Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

October 18th, an auspicious day.

In early winter, when the cool breeze blew on one's face, several servants were walking around the city early in the morning, beating gongs and drums, shouting loudly, "Looking for immortals in the land of wine and making friends over wine." Someone stopped them and asked what was going on. The servants said that they were meeting friends over wine at Yunlai Inn on Zhoujiang Road in the west of the city. Whoever could drink three gourds of wine in a row without falling would be rewarded with fifty taels of silver.

Fifty taels of silver were enough for an ordinary family in the city to spend for one or two years, and a poor family could probably sustain it for four to five years if they lived frugally. It was really a generous sum of money, and all the passers-by and common people came to Yunlai Inn in a short time.

At the Yunlai Inn in the west of the city, lights and red silks were flying everywhere. At the door of the inn facing the street, there was a large square table with many wine gourds on it in the shape of a pagoda. In front of the pagoda, three exquisite wine gourds were lined up in a long snake, and at the end was a large silver ingot, which sparkled brightly in the sun and attracted everyone's attention. It was fifty taels of snowflake-patterned silver.

Next to the Eight Immortals Table stood a large wooden sign, with four large characters "Seeking Immortals in the Country of Wine" written in the middle, and a smaller horizontal text below: Yunlai Inn now has the fine wine "Drunken Immortals", which is both fragrant and strong, and unparalleled in the world! This wine costs 200 coins per gourd, and each gourd is half a pound. It is known as "Three gourds will keep you from leaving the city". Anyone who can drink three gourds of wine in half an hour and still stand upright, and can leave the city by himself without relying on outsiders or internal strength, will be rewarded with 50 taels of silver! From then on, you will enjoy a 30% discount on food and accommodation at this inn for life!

This wine country search for immortals and making friends with wine will last for a month!!!

Inside the inn, Chief Constable Chen Nian came with a group of constables and runners to show their support. Industry Director Lao Yu also came with his family and his familiar colleagues and old friends to taste the wine. Qiao Rui did not join them, but stood at the door with Tian Jing, waiting for people to come and challenge him.

The sun gradually rose, and more and more people gathered to watch. After seeing the description of the event, they began to talk about it. On the one hand, they were jealous of the fifty taels of silver reward and the 30% discount on consumption, but on the other hand, they were reluctant to spend the six hundred coins on the wine.

At noon, someone finally came forward. He was a pale, thin young man who looked as if he had been drained by alcohol and sex.

"Hey, isn't this Wang Xiaoqi from the north city?"

"It's him. This guy used to drink and feast every day, and soon squandered all the wealth left by his dead father. Now it seems that he is determined to get the fifty taels of silver!"

"That's hard to say. Just because you like to drink doesn't mean you can drink. There are many people who have a strong addiction to alcohol but a low tolerance for alcohol!"

Amid the people pointing and whispering, Wang Xiaoqi walked to the table and asked, "If I can finish drinking three gourds of wine and walk out of the city gate alone, I will win?"

"You are not allowed to use internal force. Those who have internal force need to seal it themselves before challenging!" Tian Jing explained.

Nodding, Wang Xiaoqi asked again: "Which city gate do we have to leave from to win?"

Tian Jing smiled slightly and patiently explained, "The West City Gate is the closest to here, only a thousand steps away. If you walk out of the West City Gate, even if you win, you will not only get fifty taels of silver, but also a lifetime 30% discount on food and lodging at my inn!"

"Okay!" The thin young man Wang Xiaoqi took out a jade pendant and placed it on the table, saying, "The value of the jade pendant is no less than three taels of silver. I'll use it as payment for the wine first. When I win, I'll deduct it from the fifty taels!"

Tian Jing picked up the jade pendant, took a look at it, and nodded in agreement. It was a good piece of jade. In fact, even if the jade was not worth the money for the wine, she would pretend not to see it, so that Wang Xiaoqi could try to make a start. At this kind of event, it would be like paying for a favor.

A waiter came forward and picked up the first wine gourd in front, opened the seal, and a burst of wine aroma filled the air.

Smelling the aroma of the wine, Wang Xiaoqi's eyes lit up. He took the wine gourd and took a sip impatiently.

After taking a sip of the wine, Wang Xiaoqi blinked his lips and closed his eyes, looking intoxicated and enjoying it. After a while, his face suddenly changed and his eyes widened. It was the alcohol that was taking effect. He clenched his teeth and veins on his forehead were visible. After a while, he slowly exhaled the alcohol and said, "So strong, so mellow, good wine!"

