Chapter 77 Let's get drunk and not stop.
"Can you smell anything?"
As Hua Manlou approached the small building in the woods, he suddenly spoke in a deep voice.
Lu Xiaofeng, who had already secretly sniffed the air several times, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "It's more than just smelly, it's downright fragrant with wine aroma."
After laughing, he immediately realized something was wrong... Hadn't all of his stored wine been squeezed dry by Constable Jin?
"Is this a guest who brought drinks, or has the murderer returned and is now holding a victory celebration...?"
Just then, Sikong Zhaixing's voice rang in his ears, and Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but slap him.
The tense atmosphere eased because of this wild guess.
The three of them quickened their pace in unison, and in a few leaps they reached the gate.
Although Lu Yusheng jokingly said he would lock the door before they started, he certainly wouldn't actually do that. He just closed the door to gather heat, but Lu Xiaofeng pushed it open with a gentle push.
Ignoring the changes in the building, the first thing that caught my eye was two unfamiliar young men sitting around a table, raising their glasses in a toast.
One was handsome and elegant, dressed in a plain long gown; the other had rugged features with a unique charm. Both had very eye-catching appearances.
Lu Yusheng was sitting a seat a body length away from the two of them, casually eating his food. When he saw them return, his eyes seemed to shoot out two beams of light.
He immediately put down his chopsticks and went over.
"You're finally back! Are you alright?"
Hua Manlou was the first to respond: "It's nothing... I'm sorry we couldn't bring the person back."
Lu Yusheng wasn't too disappointed upon hearing this. He glanced around at the group again and, seeing that no one was injured, finally felt relieved.
Only then did I have the mind to care about the details: "You three couldn't catch him even working together?"
She was somewhat surprised. Although she had hardly seen them fight anyone, the level of lightness skill they displayed should have been enough to keep up with anyone.
"Is he intentionally trying to fish for us?" Lu Yusheng guessed.
Sikong Zhaixing shook his head somewhat awkwardly, and although Hua Manlou was unwilling to recall the scene at that time, he still followed up with a denial.
Now she really couldn't understand it. With the strength of these people, shouldn't they have killed the murderer the moment he showed his face?
In the end, Lu Xiaofeng cleared things up: "We're using your 'printer'... you mean printing, right?"
It was just a casual question, but seeing Lu Yusheng nod, he continued, "We took the portrait you printed out and went directly to Dazhi Datong, following their instructions to Zhejiang. At first, we were completely clueless..."
"Thump—"
A sudden muffled thud interrupted his narration, but unfortunately, no one was paying attention to the source of the sound at that moment.
"However, we still found the person." Just as the conversation was interrupted, Sikong Zhaixing saw that Lu Yusheng still looked very confused, so she gave the conclusion first.
Lu Xiaofeng, halfway through the setup: ...
But seeing that the girl in front of him seemed to have finally found an expression that was suitable for listening, he stopped talking.
He continued, "We encountered Jin Jiuling in Zhejiang. Fortunately, Chief Constable Jin was investigating him at the time because of other cases."
Lu Yusheng, who had just breathed a sigh of relief after the ending was spoiled, was worried that Sikong Zhaixing would clash with him when he heard Jin Jiuling's name. He secretly glanced at the other party and was relieved to see that the latter's expression was normal.
"So you two have the same goal and are cooperating?"
"I suppose so. When he saw the portrait you gave him, his expression changed drastically. He kept asking about its origin. You told us not to publicize it, so we just said that the person who was robbed was a great calligrapher and painter who happened to see the criminal's face."
He paused slightly at this point, and Sikong Zhaixing immediately picked up the thread: "Captain Jin led us to investigate with the portrait, naturally going to places he had suspected beforehand. After several searches, we indeed found the murderer."
Found it? Then...
"They failed to capture any of the four experts?"
Lu Yusheng's expression became even more unsettled. Surely the murderer couldn't have turned into a shower of playing cards and flown away like in the movies.
She started to worry that her idea was too ambitious and the guys wouldn't be able to handle it, so she gently advised, "I think we should forget about it..."
After a long silence, Hua Manlou sighed and finally spoke: "He is dead, right in front of us."
He couldn't bear to see life disappear, even if it was the life of a villain.
"Head Constable Jin was very anxious due to his official duties, so he was the first to go up and fight him. After a few rounds, the thief realized that he was no match for him, so he committed suicide on the spot."
