Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 126: Feeling Poorly

As people began to depart from the area around the hall, Lady Xueyan was the first to leave. She was the center of attention, dressed in elegant, somber black attire adorned with a striking talisman of black onyx and jade. Wuyi offered her a respectful bow as she passed. Her immaculate black robe, adorned with an eight-pointed symbol, stood in stark contrast to Monk Zhen's modest robes.

As Monk Zhen passed by, Wuyi couldn't help but notice the pungent odor of sweat. The man was far from clean, especially in comparison to the women.

The Elders of the Lotus Blossom Pavilion followed behind Lady Xueyan. Nearly the entire cloister had attended the ceremony, with over sixty elders from her pavilion adorned in their uniform slate-grey robes, each marked with an eight-pointed symbol. Behind them were the novices, another sixty women dressed in lighter shades of grey, some in more form-fitting attire, others less so.

As he turned his head, Wuyi caught sight of a Qi warrior named Xuanxian making a disrespectful gesture and whistling. Wuyi sighed – you could give a man everything, but still, they would find a way to tarnish it if not given culture. A warrior, a cultivator, whistling at the pavilion just after the rites for the fallen brethren.

Wuyi felt a sense of equilibrium return. He smiled and said to Yun Ming, "Note down that guy's name. Ten lashes for disrespect."

"Aye, Young Master," Yun Ming responded, grabbing Xuanxian by the collar before Wuyi could even take another breath. Xuanxian, a nineteen-year-old not particularly liked by women, didn't resist. He knew he had been caught.

He gave Wuyi a pleading look. Wuyi sighed – he had to understand that these were young people coming from various walks of life.

The night of the last rites unfolded in a relaxed manner, and for the warriors in Wuyi's faction, relaxation usually involved wine. The mourning needed to be done properly. Normal wine did not affect them unless consumed in very large quantities.

A few Qi adepts had a method to make spirit wines and had ensured to bring a large quantity for such occasions. The low-grade spirit wine-making method, discovered amidst the spoils of a ransacked merchant's caravan, was given to these adepts by Wuyi.

Making this low-grade spirit wine began with choosing fruits that could soak up Qi energy - peaches, pears, and plums. They cut these fruits and left them outside at night to absorb energy from the sky. Then, they mixed in herbs: special low-grade spirit herbs for energy, ginseng and mugwort for protection, and goji berries. They chanted old words over this mix, asking spirits to bless their wine.

The last step was moonlight fermentation. They placed the mix into pots, sealed them with special clay, and buried them where the moonlight shone directly on them for a whole moon cycle, believing the moon strengthened the wine.

When the moon was full again, they unearthed the pots. The wine, now a beautiful amber color and richly scented, was their own low spirit wine – not as strong as the real thing, but special to them.

After their extended journey, a recent confrontation with a demonic beast, and the subsequent ceremony, the warriors seized the chance to unwind. From Qi initiates to Qi masters, none restrained themselves when it came to drinking the spirit wine. The generous supply of wine, transported in seven carriages and contained in many large vats, was entirely consumed in a single night.

Besides the spirit wine, the camp had its own traveling inn operated by Sutlie, a winemaker brought by Wuyi. The winemaker acted as a merchant, paying the group a substantial fee to accompany them with his wagons and profit from their earnings when available. He later shared profits with Wuyi.

If he lacked wines, then he sourced them from the fortress' stores or the small town at the base of Yushan Fortress, known as 'The Lower Town.' This town consisted of four streets of well-kept stone cottages and storefronts enclosed within the lower walls.

The Lower Town was also open to the warriors, and its local inn, commonly known as the "Splendour Plum Inn," was bustling all night, serving the special lotus plum wine of the pavilion. The inn was doing brisk business, selling what seemed like a year's worth of wine and food in just a few hours. Local craftsmen were securing their children, wary of the influx of rogue cultivators and warriors.

All three sources of wine were open to the warriors that day.

When morning arrived the next day, most of them were still in bed, and a few were busy fletching new arrows for the company.

Almost all warriors would admit to feeling "poorly," a term used within the group to describe a hangover so severe it could affect combat readiness. Normally, such a condition would warrant punishment, but not the day after they had buried seven of their own.

Wuyi found himself in a dilemma. Jin, his first Beastmaster whom he had rescued in the dungeon, intended to venture alone into the forest's edge—a risk Wuyi was unwilling to take without proper safeguards. However, no such protection was available. All the Qi masters and adepts had indulged in wine—even Wuyi himself had not abstained.

The wine provided by the pavilion was a delicacy, he had to admit. Statues in his mind frowned all night about him drinking so much, especially Valor and the Statue of Knowledge. Wuyi could understand the Statue of Knowledge's concern, as it was the one tasked with vigilance over everything.

However, he found Valor's disappointment amusing, considering Boluo himself was a righteous, yet notorious, drunkard.

Wuyi had decided he would relax for just one night and enjoy the wine. But by morning, he realized his mistake; they were on a mission. He had accepted this mission, for which the lady had paid a significantly high price, particularly valuable to him, by giving him a cultivation manual of a sage. It was his responsibility.

The warriors believed in mourning; he did not. Yet, he too had drunk too much of the wine, and this wine, unlike any normal wine, was different.