Bring In The Wine
As soon as Shen Qingqiu stepped into the tavern, the rich scent of alcoholic beverages engulfed his senses, a blend of smoky malt and of exotic fruits among others; entrancing aromas living up to the place’s name that was the “Intoxicating Mist Tavern”.
Meanwhile, the usual wooden tables had been discarded against the walls covered with hanging tapestries and oil paintings depicting all kind of scenes: from loving couples in a fairy landscape to murders with corpses littering the ground.
The night was young while the moon was high; as the tavern’s lit chandeliers showered the left side of the town in bright light, standing aloft in its pedestal made of hazy fog and silver clouds, the white glob gleamed among the bright stars scattered through the endless sky, creating a view that was begging to be painted and immortalized (yet was left forgotten).
On every corner of the buzzing place, people swayed and moved to the beat of the music, laughing and chuckling all in good mirth as the party went on.
The air was lighthearted and fuzzy with happiness and customers would applaud the waitress and her good humor as she hopped from group to group, taking notes of commands and efficiently maintaining the joy in people’s face by simultaneously dancing, like a performer whose stage was the whole building.
And somehow, despite having not set foot in the tavern for years, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but feel at ease, almost as if the place hasn’t changed at all during his absence… ̷̠̚ļ̷̨͋̍ỉ̴̻̩͝k̵̡̬̎͒e̴̗̽ ̶̧̒͠h̸̢͚̅ė̴̞͈̂ ̴̰͍̂̓s̶̙͎͠t̸̢͕̒̋i̸̢͊l̸̼̖̀l̸̯͛ ̷͚̭͑͝b̶̪̍̌ȅ̷̖l̴̏ͅo̵͕͕̿͌n̷̮̗̓̉g̷̨͘e̸͕̖̓ď̴͍̟̎ ̸̪͠͝ḧ̷͖́̂ë̴̡̨́̔r̴̺̈́̿e̷̯̮͂́-
“There’s no way…”, Someone suddenly gasped as the Qing Jing Peak Lord made his way to the counter absentmindedly, “… Jiu’Er !?”
Hearing the normally unused and forgotten nickname, Shen Qingqiu was jostled out of his line of thoughts and swiftly turned around, catching sight of a long yet trimmed beard, decorated of a golden ring that tied and gathered the hair into a (sort of) very low ponytail.
“… Lao -Taozui?”
Leaning on his walking cane, the elderly man hastily came closer, his brown hair sprinkled of silver strings, evidence of his ancient age, swung in the wind… as he shoved and pushed people away, creating a complete hustle bustle of angry and annoyed customers.
Still, even if people might insult or throw jeers at him, no one ever had the courage nor the boldness to outright manhandle him.
After all, Taozui Xi had been the bartender of this tavern for years and, well, after frequenting this place numerous times, people learned fast enough to not mess with the owner that was definitely more than just a sack of feeble bones and skin.
Especially when witnessing the usual altercation between the old man and the black smith living at the end of the streets, Qin Duanzao ; a routine that generally occurs every Monday’s morning, when the sun greets the world with its warm rays.
Anyway, it didn’t take long before Shen Qingqiu was accosted by a pair of strong arms, locking him into a tight hug that, at first, threw him off and almost set him in a panic attack, his first instinct to scratch and push and just make him stop touching him… but then, as soon as his hunches told him to bite, those very same instincts calmed down and drew him to melt.
Therefore, he did, and for the first time in years ̷̠̚s̸͍͓̋̿i̵̞̙̾̉n̴͖͂͝c̷͍̑ę̸̛̺̚ ̷̠̚h̴͕͋e̵̜̋̎͜ ̷̧̋w̴̯̬̓̑a̵̩̙̓ș̷̈́̌ ̶̪̓͜d̸͚͓͒̒i̷̪̣͝s̵̟̖͐c̸̱̞͑̔ä̸̪́̀r̷̗̣̍͐d̶͚͂e̴͈̕d̸͔̩̂ ̵̙̫̓l̷̜̋͝i̷̜̓k̷̦̣̍ê̷͍͂ ̵̮͛̒t̷͔̝͒͆ḥ̵̄̀ḛ̸͒͆ͅ ̶̭̿ͅṫ̶̻͎̚r̴͉͛͝ă̸̯s̷̱̲̿́h̶̤̪̍͊ ̶͎̺̿ẖ̶̎͌e̵̳̻͐͆ ̷͇̍̉w̵̢̥̎̒à̵͙͠s̴̯͓̆-… Shen Qingqiu allowed himself his shoulders to relax… allowed himself to breath… well, as much as he could when he was being compressed by the “harmless” embrace.
