Chapter 3 Becoming Drunk On Water?

"Server, one more over here!!" A loud shout from a young boy echoed in the small bar. What followed after was a large burp. One of the three lady servers in the small bar trotted over to the table the youth was sitting at. She placed a knew full wine jug in front of him and took away the two empty ones on the table. The youth who looked no more than thirteen, shakily poured the contents of the wine jug into a small cup before he raised it to his lips and swallowed everything in one gulp. His already flushed face became even redder as he smacked his lips and said, "Good, good, good." Licking his lips, the youth poured himself another cup and gulped it down. The occupants in the small bar just ignored the youth as if this was a regular occurrence. However, a burly fellow who was on a stool at the front of the bar's counter, couldn't help but frown upon seeing such a scene. The space between his brows had righteousness written all over it and seeing the bar willing to serve such young child made him feel disgusted. Turning to the male bartender and current owner of the bar, the burly fellow said with condemnation dripping from his lips, "Mr. Chen, is this really what your establishment promotes? How can you serve such a small child wine, are you that greedy for money to do such a despicable thing?" Mr. Chen, who was behind the counter absentmindedly cleaning a cup with a cloth, was taken aback by the scolding words of the burly man. He glanced at the burly man, before looking at the youth raising another cup to lips. Soon after Mr. Chen began to chuckle. This reaction from Mr. Chen angered the burly man even more. But just when he was about to curse out this greedy old man, Mr. Chen finished chuckling and said, "Old Dong, this is the first time you visited my bar since last week, right?" Old Dong frowned but nodded at Mr. Chen's question. Mr. Chen chuckled again before he said, "That kid over there isn't drinking wine, it's just water with coloring in it." Upon hearing Mr. Chen's words, Old Dong became dumbfounded. But, as if realizing something, his expression became angry again and he said, "Mr. Chen, are you taking me for a fool? The boy is clearly drunk from drinking your wine, look how flushed his face is, he can barely even sit straight on his chair." Both men then looked in the youth's direction to see him seated on the edge of his seat with a flushed face, appearing as though he might lose his balance. All clear signs of pointed to him being highly intoxicated. But Mr. Chen shook his head and said, "I've never heard of someone getting drunk from drinking water with coloring in it, have you?" Seeing Mr. Chen's refusal to admit his wrongdoings, Old Dong expressed frustration. Noticing Old Dong about to fly off the handle, Mr. Chen quickly called over the server who had just taken the empty jugs from the youth's table. "Here." Mr. Chen placed the two empty jugs in front of Old Dong. Old Dong took up one of the jugs from the counter and with an angry expression still on his face, he placed it under his nose and sniffed. As Old Dong sniffed, one could see his expression turn from anger to confusion. He quickly picked up the other jug and sniffed it like the previous one, but his expression only became weirder. The two jugs didn't have the smell of wine in them, just a hint of coloring. Old Dong saw when the server took them from the table, and he was confident she didn't switch them with different jugs somehow. Old Dong placed the two jugs back onto the counter and looked at Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen had an amused smile on his face as he saw Old Dong's strange expression. "Do you believe me now?" Mr. Chen asked Old Dong. Old Dong could only smile wearily and say, "Mr. Chen, I hope you can forgive me for questioning your morals. As an apology, I'll purchase a jug of your high-quality wine." As Old Dong said that he gulped down the last bit of wine he had in the cup in front of him. Seeing Old Dong being so straightforward and apologizing, Mr. Chen couldn't help but admire him. Despite his brutish appearance and blunt way of speaking, he was still a righteous man who was willing to admit when he was in the wrong. After Old Dong finish his cup, he turned to Mr. Chen and said, "So, what's with the kid? His clothes aren't something normal people could afford, is he from one of those affluent families?" Mr. Chen shook his head and said, "No idea, he just came in here one-day last week and ordered a jug of wine. The kid looked like he was still wet from his mother's milk, so I just poured some coloring into a jug of water and handed it to him. Thought he wouldn't know the difference." Mr. Chen then wore an odd expression before he continued to say, "But I didn't think he would start acting like he was drunk. As a matter of fact, you're not the only one who reacted like that when they first saw it. But now everyone just pretends as though they didn't see anything." Mr. Chen shook his head at the absurdity of the situation. The youth both men were speaking about had a completely flushed face and was sprawled on top of the table while hiccupping ever so often. Picking up the jug in front of him, he poured the last remaining 'wine' into his cup. But just as he was about to lift the cup to his lips and drink its content, a plump brown cat suddenly hopped on top of the table and began licking the wine in the cup. The youth frowned and shoved the cat away while saying, "Bad little Tei, this is daddy's wine, it's not for you." The plump brown cat let out a hiss as it was shoved off the table. The people at the table nearby couldn't help their expression from becoming weird after witnessing this scene, some even had amused expressions on their faces. "Meow." Another cat, who was smaller and had white fur, appeared by the youth's feet, clawing and purring. The youth looked down and asked surprised, "Little Snow, what are you doing here as well?" However, the youth thought of something, and his expression suddenly changed before he exclaimed. "Wait!" The youth hurriedly sat up, his fake drunkenness vanishing. But as the youth sat up, a loud swooshing sound could be heard coming from outside of the small bar. Everyone in the bar was stunned upon hearing such a loud sound. The youth, however, had a look of panic on his face. As quickly as lightning flashing through the night sky, he stood up from his chair, and like a specter, his body moved towards a window. His leg movements were strange and erratic but if someone cultivated Martial Art techniques were here to see this, they would be stunned upon witnessing such an exquisite movement technique. The obscure profundities with it were numerous, but the way this youth executed it was smooth and flawless, as if it was nothing more than breathing to him. The very instant the youth made for the window; the swooshing sound appeared at the bar's entrance. The source of the swooshing sound turned out to be a handsome young man who looked to be in his early twenties. Looking at the dazzling and luxurious clothes of the young man wore, everyone in the small bar took a large gulp. The pressure he emanated also made them feel as if the world around them were clasping. As soon as the young man appeared, he let out a cold snort before stretching out his hand in the direction of the youth, who was in the middle of leaping through the window. Immediately afterward, a translucent golden hand materialized in midair and pierced the void to appear behind the youth. The golden hand instantly wrapped its five fingers around the youth's waist, however, the youth's specter-like body suddenly evaporated like smoke and the hand grabbed nothing but empty air. The golden hand grabbed at the youth's waist, but the youth's body suddenly vanished like smoke, leaving the hand grasping at nothing. A laugh then echoed from another window in the bar. The youth's figure appeared there, and a grin was plaster across his face. "Pigheaded brother of my mind, just try and catch me!" Before the echo of the youth's voice could fade from the bar, he was out the window. The young man who the youth called elder brother had his eyebrows twitch, but deep within his eyes, there was a look of amusement. His body then vanished from the bar, along with the translucent golden hand. Everyone in the bar who just saw the series of events played out had mild looks of shock and horror on their faces. "Those were cultivators, right?! I can't believe I just saw two of them with my own eyes, am I dreaming?" A loud commotion immediately erupted in the bar. Meanwhile, Mr. Chen and Old Dong were staring at each other in astonishment. If it wasn't for the golden petal that was floating where the young man was, they both would've assumed they were seeing things. Just as said golden petal was about to touch the floor, it suddenly began breaking apart piece by piece before fading away without leaving a trace.