Chapter 253: Chapter 208: The Wine of Spirits and Gods
"By the way, Mr. Liu, I heard you’re from Songzhou?"
"That’s right, but why do you suddenly ask?"
In the old barracks in Yizhou, Liu Bolun looked at Li the Carpenter, who had suddenly come to him, with doubt. He wasn’t quite sure why Li mentioned his hometown all of a sudden.
After all, he hadn’t returned to Songzhou for a long time, and as for relatives, they had long ceased to contact him. Now, like everyone else in the old barracks, he was as ordinary as a common refugee.
"Oh, I just heard a saying, that’s all."
Li the Carpenter scratched his head awkwardly.
"I heard it when I was out buying wine, saying that the best wine comes from Songzhou. That’s when I remembered the wine you used to make, so..."
"Oh, that’s what it’s about."
Liu Bolun came to a realization, it was just a casual chat.
"If you’re looking for a drink, I could make some more later, but brewing this kind of wine is really troublesome, extremely troublesome..."
"...How so?"
Li the Carpenter became curious, after all, as a carpenter, he had dealt with some wineries before. Though he hadn’t tried it himself, he’d seen the whole brewing process.
Everyone had settled in the old barracks for a while now, and logically Mr. Liu should have started brewing again long ago, but he hadn’t, not even ordering barrels from him, which was really...
"Because it really is troublesome."
Liu Bolun sighed, uncertain where to begin.
"If it’s ordinary wine, brewing it is not a problem, but with Songzhou wine... how to put it, this stuff wasn’t originally meant for drinking."
"Wine not meant for drinking?"
Li the Carpenter was puzzled.
"Then what was it for?"
"Rituals."
Liu Bolun’s voice was low.
"In the beginning, wine was used for rituals. It was the essence of grains, consuming a large amount of food to brew, and ordinary people were not entitled to enjoy it... It was only used on significant occasions, like in ancient rituals for gods and spirits. People back then believed that the drunken state after drinking wine was a symbol of communicating with spirits, and only when entering that state could the gods descend upon them to perform mysterious acts."
"Uh...that just sounds like getting drunk."
Li the Carpenter scratched his head. He didn’t quite understand the talk about gods, but he grasped the last part—what gods descending onto people, wasn’t that just common drunken antics?
But it sure did sound plausible, as they say, alcohol emboldens the timid. Why, when he was drunk, he too would boast of being able to drink endlessly.
"No, it might not be that simple."
Liu Bolun furrowed his brows, recalling some exchanges he previously had with Du Chengfeng.
"This wine might be..."
Boom—
Just as Liu Bolun was about to continue, a sudden force brutally lifted the solid bricks and tiles above their heads.
"Are you Liu Bolun?"
In mid-air, a figure covered in dark red patterns stood with its back to the sunlight, casting a massive shadow on the ground.
"I heard you are quite the brewer?"
"I..."
In the shadow, Liu Bolun watched the figure in the sky, his heart sank.
He didn’t recognize this person who suddenly appeared.
But the Yue Saber embedded in the figure’s chest seemed familiar, the carvings on it clearly a common pattern from Songzhou—though the markings on this broken Yue Saber were more ancient and grand, exuding an inexplicable eeriness.
Yet, the most conspicuous was the figure’s position.
How could a person... fly in the sky?
How was this possible?
"What are you standing around for? Are you him or not?"
The figure in mid-air spoke again, a trace of impatience in its voice.
"Hurry up, I’m on a tight schedule. If you refuse to speak, I’ll just sacrifice you all with blood."
"...It’s me."
Liu Bolun gritted his teeth and nodded.
"I wonder what brings you here..."
"So it’s you."
The mid-air figure reached out a hand, and Liu Bolun’s large body was involuntarily lifted into the sky.
"Since the people of Songzhou say you are the best at brewing, come work with me, rest assured I won’t shortchange you."
"Wha..."
In the air, Liu Bolun struggled desperately, but the mysterious force clamped around his waist like an iron hoop, leaving him unable to break free, helplessly watching as he was lifted higher and higher until the figure in the sky grabbed him.
At that moment, Liu Bolun also saw a sword light rise from the courtyard beside him, shooting straight into the clouds.
"No!"
Liu Bolun shouted at the top of his lungs, anxious from experiencing this force firsthand.
But his voice came a moment too late.
"Such a trivial effort."
Shaking his head, the figure in mid-air casually waved a hand.
The incoming sword light was instantly cut off.
The broken sword light did not dissipate but fell downward, piercing through a net of thirty-six sword lights, through Cui Yuan’s protective Sword Qi, and through Cui Yuan’s right leg, pinning him to the ground.
And then, the figure in the sky carried Liu Bolun away.
It was as if nothing had happened, except for the roof that had been completely blown off and Cui Yuan’s bleeding right leg.
"Come back!"
Cui Yuan struggled to stand.
"Come back here! I’m not dead yet! Keep fighting!"
But the figure receding in the distance did not even consider answering, that composed demeanor, like a tiger disdainful of fighting ants on the ground.
It was a disregard for all, an utter suffocating force.
Far stronger than anyone in Cui Yuan’s memory, far more formidable than Du Chengfeng, a culmination of ultimate terror.
"I haven’t lost yet, I haven’t lost..."
Cui Yuan’s face was pale from excessive blood loss, but he still tried hard to pursue.
But Li the Carpenter on the side held him tightly.
"You can’t win! Don’t go throwing your life away!"
Watching the black dot fading in the high sky, Li the Carpenter gritted his teeth.
"Think...think of a way! Yes! Think of a way to find out where Brother Du is! We need to find him fast!"
In his panic, the first person Li the Carpenter thought of was still Du Chengfeng.
Perhaps only the strongest person in his memory could defeat this airborne monster.
