Chapter 1393: Drinking
Chapter 1393: Drinking
Qi Xuansu could handle his liquor, but he did not like drinking. Sometimes, the point of drinking was to get drunk and loosen up, trading a brief numbness for a moment of peace. Yet what made him strong also held him back. His Martial Arts Practitioner’s physique was resistant to intoxication, so getting drunk was simply not an option.So after a few cups, Qi Xuansu stopped drinking and focused on his porridge, leaving most of the bottle to Zhang Yuelu.
But Zhang Yuelu poured more wine into his luminous cup.
As she poured, she recited softly, “Fine grape wine in a luminous cup, interrupted by the pipa’s call to ride. Mock not the drunk who sleeps upon the battlefield, for how few come back from war?”
Then she asked, “In your campaign in the Southern Continent, did you ever lie drunk on the battlefield?”
Qi Xuansu clinked his cup against hers and drained it in one go. “No, there was no one I wanted to drink with, and drinking alone is rather dull.”
Zhang Yuelu seemed pleased, though she said, “I’ve long heard that Chief Deputy Qi has three rules: no women, no alcohol, no bribery.”
Qi Xuansu smiled. “That’s nothing. Chief Deputy Zhang, you’re the impressive one that made me abandon all three.”
Zhang Yuelu froze for a moment, then lifted her empty cup and looked as if she were about to smack him with it.
Qi Xuansu avoided women. But after forming a Daoist partnership, he liked to stay close to Zhang Yuelu. Though he usually abstained from alcohol, he would still drink her wine. He did not like to accept bribes, yet he often used her Taiping coins.
Zhang Yuelu rolled her eyes and set down her empty cup. “By the way, did you prepare a gift for Madam Qi? If you forget about her, you’ll suffer for it.”
Qi Xuansu said, “How would I dare forget her? She already looks for faults in me, so I’m not about to give her a reason to nag me forever. I’ve also prepared gifts for your parents and Sage Cihang. I didn’t get anything for Old Lin, Sage Donghua, and Sage Qingwei. They know I’m poor and will understand.”