After licking his lips, Wang Xiaoqi picked up the wine gourd again. This time he drank slowly, savoring the wine carefully. He no longer dared to drink it in big gulps. It took him a full stick of incense to finish the wine in the first gourd.

The waiter came over and handed him a second wine gourd. Wang Xiaoqi continued to drink slowly and steadily, and his pale face gradually became red.

"Stop taking so long. I'm here to meet this Sanhu who won't leave the city!" A muffled voice was heard, and a big man walked out from the crowd. This man was wearing a short-sleeved linen shirt, and was tall and strong, with a dark complexion. He smelled the aroma of wine and swallowed his saliva greedily. Seeing that Wang Xiaoqi was hesitant in drinking, he came out impatiently.

"It's Zhang the Butcher from the south of the city. I heard he's also a heavy drinker!"

"Yes, yes, I know him. He's in our neighborhood, and he's unrivaled when it comes to drinking!"

"Well, I've seen him drinking too. At the wedding banquet when Old Man Liu married the young widow, this guy drank more than two kilograms of Shaodaozi by himself. He's really a tough guy in the wine country!"

Butcher Zhang took out six strings of 100-wen copper coins and threw them on the eight-immortals table. Without waiting for the waiter to come over, he walked forward and picked up a gourd of "Drunken Immortal Wine", opened the seal and drank it all in one gulp.

Butcher Zhang drank the whole gourd of wine in one breath. Then he stopped, burped with satisfaction, and grinned, "It's damn delicious!" Then he picked up another wine gourd. Just as he was about to open the seal, the alcohol started to take effect. He quickly stopped what he was doing, trying to suppress the effect. However, because he drank too quickly, the alcohol came in waves, rushing straight to his forehead.

Soon, Butcher Zhang's face turned the color of liver, his eyes began to blurt out two words, "It's powerful enough..."

Then with a loud bang, Butcher Zhang fell to the ground drunk, the wine gourd in his hand broke to the ground, and the fragrance filled the air!

"Reckless...reckless man!" Wang Xiaoqi glanced at Butcher Zhang who was being carried to the inn to rest by the waiters and laughed. However, his tongue was a little stiff. He had just finished the second gourd of wine and his face was flushed.

A waiter came to give him the third gourd of wine, but Wang Xiaoqi stretched out his hand to stop him and said incoherently: "Let's drink tomorrow... I'll give you the jade pendant... and open a room for me..." After that, he ignored the waiter and staggered into the inn.

Wang Xiaoqi's behavior confused the guy who was pouring the wine, and he stood there holding the wine gourd, at a loss as to what to do.

Tian Jing smiled and said to him, "He has given up. Help him inside to rest. Leave the gourd of wine for him to drink slowly tomorrow."

The waiter quickly put down his wine gourd and went to help Wang Xiaoqi. However, when Wang Xiaoqi reached the door of the inn, his feet went soft and he tripped over the threshold. When he fell to the ground, he was snoring loudly.

"Hahaha!" The crowd burst into laughter.

Some people also discussed, "Is this wine really that powerful? Not to mention leaving the city, you can't even finish drinking it?"

"This wine is not only strong, but also smells really good. How can you drink such a fine wine like this? You need to savor it slowly. Just two or three ounces per meal will make you enjoy it without hurting your body!"

"I just don't know if they will deliver the food to customers. If the supply is insufficient and they can only sell to the guests staying in the hotel, wouldn't that be a huge loss for the people of our wine country..."

Tian Jing listened to everyone's miscellaneous discussions, exchanged a glance with Qiao Rui, and smiled sweetly. It seemed that this activity was quite effective. The reputation of "Zuixianniang" had spread, and the popularity of the inn would also be improved. In the future, as long as no one was secretly making trouble for it, it would be hard not to be popular with this location and this fine wine. At this moment, there were already several groups of guests staying here.

Previously, Yunlai Inn was deserted and only had beggars coming to the door, but the Lotus Inn not far away was full of guests. Everyone knew how to choose, and people tend to follow the crowd. At this time, the door of Yunlai Inn was very lively, and Chennian and his gang were also in the hall to support it. Naturally, people who needed to stay would come to take a look. With good service and fine wines, it was not difficult to retain guests.