Love & Redemption
Chapter 261: Final Volume: I Am Liuli - 20: The Descent of the Gods (Part 7)

Chapter 261: Final Volume: I Am Liuli Chapter 20: The Descent of the Gods (Part 7)

White Tiger was trembling with rage, but utterly powerless to do anything about it. The gods all dreaded his Sea Control Hook, and no one dared to make the first move. The scene was at a stalemate; nobody spoke, and nobody moved.

Tengshe took the opportunity to touch the wound on his back, where Di Su’s blade had poked him earlier. It wasn’t a deep stab, but it was so painful he couldn’t help cuffing up his hand with blood and cursing in anger, "Blind little thief! Daring to stab your own father! What a revolt!"

Di Su was in so much pain from the burn that he was lying on the ground humming, but luckily it wasn’t fatal. Hearing Tengshe curse him, he couldn’t care less about showing respect for the moment and retorted, "Blind beast! I’m so burnt I’m blistering! Are the rules of Heaven worthless in your eyes?!"

Tengshe shouted, "Now you’re pulling rank with rules? Why didn’t you think of the rules when you were chopping people?"

"Open your damn eyes and see clearly! Was it I who wanted to chop you?! It was clearly Emperor Bai’s command!"

Di Su was no less defiant, roaring even louder than him.

The two of them were getting more and more into their quarrel, causing an uproar. Wuzhiqi found this so amusing that he thudded the Sea Control Hook into the ground, sat down with a plop, and began rummaging through his embrace. He took out a pear and bit into it greedily, munching contentedly. Everyone stared at him dumbfounded, as Tengshe and the others even forgot to continue their bickering.

"Hmm?" Wuzhiqi wiped the juice from his mouth and looked up innocently, "Keep going, keep going! Don’t mind me! Just eating a pear."

The sweet fragrance of the pear spread out, more tempting than any other flavor to the divine beings of Heaven, for they had never tasted the food of the human world. Vermilion Bird stared fixedly at the white flesh of the pear without blinking, Jiao Su covered his mouth to prevent drooling, and even the most dignified White Tiger couldn’t help but stare.

Wuzhiqi finished the pear down to the small core that couldn’t be eaten anymore and then tossed it away, contentedly wiping his mouth. When he saw that everyone was still looking at him eagerly, he exclaimed, "What’s the matter, haven’t you ever seen a pear? No way! Is Heaven really that barren?!"

Tengshe coughed softly and said in a low voice, "We have... only... they’re tasteless."

He grabbed Wuzhiqi and shamelessly asked for fruit, "Got any more? Give me one!"

Wuzhiqi, harried by his pestering, pulled out a piece of wrapping cloth from his bosom, and many fruits tumbled out—peaches, plums, apricots... No one could have imagined he had so many fruits hidden, and they all stared dumbfounded. Tengshe greedily grabbed a peach and began devouring it. Vermilion Bird, deeply envious, murmured, "You... you two, can you really finish all these fruits?"

Wuzhiqi grunted, glanced at the gods who were drooling with greed, and laughed, "Of course we can’t finish them all. What, do the noble and holy immortals really want fruit from a sinner like me?"

Vermilion Bird was left speechless by his retort and, a bit annoyed, turned away without another word. White Tiger, too, felt that the scene of a group of people staring at someone eating was unseemly, so she brushed her hair back, planning to take a short rest on the side and regain the gracefulness she’d lost during the fight.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise behind her, swiftly raised her hand to catch it—and it was two big, red juicy peaches. Perplexed, she turned back to see Wuzhiqi grinning at her, showing all his white teeth: "For you, Sister White Tiger."

I don’t want it—she wanted to decline coldly to maintain her usual elegance, but Tengshe’s enjoyment was too enticing, and the fruity sweet aroma was simply a temptation she had never experienced before. No wonder, before descending to the mortal world, Emperor Bai had warned them not to covet mortal food. Everyone thought mortal food carried noxious vapors harmful to their immortal power, not realizing it was the temptation he feared they could not resist.

