*In this chapter, the word 酒 can stand for wine or liquor spirits. To avoid confusion, any form of alcoholic beverages will simply be translated as wine, since spirits would be better left for the matters regarding cultivation. *

"Fifty years ago, the Heavenly Star Continent was thrown into chaos again and every great family separated from each other, supporting their own empire and fighting for dominance over the continent. Within the war, the Yuchi and ShangGuan families, which actually had some form of inheritance, were obliterated within the chaos! In order to maintain the count of the great families, the Sky Bearing Empire thus promoted the Ling and Yang Families." Ye QingChen looked at Ling Tian with a smile that was not a smile at this point.

Ling Tian smirked as he responded to the former’s jab, "Mister doesn’t have to give me that kind of look. Within the eight great families, the Ling Family is indeed there to fill up the numbers. I’m afraid that those violent Yang family members are still in the dark, but this junior is extremely clear of it!"

"Hahaha…" Ye QingChen was surprised yet appreciative of Ling Tian’s candidness. In a slightly drunken stupor, patted Ling Tian’s shoulders and exclaimed, "You are not affected by it, brat. Great! That’s great!"

What!

Ling Tian was stunned speechless! Moments ago, he was still being addressed as young n.o.ble. How did he turn into a brat in a blink of an eye? Seeing the ruddy face of Ye QingChen, Ling Tian could not help but sigh, this Senior expert really speaks differently from the ordinary people. Even when changing a term of address, he has to do it in such an abrupt manner, without any warning whatsoever! Furthermore, he could really drink; in just this short time, Ling Tian could see the bottom of the jar of Azure Bamboo Leaf that he brought!

"Mister sure can hold his liquor!" Ling Tian did not know if he was praising or ridiculing Ye QingChen. Anyone who drank too much, be it male, female, brilliant or stupid, all would be bereft of manners immediately...

"This…! This old man… has roamed the lands for… decades… I’ve never gotten… drunk before! It’s only because of the wine today… good wine, really good wine! Worth me getting drunk! I can drink till I die!" Ye QingChen was in a sort of drunken stupor, and his words started to get nonsensical. That being said, one should take note that Ling Tian’s Azure Bamboo Leaf was vastly different from any of the wines which Ye QingChen had sampled before.

As compared to the wine fermentation process in this world, Ling Tian’s original world boasted of a much more complex culture for wine. Ling Tian had tried the most intense wine in this world — the ‘Intoxication to All’— and found it to be lacking sorely in flavor It could only, at the very most, be compared to the ‘baijiu’ [1] in terms of taste. While the mellowness of the wine was abundant, the complexity was far from it. This led an unsatisfied Ling Tian to begin the idea of fermenting his own wine.

Due to the problems he faced in his past world, Ling Tian had to be calm and vigilant at all times. Thus, he never indulged in wine. However, he was still considered a wine connoisseur of sorts, be it tasting, discussing, as well as fermenting good wine, he was especially knowledgeable. Furthermore, the Ling Family in his previous life owned quite a few specialized wine fermentation factories and, because of his hobby, he had frequented the place to research on the processes involved in wine fermentation. With years of experience under his belt, he opened a secret chamber in the Ling Family Courtyard, easily reproducing some of the famed wines of his previous life, hiding it in his residence.

While the Heavenly Star Continent did not have much progress in the culture of wine, the raw materials used in fermentation were still comparable to his previous life. Thus, Ling Tian could even dig out those wine recipes which required highly complicated processes to produce. The Azure Bamboo Leaf was one of the few produced.

However, Ling Tian never thought of profiting off this. In his mind, self-fermenting wine was just a way of fulfilling his hobby, just like how a wine-maker might not be fond of drinking wine at all. Furthermore, he was aware of the theory of scarcity, if the wines he produced made their way out to the stores, the most they could be labelled as would just be top-end premium goods. However, if they were only available in his hands, then that would be a commodity worth h.o.a.rding! Based on Ling Tian’s memories, the typical reclusive expert would be interested in wine itself. But this era had too little good wine to offer, to the point that one could say there did not exist a wine good enough to be praised! Even the famed ‘Intoxication to All’ was only worth as such, any random self-fermented wine that Ling Tian had could easily trounce it with ease!

However, Ling Tian’s intuition told him that the news of this sort of good wine must not be spread around, for it would create an adverse effect on himself. Though such matters would not be able to draw those reclusive experts to take his side, he could at least strengthen his relations.h.i.+p with them. After all, better friends than enemies. Furthermore, some experts treat the bottle like their life, and simply throwing out a random bottle would allow these people to submit to him. Optimistic it might be, it was not an impossible matter.

Having met Ye QingChen today, Ling Tian was even more a.s.sured of his line of thinking. Indeed, an object’s value increases with its rarity. Thinking up till here, Ling Tian began to feel pity for those characters who made use of wine fermenting to make quick bucks in the web novels he read in his previous life. Fermenting wine, how could it just be for the sake of earning money?

The grandeur of China, roughly five millennia of wine-making, how inclusive and profound was it? In Ling Tian’s eyes, wine making should be regarded as an elegant craft!

"Seeing how Mister is so fond of wine, I would think that you have a deep knowledge about most famed wines. With nothing on our hands now, why not express your opinions? This can also allow junior to broaden his horizons." Now that they had finished with proper business, and had given that Ling Tian had already obtained all that he wanted, his eyes flashed as he took the opportunity to change the topic. It was as though he had just came up with some scheme to carry out.

