Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 157: Just A Taste

Yun Mountain was named after its mountain clouds and mist. When the sun was just right, the space around Yun Mountain would be covered in fog. When standing on some higher peaks, the morning fog would resemble an ocean. The scenery was beautiful.

The most famous place on the mountain range was Yun Mountain’s Guanwu¹ Peak, but Yanxia Peak where Cloud Mountain Temple was located was also a good spot. However, if someone wanted to climb the mountain to view the fog, they probably wouldn’t choose this location.

There were wild beasts on Yun Mountain, after all. Although there hadn’t been any rumors of tigers, there truly were some dangerous jackals and leopards.

In Bingzhou, where farming was enough to make a living, not many people would risk their lives to rely on the mountains for food. As a result. Yun Mountain, which wasn’t very deep into the wilds in Ji Province, actually felt rather inaccessible.

It was still early in the morning when Taoist Qingsong and Qi Wen took Ji Yuan out of the county, but neither they nor Ji Yuan used any techniques or supernatural powers to travel, so even without counting the time it took them to climb the mountain, it was still a very long journey of more than twenty li to the foot of Yun Mountain.

Fortunately, although Qi Xuan and Qi Wen did not know any orthodox martial arts, they practiced Taoist strength-building techniques year-round. Some of them were similar to the Baduanjin Qigong practice² that Ji Yuan heard of in his previous life. Therefore, both of them had excellent leg strength, and it didn’t take long for them to begin climbing the mountain.

They chatted about all sorts of things as they traveled, including the genius doctor Qin Zizhou in Ji Province, how Taoist Qingsong had been recuperating from his illness, and about how the two of them returned to Bing Province.

The sun had clearly begun to set as they ascended the mountain. Ji Yuan walked down the Yun Mountain trail with a strip of meat and a large fish in his hands, and jokingly asked the master and the apprentice:

“When do you usually come back? It’s such a long way from Dongle County, isn’t it dark by the time you come back?”

They had been walking together this whole way, and with Ji Yuan’s easygoing nature, the master and the apprentice didn’t have to be as restrained in chatting with each other as before. Hearing Ji Yuan’s words, Qi Wen immediately begun complaining.

“Mr. Ji, you are absolutely right. Sometimes, when I go back to the Taoist temple with Master, it’s already dark before we’ve even started climbing. Look, I have two hatchets in my pack to protect myself from wild animals!”

Ji Yuan had never displayed any supernatural techniques in front of the two of them. In fact, Qi Wen regarded Ji Yuan as more of a gentleman with great martial arts skills and a good heart.

But Taoist Qingsong was different. He had always believed that Ji Yuan was no ordinary person, and he was very embarrassed to hear his disciple criticizing him in front of Mr. Ji.

“It’s only occasionally, just occasionally. Most of the time, it’s not dark. Besides, I only go set up a stall every couple of days. Sometimes I go to the surrounding villages. Most of the time, I practice in the mountains.”

“Oh, you cultivate? I’m a little curious about this. How do you Taoists cultivate?”

Ji Yuan was really curious when he asked this question. As far as he knew, some Taoist temples also had sects in the martial arts world, but they required some level of cultivation and martial arts training. How would these two Taoists in a seemingly insignificant Taoist temple like Cloud Mountain Temple usually practice? They wouldn’t learn fortune-telling alone, would they?

“To cultivate in Taoism, naturally, the goal is to attain enlightenment and become an immortal… uh…”

Taoist Qingsong suddenly couldn’t continue speaking. He subconsciously looked at Ji Yuan, who was climbing the mountain alongside them. Although he had never seen Mr. Ji perform any magical acts ever since they had met a couple years ago, he was entirely certain that this man was an immortal.

Talking about cultivating immortality in front of a true immortal felt like showing off one’s proficiency in front of an expert.

“Haha… becoming an immortal is not a bad goal. Go on.”

Ji Yuan smiled and didn’t care. From his point of view, he didn’t think he was truly an immortal. He was just a cultivator. Most immortal palaces, immortal sects, immortal mountains, and immortal islands thought the same.

