Chapter 33 Dionysus 11

"Wait a moment!"

Zhu Yu suddenly spoke, breaking the sacred and solemn atmosphere that was brewing on the platform.

Everyone was stunned and looked at her at the same time.

Zhu Yu quickly stepped onto the stairs and approached the high priest in two or three steps.

She looked at the chief priest, her tone remaining polite:

"Your Excellency the High Priest, please suspend the ceremony. This barrel of wine... seems to have some problems."

After hearing this, there was a moment of silence on and off the stage.

The chief priest frowned slightly, obviously shocked by this sudden change:

"Miss Draka, what do you mean by that?"

If the chief priest had not known the noble status of the person in front of him, he would probably have been furious at this moment.

After all, this is the most solemn moment of the Dionysian Festival. If the wine used as a sacrifice were to go wrong in public, it would undoubtedly be a huge blow to the ceremony and even disrespectful to the god of wine.

But Zhu Yu did not answer immediately.

With the high priest's slightly hesitant consent, she took the wine spoon from him, gently shook the spoonful of liquid, and took a closer look.

The liquor in the spoon was a dull brown color, darker than her secret beer, and much more turbid in texture, not as clear as beer usually is.

She sniffed lightly, and a faint smell of sourness mixed with rust rushed into her nostrils.

Zhu Yu's eyes turned cold instantly.

Regardless of whether this barrel of wine contains the plague virus, at least it is now certain that this barrel of wine was definitely not brewed by her.

Zhu Yu slowly raised his head, glanced at the uneasy crowd below the stage and the increasingly tense chief priest, then took a deep breath, smiled and said:

"It was a small mistake on my part - this barrel of wine was of the wrong vintage."

She raised the wine spoon in her hand and said:

"The fermentation cycle of each batch of my secret beer is strictly recorded in the book. This barrel... is not in the batch I originally planned to send. Therefore, its flavor may not be very stable, and after being stored for a long time, some precipitation will occur. It is not appropriate to use it for sacrifice."

The chief priest looked relieved: "So... there was a problem with the batch of wine?"

Zhu Yu: "That's right. Please wait a few minutes while I replace the barrel with a new one to avoid affecting the solemnity of the ceremony."

Soon, another barrel of well-sealed secret beer was carefully carried onto the platform.

This time, Zhu Yu personally opened the wax seal and verified once again the color and aroma of the wine before handing it to the chief priest.

After changing a barrel of wine, the ceremony went smoothly.

As the clear golden beer was poured into the "Dionysus's Pot", the altar finally burst into dazzling golden light as in previous years. The alchemical resonance sound resounded softly in the Dionysus's Pot, just like the cheers of thousands of people rising and falling in the streets.

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered, and the looks of those who had been uneasy about the interruption of the ceremony were diluted as the beer flowed down their throats.

Just as the joyful atmosphere was reaching its climax, Zhu Yu glanced out of the corner of his eye and suddenly caught a glimpse of a furtive figure.

It was the young priest who had taken the wine barrel from her earlier. He was now lowering his head, as if trying to take advantage of the noise to get out of the crowd.

Zhu Yu's eyes shone, and because he was on the high platform and could not move, he immediately turned his eyes to Maji below the stage. The two of them exchanged glances for a moment. Maji immediately understood, and with two attendants, she quickly went around the crowd and surrounded the priest who was trying to escape.

The priest's expression changed, and just as he was about to run away, he was pinned to the ground and could not move.

At the same time, on the high platform, Zhu Yu quietly leaned close to the ear of the chief priest and whispered the real situation briefly.

Her tone was extremely light, but every word hit the high priest's heart like a lead block.

The chief priest was shocked when he heard this, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

"You mean... the original barrel of wine is very likely to contain the plague virus?!"

Zhu Yu nodded: "I am sure. If I hadn't stopped it in time, Ilos City would have been in great trouble today."

The chief priest was in a trance, with cold sweat running down his temples.

He didn't dare to imagine what would happen if he really poured the wine into the wine god's pot and distributed it to people everywhere...

He will become a sinner of the entire Iros and even an eternal stain on the Dionysian faith!

"Thank you Miss Draka for stopping it in time." The high priest thanked her, and there was no longer the initial doubt in his tone, only deep fear.

Then he turned around and whispered to the attendants beside him:

"Go, seal up the original barrel of wine immediately, retrieve all the names of the priests present, and then notify the Tribunal."

Soon, accompanied by the laughter and drinking sounds of the festival, several figures quietly left the crowd and quickly ran towards the Inquisition headquarters.

***

The excitement lasted the whole day, with cheering, celebrating and drinking being heard everywhere.

When night fell and the wine flags on the streets fluttered in the evening breeze, Zhu Yu had already changed out of his formal dress and hurried to the court of judgment in the city of Ilos with the chief priest.

When we arrived at the courtroom, the alcohol test report had already come out.

Several sheets of paper were placed on the table, with the gold-stamped seal and the eye-catching words "Confirmed to be the remains of the plague virus" almost piercing the silence of the air.

Urgent letters were sent out one after another, and soon some bartenders and judges who had participated in the final ceremony today were summoned to the courtroom one after another.

They had no idea what to make of this sudden message, and all of them looked confused and uneasy.