Temptation of the palate or lust between men and women, both are trials humans endure. Lust is one thing, but this desire of the palate doesn’t have as obvious defenses as lust, and one can be tempted without even realizing it, making it even more formidable than lust.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, White Tiger involuntarily tore off a piece of the peach skin, and the sweet juice immediately covered her hand, an irresistible and unparalleled temptation. She took a slow bite and found it so deliciously soft and fragrant that she couldn’t help but shove the whole peach into her mouth—of course, the result was that she choked.

Vermilion Bird saw her turn pale and flustered, so she quickly slapped her on the back hard, and an entire peach that had only been bitten once fell out of her mouth with a plop. White Tiger’s face turned beet red and then turned pale again; she was so embarrassed this time that she froze, not daring to move.

Wuzhiqi sighed, "You’re not a snake, why would you swallow it whole? What are your teeth for?"

White Tiger remained silent, shoved the other peach into Vermilion Bird’s hands, and moved to sit far away, never to come back. Vermilion Bird, flattered and in a hurry, didn’t even bother to peel it and gobbled up the peach in just a few bites.

Wuzhiqi, seeing her enjoy it so much, burst out laughing, gave the wrapping cloth a shake, and the fruits rolled all over the ground, "Come on! Fights are one thing, but eating fruit is another! One for each person; am I not generous?"

Everyone hesitated for a moment, but seeing Tengshe and Vermilion Bird looking so content, they finally crowded forward and divided up the fruits. Wuzhiqi laughed, "Poor things! You find even the most ordinary fruits so delicious, if you tasted the gourmet food from the mortal world, wouldn’t you swallow your tongues too?"

While munching on an apricot, Jiao Su wondered, "What kind of gourmet food does the mortal world have?"

This question went straight to Tengshe’s heart, and he immediately rattled off all the delicious foods he had eaten over the years, now reminiscing about the light and sweet taste of seafood, then extolling the exquisite flavor of a slow-cooked soup, stirring envy in everyone’s eyes that glowed green with craving. Jiao Su continued to cover his mouth to prevent drool from leaking out.

"But the best thing in the mortal world has to be the fine wine. It’s on a completely different level from this tasteless water here! It’s such a waste for you to have been immortals for so long; if you don’t even know the pleasure of fine wine, your immortality has been in vain!"

Tengshe, sputtering as he spoke, had completely dissipated the combative atmosphere with his enthusiasm and, amidst the gasps of admiration from the crowd, immortals and demons rebels and puritans sat together, fantasizing about the culinary delights of the mortal world with such fervor they could hardly wait to sneak down to the Lower Realm to taste those dreamlike and wonderful flavors.

Wuzhiqi continued to rummage through his sleeves until he produced a small wine jar, uncorked it, and the intoxicating aroma immediately dispersed with the wind. In an instant, all eyes were fixated on it.

He lifted the jar with a smile and said, "This is for quenching thirst on the road, a top-quality ’Daughter’s Red.’ Who wants a taste?"

Tengshe was the first to lunge forward, only to be kicked away by him: "Scram! There’s hardly any left, and none for you!"

Wuzhiqi tossed the wine jar to Vermilion Bird, continued smiling, and said, "Take a sip."

Vermilion Bird hesitantly took the jar, took a small gulp, only to feel as if he had poured a ball of flame into his mouth. His face changed dramatically, and he almost spat it out. Stiffening his neck, he forced it down, about to curse at the two for deceiving him, but then the fiery sensation seemed to wrap around a soft cotton, melting once it went down, and a rich, fiery taste rushed to his forehead instantly. He had never experienced such a flavor in his life, genuinely praiseworthy.

He exclaimed in admiration, "Good stuff!" and then tossed the jar to White Tiger who was sitting far away, "You try it!"

White Tiger had made a fool of herself earlier and wanted to sneak away unnoticed, but Vermilion Bird passed the wine jar to her. She took a sip and indeed found the taste not bad at all. Smiling as her beauty outshone the spring blossom, she threw the jar to Di Su, who lay on the ground unable to move, and said, "Here, your turn!"

