Chapter 227: This bar! Drink less from now on

Seeing Wen Tongbiao force a smile, Li Xin knew he was feeling stifled.

The mighty West Hua Mountain's over ten red sticks were pierced through by Hongfa Mountain's white paper fan.

Anyone would find this unbearable!

But he didn't really take this to heart, just like in a level-15 full dark message game where you start by fighting five enemies and wiping them out—there's nothing to show off about.

With five opponents unable to run, getting a pentakill is quite normal, right?

After the butt-beating, it's time for a sweet date!

Li Xin picked up the Kinmen Kaoliang liquor on the table, filled Wen Tongbiao's cup in front of him, filled five cups to the brim, exactly emptying the bottle.

At the main table sat five people; the remaining three were Bo Shu, Yao Wen, and the West Hua Mountain Ritual Hall Elder.

Li Xin raised his wine cup, glanced at Wen Tongbiao, and smiled.

He said, "Today's inter-mountain martial exchange is a closed-door practice; what's past need not be mentioned. Thanks for the hospitality, Mountain Chief Wen—I'll drink first as a sign of respect."

As soon as he finished speaking, he tilted his head back, emptied his cup, and waved the empty cup at the few people.

Wen Tongbiao and the Ritual Hall Elder were startled, immediately understood Li Xin's meaning—this was to erase the incident of him breaking through West Hua Mountain!

Wen Tongbiao's old face flushed; he felt today's humiliation was even more thorough! Not only did he lose in strength, but also in stature, leaving him ashamed and unable to bear it!

He immediately raised his cup and drained it, wiped his mouth, set the cup down, and said, "Thank you, Brother Li, for your kindness. We, West Hua Mountain, have noted this matter; we'll see each other in future affairs."

The West Hua Mountain Ritual Hall Elder also echoed, "What Brother Wen said is correct. In the future, if Brother Li has any matters in Wanwan, just speak up; we of West Hua Mountain will certainly do our utmost to see it through for him."

The Ritual Hall Elder never expected that someone so young as Li Xin could have such magnanimity!

Although Brother Wen gave him such embarrassment, he not only refrained from kicking him when he was down, but even repaid hatred with virtue; with his age and demeanor, he is sure to succeed!

Bo Shu and Yao Wen's gazes toward Li Xin changed; previously they only knew this kid would repay grudges, never leaving grudges overnight.

Today, when Wen Tongbiao came forward and gave him such a blow to his prestige, suffering such a loss, he could still smile and settle the grudge—this was beyond their expectation.

After a few cups of wine, today's unpleasantness vanished like smoke.

Wen Tongbiao, drunk to the point of swaying in his chair, leaned his chair toward Li Xin, put his arm around Li Xin's neck, and slurred his words.

"Little brother! You're truly something else. Today let's burn yellow paper, chop off a rooster's head, swear the Golden Orchid Register, become sworn brothers—what do you say?"

What's wrong with these Wanwan people?

After drinking too much, the Loyal and Brave Earl of the Sanlian Gang became sworn brothers with him; likewise, West Hua Mountain's Wen Tongbiao follows the same pattern—when drunk, he also wants to become sworn brothers.

Li Xin thought, "Sure! We already have two sworn brothers; one more won't hurt."

He then said, bleary-eyed, "Fine! Brother Wen not only drinks heartily, he's also straightforward and blunt—our tastes match; let's become sworn brothers."

In the hall, those who hadn't drunk much just watched the two drunks become sworn brothers, nobody saying a word.

Since it was their decision, they had no right to interject; they could only prepare the sworn-brotherhood ceremony for the two, which turned out quite proper.

Time passed in the drunken chatter of the two; with arms around each other's shoulders, they seemed like real brothers!

At that moment someone entered and said to Wen Tongbiao, "Mountain Chief! The ceremony is ready; you two may proceed."

In the West Hua Mountain Ritual Hall's shrine, statues of Guan Yu and other deities hung above, while below lay the three sacrificial offerings—pork, fish, and eggs (calculated by number of people, one each).

plus a live rooster (for male sworn brothers a rooster, for female sworn brothers a hen).

a bowl of white liquor and two copies of the Golden Orchid Register, each person receiving one copy, with names written in order of age and fingerprints affixed.

After the ceremony began, Li Xin and Wen Tongbiao each took a stick of incense and a Golden Orchid Register.

Then they slaughtered the rooster, dripped its blood into the white liquor; both also pricked their left middle fingers with a needle and let their blood fall into the red liquor.

After stirring evenly, they first sprinkled three drops on the ground; finally, in order of age, Wen Tongbiao became the elder brother, and Li Xin, unable to dodge this time, became the younger brother!

They each took a sip from the wine bowl; Li Xin's sip only wetted his lips, the remainder placed before the statue of Guan Yu—this is called "drinking each other's blood to seal the alliance."

After the ceremony ended, the two supported each other and returned to the banquet table in the hall, drinking until past eight in the evening.

At the end, Li Xin was carried on the back of Dizhonghai to the vehicle; he could barely walk, going in circles.

Wen Tongbiao was also supported by Liu Yuan to the gate to see Li Xin off; only when the car drove away did the person supporting Wen Tongbiao let go.

Liu Yuan curiously asked, "Mountain Chief! How did you become sworn brothers with Immortal Trust? Your statuses are worlds apart!"

Wen Tongbiao stood firm on his feet, face flushed, his breath reeking of alcohol when he spoke, yet his eyes were clear, showing no sign of drunkenness.

"What status? In the jianghu, he's the Second Route Marshal of Prosperity; socially, he's a Gangdao councilor—how low is that?"

He patted Liu Yuan's shoulder and continued, "There's another important point—how old is he this year? One should bully the old, not the poor young."

"Since he truly has ability, we should quickly resolve the grudge, not let resentment fester in his heart, lest it become a future trouble for West Hua Mountain."

Wen Tongbiao's words left Liu Yuan dumbfounded; he asked, puzzled, "Mountain Chief, why do you still give him a cold shoulder?"

Wen Tongbiao replied ruefully, "I originally thought to make A Xin lower his head, and the matter would be over—but who would have guessed this kid is also stubborn, and he went head‑on!"

"Besides, the talk just sparked the fire; there was no choice but to fight. After all, jianghu folks still rely on fists to speak."

"Who would have thought that this jianghu rumor wasn't exaggerated at all—in fact, it was understated!"

"This A Xin kid can really fight—he managed to pierce us through with just a single white paper fan!"

As for Li Xin's skill, Liu Yuan was utterly impressed; among West Hua Mountain's red sticks, his ability definitely ranks in the top three.

Thus, against Li Xin, there's nothing to do but defend—Mount Tie is even worse; they didn't even get past a single encounter!

Liu Yuan could also feel that they were just using him as a sparring partner; otherwise he would have lost long ago!

Suddenly recalling what Li Xin had told him, he looked at Wen Tongbiao and said, "Mountain Chief, after Li Brother and I finished our fight, he told me to go with him to Gangdao to develop—what do you mean by that?"

Wen Tongbiao glanced at him and asked, "Did he say what it was? Are you supposed to change sects?"

Liu Yuan shook his head and replied, "He didn't say anything else, and there's no need to change sects—just that I should go with him to Gangdao to develop."

"Then go! Go out and broaden your horizons—don't keep staying cooped up in Wanwan; it'll do you good!"

Wen Tongbiao said as such.