Some sects had indeed gone to considerable lengths to verify the rumors. One example was the Treasure-Evolving Sect, ranked third in the Artifact Refining World, whose defeat in the treasure-offering contest had left it with only twenty entrants, no more than an ordinary sect.
A group of its disciples was politely bidding farewell to another party. Once the guests had left, the disciple at the head of the group, Guang Haoyou, turned toward an older man lounging on a large rock nearby, leisurely drinking with a wine gourd cradled in his arms.
Seeing his fellow disciples all looking his way, the drinking man raised his gourd in a distant toast and flashed a brilliant smile, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. His smile was like sunlight that could melt accumulated snow, heedless of this place's harsh surroundings. His features were quite handsome, too, but compared with the others who had entered the Divine Fire Domain, his languid air seemed decidedly out of place.
He did not look as though he had come to compete. He looked more like a tourist, enjoying himself wherever he went.
His name was Li Hongjiu. Supposedly, his mother had been heavily pregnant while fleeing pursuers, and had given birth to him in a wine vat while in hiding. Blood had stained the wine red, so she had named him Li Hongjiu-Li Red Wine. It was a remarkably casual choice of name.
Whether because he had been born in a wine vat or because that name had led him astray, Li Hongjiu was rather fond of wine.
Of course, he had not reached the point of drinking to excess.
Perhaps it had nothing to do with his name. The elder accompanying the Heavenforging Sect on this trip also had the word "wine" in his name-Qin Zhijiu-but