In Jiu Jue's bamboo house, someone arrived earlier than Su Qiuchi and was currently drinking and chatting happily with Jiu Jue.
"You, you, you..." Su Qiuchi rushed in like a sudden gust of wind, pointing at Li Huai with one hand and grabbing the wine jar on the table with the other. He shook it vigorously, then stomped his foot, yelling, "You guys actually finished all the wine! In my absence!!"
His frantic appearance scared away the guiding bamboo leaf dragonfly, which instantly flew out of the window, narrowly avoiding hitting the window frame. Li Huai remained calm and held up his cup with ease, deliberately smiling lightly, "Gentleman Su has never been an important figure, so it doesn't matter if he's absent."
Su Qiuchi assumed the pose of wanting to beat him up but was stopped by a smiling Jiu Jue, "There is nothing else in my humble abode, but there's as much wine as you want. Gentleman Su can rest assured."
Upon hearing this, Su Qiuchi's gloomy face immediately brightened, and he grinned at Jiu Jue, "My good immortal, then quickly bring out more!"
"In your previous life, you must have been trash who drowned in a wine barrel," Li Huai wiped his mouth with a refined manner, put down his wine cup, and remarked, "A boar-like roughneck like you drinking the wine here is nothing but a waste!"
"You, surnamed Li, don't think you won't get thrashed just because you look good!" Su Qiuchi, who had never been ridiculed like this before, rushed up in fury and punched Li Huai in the face. Unexpectedly, Li Huai was supremely agile, dodging swiftly. At the same time, his right hand had grabbed Su Qiuchi's right wrist, and yanked hard. Su Qiuchi really howled like a boar and simply threw himself at Li Huai. The two rolled and crawled on the ground, exchanging punches and kicks. Their once fine clothes were now covered in dirt, a really humiliating sight.
Jiu Jue didn't intervene. Instead, he retreated to one side with a wine jar in his arms, pointing at the two and jeering, "What a doomed[1] pair! My hut hasn't been this lively in many years."
As the fight continued with no one trying to stop them, it became less amusing. Eventually, both got up from the ground, grumbling and cursing. Su Qiuchi had a black eye and a shoe print on his handsome face. Holding his bruised mouth, he roared, "You rogue monkey! Ever heard of not hitting the face when fighting?! How am I supposed to hang out at the Pavilion of Myriad Flowers after you've damaged me like this!"
"You really turned into a wild boar! You actually used your teeth! Sooner or later, I'll slaughter you and make mincemeat out of you!" Li Huai, nursing his red nose from Su Qiuchi's blows, raised his right arm with a clear row of bite marks, cursing bitterly.
"Hahaha!" Jiu Jue laughed so hard that he fell on the couch, thoroughly gloating. Only when he noticed the angry glares Su Qiuchi and Li Huai directed at him after reaching a tacit understanding did he stop laughing, sit up, and clear his throat, saying, "Well... as the saying goes, out of blows friendship grows[2]. Another common saying is enemies in this life, husband and wife in the next life. And, vice versa. So, you two are fated in a way."
"Husband and wife?!" Su Qiuchi and Li Huai looked at each other, then vigorously spat at each other at the same time, "Bah!"
"I'm not a cut sleeve."
"I've no fondness for Long Yang."
Jiu Jue grinned at this spontaneously synchronized pair of enemies, "Such rapport[3]."
"Hey, I didn't come here today to listen to your depressing remarks." Su Qiuchi, impatient again, went up and grabbed Jiu Jue, saying, "Quickly bring out eight or ten jars of good wine! Otherwise, I'll forget you're an immortal and burn down this shabby little house of yours, hmph!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an attendant, a young child of around ten with his hair in a loose topknot, walked into the room carrying a jug of wine. He wore a clean and neat white cloth robe with black patterns. He had bright eyes and looked serene, which made him appear somewhat different from an ordinary child.
Jiu Jue introduced him to the two, "My pageboy, Lan Ting[4]." Lan Ting nodded slightly at them, not speaking. He set down the wine jug and stood aside.
A rich and refreshing aroma wafted from the jug, enticing anyone who smelled it. Su Qiuchi, ignoring the injuries on his face, hurriedly went over to uncover the jug and poured the wine into his mouth. However, not a single drop came out. Puzzled, he took the jug and shook it forcefully, hearing the sound of sloshing wine. Closing one eye and peering inside, he saw the jug was full, but when he tried to pour it into his mouth again, the jug was evidently empty again. Li Huai snatched the jug, but like Su Qiuchi, he could see the wine but couldn't drink it.
"Henceforth, if you want to freely enjoy the good wine at my place, there are rules." Jiu Jue slyly took the wine jug, "The previous invitation to drink was a favor as my gratitude for saving me. Starting from this jug of wine, you can't drink just because you want to."
