klisemfg Chapter 472 The Eight Drunken Immortals Cleverly Enter the Dark River, and the Three Straw Hat Ghost
Chapter 472 The Eight Drunken Immortals Cleverly Enter the Dark River, and the Three Straw Hat Ghost
Upon hearing the words "Baili Dongjun", Master Xie trembled violently!
His pupils contracted sharply as he stared intently at Su Zhe, his breathing quickening.
Su Zhe pressed his advantage: "My old friend is acquainted with Baili Dongjun. If he were to obtain such a fine wine as Master Xie's Drunken Eight Immortals, I don't believe Baili Dongjun wouldn't be envious. My old friend will definitely share a cup with him then..."
He paused, then said, word by word, "After drinking this cup of wine, Baili Dongjun should know that if you had used the Eight Drunken Immortals to challenge him to a drinking contest, he would have had no chance of winning!"
These words struck Xie Shi like a heavy hammer blow.
The failure two years ago has been a thorn in my side for the past three years, keeping me awake at night.
He wasn't a sore loser, he was just unwilling to accept it—unwilling to accept that he couldn't bring out the best wine because of the rules.
I am unwilling to let a young man leave a stain on his most proud field.
If Baili Dongjun really tasted the Drunken Eight Immortals, what would his evaluation be?
Would he admit that this wine... is superior to his Seven Starry Night Wine?
Teacher Xie closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling.
After a long while, he let out a long breath, a resolute glint in his eyes.
"That's all."
He reached out, took only the five silver notes, and turned to hand them to the shopkeeper behind the counter: "Put it in the account."
Without even glancing at the five hundred taels of silver, he walked straight into the back room.
Su Changhe was stunned: "Uncle Zhe, this..."
"It's done!" Su Zhe's lips curled up, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
Sure enough, after a short while, Master Xie came out carrying a sandalwood wine gourd.
The gourd was small, purplish-black in color, and had a warm, lustrous sheen on its surface; it was clearly an antique.
Master Xie handed the gourd to Su Zhe, his voice low: "There are two catties of Drunken Eight Immortals in here, but—"
He stared at Su Zhe, his gaze sharp as a knife: "The three of you are also people who travel the martial world, this matter must not be publicized!"
If word gets out, the reputation of the watchtower will be jeopardized, and it will bring me disaster. The three of you... should understand, right?
Su Zhe solemnly accepted the gourd, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and promised, "Thank you, Master, rest assured, we will definitely keep our mouths shut!"
"Go on, consider it fate that it was your old friend who met me!" Master Xie waved his hand and turned away, no longer looking at them.
The three of them quickly walked out of the watchtower and disappeared into the night.
Teacher Xie stood in the empty hall, watching the three figures leave, motionless for a long time.
The candlelight flickered, casting alternating light and shadow on his face.
He suddenly murmured to himself, "Baili Dongjun... if you really taste this Drunken Eight Immortals, will you... regret winning it too easily?"
The voice was very soft, yet it carried an indescribable complexity.
Was it anticipation? Was it resentment? Or... relief? Even he himself couldn't say for sure.
But the thorn that had been stuck in my heart for three years seemed to have loosened a little.
Outside Tianqi City, beside the official road.
The moonlight was cool and clear, and the night wind rustled through the roadside weeds.
Three fast horses were tied to a tree and were chewing hay.
Su Changhe held the agarwood wine gourd, his face beaming with joy.
"Uncle Zhe, you're really something! A thousand taels of silver, and Master Xie only took five hundred taels for the wine. The other five hundred taels of cash are back! What a great deal!"
Su Muyu glanced at him, finding it amusing, but said nothing.
Su Zhe mounted his horse, put his bamboo hat back on, and said from under the hat, "I knew it. As long as Baili Dongjun was mentioned, Master Xie would definitely give it to me."
"Why?" Su Changhe asked, puzzled. "It's just that I lost a drinking contest back then, is it really worth holding such a grudge?"
“Not entirely.” Su Zhe tightened the reins. “For a winemaker, the craft is the most important thing. Master Xie dedicated his life to winemaking and considered himself unparalleled in the world, yet he lost to a young man at the height of his success.”
He swallowed that bitter pill for over a year. We're giving him a chance—to let Baili Dongjun know that he wasn't inferior in skill, but simply hadn't given his all back then.
This was far more tempting to him than offering him a thousand or ten thousand taels of silver.
Su Changhe suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! Uncle Zhe, you're more cunning than a beehive!"
"Stop being so glib." Su Zhe spurred his horse. "Mount up and let's get going. Snow Moon City is a thousand miles away. We need to get there within three days."
The three men galloped on their horses, their hooves shattering the moonlight and raising a cloud of dust on the official road.
Su Changhe carefully stuffed the wine gourd into his bosom, patted it reassuringly, and then urged his horse to catch up.
As he ran, he couldn't help but grin again: "Muyu, after we finish this job, let's go to Nan'an City and buy a big house... how about it?"
"We have to survive first!" Su Muyu interrupted him, her voice cold.
Su Changhe choked and awkwardly shut his mouth.
Yes, every job on the underground river is fraught with danger and death.
Snow Moon City is full of experts, and Baili Dongjun is even more unfathomable.
To go there and kill someone, you have to kill a heavily guarded wanted criminal...
He touched the wine gourd in his arms, and the joy in his heart immediately dissipated by more than half.
Su Zhe ran in the lead, his eyes squinting under his straw hat as he gazed at the deep night ahead.
This mission seems simple—using the Eight Drunken Immortals as bait, infiltrate Snow Moon City, and seize the opportunity to assassinate Hu Bufei.
However, the fact that the Dark River Clan Chief personally gave instructions and that the Shadow Sect was also pressing for action indicates that this matter is by no means simple.
However, the patriarch of the Dark River Clan did not tell Su Zhe more of the inside details, and instructed him not to ask too many questions, and even more so not to discuss the matter with the brothers Su Muyu and Su Changhe.
Why would the court go to such lengths to deal with Hu Bufei, a mere censor who had lost his official position?
Why would Snowmoon City defy the world and take in a wanted criminal?
Su Zhe believed that there was something deeper involved behind this.
However, the Dark River doesn't care about cause and effect, it only cares about the result.
Take the money, get the job done, and bring back the heads that should be taken—that's the rule.
"Quickly!" Su Zhe shouted, lashing the horse's rump with the whip.
The three swift horses disappeared into the depths of the night like arrows released from a bow.
……