Chapter 17: The Donkey That Slipped Through the Net

While preparing supplies before leaving the Village, Wen Gu was muttering to himself about when he might find a beast of burden to pull a cart.

After setting off, he also kept an eye out for any surviving horses, oxen, donkeys, or mules.

Now, on the first day of their journey, suddenly seeing such an intact donkey in this unexpected place, he was truly both surprised and delighted!

And when this donkey saw the four of them, although it did not show any signs of closeness, it also showed no obvious wariness or rejection.

It had a rope tied to its body, but the rope looked as if it hadn't been tended to for a long time. There shouldn't be anyone else nearby.

"This is a domesticated donkey," Xiao Liu said.

It had no obvious defenses against people.

Xiao Liu looked it up and down and concluded, "This isn't a local donkey. Its build is larger than our local ones; it looks a bit thin now, but it must have been very sturdy before."

"I've heard that when the border lacked horses, some people would ride large donkeys or mules directly into battle. This donkey also has a large build; perhaps it was brought by a merchant caravan from elsewhere."

Wen Gu looked around.

Behind this was a rather large garden.

With elegant landscaping, exquisite ponds, and pavilions, the master of the house must have held banquets here once.

In the past, servants would have carefully tended to the ornamental flowers and plants, and trimmed the branches and grass; now it was abandoned, and it should have been overgrown with weeds like other parts of the estate, but this place had been almost grazed bare by it.

There was also the stench of excrement.

He turned around and looked ahead. There was a room there with the door wide open, and this donkey had come out of that room.

There were no other sounds inside, but there was a strong smell of alcohol.

This was the source of the alcohol smell they had smelled earlier.

By the glow of the sunset, one could see broken wine jars on the floor inside the room.

Xiao Liu also saw the situation inside and couldn't help but take a deep breath, his face twitching.

He didn't know much about wine and didn't drink much, as he hadn't had the means before. But thinking about the status of the master of this house, and looking at those wine jars that looked very refined, the wine the master kept here must all be good wine!

So much good wine, all wasted by this donkey?!

In the past, if any family's livestock wasted wine like this, it would have ended up in the pot!

"Is this donkey addicted to alcohol?" Xiao Liu said, his lips trembling. "Even if it wants to drink, it shouldn't just smash the jars... sigh, I can't expect it to know how to unseal them either."

Smashing the wine jars directly was indeed the simplest method for this donkey.

"After the wine jars are smashed and the wine spills out, how much can it actually drink?"

Xiao Liu had seen some very clever livestock before, including horses, oxen, donkeys, and mules; some, after being trained, could even use simple tools.

"The donkey in front of us must have traveled far and wide with merchant caravans before, right? By logic, having experienced so much, it should be smarter, so why does it look so dim-witted?"

It must be a poor foundation.

Born not smart.

Xiao Liu smelled the alcohol in the room and sighed repeatedly.

Wen Gu carefully observed the situation inside and outside the room, and hearing Xiao Liu's words, he asked him, "Have you ever thought about why this donkey has been able to live until now?"

Xiao Liu was stunned.

That's right!

Why is it still alive?

Not long ago, they had encountered a small Evil Qi entity, and there were other Evil Qi entities within the estate's grounds.

With the cruel and bloodthirsty nature of Evil Qi entities, leaving nothing alive in their wake, why would they leave such a large donkey? That's a huge mouthful of meat!

They had seen several animal skeletons along the way and hadn't held out any hope of encountering a living one.

This donkey looked like it had been living here for quite some time; why was it able to survive?

Xiao Liu looked around the front and back of the house, and his attention finally returned to the broken wine jar shards on the ground and the strong smell of alcohol.

"Wine... can it repel Evil Qi?" he asked tentatively.

Qingyi Daozhang did not speak, nor did he give any other indication.

However, this tacit posture let Xiao Liu know he had guessed correctly. At least the direction was right.

Wen Gu said, "Evil Qi entities have a keen sense of smell; they have scents they like and scents they loathe. They don't like the scent of the Medicinal Herb we use to fumigate the rooms, so they avoid it."

He looked again at the broken wine jar shards on the floor inside: "Now it seems they don't like the smell of alcohol either. Even if it doesn't reach the level of intense loathing as the Medicinal Herb, it belongs to the degree where they won't take a bite if they encounter it."

After Xiao Liu accepted this explanation, he looked at the scene in front of and behind the house again.

"This donkey, it really lives a good life!"

It has a place to shelter from the wind and rain, goes out to graze on flowers and grass when hungry, strolls and rolls around in the large garden, smashes wine jars to lick a little alcohol when it has a craving, isn't afraid of Evil Qi possession, has no one to disturb it, doesn't have to work, and nearby Evil Qi entities are driven away by the smell of alcohol...

Outside, whether it's people or other animals, life is bitter.

This donkey is actually able to be carefree in this place!

Xiao Liu didn't want to admit he was envious and jealous. "It's quite good at staying put. I heard people say before that livestock like donkeys and horses like to be with companions; without companions and without people, it's actually able to stay here for so long."

