Intoxicated by the Aroma of Wine
Initially the Wine Immortal thought Yang Chen had meant that an item of his would be lost if he were to lose. He was even ridiculing Yang Chen at the bottom of his heart, thinking that Yang Chen was not a person who understood good wine. This was because an item could not be compared to having a chance of getting a taste of a wine better than the Stream of Clear Sky Immortal.
But after hearing what Yang Chen had said, he was instantly stunned. He was looking blankly at Yang Chen, as if he had just realised something. Wine lovers were most afraid of not being able to enjoy good wines anymore.
Just like what Yang Chen had said, what was he going to do after he had tasted the good wine today since he was no longer able to taste it again? Seeing Yang Chen’s face of certainty and calmness, for a second he started panicking about his personal gains and losses.
But quickly he understood what was going on and realised he nearly fell for Yang Chen’s tricks. If Yang Chen could bring out a wine that was better than the Stream of Clear Sky Immortal, why would he still want to queue here?
Trying to understand the circumstance, he shook his head and smiled. “That is later on, but today I just want to taste your good wine first.”
“Little Xue, get me some clear water!” Yang Chen did not want to say much and just gave Sun Qingxue an instruction.
She was very uneasy and was thinking of a solution to resolve the discord between the two. After hearing Yang Chen’s order, she hesitated for a bit. But if Yang Chen could not bring out a better wine, he would make things difficult for her. She could not not hold it in any longer and shouted, “Brother Yang!”
“I’ve never lied to you before, have I?” Yang Chen gave her a smile, as if he was aware of her concern.
He had said this a few times before to calm her down. For reasons even she didn’t know, she managed to feel more relieved. After what he had said, her confidence returned. She was behaving as if she had returned to the scene where her whole family were beheaded at the execution ground, or the time she returned to the garden where her master was wrapped around by the Blood Phantom Vine.
Without any hesitation, she rushed into the restaurant. It was not a big fuss for a Clear Sky Sect disciple to ask for some water. Soon, she came out carrying a basin of water.
The assistant of the restaurant was also smart. He heard about the commotion here and moved a table outside without any delay. He even brought the chairs out and placed them in front of the Wine Immortal. The Wine Immortal then sat down forthrightly, waiting silently.
She then placed the basin of water on the table and instinctively walked to the back of Yang Chen. Without saying a word, Yang Chen also sat down, facing the Wine Immortal.
He then took a big jade wine flask out from his qiankun pouch which weighed around a hundred grams. However Yang Chen thought about it for a moment and felt that it was quite wasteful. He kept the wine cup and took out a smaller cup which now weighed only around ten grams. He then placed it on the table. At the same time, he drew a wine flask from his pouch and put it at the side.
His actions were obvious and motives were clear. He was reluctant to let the Wine Immortal drink such a big cup of wine, so he changed it to a smaller cup.
Seeing this, the Wine Immortal was getting more excited. Yang Chen was trying very to conserve the wine. Could it be that the wine was unsuccessful?
Being watched by the crowd, Yang Chen poured the water into the wine flask. The people watching this were slightly confused about why he had done so. Was he drinking wine or just water? The onlookers started discussing spiritedly.
The commotion here then attracted the other people who were in the market to crowd here as well. Although not everyone there was a wine lover, a wager between a well known senior who loved wine and a junior was still very interesting.
After he finished pouring the water, the flask was already almost filled. Yang Chen stood up and cupped his hands in front of his chest. He reminded the crowd loudly, “To those of you who have a low level of alcohol tolerance, do take a few steps back if you don’t wish to bring harm upon yourselves.”
What was the meaning of this? Reminding people before they even drank the wine? He was too disdainful! Everyone felt that he was too arrogant. Could the smell of the alcohol suffocate a person to the extent that one would collapse?
Nobody moved and Yang Chen was indifferent. Since he had given a warning and everyone refused to listen to him, it was none of his business. The most that would happen was that a person would be suffocated by the alcohol smell and just faint away on the spot. He would then have a sound sleep and that would not be a big problem.
The Wine Immortal was getting more tempted looking at Yang Chen’s every move. The more Yang Chen acted that way, the more obvious that Yang Chen had something impressive up his sleeves. What kind of a top-grade wine was it? It could make people faint just by their smell? Yang Chen had not even taken the wine out yet but the Wine Immortal already could not sit still anymore. It was as if he did not have the image of a respected senior.
