opportunity codex · Page Two
〖 Urban Encounter 〗
Today's Encounter: wine worm
Requirement: The fine wine stored in Liu Zhanggui's restaurant on South Street always disappears without a trace. Find the culprit.
Completion Status: Unfinished
Reward: Steal Heavenly Secrets (can attempt to break through realms)
opportunity codex · Page Three
〖 Daily Act of Kindness 〗
Today's Good Deed: Build a Bridge
Requirement: Build a bridge for the ants in the corner to cross the puddle.
Completion Status: Unfinished
Reward: A Drop of First Morning Dew
… …
The next day.
The sky was dim, and the fine rain fell like silk.
Chen Ming held an oiled paper umbrella, squatting in a corner of the courtyard.
He saw several black-armored ants emerge from their nest, frantically circling the edge of a sinkhole. Their antennae waved wildly, and their six slender legs nervously scratched at the damp earth.
Chen Ming placed a wooden plank over the sinkhole. Seeing the “giant bridge,” the ants responded to each other and swarmed across.
“Little brother, stop looking. Come eat breakfast.”
Chen Jiao stood at the entrance of the main hall, calling out to Chen Ming.
“Coming!”
At the dining table, Chen Jiao put down her chopsticks and said softly, “Your brother-in-law and I discussed it last night. As soon as that immortal leaves, we’ll set off.”
Chen Ming’s eyes lit up, “How much longer will that Eight-Eyed Daoist stay?”
“He said he’s returning to Kunyu Mountain in five days.”
Chen Ming secretly calculated: The Taiqing Palace will announce the results in four days. If he could rush back in time, he could pick them up and go to Mount Lao together.
“Then it’s settled!”
After leaving the Li Residence, Chen Ming headed straight for South Street.
Liu’s Restaurant was one of Ink Mountain County’s top restaurants. Its owner, Liu Laosan, was famous in the area for two great skills.
One was his excellent millet wine, and the other was his immense capacity for drinking, never getting drunk.
Ordinary people who boasted of being “never drunk” would blush in front of him. This man could hold a ten-jin wine jar and drink it all in one go, turning it upside down.
Besides this three-story restaurant, the Liu family also owned several hundred acres of prime millet fields in the east of the city.
Every autumn harvest, the golden millet ears could brew a full thirty cellars of fine wine. But in the past half month, Liu Zhanggui had been busy arranging for a new cook and, for the first time ever, had skipped a few drinks. This slight negligence led to three jars of thirty-year-old aged wine mysteriously disappearing from the wine cellar.
The lock on the wine cellar door was intact, and the mud seal was unbroken, but the wine in the jars was simply getting shallower day by day.
Left with no choice, he had to post a reward notice at the restaurant entrance. The red paper clearly stated in ink: Whoever can ascertain the reason for the missing wine will be rewarded with ten jars of ten-year-old aged wine.
In the early morning, the fine rain was like smoke.
A monk in a gray cassock stepped into Liu’s Restaurant, clutching the reward notice.
The monk’s cassock fluttered as he passed through the fine rain, yet there was no trace of water on him.
“Amitabha—”
The monk’s voice was like a great bell, “Is the Zhanggui in?”
The hall was empty, with only a waiter in a white turban wiping tables. Seeing the newcomer, the waiter quickly came forward, “Would the elder like some morning tea?”
The monk placed the notice on the table, chanted a Buddhist prayer, “Amitabha, may I ask, benefactor, if this notice was posted in your establishment?”
“This humble monk has come specifically to subdue a demon. Please trouble the benefactor to inform the Zhanggui!”
Upon hearing “subdue a demon,” the waiter was first startled, thinking, “Is there a demon in this inn?” But seeing the monk’s extraordinary demeanor, his mind calmed slightly, and he dared not neglect him.
“Yes, yes, this is indeed posted by our establishment. Elder, please wait a moment, this humble one will go invite the Zhanggui right away!”
The waiter bowed slightly, glanced at the notice on the table, and then jogged to the back courtyard.
“Zhanggui, Zhanggui!”
In the back courtyard, Liu Zhanggui was admiring the fine rain outside the window, drinking heavily from a wine jar. Liu Zhanggui was eight feet tall, with shoulders as wide as a door and a waist as round as a pillar. Holding a wine jar, it looked like a small cup in his hands.
“What happened?!”
