Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 754: Romance and Drunken Immortal in the Red Dust

Within that otherworldly paradise in the Red Dust Pavilion, chatting, laughter, and music drifted about as the young men and women interacted, and emotions began to build.

Xu Qing’s keen senses told him that, as emotions grew stronger, there were spell formations at work. Those formations were similar to the spirit convergence formations from his early days. They were designed to gather the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures.[1]

Xu Qing looked thoughtfully at the alcohol in the cup in front of him. It was a deep amber color, and had a very unique fragrance. From the sip he had taken earlier, he could tell this alcohol was extraordinary.

“That’s a specialty of our Red Dust Pavilion,” the young woman seated next to him said. “Mortals can’t drink it. Even one drink will kill them. Its name is Drunken Immortal, and though it has some amazing ingredients, people under Void Returning will have trouble digesting them. In fact, to them, it could well be considered a poison.

“That said, it won’t hurt you. It’s actually considered very precious. As you know, the process of cultivation transforms our fleshly bodies into something incredible, and sometimes, that makes it hard to get drunk. Drunken Immortal is the only alcohol that can really get you feeling drunk. And that makes it easier to release your emotions.

“The spell formations here in the Red Dust Pavilion are designed with cultivation purposes in mind.” [2]

Xu Qing looked around and tried to wrap his mind around what she was saying. To him, poison was something for killing people. It seemed strange that people would use it to get drunk. It was something that didn’t occur either in South Phoenix or Sea-Sealing County.

Maybe that’s just how things work in the imperial capital.

Xu Qing didn’t really approve, but wasn’t inclined to voice his opinion. He had already sensed that the spell formations here were collecting emotions, and he could also sense that the women of the Red Dust Pavilion were absorbing the power of those emotions.

It really wasn’t a suitable environment for Xu Qing. Looking around, he saw Meng Yunbai drinking and having fun. Huang Kun was off to the side, his eyebrows dancing up and down as he whispered something to the girl next to him.

Xu Qing didn’t feel like he fit in here. Not wanting to waste his time, he prepared to leave when, all of a sudden, dazzling light appeared. A bright red teleportation portal appeared over the surface of the immortal hotspring, out of which emerged two figures. Both were women. The one in the lead position was someone Xu Qing recognized. It was the ‘granny’ who had led the way here.

The second person caused the entire otherworldly paradise to go dim and colorless because of her mere presence. All eyes locked onto her. The junior emperor from the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect looked at her with eyes that burned with passion. She was why he had come. The cotton veil on her face revealed only her eyes, which glistened like a pond in spring. She wore a gauzy pink garment with a silk sleeveless coat of red and green, embroidered with a phoenix. The garment perfectly accentuated her slender waist and graceful wrists.

Her figure was hinted at by the fabric of the garment, making her incredibly alluring. She carried an ancient pipa with her, and her hair was bound atop her head and secured in place with a peony. [3]

She was a spectacular beauty, the type that could make all flowers look colorless, and could liven all living beings. She walked gracefully onto the shore next to the immortal hotspring, and approached the gathering. After giving a curtsying bow, she sat on a small jade pillar and started playing music with her delicate fingers.

The song started out graceful and tinged with regret, as if it were telling a story that would never end.... As it continued, the rhythm picked up, like a butterfly dancing gracefully in the wind, or the gurgle of spring waters running down a mountain. It was as if the young woman were thinking about beautiful times spent with her paramour. Everyone was moved by the beauty of it.

But then the song changed, and became about departures and the sorrow of parting. Apparently, the paramour was going off to war. He had no choice but to leave, and left behind nothing but memories. The tone of the music changed to that of sorrow, as if the song was telling the paramour... “Wherever you go, your aura remains. When you’re here, the music plays. When you leave, the music becomes you.”

Everyone was even more deeply moved.

Gradually, the pipa music changed again. This time, it became lively and heroic. Even aggressive. It also caused drifting snowflakes to appear. The roof in the otherworldly paradise became pitch-black, and then glittering stars appeared, which swirled together to become a gravestone.

Emotions stirred in the audience as they realized that the woman had learned her paramour died in battle. The music was angry, and it contained a helpless hatred of the world.

It was just like the poem:

For ten thousand miles, no one is around to collect the bones. All houses in the city call the souls to be buried.

The husband died in battle while the son is unborn; the wife still lives, but is like a candle in the day.[4]

The immortal hotspring and the otherworldly paradise were completely silent. Some people were thinking about the Nightshades. Some thought of humankind. Others thought of their clans’ patriarchs.

In the end, the music stopped, and the last note lingered until it transformed into the same note which had begun the song. It was as if the song had traveled through time, returning to the past to once again sigh as life began again....

“Amazing!” the junior emperor said, standing, his eyes glittering. Everyone else joined him, rising to their feet and offering words of praise.

Even Xu Qing was moved. He had listened to music before, but never anything like this. It was like listening to a complete story that completely drew him in.

