Immortal Travel of Longevity

Yu Hongjin quietly pulled a small bottle of wine from her Fragrant Pouch.

Song Bao stared in astonishment. "Where—where did you get that wine? Didn't you drink it all?"

Yu Hongjin blinked. "I hid it in my pocket."

Song Bao stared blankly. "If you already had wine, why did you ask for more at the inn?"

"It hasn't aged long enough yet," Yu Hongjin replied.

She had been keeping track of the time herself. With ordinary matters, she might remember something one moment only to forget it the next, but when it came to anything involving wine, her memory was sharper than anyone else's.

"What do you mean, aged?" Song Bao asked, puzzled.

"Wine has a vintage," Yu Hongjin explained. "When it's aged for just the right amount of time, it tastes the absolute best. Not a moment too long, and not a moment too short. It has to be perfect."

Song Bao paused. "How do you know all that?"

Song Bao eyed the wine pot. She smacked her lips but shook her head. "No."

Yu Hongjin took in her expression completely.

A smirk curled the corners of her lips. "Liar. You obviously want to try it."

Caught in the lie, Song Bao's cheeks instantly flushed red. She turned her head away. "I do not. I don't want to drink it at all."

Yu Hongjin simply popped the stopper off the wine pot.

A rich scent of peaches wafted into the air.

Song Bao caught the scent and blinked. "It smells so good. Are those peaches?"

"You've got a sharp nose."

"This wine was brewed from peach flesh," Yu Hongjin said. "It's been aging for two years. There's rock sugar added in there, too. Getting that sugar wasn't easy—it was insanely expensive. It's just about ready now. At this stage, the wine is perfectly sweet and not bitter at all."

Song Bao blinked. "I don't believe you. My dad says wine is bitter. There's no such thing as sweet wine."

"Your dad doesn't know anything."

Yu Hongjin snorted. "Want a sip?"

Song Bao hesitated, but that intoxicating fragrance really made her want to see what it tasted like.

Yu Hongjin giggled and handed the wine to her.

.

.

In the blink of an eye, the sky grew dark.

The last sliver of sunlight sank beneath the distant mountains.

"Why aren't they back yet?"

Mother Song peered outside anxiously.

The couple paced back and forth by the doorway.

They were waiting for their daughter, but instead saw one of their previous guests coming downstairs.

Yunxiang looked at the couple and asked, "Excuse me, have either of you seen my younger sister?"

Father Song opened his mouth, unsure of how to explain the situation for a moment.

Mother Song gave a helpless sigh and recounted what had happened earlier.

Yunxiang paused, then let out a resigned smile.

"That Hongjin..."

She went upstairs to fetch Mister.

Chen Changsheng was also a bit surprised upon hearing the news.

He wasn't surprised that Hongjin had sneaked out with a bottle of wine, but rather that the innkeeper's daughter hadn't come back either.

"Let's go out and look for them."

Yunxiang, Chen Changsheng, and Mother Chen headed out together to search.

Along the way, they asked the people in the neighborhood.

But everyone said they hadn't seen the two girls.

As the sky grew darker by the minute, Mother Song grew increasingly anxious.

"Where could they have gone? Where could they be!"

Mother Song was so frantic she was on the verge of tears.

"They couldn't have gone far," Yunxiang reassured her. "They'll be fine."

Mother Song sighed softly, forcing herself to find comfort in that thought.

Chen Changsheng, however, looked up and said, "They're right in that alley up ahead."

Yunxiang immediately understood.

The group hurriedly made their way over.

As soon as they entered the alley, they were greeted by a scene that left them caught between laughter and tears.

"Big sister, drink!"

"Alright, drink... let's drink..."

"B-big sister has a great tolerance! hic~"

Drool leaked from the corner of Yu Hongjin's mouth, and she looked completely dead to the world. Lying right beside her was Song Bao, her eyes thoroughly glazed over from the alcohol.

Song Bao was clutching an empty wine pot in her hand. She mumbled incoherently as she continuously tipped it back, trying to pour more into her mouth.

"It's gone... why is the wine gone?"

Song Bao mumbled.

Yu Hongjin let out a boozy hiccup, looking half-dead.

But then, a faint patch of red fish scales suddenly shimmered into view on Yu Hongjin's cheek.

Sensing trouble, Chen Changsheng hurriedly stabilized Yu Hongjin's condition with a pulse of Magical Power, preventing her from revealing her true form right there.

Fortunately, Mother Song's attention was entirely focused on Song Bao.

But when Mother Song saw her daughter in such a state, her face instantly darkened.

And all the while, Song Bao was still mumbling, "Sweet... it's so sweet..."

...

Lihua let out a yawn, its eyes still bleary and confused as it woke.

The room was somewhat dark, but to Lihua, that hardly mattered. Mao'er could always see clearly in the dark.

"Where is Chen the Good Man?"

Lihua muttered to itself, then suddenly realized its stomach was rumbling.

It padded next door to find Miss Yun, only to discover that she wasn't there either. Even that stinky fish was gone.

'Why is everyone gone?'

Lihua smacked its lips, not really minding.

It was hungry.

And so, it padded its way down the stairs.

The main hall downstairs was quite bright, lit by candles scattered all around.

Over by the entrance, Father Song was waiting anxiously.

Lihua trotted over, watching the man pace back and forth in front of it.

"Sigh... sigh..."

Father Song sighed repeatedly, his anxiety mounting by the second.

"Meow?"

Lihua let out a cry.

Father Song paused and looked over.

"Where did this stray cat come from?"

But then Father Song realized something.

Wasn't this Mao'er, whom those two guests had brought with them?

Lihua wiped its face with a paw and walked up beside Father Song. It thought for a moment, wanting to express that it was hungry, but it knew it couldn't just start talking to an ordinary person.

"Meow..."

Lihua meowed a couple of times.

Father Song looked down at it, completely failing to understand. Instead, he just blocked the doorway and said, "You can't go outside!"

Lihua paused. It hadn't wanted to go outside anyway.

After a moment's thought, it simply flopped onto its back and pointed a paw at its belly.

Father Song was even more bewildered.

"Meow, meow..."

Lihua waved its paws around wildly, trying to convey its hunger.

After a long while, Father Song finally caught on. "Are you hungry?"

Lihua's eyes lit up. It scrambled to its feet and nodded repeatedly.

Seeing Mao'er actually nod, Father Song nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Ah!"

Father Song let out a yelp. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Mao'er would know how to nod.

Once he recovered his wits, he stammered, "Y-you wait here a second."

With a fair bit of apprehension, he hurried into the kitchen and brought out some leftover food.

A moment later, he stood by the door, watching Mao'er eat from the bowl.

Mao'er was incredibly strange.

It took one bite of food, followed by one bite of rice.

Father Song was absolutely astonished.

Why was Mao'er eating exactly like a human!

Right at that moment, a voice rang out.

"They're back!?"

Jolted from his daze, Father Song looked up.

He saw Chen Changsheng carrying Yu Hongjin, while Yunxiang and Mother Song were supporting Song Bao as they walked toward the inn.

Startled, Father Song hurriedly rushed forward.

"What happened? What's going on?"

Mother Song's expression was grim. "It's nothing. This foolish girl just snuck off to drink wine and got herself drunk, that's all."

Father Song stared blankly. "Stealing wine to drink?"

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