Chapter 148: Three Cups of Wine as Forfeiture
They saw a stream of golden “qi” flowing towards them from above.
As it approached, they realized it wasn’t qi, but a swarm of golden butterflies.
The butterflies circled them, then turned and flew away.
Shi Hao said, “They’re leading us somewhere. Let’s go.”
They followed the butterflies, past a pavilion, deeper into the village.
They reached a building built against the cliff face.
It seemed the cliff had been carved into a cave, with the building constructed around it, the two merging seamlessly.
The butterflies flew inside.
Two martial artists guarded the entrance, stepping aside as they approached.
“Please enter,” a woman’s voice called out from within.
They entered, crossing a courtyard with several black, wooden statues of strange and menacing beasts on either side.
Inside the main hall, a woman sat cross-legged behind a table, a silver carpet spread before her.
She appeared to be in her late twenties, her hair in a high bun, a long, crimson robe trailing behind her like a phoenix’s tail.
Four other women, dressed in the traditional attire of the Miao people of southern Hunan, flanked her, each with distinct features.
The woman behind the table said, “I am Yan Zhuxia, the Wu Zhu of this village. May I ask how our humble Wu Village has offended you, honored guests, to warrant such a… provocative visit?”
Shi Hao stepped forward and bowed deeply, “You misunderstand, Madam. The Hanyang Gang, like a wildfire, is spreading through the upper Hanyang River region, absorbing other gangs and threatening the Nine Villages of Ba Shan. I’ve come here, on behalf of the Gong family of Mount Nangong and the Wudang Monastery of Mount Xieluo, to discuss an alliance against the Hanyang Gang.”
One of the women beside Yan Zhuxia snorted, “You call this a ‘discussion’? You’ve barged into our village, intending to force us to join your alliance.”
Shi Hao turned to her, “Why do you say that?”
The woman said angrily, “You provoked us the moment you entered our village, consuming our sentry Gu. Don’t tell me you didn’t know the rules?”
Shi Hao, Hou Bomin, Du Yuejiao, and Xu Xiaoyan looked at Xiang Gu.
Xiang Gu, her head bowed, her hair covering her face, pretended she hadn’t heard anything.
Shi Hao turned back to Yan Zhuxia, “You misunderstand, Madam. It was an accident. We’ve come here seeking an alliance, not a conflict.”
Yan Zhuxia ignored him, her gaze fixed on Xiang Gu, “Rules are rules. Everyone in the village knows we’ve been challenged. We’re not from the Central Plains. We don’t understand your refined customs. If this were a personal grudge, we would simply settle it ourselves. But you’ve openly challenged our entire village. We can’t let this go unaddressed.
“And you’ve humiliated our girls along the way, devouring their carefully nurtured Gu insects. As the village leader, I have to respond.”
Shi Hao, after a moment of thought, asked, “What do you propose, Madam?”
Yan Zhuxia said, “First, my four sisters, Hong Ou, Cui Ling, Zi Shao, and Lan Tan, will each challenge one of you to a Gu insect duel.”
The four women each placed a round box on the table and opened them.
Inside each box was a small creature.
A golden silkworm crawled around the first box, occasionally raising its head, its eyes glowing green, an unsettling sight.
A beetle-like insect lay motionless in the second box, its aura strangely menacing.
A blood-red moth, its wings seemingly filled with flowing blood, rested in the third.
And a tiny centipede, emitting a faint, foul odor, lay curled up in the fourth.
The four women, their gazes a mixture of amusement and hostility, looked at them.
Xiang Gu stepped forward, opened her sack, and, her head practically inside it, rummaged through its contents.
After a moment, she pulled out a tiny creature.
It was hard to tell what it was. It looked like a toad, but it was smaller than a ladybug.
Such a small toad shouldn’t even exist.
She placed the toad in the first box. The silkworm coiled around it.
Suddenly, the silkworm’s head snapped off, and the tiny toad, slowly but steadily, devoured it whole.
Hong Ou’s face paled.
Xiang Gu retrieved the toad and placed it in the second box.
The beetle-like insect spread its wings and lunged at the toad, quickly swallowing it.
Cui Ling smiled triumphantly.
Then, the insect flipped over, motionless.
A rustling sound came from within its body. After a while, its belly split open, and the toad emerged.
The toad, seemingly unharmed, although slightly larger now, hopped around the box, while the insect lay there, an empty shell.
Cui Ling’s face turned pale.
