Night deepened, and hazy moonlight spilled across the courtyard within the City Lord's Mansion.
Yuan Ming dismissed his subordinates and sat alone on a stone bench, gazing at the bright full moon.
A light breeze swept past, and the Qingping Swordsman's figure suddenly appeared in the courtyard.
His green robes fluttered in the wind, his back to the moonlight, making him seem mysterious and profound.
He walked to sit opposite Yuan Ming, and the two faced each other.
Yuan Ming nodded slightly, as though he had long expected the Qingping Swordsman's arrival.
With a light sweep of his sleeve, two exquisite wine cups appeared out of thin air on the table. A faint glow flickered within them, as though they contained some mysterious power.
"I have long heard that Fellow Daoist Qingping's Drunken Wine Gourd holds all the world's finest wines. I wonder whether I might be fortunate enough to taste some tonight?" Yuan Ming's voice drifted out leisurely.
The Qingping Swordsman smiled faintly and removed the wine gourd from his waist. With a sweep of his sword fingers, the gourd opened at once. Two streams of Nectar of Immortality flew from within, turning into streaks of light as they fell into the wine cups.
Beneath the moonlight, the nectar glimmered with threads of silver radiance and gave off a faint fragrance that intoxicated the senses.
The two raised their cups, exchanged a smile, and drained them in one gulp.
The wine slid down their throats, sweet and mellow, as though it could cleanse the soul and make one forget every worry.
After setting down his cup, the Qingping Swordsman suddenly spoke. "In the battle today, I lost with wholehearted conviction."
There was a trace of loneliness in his voice, but even more openness and acceptance.
"Though Fellow Daoist's sword