Bartender

In a bar, bartenders were always objects of admiration and worship for many girls. They were constantly associated with the traits that fascinated girls and women nowadays—romance, world-weariness, decadence, and amorousness.

Books on food and drink culture also devoted considerable space to introducing the profession of bartending and the techniques involved. Zhang Hupan was especially curious about the flowery descriptions of bartenders in those books, as well as the cocktails that could be created by blending different liquors into different flavors and even expressing different moods. Thus, when he heard that Shangguan Yun was the bartender at Western Paradise, Zhang Hupan paid particularly close attention to him. Several white bottles flew up and down around his hands, above his head, and behind his back like butterflies, tracing beautiful arcs through the air. As the bottles rose and fell, a colorful cocktail with distinct layers seemed to "transform" into existence by magic. Shangguan Yun's dazzling flair-bartending performance won quite a bit of applause while also attracting the gazes of many young and married women. The looks those women gave Shangguan Yun were practically dripping with desire.

Although Shangguan Yun's eye-catching flair performance was nothing more than a child's little trick in the eyes of someone like Zhang Hupan, a master capable of overturning the clouds and stirring the rain—not even worthy of being called a trick—Zhang Hupan still felt some admiration for an ordinary person who could use his skills so artfully. Shangguan Yun's movements held no interest for Zhang Hupan. He paid attention for two reasons: the books had praised bartenders far too highly, and he also wanted to take the opportunity to observe Shangguan Yun's mixing methods. After all, which liquors could be blended into which cocktails? Especially when all those drinks were foreign liquors, even Zhang Hupan, a Nascent Soul Stage expert, was merely an ignorant apprentice in that regard. As a top-tier expert, Zhang Hupan had long since passed the stage of caring about flashy, superficial tricks; he pursued only true, world-shattering power. The same principle applied to bartending as to cultivation: if the resulting drink tasted poor, there was no point in tossing the bottle around with fancy flourishes. As the saying went, substance mattered more than form.

Just as Zhang Hupan was secretly learning the bartending techniques, a delicate fragrance drifted into his nostrils, and that familiar body pressed against him once more. This time, the target was not his arm but his back, and the sensation was even more stimulating and tempting. For some reason, Zhu Yan particularly enjoyed teasing this innocent young man today. Perhaps she was challenging Zhang Hupan's complete indifference, or perhaps she had been conquered by the genius-like performances he had just displayed. In any case, Zhu Yan approached Zhang Hupan again, this time more directly and openly. She pressed her entire body against Zhang Hupan's broad back, then brought her lips to his ear and whispered, "Shangguan Yun's performance was wonderful, wasn't it? He's one of the pillars of our bar. A lot of people, especially women, come here just for him. He hasn't even shown his true skills yet. His greatest talent is fire-breathing, and he can juggle five uncorked bottles at the same time. Shangguan Yun really is an outstanding man. He once won second place in the national flair-bartending competition. But bartenders are all lechers. They even shamelessly say that if they can't attract five or six women every night, they aren't good bartenders. You're so nimble with your hands. If you ever become a bartender one day, don't end up like them, okay?"

Zhu Yan's soft hair occasionally brushed across Zhang Hupan's face, while waves of warm breath drifted beside his ear. A warm current repeatedly rose from his dantian, only to be forcibly suppressed by him. Zhang Hupan wished he could shut off his six senses or keep his mind perfectly still. For an expert at his level, either was easy enough. Yet Zhang Hupan was also thoroughly enjoying the sensation and found himself unable to stop. This was a stimulation he had never experienced in a hundred years, and it seemed that even his physical body relished it. As a traditional Daoist, he had originally placed great importance on propriety. However, Zhang Sanfeng was an eccentric within the Daoist tradition himself—a man who hated evil, acted crazy and carefree, and followed his nature. Without realizing it, Zhang Hupan had also inherited a trace of Zhang Sanfeng's style. Since this contact with Zhu Yan felt so comfortable, he simply stopped worrying about whether propriety forbade looking or touching and decided to take it calmly.

As an enlightened master, Zhang Hupan naturally possessed an aura that made people feel close to him. Although he had deliberately concealed his strength, when Zhu Yan pressed so close, traces of his immortal aura still wound imperceptibly around her body. Without realizing it, Zhu Yan forgot that she had only intended to tease the young man beside her. Instead, she became somewhat intoxicated by the masculine aura emanating from Zhang Hupan—or, more precisely, the masculine aura that carried an immortal quality. Fortunately, bars were noisy places with dim lighting, and no one noticed the ambiguous posture of the two employees. Liu Xizhen, who had been watching Zhang Hupan all along, did see the scene in the corner, however, and inexplicably felt a faint pang of jealousy.

