Chapter 800: Lu Xiaofeng

On the Nameless Island.

"This is West Lake vinegar fish. The fish must be killed while alive, and steaming is the only way to achieve the highest quality. Only after it is steamed through is the seasoning poured over it, so it is still piping hot right now."

In the exquisite room, Xiao Laotou's round face looked amiable: "By the way, there is also this wine; you can taste it too. I know you have always liked drinking."

Yu Liancheng first tasted the West Lake vinegar fish; it truly melted in the mouth, fresh and tender.

Then he picked up the wine cup and took a sip. Feeling the flavor was mellow and lingering, a single thread entering his throat, he smiled: "Good wine, good food."

"As long as you like it," Xiao Laotou said with a chuckle: "Guess again, who made this dish, and who brewed this wine?"

Yu Liancheng held the wine cup and laughed: "Could it be Shaman? She knew I was coming to the island, so she prepared it in advance."

"Wrong, wrong." Xiao Laotou clapped his hands and laughed: "Some say women are like cats. And Shaman is a lazy cat. Usually, she just sunbathes and sleeps in; even when she calls out to beg for food, it is listless. If she prepares wine and food for you and is suddenly nice to you, it is either because she caused trouble or she wants something from you."

Yu Liancheng smiled: "Fortunately, you stir-fried this dish and you brewed the wine, so I can still sit down and have two cups."

Xiao Laotou also took a sip of wine and smiled: "Although the vinegar fish is named after West Lake, it does not come from West Lake, but from the surrounding townships, especially Tangqi Township. I go there once every year; not only are the plum blossoms beautiful, but the fish is also beautiful. It is indeed no easy task to transport fish from Tangqi Township to my little island while keeping them jumping and lively; you should eat more."

"As for this wine, I spent thirty years brewing a total of eighteen jars. Shaman and Beef Noodle stole two jars, and plus the fact that for the past two years I have enjoyed blowing in the sea breeze, fishing, and drinking, there is only the last jar left now. Usually, I cannot bear to drink it myself, but I know you are a drunkard, so of course, I must take it out and invite you to savor it a bit."

"If I don't clear the plates and empty the wine pot today, consider it my failing you."

Yu Liancheng smiled: "But I really couldn't have imagined before that a Carefree person of the world like you would actually cook and brew wine yourself, and with such high attainment."

Xiao Laotou smiled: "I learn things very quickly, and when I was young, I was very energetic and interested in everything, so after I finished learning martial arts, I spent time learning music, chess, calligraphy, painting, astronomy, geography, cooking, and brewing. Moreover, you should also know that wine and food always taste better when made by oneself."

"Haha, it is a pity that I am also a lazy bones." Yu Liancheng laughed, then changed the subject: "Visiting the island as a guest today, I have a question I would like to ask."

Xiao Laotou smiled: "I wonder if this old man can answer a question from the Jade-Faced Divine Sword."

Yu Liancheng looked at that kind and amiable smiling face and said: "May I ask the honorable name of the old gentleman?"

Xiao Laotou stroked his graying beard and smiled: "This old man's surname is Wu, and my name is Wu Ming."

A meaningful smile appeared on the corner of Yu Liancheng's mouth: "Wuming, or Wuming, or perhaps... both."

Others might not understand, but Xiao Laotou happened to understand, and he sighed lightly: "For an old man like me who is about to be buried in the earth, it seems there is no difference."

Yu Liancheng understood and did not ask again; he tilted his head back and drank the cup of wine.

When they first met, he had asked Xiao Laotou the same question.

But at that time, Xiao Laotou had casually answered with the 'Wu' of 'mouth and sky' and the 'Ming' of 'sun and moon', and Yu Liancheng had not pressed for details, nor did he have the confidence to do so.

And now, he had asked casually, yet received an answer, which could be considered settling a doubt in his heart.

"You... seem to have become even more powerful. You sit there so simply, no different from an ordinary person, yet I don't even have the courage to make a move against you." Xiao Laotou put down his wine cup, his distant face still carrying an amiable smile: "Are you truly a heaven-sent genius, progressing so quickly? In such a short time, you are already transcendent and holy."

"Shallow water cannot raise a Flood Dragon! I merely went to the rivers and the great Dahe." Yu Liancheng also put down his wine cup, his mouth containing a smile: "Your talent and disposition are such that even I might not be able to compare. As long as you are willing to jump from the water puddle into the rivers and the great sea, perhaps you too can leap over the Longmen, transform into a Flood Dragon, and ascend to the heavens in one step."

Xiao Laotou shook his head: "It is hard to leave one's homeland. Moreover, I am already old; I have long since lost my youth and no longer have ambition. And I have always understood one saying."

"What saying?"

"Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. Furthermore, in the rivers, there are undercurrents and too many sharks; an old bone like me might be swallowed whole the moment I enter."

"Haha, it is I who was being sentimental."

There is no banquet in the world that does not end. The vinegar fish was reduced to bones, the wine jar was bottomed out, and Yu Liancheng was also preparing to leave.

"Wait." Just as Yu Liancheng stood up and was about to leave, Xiao Laotou suddenly spoke.

"What is it?"

"Although this old fish cannot leap over the Longmen, it still wants to see the divine power of a True Dragon." Xiao Laotou smiled, his eyes flickering, unusually clear and carrying a child-like curiosity.

"That is certainly possible."

Yu Liancheng thought for a moment and picked up the wine pot.

Although the wine pot was already empty, there was finally a little bit of leftover wine.

The last bit of leftover wine poured into the wine cup, and Yu Liancheng smiled: "Since it is a True Dragon, what is displayed is the ability to command clouds and rain."

Amidst his words, he flicked his sleeve, the leftover wine splashed into the sky, and he turned and strode away.

Just as Xiao Laotou was puzzled, the clear sky suddenly turned overcast, dark clouds covered the sky and sun, cold wind whistled, and raindrops the size of soybeans fell like roasted beans; in an instant, they were dense and thick, shrouding the world in a curtain of rain.

Even more miraculously, from within this curtain of rain, there was a faint scent of wine, as if it were a rain of wine filling the sky. And this scent of wine was exactly the same as the wine he had brewed.

"Amazing, amazing." Xiao Laotou clapped his hands in praise: "I did not expect that in my lifetime, I would still be able to see such immortal methods; I should drink three large cups to celebrate."

……

After splashing the wine, Yu Liancheng headed toward Shaman's residence.

This wine rain came quickly and left quickly, leaving behind only a patch of wine fragrance.

When the sunlight shone on the Nameless Island again, Yu Liancheng saw Shaman standing in a cluster of flowers.

She was still wearing a light, fluttering gauze robe, with no powder on her face, yet the hundred flowers around her had all lost their color. Her pitch-black, soft long hair rippled slightly, just like waves in the dark night. Her slender waist stretched into full hips, and her legs were long and straight. It seemed to carry an indescribable temptation.

Seeming to hear footsteps, Shaman turned her head and saw Yu Liancheng.

She smiled, and her smile was like a glacier thawing, spring returning to the earth, and newborn flower buds blooming in the sunlight.

"You have come."

……

PS: Using a side story to practice for the new book, otherwise I wouldn't know how to write wuxia anymore.