Chapter 232: Six Friends in the Wine, Hidden Deep
Chapter 232 Six Friends in the Wine, Hidden Deep
Two days later.
The sky in the east is full of red clouds, indicating good weather today.
Cheng Xinzhan sat upright on the balcony, leading two boys, facing the east, absorbing the purple air.
When the time was up, the purple air gradually disappeared and the golden light shone brightly. The three of them exhaled, ended their practice, and slowly opened their eyes.
"Master, look!"
Zhao Li pointed to the snow-capped mountains in the south. The silver tops of the mountains were now shining golden in the sunlight.
In particular, the strong wind was still blowing the ice and snow, but this time it no longer looked like a white dragon flag. Instead, it looked like a gilded flame leaping in the wind.
The scene before him reminded him of the time many years ago when he looked up at Kuimen in the middle of the Yangtze River. The Chijia Mountain was also shining brightly at sunrise, like a torch.
The two mountains happen to be located in the east and west of Bashu, more than 5,000 miles apart. However, under the shining sun, they present the same scenery, which really makes people marvel at the wonders of nature.
Cheng Xinzhan was inspired, so he pulled a banana leaf from his side, pressed it on his knees, took out the talisman brush, and facing the morning sun, he wrote on the green paper:
"I have been here for three days. The sky cleared up, so I got up early in the morning and went to the balcony to take pictures of the purple sky. I saw the sun shining on the golden mountain, which looked like it was covered with gold and yellow. The wind blew the jade chips into flames.
Seeing this, I suddenly remembered the boiling morning glow on Chijia Mountain, which was exactly the same as here. There, the waves surged up the shore, and here, the snow-capped waves reached the sky. The land was five thousand miles apart, but both were illuminated by the true fire of the sun and glowed with a strange red gold color.
Alas! How wonderful is the furnace of heaven! The Yang fire refines the red armor into cinnabar, and forges the white mountain into gold essence. The two mountains stand far apart, one spewing out river waves, the other absorbing ice and snow. They are both bathed in the heavenly fire and are the same color. Isn't the mystery here that the sea of qi in the universe has the same source?"
Cheng Xinzhan put away the talisman pen and looked at the words on the banana leaf with great satisfaction.
"Let's keep it for now. Including it in the Xikang chapter can be considered a start. I haven't decided on a full name for the book yet, so I'll call it 'Banana Leaf Collection' for now."
Zhao Li responded, took a few steps forward, cut off the banana leaf, and put it away carefully.
Cheng Xinzhan stood up and looked far to the east. There were many mountain shadows there, and because it was towards the east, there were few snow-capped mountains, only a few nearby, and further away were the endless green tents.
And just opposite the Yanhuai Mountain, thousands of miles away, there is a mountain. The mountain is like a pillar of heaven, towering into the clouds, blocking the sun, majestic and magnificent.
There was a radiant light, sword energy soaring into the sky, and escape light like a rainbow. Even though it was thousands of miles away, the mountain was still dazzling and bright to the naked eye.
"Master, is that Mount Emei?"
Bailong asked.
Cheng Xinzhan's face was solemn, no longer leisurely and peaceful. He nodded slowly and said in a deep voice,
"Yes, that is Emei."
Thousands of years have passed, some people admire Emei, some people hate Emei, but Emei has never been shaken by the storms of the outside world, and it continues to expand day by day.
To this day, the Emei main temple still stands tall and becomes more and more dazzling. There are countless branch temples in Bashu, and even the entire southwestern China. No one has to look to Emei for help.
“There’s a long way to go.”
Cheng Xinzhan said.
The two boys nodded silently without saying anything.
Suddenly, Cheng Xinzhan felt something in his heart and looked to the south, where a figure was flying.
The figure came closer, and it turned out to be Li Baisanren.
"Yunlai!"
Bai Sanren shouted and landed on the balcony.
"Yunlai, today I am gathering with a few old drinking buddies. My brother specially asked me to invite you to taste wine and discuss philosophy with you. I wonder if you have time?"
Cheng Xinzhan had already put away his solemn and thoughtful expression and became calm again. Hearing this, he hesitated a little and asked,
"Are there many people here? A small gathering is good, but I'm afraid it will be too crowded."
Li Baisanren shook his head.
