Chapter 48

The liquor is a fiery spirit, swallowed in one gulp, it feels like a knife slicing down the throat.

Fiery spirit is a strong liquor, and also an inexpensive one.

Many people believe that good liquor isn't cheap, and cheap liquor isn't good, but this isn't entirely true. After all, liquor itself isn't a good thing, so it naturally won't be good.

Shen Lian usually drinks only sweet rice wine, which has a low alcohol content and a mild nature.

The taste of strong liquor going down the throat is indeed unpleasant, and fiery spirit is particularly potent.

Shen Lian doesn't sip it; he drinks it in large bowls. If others were used to his gentle and refined demeanor, they would never believe that the one singing and drinking wildly now is Shen Lian. Bai Yufei, however, has no choice but to believe it.

Because the liquor was taken out by him, and he invited Shen Lian to drink it. The side dish was just a plate of peanuts.

With his wages, to drink so much liquor, he naturally couldn't afford any good dishes.

Although the entire inn belongs to Shen Lian, as long as Shen Lian wants, any good dish can be prepared, even if the cook is already asleep.

But Shen Lian only wanted to drink the liquor Bai Yufei offered and eat the dishes Bai Yufei provided.

Bai Yufei felt the same way.

"I really didn't expect you to drink so freely," Bai Yufei said, slightly drunk, patting Shen Lian's shoulder. He had drunk with others before, but drinking with Shen Lian was different. Shen Lian had a special charm, always giving people a sense of security. As long as you could become his friend, he would be very reliable.

When drinking with others, he didn't dare to get drunk, but when drinking with Shen Lian, even if both of them were drunk, he believed nothing bad would happen. This was Shen Lian, the one and only Shen Lian in the world.

"Am I not a free-spirited person?" Shen Lian was slightly drunk, but his eyes were clear.

"You are not a free-spirited person," Bai Yufei laughed loudly.

"Then what about you?" Shen Lian asked casually.

"What?" Bai Yufei seemed drunk, with ten jars of liquor under his feet. If an ordinary person drank ten jars, they wouldn't just be drunk; they would be on the ground.

Bai Yufei didn't fall. He practiced lightness kung fu, which emphasized balance, like a roly-poly toy. Even when drunk, he didn't lose his sense of balance.

"I am not a free-spirited person," Bai Yufei laughed again. When drinking, you might think your voice is loud, but it's not necessarily so. But Shen Lian heard this clearly.

Shen Lian patted Bai Yufei's shoulder silently, saying nothing. At this point, there was nothing more to say, only to drink.

Shen Lian was indeed drunk.

In laughter and talk of great ambitions, one cannot help but get drunk in life.

In his own inn, with his own helper.

This drinking session had no particular purpose; it was just that Bai Yufei wanted to drink with Shen Lian, and Shen Lian agreed.

Shen Lian couldn't be called un-free-spirited, but he wasn't entirely free-spirited. This stemmed from a sense of insecurity within him.

Bai Yufei was a free-spirited person, but he had no close friends in his life, so he didn't dare to be free-spirited, because if he were free-spirited this time, he might not have another chance in the future.

Fortunately, both of them were thoroughly drunk that night.

When Shen Lian opened his eyes, it wasn't morning, but noon.

This was the first time in two years that he had woken up so late, and he didn't sleep well. The headache from the hangover began to set in.

It wasn't that his body was weak and couldn't handle liquor, but that he had drunk too much.

Bai Yufei got drunk on the twelfth jar, and at that time, Shen Lian was still counting.

By the time Shen Lian passed out, he didn't know how many jars he had drunk.

Of course, he didn't know that this time, the liquor was not only offered by Bai Yufei but also by Manager Wu.

The bed was soft and comfortable, and the weather outside was bitterly cold.

In such a situation, few people could get up.

But there is a saying: "Why sleep for a long time before death when you can sleep for a long time after death."

Shen Lian was one of those few.

When he came to the inn hall as usual, Bai Yufei was already at work. Apart from looking more diligent than other helpers, no one could tell that he was a notorious thief.

The higher you fly, the more you enjoy being grounded.

Bai Yufei's martial arts were not the best, but Shen Lian believed that in ten or twenty years, he might reach the pinnacle.

Unfortunately, he had no connection with the path of immortality, but this was not a sad thing.

Because the vast majority of people in the world have no connection with the path of immortality or the martial world; they are just ordinary people.

Manager Wu handed him an invitation, which was for Shen Ruoxi's poetry gathering.

The purple invitation represented nobility.

Shen Ruoxi's poetry gathering naturally caused a stir in the city.

It was a cold and bleak winter, with little entertainment. Originally, Shen Ruoxi only invited a few familiar noblewomen, but she didn't expect it to be so popular.

The plum blossom poetry gathering was held at one of the Shen family's estates. On that day, the crowd was overwhelming, with fine horses and carved carriages filling the road, and the whole night was filled with the dance of fish and dragons.

There were talented scholars and beautiful women, wealthy merchants and distinguished guests, but no ordinary people.

Those who were bored by the cold and bleak winter were certainly not ordinary people still struggling for a living.

The worries of the poor were not about finding entertainment, because when you are poor, even eating a piece of meat or drinking a cup of wine at night is a great pleasure.

Shen Ruoxi was certainly not poor; she would never know what poverty was in her life.

A young girl's sentiments are full of poetry, but a poor girl, even if she has poetic sentiments, cannot express them.

Shen Ruoxi was very lucky; she could not only do what she wanted but also had others to help her.

Qingzhou Prefecture was originally a place where literature was scarce. By the end of the gathering, no stunning masterpieces had appeared, but everyone's emotions were already high.

"Ice and snow in the forest, I stand here,

Not mixed with peach and plum in the dust;

Suddenly, one night, the fragrance blooms,

Scattering spring across the world."

The gentle and clear recitation could not hide the clear pride in the poem.

When this poem was recited, everyone in the hall lost their composure.

Even scholars with some talent had to bow their heads in the face of this seven-character verse destined to be passed down for a thousand years.

The charm of poetry lies in its ability to transcend social boundaries, poverty and wealth, and even different cultures.

Everyone, by nature, is not muddled. It is only from the innate to the acquired, influenced by the mundane world, that they become preoccupied with trivial fame and petty gains.

The charm of a timeless masterpiece lies in its ability to touch the majority of people, making them feel the beauty in their own nature.

Shen Ruoxi stood on the high platform, veiled, and she deliberately released this poem when everyone's emotions were high, achieving immediate attention.

The poem was cold and serene, and even though she had memorized it perfectly, hearing it again made her feel melancholy.

She felt she understood her cousin a little more.

Unfortunately, Shen Lian was not by her side. Her gaze swept the front, but Shen Lian was not on the platform or in the audience.

She didn't notice that behind a plum blossom, someone waved to her, turned, and disappeared into the winter night.

It was the end of the twelfth month, and the beginning of spring was approaching. Perhaps the arrival of spring and the blooming of flowers was not far off.

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