Chapter Fifty-Three Wine and Meat

  "Gentlemen, walk slowly and be careful on the road." The lame Taoist priest led the little Taoist boys to stand at the gate and bid farewell with a bow.

  "Jia Dao Chang, I've wronged you many times before, don't take it to heart, just take good care of yourself." Baili Kuangfeng patted the cripple's shoulder with his hand.

  Although there were many misunderstandings before, at the time of parting, Jia Zidao felt a little sad and bowed his head again to bid farewell to everyone.

  The East Temple has a shortcut down the mountain, but everyone didn't take this shortcut and instead took the middle route. Everyone was a devout pilgrim, so they went up the mountain from the main gate and left from the main gate as well.

  After walking for a while, Mo didn't ask to turn back and found that the lame Taoist and the little Taoist boy were still standing at the east temple gate. Previously, he had always felt that Jia Zidao was extremely hateful, but now he felt very pitiful. The gap had already opened up in this one year, seven people now each have their own unique skills, while he is still just a doorman Taoist.

  At noon, the audience was eating, and the mountain road was deserted. The crowd silently descended the mountain, reaching the foot of the mountain and turning back to look up. When they first arrived, it was winter, and now when they left, it was still winter. Mount Wuliang was still the same scenery, but the crowd had already made progress in their studies.

  "Vairocana Buddha." The seven people bowed their heads and bid farewell to Mount Wutai and the various Taoist masters in the mountain, and only then did they turn around and leave.

  "After I come out of the mountain, I'll be the host and invite everyone to drink." Ba Li Kuang Feng said loudly.

  Everyone nodded in agreement, learning to come down the mountain is a big joy, and wine should be set up to celebrate. Moreover, the seven people will go their separate ways in the future, and it's unknown when they can meet again, so they should drink hard to send off each other.

  Seven people were still young, the Hundred Mile Wind was at most twenty-three years old. With a youthful temperament, they left the mountain gate like birds leaving their cage. When they got excited, they would quickly move forward with the Wind Chasing Ghost Steps. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they arrived at a town outside the mountain and immediately found an inn to enter.

  A woman in a hemp robe greeted them. Seeing that all seven were dressed as Taoists, she was slightly surprised, but still politely asked them to sit down and poured water for them.

  After everyone sat down, Baili Kuaifeng took out a silver ingot and put it on the table. "Bring some good wine, several catties of meat, and several dishes of vegetables."

  This town was never big, the wine house did small business, the woman had never seen such a scene, seeing that she didn't dare to stretch out her hand to take money, "There is some food and drink, but no meat."

  "What, no meat?" Baili Kui Feng's eyes widened in surprise. "We don't prohibit meat, but it's not a problem if there isn't any."

  The woman was in a dilemma, just then, a man in his thirties walked out of the fire room. The woman turned her head to look at him, "Ah Shan, these little Taoist masters want to eat meat."

  The man called Ashan, who might be the woman's husband, looked at the silver on the table with a difficult expression, hesitated for a moment and nodded to the woman. The woman took the silver and left after seeing this.

  "Baili, you're so extravagant, how will you make a living in the future?" Mo Xun asked Baili, who was amidst a storm of criticism.

  "After learning magic, I'm not worried about getting rich. The Huns' wealth is mostly stolen from us Han people, and taking it back isn't a crime." Baili Kui Feng said with a carefree attitude.

  "If you want to use money, there's no need to rob. If you don't have any urgent matters to attend to, you can follow me and get some gold and silver." Qian Shui said with a shake of his head.

  "Qian Sui, where did you get this gold and silver?" Ye Xiao Yao asked.

  "There are many gold and silver treasures lost underwater, it's easy for me to take them." Qian Shui smiled.

  Everyone nodded in agreement, as it has been the case since ancient times that many boats have sunk in the water. What Qian Sui said was certainly not false. However, no one had any intention of following him to retrieve the gold and silver, for the journey was too long, taking more than a month back and forth.

  "Let's part ways for today and who knows when we'll meet again. We should leave each other with a way to contact, so we don't lose touch." suggested Bai Li Kuang Feng.