As soon as it steps outside the range of the alcohol's influence, once the smell of alcohol on its body dissipates, it becomes a living target! The Evil Qi entities outside could smell it and come over to gnaw it down to a skeleton!

Wen Gu thought to himself: It seems this donkey has a rather homebody personality.

He took a few more looks at the remaining wine jars in the room and added:

"It smashes a jar of wine every so often, and there are only two jars left in the room."

"Once these two jars are smashed, without the cover of the alcohol scent, the smell of it being food will attract Evil Qi entities to come and hunt it down."

"Even if the alcohol scent persists, in the autumn and winter seasons, many plants in the garden will wither, and without enough food to replenish itself, it might go out to forage and will soon meet the same fate."

"However, as it happens..."

However, as it happens, before these two jars of wine are consumed, before the plants in the garden completely wither, and before this donkey walks out, Wen Gu and the others arrived.

Qingyi Daozhang also commented at this time: "This donkey has extraordinary fortune!"

Xiao Liu's expression changed instantly.

That's right!

So what if its foundation is poor? So what if it isn't smart enough?

Of all the horses, oxen, donkeys, and mules in this entire region, there isn't a single one left alive that has a better foundation or is smarter than it!

This is simply a Heaven-chosen donkey!

He loves staying with creatures that have such extraordinary luck!

It would be even better if he could rub off some of that luck!

He secretly decided that if he could reach Beidi alive, when he put up New Year pictures next year, he wouldn't want those for Exorcism and ghost-catching; he would just put up the Wealth Gate Blunt Donkey!

Wen Gu looked at the big donkey in front of him with an appreciative gaze.

He also felt his luck was quite good; whatever he thought of, it came right to him.

Once he prepared a two-wheeled Wooden Board Cart, he could carry more supplies, free up one person for combat, and even ride the donkey cart to rest his feet when tired from walking.

It didn't matter whether this donkey had extraordinary luck or was just staying here out of an instinct to protect itself.

Anyway, I'm taking this donkey!

"Our donkey cart has arrived," Wen Gu said.

Xiao Liu was also happy, but seeing the sky growing dark, he was worried about leaving the donkey here.

"Let's lead it over to the Kitchen and woodshed area."

Xiao Liu didn't reach out directly to interact with the donkey; who knew if it had been rolling around in the grass when it went into the courtyard to graze.

They had encountered a small bit of Evil Qi earlier, and he didn't know if it had picked up any of that filthy Evil Qi while grazing and rolling around.

With gloved hands, he went to take the rope on the donkey, wanting to lead it toward the Kitchen and woodshed.

Unexpectedly, the donkey got temperamental and wasn't willing to leave; when forced, it started kicking.

Xiao Liu didn't dare to lead it anymore: "It's not willing."

Wen Gu glanced at the donkey: "Not willing? Then move all the remaining wine jars away."

Tietou went to move the wine jars without a word.

The donkey, which had been stubborn with Xiao Liu, let out a loud bray upon seeing this.

Braying was useless; Tietou carried the wine jars out the door.

The donkey twitched its long ears and tried to lower its head to nuzzle people again.

Wen Gu and the others hurriedly retreated, using the backs of their blades to hold it off and keep their distance from the donkey.

It hadn't been washed or brushed, so it wasn't the time for such intimacy.

The donkey let out another dissatisfied bray.

It was a bit noisy, so they ignored it. Wen Gu had Tietou set the wine jars aside first, and while it wasn't dark yet, they went into the house to take a look.

Avoiding the debris on the ground, they walked inside.

There were several other compartments in this house.

The room they saw upon entering was used to store wine, and the other compartments had their own uses.

For instance, this room for storing tools.

Xiao Liu looked at the various strange tools placed here.

Some looked like pots and steamers, while others had strange appearances, and he couldn't tell what they were used for.

Xiao Liu had heard his father say that Wealthy Man Li loved wine. If one had business and needed to seek an audience with this Wealthy Man Li, fine wine was the stepping stone.

The many wine jars outside proved that Wealthy Man Li was indeed very interested in wine.

But in the compartment before them, these didn't look like drinking vessels such as wine pots or cups.

Qingyi Daozhang's eyes flickered as he looked at the implements before him.

Ordinary people certainly wouldn't understand, but at a glance, he knew what these were for.

He paused suddenly at this thought and looked at Wen Gu.

He saw that Wen Gu was also staring at those tools with great interest, even with some joy. It was completely different from the confusion on Xiao Liu's face.

Qingyi Daozhang's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a familiar headache, as if grass were growing out of his head.

No way?

No way?!

You know this too??!

Is your family really just an ordinary scholarly household? Was your Study Tour really a proper Study Tour??

At this moment, Wen Gu walked over with a light step: "Daoist Priest, when I was on my Study Tour..."

Qingyi Daozhang raised a hand in a stop gesture: "Enough! Just tell me your goal!"

Wen Gu smiled elegantly and politely.

"I hope the Daoist Priest can refine some strong spirits, would that be possible?"

He believed that this Daoist Priest, who had mastered so much Chemical... *cough*, Alchemy skill, shouldn't find the small technique of distilling wine difficult.

Even if he didn't know how, Wen Gu could offer a few pointers on the side and provide some words of encouragement.