"It's from Old Wang's Family at the foot of the mountain, their liquor is watered down, bland!"
While complaining with her mouth, her hands were busy pouring herself a drink. She didn't look up at Gu Shi Yi and failed to see the unusual flicker in the eyes of the child she had raised since young. Gu Shi Yi hummed,
"It's not for you to drink. Today's the Mid-Autumn Festival; I thought, today of all days, is a festive gathering, a day for family reunion. It's for myself to drink!"
Filled with guilt by her words, the Old Taoist Priest chuckled sheepishly and nervously said,
"Then... I'll drink with you, with you. We mentor and pupil are also a complete circle!"
After saying that, he poured another bowl for her. Gu Shi Yi gave him a look, then picked up her own bowl. The two of them, mentor and pupil, first finished a bowl. The Old Taoist Priest drank it in one breath, wiped his mouth, and wondered aloud,
"Today, Old Niu's liquor isn't watered down?"
Gu Shi Yi hummed,
"Today, I went to catch their liquor ghost. If he dared to give me watered-down liquor, I'd release that spirit right back, and let Old Wang's Family's wine jar run dry every day!"
The Old Taoist Priest laughed heartily upon hearing this,
"Excellent, excellent. Old Niu conducts dishonest business; that's how he should be dealt with!"
Saying so, he tore off a chicken leg for her, grabbed one himself, raised his bowl to her, and said,
"Shiyi, let's drink!"
Gu Shi Yi nodded, and the two drank head back, finishing the liquor in one go. These two had been living in this decrepit temple deep in the mountains for several years, and although they ate plenty of game and were not lacking in meat, Gu Shi Yi's culinary skills were only good enough to keep people from dying. The Old Taoist Priest was even less likely to be mentioned, but the roasted chicken and pig's head were signature dishes bought from Liu Er Mazi down at the town at the foot of the mountain; naturally, the flavors were top-notch, with the chicken savory and the pig's head tender and melty, fragrant in the mouth, making one's taste buds blossom and throat sing with each bite, one mouthful only makes you want another...
The two didn't stand on ceremony; they gulped down their food and drank with the indulgence of a whirlwind. With good wine and good food, the Old Taoist Priest was overjoyed, for another whole month the great worries in his heart were lifted. He let go of all restraints, eating and drinking to his heart's content, utterly oblivious that after the first three bowls, all the liquor Gu Shi Yi drank was poured into his own bowl. The Old Taoist Priest emptied his bowl, not missing a drop, and Gu Shi Yi looked at him with a strange expression as he finished drinking. Seeing the Old Taoist Priest was almost at the right point, she suddenly asked,
"Old Taoist Priest, I was only five years old when you abducted me, and in the blink of an eye, twenty-five years have gone by. It's about time you tell me, what exactly are you hiding from all these years?"
The Old Taoist Priest chuckled, his old face shining with a greasy red glow, and he said, waving his hand,
"The secrets of heaven must not be revealed..."
He also held up a finger and said,
"Just another whole month, after another whole month, all this will be over, and then you can get married..."
"Then... tell me about why there needs to be another whole month?"
"That... *hic*..."
The Old Taoist Priest belched drunkenly, the smell reaching Gu Shi Yi across the table. Gu Shi Yi frowned, and the Old Taoist Priest chuckled,
"Well, this timing is the result of the Old Taoist Priest meticulously calculating through the cosmic cycle and the sixty-four hexagrams. Thirty years! A full thirty years, I have suffered!"
When he reached this point, he was touched by past sorrows and shed two murky old tears, using his filthy sleeve to wipe his eyes. Gu Shi Yi rolled her eyes,
"What suffering have you? Does it compare to mine? At a young age, I left my home, wandered with you, without knowing if I'd have the next meal. I was supposed to be a young lady of luxury, you know!"
The Old Taoist Priest shook his head repeatedly,
"Although your family is of the Noble Clan, what kind of young lady could a motherless child like you be? If the Old Taoist Priest hadn't taken you away, they would have probably gnawed you down to your bones!"
Gu Shi Yi knew he spoke the truth, so she sighed deeply. Though she was only five when she left home, she was an extraordinary child who had quickly become astute and aware that both her biological father and mother came from Noble Families. Their marriage was a decision between two families; in fact, they didn't see eye to eye. After tying the knot, they lived separately, and once she was born, an elder claimed she had exceptional talent for cultivation and was a prodigy. Thereafter her parents no longer shared a bed as if their duty was done. Following that, her own mother took a liking to a barbarian from the north, a man said to be tall and brawny with a scarred face. She ran off with that brute man, leaving no trace. The affair caused a huge scandal, shaming both families. Whenever her father mentioned her mother, it was with gritted teeth and vitriol.