“Your damn brat! How could you not stop by my establishment even once!”, Who would have thought that elderlies could detain such a crushing grip?, “Five years! Five long years where I haven’t received even just a flicker of news about your whereabouts! Nothing about your well-being, nothing about you being alive!”, Or such a strident voice?
As the old man finally release the Qing Jing Peak Lord of its (grinding) hug, the latter was playfully slapped in the back by the waitress who had taken notice of the familiar face.
“Oho? Seems that someone finally showed up after five years of ‘abstinence’! Isn’t that right, Jiu’Er?”
Unmistakably, the teasing voice belonged to Fu Zhou, a woman with a smile as bright as her personality and who had been working for Taozui Xi since forever.
Her familiar auburn braid danced with every step she took, and her leaf vine crown glimmered on the top of her head.
“Zhou-Jie…”
Slightly embarrassed, Shen Qingqiu avoided the old man’s gaze who was now muttering and grousing in his well-cared-for beard and changed the subject by asking about the strange change of the tavern’s layout to the woman who was now cleaning some new glasses.
“Oh, that? Well today is the two-hundredth anniversary of the tavern! So~! We decided to throw a big party!”
With dizzying spins and exaggerated poses, she showed off her well-groomed lilac robe, adorned of grapes and vines, with voluminous frills and whose original and eccentric design could only come from the very same shop that had sold Shen Qingqiu’s outfit: the “Extravagant Dreams”.
“And as you can see, it was the perfect occasion for us to buy some new clothes – Splendid ones at that! – which we definitely needed!”
Then Fu Zhou paused, taking notice of Taozui Xi who was still grumbling in the corner, his forehead pressed against the (silky~) wall.
“Huh…”, That was at this exact moment that she realized that the owner hasn’t yet recognized Shen Qingqiu for being… well, Shen Qingqiu.
So, capering melodramatically to the elderly, she waved lazily her right hand in front of the old man’s face, her own one split into a mischievous grin.
“Say Taozui-Xiansheng~... Do you prefer Jiu’er with this afternoon outfit or when he’s wearing his usual Peak Lord garments?”
And without even waiting for the bartender’s answer, she trotted back to the back of the pub counter and continued on her task, leaving the two men speechless in front of the wooden bar top.
“… Well, how anticlimactic.”, Muttered dryly Shen Qingqiu, who had been so far enjoying this little reunion.
After all, while it was true that his disguise to secretly go drink himself away was rather simple since it only consisted of throwing on some clothes and some makeup, well, it didn’t mean that he actually needed it.
To be clear, his disguise was actually against cultivators, not the common mortals.
Why would he hide from them when he’s already known and revered as a recluse that never goes down his peak?
It’s pointless.
Especially when at the end of the day, he does seem to dress up more when he has to attend his Peak Lord’s duties than when he has to actually be in disguise that somehow, it leaded him to look more like himself when incognito.
But of course, they were some exceptions like the duo formed by Taozui Xi and Fu Zhou.
They were both of the only groups of people that Shen Qingqiu actively visited, reason of his sometimes-frequent descents and walks among ordinary people.
… But then, it is true that since his admittance to Cang Qiong sect, he had only meet them as Shen Qingqiu.
Never as Shen Jiu.
So, it was rather understandable that he hasn’t recognized him at first.
… Although, he does admit having begun to feel offended when the accusations of abandonment had started to pile up and squeeze him (literally)!
After all, he wasn’t Yue Qingyuan.
