Plum Blossom Village

  After a conversation with Linghu Chong, Lin Heng knew that he couldn't tell him the truth about what was going on. He could only wait until Linghu Chong learned it himself, otherwise he would never learn. So he told Linghu Chong that he had a method that might temporarily suppress his injury, but he didn't know how effective it would be either, so he hoped Linghu Chong would go with him.

  Originally, Linghu Chong disagreed, after all, he still had his junior brothers and parents of the Hua Shan Sect, most importantly, his little junior sister was also there. However, Lin Pingzhi's one sentence made him agree. That is, if you die, you will never see your little junior sister again, but if you live, then you can see your little junior sister again, and don't you want to know who wants to save you?

  It was unclear whether it was the little nun or the mysterious person who had a good relationship with Linghu Cong that took effect, but he agreed. Then, the two of them took advantage of everyone's inattention and slipped away secretly.

  They walked very cautiously, choosing a remote road, and even on the way to avoid being discovered, they all walked on remote roads. Even after entering Hangzhou, they were still hiding during the day and emerging at night, with great care.

  That night, Lin Heng brought Linghu Chong to a large mansion, whereupon Linghu Chong looked up and saw that the sign above the gate read "Mei Zhuang".

  "Brother, where is this place?"

  Linghu Chong turned his head to ask Lin Heng, but he saw a strange smiling face. Then, he felt a pain in his body and fainted.

  "Brother Linghu, I'm doing all this for you, don't blame me!" Lin Heng hugged Linghu Chong tightly and made them both look disheveled. He also smeared some fresh blood on the corner of Linghu Chong's mouth, making it seem like it was dripping from his mouth.

  Having done everything, Lin Heng half-embraced Linghu Chong and carried a bundle on his back, walking to the front gate and knocking loudly.

  Lin Heng didn't know the password to open the door, but he knew that as long as he kept knocking, it would definitely be opened. As expected, after knocking for three or four minutes, someone shouted out, fortunately there was no one around, otherwise it would have attracted a crowd of onlookers.

  "Who is it? Stop knocking!" A loud shout came from behind the door. Lin Heng's heart skipped a beat, but he still had to continue the act, so he said in a tearful voice, "Uncle, please open the door, my brother has been seriously injured, we beg of you to let us stay for one night..."

  Lin Heng said, the gate frame creaked open, and two old men walked out shoulder to shoulder. They originally had an unpleasant expression, but when they saw the two of them in a sorry state, they were taken aback for a moment, then heard Lin Heng say: "Two uncles, my senior brother was seriously injured, please let us rest for one night, otherwise my senior brother will die..."

  The two of them ignored Lin Heng's words, and one of them walked right up to them, took Lian Huachong's hand and examined it. Upon examination, he furrowed his brow because Lian Huachong's injury was indeed very severe.

  He returned to the other person's side, whispered two sentences in his ear, Lin Heng saw this and continued to cry, and stretched out his hand from the package to take out a small wine jug, saying: "Two uncles, I also know that I disturbed you, but there is no other place here except for this villa. Please, I don't have good things here, only this jug of wine is good...". As he spoke, he opened the lid of the wine and a strong aroma instantly burst out.

  The two men were intoxicated by the wine aroma, and then whispered to each other for a while. One of them said, "Alright, but you can't disturb our master, you can only stay outside for one night."

  "Thank you, uncle! Thank you, uncle!" Lin Heng said as he handed over the wine in his hand and kept thanking him. As for what was on his mind, of course, he let out a sigh of relief.

  In the original work, Xiang Wentian used flattery and four treasures to enter Zhuangzi's manor. Lin Heng couldn't use flattery, nor could he bring any treasures. All he had was wine, which he had specially brewed using a combination of traditional medicine and modern distillation methods. It was absolutely fragrant and unparalleled. He believed that "those who live near ink become stained by it", so after all these years in Zhuangzi's manor, the two men must have developed some good habits when it came to wine. So he thought of this method. And now it seems, he succeeded.

  As they entered the Zhuangzi, Lin Heng and the other were arranged in a small room. Lin Heng was very anxious, after all he only had one night's time, if he couldn't meet with the Fourth Master, then everything would be impossible to proceed. However, he also couldn't rush, because he feared those two were monitoring him. So as soon as they came in, he pretended to treat Linghu Chong's injury, sitting cross-legged on the bed, his palms pressed against his back.

  About half a time, Lin Heng withdrew his palm and wiped his forehead. Upon closer inspection, Lin Heng's forehead had some fine sweat, and his face was somewhat pale. Of course, these were not real, he just took advantage of wiping the sweat to dissolve some makeup.

  Linghu Chong was put on the bed, and Lin Heng walked out with a somewhat tired look. He rubbed his stomach and looked around. When he saw a room lit up with lamps, he showed joy on his face and then walked over.

  Needless to say, this room was naturally where the two old men lived. After seeing the two of them, he immediately begged them to get him some food and hoped they could prepare a bowl of porridge for when his master woke up so that he could feed it to him.

  Two people did not suspect anything, and immediately one of them walked towards the kitchen to bring Lin Heng food. He thanked the two old men and returned to his room, eating with great relish. However, on his table, there was an additional jug of wine, which was just as fragrant as the wine served to the two elderly men, especially the lingering aroma that floated on top, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

  Lin Heng's plan was to use the aroma of wine to attract the four masters, and he also believed that the wine-loving master would definitely be able to smell this aroma.

