Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Fragrant Liquor
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So-hyang's travel satchel was sorely lacking for anything a traveler might carry.
Of course, there was no dry rations or food of any kind, nor water or spare clothes or undergarments.
That made sense, since after forging the Spirit Sword, So-hyang had essentially been freed from the need to eat. She was the living embodiment of the saying "a woman who lives on dew alone," so she had no need for food or water.
Since she wasn't eating, no bodily waste was produced, and the constant barrier of spirit energy she maintained blocked out all external contaminants, so she had no reason to pack spare clothes either.
So what on earth was in the satchel?
"...Are you planning to peddle liquor or something?"
It was filled to the brim with over a dozen bottles of alcohol and assorted snacks suitable as accompaniments.
"Ahaha, isn't it romantic?"
After clashing swords passionately with a worthy opponent and testing each other's mettle, sharing drinks and conversation in a scenic spot.
It was the romance So-hyang had harbored since her previous life, as it had been before.
She would usually be the one issuing the challenge, so it was only proper that she be the one treating to drinks as well.
And if she was going to treat, wouldn't it be best to offer her own hand-brewed liquor?
She planned to visit the Five Great Families, Nine Great Sects and One Clan, and the Sixteen Prestigious Schools of the orthodox faction first, so she had prepared exactly sixteen bottles of liquor in total.
On her previous visit to the Zhuge family, she had served the family head a distilled shochu made from sweet potatoes as the base ingredient.
This time, for Mount Wudang, the liquor was a green tea liqueur infused with the tea's aroma as the main ingredient.
"Heavens, what is this fragrance...?"
Liqueur's other name was fragrant liquor. It was a type of strong alcohol where specific ingredients' aromas, flavors, and sugars were added to spirits.
"I sourced West Lake Dragon Well tea leaves directly for the base. They're top-quality, not inferior even to the ones you grow yourself, True Person. You can look forward to the taste."
"Sigh... I can tell without the explanation...!"
True Person Qinghe, who had refused up until now, abandoned all pretense and dashed into the hut with an excited expression to fetch teacups.
"This might be disrespectful to such fine liquor, but there are no glasses inside... Will these do?"
"Of course! But you only brought two cups?"
"Hm? What do you-"
"Come on, are we the only ones with mouths? The others would feel left out. Grab four more."
So-hyang, True Person Qinghe, and the Sect Leader—three absolute peak masters.
Song Seolryeong, Jegal Hansang, and Kang Pyo, who had been forcibly dragged by So-hyang and climbed the cliff—three peak-level warriors.
That made six people at the summit of Mount Wudang.
"Me too?"
The Sect Leader muttered that he was a Daoist after all, and the head of the Wudang Sect, but...
"Come on, Master is drinking first. Why fuss over such things?"
It would be ridiculous to stand on ceremony when an elder of even higher seniority—not to mention his own martial arts master—was drinking first.
"Ah, is that so...?"
"Besides, alcohol is something you learn from your parents. If you're going to drink, why not do it in front of the True Person?"
And then.
[A drinking party with your beloved? Can you pass that up?]
"...! I'll drink!"
The Sect Leader's eyes sparkled with rainbow hues at So-hyang's telepathic message piercing his eardrums, and he nodded eagerly.
The others reacted similarly.
"Ahem, if it's offered, it would be rude to refuse."
Kang Pyo, well-acquainted with drink from his ronin days, eyed the alluringly fragrant bottle with sparkling eyes.
"Haha! Any liquor from the young lady is more than welcome!"
Jegal Hansang simply grinned widely at the prospect of So-hyang pouring him a cup.
"...We're drinking too?"
Only Song Seolryeong looked flustered.
It wasn't that she disliked alcohol, but more that she felt burdened sharing a table with such lofty superiors.
They had just said it was for those who had crossed swords together, but now including them too?
"I don't plan to be that picky. Drinking parties are more fun with more people."
So-hyang wasn't performing some solemn ritual under strict conditions; she just wanted to share drinks joyfully with like-minded companions.
"Hm, that's true, but-"
True Person Qinghe wasn't particularly authoritarian, so he had no qualms about dining with much younger juniors.
But he hesitated for another reason.
"-Will one bottle be enough?"
The aroma suggested it was a potent brew, but with six people, one bottle wouldn't suffice.
True Person Qinghe openly revealed his regret, no longer hiding his drinker's nature.
"Heh, no need to worry about that."
She had prepared it with six drinkers in mind from the start, so the bottle she pulled from her satchel was suited to that.
So-hyang shook the bottle lightly with a confident smile.
"This one is made to be mixed and drunk."
Unlike the sloshing shochu from before, the contents shook thickly and viscously.