Turning his head to the side, he watches as the information enters Taozui Xi’s brain, before being analyzed, examined, dissected and finally received.
“… Wait.”
Taozui Xi’s head slowly rotated to his direction, eyes wide and almost bulging out from their socket, mouth openly gaping and his jaw looking like it got dislocated: an extremely rare, if not unprecedented, look splattered on his face, showing his tremendous surprise to anyone within less than a mile radius to see.
With a sigh, Shen Qingqiu simply pulled his hair back, a sloppy imitation of his usual half up-do, but still recognizable.
“… Holy beer, Shen Qingqiu!?”
“Yes?”
“You are Shen Qinqiu…”
“Of course.”
“Like that Shen Qingqiu. Like the Qing Jing Peak Lord. L-Like the Xiu Ya-”
Starting to feel worried for the old man’s brain cells, the dark-haired man cut him off with a loud and clear “Yes.” and a pinch of sarcasm, “Do you, perhaps, know another Shen Qingqiu that I am not aware of? Because I would gladly meet this unknown twin of mine.”
“Never mind. No doubt that’s you… I don’t even understand how I didn’t recognize you sooner!”
Sat on the chairs in front of the counter, the aloft Qing Jing Peak Lord, one feared and loathed for his temperament, was being subjugated to, among others, the bewildered stares and teasing smiles of Taozui Xi and Fu Zhou.
“I swear on every bottle of alcohol in this building – filled to the brim or emptier than the other brat’s pouch, mind you! – that you really look like a total stranger with your hair pulled back!”
The said “other brat” elbowed him (playfully) in the ribs and huffed.
“Okay, first, don’t call me a brat and second, I’m not that broke… yet. But anyways, third, I suppose I second what you said and”, She added at the glare that Shen Qingqiu gave her for siding with the old man, “no offense Jiu’Er, but I don’t think you realize how indistinguishably different you can appear… Like, if I didn’t catch you redoing your hair that one time, I would have probably never put the two and two together!”
Then she paused, seemingly musing before muttering, nostalgic:
“Also, you’ve grown a lot since you entered your sect… I still can remember when you were barely five feet tall!”
“Shush. Not another word.”
His cheeks burning pink and a frown on his face, the green-eyed scholar still let the hazel-eyed woman softly poke and pinch his cheeks.
“Aw, is someone being shy? ~”
“Hardly.”
“Sure, whatever you say Jiu’er. ~”
That was then that his eyes were drawn to a golden ray coming from rows of gilded liquors, caused by the reflected light of the chandeliers… and reminding him of his original purpose.
With a cough that additionally and effectively shut them up, Shen Qingqiu leaned slightly forward, and awkwardly muttered:
“… Say, do you still have some spiritual alcohols?”
“Hmm”, Crossing his arms over his chest, the owner began to mentally review every sell made while Fu Zhou lost herself in her endless thoughts, “well, unfortunately for you, the last one had been sold not even two hours ago.”
“That is true but… technically there are still some left. More specifically, the ones at the top of the shelf besides the painting of the white cat.”
The face of the old man grew red, a prominent vein popping out of his forehead, but just as fast as he worked himself up, he swiftly deflated like a balloon with a sigh.
“I supposed you can now withstand that kind of beverages as a cultivator, huh? … Well, both of you brats wait for me, it won’t take long!”
And with a dramatic turn, he disappeared behind a door hidden beneath a curtain of copper beads.
[1]Er /
[2]Lao / 老: This honorific means “Old” or “Venerable” (and even “Experienced”) in a general term to convey a sense of familiarity and affection.
[3]Taozui Xi / 陶醉 禧: The last name “陶醉” has the meaning of “To be drunk with” and “To revel in”, while “禧” means “Joy”.
[4]Qin Duanzuo / 勤 锻造: “勤” means “Diligent”, “Hardworking” and “Constant”, while the given name “锻造” have the meaning of “To forge (metal)” and “Forging”.
[5]Fu Zhou / 馥 酎: The last name “馥” has the meaning of “Fragrance”, “Scent” and “Aroma” while “酎” means “Strong wine”.