Chapter 29: There's Actually Such Good Wine in This World!

  "Thank you for saving me!"

  After the fierce beast retreated, the young man from Nan Yi let out a soft cry, speaking fluent Central Plains dialect. The beautiful Nan Yi girl beside him bowed slightly according to Central Plains etiquette, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

  "No need for formalities, you're here to gather herbs in Yunmeng, right?"

  Ji Changkong lifted her blue shirt to cover her warm, jade-like skin and walked out of the area with the thickest toxic mist, smiling.

  "Yes, we are from the nine tribes of Nan Yi, and our tribe is Chi Yi. This is my brother Zhong Li Jingyi, and I'm Zhong Li Hui. Thank you for your help! If it weren't for you, just now we would have been devoured by those fierce beasts." The girl smiled sweetly and pointed to the young man and herself as she introduced them.

  "The poisonous dragon pond is infested with ferocious beasts, next time you come to Yunmeng to collect medicine, it's best to avoid this area. If I wasn't coincidentally here today, the beast wouldn't have any scruples." Ji Changkong smiled and twisted a jar of Huo Long Shao in his hand, then expertly lit a fire on this side and casually tore off a piece of python meat from beside him to roast it.

  "We need to pick the medicinal herb, and it's said that only the Poison Dragon Pool has it. No choice, we can only sneak close to the Poison Dragon Pool and hope to pick one when the fierce beast is not paying attention. The medicine we want to refine must have the Ghost Face Flower." Zhong Lijian Yi sighed with some helplessness.

  "Help me turn over the meat, I'll go pick a Ghost Face Flower for you." Ji Changkong handed the bamboo pole with the just-hung-up meat to Zhong Lijianyi, and without waiting for him to say anything else, turned around and headed towards the Poison Dragon Pool.

  ……

  "Brother, who is he? How can he enter the Poison Dragon Pool so easily? Yun Meng's ruler, Tian Yi Winged Dragon, how could it possibly listen to his words? Didn't you tell me that Tian Yi Winged Dragon is the most fearsome beast in Yun Meng's Great Marsh, with a temperament that is extremely brutal and bloodthirsty?" Ji Changkong asked in surprise after walking away.

  "In the Central Plains, there are many extraordinary people. A hundred years ago, our ancestor, Chi You of the Red Di tribe, was unmatched among the nine tribes of the Southern Barbarians, yet he was still killed by Gu Dan in the encirclement of the many elders on Tian Lang Mountain. Xiao Hui, you used to look down on the people of the Central Plains; now you should know how formidable they are, right?" Zhong Li Jing Yi said lightly.

  Zhong Li's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she nodded lightly, saying: "This person from the Central Plains is not bad! Not only did he save us, but he also helped us pick ghost face flowers. He's different from those people who came to our tribe before... Those guys were all greedy for flowers and knew how to use cheap salt, cloth, and porcelain to exchange for our precious jade and pearls."

  "Alas, today I owe someone a great favor. If I am chosen to be an envoy to the Heavenly Mountains, I will definitely find an opportunity to repay this favor." Zhong Lijian Yi sighed.

  "Brother, don't worry, didn't the elders all say that this time you go to Tianshan, your chance is the greatest." Zhong Lihui comforted.

  Zhong Li Jing Yi nodded and didn't say anything more.

  ……

  "Here, Ghost Face Flower for you! This flower grows in the muddy swamp of Poison Dragon Pond where the poisonous gas is thickest. It itself contains a huge amount of poison, and under the influence of the poisonous gas, its toxicity becomes even stronger! Be careful, the edges of the leaves are sharp, once they cut through your skin, the toxin will spread throughout your body immediately, you must keep it well." Ji Changkong walked over from Poison Dragon Pond and casually threw a Ghost Face Flower to Zhong Lijianyi, reminding him carefully.

  For a year, Ji Changkong held a volume of the Hundred Herb Scripture in his hand. He had gained some knowledge of the various strange and exotic flowers and grasses in the Yunmeng Great Marsh. Often practicing at the Poison Dragon Pool, he would often eat some of the nearby rare flowers and weeds to fill his belly. Some of these flowers and grasses, once ingested, made him feel a surge of extraordinary vital energy filling his body, making him feel refreshed all over.

  However, I don't know if it's an illusion, but Ji Changkong discovered that the Huo Long Jiu he often drank seemed to be brewed from some rare flowers and weeds near the Du Long Tan. Many of these flowers and weeds gave him a familiar feeling when ingested, as if...the medicinal properties had been hidden in the Huo Long Jiu all along.

  As long as it's a rare flower or grass that's useful for the human body, after eating it, his body would always produce that familiar feeling. Over time, Ji Changkong lost interest in those rare flowers and grasses, but instead became interested in Huo Long Shao, thinking that it was the real treasure, with its medicinal properties being extremely beneficial to the body.

  "Thank you, today's kindness, I really don't know when I can repay it." Zhong Li carefully put away the ghost face flower and then pulled up Zhong Li Hui. The two of them bowed together and thanked Ji Changkong.

  "You're welcome." Smiling, Ji Changkong hurriedly gestured for the two to sit down, took over the bamboo stick from Zhong Lijianyi's hand, and continued roasting the meat while chatting with them casually.

  He had been in the Ji family for many years, but he rarely interacted with people of the same age and didn't have any friends. Zhong Lijie and Zhong Li Hui were about the same age as him. Ji Changkong was kind-hearted and sincere towards others. After a conversation, he found himself getting along very well with Zhong Lijie, and once they started talking, they couldn't stop.