The young woman bowed her head, then picked up the glass of alcohol in front of her, lifted it to the crowd, and then took a drink.

That action caused her veil to shift to the side, revealing her face. Her skin was as fair as jade and as beautiful as a flower, and the fair skin of her wrist as she lifted the drinking vessel was equally as enticing. Her lips were as red as cinnabar, and as she put the drinking vessel back down, she smiled alluringly.

Everyone watching her struggled to remain calm.

Seeing all the emotions at play, the ‘granny’ smiled. “Young sirs, this beautiful immortal is Miss Ling Yao. Normally speaking, Miss Ling Yao doesn’t make public appearances, but upon finding there was a special guest today, I issued her an invitation which she accepted. Young sirs, I’m sure all of you know the rules by which Miss Ling Yao operates.”

Hearing that, Junior Emperor Peng nodded. “Of course we know. Miss Ling Yao will sit next to whoever she fancies. No one can force her to sit where she doesn’t wish.”

As the words left his mouth, he cast a meaningful look in Ling Yao’s direction. He had come here this day for her, and it wasn’t his first time showing interest. What was more, based on the information he had access to, she was also interested in him.

Most importantly, the female cultivators in the Red Dust Pavilion all cultivated the dao of suppressed emotions. Of course, before you could suppress emotions, you had to release them. And a release of emotions couldn’t just happen randomly. As it related to their first time practicing dual cultivation, men could be very useful to these women. And the higher the level of cultivation base involved, the more incredibly shocking that usefulness became.

By borrowing power from Ling Yao, I can have a much better chance of stepping from the great circle of Spirit Trove and into Void Returning. In fact, my chances will improve exponentially.

As Junior Emperor Peng thought such things, Ling Yao picked up the pipa. Her dark eyes glittered, and her charm overflowed, capturing the soul. She scanned the crowd, and then focused on Xu Qing. Smiling, she walked over and, as everyone looked on, sat down next to him.

Xu Qing went stiff from head to toe. At the same, he put his guard up. He didn’t recognize this woman, and given that they had never met before, there was clearly meaning behind her action of sitting next to him. Frowning, he turned to look at her.

Ling Yao’s eyes gleamed as she looked back at him and quietly said, “What are you looking at me like that for, young sir?”

Her gentle voice caused Meng Yunbai’s heart to pound. As for Junior Emperor Peng, he looked away expressionlessly, took a drink, then put the cup down and closed his eyes. Everyone else present had different expressions on their faces as they looked at Xu Qing, then the junior emperor. They exchanged meaningful glances.

Shortly after, the young man sitting next to the junior emperor looked at Xu Qing and laughed heartily. “Brother Xu, you’re really a dragon amongst men. It’s your first time here, yet Miss Ling Yao has taken a liking to you already. I have to offer my congratulations, Brother Xu. In fact, let me offer you a toast. Going forward, we should keep in touch regularly!”

He lifted his drinking vessel politely and took a drink.

Both his wording and his demeanor were very courteous, so Xu Qing didn’t have any good reason to refuse the toast. Raising his drinking vessel, he also took a drink. The moment he did, another of the guests raised his cup.

“Brother Xu, you’re a man of striking appearance and talent. You’re also the acting governor from one of the border regions. I’ve heard a lot about you over the years, and now that I can see you in person, I’m even more impressed. Allow me to toast you three times in a row.”

The young man drank to Xu Qing three times in a row. Xu Qing realized what was going on. Before long, everyone else was toasting him, all of them speaking very courteously and keeping their expressions warm and welcoming. It was obvious what their goal was, and there wasn’t much that could be done to stop them. At a certain point, Meng Yunbai seemed about ready to stand up and intervene, but Xu Qing prevented him. [5]

This ‘poisoned’ alcohol might get other people drunk, but not Xu Qing. As long as something had ‘poison’ in it, he didn’t need to worry about it at all. Therefore, he didn’t refuse any of the toasts, and instead drank glass after glass. After all of the drinks were done, a lot of the other guests were swaying back and forth, while Xu Qing looked the same as ever. Everyone was now looking at him curiously.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing had taken care to memorize the names and faces of everyone present. Then he smiled.

“I’m very happy to have met all of you amazing heroes today,” he said. “You’re the pillars of humankind, and are geniuses all of you. People like us are responsible for continuing the glory of all humanity. Given that, why don’t we start drinking one jug at a time?”

He looked at the ‘granny.’

The ‘granny’ was clearly surprised, but she immediately called a handmaiden over and told her to bring in enough jugs of alcohol for everyone.

The other guests hesitated. None of them would dare to drink too much of this alcohol. Sometimes, alcohol itself could be considered a weapon.

Remaining calm inside, Xu Qing smiled in the way his Eldest Brother had taught him to.

“Please, drink!”

A lot of the other guests were hesitating. Finally, the junior emperor opened his eyes, looked at Xu Qing, and then got to his feet.

