Chapter 580: To Each Their Wish
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"There are so many of us here, but there's actually someone who's interested to hear what we are talking about…"
The skeletal person chuckled, wiping the blood stain from the corner of his mouth, and slowly picked himself up. He retrieved a ladle of water and rinsed his mouth carefully before walking back to sit down. He chuckled softly and said, "Of course it's me, and only me."
"You don't normally show yourself, do you?" Ling Xiaozui asked, "Why have you appeared before us without a disguise this time? There must be a reason!"
The skeletal person laughed humorlessly and replied, "Whether there's a reason or due to the unpredictability of things, it's still a long story. However, since I've appeared before you and Dugu Chou, I naturally wish to ask the two of you for help."
"May I ask what help could you possibly be asking for?" Dugu Chou's expression turned serious.
The favor could not be something simple, for this person to step out and look to Dugu Chou and Ling Xiaozui for help, both Unrivaled Experts whom the world acknowledged, at the same time.
"What I want to ask of the both of is not urgent. There's still room to consider."
The skeletal person said, "What's pressing now is to ask Feng Xiange for a favor. Initially, I wanted to find Cheng Jishi; unfortunately, I couldn't even locate him but luckily Feng Xiange can be of help too."
"What do you mean I can be of help too? You must have wanted to find Cheng Jishi for his prescription. If I were to be the one prescribing you the medicine, would you dare take it?" Feng Xiange chortled.
Feng Xiange was the God of Wine, not the God of Medicine; the consumer had to consider everything before relying on a brewer to prescribe medication! While Feng Xiange was also a physician, he was the "Phantom Physician God of Wine", he was not the bona fide "God of Medicine".
The skeletal person answered, "Of course it's for the prescription of medicine if it were Cheng Jishi. However, what I said about you being of help, Feng Xiange is because I only need you to brew wine for me."
His expression turned serious as he continued, "I remember clearly that there was a myth back in the day that claimed you were studying the Eternal Evanesce Wine?"
"Why in the world would you want to drink that wine?" Feng Xiange's expression changed as he uttered the words slowly.
The skeletal person sighed and answered, "I was befouled by spirit poison, I have to risk it."
"Spirit poison!"
The trio was stunned once more, no longer as calm as they were before. More than ninety-nine percent of the people in this world would not have heard of these two words, but the quartet here was an exception. Not only had they heard of it, they knew and understood fully, how terrifying that thing was!
This person in front of them who had been tainted by spirit poison could still sit here, alive and functioning. It was a miracle. Of course, the combination of this person's identity, capability, and background rendered the danger of common poisons ineffective. It had to be a very precise dose for him to be contaminated by the spirit poison, a precise match!
"Otherwise, why did you think I would look like this now…" The skeletal person sighed, "I was very handsome and elegant back then too, I didn't look too different from the young boy there... Even if there was a difference, it wasn't significant…"
"Unfortunately, the spirit poison's attributes are mystical. There really isn't a remedy for it. Even if there were to be the Eternal Evanesce Wine, it can only allow you to die with the spirit poison. It can't actually heal you; what's the use of it then?"
Feng Xiange said, "What's more, the wine is incredibly damaging to the nature of the very earth itself… After the poisoned one dies, the corpse hardens; weapons can't pierce through it nor can water or flame damage it; it's basically indestructible. Even if the body is placed high in the mountains and the heaven and earth's spiritual Qi is used to cleanse the malefic emanations, it can only be maintained for, at most, ten years! After ten years, the mountains themselves will die! The Qi will not be able to recover within hundreds of thousands of years! Within this duration of time, anyone who passes through this mountain would suffer from different degrees of toxicity!"
"This will go on until the mountain turns into a miasma of foulness!"
"Would you ingest such a wine?"
"The Eternal Evanesce Wine shouldn't even exist among the world's wines." Feng Xiange said, "While I know the brewing method, I dare not try it. If I were the only one brewing it, I may have already died from the poison before the wine is brewed!"
The skeletal person said, "You know who I am. Naturally, you know that what I am saying is real and they will come true."
"As long as you're willing to help, I have my ways to let you brew this wine successfully," said the man.
"What if I don't wish to help?" Feng Xiange's gaze was cold as he asked icily.
The skeletal man smiled. "You don't have to put up a front for me. You will certainly help me. If you won't, I wouldn't have come for you."
Feng Xiange's cold façade vanished instantly as he moaned, "One can't be acquainted with a monster like you! Why did I have to come to Tiantang City? Why couldn't I hold my heart still?"
Dugu Chou was wearing a curious gaze as he asked, "Since you know everything, how can you be poisoned? Was it an unavoidable destiny for you?"
"You could call it a practical joke of destiny. Unavoidable. Didn't you know back then that your wife wouldn't be able to stay with you forever as well? Why did you let yourself fall into it?" The skeletal person chuckled.
There was a flash of anger on Dugu Chou's face.
Luckily, the skeletal person continued, "Dugu, this is the predestined fate of our lives! No one can avoid predestined doom, it's the same for you and me!"
"You can't hide from it, can't toss it away, can't leave it, can't live, can't die, can't cry…" the skeletal man heaved a long sigh.
The other three men sighed at the same time as well. It was only a dozen words but they allowed them to feel a range of emotions, especially when they had gotten to the level they were in. Their feelings were mixed upon hearing such words.
"My part is done, let's talk about yours. Today's gathering is due to the workings of fate anyway; I should give some advice to you all."
The skeletal person looked at Ling Xiaozui and said, "Ling Xiaozui, you have your wish coming on this trip, you have something to do. Yet, it can't be accomplished by you alone."
Ling Xiaozui nodded with a bitter chuckle.
The man then glanced at Dugu Chou.
"Old Dugu, you too. You have come for a wish. You'll need people to help you."
Dugu Chou nodded lightly.
"As for you, Feng Xiange, you didn't really come to find fault with Supreme Cloud." The skeletal person turned to look at Feng Xiange and said, "You have a wish and you'll need help as well."
Feng Xiange looked like he wanted to say something but the words died in his mouth; the old man merely sighed and lowered his head.
"There's no need to sigh. I'm no better than all of you. I've come with my wish too."
The skeletal person chortled and recited like he was singing, "The hardships in life, who can be without a wish?"
There was a twitch in Dugu Chou's facial muscles. He clenched his jaw and took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and emptying his wine.
The two phrases the skeletal person had recited was the beginning lines of a song. This song was called 'Something To Ask For', befitting the issues of everyone there in the inn.
This had been Dugu Chou's wife's favorite song to sing in the past.
Now, when he heard someone singing it again, Dugu Chou felt his heart clench, like waves rippling through a calm sea; for a moment, his emotions ran wild, the heartache indescribable.
"The hardships in life… who can be without a wish…" Dugu Chou chuckled and began to sing, beating the wine bowl with chopsticks.
"Such worldly affairs, who can have no worries…"
"A glimpse of success and failure, a lifetime taken."
"A goblet of bitter wine, there goes the time…"
"Let us sigh at the vicissitudes of life, love will come to an end;"
"A cry of a general, chancellor, king, and marquis,"
"A flick of soil it is."
"A call of a brother,"
"When have they become the enemy?"
"Looking at the path in front, when have I lost your hand in mine?"
"Who can be without a wish, who can have no worries?"
"I have something to ask for, I ask for the immortality of my love and the joy of the hero."
"I have a wish, I wish the land to prosper always."
"I have something to ask for, I ask for your company eternally…"
"I have a wish, I wish for love to remain unchanged till we die…"
"You and I, together through every millennium!"