Chapter 163: Drinking Wine and Talking Late into the Night

The sky gradually darkened. Amidst the howling of the northwest wind, a large, steaming platter of braised Diamond Sand Demon meat was placed upon the heated brick bed, accompanied by a plate of flatbreads and a jar of strong white liquor. This was the dinner with which the bearded village chief’s family was treating Dulong and his companions.

Aside from Hu Guo’s wife, they were also joined by their six-year-old son at the table. Goodness gracious, at only a mere six years old, judging by his frame, he weighed at least a hundred catties! His body was packed with rippling muscles, and despite the freezing weather, he wore nothing around his torso except for a beast skin, just like the adults.

To show his gratitude, Dulong retrieved several jars of fine wine from his coiled-serpent ring space. The wine he kept on hand was naturally of the most fragrant and pure variety—centurial Jade Spring Fragrance!

Years ago, Dulong would have truly hesitated to buy so much centurial Jade Spring Fragrance, as it was a fine wine costing over a hundred gold coins per bottle. But now, a hundred gold coins per bottle was of no consequence to him.

Huofeng reached out and grabbed a bottle of the centurial Jade Spring Fragrance, directly pulling out the wooden cork. A rich, intoxicating aroma instantly wafted through the air, causing Hu Guo, who was originally about to open the earthenware jar of white liquor, to freeze right in place.

After taking a couple of deep sniffs of such a rich aroma, he immediately realized he had encountered truly fine wine today. How could he possibly still have the nerve to open his long-cherished white liquor? Compared to the guests' wine, his was like the difference between heaven and earth!

"Come! Brother Hu, Sister-in-law! Thank you all for your hospitality today, and please try this fine wine we brought all the way from the Haotian Empire!" Huofeng enthusiastically poured wine for Hu Guo and his wife. Fortunately, this couple had no idea of Huofeng's status as a princess, otherwise how would they have dared to sit there so casually and accept wine personally poured by her?!

"Such fragrant wine! I can't take it, I must have a sip first!" Placing a full cup of the wine right under his nose and taking a deep sniff, Hu Guo could not help but exclaim on the spot. By the look of him, his saliva was almost about to trickle down.

*Gulp...*

Stirred by the fragrance of the fine wine, the alcohol demons in Hu Guo's belly could no longer be restrained. With just a single gulp, the entire cup of fine wine vanished. A family from the great northwestern wilderness like theirs would never keep small cups meant for drinking spirits. What they called a cup was actually no different from a bowl; a single bottle could fill at most three bowls before hitting the bottom.

"Ah! Excellent wine, truly excellent wine! I have never tasted such fine wine in all my life! Little brother Dulong, what kind of wine is this, and why is it so rich and fragrant?!" With the cup of wine down his throat, Hu Guo praised it repeatedly.

"Haha! This is the famous fine wine of the Stellunar Continent—centurial Jade Spring Fragrance!" Dulong explained with a chuckle.

"Oh, so it's centurial Jade Spring Fragrance..." Hu Guo gently stroked his fine beard, nodding and responding absentmindedly. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he jumped up in shock and roared in disbelief, "Little brother Dulong, you said this is centurial Jade Spring Fragrance?! Not decadal Jade Spring Fragrance?!"

"This is definitely genuine, authentic centurial Jade Spring Fragrance!" Dulong replied with an absolute certainty.

Standing there dumbfounded with a large cup of fine wine newly swallowed, Hu Guo's face was now flushed to the roots of his neck, and his expression was extraordinarily vivid.

"Father of our child! What on earth is wrong with you?!" His wife could not help asking.

"This... this... this is actually the legendary centurial Jade Spring Fragrance that costs a hundred gold coins a bottle?! That means... I... I just drank dozens of gold coins in a single gulp?!" Under the astonished gazes of Dulong and the others, Hu Guo finally stammered out words that made them all burst into laughter.

"Ah... then... then I won't drink this cup!" His wife picked up the wine cup before her with slightly trembling hands and pushed it back toward Huofeng.

"Brother Hu! And Sister-in-law! Aren't these just a few bottles of fine wine? I was able to accept your hospitality without standing on ceremony, why must you two be so formal and distant?!" Dulong persuaded them with a helpless smile.

"Ah, no, no, no, little brother Dulong, you can't put it that way! This is fine wine worth a hundred gold coins a bottle. It might not mean much to you, but the price of just a single bottle is enough to feed all the young and old in our village for over half a year! You see, with just one gulp, I've eaten several months' worth of rations for the whole village. I cannot drink this wine anymore..." Hu Guo waved his hands frantically, as if he had committed an unforgivable crime by drinking a cup of wine.

Afterward, he picked up the jar of white liquor he had long cherished and dared not drink, directly tore off the cover, and poured a fresh cup of the new wine for himself and his wife.

Looking helplessly at this exceptionally rustic couple, and seeing their unwavering determination, Dulong could only smile bitterly and put away the remaining unopened bottles of centurial Jade Spring Fragrance.

"Alright then! Brother Hu, since you are being this courteous, I will put away the unopened bottles. As for that bottle already poured, please do not put it back. Otherwise, this brother of yours will leave immediately and have no face to accept your hospitality!" Dulong declared with a firm expression.

