It was evident that the suave-looking man inside the special restaurant of Granny He was more into arts and that he had attended several such world-renowned auctions every season and had spent millions on such arts from all across the globe.
While strolling around the room admiring all the various ornate murals that were on display on the walls, he sat at the table.
"Has Duo Lün Duo always been like this? My memories of this place are fussy, and I am sure each of these murals would be worth an absurd amount of money if they were auctioned off." Donghai Lin muttered to himself and then he chuckled and added, "hah... it's a pity they're all lying inside this tavern."
He then turned his attention to the table, reached out for the cup already filled to the brim with white wine and brought it near to his nose, and sniffed. "Smells exactly the same as other Chinese rice wines. Let's give it a shot!" He gulped down the shot all at once and he snorted. "Humph! Best wine in the entire world, my foot! Just the same as other traditional Chinese white wine."
He stood up in disappointment and was thinking of walking out of the room. Then the next moment he sat back as he shook his head and whispered under his breath. "If I walk out of here like this, I might disappoint them, and those villagers were so warm and kind to me earlier and I am glad to have finally visited my parents' graves..... Anyway, my last day of this April has already been ruined so I might as well drink this crappy wine and pass the time."
As the bitterness got the better of him, he continued to fill the cup and drink from one shot to another, sometimes touching the dishes, and eventually, he poured the last drops of wine into the bottle, filling the cup. "Huh!" scoffed Donghai Lin, and he went on. "I'm still not drunk yet, hah.... this is the crappiest wine I have ever tasted in my entire life…. Fine, let me finish this one last shot and get the hell out of here."
He then raised up the cup and gulped it down in one fell swoop and the second the last drop of the white wine entered his stomach, an estranged redolent smell spread out from inside his stomach hitting his olfactory nerves and his vision started disorientating, and his body felt like floating in the nine heavens; it was a great feeling that he had never experienced. Every cell of his body went semi-numbed. Followed by drowsiness, slow reflexes, and changes in judgment and time reception. Overall, his heart started beating louder and louder, and somehow he became so hot-blooded and bold that he almost believed that he could even pluck a hill with his bare hands and throw it far away in the limitless sky.
"Oh! Finally," Momentarily, he glanced up at the south wall facing his face and spotted something moving inside the mural, and focused his eyes on it and witnessed a strange event.
He saw a red bird that resembled a pheasant flapping its five-colored plumage, covered with an everlasting crimson flame deep in the limitless white and navy blue sky of the painting.
When his gaze accidentally fell on its eyes, the flaming red bird turned its head and looked back at him, before flying out of the mural and turning into a real-like giant bird. It circled him and started chirping sharply as it flew inside the room.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!.....
Getting startled, Donghai Lin jumped up in fear before seeing the bird split into two identical birds and fly toward him.
They entered his eyes even before he had the courage to run away, but he felt nothing.
So he looked back at the mural and saw that the red bird was still in the painting. And then he started laughing while patting his head. "Haha... Was that just my imagination? Best wine ever!" he exclaimed.
"Hahaha… I'm totally buzzed. Whatever? I'm totally safe here in my village, free from paparazzi and nosy people. Today, I am free to delve into these euphoric experiences without being worried." At that point, he looked around almost every mural, but none moved, unlike earlier when he happened to look at the three murals on the three walls and they appeared to react to his tipsy gaze.
"Ah, Woah!... I invite the White Tiger of the West, the Black Tortoise of the North, and the Azure Dragon of the East to show their majestic and graceful appearance to me... Vermilion of the South is truly magnificent." He cried out aloud in a haze daze.
All the three magnificent beasts seemed to hear him and the white tiger which was descending the slope in the portrait came out of the mural and stood in the air, gazing at him. Next, the giant black turtle flew out and floated, showing its magnificent body of a turtle entwined together with a snake.
At last, he heard a thunderous cry and turned his head to see a beautiful Azure-colored dragon soaring in the air. All three formidable beasts gazed at him intently. Then they flew toward him all at once.
"Come, come... I'm not afraid of anyone. I'm just going berserk in my imagination." Donghai Lin said, making a goofy face.
In the next second, all of them entered his body.
Donghai Lin looked at the three murals one by one and then he burst into peals of hysterical laughter.
"Hahaha… Exactly as I thought, none of this is real. What a great day I had today." "Wow, I really like to have another bottle."
Donghai Lin trotted, wobbling precariously in his drunken haze daze, and sat on his seat.
"Granny, Granny,... Granny He," He called aloud on top of his lunge.
The door creaked and the old hunched back woman entered the room.
"Did you need anything, master Lin?" asked Granny He.
"I really like the wine here. Could you give me another bottle?" (Stay tuned....)