Linghu Jiu: "Hahaha, I won't stand on ceremony then."
He proceeded with a bowing greeting: "Brother Ning Zhuo."
Ning Zhuo reciprocated the gesture, his tone upbeat: "Brother Linghu!"
The two changed their forms of address, which brought them even closer.
Both were extremely pleased and couldn't help but lift their bowls, clink them together, and then down the contents.
Lin Bufan: ...
Linghu Jiu set down his wine bowl, and Ning Zhuo immediately filled it with Ice Jade Wine.
As Ning Zhuo poured, he said, "Since Brother doesn't know how to play the finger-guessing game, let me teach you."
"It's actually very simple. We both extend a hand and form a gesture that represents the numbers zero to five. At the same time, we guess aloud the sum of the numbers our hand gestures represent."
"Whoever guesses correctly wins. The loser has to drink a bowl as a penalty."
Linghu Jiu curiously remarked, "Eh? Isn't that penalty more of a reward?"
Ning Zhuo paused, then burst into laughter.
Lin Bufan watched his senior disciple carefully learn to play the game, becoming all the more speechless.
Soon, Xiaoju hurried to Myriad Demons Cave.
She was tasked by Lin Shanshan with looking after Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu, preventing the two from escalating their duel to the point of flushed faces and intensified conflicts.
However, before she even entered the cave, she heard the sounds of the game.
"Six six six, who drinks first?"
"Five chiefs, who drinks first?"
"Hahaha, I lost." Linghu Jiu held up his wine bowl, drained it in one go, rolled up his sleeves, "Continue."
"Six six six (Four Joys of Wealth)!"
"Seven tricks (Nine Linked Rings)!"
Ning Zhuo suddenly widened his eyes.
He lost.
Linghu Jiu laughed heartily, raising his arm and calling out, "Drink, drink fast!"
Ning Zhuo then downed a bowl.
Xiaoju stood at the entrance, watching this scene with disbelief, her mouth agape, nearly dropping her jaw.
"What's going on?"
"Although Young Master Ning Zhuo and the Elder Apprentice Brother are hard to separate and have flushed faces, there seems to be no conflict at all."
"Are they really getting along so well?"
Xiaoju found it unbelievable, completely different from what she had expected.
"Somebody's coming." Ning Zhuo's Divine Sense spread out; he had already detected Xiaoju's arrival.
They then invited Xiaoju in to report, learning of Lin Shanshan's concerns. Linghu Jiu and Ning Zhuo exchanged a smile.
Linghu Jiu waved his hand: "Junior Sister worries too much, go on, go on."
However, Xiaoju dared not leave, still mindful of Lin Shanshan's entrusted task; she worried that if she left now, a conflict might erupt, which wouldn't be good.
Thus, she suggested, "How about I pour the wine for the two gentlemen?"
Linghu Jiu thought for a moment, then understood Xiaoju's thoughts: "Well, you pouring the wine is fine."
He and Ning Zhuo resumed their "battle."
Initially, they were just sitting on stone stools. Gradually, they stood up; Linghu Jiu rolled up his sleeves and stepped on a stool, each time the finger-guessing game was played, they indulged in loud shouts.
Ning Zhuo, on the other hand, braced himself against the stone table, leaned forward, and launched "strong attacks" at Linghu Jiu.
After three jars of wine, neither could stand properly anymore; they sat on the stone table, arm in arm, shaking their heads and wagging their tails.
Linghu Jiu, highly spirited, began singing a mountain song.
After listening to a few parts, Ning Zhuo picked up the tune and joined in.
"Hahaha!" The two faced each other laughing, thoroughly intoxicated.
Linghu Jiu, with disheveled hair, ran wildly like a monkey inside the cave. His long sleeves fluttered, quick as the wind, extremely carefree.
Ning Zhuo sat quietly on the ground, shoulders drooping, without a word.
Suddenly, Linghu Jiu stopped, looked up towards the sky outside the cave, and recited a poem.
Ning Zhuo instantly recited a poem!
Linghu Jiu clapped his hands in praise, "Young Master Ning Zhuo, you truly have great talent."
Ning Zhuo shook his head, giving a bitter smile, "What young master am I? Compared to me, you are the true young master."
