Su Yishui glanced at the talisman tied to the crow's foot. Clearly someone was controlling the bird to come and inquire about their identities.
So he replied, "Xishan Su Yishui, here to visit Elder Jiu."
Upon hearing Su Yishui's name, the crow suddenly jumped up, flapping its wings and said, "Bastard Su Yishui, won't see won't see!"
Qin Xuanjiu, listening from the side, developed a newfound appreciation for this Elder Jiu, whom he had never met. At the very least, they shared a mutual dislike for this Su guy.
Su Yishui was not annoyed; he reached out in a flash, somehow grabbed the crow's neck, and then took out their copied water demon talisman, and held it in front of the bird. He said, "This was obtained from a woman practicing Beast Taming. Sir, I would like to ask, do you know its origin?"
The crow, upon seeing the talisman, widened its eyes massively and forcefully broke free from Su Yishui's hand. In a sharp voice, it asked, "How is this possible? Someone actually knows about this…"
It was clear that the person controlling the bird was in a dilemma. The crow landed on the back of a straw figure again, pacing anxiously, then finally made up its mind, "Alright, come to the Grass Hall on the mountain."
So Su Yishui and the others followed the crow's lead and climbed up the mountain.
The road up Cuiwei Mountain was really steep, they can see that not many people came here. If it were in the past, Ranran would definitely not be able to make it up. Fortunately, her Light Body Technique had become more proficient; she effortlessly leaped and hopped up the steep slope like a deer on her tiptoes.
As for Gao Cang and Bai Baishan, who were used to their Shifu's punishments back in Xishan, their legs were agile from training with sandbags. It was only poor Xier who couldn't make even halfway up and had to stay at the foot of the mountain to wait for their return.
The mountain became even more steep, so Qin Xuanjiu, Yu Chen, Senior brother, and Bai Baishan couldn't go any further and had to stay behind.
In the end, only Su Yishui and Ranran climbed up the mountain.
Actually, Ranran didn't want to continue the climb a while ago. It wasn't because she was tired, but she felt that it would be nice to stay with her senior brothers halfway up the mountain, have some of her drinks, eat some dried jerky and biscuits that she brought, and enjoy the scenery.
Unfortunately, Shifu didn't allow her to stop. In the end, he even held her waist and carried her along, riding on the wind, and quickly arrived at the mountaintop.
The mountaintop of Cuiwei Mountain was also lush green, with a simple grass hall nearby and several barns filled with sweet potatoes and wheat.
The air was filled with the fragrant aroma of sweet potato wine, and a short old man was turning the brewing materials in front of a wine vat.
Seeing the visitors, the old man, with a nose covered in yeast, snorted, "I wondered why another barrel of wine went bad today? Turns out a Disaster star was coming!"
Su Yishui didn't mind the old man's peculiar temperament; he just stood in the courtyard, waiting for the Elder Jiu to come over to talk.
The Elder Jiu seemed to not know Su Yishui. After angrily smashing the spoiled wine vat, he limped over, scrutinizing Su Yishui from head to toe, "You look quite decent! No wonder that Mu girl was so bewitched, you made her suffer so terribly!"
It seemed the old man was an old friend of Mu Qingge's and harbored great animosity towards Su Yishui, the rebellious disciple. Then, he rudely gave Xue Ranran the once over, and asked coldly, "And who might you be?"
Xue Ranran bowed politely and softly said she was Su Yishui's disciple, causing the Elder Jiu's eyes to widen in surprise.
"What can you learn from someone who betrays their Master and ancestors? Young girl, you've gone astray at such a young age!" the Elder Jiu retorted.
Xue Ranran couldn't find a rejoinder so she could only pretend to inspect the surroundings, slipping away to the side.
Su Yishui seemed to understand the elderly man's eccentric nature and didn't engage in a verbal argument. Instead, he took out the copied symbols of the talisman and said, "Old Sir, you seem to recognize this talisman. Could you tell me their origin?"
The Elder Jiu circled him a few times, before reaching out for the talisman, carefully examining it. They couldn't quite tell if his face showed a mix of nervousness or excitement, but he laughed almost breathlessly, "That Mu girl did her very best to seal the breach caused by the Netherworld spring. But in the mouths of those righteous folks, it became her causing trouble in the mortal world! A scapegoat, indeed. *'Picking hundreds of flowers to make honey, for whom do they suffer, for whom is it sweet'! But your retribution came swiftly! Aren't you self-proclaimed righteous people? Let's see who else will be as foolish as that Mu girl, to give their all to save you from the breach opened by the Netherworld this time !"
*采得百花成蜜后,为谁辛苦为谁甜
A poem that praises the great virtues of hardworking bees and criticizes those who benefit from the hard work of others
He laughed maliciously, but his words left Xue Ranran bewildered.
According to this elderly man, was Mu Qingge actually a good person before? Was there something more to her privately breaking into the Spiritual spring and releasing the demon lord?
But seeing him mock Shifu like this, Xue Ranran couldn't help but step in to defend her master: "Old Sir, what you're saying isn't fair. When the chaos of Yin and Yang arrives, who could keep to themselves? And can you just stay hidden here making wine? Besides… your wine-making isn't right! You've wasted so much grain for nothing!"