Sikong Zhaixing added details with a sarcastic tone, clearly still complaining that Jin Jiuling had failed to save the murderer's life.
Before leaving, he boasted that he would find the murderer and the stolen items, but the thief died, the items were not recovered, and the clues were lost.
Now, I feel awkward speaking to Lu Yusheng, and I don't even dare to look her in the eye anymore, for fear of seeing the disappointment in her eyes.
"Thump—"
Another empty bottle, its contents gone, lay on the table. This time, the group had just finished talking and all looked over at it.
Two sounds were heard as Hu Tiehua finished a bottle of vodka and a bottle of brandy. His eyes were still clear, and when he saw their gazes on him, he gave a particularly hearty laugh.
Lu Xiaofeng noticed that the two men both had extraordinary bearing, and guessed that they were not unknown people.
While he was pondering whether there was a matching person in his memory, Sikong Zhaixing had already made his announcement.
"Xiang Shuai, it's been a long time." His tone was unusually polite.
Lu Xiaofeng's eyes lit up immediately: "The Master Thief Chu Liuxiang? You are Chu Liuxiang?"
Perhaps it was the mutual attraction between talented men, but Chu Liuxiang felt an inexplicable fondness for the other man at first sight. His gaze swept over the man's neatly trimmed beard and then fell on his smiling eyes.
“That’s right.” He nodded, then guessed with certainty, “You are Lu Xiaofeng.”
Upon hearing this, the latter's face instantly showed a hint of surprise: "You've seen me before?"
"I've heard of you, Lu Xiaofeng with four eyebrows, and your famous Lingxi Finger."
Hearing the admiration in his words, Lu Xiaofeng stroked his beard shyly, but couldn't help but laugh heartily: "I dare not accept such praise. Compared to the resourceful and skilled Chu Xiangshuai, I am still somewhat inferior."
Chu Liuxiang was a very humble person, and this mutual praise made his face flush slightly before he even got drunk.
The two hit it off immediately. After introducing Hua Manlou and Hu Tiehua, they toasted each other with the wine on the table and then naturally sat down next to each other.
Seeing that Chu and Lu were getting along very well, Hu Tiehua pulled Sikong Zhaixing over to drink with them.
It wasn't that Chu Liuxiang was deliberately neglecting Hua Manlou; with his high EQ, he had already noticed the special atmosphere between Hua Manlou and Boss Lu, so he left the empty adjacent seats for the two of them.
As expected, Lu Yusheng sat down with Hua Manlou. Sikong Zhaixing was pulled by Hu Tiehua to drink with him, and before he could even take a second look, he was forced to drink a cup of wine.
"This wine..."
He subconsciously smacked his lips, and with a hint of lingering enjoyment, he raised the bottle, only to be met with a jumble of strange characters that looked like scribbled symbols.
Modern alcoholic beverages are far ahead in terms of distillation technology, and their alcohol content and taste are incomparable to those of existing products in the world today.
"It tastes good. Where is this wine from?" Sikong Zhaixing asked curiously.
“It belongs to Boss Lu,” Hu Tiehua answered generously without thinking.
Lu Yusheng, who had just settled into his seat: ...
Thinking back to when the three of them wanted wine but couldn't get any, even though it wasn't intentional at the time, a strange sense of guilt rose in their hearts at this moment.
He quickly explained, "Someone from my hometown came and brought some new mechanical artifacts and helped repair the shop. When they saw my letter, they said that there were many people drinking here and the demand was high, so they brought a lot of wine with them."
After saying that, he went to the cabinet and brought over a tray with seven or eight bottles of different kinds and colors of wine neatly arranged on it, which made the group of people look on with a hint of anticipation.
Lu Yusheng steadily carried the bottles to the table and arranged them one by one.
Then, looking at the three familiar faces of Lu Xiaofeng, he said sincerely, "You have treated me to many drinks here, and today it is finally my turn to return the favor."
Turning to look at Chu Liuxiang and his companion, he pointed to the dozen or so wine bottles that were already on the table and said, "These are mine too, consider them a friend's gift."
Lu Xiaofeng and the others have always tried their best to help me solve problems, but now we've reached a point where talking about money would hurt our relationship.
As for Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua, she knew that they were both of extraordinary status and upright character. If she could get to know them, even if she didn't plan to travel the martial arts world, it would still be good to have more friends and more opportunities.
Hu Tiehua scratched his chin, somewhat embarrassed: "That day I drank more than twenty bottles of your Tibetan liquor all by myself. Boss Lu is also a businessman, how could I take advantage of you like that..."