"Haha, this young n.o.ble’s self-fermented Azure Bamboo Leaf is a heavenly product amongst wines, enough to be described with the four words ‘‘looking down from above’. However, if we were to go into the topic of wine knowledge, differentiation, discussion, or critiquing, I don’t mean to boast, but this old man here probably knows more than anyone else in the world. Although young n.o.ble is able to produce such excellent and heavenly wine, but for the true essence of the word ‘wine’, I believe I’m still above you in that."

Ling Tian had only briefly mentioned the word ‘wine’, but Ye QingChen’s expression suddenly changed to an aloof one, glancing at Ling Tian in a disdainful manner. Obviously, he took pride in his attainments in wine knowledge and wanted to take this opportunity to get one up Ling Tian.

A pity, however, while he could have done that to almost anyone in the wide world, Ling Tian was the exception. This could be likened to an undergraduate boasting in front of a high school student, but definitely not in front of a professor!

"That goes without saying, with Senior’s ten years’ worth of experiences, leaving your footprints all over the world, how can this junior be compared to you?" Ling Tian seemed to be sincerely complimenting him on the surface, but the words sounded sarcastic in front of Ye QingChen! He thought, ‘Is the kid trying to slight me? Let me recite a poem on wine, and show him a thing or two!’

"Given the chance, most people would kill for wine! However, those who can actually understand, discern, and appreciate wine are few and between. The gentleman does not notice the common mortal drinking in huge gulps, nor the clinking of gla.s.ses, for they are all mediocre! To join this rabble in consuming wine, I would vomit before I even started to drink! Even if I want to drink till I drop, it has to be with someone who is n.o.ble and lofty, with a similar mentality as me. For this sort of intimate friends, I don’t require much, just a couple who can understand the true essence of what is wine. Only at this realm, can the drinker really feel the prestige!"

Ye QingChen twirled his beard lightly, as his head swayed from left to right. His eyes were fixed on Ling Tian, with a hint of contempt within; as though deep inside his heart, he felt that talking to this wimpy brat about the complexity of wine was akin to playing a lute for a cow. The cow would probably continue chewing on the peonies and any flirtatious glances thrown towards it would probably be as good as showing them to a blind man. Thinking about this, he could not help but feel a sense of melancholy deep in his heart, as though having the feeling of ‘acquaintances abound throughout the earth, but soul mates are hard to find’.

"If High Heaven had no love for wine

There would not be a Wine Star in the sky.

If Earth herself had no love for wine,

There would not be a city called Wine Springs.

Since Heaven and Earth both love wine,

I can love wine, without shame before G.o.d.

Clear wine resembles a Saint;

While thick wine akin to a Sage.

Since Saints and Sages have long quaffed deep,

Why should I request for permission from G.o.d?

At the third cup I penetrate the Great Way;

A full gallon -- Nature and I are one...

But the things I feel when wine possesses my soul

I will never tell to those who are not drunk." [2]

Ling Tian recited this in a low tone. Just then, he sounded lofty and free at east, standing detached and aloof from all mortal problems.

Ye QingChen’s eyes, that were originally heavy with intoxication, suddenly opened up wide and the drunken fog cleared immediately as he smacked the table while praising, "Good poem! Good poem! Hahaha, to think that young n.o.ble could actually understand this old man so well, sharing similar interests in wine! This old man, me, is no longer lonely!" His att.i.tude warmed up visibly, as though inside his heart, wine was more important than martial arts!

Right now, in Ye QingChen’s heart, Ling Tian was no longer someone of the younger generation whom he admired; but rather, his soulmate in his country of wine in his heart! "If High Heaven had no love for wine, there would not be a Wine Star in the sky. If Earth herself had no love for wine, there would not be a city called Wine Springs. Since Heaven and Earth both love wine, I can love wine, without shame before G.o.d.… what a wonderful poem." The look he gave Ling Tian was now one of reverence; for someone to be able to compose such a poem, how could he not understand wine? That would be the biggest joke on earth!

This could literally be considered as an immortal amongst wine! Just based on the poem, it would be enough to justify a wine lover getting drunk for three days and nights! The poem even emphasized the fact that within heaven and earth, the lofty and aloof mood of being the only person to actually understand wine. As such, it triggered feelings of friends.h.i.+p within Ye QingChen.

"Since Mister has drank wine for many years and proclaim himself as a know-it-all in wine, then dare I ask Mister, if he knows of the ‘eight pleasures of drinking’?" Ling Tian appeared to be drunk too, fixing onto Ye QingChen with an unfocused stare. The haughtiness in his expression was tens, no hundreds, of times more than what Ye QingChen had shown to him originally! ‘Since you want to be arrogant, then this young n.o.ble here will show what is arrogance! How dare you attempt to outplay a professor level character like me in wine! Let this young n.o.ble give you a good shake!’

"Ehh? I’ve not heard of this. Will young n.o.ble please bestow on me what the ‘eight pleasures of drinking’ are?" Seeing Ling Tian’s arrogant expression, Ye QingChen flared up immediately, but was extinguished soon after, replaced with panic. ‘Eight pleasures of drinking? Why have I not heard of it before? To think I boasted about being the best in wine knowledge, how shameful!’ The pleasures and joys of drinking differed between each person; who could say it clearly, and who could explain it correctly?’

[1] - Liquor spirit distilled from maize, think of Korea’s soju or j.a.pan’s shochu.

[2] - This was hard. This is a poem from Li Bai, t.i.tled "月下獨酌四首", or Four Verses of Drinking Alone Beneath the Moonlight. The link is below: (https://allpoetry.com/Drinking-Alone-By-Moonlight---3-_from-the-Chinese_)