Taoist Qingsong was much more cautious when speaking now. He thought carefully before continuing.

“Actually, what Taoists cultivate is nothing more than a pure mind. We do not worship gods, nor seek wealth in the mountains. What we Taoists respect and fear are all the stars in the sky and all the things on this earth. The so-called pure body and mind are transformed and merge into nature, and a balance can be achieved with all things in the world. This is where we feel peace and tranquility.”³

Ji Yuan slowed his pace and thought about Taoist Qingsong’s words. The two Taoists subconsciously followed his lead and slowed down. Taoist Qingsong was still a little uneasy, wondering if he had said something wrong.

“I was a little absent-minded just now. After thinking about it, many cultivators pursue similar things. Some of them do not even have as good of an understanding as you do. Taoist Qingsong put it very well; humans follow the laws of the Earth, the Earth follows the laws of Heaven, Heaven follows the laws of the Tao, the Tao follows the laws of nature.”⁴

After Ji Yuan spoke he quickened his pace once more. Taoist Qingsong and his disciple hurriedly followed.

All the while, Taoist Qingsong continuously muttered: “Humans follow the laws of the Earth, the Earth follows the laws of Heaven, Heaven follows the laws of the Tao, the Tao follows the laws of nature…”

. . .

In Cloud Mountain Temple, Taoist Qingsong used all of his skills to prepare dinner. The meat had been bought from the county market, the vegetables were grown in the back yard, the firewood had been picked up from the mountains, and his cooking skills were the result of accumulated years of practice.

There were a total of five dishes and one fish soup. It looked good and smelled fragrant. Of course, it didn’t taste as good as the Dragon Lord’s banquet, but it was fresh and delicious.

Ji Yuan did not stand on ceremony with the two men, and the two Taoists didn’t hold back at the table either. The three of them ate heartily at the eight-sided table in the Taoist Temple’s kitchen, from the time when the sun was still in the sky all the way until when the oil lamps had to be lit at dark.

After seeing that Taoist Qingsong had already eaten a lot, Ji Yuan mysteriously picked up his bag and took out a wine jug.

“Come on, come on, Taoist Priest, don’t rush to keep eating yet, take a look at this! Ah, Qi Wen, you can continue to eat.”

“Oh…”

Seeing that both his master and Mr. Ji had set down their chopsticks, Qi Wen had originally followed suit. However, hearing Mr. Ji’s words, he started eating again, scooping soup over his rice. Meanwhile, his gaze, like that of Master Qi Xuan, were focused on the item in Ji Yuan’s hands.

Taoist Qingsong inspected the ceramic bottle from top to bottom. It had a wide base and a narrow neck. The top was tightly plugged with a stopper wrapped in red cloth.

“Mr. Ji, is this a wine bottle?”

“Hahaha… This is indeed a full wine bottle. The key is not the bottle, but the wine inside it.”

Qi Wen used his chopsticks to pick up another mouthful of rice soaked in fish soup, and asked in a daze.

“Is this wine expensive?”

Ji Yuan smiled and looked at him, and then looked back at Qi Xuan, who had a curious but thoughtful look on his face.

“Expensive? This wine wouldn’t sell well unless it was famous. There is only one person in the world who can make this wine. No matter how powerful one is, one would never be able to drink it unless given the opportunity by chance.”

Ji Yuan added in his mind, ‘I should instead specify that only one dragon can make it.’

“Of course, this wine is quite difficult to make, and the alcohol content is quite high. It’s very easy to get drunk off of it. I only have a few cups on hand. Qi Wen, you have to clean up the dishes, so don’t drink it. Taoist Master Qi Xuan, how about two cups?”

Qi Wen took his words at face value, but Taoist Qingsong had some suspicions. He pondered the hidden meanings in Mr. Ji’s words, suspecting that his words were not trivial, so he asked a tentative question.

“Mr. Ji, are you drinking too?”

Sure enough, Ji Yuan smiled and shook his head.

“I won’t be drinking. I specially brought this for you, Taoist Priest. Please don’t refuse!”

