A Harvest Gathering

On the twentieth of November, the sun sank in the west.

A small boat sailed into the harbor. Before it had even steadied, an agile figure leaped ashore.

"Get this man something to eat and drink. He'll return to Jade Pearl Island tomorrow!"

After giving these instructions to an islander standing beside the harbor lighthouse, Wang Qing cast the Lightness Technique and hurried back up the mountain.

After the autumn harvest, once they returned from the Trade Fair, they customarily laid out a feast to celebrate the joy of a bountiful harvest.

In previous years, their master had handled everything. This year, Zhao Yi took charge.

Zhao Yi had spent the past several days recovering from his injuries. Now that he was much better, he chose today for a small gathering.

Zhao Yi tidied up the kitchen and told Li Hai to ask Old Wu at the foot of the mountain to send up a sheep, fruit, vegetables, mountain delicacies, and seafood.

It had been almost half a year since Li Hai became a disciple. He had stayed on the mountain all this time, practicing his fist and sword techniques and drinking nourishing soup every day. His physique had long since surpassed that of ordinary people, so a trip down the mountain and back took little time.

Once Old Wu and two islanders delivered the ingredients, Zhao Yi got to work.

"Eldest Senior Brother, I'm back!"

Wang Qing shouted excitedly.

Seeing Wang Qing hurry back, Zhao Yi set up the brazier and tended the whole roasting sheep, saying without looking up, "Wang Qing, go fetch a jar of wine from the cellar. Pick a good one."

"Right away, Eldest Senior Brother!"

Wang Qing went back to his room, changed his clothes, then went to fetch the wine.

Their grandmaster and master had both loved drinking, and under their subtle influence, all three martial brothers had developed a taste for wine.

Wang Qing in particular had a mighty thirst but little capacity. If Zhao Yi had not kept him on a tight leash, the brat would have been a drunkard.

All the wine on the mountain had been brewed by their master using Spirit Spring Water and Jade Essence Rice. Though it was not low-grade spirit wine, it still contained spiritual energy and was an exceptionally fine vintage.

Once brewed, it had been stored in the cellar behind the mountain all this time. It packed quite a punch.

Alas!

There was not much aged wine left in the cellar. If Zhao Yi remembered correctly, twenty-two jars left by their grandmaster remained, all over fifty years old.

There should still be over forty jars of their master's wine. Now that their master was gone, future brewing would fall to Liu Yu. The capable had to shoulder more work.

Before long, Wang Qing jogged back with a jar of wine in his arms.

"Eldest Senior Brother, how about this one? Will it be enough? I'll fetch more if it isn't."

Zhao Yi glanced at it. "Yes, that's good. A twenty-year vintage. Put it on the table and help Liu Yu bring out the dishes."

There were eight dishes: a whole roast sheep, large prawns, steamed fish, pheasant stewed with mountain delicacies, and four plates of fresh fruit and vegetables.

An assortment of seafood and shellfish filled the wooden basin beside the table to the brim.

With everything ready, the feast began!

There were four of them. Zhao Yi sat at the head of the table, with Liu Yu and Li Hai to his left and Wang Qing to his right.

Wang Qing picked up the wine jar and poured for each of them in turn. When he reached Li Hai, he was just about to pour.

Zhao Yi coughed. Wang Qing chuckled twice, picked up the teapot, and poured Li Hai a cup of tea before carrying the wine jar back to his seat.

Zhao Yi raised his cup and turned toward the Ancestral Hall.

"Master, this was another bountiful year. Your disciples have all made progress in cultivation."

"We've taken another disciple for you, too. There's one more thing. Daoist Mu was your friend for many years, Master. I was afraid you might miss him, so I took it upon myself to send him to keep you company."

"Please don't blame me. Your disciple simply handles things this decisively. With you gone and Daoist Mu living next door, I truly couldn't rest easy managing our affairs."

He fell silent for a few breaths, then continued, "Master, your disciple offers you a toast!"

Wang Qing hurriedly filled his cup again. Zhao Yi raised it toward the three of them.