Liu Zhanggui put down the wine jar, his face not red, his breath steady. His expression was displeased; he most disliked being interrupted while drinking.
“Zhanggui, a monk came outside and said—said there’s a demon in our restaurant!”
The waiter panted, pointing towards the front hall.
“What?!”
The waiter’s words startled Liu Zhanggui. “Explain yourself clearly!”
“A monk came to the door. He didn’t have an umbrella, but his cassock wasn’t wet. He was holding our notice and said he could help us subdue a demon!”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner!”
Liu Zhanggui pushed the waiter aside and ran towards the main hall.
Liu Laosan arrived in the front hall and saw a thin-faced monk staring out at the fine rain, lost in thought.
“Elder?”
Liu Laosan rubbed his hands, walking with an embarrassed smile to the monk’s side.
The monk withdrew his gaze, looked him up and down, as if he had already seen through him, and nodded unconsciously.
“Is the benefactor the Zhanggui of this restaurant?”
“Master has come a long way; I apologize for not greeting him sooner.” Liu Zhanggui cupped his hands in a salute. “I am Liu Laosan. May I know Master’s name?”
“Amitabha, this humble monk Mingchen of Yuhong Temple greets Liu Zhanggui!”
“This humble monk was traveling and passed through your esteemed place. My travel funds ran out, and I heard that your inn had some strange occurrences, so I specifically came to investigate.”
Liu Zhanggui knew that Mingchen the monk hadn’t eaten breakfast, so he called over the waiter beside him, “Quickly go tell Chef Luo to prepare a few vegetarian dishes!”
“Yes!” The waiter hurried to the back kitchen.
Mingchen the monk repeatedly waved his hands in refusal, but he couldn’t resist Liu Zhanggui’s enthusiasm. The monk was half-coaxed, half-pulled upstairs to the second floor.
After the food was served, Liu Zhanggui’s expression was peculiar, but he said no more.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two finally discussed serious matters.
Liu Zhanggui’s face was anxious, but he still posed the question, “I wonder, Elder, what is this demon you speak of?”
Mingchen the monk did not answer, but instead praised the other party.
“I didn’t expect Benefactor Liu to be truly as rumored, never getting drunk. Just now in the back courtyard, you must have been tasting wine, right?”
Seeing the monk praise his ability, Liu Zhanggui laughed heartily, “Elder, to be honest, I am naturally addicted to wine. If not for several hundred acres of land and this three-story restaurant, how could I afford to drink like this?”
Mingchen the monk clasped his hands together, softly chanting a Buddhist prayer: “Amitabha—”
Seeing Mingchen suddenly lower his gaze and fall silent, Liu Zhanggui couldn’t help but be startled, “Elder, this is…?”
“Benefactor Liu,” the monk lifted his eyelids, his gaze sharp, “I fear you don’t have long to live.”
“???”
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhanggui’s face changed dramatically, but he did not get angry. This monk was so rude; he had kindly treated him to a vegetarian meal, and the monk was cursing him to an early death.
He immediately stood up and left, pulling his sleeve away.
Mingchen saw that the other party was not receptive, not playing by the rules, and was momentarily at a loss. He could only say another Buddhist prayer: Amitabha!
This Buddhist prayer was like a morning bell and evening drum, causing Liu Zhanggui to pause in his steps.
“A monastic does not speak falsehoods,” Mingchen the monk said solemnly, “Benefactor is indeed at death’s door.”
Liu Zhanggui felt as if struck by lightning. He hurriedly turned around and grabbed the monk’s sleeve, “Elder, forgive me! I was impolite.” Saying this, he grabbed a wine pot and poured it down his throat, “I’ll punish myself with three cups!”
“Wait!” Mingchen the monk held down the wine pot. “Benefactor, have you ever considered where those mysteriously disappearing fine wines went?”
“This…”
Liu Zhanggui looked hesitant. If he could guess, would he still have posted a reward notice?
“They are naturally in your stomach!”
Seeing that Liu Zhanggui was not understanding, Mingchen had to make it clear.
“How is that possible? This—” Liu Zhanggui was confused, covering his stomach, “Elder, why do you say this?”
“I heard Liu Zhanggui never gets drunk?”
“That’s right!”
“Never getting drunk when drinking is also a kind of illness!”
Liu Zhanggui was about to ask further when he suddenly heard footsteps on the stairs.
The waiter hurried upstairs, bowed, and said, “Zhanggui, Chen Gongzi has arrived.”