While the crowd was waiting eagerly, a yellowish-green bottle gourd had appeared in Yang Chen’s hand, not knowing since when. Yang Chen held the bottle gourd and opened its lid. He then tilted the flask carefully on top of the cup.
A drop of sticky liquid slowly emerged from the opening of the bottle gourd. It lingered on the opening for awhile but eventually it dripped out of the bottle gourd.
Bloop!
It dropped into the clear water in the jade flask. Yang Chen then swiftly put the lid back on as if he was sealing a treasure before keeping the gourd away.
The crowd had not taken their eyes off the liquid ever since it appeared. The strange thing was, although Yang Chen was very serious about it before this, they did not seem to smell any trace of the wine. Was this the wine he had claimed to be the good wine?
The Wine Immortal was also suspicious of it. But not long after that, his suspicions of Yang Chen’s words were immediately eliminated. A faint scent of the wine soon came out from the jade flask. He sat the nearest to it and he could smell the scent clearly.
The smell of the wine wafted through the air into the crowd and now everyone could smell it as well. Slowly, the smell became stronger and at the same time more fragrant. There were many wine lovers at the scene and the sounds of people taking deep breaths in were heard repeatedly. It was extremely interesting.
Nonetheless, the smell of the wine did not stop drifting. As time went by, the strong smell filled the market. A few cultivators with low levels of alcohol tolerance flushed. They were indeed suffocated by the smell of wine and were a little tipsy.
The street originally had the smell of the Clear Sky Sect. But at this moment, everyone’s nose and mind were filled with the strong, sweet smell of the wine. They were no longer concerned about the issue regarding the Stream of Clear Sky Immortal.
The expression on the Wine Immortal’s face was even worse. His nostrils were opening and closing nonstop, as if he wanted to inhale all of the strong smell of the wine. If there weren’t so many bystanders, perhaps he would not be able to stand it any longer. Maybe he would have taken the cup already and finished all its content.
At last, Yang Chen took the jade flask and shook it gently, trying to let the yeast mix better. Following his movements, eventually a person fainted away in the market, sleeping soundly and snoring away.
Nevertheless, nobody cared about him. Everybody’s eyes were fixed on the jade flask in Yang Chen’s hands. After some time, he then grasped the jade flask and poured some into the small cup.
“Senior, help yourself!” Yang Chen handed the cup filled with wine to the Wine Immortal and made a gesture asking him to enjoy the wine.
Yang Chen’s series of movements had raised the Wine Immortal’s appetite. He had already forgotten about the bet. There was nothing else in his eyes other than the cup of good wine.
After just smelling the scent of the wine, the Wine Immortal knew instantly that he had lost terribly. There was indeed a wine that could intoxicate people with a low alcohol tolerance, solely by its aroma.
The wine was right in front of him. After sniffing the scent of the wine, he could not resist it anymore. He grabbed the small jade cup and looked at the wine. It was not even a mouthful and he was reluctant to drink it.
He smelled the wine right under his nose passionately, indulging in the scent that was hard to come by. At last, the Wine Immortal could not bear it anymore and brought the wine cup towards his mouth. Then, he lifted his head and poured every drop of it into his mouth.
Instantly, he could savour the most delectable taste at the tip of his tongue. The wine that was barely ten grammes could hardly moisturise the tongue. After the wine stayed in his mouth for quite some time, he finally swallowed it into his belly heavy-heartedly.
A burning sensation travelled from his mouth to the sole of his leg, and back up to his head. This then turned into a cooling sensation. Between the hot and cooling sensation, it was as if his spirit powers had been lit up. His pores opened and the gas from the wine gushed out. But under his control, it quickly returned into the pores.
He was no longer maintaining his upright posture. Shutting his eyes, he raised his head to face the sky. He was mesmerised and enchanted by the wine, not hiding any of his emotions from the crowd.
The people who were queuing to buy the wine were still raising their heads and inhaling the smell unstoppably. The sound of people breathing in had not ceased yet. It was as if they wanted to finish breathing in all the wine fragrance that was drifting in the air.
“Give me another cup!” said the Wine Immortal to Yang Chen. He finally opened his eyes and placed the cup on the table. But he was reluctant to let go of the cup and was still pinching it with his two fingers.