"How much silver do you want?" Su Qiuchi responded quickly. Ever since he tasted Jiu Jue's craftsmanship, other wines no longer interested him. He was willing to pay any amount for such fine wine. Li Huai pushed him aside, saying only, "I'll double whatever he pays!"
"So, you truly stand together against a common enemy." Jiu Jue pretended to be troubled, spreading his hands dramatically. "My rule is simple. Each person must compose a poem. If I find it satisfactory, then from now on, you can drink fine wine as you wish."
Su Qiuchi and Li Huai exchanged glances and once again spoke in unison, asking, "How about giving silver?"
"That won't do." Jiu Jue shook his head. "Even if you two recite just one line each, it will suffice."
The skill Su Qiuchi was worst at in this life was composing poems and writing antithetical couplets. And judging by Li Huai's anxious and frustrated expression over there, he probably wasn't any better. With fine wine as a prize, whatever meager literary talent Su Qiuchi had churned within his mind for a while, finally spitting out a line — "Following the fragrance from a thousand miles." Meanwhile, Li Huai, having pulled out a handful of hair, responded with — "Smiling at the reflection in the wine."
"Following the fragrance from a thousand miles, smiling at the reflection in the wine." Jiu Jue was stumped for words for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and laughed, "No merit, no fault; just mediocre." Su Qiuchi and Li Huai blushed with shame, regretting not heeding the teacher's regular advice to learn more literary skills.
"Lan Ting, you fill in the last two lines." Jiu Jue gestured to Lan Ting.
Lan Ting approached the table, dipped a brush in ink, and wrote without hesitation — "Following the fragrance from a thousand miles, smiling at the reflection in the wine. Golden branch shakes jade leaf, woman not lesser than man[5]."
Seeing this last line, a hint of panic flashed quickly across Li Huai's face.
"Haha, this doggerel is barely passable." Jiu Jue laughed, lifting the piece of paper and patting Lan Ting's head, "Fine, let's just say they pass the test."
Lan Ting grinned and nodded. Su Qiuchi glanced at the poem written by Lan Ting. With his considerable knowledge of antique calligraphy and painting, he felt that even just those twenty characters displayed remarkable variation. They had the elegance of floating clouds, yet also the vigor of a soaring dragon. The writing was cursive yet calm. He would never have believed that a ten-year-old kid had such skill if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
"You... um... you write really well!" Su Qiuchi's thousand words of praise finally boiled down into this simple phrase. Lan Ting smiled at him but remained silent.
Although Li Huai was not proficient in calligraphy, he could still sense the exceptional momentum of the characters. Impressed, he gave Lan Ting a thumbs up and asked, "Lan Ting, you're such a good calligrapher. Did your master teach you?"
"How can I teach him?" Jiu Jue hurriedly clarified, "Lan Ting's talent is innate." That's right, isn't Jiu Jue an immortal in the heavenly realm; an immortal's pageboy naturally can't be an ordinary person.
After the commotion, the group sat around the table. Lan Ting served several exquisite appetizers, and the fragrance of the food mixed with the aroma of wine filled the air. They sat by the window, enjoying the setting sun and the singing of returning birds, chatting freely while eating and toasting. After drinking three jars of wine, Su Qiuchi, who got his wish, gazed at Jiu Jue with eyes misty from intoxication, foolishly asking, "Are you really... some wine-making god?"
"You're such a sissy! He already said he's a god, and you still ask!" Li Huai, who was a lightweight, staggered as he pushed Su Quichi. He leaned against him while mumbling inarticulately, and gradually slipped to the floor while using Su Qiuchi's leg as a pillow.
"Hey... I think Jiu Jue looks familiar... You also look familiar... Do you both owe me a lot of money?" Su Qiuchi jabbed Li Huai's head. "You man... more delicate-looking than a woman... stronger than me... I feel like we're similar!"
"Bullshit! Who is like you... you're so ugly! Jiu Jue is prettier..." Li Huai punched him.
Jiu Jue smiled as he watched these two inebriated cats, shook his head, and one by one helped them to the bed in the inner room, covered them with blankets, blew out the candles, and closed the door softly.
Footnotes:
[1] 冤孽: enmity/retribution caused by bad karma.
[2] 不打不相識: friends are often made after a fight.
[3] Cut-sleeve and Long Yang both mean male homosexual. Lord Long Yang was the homosexual lover of King Anxi of Wei during the Warring States period. Cut-sleeve comes from Emperor Ai of Han cutting off his sleeve rather than disturbing his sleeping lover Dong Xian when he had to get out of bed.
[4] 兰亭: can be interpreted as "Orchid Pavilion."
[5] 千里循香来，笑对酒中影。金枝摇玉叶，巾帼斗须眉. Did I mention I suck at poetry? Well, I do. This translation is as literal as it gets. Anyway, golden branch, jade leaves is blue-blooded nobility, esp. imperial kinsmen.
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