“I’m tired. Let’s get together again another time.”

Everyone else stood as well. Seeing that, Meng Yunbai cast an apologetic glance in Xu Qing’s direction, then frowned and opened his mouth to speak.[6]

Before he could, light glittered above the immortal hotspring as a white-haired old woman stepped out. Her expression was grave, and her eyes serious. Everyone was stunned to see her there. All of the female cultivators stood and bowed to her.

“Big Boss.”

Even the junior emperor and his friends all looked very serious as they bowed to her. That went to show how important she was. She was actually a grand eldress in the Red Dust Emotional Suppression Pavilion, and was in charge of all sect affairs in the city. She nodded at the junior emperor and the others. As far as she was concerned, they were basically children that weren’t worth paying attention to. Her gaze quickly reached Xu Qing, whereupon her expression turned warm.

“You must be Young Sir Xu?”

1. Another callback to very early chapters. Spirit convergence formations were first mentioned in chapter 51. ☜

2. It may or may not be worth noting that “Drunken Immortal” is also the name of a type of alcohol that Bai Xiaochun drank in A Will Eternal. Specifically it was in chapter 1029 and 1032. I don’t think this is supposed to imply that it’s literally the same alcohol. For one thing, the name, though not generic, is not very unique. What’s more, in both that novel and this one, the name only appears a couple times, which makes me disinclined to believe that it’s important to the author. Or who knows, maybe it is the author’s intent to create a connection between the two novels.... It’s also true there was a character named “Red Dust” in AWE. The term ‘red dust’ is a Buddhist term often seen in xianxia that refers to the mortal world. It’s fairly common, so its appearance here doesn’t necessarily indicate any connectoin to AWE, but similar to Drunken Immortal, who knows.... ☜

3. If you want to learn about the traditional Chinese instrument ‘pipa,’ and also hear what it sounds like, here’s a great video. Incidentally, the video has a joke that isn’t explained in the subtitles, which relates to the loquat fruit. In Chinese, loquats are ‘pipa fruits’ presumably because they resemble the general shape of a pipa. Not that it’s relevant to the story, but Madam Deathblade was long obsessed with loquats because they aren’t commonly grown in North China where she is from and where we lived. By chance, my parents happen to have a loquat tree in their backyard, so when she came to visit, she went crazy eating them. To this day, my dad will still give her bags of loquats whenever the tree produces fruit. In fact, he gave us a bag of loquats just a few days ago. Alright, enough random stories.... ☜

4. From what I can tell, the lines of poetry here are from Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji. I couldn’t find any translation of the poem itself, so consider yourselves the first in the English-speaking world to be able to read this ancient Chinese poem. Although, who knows, maybe it does exist in translated form in some printed book somewhere. I wasn't able to easily find it online. ☜

5. This scenario is not unusual when dealing with Chinese men in drinking situations. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but suffice it to say, when someone offers a toast to you in China, you are (for the most part) obligated (in terms of face) to drink with them. This is emphasized when Xu Qing can’t come up with a good reason to refuse. The toaster is usually the one to determine how much is drunk (whether a sip or the entire cup). So what can happen in banquet situations is that a large group of people can initiate a mass-toasting of one person to get them drunk. This happened to me once at a company dinner in China. I was the head teacher, and all the Chinese co-teachers (who were all young women by the way, and I’ll get to what that could entail in a second), suddenly initiated a mass-toasting on me. There were something like twelve of them, so that involved me basically doing twelve shots of hard liquor all in the space of about 4-5 minutes. Like I said, it’s possible to get out of those situations if you have serious health problems or there is some other situation that makes a good excuse. But for the most part, a healthy able-bodied man shouldn’t refuse toasts lest he embarrass himself. Suffice it to say, I got pretty dang drunk that night. Considering it was a bunch of 20’s-something young women trying to get me to drink, it obviously was an unusual situation, and I imagine if I had been thinking on my feet, I could have extricated myself from the situation. But I wanted to prove my drinking prowess, of which I already had something of a reputation at the time. The fact that I was a foreigner also played into it, as foreigners are often exempted from the common social customs, or at least, not expected to behave in the most proper way. Would the girls have tried that trick on their Chinese male boss? I’m not sure. Would a male Chinese boss have humored them? Questionable. Was it cool for me to do that, or was it actually embarrassing? Good question! And at this point it’s time to stop rambling on this subject.... ☜

6. On the one hand, it’s somewhat rude for the junior emperor to get everyone to leave after Xu Qing has invited them to drink. On the other hand, you could look at it a different way: the junior emperor and his friends were obviously trying to embarrass Xu Qing by getting him drunk. Their plan backfired when it didn’t work. But worse, he then turned the tables and put them in the position to get completely smashed if they keep drinking. So in some respects, the junior emperor is probably making a smart decision to just end things before they turn really crazy. As the host, he has that prerogative. ☜