Chapter 91: Hunting Tigers On The Mountain Tonight
Soon, the shopkeeper served a table full of delicious dishes. The only strange thing was that each person was only poured one bowl of wine.
The brothers looked at each other, then looked at me.
“Brother Xin, are you saying this tavern is so stingy? Only one bowl of wine per person? How can that be enough to drink?”
Xiba asked me with some confusion.
Hearing this, I also frowned. Who wouldn’t agree?
I mean, isn’t this looking down on people a bit too much? Not to mention whether Big Brother can drink, but since I’m treating today, shouldn’t the brothers all have a good drink?
One bowl of wine per person, if we clink glasses, I won’t have even boasted a few bragging words before it’s gone, right?
Thinking of this, I quickly called the waiter over.
“Waiter.”
“Coming right up!”
After the waiter responded, I asked him with confusion;
“Brother, is your wine a limited edition? Why only serve so little?”
Hearing my question, the waiter smiled as if accustomed to it,
“Esteemed guest, please allow me to explain. This bar is called Drunken Immortal’s Slumber. Our boss attained the Dao after drinking and brewed it with immortal herbs. While its effect can help cultivators better comprehend the patterns of spiritual energy, it also has a side effect: after drinking too much, one will forget oneself. If one drinks more than three bowls, even an immortal will fall into a drunken slumber here. Therefore, this establishment has an unwritten rule: you can eat as much of the food as you want, but you can only add wine one bowl at a time, and you absolutely cannot exceed three bowls. That’s why there’s a sign out front saying ‘Three Bowls and You Can’t Cross the Ridge’.”
Hearing the waiter say this, I understood, but why mention “can’t cross the ridge”?
“Waiter, I understand the three bowls part, but what does ‘can’t cross the ridge’ mean?”
I continued to ask the waiter with confusion.
“Well, do you see the very high ridge next to our tavern?”
“I see it, what’s wrong?”
“Do you know what’s on it?” the waiter retorted.
“What is there?”
“Hahaha, Sir, it’s clear you’re from out of town, so it’s no surprise you don’t know. This ridge next to us is inhabited by a tiger immortal. Its True Self is a tiger that attained sentience. This tiger cultivated very well after attaining sentience, but one thing is, before it attained the Dao, it was a carnivorous species. Even after attaining immortality, it has refined many of its bad habits, except for its diet, which it has retained. So, anyone who passes by this ridge is nine out of ten times likely to fall victim to its gaping maw. It’s hard to live peacefully even when sober and passing by, let alone after drinking alcohol, ahem, then it’s absolutely certain death.”
After the waiter finished speaking.
At this moment, the tavern’s shopkeeper also walked out with a kind expression.
Seeing the waiter explaining about the ridge to me, and also seeing the Buddha’s Light faintly emanating from me.
The shopkeeper spoke; “Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I am the shopkeeper of this tavern, my surname is Hu, and my Daoist name is Ren Chang. Please allow me to clear up your doubts.”
Thinking about it, although I like to brag a little, I am generally quite benevolent. Seeing that the shopkeeper himself came out to explain, I became even more curious, so I didn’t object.
“Hahaha, please do tell.”
The shopkeeper waved his hand, first asking the waiter to step aside.
Then he smiled and explained to me; “Please don’t blame me, this matter is actually my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
The shopkeeper steadied himself, organized his thoughts,
“Originally, I was just a shopkeeper of an ordinary tavern in the mortal world, and that tiger immortal was just an ordinary fierce tiger. However, one day, a strong man came to the tavern I ran in the mortal world. At that time, he also didn’t believe that the wine I brewed couldn’t be drunk in large quantities. Seeing that the strong man was furious, I didn’t stop him. This person drank eighteen bowls of wine. Strangely, although the strong man was drunk, he didn’t collapse like others. Instead, that night, he went up the ridge and killed the tiger on the mountain. Alas…”
Thus, the tiger harbored resentment and directed its anger towards me. Its soul did not enter the Underworld, and it was determined to seek revenge. It came to disturb my dreams every night. I became fearful and earnestly sought liberation, so I cultivated immortality, ascended to the Heavenly Realm, and reopened this tavern.
Who knew that the tiger, unwilling, chased me to the Heavenly Realm and stationed itself on a nearby ridge, solely to seek revenge on me.
I once wanted to reconcile with it, but it refused and made a harsh threat: if anyone dared to drink more than three bowls here, they would be devoured by it upon reaching the ridge.
So, alas… Sir, please don’t be offended. It’s not that I’m stingy and unwilling to serve you wine.
Hearing this, I deeply understood the shopkeeper’s helplessness. Just as I was thinking about how to help the shopkeeper resolve this grievance.
The brothers all spoke up;
Lesser Bodhisattva said; “Brother Xin, what the heck, this tiger is quite unreasonable, isn’t it? I mean, the boss didn’t kill it, so why is it blaming the boss?”
“Exactly, Brother Xin, that’s not right. It has nothing to do with the boss in the first place; it was that strong man’s doing. Why would it blame the boss?” Xionshan also said.
The others said pretty much the same thing.
My thoughts were divided, then I calmed down and thought carefully, and said;
“Alas… it’s understandable. In this world, whether it’s in heaven or on earth, or in the mortal world, whether it’s humans or other living beings, they all have a trait of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. In other words, if you are weak, they will bully you; if you are strong, they will fear you.
That strong man was able to kill it in a fit of rage, so even in death, it would fear that strong man. As for the shopkeeper, he was just doing business. Business people dislike trouble and try to minimize or resolve conflicts to avoid causing themselves problems. After all, running a business is for seeking wealth and for a living, not for fighting. Therefore, this tiger fears the hard and bullies the soft, transferring all its resentment to the shopkeeper.”
After hearing what I said, the shopkeeper shook his head helplessly, and the others fell silent.
However, before long, Lesser Bodhisattva, who was the first to understand this matter, slammed the table and said to me;
“Damn it, this tiger spirit is going too far! Brother Xin, how about we brothers go up the mountain tonight and beat up the tiger?”
Hearing this, I smiled and said nothing.
After the shopkeeper left, the seven of us drank and discussed going to deal with the tiger spirit tonight.
Who knew, damn it, this Drunken Immortal’s Slumber truly lived up to its name. Not to mention “three bowls and you can’t cross the ridge,” that’s just bragging.
After drinking the eighth bowl, several of them became drunk. I instructed the waiter to take my brothers to the guest rooms, and I personally carried Mingyue to send her. After putting Mingyue down, I also set up the strongest barrier I knew.
Outsiders would instantly fall into a coma if they touched it, but only Mingyue could enter and exit freely.
This is not because I, Big Brother, am overthinking. As the saying goes, one should not have the intention to harm others, but one must guard against others. Mingyue is, after all, a girl, and she is outstanding in appearance.
Not to mention whether these brothers would turn into livestock after drinking, even the shopkeeper and the waiter, I had to be wary of them.
It’s best if nothing happens, and if something does, I’m not afraid. At least in my heart, Big Brother is at ease about this girl.