The Elder Jiu was the younger brother of the renowned Grand Medicine Immortal who ascended long ago. Due to his love for wine, he had delayed his progress in cultivation and, despite living to two hundred years old he was always one step away, still yet to achieve immortality.
The old man was uninterested in the first half of Xue Ranran's words but took great offense at her remark about how his "wine-making isn't right".
He has boasted that he had tasted the best wines in the world and was not only a connoisseur but also skilled in brewing. How could this silly young girl dare say his wine wasn't brewed right?
The Elder Jiu jumped up, angrily asking, "What's wrong with it? If you can't explain yourself, watch me knock you down the mountain with one strike!"
Xue Ranran, who was bored earlier, had smelled the wine from the broken jars on the ground and picked up a piece, taking a small sip.
Upon tasting it, she immediately recognized the wine… It was an attempt to copy the renowned "Detain Heaven's Immortal" from the "Playing Classics". However, the timing of adding ingredients during fermentation was wrong, and the fermentation temperature was off, leading to a deviation in taste.
Actually, the wine itself wasn't bad, but since Xue Ranran had tasted the genuine "Detain Heaven's Immortal" she had brewed following the recipe, she naturally found this imitation extremely awful.
Xue Ranran stole a glance at her Shifu, weighed the pros and cons, and decided that resolving the water demon issue was more important right now.
So she asked the Elder Jiu in a low voice if he was trying to brew the "Detain Heaven's Immortal". The old man was astonished, staring at her with wide eyes and asked, "What? Have you heard of this wine before?"
Xue Ranran nodded and handed him the wine gourd by her side.
This was the last of "Detain Heaven's Immortal" that she had brought; the rest had been consumed by her senior brothers while they were keeping watch by the river.
The Elder Jiu was initially skeptical but, upon opening the gourd, was hit by a strong aroma of wine. He couldn't resist tasting it and completely disregarding if the wine might be poisoned, he just drank it without any thought. After savoring a sip, his eyes lit up. He quickly took several more big gulps.
In just a few gulps, he finished the wine. Longing for more, he smacked his lips in satisfaction, and asked, "Young girl, how do you have such authentic 'Detain Heaven's Immortal'?"
Xue Ranran honestly replied, "I brewed it. If you like it, I can help you brew some."
The Elder Jiu, hearing this, jumped back, "Nonsense! Nonsense! Only Mu Qingge knows how to brew this. How could a young girl like you know it?"
This remark made the Elder Jiu start stomping his feet in fury once more. It was this wine, that he had only tasted once and could never forget. But despite spending twenty years studying it painstakingly, he just couldn't replicate the taste again.
Now, a young girl spoke to him with such disdain, as if the wine was ordinary well water, isn't she mocking him for being stupid?
But after jumping around for a while, the intoxicating taste of the wine that lingered on his tongue was too much. How could a few mere sips satisfy his craving? The Elder Jiu stopped jumping and solicitously directed his words behind Su Yishui, "Young girl, I couldn't confirm the authenticity of the flavor just now. Give me another pot to taste."
Xue Ranran remained hidden behind her Shifu, refusing to come out. She muttered, "I don't have any left. But if you tell my Shifu about the origin of that talisman, I'll brew you a vat."
The Elder Jiu raised his eyebrows and glared at Su Yishui, his tone unfriendly as he said, "I heard that you saved Mu Qingge in the end and guided her soul to the tree?"
Su Yishui nodded and replied mildly, "She has safely reincarnated."
The Elder Jiu let out a gratified sigh, believing this statement immediately. It seemed that after living in seclusion for so long, this man had forgotten that people can be deceitful, revealing a childlike innocence.
The Elder Jiu was pondering in his mind: he and Mu Qingge were old friends who bonded over wine. If Mu Qingge had died at this kid's hands, he would rather never satisfy his craving than strike a deal with this kid.
But since Mu Qingge was still alive, making a very small deal with Su Yishui wouldn't be considered betraying their friendship of the wine cup.
Thinking this, he couldn't suppress his wine craving any further , and he confidently said, "As long as you teach me how to brew this, I'll tell you everything I know about these symbols and talismans."
However, brewing wine wasn't something that could be done overnight. Even under ideal temperature and humidity, it would take at least seven days.
Xue Ranran indicated that it would take a very long time, but her Shifu's situation couldn't wait, so could the Elder Jiu tell them first. Elder Jiu proudly laughed and presented a porcelain wine vat covered in mysterious talismans.
According to Elder Jiu, while a day passed in heaven and a year passed on earth, this vat also has control of time. A day passes outside this vat, while a year passes inside the vat.
However, such manipulation of time was extremely draining on spiritual power. The vat full of talismans actually condensed half of the Elder Jiu's lifetime of spiritual power.
This kind of absurd manipulation of time might explain why his elder brother, the Grand Medicine Immortal, ascended long ago while the Elder Jiu remained in Cuiwei Mountain, growing sweet potatoes to make wine.
Xue Ranran thought to herself, engaging in such frivolous pursuits… no wonder he and her former Grandmaster are birds of a feather!