"Young Master Linghu!"
He bowed with his hands together, making a playful gesture.
Linghu Jiu raised his head, nodded affirmatively, and hummed, "Young Master Ning Zhuo."
Ning Zhuo felt the world spinning, "I am just a mere thief."
After the joke, he could no longer hold himself up and collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.
Linghu Jiu shook his head, "Ning Zhuo the thief, what have you stolen? Did you steal my junior sister's heart?"
Xiaoju was shocked and immediately looked at Linghu Jiu.
Linghu Jiu leaned against the mountain wall, slowly sitting down, gazing at the sky outside the cave, a melancholic expression appearing on his face.
He hummed a mountain song softly and also fell into a deep sleep.
Xiaoju: ?!
After being dazed for a moment, she let out a long sigh of relief.
The two of them did not end up fighting; they had only competed in drinking and arm wrestling.
Xiaoju began to take action.
She came here to take care of Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu.
She dragged both men onto stone beds and watched over them, tending to them continuously.
Ning Zhuo and Linghu Jiu slept head to toe for a full day and night.
The next morning, Linghu Jiu woke up first; his sleepy eyes saw Ning Zhuo, and he let out a hoarse laugh.
Upon seeing Xiaoju, he expressed his gratitude.
Xiaoju quickly indicated that if thanks were due, they should thank Lin Shanshan, as she had been commanded to come.
By noon the next day, Ning Zhuo awoke as well, and after a warm exchange with Linghu Jiu, they reluctantly said their goodbyes.
He returned to his cave mansion at Little Struggle Peak and immediately began transcribing the "Five Organs Temple Spirit Divine Skill."
Soon, he had written down the entire script.
Ning Zhuo sighed in relief, thankful that his drunkenness had not caused any trouble!
"It seems that drinking Netherworld brew, and receiving the teachings of the ancestors, is deeply ingrained in my heart and won't easily be forgotten."
"Big brother, come and check out this Divine Skill for me!"
Sun Lingtong emerged from the Mechanical Dragon, holding a Jade Slip, mumbling, "What exactly does Netherworld brew taste like? Little Zhuo, you didn't even save me a bit to try!"
Ning Zhuo smiled sheepishly, "Next time I go, relying on Brother Linghu's character, he will definitely share some with me."
"I plan to send some top-grade Cloud Tea to Linghu Jiu from the storage cabin. What do you think, big brother?"
Sun Lingtong shrugged, "Up to you."
He gradually became serious, "What a great cultivation technique! The Five Organs Temple Spirit Divine Skill is definitely a top-tier technique. Your branch has now obtained a great familial technique, far surpassing the main branch's Ice Heart Technique."
"It's just a pity that you can't cultivate it."
"Speaking of which, Little Zhuo, your Five Elements Spirit Root is perfectly balanced, making you extremely suitable for cultivating this kind of Five Elements technique. Perhaps, this is also an important reason why the Five Elements Divine Master favors you."
Ning Zhuo said, "Big brother, you go ahead and study it. I'm going to the Spirit Hidden Willow Tree to contemplate and see how much I can learn from the 'Five Organs Temple Spirit Divine Skill.'"
Ning Zhuo went to the Spiritual Plant Cabin, chatted endlessly with the Spirit Hidden Willow, and his mood completely calmed down.
He sat cross-legged under the tree and began his contemplation.
Suddenly, he "saw" the Five Elements Divine Master again.
"Is it the Spirit Hidden Willow?" The Five Elements Divine Master smiled slightly at Ning Zhuo. "Young man, you prefer not to switch over to cultivating my Divine Skill and still cling to old possessions. Spirit Hidden Willow? Indeed, it is a treasure plant."
"Watch closely, this is the way and the principle of Five Elements!"
"Alas, for you, it's still too early. Whatever you can comprehend, just let it be so."
At that moment, Ning Zhuo received the teachings of the Five Elements Divine Master once again.
The way that can be told is not the eternal Way!
He clenched his eyes shut, his brows deeply furrowed, his body swaying as if about to fall, blood flowing from seven orifices, his head burning hot, sweat rising into white vapor.
Meanwhile, the branches of the Spirit Hidden Willow dried up at a terrifying speed, countless willow leaves falling desolately.