks were flushed, and his behavior had become a little less restrained.
It wasn't the wine that intoxicated him, but his own heart—after all, he had not drunk in decades.
"Brother Yumo, you haven't finished telling me about ancient times," Mu Yun said, flicking his cup. The remaining wine at the bottom swayed, scattering tiny glints of light.
The scholar tilted his gourd beside the oil lamp, his eyes flickering in the candlelight.
"You're quite interested in old stories, young man."
Mu Yun tugged at his collar to let in some air. Sweat-damp strands of hair at the back of his neck stuck to his skin.
"They're exciting. Go on!"
The lamp wick crackled. Yumo dipped his finger in wine and drew a line on the table. "In those days, a great power could wave a hand and lift an entire mountain range to use as a weapon."
The wine line meandered across the wood grain, forming the shape of a mountain range.
Yumo continued, "There's a three-thousand-mile-long rift valley around here, said to have been carved out by a sword cultivator."
Mu Yun's throat tightened. The bamboo chopsticks he gripped left deep grooves on the table. When Yumo mentioned time reversal, tiny bubbles suddenly rose in the wine in Mu Yun's cup, as if stirred by an invisible force.
"The worst wasn't the fighting…" Yumo's fingernail dug into the old pine resin embedded in the table's seam. "It was when the spiritual energy dried up, and brothers turned against each other…"
The sticky resin glued his little finger to the table. He shook it loose.
"Alas…" Yumo let out a barely audible sigh.
The young boy's fist struck the table, making the plates jump. "Are you saying that today's experts aren't even ten percent of the ancients' strength?"
Yumo did not answer. Instead, he shook the wine jar, listening to the sloshing liquid inside. The rising wine vapor at the jar's mouth condensed into a blurry figure for a moment, then was scattered by the wind.
"Just a passing cloud."
Mu Yun sighed in wonder. He picked up his cup, took a sip, and smiled.
"The ancient times are too distant. I'll drink a sip to calm my nerves."
"But brother, how do you know of such ancient matters?"
Yumo drank some wine and said, "Because the history of wine itself also comes from ancient times."
It was the first time Mu Yun had heard about the history of wine in this place. He shook his head, as if trying to clear it.
Yumo's eyes seemed to hold the weight of ages. "In the ancient wars, there was a human supreme warrior named Yu. Later generations, in recognition of his unparalleled martial strength and his great contribution in quelling the chaos of the ancient times, revered him as Emperor Yu!"
Yumo's voice carried both reverence and a touch of sorrow.
"People only know that he led the heroes in fighting demons and powerful enemies, but they don't know that he also created wine."
Yumo took another drink, his eyes half-closed as he softly repeated a phrase: "Slaying enemies at ease between laughter and talk, drunkenly dancing and wildly singing for a thousand years…"
"Slaying enemies at ease between laughter and talk, drunkenly dancing and wildly singing for a thousand years…" Mu Yun felt the words infect him as well, as if they were a brand seared into his heart, impossible to erase.
After a moment, Mu Yun came back to himself. Seeing that Yumo was still lost in his own thoughts, he did not disturb him.
Gradually, scenes of the ancient era rose unbidden in Mu Yun's mind—a time when heroes rose up and immortals and demons waged war.
"Brother Yumo, are you a cultivator?" Mu Yun finally asked, his words slurred.
"Mm?" Yumo was surprised.
"Mm." His gaze deepened. He looked at Mu Yun, then through the door and window at the night sky. Only after a long time did he answer.
"But…" Yumo turned back, about to speak further, when he saw that Mu Yun had fallen sound asleep. He smiled and shook his head, saying no more.
"Warning!" The Zeus Creative Neurological System alerted in Mu Yun's mind.
Neuro-inhibitory enzymes exceed threshold! About to fall into deep sleep.
…