  Everyone agreed as soon as they heard it, but everyone was an orphan with no parents or family, except for Ah Jiu who lived in the Nameless Mountain. The others were all wandering around without a fixed abode, and nobody knew where they would go in the future. In this way, it was impossible to convey messages, but they could leave behind talismans to transmit simple messages through them.

  While everyone was talking, the woman brought up wine and dishes. The wine was contained in a clay jar, about five or six catties. There were four cold dishes: bean curd, pickled bamboo shoots, garlic sauce, and radish. Old Five had sharp eyes, stood up to take over the wine jug and poured wine for everyone. Everyone held their wine bowls and stood up.

  "Chisato, you're the oldest, you speak first." Hyakuri Kogane said to Chisato.

  "I am a water tribe outcast, with no great use, my fellow disciples have their requests, none of which I refuse." Qian Sui was not good at speaking, and after just a few words he drank his wine and sat down.

  "No matter when, as long as brother has a difficult time conveying his message, I will definitely go to assist him, even if it's thousands of miles away." Baili Kui Feng drank it all in one gulp.

  "If I had mastered the art back then, I would have sent a bird to carry you over." Ye Xiangyang smiled and drank from his bowl of wine.

  "What I've learned is useless, only good for hiding and sneaking around. But even a chicken's cry or a dog's theft can help Meng Zong escape from trouble. Fellow students of the same school, if you have something to ask, I won't refuse." Liu Shaoqing also drained his bowl of wine.

  "If anyone offends you all, I'll become his father and go scold him." said Liu Song with a smile.

  As soon as this was said, everyone burst out laughing, and the seven people's requested spells all had wonderful uses, none of them were useless.

  "You walk and stop like that woman, changing into someone else's mother is even more like it." Ye Xiao Yao burst out laughing.

  Liu Song heard this and didn't get angry, pretending to be shy and coquettish, throwing a flirtatious glance at night, "This young master is handsome, has good looks, I wonder where he's from, can we arrange a marriage?"

  "Come on, quickly drag this eunuch away, he has ruined the Daoist priest's appetite for no reason." Ye Xiangyang burst out laughing and shook his head with his left hand supporting his forehead and his right hand waving repeatedly.

  Everyone burst out laughing again.

  "I'm a useless scholar, each of you has your own strengths, but I have no use at all. Later on, I'll inevitably be troubling all of you." Mo Wu said to the crowd with his hands holding a wine bowl.

  As soon as this was said, everyone else became modest and said that he was the youngest, so it was only right for him to help. Mo didn't ask about his expression, but in his heart he felt a great sense of relief. Earlier, when he had obtained the Tianlang brush, he had been uneasy at heart, fearing that others would be unhappy about it. Now, seeing that everyone else did not hold any grudges, he finally put his mind at ease and drank down the white wine in his bowl before sitting back down in his seat.

  "I'm not good at drinking, let's just forget it." Ah Jiu looked at the white wine in his bowl with a difficult expression.

  "That won't do, everyone's drinking, how can you be an exception?" Ba Li Kuang Feng was the first to speak out in opposition.

  "If I reveal my true form after drinking, wouldn't that scare you all?" Ah Jiu said with a smile.

  A-Jiu was originally beautiful, and with a smile, she looked even more lovely. The crowd thought she was a woman and all felt a pang of sympathy, unwilling to coerce her further.

  "It doesn't matter if you don't drink it, just make sure to stock up on more Rejuvenating Spirit Pills for us in the future." Under the cover of night, Xiao Yao's heart still felt unfulfilled, so he took advantage of the situation.

  Ajiu hastily picked up the wine bowl he had just put down and drank it all in one gulp. He then put down the wine bowl, "You all know where I live, if you need anything in the future, go to Wúmíng Mountain to find me, and I will provide healing medicine as needed."

  "Ajiu is so stingy, we can also refine the wound-healing medicine ourselves, why don't you allow us to have that Buxi Lingdan?" Ba Li Kuangfeng said with a glare.

  As soon as this was said, everyone burst out laughing and pointed at Mo Wu, saying "This must be left for Mo Wu."

  As everyone was chatting and laughing, the woman from the wine house brought up another dish of stir-fried mustard greens. Everyone picked up their chopsticks to eat and drink.

