Chapter 51: He Zhizhang

"May I ask what your instruction is?" Yu Liancheng smiled and cupped his hands toward the middle-aged man.

"Why did you trespass into my mansion? Looking at you, young and dashing, you don't seem like a thief." The middle-aged man let out a drunken hiccup, his body reeking of alcohol.

"Oh, this is your mansion?" Yu Liancheng said, "I had assumed it had no master."

"It didn't originally, but since I have arrived, this is now my mansion." The middle-aged man clapped his hands, and two servants walked over carrying a plaque; on the plaque were the two gold-leafed characters for "He Mansion."

Yu Liancheng said, "Your surname is He?"

The middle-aged man said, "He Zhizhang."

Yu Liancheng could not help but say, "'Four Bright Mad Guest' He Zhizhang."

A smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face: "You young man finally have some discernment."

Yu Liancheng's figure shifted, moving like a fleeting shadow; the wine jar in the hands of one of the strongmen vanished, and his own hands now held a wine jar.

Yu Liancheng lifted the wine jar, gulped down half of it, and wiped his mouth: "Truly good wine!"

He Zhizhang could not help but wonder: "To drink like a whale, yet you can still distinguish the good from the bad."

"I can't really distinguish it, but the wine drunk by He Zhizhang of the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup surely cannot be too bad," Yu Liancheng said.

He Zhizhang clapped his hands and laughed: "That is wonderfully said, but this seems to be my wine; isn't it wrong to take it without asking?"

Yu Liancheng said, "When one drunkard meets another, he must be very willing to treat him to a drink. Because drinking with two people is always more pleasant than drinking alone. Furthermore, you are one of the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup; how could you not understand this principle?"

Even He Zhizhang's eyes held a smile: "This principle is truly interesting; it is worth drinking three large cups." He reached out, and the wine jar in the other strongman's hand seemed to be grabbed by an invisible force, floating into his palm.

Gurgle, gurgle.

He Zhizhang certainly knew how to drink, and he certainly drank no slower than anyone else.

Yu Liancheng was also drinking, having already finished most of the jar, and let out a drunken hiccup: "You host are truly stingy; why only treat people to wine and not to food?"

He Zhizhang nodded again: "True, good wine and good food are the way to treat guests. I have already prepared wine and food, but I do not know if the guest dares to attend the banquet."

"Why would I not dare?"

"Please!"

Two tables of wine and food had been set in the main hall.

One table was very sumptuous, with a mix of meat and vegetables, things that fly in the sky and swim in the water—everything was there. One look told you it was made by a master chef; it was perfect in color, aroma, and taste.

The other table was entirely vegetarian, and Laoshi Heshang was at the table, devouring a bowl of white rice like a starving ghost seeking Reincarnation.

He actually had the spare time to greet Yu Liancheng and He Zhizhang: "You eat your food, don't mind me."

In reality, no one was minding him.

Yu Liancheng poured a cup of wine and spoke bluntly: "Are you the one who came to test me?"

He Zhizhang nodded and said, "Correct, I am."

Yu Liancheng said, "How do you intend to test me?"

"When you ought to know, you will know." He Zhizhang raised his cup and finished it: "When drinking, one should not discuss such mundane matters."

Yu Liancheng laughed: "That sentence is absolutely correct."

The two sat down and ate and drank heartily. From time to time, they raised their cups to toast each other.

They ate quickly and drank quickly.

The time of one incense stick passed, and the cups and plates were already in disarray.

Yu Liancheng still looked full of spirit, but He Zhizhang already looked tipsy; he suddenly widened his eyes: "Why are you not yet drunk?"

Yu Liancheng said, "Why should I be drunk?"

He Zhizhang said, "Because I am almost drunk, but I, a dignified Wine Immortal, how can I be drunk before you, a mere mortal?"

Yu Liancheng waved his hand and said, "In that case, then the title of Wine Immortal shall be yielded to me."

In fact, the wine they had consumed could have already drunk ten drunkards under the table.

But Yu Liancheng had deep Internal Force and had also practiced external martial arts. Even if twenty more jars of wine came, he would still be perfectly sober.

But He Zhizhang was already annoyed.

He, a dignified Wine Immortal, how could he fail to outdrink a mere mortal?

He quickly thought of a solution.

As long as he beat this mortal to the ground, wouldn't he still be the Wine Immortal?

He Zhizhang waved his hand.

The eight strongmen who had been standing to the side immediately let out shouts and charged toward Yu Liancheng with great momentum.

Some clenched fists, some chopped with palms, some drew swords, some swung blades... these eight seemingly unremarkable strongmen were actually all First-class Experts in the pugilistic world.

Furthermore, the martial arts the eight of them used were all long-lost techniques from the pugilistic world. Any one of them, if released into the world, could cause a great upheaval.

In an instant, the eight joined forces to attack; the blade light and sword shadows, the fist wind and palm power poured toward Yu Liancheng like mercury spilling on the ground, as thunderous as a storm.

"Drinking is clearly an elegant affair; why resort to blades and guns?" Yu Liancheng held a wine cup in his hand, but his movement technique shifted nimbly; like floating catkins or falling leaves, he was full of composure, easily avoiding every lethal strike.

These eight men exhausted all their strength, yet they could not even touch his clothes.

"I wish to ride the wind and return, yet I fear the jade towers and crystal palaces, the heights are too cold to bear. Dancing to play with my clear shadow, how can it compare to being in the world of men." Yu Liancheng sang in a long, drawn-out voice, one hand holding the wine cup, the other striking out like ethereal, light smoke.

Each time he struck, he would send one expert collapsing into unconsciousness.

When the final words "world of men" fell, there was no one left standing but him, and not a single drop of wine had spilled from his cup.

"Audacious!" He Zhizhang's expression turned stern; though he looked tipsy, he had added a few parts of majesty, like a minister holding the power of a region.

"Yu Liancheng, you have committed a grave error; why do you not kneel and accept your punishment?" He used his wine cup as a gavel, slamming it heavily onto the table.

Yu Liancheng looked at him: "What kind of drunken madness are you spouting?"

He Zhizhang said angrily: "You have arrived at the Ministry of Justice hall, yet you dare to be so presumptuous!"

Yu Liancheng said, "You say this is the Ministry of Justice hall?"

He Zhizhang said, "Correct."

Yu Liancheng said, "Are you He Zhizhang?"

He Zhizhang said, "That is correct!"

Yu Liancheng shook his head and said, "Wrong, wrong, dead wrong."

He Zhizhang said, "Where is it wrong?"

Yu Liancheng said, "He Zhizhang is the Minister of Rites, how could he be sitting in the main hall of the Ministry of Justice? Sometimes, sitting in the wrong seat can get your head chopped off."

He was not very clear about the deeds of He Zhizhang, yet he had stumbled upon the truth; He Zhizhang had spent half his life drifting through officialdom, but it was only after his death that he was posthumously awarded the title of Minister of Rites, and it was a fact that he had never once entered the Ministry of Justice in his life.

The fake He Zhizhang was already somewhat embarrassed, and in a fit of shame and anger, he said, "I, this Minister of Rites, insist on sitting in the main hall of the Ministry of Justice, and I insist on interrogating you. You first trespassed into a private residence, then injured government officers, and now you are roaring in a court of law. With these three crimes combined, this official shall order one hundred strokes of the cane."