"This year, we first got rid of Daoist Mu, then took in Li Hai. We discovered Spirit Fish on Jade Pearl Island, reaped a bumper harvest of spirit rice on Linghua Island, and even came away with substantial gains from the Trade Fair on Little Wave Island."

At this, he glanced at Liu Yu and paused briefly before continuing, "Everything is getting better. Linghua Island will surely flourish in our hands!"

"Drain your cups!"

They all raised their cups and drained them.

The moon climbed to the middle of the sky, and everyone ate heartily. One jar of wine was nowhere near enough, so the three drank another two.

As the three martial brothers drank themselves into high spirits, they shouted and sang at the tops of their voices, their touch of wild abandon revealing a hearty, carefree spirit. After all, they were only around twenty!

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhao Yi looked around at everyone and said solemnly, "Our buying and selling on Little Wave Island went smoothly, but on the way back, Bandit Cultivators attacked us. Two at perfection of Meridian Opening and two at great completion of Meridian Opening. They certainly thought highly of us."

"Fortunately, Heaven watches over the fortunate. With the Zhao Family's help, Liu Yu and I managed to turn the tables and kill the Bandit Cultivators, escaping death."

"Ever since the day I woke up, I've been on tenterhooks. We killed four, but there's no telling whether there are more behind them. If stronger Bandit Cultivators set their sights on us, we'll certainly face more peril than hope."

"Besides, nothing like this has happened in these waters for twenty or thirty years. Last year, it was Red Sand Island and seven or eight other islands. This year, it was our Linghua Island, and perhaps other islands too. Who knows what will happen in the future?"

Liu Yu added, "One stone stirs a thousand waves. Once the balance is broken, restoring it is difficult."

"The Zhao Family is powerful and determined to claim these waters. Although the other islands can't stand against them, their covert maneuvers certainly won't stop. They'll never let the Zhao Family take control of this entire sea so easily!"

"What's there to fear? If Bandit Cultivators come, we'll fight them! Every one we kill counts! Even if I have to use my teeth, this Daoist will bite a chunk out of them! Bite them to death, bite! Snore... snore... snore..."

Wang Qing shouted through a drunken haze, then tilted his head and began snoring.

"You little brat. Why drink so much when you can't hold your liquor?"

"Li Hai, you're a disciple now too. What do you think?"

"You've kept quiet this whole feast, just burying your head in your food!"

Liu Yu smiled as he studied Li Hai, his face full of anticipation.

Li Hai lifted his head, put down the piece of meat in his hand, and wiped his hands and mouth.

"Second Senior Brother, I don't know where the Bandit Cultivators are."

"All I know is that if anyone dares invade Linghua Island, I'll fight them to the death!"

"Good. Li Hai is right. That's exactly how we should be. We need that spirit of fighting with our lives on the line. When Grandmaster first ventured out to sea and carved out this foundation, didn't he rely on himself?"

"Now there are four of us martial brothers. With brothers united in heart, there are no storms or waves we cannot cross!"

Zhao Yi slapped the table and shouted.

Then he picked up the wine jar again and kept pouring wine into his mouth. At last, he sank into a stupor and fell asleep in his chair.

Liu Yu and Li Hai exchanged a glance, each helped one of them back to his room, then came out to clear the table before returning to their own rooms to rest.

In the latter half of the night, snow began falling from the sky in flakes as large as goose feathers.

Early the next morning, the red sun was about to rise.

Zhao Yi rose early, gave himself a quick wash, and began packing what he needed to take.

One Long Ji and one sword, two low-grade spirit talismans-one offensive and one defensive-and some refined rice and spirit rice would suffice.

Before long, Liu Yu and the others came out to help. The four of them had agreed yesterday that Zhao Yi would go to guard Jade Pearl Island and help its islanders get through the winter.

The bitter winter cold kept fishing boats from going out to hunt, while equally famished demonic beasts in the sea would use the ice near the island to come ashore and eat people. A cultivator was needed to protect the island.