The immortals each took a big gulp of the wine from the jar, which was soon emptied. Tengshe, who had been waiting for everyone to have their turn, reached for the jar and tipped it back to finish the last of the liquid, only to find not even a drop left—they had drunk it all.

He threw down the jar in disappointment, saying, "You Monkey, you’re so heartless! You never think of anyone else when you have good things!"

Wuzhiqi, touching his chin, had a sly smile on his face and whispered, "You’ll soon know that I am the best person in the world."

After the food was eaten and the wine was drunk, the flushed-faced immortals, belching from the alcohol, continued to look for trouble with the two. Jiao Su stammered, "Wu... Wuzhiqi, don’t think we’re... done just because we ate your food and drank... your wine. Come on, let’s keep... fighting for another three hundred rounds!"

Tengshe frowned and said, "Eating someone’s food makes you indebted to them; taking someone’s gifts puts you in their debt. You’re filled with food and wine, and now you say this with no shame?"

Jiao Su’s eyes bulged, "One thing... is one thing! They can’t... be conflated! At most, I’ll go first, and we can have a gauntlet match!" He leaped up, hands flipping, and reached for Wuzhiqi’s shoulders.

Wuzhiqi, with a smile on his lips, stayed still as if he had given up resisting and let them capture him. Jiao Su, thrilled, changed his slapping to stabbing, his five fingers merged into a metal-cold, sharply gleaming weapon, and thrust it straight at Wuzhiqi’s heart. But halfway there, his vision blurred, murmuring, "Strange... my head is spinning!"

Before he could finish, there was a "thump," and he collapsed on the ground, passed out.

All the gods were shocked and leapt up but, like dumplings in a pot, thump after thump, they fell, one by one. In just a moment, only Wuzhiqi and Tengshe remained seated.

"Eh? What’s going on here?" Tengshe exclaimed with surprise and delight as he nudged Jiao Su with his foot. Flipping over, Jiao Su’s cheeks were rosy; his body reeked of alcohol, deeply asleep and utterly contented. The fallen immortals, most of them drunk and blissful, must be dreaming sweet dreams.

Wuzhiqi leisurely stood up, picked up the inconspicuous little wine jar, wiped it clean, and slipped it into his sleeve, saying leisurely, "This jar is called Wine God Goblet. Just fill it with plain water, and within an hour, it magically turns into the strongest and finest wine in the world. A small sip will get you drunk for three days. Earlier, I filled it with water from the Chishui River, and now it’s turned into fine wine. But these are immortals: they’ll probably wake up quicker, which is why I added some powder to ensure they sleep for a full three days and three nights."

Tengshe, seeing those troublesome ones had all fallen without lifting a hand, joyfully scratched his head, saying repeatedly, "Why didn’t you bring out such a great thing earlier! Where did you find it?"

Wuzhiqi, arms crossed, proudly boasted, "I have plenty of treasures! Did you think I only have the Sea Control Hook? Back when I was in the South Sea, I made a bet with the Merfolk, and they lost, so they gave me this as a wager. Good stuff ought to be saved for the last. If I hadn’t thrown around some flashy things to distract them, how would they have willingly drunk the world’s finest wine?"

He kicked Vermilion Bird over, looked at his drunken state, and laughed again, "I still have important things to take care of, so I don’t have time to serve you stinking immortals. The Heavenly Emperor is up to no good, hoping I’ll paint the hall red, but I won’t gratify him! Not killing a single one, let’s see what he can do to me."

At that moment, Tengshe truly admired him from the bottom of his heart. People said Wuzhiqi was extremely capable, and it wasn’t just about his fighting skills – his intellect was also sharp. Tengshe’s gaze shone with admiration, feeling that his decision to fight him thousands of years ago was extremely wise and foresighted. (To be continued – for more details, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, and your support for the author and for genuine reading is appreciated!)