Bring in the Wine

The first time he made liquor, Lin Su used only about a hundred jin of Ting Rice. The first distillation yielded ten jin at roughly 65 percent alcohol; the second yielded ten jin at 50 percent; and there were another ten jin of tail liquor at around 45 percent.

The overall yield was about 30 percent, already an exceptionally good figure.

Three jars stood side by side in the west courtyard. Lin Jialiang and Old Zhou were both flushed red, not from drinking, but from the hot blood surging in their hearts.

"Third Brother, a man cannot stand without trust. You need to contact Mr. Bao Shan."

Lin Su smiled faintly. "All right!"

With a lift of his hand, he picked up the Precious Brush and wrote a sentence on the Precious Paper Mr. Bao Shan had given him: "Come, drink!"

The instant the words fell, the golden paper suddenly shot into the sky, turning into a golden crane that flew toward the distant Qiankun Academy.

On the summit of the rear mountain at Qiankun Academy, Bao Shan held a wine jug and idled away his boredom.

Suddenly, a golden crane flew down from the sky. It landed in Bao Shan's hand and turned into a sheet of paper. The moment his gaze fell upon it, he saw four soul-stirring words: Come, drink!

Bao Shan threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Hahahaha..."

He soared into the heavens and shot toward the southwest...

The mountains trembled, and a flock of birds took flight in fright. On another mountaintop, an old man shouted, "Bao Shan, where are you going?"

"To drink!"

As his voice fell, he flew off like a great bird vanishing into the vastness.

The two old men looked at each other. It was only drinking—when did you not drink? If you had not said you were going drinking, I would have thought you had found a second spring, taken a young wife, and were spending your wedding night in the bridal chamber. Why else would you be this excited?

By the time Bao Shan landed in the west courtyard, no one else remained there. Only the Lin Su brothers sat before a table full of dishes.

Three wine jars sat on the ground, each marked with a single character: one, two, three...

"Mr. Bao Shan!" Lin Jialiang abruptly rose and bowed.

Mr. Bao Shan ignored him completely. His fierce, imposing eyes were fixed solely on the wine jars on the ground.

Lin Su said, "There are three jars. Their strength rises from low to high. I suggest you start with the weakest."

He raised a hand and pointed to the jar marked with "three."

With a wave of Bao Shan's hand, the jar marked "three" flew up, its lid blasting straight into the sky...

A rich fragrance of wine suddenly burst through the little courtyard. Bao Shan took a deep sniff, and his entire body jolted. So mellow? Such intoxicating wine fragrance?

"Fine wine!"

At just one sniff, Bao Shan was as exhilarated as if he had drunk divine nectar. Every cell in the body that had sampled the finest wines from the Three Mountains and Five Sacred Peaks entered a state of wild excitement at once.

He grabbed the wine jar, ready to drink.

But Lin Su stopped him. "Mr. Bao Shan, don't drink straight from the jar. There are bowls here, bowls..."

"What do I need bowls for? Only women use bowls!"

He drank straight from the mouth of the jar.

Lin Su rubbed his forehead. Well, that jar was ruined.

The wine entered his great mouth, and Bao Shan's whole body shuddered. Every bone in his body cracked at once. He drained half the jar in one breath before finally stopping. He held the jar high overhead, closed his eyes, and became a statue.

After a very, very long time, Bao Shan exhaled a breath of wine straight into the sky. The floating clouds seemed to scatter beneath that breath.

"Hahaha, fine wine!" His voice swept across the entire city, stirring half of it into commotion.

Ding Hai was meditating atop a tower when he suddenly opened his eyes, light shooting in all directions from them.

Bao Shan set down the half-empty jar, raised a hand, and the second jar flew up.

Another half jar, followed by that same motionless yet arrogant pose.

"Haha, boy, have a drink with me!"

With a wave of his hand, the wine jar flew straight toward Lin Su.

"All right!" Lin Su was also stirred by his bold spirit. Catching the jar, he turned his hand, and like a flying waterfall and rushing spring, poured wine into two bowls.

"Mr. Bao Shan, Second Brother, we won't go home until we're drunk!"

He and Lin Jialiang clinked their bowls. Wine splashed high into the air as both men raised their bowls and drained them in one gulp.

The fiery wine went straight into their bellies.

The third jar, the strongest liquor, reached Bao Shan's hands. Again, he drank half the jar. Bao Shan threw back his head and shouted, "Strong liquor reaches the Heaven-Reaching Dao. How fortunate is this life! With fine wine before us, where is the poetry?"

The wine rushed straight to Lin Su's head, and he abruptly stood up:

"Have you not seen the waters of the Yellow River descend from Heaven, surging into the sea and never returning..."

Wine poured down as his hair flew wildly...

His voice rang high, his passion soaring...

Outside the courtyard, Old He and Old Zhou both turned around, while Xiao Yao and Xiao Tao stopped in their tracks at the same time...

"Have you not seen, before bright mirrors in high halls, the sorrow for white hair—silken black at dawn, snow by dusk..."

Inside the main hall, Madam Lin abruptly rose to her feet, staring blankly toward the west courtyard, tears in her eyes...

"When life goes well, one must enjoy oneself to the fullest; do not let a golden cup face the moon empty..."