"There are six of us in total, seven including you. We are all familiar drinking buddies, no outsiders."
So Cheng Xinzhan felt relieved and said,
"If you are drunk and have a good heart, you can go like this."
Hearing this, Bai smiled and stretched out his hand,
"please."
Cheng Xinzhan nodded, then turned back to look at Bai Long and Zhao Li, and instructed,
"The boy practices at home."
"Yes, sir."
The two children responded.
"Master, you are going to the banquet, you must bring the gourd with you."
Zhao Li handed over the gourd.
Cheng Xinzhan slapped his forehead, said yes, then took the gourd and followed Die Baisanren away on the wind.
----
The banquet was held in the middle of the north and south of Yanhuai Mountain, slightly below the snow line on the top of the mountain. There is a bamboo forest here.
Bai Sanren led Cheng Xinzhan outside the bamboo forest. The bamboo forest was originally a quiet place, but at this moment, the sound of talking and laughing could be heard.
"It seems that most of the guests have arrived."
Said Bai Sanren.
The two entered the bamboo forest. Cheng Xinzhan saw the green grass, which was as dense as a woven fabric. There were pavilions and waterside pavilions, bamboo tents and thatched huts, yellow chrysanthemums and dwarf pines, as well as flowing wine cups and winding water. He thought that this was indeed an elegant place for leisure.
Li Baisanren led Cheng Xinzhan inside, and they saw many quaint stone tables and stone benches on the grass not far away. The stone tables were filled with fruits and fine wine, and quite a few people were sitting on the stone benches.
"The clouds are coming!"
Mingting Sanren was in the crowd. When he saw Cheng Xinzhan coming, he stood up to greet him, and other people also stood up.
Cheng Xinzhan bowed and entered the venue, saying "nice to meet you".
All three friends were present at the wine party, including Cheng Xinzhan, a total of seven people, so Cheng Xinzhan was only unfamiliar with three people, including two women.
He also discovered that these people were talking happily together without any restraint, and it was obvious that they knew each other. It seemed that he was the only newcomer today.
Cheng Xinzhan came to the table, where a seat was reserved for him. He bowed to everyone and said with a smile, "My fellow Taoists, I am a wandering wanderer, and I regard the world as my home. I am fortunate to be here in the blessed land of Langhuan and to meet you all. I am truly delighted."
Everyone returned the gift one after another.
Mingting Sanren asked everyone to sit down, and also asked Cheng Xinzhan to sit down.
"Just now, drunk Taoist brother said that Taoist Yunlai is humble when sober and unrestrained when drunk. Now that we meet when sober, Taoist is indeed humble as jade. I wonder how unrestrained he is when drunk?"
As soon as Cheng Xinzhan sat down, he heard someone talking, a female voice.
He looked in the direction of the voice and saw one of the two women, smiling and asking.
The woman was dressed in a green robe and looked to be in her twenties. She had long eyebrows and phoenix eyes with lightning-like gleams, a nose like a hanging gallbladder, and a heroic air between her eyebrows. However, her cheeks were rosy at this moment, and it was not known whether it was natural or she had drunk alcohol.
Cheng Xinzhan smiled upon hearing this.
"You praise me when I am drunk. It is true that I am wild and unrestrained when I am drunk. But when I am sober, you are flattering me by calling me humble."
The woman laughed loudly upon hearing the words, her heroic spirit bursting out, and she looked at Cheng Xinzhan with more and more curiosity.
"Yunlai, let me introduce you."
The drunken man took over the conversation.
He pointed at the woman who was speaking and said,
"Yunlai, this is Fenyan Sanren."
"Fellow Taoist, you are polite."
The woman smiled and cupped her hands.
Cheng Xinzhan returned the greeting, "You are polite, fellow Taoist."
Then, Mingting Sanren pointed to the other woman next to Fenyan Sanren and said,
"This is Zhuyue Sanren."
Cheng Xinzhan looked over and saw that the woman was about the same age as Fenyan Sanren. She was wearing a moon-white cloud brocade, her skin was as white as cream, her black hair was tied into a cloud-moon bun, she had an oval face, her lips seemed to contain cinnabar, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, she had a pair of bright moon pendants on her earlobes, and her eyes were like the moon reflected in an autumn pond.
"Fellow Taoist, you are polite."