Even if she didn't say it, the wine vessels were crystal clear, like glass and jade, and the wine was much stronger than the ones he was used to drinking. After drinking for many years, he could certainly tell that this was good stuff.
Now that we know this is wine from their hometown, even if it's transported by waterway or cargo ship, we probably can't carry much in one trip, and it'll all be consumed in no time.
He drank several bottles every day for the past few days, but because he wanted to savor them slowly and was reluctant to drink them all at once, the total amount he drank over the past few days was not as much as the amount he drank on the first day, so he didn't pay much for the alcohol.
Lu Yusheng smiled slyly: "Wine is valuable, but friendship is priceless. These wines are far less valuable than the friendship we have built with you all."
Even though seeing the balance decrease might sting, thinking about how much they've taken care of me makes it all worthwhile.
Chu Liuxiang silently recited her first sentence in his mind, and couldn't help but be infected by her generosity, and smiled as well: "Well said."
————
This time, unlike the previous days when the drinking was achieved by simply consuming large quantities, Lu Yusheng intentionally showcased the diversity of alcoholic beverages. When restocking later, he mixed red, white, and yellow wines, which made the effects of the alcohol hit much faster.
Hu Tiehua, her face flushed, inquired about the "prisoner" and "murderer" that the others had been discussing earlier. Chu Liuxiang, who was feeling a bit dizzy, also perked up his ears.
Hua Manlou, who had drunk the least and was the most sober, then recounted the events to the two of them.
"Smack—"
He slammed his hand on the table and stood up: "Old bug, we can't pretend we didn't hear this."
Chu Liuxiang nodded. He and Hu Tiehua were both warm-hearted people, and there was no reason for them to ignore trouble.
But for some reason, she remembered Lu Yusheng's earlier "friendship fee" and said to him with a smile, "What, is this your 'friendship fee' in return?"
Hu Tiehua remained completely unfazed: "There's nothing I can do, I just find Xiao Lu pleasing to the eye."
Lu Yusheng, already somewhat drunk, burst into laughter at the way he was addressed: "Don't call me by my full name, 'sister'!"
And then...
The topic somehow veered into matters of the heart, seemingly started by Sikong Zhaixing, who made a few teasing remarks about Lu Xiaofeng's romantic escapades.
Hu Tiehua was the first to join the group, and after telling his own story, he started talking about Chu Liuxiang.
Whether he was drunk or not, Sikong Zhaixing started listing things up in a competitive manner. However, because he was outnumbered, he seemed to be unable to win no matter what he said, and in his anxiety, he became even more agitated.
Even if he and Hua Manlou combined, they couldn't come up with a proper story, so they could only try their best to expose Lu Xiaofeng's secrets.
Sikong Zhaixing's voice trailed off when Hua Manlou casually mentioned that an extremely beautiful white-haired woman had successfully won him over.
An invisible chill seemed to sweep through the warm, enclosed hall, but it only blew towards him.
Still dazed, Sikong Zhaixing didn't realize the identity of the so-called white-haired woman until she suddenly realized, after racking her brains, that it was herself!
He glanced at the speaker's expression and saw that Hua Manlou still had a smile on his face. After mentioning it briefly, he quietly went to ask Lu Yusheng if he was feeling unwell. Only then did he feel slightly relieved.
Sikong Zhaixing's disguise was visually flawless, and he believed that under that shock, Lu Xiaofeng should not have noticed anything unusual.
But he also knew that Hua Manlou had his own way of "judging" people, and now that he had suddenly brought this up, he wondered if he had noticed something.
A sudden burst of clarity and relaxation flashed by, his heartstrings tightening and loosening, causing his vision to blur again. The last thing he saw was Lu Yusheng's head, which had been drooping so low it was almost touching his arms, suddenly lifting up.
She, who is not fond of alcohol and has always been restrained when drinking, was now quite drunk, and smiled haphazardly in the direction of a few blurry black figures in her field of vision.
"Keep coming to visit me from now on..."
Perhaps subconsciously, he was still not used to being alone, and only after saying this last sentence did he finally fall into a deep sleep.
Hua Manlou, who had noticed this earlier, quickly used his hand to cushion her head from hitting the table.
Simply catching her with his warm palms wasn't enough. He paused, and seeing that Lu Yusheng seemed to have fallen asleep, he gently lifted her head again. Only after her upper body was stable and no longer moving did he carefully carry her back to her own room.
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