The Wine Cup Came to Life

The Wine Cup Came to Life

"What's going on?"

Lu Zheng froze, and the hand holding his chopsticks halted in midair.

Lu Zheng had thought the Jade Seal could only carry him between two worlds, but now five strands of Light of Luck had suddenly appeared?

Where had they come from?

What were they for?

The Jade Seal gave Lu Zheng no answer, so he suppressed his doubts. He ate and drank mechanically while his mind raced.

Yet even after the meal ended, Lu Zheng still could not figure out what was going on.

"Young Master, the Old Beggar at the gate has finished eating. He wishes to thank you in person."

"No need." Lu Zheng shook his head.

"Young Master, this old beggar has something to tell you!" the Old Beggar shouted from the gate.

"Hm?" Lu Zheng's expression shifted.

He had only said, "No need," and not loudly at that, yet the Old Beggar at the gate had immediately responded. If it was not a coincidence, then he had heard Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng was more than ten meters from the gate, with a Screen Wall and a gate between them. Ordinary people did not have such ability.

Thinking of the Light of Luck he had just gained, Lu Zheng suddenly had an idea.

Could this be a reward for helping someone?

But shouldn't that be called merit? Still, this Old Beggar must have been different somehow.

Suspicious, Lu Zheng rose to his feet, strode through the front courtyard, went around the Screen Wall, and stepped out of his little yard.

At that moment, the Old Beggar tipped back his head and drained the last drop of wine from his cup.

"Fine steamed chicken, fine dishes. The wine's a bit lacking, though," the Old Beggar sighed.

Though his clothes were ragged, his bearing was easy and unrestrained, without the slightest air of destitution.

Thinking of the familiar scenes from countless novels, Lu Zheng thought, Could this Old Beggar really be some hidden master beyond the mortal world? Ancient times... cold weapons... Could this world have Martial Arts?

Lu Zheng's eyes lit up. It seemed he still knew far too little about the Great Jing Dynasty.

Naturally. He had only been here eighteen days, and Tonglin County was merely one of the six counties under Yizhou in Lingbei Province of the Great Jing Dynasty. How could he possibly know the true depth of this world? "Old sir, did you have something to tell me?"

"I dare not accept the title of sir. This old beggar has received the grace of a meal and wine from Young Master. Seeing that Young Master is about to suffer a minor calamity, I could not bear it, so I came especially to ease Young Master's worries."

"Oh?"

"Old beggar, what nonsense are you spouting?" Uncle Li was displeased. He angrily rebuked the Old Beggar, then said to Lu Zheng, "Young Master, you pitied the wrong person. This old thing is making empty threats to frighten you, all to swindle more food and drink. Old Li has seen plenty of liars like him. You must not fall for it!"

After saying that, Uncle Li turned to the Old Beggar, raised his hand, and drove him away. "Hand it over. Go, go, go!"

The Old Beggar choked back his words. Seeing Uncle Li's large broom about to sweep down, he hurriedly jumped up, swiftly stuffed the Wine Cup in his hand into Lu Zheng's, then fled while shouting, "Keep the Wine Cup by your side tonight, and this misfortune will be dispelled."

Before Lu Zheng could say anything, the Old Beggar had already run away.

"Old swindler, pah!"

Holding his broom, Uncle Li spat in the Old Beggar's direction.

"See, Young Master? He's an old swindler, isn't he?"

Lu Zheng suddenly came back to himself. He gave Uncle Li a helpless look, then raised the Wine Cup before his eyes and examined it from every angle, but saw nothing unusual.

"What are you looking at, Young Master? He's just an old swindler. He looked decent enough, but the moment he acted, his true colors showed." Uncle Li reached for the Wine Cup in Lu Zheng's hand. "I'll take it to my wife and have her wash it a few more times."

"Not so fast!" Lu Zheng dodged Uncle Li's hand.

The five strands of Light of Luck could not be fake. Lu Zheng thought it over again and again, but apart from giving the Old Beggar some food, nothing else had happened. Besides, the Old Beggar's hearing truly was extraordinary...

If the Old Beggar was not a fraud, then with all this mysterious talk, could he be...

"Better to believe it exists than believe it does not. There's nothing to lose anyway. What harm is there in leaving this Wine Cup in my bedroom for one night?"

Lu Zheng's heart began pounding wildly.

First, Lu Zheng sent Uncle Li and Aunt Liu off to sleep. After washing up, he placed the Wine Cup on the table in his bedroom, lit an oil lamp, and sat back down on the bed.

Then Lu Zheng decisively returned to the modern world. He first put on his stab-proof vest under his clothes, then hid the Stun Baton for self-defense in his sleeve. After rubbing a little medicated oil beneath his nose, he returned to the ancient world and curled up beneath the blankets.

The next moment...

He took out his phone and unlocked it with his fingerprint! Gaming was definitely out of the question, but Lu Zheng had already downloaded several movies and novels, enough to help him pass the night.

At the same time, Lu Zheng kept a portion of his attention on the movements outside the doors and windows, while communicating with the Jade Seal in his mind, ready at any moment.

"If the Old Beggar is a fraud, then nothing will happen tonight."

"If the Old Beggar truly has some ability, then this Wine Cup might actually prove useful."

"Even if something unforeseen happens, I can return to the modern world. If there really are ghosts and monsters involved, surely they will not come out during the day... right?"

"As for an excuse... I'm young, so I run fast!"

At midnight, all was silent.

"Pfft!" With a soft sound, the oil lamp went out.

Lu Zheng lay quietly curled beneath the blankets. With its privacy screen, not a trace of light could be seen from the side of his phone.

Another two hours passed.

"Scrape!"

A sharp gleam flashed through Lu Zheng's eyes.

Because a Dagger had suddenly slid through the gap beneath the door.

"A person?"

The Dagger gently lifted, the door bolt shifted slightly, and moments later, the bedroom door was silently pushed open. A figure clad in Night Clothes slipped inside without a sound.

"A person!"

Lu Zheng's gaze flickered, and his thumb was already resting on the Stun Baton's switch.

Only...

Just as that person passed the table and approached the canopy bed, the Wine Cup on the table suddenly burst with radiant light.

"Buzz!"

It was as though a tiny sun had suddenly appeared in the bedroom.

"Ah!"

With a scream, the night traveler was blinded by the piercing light and instinctively raised a hand to cover their eyes.

The next moment, as though it possessed a spirit, the Wine Cup sprang up with a whoosh, swift as lightning, and smashed straight into the night traveler's forehead.

"Bang!"

The night traveler let out a muffled groan and abruptly collapsed. Though not unconscious, they could only groan and whimper, unable to rise.

"Young Master!"

An anxious cry came from the front courtyard, followed by hurried footsteps.

Uncle Li and Aunt Liu came running over in nothing but their underclothes.

"Young Master!"

Lu Zheng had already thrown off the blankets. He watched the fired-clay Wine Cup roll across the ground, spinning and spinning without the slightest damage.

A locally made product, crude in material, the sort that would chip from a single knock.

Yet Lu Zheng's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Uncle Li, get Hemp Rope. Tie them up first, then send them to the County Government Office!"

"Right away!"

When Lu Zheng and Uncle Li delivered the night traveler to the County Government Office that very night, another strand of Light of Luck appeared within the Jade Seal in Lu Zheng's mind.