It turned out that this is what a deity looked like.

  Su Qiuchi still couldn′t quite believe that he had met a living deity, even though the guy had been very honest when introducing himself. How could a mortal, in the blink of an eye, turn a cup of pin water into fine wine? If it were some kind of yaokai magic, could there really be a Yaokai who looked so clean and transparent? However, as long as he could get good wine from him, it didn′t matter if he were a yaokai—Su Qiuchi′s understanding of Jiu Jue quickly formed and concluded in a short time.

  He and Li Huai had only stayed for a few hours in the bamboo house outside the Wuyou Pond in the Purple Bamboo Forest on Cuiwei Mountain, where Jiu Jue resided. Yet, when they returned home, their family members rushed up to them in tears, saying that he had been missing for three whole days. His family had already reported him to the authorities, and his grandfather had even sent a group of elite soldiers to search for him throughout Chang′an.

  One day in the mountain, but a thousand years in the world? Su Qiuchi could only imagine this saying. Of course, he didn′t tell anyone about his strange experience in Cuiwei Mountain, only saying that he had been enjoying the scenery and lost track of time.

  That evening, Su Qiuchi, unusually, did not go out to indulge in pleasure. Instead, he sat quietly under the window in his bedroom, holding the exquisitely crafted silver wine pot with the design of a dancing horse and cup holder, resting his chin on his hand. The pot had originally been damaged by Li Huai′s bump, tearing the chain connected to the lid. However, after a few casual touches from Jiu Jue, it was as good as new. That day, Jiu Jue poured half a pot of his own brewed wine into it. The taste was truly a hundred times richer than the finest imperial brew the emperor granted. Now, the wine was gone, but the fragrance lingered, proving that what Jiu Jue had said was probably true.

  Jiu Jue said that he was a celestial official in charge of brewing wine in the heavenly realm. Due to his duties, he often descended to the human world to search for good ingredients for brewing. That monk had a personal grudge with him and took advantage of his trip to the mortal realm to try to seize an item from him. The two fought for three days and nights, and Jiu Jue was at a disadvantage. He had no choice but to lead the monk into the Purple Bamboo Forest, using bamboo leaves as a disguise to evade detection.

  However, the monk was relentless and used the same formation to put his body and soul into the bamboo leaves, entering another space to pursue him without rest. As the two fought in a void invisible to mortals, it was by pure accident that Su Qiuchi, guided by Li Huai, broke the monk′s disguise and rescued Jiu Jue. The monk, having been struck by this, suffered damage to his vital energy and would need at least a month to recover.

  In Jiu Jue's bamboo house, Su Qiuchi and Li Huai were left confused after hearing his words. Shortly after, Jiu Jue, just as confused, sent them out of the Purple Bamboo Forest, and they safely returned to the ft pins outside of Cuiwei Mountain.

  Su Qiuchi remembered that as he turned back while mounting his horse, Jiu Jue was still standing not far off, smiling and waving at them. But when he looked again, that striking ke-blue hair was gone, as if the person who had just waved and smiled at him was merely an illusion. Li Huai′s expression mirrored his, but with more reluctance, turning back three times with each step.

  The Purple Bamboo Forest, the Wuyou Pond, Jiu Jue—everything felt so unreal, like a dream. At this thought, Su Qiuchi suddenly tightened his grip on the wine pot, took out a small embroidered pouch from his clothing, gnced at it, and then abruptly stood up, rushing out of the room.

  The embroidered pouch was given to Su Qiuchi and Li Huai by Jiu Jue before they parted. Inside, there was a dragonfly made from bamboo leaves and a small porcein bottle with a square opening. Jiu Jue had said that he feared being disturbed, so he had set up a boundary around the Purple Bamboo Forest using the Fuxi′s innate Eight Trigrams formation, separating it from the normal space. Their accidental entry was merely a coincidence, and if they wished to visit him again, they just needed to pour the water from the Wuyou Pond onto the bamboo dragonfly after entering the mountain. The dragonfly would then lead the way.

