This story took place a year ago.
It was an ordinary day. Chen Yin had gone down the mountain to buy wine for his master in Liuyun City.
That little loli of a master had an insatiable appetite for wine. She loved fine brews and didn't mind indulging in the common wine of the mortal world.
Whenever she requested celestial wine and Chen Yin played the pauper, giving her the old "I have no money but a life to give" look, she would pout in dissatisfaction and send him to Liuyun City to buy some mortal wine to satisfy her craving.
Eventually, he got so used to it that he arranged with the innkeeper to keep some wine on hand just for her.
Chen Yin thought this would be like any other day: grab the wine and leave.
But when he arrived at the inn, he saw the innkeeper looking at him with an anxious and troubled expression.
Curious, Chen Yin followed his gaze to the center of the inn.
And that scene—he still hadn't forgotten it to this day.
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The tables on the first floor of the inn had all been pushed aside, leaving a wide open space with only one table in the center.
Scattered around the table were overturned wine jars and several men passed out in drunken stupor. Many customers were watching from a distance, pointing and whispering among themselves.
At that table sat an exquisitely beautiful fairy, her elegant figure reclined as she raised an enormous wine jar high and poured it directly into her mouth.
Droplets of the jade-colored liquor traced their way from her lips down her fair neck to her alluring collarbone. Her sheer, red gown clung to her smooth skin, her slender, perfectly sculpted legs stretched out across the tabletop like a piece of art on display.
This woman tilted her head back, draining the jar. She gave it a disappointed shake to get the last few drops, then tossed it aside without a care.
She wiped her lips with a graceful hand, turned around, and flashed a smile that made the world around her lose all its color.
That bright red smile seemed to drain the color from everything in Chen Yin's vision, leaving every man in the room in a daze, staring at her, utterly entranced.
"Is there more?" she asked, tilting her chin with a touch of scorn in her coldly regal voice, her snowy cheeks tinged with a hint of blush.
"All you men, are you always this pathetic?"
"You strut around, pretending you can drink like fish, but as soon as you start, you're dropping like flies. Bunch of spineless weaklings!"
Her voice echoed like celestial music, yet no one dared to respond.
After a moment, she let out a derisive snort, looking down at the men on the floor with even more disdain. With a wave of her hand, another jar of wine flew into her grasp, and she opened it, drinking greedily again.
To be honest, Chen Yin had only ever seen his master drink like this, with such boldness and abandon.
This girl… she might actually get along well with his master.
Although he didn't know who she was, Chen Yin could sense a powerful aura around her, one that was far beyond his own measly, still-not-quite-up-to-scratch cultivation level.
But he couldn't just avoid this problem…
—because she was drinking up all the wine he had prepared for his master.
He didn't want to go back up the mountain and face a scolding, so he let out a sigh, then stepped forward with a cheerful smile plastered on his face.
"Well now, wine flows freely between friends."
"To think I'd be lucky enough to meet such a beauty today. As a fellow wine lover, would you let me join you for a drink, miss?"
The woman shot him a sideways glance, her gaze briefly filled with disdain, before shifting to one of challenge.
"Hah. Just because you're a cultivator, you think you'll hold up any better than the rest of these men?"
"Drink with me if you want, but no using your cultivation. Drink what I drink—or else get lost."
Chen Yin coughed awkwardly, then chuckled, "Of course, as you say."
Seeing him agree, the woman looked him over more carefully. After a moment's pause, she flicked her sleeve, and in the blink of an eye, both she and Chen Yin were on the rooftop, away from the crowd.
"Let's see if you're any different from those sorry excuses for men."
She picked up another jar of wine, tipped it back dramatically, and started pouring it down her throat.
The sparkling wine dripped down from her vivid red lips, entrancing everyone who looked on.
Chen Yin only glanced at her briefly, then withdrew his gaze with a helpless smile. He raised his own jar and started drinking.
Moments later, the woman finished her jar, wiped her lips with a delicate finger, and looked over in surprise to see that Chen Yin had almost emptied his jar as well.
She raised an eyebrow slightly, and her tone softened just a bit.
"Well, you're the first man I've seen drink so… freely."
"That means I must be one of a kind—a truly rare, fine man." Chen Yin wiped his mouth and replied with a cheerful smile.
The woman's expression eased a little, her eyes narrowing slightly as she gazed at him. After a long pause, she spoke in a calm voice.
"My name is Luo Qiaoqiao. And yours?"
"Chen Yin," he replied with a slight bow.
However, beneath his calm surface, Chen Yin's heart surged like a tempest.
—The legendary fairy of the cultivation world, Luo Shang Fairy, Luo Qiaoqiao?
Why would she be here, drinking? And how did I end up being the one to bump into her?