The woman had a calm smile on her face, and she looked simple, elegant and graceful.
"Fellow Taoist, you are polite."
Cheng Xinzhan returned the gift.
"This is Zhan Qi San Ren."
The drunk man pointed at the last person.
This is a man who is like a green pine leaning against a jade mountain. The green pine is his waist and the jade mountain is his bones.
He had clear eyebrows, a distinct jawline, a high nose bridge, slightly raised eyebrow arches, and eyebrows slanting into his temples. This should have been a face with a stern and majestic look, but this person had a pair of bright eyes, dark pupils, and a watery look. When he smiled, he had a delicate and gentle taste.
He looked to be about the same age as Cheng Xinzhan, wearing a sky-blue Taoist robe with silver-embroidered hui-zi patterns on the cuffs and lapels, and a black gauze cloak on the outside. On his head was a rather simple ebony Taoist cap, and on the stone table in front of him lay a green-skinned wine gourd of excellent quality.
"Fellow Taoist, you are polite."
"Fellow Taoist, you are polite."
Cheng Xinzhan returned the gift.
"Yunlai, you already know Zhuibai and Zhuqing. Together with Zhuiyan, Zhuyue and Zhanzhu, the six of us met because of wine and became close friends regardless of age. We also discussed taking Taoist names that have something to do with wine, and often held banquets in the mountains to taste wine and discuss Taoism.
"I think I have some good judgment in judging people. I see that you, Yunlai, also like wine, and your character is detached and cheerful. You are worthy of close friendship. You also said that you want to live here for a long time. So I will take advantage of today's banquet to invite you over and introduce these three drinking buddies to you. Besides, Fenyan, Zhuyue and Zhanqi are all young people, so you can get along better with them."
The drunken man said.
Cheng Xinzhan bowed to the drunken man.
"Brother Dao is kind-hearted, Yunlai appreciates it, thank you."
Cheng Xinzhan was also somewhat surprised today. The group of drinking buddies of Zuiting Sanren were all elegant and graceful, but these six people were all in the Golden Elixir realm!
Mingting, Diebai and Huqing all have long-lasting breaths and high realms. They must have been working in the three realms for a long time.
The magical powers of Fenyan, Zhuyue and Zhanqi are like the abyss of the sea, and their vitality is like the morning glow. They are clearly the outstanding young talents of Chuyang Ganxiao.
The six people's Taoist names were so in sync that Cheng Xinzhan couldn't help but wonder, did the six really become friends because of drinking?
Moreover, the three old and strong ones are a different story. The three young ones are not very old but they have such cultivation. This doesn't seem like something that can be taught by a casual cultivator. Therefore, these people all call themselves casual cultivators, which makes Cheng Xinzhan suspicious.
However, although Cheng Xinzhan was suspicious, there was no flaw on his face, nor did he have any intention of investigating. He called himself Yunlai Sanren, wasn't that also a way of concealing things?
The saying goes, "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you."
If they were really drinking buddies, they would only talk about Du Kang. He would not mind his past identities. If these six people had any intentions, he would not be a soft persimmon.
"This is Yunlai Sanren, who compares himself to a wild crane wandering around China. He arrived in Xikang two days ago. He took a leisurely walk up the Beishan Road and wrote a poem in seven steps to pass the literary examination. He was really impressed by the old Taoist priest and was dragged to Yanhuai Mountain by force.
"By the way, Yunlai has good wine, good wine, and even better wine taste!"
Mingting Sanren then introduced Cheng Xinzhan to everyone.
"I'm new here, and I hope you'll take care of me in the future."
Cheng Xinzhan said with a smile.
Everyone was now considered to be acquainted, and Zhan Qi Sanren then picked up his gourd and began to pour wine for everyone.
"Yunlai, this is our rule. Every time we have a party, we have to invite others to taste our favorite wine."
The drunken man explained with a smile.
Cheng Xinzhan nodded and found this rule quite interesting.
He looked at the wine poured out from Zhan Qi Sanren's gourd. It was light amber in color, the liquid hanging on the wall of the cup looked like melting snow, and it smelled fruity. He couldn't help but salivate in anticipation.
Taste the wine in the gourd first. As for the medicine in the gourd, it’s not too late to wait and see.
(End of this chapter)