Chapter Thirty-Four: Unsympathetic Conversation

  "A traveler in a distant land, why must we have known each other before? As long as we drink and enjoy ourselves, that's the greatest intention between you and me. After drinking, we'll go our separate ways, east and west, and maybe we won't even remember each other. A name is just a label, remembering it is lucky, forgetting it doesn't hurt."

  Jun Ye was still immersed in his slightly melancholic mood, of course he wouldn't reveal his real name, but if he were to say the three words "Jun Mo Xie", heaven knows whether this gentleman would flee in the rain? After all, the reputation of a Kyoto dandy is still quite deadly.

  "The world's duckweed is originally nameless, let's not ask about it! Travelers who have fallen to the ends of the earth, why must we know each other when we meet?" The middle-aged man recited it once and couldn't help but be moved. "Good phrase, really good phrase! Didn't expect young brother to be so young, yet speak with such eloquence, even a well-read scholar may not be able to match, I apologize for my mistake." He looked at Jun Xie with a smile, laughing very happily: "Young brother's words are reasonable, I'm too worldly, willing to take another penalty cup!"

  "You're having one cup on the left and one cup on the right, but I still have a cup that hasn't gone down my throat. Are you just looking for an excuse to drink more of my wine?"

  That man was taken aback, burst out laughing loudly, and drank it all in one gulp. He wiped his mouth and said: "This wine may not have a name, but it's also considered top-notch. It has strength and is pungent and spicy - this is the kind of wine that real men drink! Not bad, not bad, for the sake of this wine, even if I have to find an excuse, I'll have another cup."

  "This wine? Also considered good wine?" Jun Xie snorted, "I'm telling you, brother, I'm afraid it's just that you haven't had any good wine before. Wine like this is only drunk occasionally when there's no other choice, if this kind of wine can be considered good, then wouldn't the world have too many good wines?"

  That person's eyes lit up and said, "Although Song Lao San's hotel is not big, the wine here in Beijing is very famous. All connoisseurs of good wine yearn for it. If it weren't raining today, this place would have been packed with customers! It's also because of this that we can indulge in this wine today. It's really our luck! You should know that Song Lao San only sells twenty jars of wine every day, ten at noon and ten in the evening. He won't sell even one more jar! If Song Lao San hears what you just said, he might not let you off easily."

  "Haha... You're not bad, you actually managed to make me laugh at a time like this!" Jun Xie didn't intend to laugh, but at this moment, he felt somewhat unable to hold back: "It's really too ridiculous, such a lousy wine is actually limited in supply? The worst wine I've ever had before might be a hundred times better than this!"

  This is not bragging, because this wine at most has less than 20 degrees of white wine degree, and the wine quality is slightly turbid. For those who are used to drinking fine wines in the world, it is indeed a inferior wine. Even for any modern person, they may not drink it after all, as the wine looks a bit murky and seems to be somewhat unclean!

  The middle-aged man's face turned somewhat unsightly: "Young brother, I thought you were a refined scholar, how can you speak so recklessly? Food can be eaten casually, but words cannot be spoken casually! You should know that even if it's the imperial wine of the palace, I've also had my share... Compared to this wine, it's only more luxurious, but less spicy and potent! It's harder to stir up the passion in a man's heart. In my opinion, this wine is already a rare treasure among the world's fine wines! You say that the worst wine you've ever had before is a hundred times better than this one, isn't that too hurtful?"

  "Haha, oh? Don't you believe me?" Jun Xie slanted his eyes and looked at him: "You don't believe it, that's fine, I didn't force you to believe either, haha... But, let's drink! Let's drink! Haha... Do you know what drinking is, my friend? Do you understand what counts as drinking?"

  The middle-aged man frowned, silent and regretful that he shouldn't have come. This young man is too arrogant, others come to make friends with good intentions, but he doesn't appreciate it at all! Moreover, his words are so presumptuous, even if he has some talent, he's just a conceited and arrogant scholar who can't achieve great things.

