Chapter 2056 (Raw 2151): Suspicious
“Red peach blossoms on both sides of the river; unpredictable and arriving with the wind. Thirty years to seek an old dream, only to get a cup of wine in a golden goblet!”
The zither music stopped. Then, the youth who played the zither packed it away and slung it on his back.
As this youth looked at the reflections of the peach blossoms on both sides of the river, he murmured, “It’s time to enter the city. The people who should come are all here already.”
—
As the boat moved along the river, it slowed down.
The noise from behind slowly vanished. Xiao Chen looked somewhat curiously at Drunkard Cui and asked softly, “Senior, do you know Grandpa Seven?”
Drunkard Cui smiled before sighing, “I waited for him for thirty years at this Peach Blossom Wall. It looks like he still could not forget the past. He truly won’t be coming anymore.”
Iron Egg asked in shock, “Uncle, what did my Uncle Seven experienced back then? Why did he never come back to Peach Blossom City?”
Xiao Chen found this slightly strange. Could there be another reason for his not coming to the Peach Blossom City, aside from the Cold Yin Spring drying up?
Drunkard Cui eyed the two with a reminiscing expression. “I met your Grandpa Seven fifty years ago. The first time he came to Peach Blossom City, he rode on my boat. Great fellow. He gave me a cup of Wild Fire and nearly made me look bad before everyone. You two might not know this. Back then, when Old Seven just came to Peach Blossom City, his fame had spread everywhere. Seven large sects wanted to invite him over, to nurture him.
“However, he refused to go. His pride ended up offending several people. Nonetheless, an endless stream of people still came to ask him for his wine every time he came. However…”
Iron Egg felt somewhat stunned. He had not at all expected the seemingly ordinary Grandpa Seven of the village to have such a story.
Xiao Chen did not feel very surprised. From the first moment he saw Grandpa Seven, he knew that Grandpa Seven was someone who had seen the world.
The way Grandpa Seven spoke was not like that of an ordinary person. From the very beginning, Xiao Chen had maintained a certain level of respect for him.
Iron Egg prompted anxiously, “However, what?”
Drunkard Cui sighed and said, “During the wine festival of thirty years ago, after Old Seven finally brewed Waning Moon, he gained the qualifications to participate in the Wine King Contest and obtain a promise from Peach Blossom City’s City Lord. That was a dream that he had been working hard towards. However, he lost to a person during that Wine King Contest. It was a miserable loss, a humiliatingly miserable loss… After that, I never saw him again.
“The events of the world are really interesting. I waited for thirty years, but he never came. However, I met his family. It is no mere coincidence for you to meet me.”
Indeed, the two had not heard of Drunkard Cui before they arrived here. They did not know about Grandpa Seven’s glorious past in Peach Blossom City.
Furthermore, there was Grandpa Seven’s intimate friendship with this old man in a woven rush raincoat.
Drunkard Cui did not ferry anyone for thirty years to wait for one person, even achieving infamy. Such a friendship was not easily formed.
Grandpa Seven had not left any special instruction, yet the two strangely ended up on Drunkard Cui’s boat.
This meeting could only be said to have been fated.
This cup of wine brought closure to the two old men’s friendship.
“Who defeated Grandpa Seven?” Xiao Chen asked.
Drunkard Cui replied, “Liu Yuanfei. He is now the royal court’s brewer in the eastern region’s Hound Lion Empire. He is known as Great Master Yuanfei…It is all because of Old Seven’s stubbornness, refusing to join a sect or accept the resources of an empire. Otherwise, that would not have happened.”
Drunkard Cui’s words did not give anything away, but Xiao Chen could roughly guess. This so-called Great Master Yuanfei definitely did not defeat Grandpa Seven in a simple fashion. That person must have done something terrible; hence, Grandpa Seven no longer came to Peach Blossom City.
Grandpa Seven might have even been wronged.
“Senior Cui! You are actually ferrying someone!”
Just at this moment, a magnificent fortress ship with dragons and phoenixes carved on it passed by in the sky. Its banners fluttered noisily in the wind.
A youth stood upright with his hands behind his back on the bow of the ship. When he saw Drunkard Cui, he felt extremely startled.
There was a crowd of young women on the fortress ship; their gleeful laughter filled the bustling decks.
Drunkard Cui shot a glance over, then ignored them, focusing on piloting the boat.
“Senior Cui, would you like to come up and chat? I’ve already prepared fine wine that definitely won’t disappoint Senior.” That youth wore embroidered robes and had an extraordinary air. Furthermore, he was actually a Sovereign Personage.
However, this person still displayed an extremely polite attitude to Drunkard Cui.
“I’m not interested.” Drunkard Cui waved his hand, decisively rejecting the invitation.
“Haha! Sorry for interrupting, then.”
The youth frowned slightly as he cast his gaze on Xiao Chen. A sinister look flashed in his eyes. What wine did this fellow use to move Senior Cui? Can it spoil my plans?