"Heaven gave me talent, and it must have its use; though a thousand gold is spent, it will return again..."

"Roast sheep, slaughter oxen, and make merry; one sitting must drink three hundred cups..."

"Bao Shan, Scholar Lin, bring in the wine—let not the cups stop..."

"Hahahaha... Bao Shan, Scholar Lin, bring in the wine—let not the cups stop..." Bao Shan repeated the line, his laughter carrying ten li away.

"I will sing you a song; pray lend me your ear.

Bells and drums, delicacies and jade are not worth treasuring; I only wish to stay drunk and never wake again."

Bao Shan sang loudly once more: "Bells and drums, delicacies and jade are not worth treasuring; I only wish to stay drunk and never wake again! My heart's desire, laid bare in one phrase—marvelous..."

Lin Su downed another bowl:

"Since ancient times, sages and worthies have all been lonely; only drinkers leave their names behind."

Bao Shan lifted a hand, and the wine jar shot into the sky.

"Since ancient times, sages and worthies have all been lonely; only drinkers leave their names behind! It strikes straight at the heart, wondrous beyond words—drink..."

Lin Su drank another bowl and swayed to his feet:

"Long ago, King Chen feasted at Pingle Hall, spending ten thousand on a measure of wine in reckless joy and laughter.

Why should the host say he has little money? Go buy more at once and drink with me.

Five-patterned horse, thousand-gold fur coat,

Call the children to take them out and exchange them for fine wine, and with you together drown the sorrows of all ages..."

Thud!

Lin Su toppled over headfirst...

Bao Shan roared, "Five-patterned horse, thousand-gold fur coat, call the children to take them out and exchange them for fine wine, and with you together drown the sorrows of all ages—an eternal masterpiece! Elegance for all ages! What sorrows of all ages could there be..."

Suddenly, his entire body shook, as though he had snapped some invisible shackles. His whole form abruptly grew tenfold out of thin air. With one step, he crossed the courtyard wall; with another, he stepped out of Haining City; with yet another, he crossed the hundred-li-long river...

"Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart... the Literary Heart Extreme Realm! He truly took that step..."

Atop Haining City's walls, Ding Hai's entire body trembled. He shot into the sky, then landed outside the Lin Family's gates the next instant.

Lin Su drank himself into such a stupor that he lost all sense of the road home...

At some unknown time, his eyes finally opened slowly. Before him, candlelight swayed red...

A pair of beautiful, large eyes rested on his face, and a warm, damp towel lay across his forehead...

"Young Master, you're finally awake!" A woman's delighted cry sounded beside his ear.

"Xiao Tao..." Lin Su shifted his gaze toward the window. Outside lay a sky filled with countless stars.

"It's night already? How long did I sleep?"

"Five hours. Young Master, you must be hungry, right? Madam is in the kitchen. She said whenever you woke up, she would personally make you dinner."

"What? My mother is personally making dinner?" Lin Su abruptly sat up.

"That line of yours—'Have you not seen, before bright mirrors in high halls, the sorrow for white hair—silken black at dawn, snow by dusk'—Madam recited it all afternoon and cried all afternoon too. Then she insisted on making you dinner..."

Lin Su's heart skipped faintly. He had drunk too much—he had not let something slip, had he?

"Bring in the Wine" was such a free-spirited poem. There was a line in it about Master Cen and Danqiu Sheng, which had to be altered. He remembered that he seemed to have changed it to Bao Shan and Scholar Lin. If he had changed it, things would be easy; if he had not, then this poem would become troublesome. Who knew who Master Cen and Danqiu Sheng were? No, there was another name later—King Chen!

Lin Su's thoughts raced like lightning. Thank Heaven, this world also had a King Chen, and he was a bold and forthright man who made friends throughout the world...

Copying poetry was also a technical skill. A poem had to suit the occasion; if it did not, people would pick it apart. Those people of the Literary Altar had complicated attitudes toward him. Give them the slightest chance, and they could make a mountain out of it. Not the smallest mistake could be allowed.

Oh, and there was one more matter: Mr. Bao Shan...

"Third Brother, thanks to your fine wine and an ancient masterpiece of poetry, Mr. Bao Shan has entered the Literary Heart Extreme Realm!" The door swung open, and Lin Jialiang carried in a large bowl, smiling with immense delight. "This has already set off a great earthquake across the Literary Altar..."

"He really broke through?" Lin Su was excited.

"He really did. The Literary Heart Extreme Realm has blocked the path of so many great masters. Who could have imagined that this age-old puzzle would be solved here with Third Brother... Third Brother, do you think other great masters might come to seek your guidance too?"

"Second Brother, you're overthinking it. Mr. Bao Shan did not enter the Literary Heart Extreme Realm merely because of a jar of wine and a poem. He was already at the peak; he only lacked a sliver of mystery. Which of those masters of the literary Dao cannot see that clearly? How could they possibly place any hopes on me? Still, this has made our wine famous in a big way. Spring has come for the Lin Family!"

Second Brother handed him the bowl and smiled. "Third Brother truly has Divine Calculation. Boss Ding has been waiting outside the door for a full five hours already."

Xiao Tao smiled as well. "Boss Ding drank the leftover wine you all left behind. He's completely out of sorts now, just sitting there in a daze..."