From the moment you appeared, you exuded an extraordinary aura. I have to be cautious." Upon hearing my words, the person just smiled slightly and let his white-browed monkey go out to play while taking off his mask. He revealed a beard that was bent from being pressed down and a slightly aged purple-red face as he looked at me and JIETOU saying, "I know why you came looking for me. However, this Taoist priest is used to living freely without any obligations. I don't want to leave my mountain easily or help others casually. If you want me to take you up the mountain, then you must pass my test."
"JIETOU, this is more your area of expertise since he sets up fortune-telling stalls during the day and cuts vegetables in restaurants at night. The questions will undoubtedly be related to cooking skills which are something you're proficient in so I'll give this opportunity to you," said Drunken Taoist.
Upon hearing Drunken Taoist's words, I took a step back and said to JIETOU: "Don't make it sound like I'm not capable of anything! I'm not just a vegetable cutter; I'm a five-star chef with credentials! My part-time job here pays well too!"
Drunken Taoist seemed reminded of something when he heard what JIETOU had said: "Oh yeah! Regardless of whether or not you pass the test later on, if there are any losses incurred by our restaurant because of your actions then we expect compensation equaling those damages."
"Don't worry about that; money isn't an issue," replied JIETOU confidently.
"How can money not be an issue? It's a big problem for me since I didn't bring much cash with me," whispered into his ear.
"That's your problem; figure out how to get some money yourself," retorted JIETOU, ignoring me and turning to Drunken Taoist. "How do you plan on testing us?"
"I have two hobbies in life: drinking and knives. If you can surpass me in these two areas, then I'll be your master and willingly help you with anything. However, there's a condition; after I help you, you must teach me your skills in both of these areas," said Drunken Taoist.
"I think this test is more up your alley," JIETOU said to me upon hearing Drunken Taoist's words as he furrowed his brow and subconsciously stepped back behind me.
"I don't know how to drink either," I grinned while recalling the time when I got drunk at Bai Xinghua's house and ended up sleeping under a peach tree.
"Then that makes two of us! Although you've had some experience drinking before, whereas I'm a monk who doesn't touch alcohol," replied JIETOU seriously with wide eyes.
Feeling helpless, I could only steel myself forward and ask Drunken Taoist: "So how do we compete?"
"Heheh...don't treat me like those tasteless drunks. I don't want to compete with you over who can drink more; instead, we'll compare our wine-tasting abilities."
Seeing my reaction, Drunken Taoist lifted his jug from his waist for a sip before squinting his eyes and saying: "Well? Are you confident?
What kind of wine should we drink?" I asked in confusion. "What level do we need to reach to pass?"
"Well, that's hard to say. You can drink any kind of wine, but whether you can pass or not depends on whether you can convince me," Drunken Master laughed.
"Okay, let's do this then. You handle the wine tasting and I'll handle the sword fighting," JIETOU interjected.
"Are you trying to use the sword fighting as an opportunity to kill him?" I asked JIETOU.
"I did have that thought, but I will control myself," JIETOU smiled and looked at Drunken Master. "What about the sword fighting?"
"We'll split it into two parts. First, you must have some basic swordsmanship skills which I will test later by giving you ten moves to defend against. If you can withstand them all, your skills are good enough for this part of the challenge. As for the second part... well, it's a technical activity called 'comparing swords.' It's not something anyone can pass easily." Drunken Master chuckled.
"How do we compare swords?" JIETOU frowned in confusion.
"I don't know yet; that's up to you guys when we get there." Drunken Master finished speaking and looked at me and JIETOU. "So how about it? Are you ready? If so, let's start with the wine tasting now. Let's go into the hall together; it'll be a good show for everyone here and make up for any losses caused by your earlier actions."
"Um... I'm not sure..." I hesitated because I wasn't confident in my ability to taste wines.
Suddenly a voice spoke up inside my head: "It doesn't matter; be bold and compete with him! With me around, everything will be fine."
YunQingYue actually encouraged me to accept Drunken Master's challenge, which surprised me. Did she have some kind of trick up her sleeve?
Hearing YunQingYue's words, I felt relieved and followed everyone into the hall.
The scene was chaotic; the restaurant owner and a few security guards stood there with dark expressions. A police car had stopped outside the restaurant, and several armed policemen rushed in with the guidance of the security guards. They immediately pointed their guns at JIETOU and me.
"Don't move! Put your hands up!" The police officer shouted sternly.
"JIETOU, don't do anything rash. We don't need to intervene now; that bearded man will handle it," I whispered to JIETOU before obediently raising my hands.
JIETOU also raised his hand.
"You two actually came to the restaurant and caused trouble, and even injured someone. I'm going to arrest you!" The leading police officer pulled out an electric baton and handcuffs, ready to arrest me and JIETOU.
"Ahahaha - everyone calm down, this is all a misunderstanding."
When those policemen were about to take action, Drunken Master walked up with a laugh and blocked them.
"Who are you?" The policeman asked in confusion.
"He is the five-star chef hired by my restaurant," the restaurant owner stepped forward, frowned at Drunken Master and said: "Old Chi, what's going on?"
"Heheheh, boss. These two stinky kids are Old Chi's friends from the martial arts world. Today's incident was just a misunderstanding. I apologize for them. Don't worry; they will compensate for all losses on-site. I hope you can temporarily let them go." Drunken Master said.
"That stinky kid was too violent! He injured two security guards as soon as he entered the door! Later he knocked out Xiaoyu too! She is still in hospital now! How can we compensate for that?" The boss angrily replied.
"Don't be shameless! Do you think these policemen can catch us?" Seeing that the boss was unreasonable, JIETOU couldn't help but speak up.
"You!" The boss became so angry that his eyebrows jumped up and down.
"Boss, let's talk inside," while speaking Drunken Master took hold of the boss' arm and led him inside.
After they left together several police officers surrounded us curiously.
"These two little brats don't behave themselves well; judging from your accent it seems like you're not locals here? Tell me what do you want?" The leading police officer questioned us harshly.
JIETOU sneered: "We don't want anything. I just want to know what you want."
"You little brat is still talking back! Handcuff them!" The leading police officer became furious and immediately ordered his subordinates to arrest us.