Xiang Gu picked up the toad and placed it in the third box.
The moth, startled, fluttered its wings, trying to escape, but the toad leaped onto its back with lightning speed, devouring it completely.
Zi Shao’s face was drained of color.
Xiang Gu placed the toad in the fourth box.
The centipede lunged at the toad, its tiny legs scrambling to grab it.
The toad seemed to melt into a puddle of slime, quickly engulfing the centipede.
The slime then reformed, the toad reappearing, seemingly unharmed.
The centipede was gone.
Lan Tan, covering her face, retreated.
Yan Zhuxia looked at Xiang Gu, her voice filled with respect, “May I ask your name, Miss?”
The small woman in the grey dress, her hair disheveled, put the toad back in her sack and rubbed her dirty hands together, “Xiang Gu.”
Yan Zhuxia, hearing the strange name, frowned… She had never heard of her.
Hong Ou, Cui Ling, Zi Shao, and Lan Tan looked at her, “Big Sister!”
A single, unknown woman had defeated all their Gu insect experts. It was humiliating.
None of the other women in the village had been able to defeat her, and now, even their four best had failed. All their hopes rested on their leader.
Yan Zhuxia looked at Xiang Gu and said slowly, “Please wait a moment.”
She stood up, her long robe trailing behind her, and went to the back of the hall.
After a while, she returned with a small wine jar.
She took a small cup, tapped the jar’s opening, and a fragrant aroma filled the room.
She poured the crimson wine into the cup, its color like blood, its scent intoxicating.
Yan Zhuxia said, “This is ‘Daughter Red’ wine, brewed on my coming-of-age day. Our humble village has little to offer, but please accept this wine as a token of our hospitality. You’ve come here seeking an alliance. Whoever drinks this wine will become our ally.”
Shi Hao looked at Xiang Gu, who, for the first time, seemed hesitant, her gaze fixed on the wine.
Seeing her reluctance, Shi Hao sat down before Yan Zhuxia, “Such hospitality, how can I refuse? Allow me.”
Du Yuejiao exclaimed, “Brother Shi…”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “Are you crazy?!”
They had been stunned by Xiang Gu’s effortless victory in the Gu insect duel.
And this woman was the Wu Zhu, the village leader, her Gu techniques undoubtedly even more powerful than her sisters’. If Shi Hao drank that wine, he would be doomed.
Hong Ou, Cui Ling, Zi Shao, and Lan Tan, however, smiled, a strange glint in their eyes.
They knew that this “Daughter Red” wine, although harmless to men, was a powerful, slow-acting poison for women.
Although it wouldn’t kill a man, it would inflict a Gu curse. The victim would have to be intimate with the caster every seven days, or their intestines would rot, a slow and agonizing death. And they couldn’t be intimate with any other woman; otherwise, it would be considered a betrayal, triggering the same gruesome fate.
Once he drank this wine, he would be bound to their Big Sister.
Xiang Gu looked at Shi Hao, “You…”
Shi Hao smiled and said to Yan Zhuxia, “We were disrespectful, unknowingly offending your village. I brought them here, so allow me to apologize and offer this wine as forfeiture.”
He picked up the cup and drank it.
Du Yuejiao and Xu Xiaoyan were too late to stop him. Hong Ou, Cui Ling, Zi Shao, and Lan Tan sneered.
A faint smile appeared on Yan Zhuxia’s face. Then, Xiang Gu suddenly exclaimed, “The wine… it’s still there!”
They looked, and the cup, still full, sat on the table.
Yan Zhuxia’s smile vanished, replaced by a look of surprise. The others were puzzled. Cui Ling exclaimed, “What’s going on?”
Shi Hao said, “Oh, it’s still full? One cup isn’t enough. I’ll have three.” He picked up the cup, drank it, and placed it back on the table. It was still full.
Shi Hao said, “Good wine!” He drank again and placed the cup down. Although they had all seen him drink, the cup remained full.
Shi Hao smiled, “It seems your hospitality is too much for me to refuse. In that case, I’ll accept your kindness.” He picked up the cup and drank again, and again, and again, eighteen cups in total.
Yan Zhuxia and her four sisters stared at him, their eyes wide.
After the eighteenth cup, he placed the still-full cup down and smiled, “Good wine, but a bit weak. I don’t feel anything.”
Yan Zhuxia looked at the young man in the blue robe and said, her voice filled with respect, “May I ask your name, sir?”
The young man smiled, “My name is Shi, also known as Chongyun.”
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