Chapter 00119: Invitation to Drink
# Invitation to Drink
Chapter 119
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 119: Invitation to Drink
Wu Shaoyi nodded and called over the guide sent by Lu Yao.
"Do you know how to get to Whistle Rock?"
The guide was caught off guard by the mention of "Whistle Rock" and froze for a moment, his mouth hanging open.
He quickly regained his composure and replied, "Yes, I know. It's quite far. Are you planning to go there now?"
However, his surprise and hesitation did not escape Wu Shaoyi's notice.
His expression darkened immediately.
"Tie him up."
His men rushed forward and bound the guide tightly.
"What's the situation at Whistle Rock that has you so shocked?" Wu Shaoyi demanded.
The guide hurriedly denied any knowledge, but Wu Shaoyi ignored him and patted the saddlebag on his horse.
The bag moved slightly, and a sable emerged, looking as if it had just woken up.
It blinked its sleepy eyes and washed its face with its front paws.
Wu Shaoyi asked the sable, "I remember you were born in these mountains, right?"
The sable nodded.
"Do you know Whistle Rock?"
The little creature nodded again.
An advisor quickly suggested, "Since we're sending the sable, why not have it scout the Immortal Spirit Village as well?"
Wu Shaoyi agreed and took out two small pieces of dried meat as a reward, handing them to the sable.
The sable took the meat, chewed it up, and then jumped off the horse, disappearing into the grass with incredible speed.
The men watched as the grass rustled, the movement growing fainter until it vanished into the darkness.
The advisor offered another suggestion, "While we wait, why not bring some of the men from the foot of the mountain up here? It would be better for any future plans."
Wu Shaoyi nodded.
"Then let's bring them all up."
His forces were smaller than Lu Yao's, with only about 1,100 men.
He had brought over 200 up the mountain, leaving around 800 at the base.
It made sense to call them all up to prepare for any unforeseen events.
In the silence, Wu Shaoyi couldn't help but think about his feud with Lu Yao.
They had long been enemies.
If not for Pei Xinyong's repeated persuasion, he would have taken his men back to his hometown.
There, he could have established himself as a local warlord, recruiting soldiers and living a carefree life.
With the Grand Marshal causing trouble in the north, the imperial court was already overwhelmed and wouldn't have the energy to deal with the south anytime soon.
So, Wu Shaoyi still had plenty of time to enjoy his peace.
Whether this decision was right or wrong, Wu Shaoyi wasn't entirely sure.
￥￥￥￥￥
"Has the letter been sent out for about half an hour now?"
After receiving confirmation, He Chunhua straightened his robes and, accompanied by seven or eight men, headed towards the village entrance.
Mao Tao stood on the designated midline between the two sides and shouted towards the west end of the village, "General Lu, come out and meet us!"
He shouted three times, his voice echoing throughout the village.
A bandit came out and asked, "What do you want?"
Mao Tao replied loudly, "Your general invited us to eat fish, so our lord wants to invite him to drink. It's a twenty-year-old brew from the Northwest Spirit Spring!"
The bandit sneered, "How do we know your wine isn't poisoned?"
"If the fish isn't poisoned, the wine naturally isn't either."
The bandit, of course, couldn't make the decision and went to report.
Other bandits gathered around, watching warily.
Along the midline, the two sides once again faced off.
The campfire by the lake had not been extinguished.
He Chunhua personally opened a wine jar and had his guards pour the wine into a vessel, warming it slowly in hot water.
Soon, a rich aroma of wine filled the air.
Coincidentally, the wind blew from the lake towards the village, naturally carrying the scent of wine inside.
After about half an incense stick's worth of time, Lu Yao strolled over, rubbing his eyes.
"Magistrate He, what brings you here in such high spirits?"
He Chunhua knew that Lu Yao had deliberately arrived late to keep him waiting, but he didn't show any anger.
He pointed to the table his men had brought over.
"A gesture of goodwill. This is a family recipe I brought from the capital, brewed with the West Spirit Spring from Qian Song County. In my second year there, I personally sealed the first jar. Since then, I've sealed one jar every year, totaling twenty-three jars. After using some for family sacrifices and entertaining guests, I have five jars left, which I plan to take back to the capital."
"When my family was still in the capital, we would present our homemade wine to the palace every year," He Chunhua said with a smile, looking at Lu Yao.
"Wouldn't you like to try such fine wine?"
He knew that wine, women, and wealth were Lu Yao's three great loves, and he never refused any of them.
Lu Yao even prided himself on being a man of true character.
Sure enough, Lu Yao swallowed hard a few times and then said, "Well, since Magistrate He is in such a good mood, I'll join you! But let me make it clear, I've had some fortunate encounters and am now immune to all poisons. Even if you served me arsenic, I'd drink it like sweet wine."
He Chunhua feigned offense.
"General Lu, what are you saying? Would I taint my own fine wine like that?"
So, a long table was placed on the midline, with He Chunhua and Lu Yao sitting at either end.
He Chunhua pushed a wine jar over to Lu Yao.
Lu Yao took it, broke the seal, and immediately a rich aroma filled the air.
He couldn't help but take a deep breath and exclaimed, "Excellent wine!"
He then waved his hand, and two bandits took the jar, filling a bowl for him first before warming the rest.
At that moment, servants from He Chunhua's group pushed a large cart carrying the impressive fish king over.
The fish had already been cleaned, scaled, and prepared, lying bare on the cart.
It was the largest cart in the village, usually used for transporting hay and grain, but even it couldn't fully contain the fish, with half of its tail dragging on the ground.
They were going to prepare and eat it on the spot.
Two men stepped forward and made a small cut behind the fish's gills, pulling out a grayish-white tendon thicker than a chopstick.
He Chunhua explained, "Lake fish need to have their tendons removed first, or else the muddy taste will linger in the meat."
Lu Yao took a sip of wine.
"Very meticulous. No wonder you've been an official for twenty years."
He Chunhua glanced at him, and Lu Yao laughed.
"What? Can't I know a little about Magistrate He?"
"It's just a bit surprising," He Chunhua admitted.
After all, he was just a minor official from the borderlands.
He pointed at the large fish.
"When my men were preparing this fish, they noticed it had no injuries. May I ask, General Lu, how did you manage to knock it out?"
When Lu Yao and the fish king had surfaced together, the scene had been quite shocking.
Although the buoyancy of the water was significant, the fact that Lu Yao could lift it to the surface showed his incredible strength.
What intrigued He Chunhua the most, however, was how Lu Yao had managed to knock the fish out.
Given its size and scales, the fish was at least two hundred years old.
No matter how strong Lu Yao was, he was still just a man.
He hadn't carried any weapons into the water and had essentially brought the fish out bare-handed.
That was strange.
Moreover, shortly after the fish was brought ashore, it woke up and thrashed about so vigorously that half the village heard it.
The whole incident was shrouded in mystery.
"I found it," Lu Yao said with a shrug under He Chunhua's gaze.
"Other than bringing it up, I didn't do anything. Such a big catch—could you resist taking it?"
"..."
He Chunhua was momentarily speechless.
"In the pitch dark, how could you see a large fish lying unconscious at the bottom of the lake?"
"That's something you wouldn't understand," Lu Yao said smugly.
"I have a pair of divine eyes that can see what others cannot. Not just in the water, but even treasures buried three feet underground can't escape my sight."
He Chunhua smiled, knowing Lu Yao wasn't willing to reveal more, and didn't press further.
(End of Chapter)