Chapter 119: Inviting to Drink

Wu Shaoyi nodded, summoning the guide sent by Lu Yao. "Do you know the way to Whistle Rock?"

Hearing "Whistle Rock" so unexpectedly, the guide froze, his mouth agape.

He quickly recovered. "Yes, I know. It's very far. Are you going there now?"

But his surprise and hesitation had already been noted by Wu Shaoyi, whose face immediately darkened. "Tie him up."

Those nearby swarmed forward, tying the guide up securely.

"What's going on at Whistle Rock that shocked you so much?"

The guide quickly denied it, but Wu Shaoyi ignored him, patting the saddlebag on his horse's back.

The saddlebag actually moved a few times, and then a sable poked its head out.

It looked like it had just woken up, its small eyes sleepy, and it used its front paws to wash its face.

Wu Shaoyi asked it, "I recall you were born in these mountains, correct?"

The sable nodded.

"Do you know Whistle Rock?"

The little creature nodded again.

The strategist quickly suggested, "Since we're sending the sable, why not explore Immortal Spirit Village at the same time?"

Wu Shaoyi had the same idea, so he took out two small pieces of dried meat as a reward and offered them to the sable.

The sable took them, chewed them up, and then jumped off the horse's back, disappearing into the grass in a flash.

It was incredibly fast; the onlookers only saw the grass sway, moving from near to far, until it vanished into the darkness.

The strategist then offered another suggestion: "While we wait, why not call up some of the men from down the mountain? It will make future planning easier."

Wu Shaoyi nodded. "Then bring them all up."

His force was smaller than Lu Yao's, only 1,100 men. He had brought over 200 up the mountain himself, leaving more than 800 below. So, he decided to call them all up to deal with any unforeseen circumstances.

In the profound silence, Wu Shaoyi couldn't help but recall his past grievances with Lu Yao.

The two had long been enemies. If Pei Xinyong hadn't repeatedly persuaded him, he would have taken this force back to his hometown.

It would be quite pleasant to be king of a mountain there, recruiting soldiers and buying horses.

The Grand Marshal was stirring up trouble in the north. The Court of Yuting would be too overwhelmed dealing with him to concern itself with the south in the short term. Therefore, Wu Shaoyi would have at least a good deal of tranquil time.

Wu Shaoyi wasn't entirely sure whether this course of action was right or wrong.

***

"Has it been almost half an hour since the letter was sent?"

After receiving an affirmative reply, He Chunhua adjusted his attire and, surrounded by seven or eight people, headed towards the village entrance.

Maotao stood on the designated dividing line between the two parties and shouted towards the west side of the village, "General Lu, come out and meet!"

He shouted three times, his voice echoing throughout the village.

A bandit emerged and asked, "What do you want?"

Maotao loudly declared, "Your general invited us to eat fish, so our lord wishes to invite him to drink wine—a twenty-year-old vintage brewed from the Spirit Spring in the northwest!"

The bandit sneered, "Who knows if there's poison in your wine?"

"If the fish wasn't poisoned, then naturally the wine isn't either."

The bandit, of course, couldn't make such a decision and went to report. His companions moved closer, eyeing them menacingly.

Along that dividing line, the two sides faced off once more.

The campfire by the lake remained lit. He Chunhua personally opened a wine jar, instructed a personal guard to fill a wine vessel, and placed it in hot water to warm it slowly.

Before long, a rich wine aroma wafted out.

Just then, the wind blew from the lake towards the village, naturally carrying the scent of the wine inside.

After about half an hour, Lu Yao leisurely approached, rubbing his eyes. "Lord He, such good spirits?"

He Chunhua knew Lu Yao had deliberately arrived late to make him wait, so he wasn't angered. He pointed to the table his subordinates had set up. "It's common courtesy. This is a family recipe passed down through generations, which I brought from the capital, and it's brewed with the Spirit Spring of Xiyao in Thousand Pines Prefecture. In my second year after arriving in Thousand Pines, I personally sealed the first jar. Since then, I've sealed one every year, totaling twenty-three jars. After accounting for annual family sacrifices and entertaining guests, five jars remain, and I intend to take them all back to the capital."

"When my family was still in the capital, we used to offer our homemade brew to the palace every year," He Chunhua said, smiling at Lu Yao. "Wouldn't General Lu like to taste such fine wine?"

He knew that wine, women, and wealth were Lu Yao's three main passions, and he never refused any of them, even boasting about his "true nature."

Sure enough, Lu Yao swallowed a few times upon hearing this, then thought for a moment and said, "Alright, since Lord He has such refined taste, I'll gladly keep you company! But let me say this upfront: I once had a fortunate encounter, and I'm long immune to all poisons. Even if you served me arsenic, I'd drink it like rice wine."

He Chunhua feigned indignation. "General Lu, what are you saying? Would I ever waste my own fine wine like that?"

So, a long table was placed along the dividing line, with He Chunhua and Lu Yao seated at opposite ends. The former pushed one of the wine jars towards Lu Yao.

Lu Yao took it, broke the seal, and indeed, a rich aroma filled the air. He couldn't help but take a deep breath and praised, "Excellent wine!"

He then beckoned, and two bandits took the wine jar, first pouring him a full bowl, and then taking the rest to warm.

Just then, the servants from He's contingent arrived, pushing the magnificent fish king on a flatbed cart. The large fish had already been cleaned of mud and scales and thoroughly washed, presented completely bare.

It was the largest flatbed cart in the village, usually used to transport hay and grain, but it couldn't fully accommodate the fish, with half its tail still dragging on the ground.

It was clearly intended to be prepared and eaten fresh.

Two men stepped forward and made a small incision behind the fish's gills, from which they surprisingly pulled out a grayish-white sinew, thicker than a chopstick.

He Chunhua explained, "Lake fish must first have this 'fishy sinew' removed, otherwise, an earthy taste will remain in the meat."

Lu Yao took a sip of wine. "Meticulous. You've certainly been an official for twenty years."

He Chunhua glanced sideways. Lu Yao chuckled, "What, am I not allowed to know a little something about Lord He?"

"A bit surprising," He Chunhua said, pointing at the large fish, "considering I'm just a minor official from a frontier region. When my men cleaned this fish, they found it completely unharmed. May I ask, General Lu, how did you manage to stun it?"

At the time, Lu Yao had surfaced with the fish king, a truly stunning sight. Although water provides great buoyancy, for Lu Yao to lift it to the surface was an astounding feat of strength in itself.

What most concerned He Chunhua, however, was how Lu Yao had managed to stun the fish.

Judging by its size and scales, it was at least nearly two hundred years old. No matter how powerful Lu Yao was, he was still a human. He hadn't carried any long weapons when he entered the water, essentially bringing it out with his bare hands.

This was truly baffling.

Furthermore, shortly after the fish was brought ashore, it woke up, thrashing around so vigorously that half the village could hear it.

The entire incident was strange from beginning to end.

"I found it," Lu Yao said, spreading his hands under He Chunhua's gaze. "Aside from bringing it up, I did absolutely nothing. Could you resist such a windfall?"

"..." He Chunhua was speechless for a moment. "In pitch darkness, how could you see a large fish unconscious at the bottom of the lake?"

"Ah, that you wouldn't understand," Lu Yao said, boasting. "I was born with divine sight; I can see what others cannot. Forget the lake water; even if there were treasure three feet underground, it wouldn't escape my notice."

He Chunhua smiled, knowing that Lu Yao was unwilling to reveal more, and did not press further.