Chapter ~7~

The first-drinker who had finally managed to swallow stopped mid-action of sticking her tongue out to let some cold air in. Then decided to do it anyway, but at the culprit who lured her into drinking this. Jun Sheng smiled and was about to pour herself a disk, but as she reached out, she looked at it disdainfully- then just drank straight from the clay pot.

A little almost invisible bump on her neck rolled up and down. Some liquid escaped and streamed down from the corners of her mouth, leaving a trail and disappearing into her blouse.

Pei Yi took another sip, not meaning to do it but as an instinctive act, so she was surprised by it again. This time she managed to swallow the stingy liquor without struggling too much.

It left a faint aftertaste of pear blossoms, or osmanthus?

Huh, it doesn't taste so bad.

She looked at Jun Sheng's wild way of drinking, and touched her own neck, where Jun Sheng's little bump was.

She leaned backwards a bit. Ooh, she has one too, and it didn't feel masculine or anything. Pei Yi took another tentative sip. This time the lovely odour and the sweetness which hid under the spiciness were more obvious to her.

The strongness of the liquor easily hides the soft sweetness, but the softness overcomes it slowly. As she tastes it for longer, eventually the fiery spirit only acts as a sidekick.

Before she even realised it, her disk only had two droplets of liquid rolling at the bottom.

Pei Yi licked her lips, making a motion as if she wanted to smack her lips in satisfaction.

Jun Sheng had long put down her jug, and was watching Pei Yi in amusement and in witnessing this, she handed the other covered jug to Pei Yi, with a lift of her chin.

Pei Yi licked her lips again, and gingerly took it.

While fumbling with the strings which tied the opening of the jug, Jun Sheng's voice made her halt a bit: "Be careful if you are a first drinker; these are quite strong. You might get a headache."

With feigned disgust, she added: "I don't want you sicking up on me."

Pei Yi clutched onto the rim of the jug and said, cheeks puffing out, ''off course I'm not a first drinker."

Jun Sheng looked at her already tinted cheeks and watery eyes, clearly unconvinced, but didn't say anything. But while Pei Yi was concentrating on opening the jug, she quietly slipped to where one of the waiters on duty were, and told him to start brewing some pear tea.

A few moments later, when Jun Sheng came back, what she saw was Pei Yi with a blanked out expression; her eyes were jittery, hands still holding onto the jug. Pei Yi had her mouth slightly parting to let out some of that WARMTH. Her mouth felt like it was literally on fire.

Gods of Yun, it's hot in here.

The jug in her hands felt heavenly cool as she put it against her cheek.

The swishing noise inside was all too tempting. She turned her head to have another sip- no, it was more of a huge mouthful.

A hand intercepted her motion.

Pei Yi looked up with a pout. All she wanted was some cool water...except this water tastes heavenly.

Jun Sheng gently yanked the jug out of Pei Yi's hands, pointedly ignoring the watery-puppy eyes that followed her movement, and replaced it with a cup. A warm cup at that. A cup with the smell of fresh pear drifting out. Pei Yi wrinkled her eyebrows in refusal. She wanted something cold to soothe the fire burning inside her, but as she tasted the first sip, her expression soothed into pleasure. It was sweet, but not the kind of sweet that could make you feel sick. It also had a wisp of herby smell within, clearing her head a little.

She quickly finished the cup. With the last mouthful she put down the cup and licked her lips to taste the lingering yumminess.

Jun Sheng looked at her eyes: good. They were clear now. The abnormal blush that had been on Pei Yi's cheekbones now subsided. Jun Sheng checked the hourglass set on the counter and heaved a sigh.

"You should go home. It's getting very late." Almost dawn, in fact.

Pei Yi had no objections, of course. She still had some of the aftereffects of the liquor, which is why she swayed a little when she got up and followed Jun Sheng so obediently without any snarky remarks.

Jun Sheng brushed the curtains aside in the doorway of a sideroom. The room was strange to be a normal room: there were no windows. It appeared to be windtight- maybe it could have been a storage room.

A breeze of cool wind blew from nowhere and Pei Yi instantly felt fresher so she straightened and leaned against the wall. Exempt from a little headache, it felt almost as if she hadn't just gotten sober.

Jun Sheng was fully aware of the shift, but she heedlessly took out a few stones from the pouch tied to her waist.

Of course, these weren't your normal stones. But they were a little different from the rune stones aforementioned. The light on them was a little, actually much, dimmer than the average rune stones.

Transferred runes stones. There are many uses for them, the main of which is that cultivators can absorb mana from them instead of having to search for the occasionally scarce magic in the atmosphere. Non-cultivators could also use these as a media to activate certain things. Transferred rune stones are more of a product than currency, and they are not that rare, Pei Yi herself has a whole garage, thanks to her over caring brothers, but….Pei Yi narrowed her eyes a little.

If she remembered correctly, the handful which Jun Sheng is placing (aka throwing) on certain areas of the room, were pretty rare. The colour and transparency, the dull surface with a strange light dancing on it… Pei Yi decided not to think on the matter any longer for her head ached too much for that.