  "He let out a low, mournful sigh and said in a deep voice: 'The true art of drinking is not about pouring wine into one's belly, but about savoring the mood and atmosphere! Alas, this world has no good wine, nor anyone who understands it; even fewer know how to drink it, let alone appreciate its subtleties. Throughout history, only those who drank left their names behind. What a tragic irony that in this vast universe, not one true connoisseur exists! For this sorrowful state of affairs, I shall raise a large cup!'

  Jun Wuji, after drinking a cup of wine, stood up and laughed loudly towards the sky: "Looking around, the vast expanse stretches for hundreds of thousands of miles, with millions of people in the distance; yet there isn't a single person worthy of sharing a table and drink with me, nor is there a wine that can make me feel delighted! This world is truly pitiful! Haha, when wine meets a kindred spirit, a thousand cups are not enough, but when words don't meet, half a sentence is too much! The wine is bad, the people are even more dull, what's the point of drinking like this? I'm leaving."

  This kind of trash wine is actually limited in sales, and there are still people opposing it... It's really unbelievable! Jun Xie felt a surge of anger in his heart, and suddenly had the feeling of playing the zither to a cow. He thought that this world was simply made up of a group of bumpkins...

  How can such a person be worthy of sitting and drinking with me, your humble king?!

  With a "clang", a silver ingot fell on the table, and Jun Xie laughed wildly and proudly as he walked out the door, rushing headlong into the vast rain and fog, disappearing from sight in an instant.

  That middle-aged man, no matter how good his temperament was, was so angry that he was a little choked with rage. This young man was actually so arrogant! As the host who had a high status, his favorite wine, the one he loved to drink the most, was actually not as good as garbage in this guy's mouth!? Wasn't that saying that he himself was...

  But in my heart, I also envy your carefree and unrestrained personality, which is almost heretical! When can I live life so freely? This Kyoto, it's just like a huge prison...

  Although somewhat arrogant, it is also a true temperament to be natural and unrestrained. Since ancient times, all sages have been lonely, only drinkers leave their names behind. What a wonderful sentence! The middle-aged man thought silently, raised his wine glass, and drank it in one gulp; but didn't know if it was psychological or some other reason, he just felt that the beautiful wine that he couldn't drink enough of before, today actually had some difficulty going down his throat.

  "Some say that ancient people could compose poetry in seven steps, I thought it was just flattery towards the ancients. But seeing this gentleman, I'd say that composing poetry in seven steps is not an exaggeration at all! Especially those last two lines, they're really impressive!" As he spoke, he softly recited: "Wine meets a kindred spirit, a thousand cups are too few; words don't meet expectations, half a sentence is too much! Not bad, not bad, this young man indeed has some real talent."

  Here is the translation:

  "Upon saying this, the middle-aged man suddenly looked stunned, and then burst out laughing: 'This guy's meaning, actually daring to say I'm not his confidant, and our conversation doesn't mesh, haha... And before leaving, he even cursed me with a sour tone, still using a roundabout way to curse... Truly born with an acidic personality! However, looking at the entire Tianxiang Kingdom, including my royal brother, there isn't one person who dares to scold me face-to-face. This little guy has actually let me experience something new."

  In his life, Jun Xie had been evaluated in all sorts of ways, countless people called him a killer, a bloodthirsty demon, but the two words "sour scholar" had never been used to describe him. Jun Xie himself would not have thought that his own sentimental and fragmented poem would be used to label him as a "sour scholar", and even more so, a crazy scholar who scolds people in a roundabout way. If he knew, he would definitely be both amused and annoyed.

  If a villain wants to scold someone, he will definitely point his nose and scold him. How can he make a detour? Scolding in person still feels inadequate...

  The middle-aged man laughed for a while, suddenly felt something was off, turned his head around, and saw an old man who was thin, dry, and small, staring blankly in the direction where Jun Xie had left with some dim yellow eyes, motionless, with a face full of regret.