The fortress ship moved very fast. Soon, it vanished from the boat’s sight.
Taken aback, Iron Egg asked, “Who was that? To think that he so arrogantly brought his fortress ship over.”
The various small boats of Peach Blossom City filled the clear river. The tall, magnificent, and lavish ship appeared very eye-catching when it suddenly appeared.
Drunkard Cui replied indifferently, “That person was Ye Han, the strongest true inheritor of the Glacial Mountain Manor, a Rank 7 sect of the eastern region. He was just given some face due to his sect. This is a rare centennial wine festival. There are always some unusual people coming to join the festivities. After seeing more of this, it will no longer be strange.”
By the end of the journey, Xiao Chen finally understood what Drunkard Cui meant by “after seeing more of this, it will no longer be strange.”
It was not just the Rank 7 sects and empires of the eastern and northern regions that sent representatives. Even the Demonic Dao factions from the distant Xuewu Dynasty came to participate in the festivities.
The fame of this Peach Blossom Wine Festival genuinely spread far and wide.
What surprised Xiao Chen and Iron Egg more was that when the fortress ships of the various large factions appeared, they were extremely shocked when they saw Drunkard Cui. When they invited Drunkard Cui aboard, Drunkard Cui rejected them all.
This made Xiao Chen feel confused and suspicious. What was the background of this old man?
One hour later, the river took the boat through a set of city gates. Then, the scene before everyone widened significantly.
An ancient and exuberant city magically appeared before Xiao Chen and Iron Egg. Before this, they did not feel much at all.
To think that there was such a vast and majestic city behind the peach forest.
Xiao Chen wondered what formation hid this city in such a marvelous fashion.
When one followed the flow and entered the city, it looked like the city suddenly appeared.
“Go in, then. The wine festival will begin in a few days. You two can wander around freely. You can also sell your wine here. This city should be very bustling during these few days. That’s right…”
Drunkard Cui thought of something, then said, “Give me a bottle of Waning Moon. I will register you for the Wine King Contest. You have to give it a try.”
Xiao Chen already knew that the boatmen were all wine appraisers sent by the City Lord’s Residence.
Ferrying people after tasting the wine, this was a process of appraising good wine and submitting applications for the Wine King Contest.
Of course, the Rank 7 sects did not have to go through all that trouble. They all had the qualifications to participate in the Wine King Contest directly.
After Xiao Chen handed over a bottle of Waning Moon, he took his leave from the old man.
The two disembarked and formally entered Peach Blossom City.
The city was very busy and bustling, a dazzling sight that overwhelmed one’s eyes.
Taverns filled the place. Wine fragrance permeated the air. One could accidentally get drunk by just breathing.
After Iron Egg entered the city, he became very excited. As he looked around, he felt shocked. These were all scenes that he had never seen before.
Xiao Chen felt equally excited. The two leisurely wandered the city, occasionally stopping and marveling at new strange things.
“The Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter is out. Everyone, quickly, take a look!”
“She came out again? Could it be that no one could appraise the wine that the Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter brought?”
“Hurry up. Hurry up. If we are too late, she might not appear again.”
Suddenly, the people in the street, where Xiao Chen was, frantically rushed to the east.
Iron Egg said excitedly, “Big Brother Xiao, the Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter is actually here too!”
The Heavenly Fragrance Holy Land!
Xiao Chen thought about it and recalled meeting a group of Heavenly Fragrance disciples when he first arrived at the Desolate Sea.
At that time, the woman blowing the flute gave him a bottle of Medicinal Pills when she saw that Xiao Chen was inflicted with Thousand Taste Revolution.
“Let’s go over and take a look.” Xiao Chen maintained his calm as he led Iron Egg over, following the crowd.
The crowd gathered at a residence in the east. The place was packed with people. Xiao Chen had to put in some effort before he could squeeze his way in.
Several elegant, fairy-like Heavenly Fragrance disciples, who looked beautiful, giving off an extraordinary air, stood behind a white jade table before the residence.
“Our Young Miss came across a bottle of fine wine half a year ago and liked it a lot. Unfortunately, she does not know its name. All the brewers and appraisers she found could not identify it. Coincidentally, the centennial Peach Blossom Wine Festival is taking place. All the people who like wine in the Desolate Sea will gather here. If anyone can tell us about this wine’s origins, our Young Miss will issue a big reward,” a Heavenly Fragrance disciple announced as she looked around, pointing to the wine in the cup on the table.
If one could figure out the origins of this wine, not only could one meet with the Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter, but one could also obtain a big reward.
Without a doubt, this was very tempting.
“Big Brother Xiao, do you want to try… Big Brother Xiao, why aren’t you saying anything?” the incredibly excited Iron Egg asked in confusion when he noticed a strange expression on Xiao Chen’s face.
As Xiao Chen looked at the wine in the cup, he appeared distracted. Why does this wine look like Thousand Year Flame?
Did Mo Chen come out of the Kunlun Realm?