"This... sigh... alright then! The wine has already been unsealed, it would be waste not to drink it!" Seeing his attitude was equally resolute, Hu Guo finally compromised.

Without waiting for Dulong's signal, Huofeng had already smartly pushed the cup of centurial Jade Spring Fragrance that originally belonged to Sister-in-law Hu right back to her: "Sister-in-law, you should also taste this cup of centurial Jade Spring Fragrance!"

"Haha!" Before she could refuse, Dulong laughed out loud and said, "I won't stand on ceremony with Brother Hu. Come, tonight we shall drink the fine wine you've cherished for years!"

With that, he took the jar of liquor directly from Hu Guo's hand and filled his own empty cup!

"Haha! Brother Dulong is truly straightforward! Sigh, it was Brother Hu who was being overly fussy. It's just that life forces our hands, and I dare not waste like this! Otherwise, my conscience truly couldn't bear it. I hope brother won't take offense!" Hu Guo was evidently quite satisfied with Dulong's approach.

"Come! Let's drop the polite talk. You and I, brothers, will finish this cup first! As for Sister-in-law, Huofeng, and Qinglian, they are ladies and can drink to their own limits. I will drain my cup as a toast first!" Dulong raised a large goblet of white liquor and boldly poured it down his throat. True to the white liquor drunk by the northern nomads of the great northwestern wilderness, a searing, spicy sensation instantly burned all the way from his throat down to his stomach.

"Haha, little brother Dulong is indeed forthright! Come, I'll drain mine too!" Hu Guo also raised the white liquor before him, roaring with excitement. Drinking his own cheap liquor now, he no longer felt any psychological pressure, and the hearty, open personality of northerners instantly returned in full.

The two grown men drained a large cup of white liquor on the spot, while the three women merely took small, symbolic sips. Sister-in-law Hu picked up the centurial Jade Spring Fragrance with slightly trembling hands. By the look of her, she wasn't holding a cup of wine at all, but rather a cup of precious gold!

If even a single drop were to spill now, her heart would surely ache to death!

At this, the three outsiders—Dulong and his companions—did not harbor the slightest trace of mockery. Everyone's lifestyle and living conditions were different, so their mental attitudes toward such luxury items were naturally worlds apart!

After a cup of wine went down, the atmosphere among the group immediately relaxed considerably. They began to chat freely about everything under the sun while eating and drinking. What Dulong cared about most was how far Nanshan Village was from the northwestern border of the Haotian Empire; he needed to figure out their exact location.

In the end, he even produced a map. Under the careful identification of Hu Guo and his wife, and using several landmark regions of the barbarian Hu Kingdom as references, they finally pinpointed the specific location of Nanshan Village.

Dulong and the others instantly had a clear picture in their minds. This Nanshan Village was situated in the southeast of the Bararian Hu Kingdom, bordered closely to the north and south by the Forest of Magical Beasts. Several hundred miles away to the southeast lay the Iron Wall Pass—the dangerous strategic barrier at the border between the Haotian Empire and the Bararian Hu Kingdom!

In truth, the relationship between the Haotian Empire and the Bararian Hu Kingdom was far from harmonious. With no other choice, the territory of the Bararian Hu Kingdom was so barren that countless people starved to death every year. To survive, their army—skilled in riding and archery and far stronger in physique—could not help but periodically stretch out their demonic claws toward the Haotian Empire.

As for the Iron Wall Pass, it was a strategic barrier established by the Haotian Empire precisely to guard against the Bararian Hu Kingdom. Villages and towns within a hundred-li radius of the Iron Wall Pass were relatively safe, but regions beyond that scope were not nearly so fortunate.

To protect the border citizens of the Haotian Empire from the harassment of the Bararian Hu Kingdom, the empire ultimately had no choice but to deploy the fierce and battle-hardened Yang Family's Roaring Tiger Legion to garrison the area.

With the presence of the Yang Family's Legion, the Bararian Hu Kingdom's multiple invasions of the Haotian Empire were all defeated. In the end, they could only take the Iron Wall Pass as their boundary, tuck in their tails, and live in peaceful coexistence with the Haotian Empire.

"Haha! Little brother Dulong, you folks from the southern Haotian Empire have never experienced what a nomadic Hu hunting scene is like! How about this? Tomorrow happens to be the day our Nanshan Village goes out hunting. If brother doesn't mind, why don't you come along with us?" Hu Guo patted Dulong's shoulder affectionately and laughed with a hint of intoxication.

"Alright! Since we have nothing better to do, I'll join Brother Hu for the hunt tomorrow. Let's have a contest to see who can bag more game!" Dulong replied with a flushed face, refusing to show any weakness.

This dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by both host and guests. They drank throughout the entire evening, until Sister-in-law Hu finally finished that single cup of centurial Jade Spring Fragrance. Had it not been for the fact that white liquor could no longer be stored once poured, she surely would have cherished that cup and never been willing to drink it all down.

That night, the three outsiders, Dulong and his companions, naturally stayed at Hu Guo's home. After packing off their sturdy young son to rest on the brick bed in the main hall, the three of them spent the night in his room!