"... Chen Yin," he said again, as if to remind himself.
Luo Qiaoqiao nodded slightly, turning her gaze away. "I'll remember you."
"Drink with me," she commanded with a hint of imperiousness.
Chen Yin felt a bit conflicted. He didn't mind sharing a drink under the moonlight with such a beautiful woman, but if he used up all the wine, what would he tell his master?
But there was no backing down now. Resignedly, he plastered on a smile and said, "With such an invitation from a lady, how could I refuse?"
One jar after another. The moon floated through the clouds until they all drifted away, leaving only the cool silver-gray light bathing the rooftop.
A light breeze brushed past Luo Qiaoqiao's hair, and a blush stained her exquisitely carved, beautiful face.
Even for an indomitable figure, abstaining from using cultivation while drinking so much was bound to cause a bit of intoxication.
—As Chen Yin had witnessed firsthand with his own little master, who, when drunk, had nearly torn the place apart.
Chen Yin himself was doing just fine, though—he was naturally resilient to alcohol. In his past life, he'd been a thoroughgoing drunkard, the kind who needed a drink to survive.
—And also the kind who died from it. His cause of death had been alcohol poisoning, after all.
In this world, other than occasionally drinking with his master, he rarely felt the urge. And his master had an absolutely terrible habit of getting belligerent when drunk, so he preferred to avoid it.
"…You can really hold your liquor," Luo Qiaoqiao remarked quietly. "Do you often drink?"
Chen Yin shook his head.
"Those who drink don't necessarily do it for the wine itself."
"Most so-called heavy drinkers… they're just looking to drown emotions they can't share with anyone else."
He gave a small laugh. "If life is smooth and carefree, why drink to excess?"
Luo Qiaoqiao paused, the jar still in her hand, then swung it idly, lost in thought.
"So, you're saying that my life isn't as carefree as it seems?"
"The famous Luo Shang Fairy would surely have no lack of ease in her life."
"…There you go again." Her eyes dimmed slightly, a trace of disappointment showing. "You men are all the same—shallow and insincere."
"If I weren't the Luo Shang Fairy, or if I didn't have this beauty bestowed upon me, you probably wouldn't even look my way."
Chen Yin suddenly wagged his head, laughing. "Not so, my lady. You're mistaken."
"When I say 'carefree,' I don't mean only the glittering surface of life."
"Under all that splendor, if it's nothing but emptiness inside, then that wine isn't just for venting emotions."
"…It's meant to fill the void."
Luo Qiaoqiao fell silent, turning her head. "So… am I empty?"
"If Sister Qiaoqiao doesn't feel hollow or lonely, why come here, all the way from your sect, to drink?"
She said nothing, her eyes reflecting the soft glow of the moon as she traced her slender finger around the edge of the wine jar, lost in thought.
Chen Yin looked up and drained another jar with her, then chuckled contentedly.
"But honestly… everyone's heart is empty."
"No one's heart will ever be fully satisfied. We're all people starving in the middle of a downpour."
Luo Qiaoqiao looked up at him suddenly, something resonating in her expression.
In the moonlight, Chen Yin raised his jar, then lowered his gaze with a slightly forlorn look, staring at the empty jar.
Luo Qiaoqiao didn't know what he was thinking.
But for the first time,
She found herself genuinely curious about a man's thoughts.
"Why… starving in the rain?"
Chen Yin thought about it for a moment. "I don't really know."
"It's just that… when I met you, I felt there should have been a rainstorm."
In the rain, people can't see each other clearly.
And then, there's no need to pretend.
"If I could reach out and hold your hand through the rain…" he chuckled self-deprecatingly, "maybe you would actually want to stay by my side."
"Wouldn't you?"
Luo Qiaoqiao suddenly burst into a soft, carefree laugh.
Her laughter was so clear and gentle, like the Milky Way spilling under the moonlight.
She laughed with abandon, without a trace of restraint, even as tears trickled from her eyes.
After laughing for a long while, she gently wiped her eyes, a sparkle of appreciation and amusement in her gaze.
"You know," she said softly.
"I, Luo Qiaoqiao, have never liked any man."
"But you… are really interesting."
She leaned in slowly, her soft body resting against Chen Yin's shoulder, her eyes a little hazy, slightly wavering.
"Right now… I'm very interested in you."
Chen Yin smiled back, unflustered. "It's an honor."
"But Sister Qiaoqiao, you should be careful."
"Careful of what?" she asked, amused.
"Careful that my charm doesn't sweep you off your feet. If you fell for me at first sight… well, I'd be afraid that a debt like that would take me a lifetime to repay."
Luo Qiaoqiao narrowed her eyes, trailing a slender finger slowly up his throat, lifting his chin.
"…And what if—"
"I already have?"
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