  Although the host had arranged a seat for Lao Wu, he did not sit down and instead went around serving tea and pouring wine. Several people urged him to take his seat, but he refused, at this time the hierarchy was extremely clear, although Mo Xiang treated Lao Wu like a brother, Lao Wu never overstepped his bounds in front of others.

  Recently, in the mountains, every day there were only two meals of thin porridge. Everyone was already starving, and seeing the wine and food, they frequently raised their cups and chopsticks, eating and drinking with relish. The shopkeeper then brought up a plate of eggs with garlic shoots, and finally, a bowl of stewed meat dishes.

  "Shopkeeper, where did you get this venison?" asked the puzzled woman.

  The woman was standing outside the door, looking out. Upon hearing this, she turned around and replied, "A few days ago, my husband hunted it in the mountains and hasn't had the heart to eat it yet. He wanted to save it for New Year's Eve, but since you gentlemen have spent so much silver, I should treat each of you with respect."

  Everyone heard the words and rushed to thank him again. Deer meat is a high-quality meat, strictly forbidden by the government for civilians to hunt and kill, ordinary people can't eat it normally, the woman was hesitant before because eating deer meat offended the official's taboo.

  It had been a long time since the crowd had seen meat, so they naturally ate with great relish. Baili Feng saw that Lao Wu refused to sit down and eat, so he grabbed half a deer leg and handed it to him. Lao Wu declined, but Baili Feng glared at him in anger, and only then did Lao Wu accept it.

  Deer is a relatively clean animal in the beast category, deer meat is not greasy or dry, but Mo Wen only tasted it lightly, he had been used to eating plain rice and vegetables for more than a year. The other six people ate with great relish, Ah Jiu also liked meat food, but his eating manner was not as rough as others.

  "What the previous real person said about natural disasters and man-made disasters..."

  "Don't ask, how you're more energetic than the disaster, do you really want to receive congratulations from all the immortals?" Baili Feng interrupted Mo Wen's words.

  "That was the original intention of Shangqing Yizong to impart our skills, entrusted by others, when we should be loyal to others' affairs, otherwise wouldn't it be in vain to receive others' skills?" Mo Xun said solemnly.

  "Man-made disasters are just barbarians; expelling them from China would be a great achievement." Baili Fengchui drank wine from his bowl.

  "What about the natural disaster?" Mo Xuan picked up his water cup.

  "You are indeed clever for a moment, but foolish for a lifetime. The only thing that can make the world extinct after a hundred years is Buddhism." Ye Xiao Yao threw away the bone and wiped his hands, "I don't understand the teachings of Buddhism very well either, but just this one rule of prohibiting marriage between men and women is a heinous crime against the world. If everyone in the world believed in Buddhism, there would be no one to carry on the family line, and that would be a genuine disaster."

  Don't ask, but the words are half-believed and half-doubted. Previously, an immortal had left a message saying "Stop human calamities, pacify heavenly disasters". The word 'pacify' is even more severe than 'stop', meaning that the evil consequences brought by Buddhism are even more serious than war.

  "Don't ask, you are a person from Jin country, your emperor of Jin country believes in Buddhism, if you go back to the southern country, your days will definitely not be good." Yexiao said with a shake of his head.

  "Why would people from Middle-earth follow a foreign cult?" Mo asked with furrowed brow and shaking head.

  "Haha, from ancient times to the present, Confucians have plotted against the throne, Taoists have plotted against the throne, but when have you ever seen a Buddhist disciple plot against the throne? Such an obedient and compliant sect, even if I were emperor, I would promote it." Ye Xiangyang laughed.

  "Hahaha, don't ask, in the future we'll go kill the Tartars and live to a ripe old age. You go kill the monks and get a myriad of immortals coming to pay respects." Baili Fengxi laughed loudly, holding his belly.

  Mo Wen heard the words and swept a glance over the crowd. The saint said, "If you don't investigate thoroughly, you can't speak recklessly." At this time, he was still unclear about the Buddhist teachings and didn't understand whether they were good or bad.

  At this moment, the woman standing at the door turned around and ran in, picked up the ceramic basin on the table and turned around to run.

  "What is this?" Ba Li Kuang Feng stood up straight in anger.

  "The barbarians are coming, all you little Taoist masters hurry up and hide..."