In Cloud Mountain Temple, Ji Yuan no longer needed to maintain his deception. His eyes were pale as he looked at Taoist Qingsong, making the latter unable to refuse, and harbor some vague guesses in his heart.

Ji Yuan had already taken an empty bowl from the stove and sat back down at the table. After all, he was here to extend Taoist Qingsong’s life, so there was no need to join him and share a glass of wine. The man could just drink it in one gulp.

As he unsealed the bottle, Ji Yuan inexplicably swirled his fingers twice around the lip of the bottle before pulling out the cork.

He tilted the bottle and poured the wine into the bowl. The wine actually turned turquoise⁵ in color, and an extremely light aroma wafted out.

“Hahaha… Come here, Taoist Qingsong, come try this wine. My friend is quite old, and his brewing skills are much better than your cooking skills!”

Taoist Qingsong looked at Ji Yuan and then at the bowl of wine in front of him. The wine was still swaying slightly, reflecting the light of the oil lamp on the table every so often. In a trance, he could see a faint mist rising from the surface of the wine, as if his sight had grown fuzzy.

“Then I… will listen to Mr. Ji… and have a taste?”

When Qi Xuan asked this tentatively, Qi Wen interjected.

“Master, don’t you never drink alcohol?”

“Taoist Qi Wen is not wrong to be cautious. I am not asking Taoist Qingsong to drink too much, I just want him to have a taste. It’s okay to have a taste. I know my limits. Taoist Qingsong please go on!”

“Oh, okay!”

Qi Xuan raised the bowl carefully and sniffed the aroma of the wine. A faint mist flowed into his nostrils, and he suddenly fell into a slight daze. The sound of waves seemed to fill his mind, like heavenly music.

Seeing that he looked a little dizzy, Ji Yuan quickly placed a hand on his back. A trace of power and spiritual energy flowed into Qi Xuan’s body.

“Don’t smell it, just drink it.”

Qi Xuan refocused and tilted the wine bowl to his mouth. As soon as the tip of his tongue touched the wine, endless flavors blossomed in his mouth. His eyes narrowed.

But before he could savor the taste further, he suddenly felt a strong impact from the surface of the bowl.

“Ugh…”

Ji Yuan directly grabbed the bowl with his right hand and tilted it all the way up, then patted Qi Xuan lightly on his back with his left hand.

“Glug, glug, glug…”

Half a bowl of wine was dumped directly into Taoist Qingsong’s mouth. He put down the bowl, then turned to look blankly at Ji Yuan. In less than the span of a breath, his body swayed and softly fell to the table, lying face-down and breathing evenly.⁶

Qi Wen to the side was stunned by Ji Yuan’s action. No matter how he looked at it, all he could see was Mr. Ji forcing his master to drink alcohol.

“Oh, this wine is very intoxicating. Your master drinks too slowly. If I hadn’t done this, he would have passed out before finishing it.”

Ji Yuan explained to Qi Wen with a bright smile.

“Eat, eat, let’s continue eating.”

“Uh… Okay…”

Qi Wen carefully looked at his master’s posture as he slept peacefully, and didn’t dare say a single thing to the contrary.⁷

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T/n: Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukah to those who celebrate! Hugs ❤

1. 观 (guàn): Taoist monastery/watchtower, 雾 (wù): fog/mist
2. Also known as Eight Pieces of Brocade. Here’s a video
3. This description here is either describing or highly similar to the Buddhist state of Nirvana, in which enlightenment is achieved by being one with the world, including an expanding and/or vanishing sense of self in favor of a universal consciousness. Go learn about it!
4. From chapter 25 of the Tao Te Ching. (I’m pretty sure I already translated this saying in another chapter but I couldn’t find where.)
5. 青 (qīng): green/blue/black/young, 绿色 (lǜsè): green – either “green green” or “blue green” or “black green.” Given the dragon/water provenance, “blue-green” = “turquoise” seemed the best translation
6. T/n: Please remember that no matter how good your intentions, it is never okay to force someone to drink alcohol, even if it’s for medicinal purposes or if you’re the MC of a NovelFire…
7. Lit: “didn’t dare to fart”