  From Zhong Lijie's mouth, Ji Changkong learned that the Nanyi had nine tribes, known as the Nine Yi, namely: the Du Yi, Yu Yi, Fang Yi, Huang Yi, Bai Yi, Chi Yi, Xuan Yi, Feng Yi and Yang Yi. The two of them were from the Chi Yi tribe, and the "Nine Section Soldiers King" Chi Hong, who had once made the Shuiyun Kingdom tremble with fear, was also from the Chi Yi tribe.

  The holy land of the nine tribes of Nan Yi is located on Tian Lang Mountain, where most of the heavenly warriors cultivate archery skills and enjoy releasing their power through bows and arrows. A powerful heavenly warrior can shoot an arrow that changes the color of the sun and moon, and even the most ferocious beasts cannot withstand it.

  "Come, try this wine!" First, he tore off a piece of python meat and handed it to the two of them. After thinking for a moment, Ji Changkong pushed half a jar of Huolong wine towards Zhong Lijianyi, smiling and saying: "This wine is strong enough! You'll like it!"

  "Good!" Zhong Lijian Yitian didn't stand on ceremony either, and with a heroic air, he took the fire dragon roast in one hand and gulped down several mouthfuls.

  "Cough...cough..."

  Zhong Li's face turned bright red as he suddenly let out a violent cough, and with a burst of energy, he jumped up in front of Ji Changkong and Zhong Lihui, hopping around like a madman, just like the first time he drank Huo Long Shan.

  "Good wine! Good intensity! Intensely good wine!" Zhong Lijian Yi shouted loudly, his face as if it had seeped out blood, red and frightening.

  "Yeah, brother, let me have a taste!" Zhong Lihui's face was full of curiosity as she reached out to her brother.

  Zhong Li looked up at the vast sky, saw him smile and nod his head, then handed the fire dragon to Zhong Li Hui, reminding her: "Just take a small sip!"

  Zhong Li Hui smiled and took a small sip, but didn't swallow it immediately. The liquor stayed in her mouth for a moment before going down, and her face turned bright red as she praised: "It's really strong! Even stronger than our Nan Yi's Ba Yu Xiang! Brother Chang Kong, you're amazing to be able to brew such a strong wine!"

  "I didn't brew it, a friend of mine did. His wine was so bad that no one dared to buy it, so he gave it all to me to drink." Ji Changkong chuckled and looked at the two siblings' flushed faces, remembering his own first experience with Huo Long Jiu, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  ……

  With a full stomach and satisfied hunger, Zhong Li and Zhong Hui bid farewell to Ji Changkong.

  "There's still some Huo Long Jiao left, Brother Zhong Li, you can bring it on the road and drink it later. Hehe, Little Hui, look at your brother, this wine has a strong aftertaste, he mustn't get drunk halfway." Ji Changkong didn't stay behind either, grabbed the remaining half tank of Huo Long Jiao beside him, and forcibly stuffed it into Zhong Li Hui's hands.

  When pouring wine, Ji Changkong unapologetically grabbed Zhong Lihui's slender wrist. Zhong Lihui struggled but couldn't break free, so she let him be. Her rosy and delicate face turned even redder.

  "Be careful on the road, next time if you want to come to Du Long Tan, call me a few sentences in advance, if I'm not there, then hide as far as possible, those fierce beasts are not easy to provoke." Looking at the two people going away in the night, Ji Changkong still reminded them again.

  "Brother Zhangkong, if you have time to come to our Chi Yi tribe, my brother and I will definitely treat you well. Hehe, the Ba Yu Xiang wine we brew may not be as good as Huo Long Shao, but it's also a good wine! When I get back, I'll personally brew a few jars and store them away, just waiting for Brother Zhangkong to come and drink." Zhong Li Hui waved her hand, indicating that Ji Changkong didn't need to see her off, with expectant eyes shining brightly.

  ……

  "Good wine! Good wine!" After leaving the treacherous land of Du Long Tan, Zhong Li Jing Yi's face was flushed red, but his expression was solemn. He said in a deep voice: "Xiao Hui, you can brew Ba Yu Xiang, but I'm afraid you'll never be able to brew Huo Long Shao in your lifetime! Xiao Hui, this Huo Long Shao, what do you think of it?"

  Zhong Li's face lit up with a smile, and she said in a soft voice: "When I took the first sip, I knew that Huo Long Shao contained at least 100 kinds of rare medicines. Brother, Zhang Kong is indeed an extraordinary person, and he's really generous too! Each jar of this wine is priceless!"

  "Not bad, what a wonderful person! He said this wine was given to him by someone else, it's really hard to imagine who would be so capable, so kind and so generous, that they would actually give him such good wine! The person who gave him the wine must have spoiled him terribly!" Zhong Lijian couldn't help but feel envious.

  "Changkong Gege is a strange person, and the people he knows are naturally also strange. Otherwise, how would Tianyuan Yilong, this cloud-dreaming giant evil, let us go just because of his one sentence?" Zhongli Hui smiled and said.

  Zhong Li Jingyue nodded in agreement, and with Zhong Li Hui by his side, they slowly walked away. After taking a hundred steps, Zhong Li Jingyue's footsteps stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He stood up again, exclaiming: "Good wine! Good wine indeed! There is actually such good wine in this world!"

  ……