Yang Chen was not miserly and poured another cup of the wine for him, smiling faintly.
However, he did not argue with Yang Chen anymore. This cup of wine was excellent, causing his desire for that alcohol to rise. It was as if his throat had a hand reaching out for the wine, waving its hand continuously, asking for him to pour the cup of wine into his mouth.
After smelling it for a long time again, only was he willing to drink the cup of wine.
Gulp… Following his actions, the crowd started swallowing their saliva audibly, giving Sun Qingxue a fright.
She had no idea that after a drop of the wine had been diluted, it would have such a pleasant smell. When she was little, her family was quite well-off, so she also had her fair amount of wine before. Although she was not reluctant to give up the wine in the cup, she could still tell whether the wine tasted good or terrible.
The smell of the wine had intoxicated quite a few disciples. However, though she was standing near to the wine, she was still perfectly fine. It was obvious that her alcohol tolerance was not bad. Nevertheless, she still could not imagine that so many people would swallow their saliva at the same time.
These were all the disciples of the Clear Sky Sect and their behavior embarrassed her a little. Why couldn’t they maintain their pride for the sect in front of Yang Chen?
Looking at the Wine Immortal who was a Yuanying ancestor, she did not blame it all on them. There shouldn’t be such a good wine in the mortal world!
After giving the Wine Immortal two cups of the wine, Yang Chen did not plan on giving him anymore. He turned to Sun Qingxue and stuffed the jade flask into her hands. He then said to her, “Little Xue, keep it safely.”
“Brother Yang, this is too valuable!” She knew what was best for herself. Understanding the value of the jade flask, she quickly pushed away the responsibility.
“Sigh, this isn’t something valuable. It is just some yeast diluted with water.” Yang Chen did not allow her to reject him, so he forcefully shoved it into her hands again. “Take it to satisfy your cravings first. I’ll brew one specifically using yeast dissolved with wine. That will be a truly good-tasting delicacy.”
Everyone who was around him, including the Wine Immortal was stunned by what Yang Chen had just said. How could this good wine not be valuable? But what Yang Chen had said was quite logical as well. The yeast that had been diluted with water could not be compared to the yeast diluted with a specially brewed wine. It was common sense.
It also meant there was a wine better than this one. The Wine Immortal’s eyes immediately lit up and stared at Yang Chen, as if he was gazing upon some precious treasure. Nevertheless, while he had his eyes fixed on Yang Chen, he did not forget to pay attention to the jade flask in Sun Qingxue’s hands.
A specially brewed wine would of course be marvelous, but all there was left was the flask currently held by Sun Qingxue. He had already begun thinking of ways to get his hands on it. As a senior serving in the sect’s court, he had no other ways of doing it, except for exchanging it for something else.
“Senior, how is the taste of this cup of wine compared to the Stream of Clear Sky Immortal?” Just at this moment, Yang Chen asked the question. The Wine Immortal immediately reminisced the taste of the two cups of wine he had just consumed. Uncontrollably, his mouth began to water.
He had wanted to shake his head and lie. However, he glanced at the jade flask that Sun Qingxue was holding and announced, “I lost!”
He was a wise man. He instantly threw his qiankun pouch on to the table and said, “See if there is any item that you want.” Under his control, the qiankun pouch opened, waiting for Yang Chen to make his choice. This was a bet and everyone there was a witness. He dared not go against his own words. Moreover, there was still half a flask of wine for him to satisfy his cravings.
Yang Chen won this bet fairly and he did not hold himself back. He quickly opened up the pouch and looked through the items inside it.
As a Yuanying ancestor, there were still a lot of valuable items inside his pouch. However, Yang Chen was not attracted to those so-called high-level treasures. Instead, it was a small item that had caught his attention.
It was a wooden tablet with an irregular shape. There were a few word-like patterns on its surface which seemed rather ancient. If it wasn’t for the spirit power preserving it, it would have decayed terribly.
“This?” The Wine Immortal was surprised that he had chosen a dilapidated wooden tablet. He could not help but ask, “Are you sure?”
“Of course!” Yang Chen assured him.
“That’s strange!” He glanced at Yang Chen with a peculiar look on his face. He then said abruptly, “I just happened to obtain this coincidentally. Nobody knows what those patterns on the surface are. If you want it, you can take it.”