"What's going on? Didn't we just finish an award ceremony?"

"What happened? I heard it seemed to be related to alcohol?"

"No way, is there something wrong with the wine we drank?"

“…”

When the group heard from the chief priest that "the plague virus was found in the wine test", the faces of several people changed immediately, and they were filled with fear:

"We all tasted the beer today! Could it be...we all got tricked!?"

“Oh my god…I even let my son take a bottle home!”

The atmosphere was on the verge of getting out of control. Several older bartenders sat directly on their chairs, their faces pale, as if they could already feel heat and spots starting to appear inside their bodies.

Seeing this, Zhu Yu took the initiative to step forward and said:

"Everyone, don't panic yet."

She looked at the crowd and said soothingly:

"The only thing that has been confirmed to be problematic is the last barrel of wine in the ceremony, which is the barrel used to pour into the wine jug. But before it was actually poured, I stopped it on the spot and replaced it, and no one drank that barrel of wine."

The law enforcer at the side added: "Ladies and Gentlemen, no abnormalities were found in the tests of the alcoholic drinks you drank during the review or the alcoholic drinks used in the on-site cocktail mixing process. Of course, to be on the safe side, we have arranged preliminary screenings, and you can go to the doctor's office to register for the test in turn."

"If it weren't for Miss Draka's improvisation—" He turned his head to glance at Zhu Yu, his tone more serious than ever before, "I'm afraid that at this moment, our entire city has already..."

What is left unsaid speaks for itself.

The room was quiet for a moment, followed by a round of low sighs and relief. Some people patted their chests, some cursed under their breath, and even a few young bartenders had tears in their eyes.

Zhu Yu, standing in front of everyone, looked at those faces who originally didn't care but now were like frightened birds. He felt that a deep shadow was still lingering in his heart.

If the substitution is successful, the consequences will be far more than just the gain or loss of honor of the "Dionysus Festival".

This was no ordinary race conspiracy, but a deliberate disaster.

Zhu Yu lowered his eyelashes, his heart was filled with turmoil.

The other party wanted to infect the entire city with the plague, and use this festival attended by tens of thousands of people to spread disaster and plague to every street and every household in Ilos, dragging the entire city into the abyss.

But why?

Why do this?

What exactly does the other party want to achieve by destroying this city that takes pride in its belief in Dionysus and its festival culture?

I'm afraid that the answer to this question...can only be answered by the person behind the scenes.

She turned to look at the law enforcer standing at the door:

"How did the interrogation of the young priest who served me wine go? Did he say who had ordered him to switch the barrels?"

One of the law enforcers responded:

"The officiant confessed... that a bartender named Ariella threatened him to do this, and he didn't know that the wine in the swapped barrels actually contained plague."

"Ariella?" Zhu Yu felt that the name sounded familiar.

Maggie frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly reminded in a low voice:

"Miss, this is the bartender who sent you an invitation letter that day, wanting to meet you privately for a cocktail party."

I wish I suddenly realized.

“…It turned out to be her.”

She still remembered the letter. The words in the letter were sincere and deliberately low-key. At that time, she thought it was from a fellow traveler or some kind of temptation, but who would have thought that it really contained a hidden arrow.

"Has the person been caught?"

“Already in prison.”

"I want to see her." Zhu Yu said bluntly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as this sentence came out, the law enforcer suddenly showed a hint of hesitation, and after hesitating for a moment, he slowly said:

"Ms. Draka... there are some things about Arila that we haven't had time to report yet."

"What's going on?"

The law enforcer said solemnly:

"She's not a normal person. She's a wizard."

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

Zhu Yu certainly knew what everyone present was nervous about.

The law enforcers were worried that the imprisoned wizard would cast spells in front of them. If the situation got out of control, they would not be able to respond in time. Maggie was worried that Zhu Yu's true identity would be exposed. After all, as a wizard herself, she might reveal clues during her contact with him.

But Zhu Yu only hesitated for a moment.

This matter involved too many things. If 996 hadn't discovered the swapped barrel of wine in time, the entire city of Ilos would have been destroyed. As the champion of the Dionysian Festival, once the disaster came true, she would be the first one to be pushed to the forefront.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu continued:

"Don't worry, I'm the Knight of Light. The other party can't hurt me. Take me to see her."

Seeing that Zhu Yu's attitude was still so firm, the law enforcer could no longer refuse and took Zhu Yu to the prison where Arila was imprisoned.

The light in the prison was dim, and the humid air was mixed with the smell of blood and rusty iron.

Zhu Yu, led by two law enforcers, walked into the deepest cell and saw the woman who was held in solitary confinement at a glance.

She was a young-looking female bartender, without her glamorous makeup. She was only wearing a thin prison uniform and sitting quietly in the corner.

Zhu Yu originally just wanted to see what kind of person this Ariella was.

However, when she approached the iron bars and her eyes swept over the other person's arm, she was stunned.

A section of Ariella's sleeve slipped down slightly, revealing a section of the metal arc band on her wrist.

That was a bracelet exclusively for players in the game. Although its design was low-key, Zhu Yu was very familiar with it.

Obviously, this Ariella is not an NPC.

She is a gamer.