  As expected, the Fourth Master did not disappoint Lin Heng's trust. Just as he was about to finish eating, a black figure appeared outside his room and shouted: "Who are you?"

  Lin Heng pretended to be frightened, knocking the wine jug in his hand askew, and the not-so-much wine flowed out, giving off an even more intense fragrance. The newcomer took a sniff, then burst in through the window, shouting: "Waste, waste, what a waste..." As he shouted, he grabbed the wine jug and poured the remaining wine into his own mouth.

  "Good wine, good wine! I've been drinking for so many years, but I've never had such a great wine. Sweet and fragrant, spicy and pungent, the flavor of this wine is truly one in a thousand!"

  The four masters said, their eyes fixed on Lin Heng, that look was not like asking him who he was, but rather saying, you little boy, if you still have this wine, take it out for me.

  At this time, the two old men who heard the noise came over. They saw Fourth Master and hastily paid their respects. Fourth Master Dan Qing also asked about Lin Heng's background, then walked to the bedside and took Lian Huachong's pulse.

  "Not bad, this little friend's injury is indeed very serious. But how did he get such a strange wound?" He looked at Lin Heng with inquiring eyes. Lin Heng immediately said: "I don't know either, we were walking in the woods when six strange people suddenly appeared and said they wanted to test our lightness skills. We disagreed, but they attacked us directly. During the fight, my senior brother was hit by all six of them while trying to save me, so..."

  "Six freaks... That's the Togoku Six Sages, I suppose..." Tan Qing Sheng nodded slightly and didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he asked: "Where did your wine come from?"

  "That's what the little guy brewed himself..."

  "Do you know how to brew wine?" Dan Qing was quite surprised, and Lin Heng immediately explained: "Yes, I am a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner from my family. Later, with the help of my senior brother, I became an apprentice under my benevolent teacher, which gave me the opportunity to learn martial arts. However, I don't particularly like martial arts, but rather enjoy studying medical skills. As for brewing wine, it's because my senior brother loves wine, so I tried brewing some. Unexpectedly, it turned out quite well."

  Upon hearing this, Dan Qing Sheng nodded again and asked somewhat awkwardly: "Little brother, is there still some of that wine left?"

  Lin Hengyi's face turned red with embarrassment, and he said: "That wine is gone, originally my senior brother had it in his luggage, but it was lost during the fight, so..." Dan Qingcheng's face darkened at this point, Lin Heng knew that the timing was almost right, and continued: "However, Master Zhuang doesn't need to worry, this wine is brewed by me, naturally I know how to make it. As long as Master Zhuang prepares the materials for me, I can help Master Zhuang brew the wine."

  "Alright, alright... it's settled then!" Duan Qing was overjoyed and immediately instructed Ding Jian and Shi Lingwei to carry Linghu Chong to the side room, while he himself pulled Lin Heng aside to discuss winemaking.

  The two of them talked through the night until Linghu Cong came to find them, and they finally snapped out of it. However, Lin Heng was just pretending, while Dan Qing Sheng was genuinely captivated by Lin Heng's brewing philosophy.

  "Big brother, you're finally awake! I was worried to death!" Lin Pingzhi grabbed Linghu Cong and stared at him with anxious eyes. Linghu Cong quickly replied, "Little brother, don't worry, big brother is fine." As he spoke, he noticed Lin Pingzhi's index finger pointing to a wall nearby, where a painting hung. He slowly turned around the room, then stood in front of the painting.

  He looked at it for a while, and he couldn't understand the painting at all. But the last eight characters "Dan Qing Sheng Da Zui Hou Po Mo" (The Great Drunken Master's Ink Splash) were different, and he spoke out: "Younger brother, look at this painting..."

  "Little brother knows painting?" Dan Qing Sheng felt a slight surprise and also stood up and walked to the front of the two.

  Linghu Chong clasped his hands together in a salute to Danqing Sheng and said, "I don't understand painting, but I do understand swordplay. As soon as I saw this 'drunken' character, I felt that it contained a very profound and subtle sword technique within."

  "Haha... good eyes, little brother!" Dan Qing was overjoyed upon hearing this. This painting was his masterpiece after all. He immediately recounted the process of creating this painting and said that he wouldn't be able to create such a work again.

  "Haha…… Compared to painting, I'm more interested in what the master of the manor has in his hand……" Linghu Chong said, sniffing hard with his nose, "As Bai Letian's poem 'Joyful Expectation' says: 'Red sleeves weave brocade, boasting about pomegranate leaves; green flags sell wine to coincide with pear blossoms.' Drinking pear blossom wine should be done with a jade cup, the master of the four manors is indeed a connoisseur of wine."

  Tan Qing Sheng was overjoyed when he heard this, and burst out laughing: "Not bad, not bad, little brother is really good. Earlier your junior brother said you were good at drinking, but I didn't believe it. Now I have no choice but to believe you. Come on, come on, the three of us will drink 300 cups..." As he spoke, Tan Qing Sheng pulled the two of them outwards. The three of them went all the way to the backyard and entered an underground cellar. Lin Heng knew that this was Tan Qing Sheng's hidden wine cellar.

  As soon as they arrived, Linghu Cong played his part. He simply mentioned the few good wines that Dan Qing had collected, which made Dan Qing both delighted and admiring. Then the three of them sat in the wine cellar with the eight-steamed and eight-brewed grape wine. Unfortunately, after drinking Lin Heng's fine wine, Dan Qing felt that the grape wine didn't taste right no matter how he drank it.

  He sighed and said: "This wine is good, but it can't be compared with your master's brother's beautiful wine!"