Liqueur was originally medicinal or tonic alcohol, but in So-hyang's era, it was primarily used as a cocktail ingredient.
Cocktail.
In Central Plains terms, a mixed liquor—a concept akin to a dish made by blending various alcohols.
However, rather than mixing various spirits for new flavors as in true cocktails, So-hyang had created a concentrated essence designed for repeated use or serving many people.
A kind of seasoning that elevated ordinary liquor to the ranks of fine brews.
"Mix it into decent clear rice wine, and it multiplies into dozens of bottles' worth."
For that reason, So-hyang had named this liquor Verdant Concentrate.
A thick brew made from green tea.
The name seemed simplistic at first glance, almost lazy, but for a brew of this caliber, even that lent it elegance.
"Ho, such a type of liquor exists?"
"Probably the first I've made."
Diluting harsh spirits with water for cheap fire wine was common, but brewing with dilution in mind from the start was likely unheard of in the Central Plains.
Especially for something this meticulously crafted, qualifying as fine liquor.
In other words, besides the Verdant Concentrate So-hyang had produced, more alcohol was needed.
"So, could you go down and buy some? Anything decent will do, just skip the cloudy rice wine varieties—they won't match."
Thus, So-hyang naturally delegated the errand to True Person Qinghe.
"...You're telling this poor Daoist to buy liquor?"
"Yep. Oh, pay with this."
Somehow, without anyone noticing, a silver ingot had been slipped into his hand.
"Wha, when did...?"
It was so stealthy and fluid that even an absolute peak master hadn't detected it. Using such exquisite grappling arts for a liquor run was absurd.
"Hm? Why aren't you going?"
"Well, I'm a Daoist, and as I said myself, it's embarrassing, but I'm the highest elder of Wudang. Is this proper hierarchy...?"
So-hyang smiled and lifted the hem of her mud-caked clothes as she looked up at him.
"Wouldn't it be awkward for me to go down like this?"
Well, going to town looking like that might be awkward... She's a monstrous junior, but still a woman...
"Then, shall I send one of the others...?"
True Person Qinghe naturally turned his gaze to the three who could be called his subordinates.
"Eek!?"
Song Seolryeong involuntarily let out a startled yelp at the subtle glance from the supreme elder, higher even than her sect's venerables.
Climb down the cliff from Wudang's summit, buy liquor, and climb back up?
Us?
The sudden brush with death and the stark realization of the gap in prowess.
The cliff to Wudang's summit was a mere stroll for absolute peak masters, but a life-risking ascent for peak warriors.
Of course, if ordered by someone like True Person Qinghe, they would have no choice but to obey...
"No, that won't do..."
But True Person Qinghe wasn't the type to be that heartless, so he shook his head at the fleeting thought.
"Right? You'd kill them all?"
Song Seolryeong and the others thought it rich coming from the one who had just forced them up the cliff, but...
"Th-that's what you'd say...?"
"Huh?"
"...Never mind."
They swallowed their rising grievances quietly.
This was the world of the Central Plains martial arts. The weak had to hold their tongues—what could they do?
"Master, let me go-"
"-No, Cheongha! I'll go...!"
He didn't want to send his precious disciple on a menial liquor errand, and before that, she was Wudang's Sect Leader.
How humiliating for a venerable of an ancient Daoist sect to buy liquor in town.
Better he go himself.
"Sigh... I'll just use disguise arts to change my face and go..."
"Then, while you're out, True Person, I'll wash my clothes and clean up a bit?"
There was a certain charm to gulping liquor while sweat-soaked and exhausted, but it was better savored cleanly.
True Person Qinghe could only stare in bewilderment as So-hyang casually produced a bathtub as if it were her own home and filled it with water.
"Is this right...? Sigh, whatever."
At this point, arguing was pointless, so True Person Qinghe leaped off the cliff with a conflicted expression, muttering "no, no" under his breath.
"Infinite Blessings... Cursed by fine liquor, my cultivation so shallow, Qinghe, oh Qinghe...!"
"Take care~! Grab some fruit for snacks too~!"
So-hyang cheerfully saw him off, tacking on one more errand.
She gazed at True Person Qinghe plummeting through the clouds, then proposed to the others staring at her in bewilderment.
"You've all sweated a lot too, so shall we wash up while we wait?"
"...Y-yes?"
"T-to-together!?"
"So-hyang? What do you...?"
Thus, at So-hyang's urging, the group took time to bathe in warmed water.
...It was phrasing open to misunderstanding, but naturally, she didn't mean a mixed bath.
Fortunately, there were multiple bathtubs, so the men bathed separately from the women.
"...Khk!"
"Brother Jegal, what exactly were you expecting...?"
The men focused silently on washing, but the women's bath was quite lively.
