Time

"Don't you not drink? And of all things, why did you have to choose 'Reunion'? I wouldn't even blink if you just picked any other jar. But you had to choose this one. Aren't you deliberately stabbing me in the heart?"

"I'm coming, I don't have to drink."

"What else do you want if you don't drink it? Besides, you were acting all high and mighty before. You even pulled out your pocket Pocket Watch, like you were going to settle a score with me. In the end, all you wanted was my last jar of 'Reunion' wine. Tell me the truth, you didn't know this jar of wine was prepared for my confidant, so you got jealous and wanted to snatch it from me, did you?"

Don't blame God of Wine for thinking this way; he's simply experienced far too many similar situations.

Having many friends means liveliness, it means being greeted wherever you go, and it means having a large following when you need to fight.

But it also means trouble.

For example, comforting one person might make another feel uncomfortable.

You comforted one person, but this person still felt unhappy.

Don't be fooled by the fact that God of Wine's friends, who appear to be arrogant and powerful Deities, are actually more childish than mortal children when it comes to jealousy and rivalry.

However, God of Wine is someone who hates being neglected and always feels that he shouldn't treat anyone unfairly.

The result is that the more you try to appease them, the more chaotic things become.

Sometimes, God of Wine feels that he hasn't done anything, but the two sides are inexplicably competing with each other.

In the end, he had no choice but to step in and act as a peacemaker.

So sometimes his friends would pull off some weird and unusual things to get attention.

The God of Time did not directly answer the god of God of Wine's question, but instead said, "If you don't give me the wine, then out of respect for you, I will not kill it, but will instead throw it into the Crack in Time."

Crack in Time.

That's not a good place.

Those are the cracks left by the flow of time, the silt at the bottom of the River of Time. Once you are thrown in, it is equivalent to being exiled by the time of the entire world.

They won't die, but they'll never get out either.

Drifting in the eternal cracks, it's not even forgotten, because no one will ever remember it.

Seeing how serious the other party was, Wuma Xiu knew that there was no room for negotiation.

He had known the God of Time for so long that he could discern from the other's eternally unchanging cold face which words were sincere and which were open to negotiation.

And that phrase "throw it into the Crack in Time" was definitely not a joke.

Wuma Xiu sighed silently to himself and gritted his teeth to make an incredibly difficult decision.

He silently apologized to his own Old Self.

I'm sorry, Old Self, I'm afraid this jar of "Reunion" is doomed. But don't worry, once this matter is settled, I'll definitely brew you a better one. I've even thought of a name for you, "Encounter Again." I guarantee it will be even more fragrant than this one.

Wuma Xiu believed that his Old Self wouldn't care.

That's what he thought, but he still felt the pinch.

He raised his hand, cleaved through the void, reached under the Ancient Tree, and retrieved the jar of "Reunion".

Wuma Xiu hugged the wine jar to his chest, looking down at it again and again, his expression as if he were about to give away the child he had raised for eight hundred years.

"Here you go. Consider this matter closed."

Wuma Xiu spoke readily, but the expression on his face completely betrayed him.

His furrowed brow and downturned lips looked as if a piece of his heart had been torn out.

He thought to himself:

My current state is just like the scene described in folk tales: an ancient emperor forced to give up his most beloved concubine, while maintaining appearances on the surface but bleeding inside.

If this "Reunion" were a person, they would probably be crying and clinging to him, refusing to leave.

The God of Time took the wine jar, his gaze lingered on it for a moment, then he opened his Pocket Watch and placed the "Reunion" inside.

In fact, there was another jar of wine inside.

"Time".

This jar of wine was brewed by the God of Wine specifically for him.

The God of Time still remembers that day when the God of Wine excitedly burst into his temple, carrying this jar of wine in his arms, and said a lot of things like "made especially for you" and "I guarantee you'll like it".

At that time, he rejected her again.

At that moment, God of Wine sat down next to the God of Time, opened the clay seal, and poured himself a full cup.

"It's okay if you don't want to drink it, I'll drink it to show you. But don't regret it, this is good stuff."

God of Wine was overjoyed at that moment, and even his gesture of raising his glass carried a hint of smugness.

So what if some people don't like the wine he brews?

Everything is a treasure to him.

However, although the God of Time does not drink alcohol, he can smell it.

Over the long years, he has smelled the aroma of many kinds of wine.

Each time God of Wine came to him, he brought different wines—some newly brewed, some treasured, some...

Each type of wine has a unique aroma.

God of Wine never makes the exact same wine twice.

To him, each jar has a unique soul; they are not replicas of the previous wines.

The God of Time has smelled and remembered all of God of Wine's wines.

But none are like "time".

The taste of "time"—even now, after countless years of slumber, the God of Time still remembers that taste.

It was so clear it was as if God of Wine had just drunk from beside him.

What was life like for the God of Time before he met God of Wine?

He stood alone on the banks of the long river of time.

Day after day, year after year.

He watched the river flow ceaselessly, witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties, and the birth and death of all things. In his eyes, a mortal's life was nothing more than a ripple on the river's surface, fleeting in an instant.

That's how the God of Time sees things.

Time waits for no one, nor does it hasten its pace for anything. And he, as the wielder of time, can only stand on the riverbank, forever an observer.

What does that feeling feel like?

Lonely?

This word seems too light to bear the weight of time.

Lonely?

No, you can feel lonely, but at least you can still crave the warmth of companionship.

The God of Time felt more like a boundless silence. Everything was in flux, only he remained still.

That was everything before I met God of Wine.

The fragrance of "time" evokes that feeling.

To the God of Time, that jar of wine contained not wine, but the silence he had guarded alone for billions of years.

But what surprised him even more was that, in order to brew "time," the God of Wine would occasionally soak in the River of Time.

Seriously.

Even gods cannot recklessly enter the River of Time; what if they get lost within it?

For this reason, during that period the God of Time kept his gaze fixed on the God of Wine.

That was also the first time the God of Time shifted his gaze away from the River of Time.

The God of Time still remembers the first time he smelled "time," when he was completely stunned.

He never described his feelings to anyone, nor did he ever think anyone could understand.

An ancient Deities who has existed since the beginning of time, the God of Time, believes that his solitude is a realm that even other Gods cannot reach.

But that day, he smelled that feeling in the "Time" brewed by God of Wine.

That time, the God of Time accepted "time" and treasured it in the deepest part of time.

He would see it every time he opened his Pocket Watch.

Seeing the perfectly sealed "Time" jar, lying at the heart of time, its body always clean and warm, without a speck of dust.