"Bartenders can only attract those vulgar, ordinary women. A beauty like Sister Yan is someone they'd have to see if they were even worthy of pursuing. If Sister Yan stood at the entrance, she'd definitely be a unique attraction of the bar too—a top-tier star." Since he had decided not to resist beautiful women's allure anymore, Zhang Hupan simply learned to enjoy the sensation. Clearly, bantering with a beauty was also a very enjoyable thing.

"Hehehe." The twin peaks pressed against his back trembled restlessly up and down as Zhu Yan laughed, once again making Zhang Hupan feel overwhelmed.

"I really didn't expect that someone who looked like a block of wood just now could be so good at making people happy. How could I possibly count as one of the pillars of the bar? Our boss is the real beauty, the real star. A lot of people come here for her." As she spoke, Zhu Yan naturally glanced toward Liu Xizhen. Although the lighting was dim, Zhu Yan could still sense that Liu Xizhen was looking in their direction. Her face flushed slightly, and she hurriedly pulled away from Zhang Hupan's broad back.

Zhang Hupan naturally sensed Liu Xizhen's gaze as well. He even clearly felt a faint disappointment in her eyes, though he could not understand it. Zhu Yan deliberately kept a certain distance between them, leaving Zhang Hupan with a faint feeling of loss. In truth, how could Zhu Yan not feel the same? Her sudden retreat instead made their previously casual contact seem ambiguous. The two stared at each other awkwardly. Zhang Hupan was, after all, an enlightened master, and he quickly regained his sharp mind. He secretly sighed at how complex and subtle human thoughts and emotions were. His master's decision had indeed been wise. Entering the mortal world to cultivate would not only allow him to learn human science and culture; interpersonal communication could clearly also help cultivate the Dao Heart. In fact, Zhang Hupan had overestimated Zhang Sanfeng. Zhang Sanfeng would never have imagined that mundane scientific civilization could also aid cultivation. As for the other aspect, Zhang Sanfeng had known that Zhang Hupan had cultivated alone in the Immortal World for so long that his Dao Heart could no longer improve. Only by experiencing the joys and sorrows of the human world could he better stabilize his Dao Heart. Setting aside Zhang Hupan's thoughts, he asked to avoid the awkwardness, "What other stars does our bar have?"

"The resident band. Their lead singer is Ouyang Zhenhua, and he plays guitar beautifully. Oh, and there's also a saxophonist named Jack, but he only comes once a week, on Wednesdays. He plays the saxophone wonderfully and usually performs in Shanghai. I heard that the boss met him in New York, so he comes once a week out of respect for her. I've heard that many bars in Hangzhou offered him huge sums but still couldn't hire him, so Jack is another unique attraction of our establishment." Zhu Yan had spent seven or eight years making her way through the world of bright lights and wine. Although her heart was still pounding over the strange feeling she had just experienced, she quickly returned to normal and answered as if nothing had happened.

Just as Zhang Hupan was about to ask more about the bar, waves of cheers and the high-pitched screams unique to women rang out from the counter. Shangguan Yun had finally brought out his true skills. He clasped his hands, gently breathed into them, and then began skillfully tossing bottles and glasses up and down. At first, they could still be seen clearly—one moment to the left, the next to the right, then above and below. Soon, however, all anyone could see were bottles and glasses trailing different flames as they flew like dragons before and behind him. To outsiders, the bartender seemed like a wizard skilled in alchemy. Countless indescribable bottles and jars, combined with potions of different colors and flavors, created an eerie atmosphere in the dimly lit surroundings. Once Shangguan Yun entered the zone behind the counter, he danced about without stopping, constantly stirring the crowd's emotions and creating one climax after another. The ignited bottles flew into the air again and again; he switched hands, lit more bottles, and added more to the act. In the end, he even spat out a ball of flame. The blue-eyed, high-nosed foreigners at the scene leaped and shouted.

Zhang Hupan truly could not appreciate Shangguan Yun's fire-breathing performance. A bartender's fire-breathing technique relied on fire powder and quick hands. To cultivators, anyone who had reached the Qi Drawing stage could produce fire with their true essence, while a Golden Core expert could even unleash Samadhi True Fire. Thus, in Zhang Hupan's eyes, Shangguan Yun's performance contained far too much showmanship, fakery, and crowd-pleasing, unlike the solid display of pure skill he had given earlier. Perhaps only Zhang Hupan would think that way. At the very least, the atmosphere at the scene had already grown extremely heated, and even Zhu Yan wore an appreciative, intoxicated expression, inexplicably making Zhang Hupan feel a little jealous.

As an expert of the cultivation world, Zhang Hupan was certainly not bored enough to compete with Shangguan Yun for Zhu Yan's affections. After briefly observing the foreign liquors Shangguan Yun used while mixing drinks, Zhang Hupan went about his own business. Still, he secretly wondered what kind of expression Zhu Yan would make if he demonstrated his bartending skills.