"Oh my, Sister, your skin is..."
"Eh, thanks to bone transformation. The Sect Leader doesn't have a single blemish either."
Strictly speaking, So-hyang hadn't achieved the martial bone transformation of common lore, but it was a convenient shorthand.
Bone transformation literally meant changing bones and shedding skin, which she had done through her own power, if not martial arts—so it wasn't a lie.
"No, even with bone transformation, this skin defies reason."
"...Must be nice, all transformed and such."
Song Seolryeong, muttering "Where am I? Who am I?" between the two superhumans, dunked her head gloomily into the water.
Thus, the bath filled with women-specific chatter, from skin, hair, and looks to the inevitable romance talk.
"As I said earlier, when targeting the True Person, don't rush it. Not even with alcohol's help."
Of course, So-hyang from her previous life hadn't enjoyed such talk, nor did this life's much differ.
But the master-disciple pair's relationship intrigued her so much that she spared no advice to help them connect.
"...Yes, I will!"
The Sect Leader listened intently to her first "sister" to affirm her feelings, eyes sparkling.
"Wh-what is this...! No, no, I can't hear...! Can't hear...!"
Conversely, Song Seolryeong, thrust into knowing her sect's secrets, plugged her ears desperately to block the conversation.
"-Liquor and fruit, got 'em! Come out now!"
Just then, True Person Qinghe, who had gone down to Gyunhyeon at Wudang's base for booze, called out.
So-hyang, deep in talk with the Sect Leader, replied with mild regret.
"My, you were quick."
"It's just a hop away—how long could it take?"
"True enough."
"'Just... a hop... away'?"
Song Seolryeong muttered in disbelief.
Even the nearest town wasn't that close.
It stemmed from the warped distance sense unique to absolute peaks.
An overwhelming gap allowing them to maintain otherworldly lightness skills casually.
To absolute peak masters, the Central Plains was far smaller than it seemed to those of lesser realms.
Of course, it was still vast.
So-hyang dried her steaming body, dressed in freshly laundered clothes.
They weren't fully dry yet, but she shook off the moisture cleanly with snaps like shaking a blanket.
This was achieved purely through supreme control of strength, without even spirit energy—truly an inscrutable feat.
"So, can we finally drink this liquor?"
The tumultuous preparations ended, and now it was time to share drinks.
"...Tr-True Person? Aren't you rushing? You still need to maintain some dignity-"
The gravity of the Central Plains' foremost Daoist sect's supreme elder vanished; he openly showed his excitement as a drinker.
"-Dignity now?! Hurry and pour the liquor!"
He had already drooled over fine brew before juniors and disciple, even running errands like a kid at So-hyang's behest.
No face left to save.
"Heh, just a moment?"
So-hyang sampled the liquors True Person Qinghe bought, then added drops of Verdant Concentrate at precise ratios, blending smoothly.
Verdant Concentrate could turn even cheap fire wine into fine liquor with rough estimation, but So-hyang put extra care into the mix.
An exceptional brewer and top-tier bartender, she followed intricate techniques even in shaking and stirring.
The result: clear rice wine infused with lustrous emerald swirls like polished jade.
"Here, the eldest first."
So-hyang poured a cup gracefully before True Person Qinghe, like a premier courtesan.
"...Heavens."
The thick aroma and texture had mellowed slightly, diluted a bit.
"Insane, this is insane."
It had smelled of dense sweetness and fragrant green tea moments ago, yet now a fruity tartness joined in.
The aroma even more piercingly intense than before mixing—True Person Qinghe truly grasped that Verdant Concentrate was designed for blending.
This was a liquor completed by mixing.
The difference before and after was heaven and earth.
True Person Qinghe stared down the jade surface reflecting sunlight, then squeezed his eyes shut and brought the cup to his lips.
A sip, and the pristine green liquid cautiously entered his mouth.
First, subtle fruit and sugarcane notes.
Then, a fleeting bitter edge of the spirits.
Followed by a rich, profound sweetness stimulating the tongue.
The finale revealed itself sliding down his throat.
A bold, aromatic green tea scent.
From mouth to throat, coating esophagus and stomach, soon seeming to emanate from every pore.
"Huuuuh...!"
Before he could exclaim "What demon brew is this?", So-hyang beat him to it.
"Want another?"
The cup refilled unnoticed, by that exquisite sleight? Or had he zoned out?
No idea.
But one thing was certain: as she said, he craved just one more.
True Person Qinghe lifted the cup again, downing it entranced.
"Huuuuk! Primeval Heavenly Lord...!"
The group eyed the white-haired youth's dangerously ecstatic expression with awkward unease.
"...Is he okay?"
"Th-that's... liquor, right?"
Not something weird?