The man who sat down at the table wore a bamboo hat and a sea-blue robe.
As though stepping on the flow of time itself, he took his seat exactly ten breaths later.
He accepted the cup of wine and looked at Jiang Wang across from him. "Why is there only one cup?"
"I don't drink." Jiang Wang smiled. "I can't afford to be muddled right now."
Drinking was for that pleasantly drunken haze. Without it, there was no pleasure in drinking. Since he could not seek intoxication, there was no need to raise a cup merely for the sake of raising one.
The newcomer lifted the cup and drained it. "Pouring wine without drinking it yourself makes it hard not to be suspicious. It's only because it's you, Jiang Wang, sitting here. Otherwise, who would dare drink?"
"Thousand Autumns," Jiang Wang said. "It's very good wine."
"Rich and fragrant, intoxicating." The man savored the aftertaste for a moment. "Unlike the wine by our sea—hidden astringency, bitter beneath."
Jiang Wang thought of World's End Bitterness, said to be the wine Dragon-Fishing Guest often drank.
He had to be grateful for the lofty passions he had once witnessed. Even scoured by the Heavenly Dao, they still retained their edges and corners, hard to wear away. They were an important feeling that had supported him in holding on until now.
"Thank you, Brother Chen, for taking time from your busy schedule to come here and go through this trouble for me." He looked at Chen Zhitao, who appeared more mature than before, his heart filled with emotion.
I'm just avoiding trouble.
Chen Zhitao had wanted to say that, but in the end, he only said, "I may not be able to help."
The Jing Kingdom had helped Sea Fishing Tower greatly. Naturally,