  Hurrying into Cuiwei Mountain, Su Qiuchi followed Jiu Jue′s instructions. He opened the porcein bottle and sprinkled the water onto the bamboo dragonfly. In the blink of an eye, the dragonfly seemed to come to life, fluttering its wings and flying toward the depths of the forest.

  In Jiu Jue's bamboo house, someone had arrived earlier than Su Qiuchi and was drinking and chatting merrily with Jiu Jue.

  "You... you... you..." Su Qiuchi rushed in furiously, pointing at Li Huai with one hand and grabbing the wine bottle on the table with the other. He shook it vigorously, then stomped his foot and said, "You actually drank all the wine! While I was absent!"

  His frantic appearance startled the bamboo dragonfly, causing it to dart out of the window and almost crash into the frame. Li Huai, on the other hand, remained calm and leisurely raised his cup, purposely smiling a little: "Su Gongzi has never been an important person, so it's no big deal that you were absent."

  Su Qiuchi pretended to go and hit him, but Jiu Jue stopped him with a smile, saying, "My humble abode may not have much, but we certainly have plenty of wine. Su Gongzi, please rest assured." Upon hearing this, Su Qiuchi's expression instantly brightened, and with a cheerful smile, he said to Jiu Jue, "Good god, then hurry up and bring out plenty!"

  Li Huai, with his refined manners, wiped the corner of his mouth and put down his cup, saying, "In your past life, you must have drowned in a wine barrel. The wine here is being wasted by someone like you, a mountain pig of a man!"

  "Li, don't think just because you're handsome, you won't get a beating!" Su Qiuchi, furious at being mocked like this, charged at Li Huai, throwing a punch toward his face. But Li Huai, swift as a divine beast, dodged the punch and, in that instant, grabbed Su Qiuchi's wrist. With a twist, Su Qiuchi let out a howl like a mountain pig, and without much effort, he was thrown onto Li Huai, both of them tumbling and rolling on the ground, fists flying, feet kicking. Their fine clothes were stained with dirt, making them look utterly ridiculous.

  Jiu Jue, instead of intervening, backed away, holding his wine jug, pointing at the two and ughing, "Truly a pair of nemeses! My little house hasn't been this lively in many years."

  The two of them, after rolling around and fighting without anyone stepping in to stop them, grew bored and, cursing, climbed back to their feet. Su Qiuchi, with one bckened eye and a shoe print on his handsome face, covered his bruised mouth and shouted angrily, "You damn monkey! Haven't you heard that you shouldn't hit a man in the face?! How am I supposed to show my face at the Wan Hua Pavilion now?"

  "You really are a pig transformed into a human! You even used your teeth! I'll sughter you and turn you into cured meat one of these days." Li Huai, sniffling from the redness of his nose caused by Su Qiuchi's punch, raised his right arm, which had a clear row of bite marks on it, and cursed in frustration.

  "Hahaha!" Jiu Jue ughed so hard he colpsed into a recliner, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. It wasn't until he noticed the synchronized angry gres from both Su Qiuchi and Li Huai, as if they had an unspoken agreement to direct their fury at him, that he finally stopped ughing, cleared his throat, and said, "Well, as the saying goes, 'No fight, no acquaintance.' And another saying, 'Enemies in this life, spouses in the next. Spouses in the past life, enemies in this one.' It looks like you two have some kind of fate together."

  "Spouses?!" Su Qiuchi and Li Huai exchanged a gnce and simultaneously spat at each other, "Peh!"

  "I have no interest in cutting sleeves."

  "I have no interest in men."

  Jiu Jue smiled slyly as he watched the pair of unwilling enemies, "Very in sync."

  "Hey, I didn′t come here to listen to you spout nonsense." Su Qiuchi, growing impatient, grabbed Jiu Jue by the colr and said, "Hurry up and bring out ten or eight jars of good wine! Or else, even if you're a god, I won't take it, and I'll burn down your little shack, hmph!"