A Lotus from the Lips

Susanna refilled Du Chen’s bowl with wine, a colossal vessel made for beastmen. “Thirteenth Master, please, another toast!”

Du Chen glanced at the enormous wine bowl and chuckled, “Grand Princess, my alcohol tolerance is quite good, and while I enjoy a drink, one cup is enough. Let’s not delay our important matters, or I fear I might get a bit too… elevated!”

Susanna smirked inwardly. *Heh, people who say that usually can’t hold their liquor at all. Little handsome, I know your human tolerance can’t compare to us beastmen, which is precisely why I’m here to get you drunk! And then…*

She poured a full bowl for herself. Susanna was utterly confident in her own capacity.

“I’ll drink with you. This bowl is a toast from me, the Grand Princess of the Macallan Empire, to you, Thirteenth Master. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?” Susanna watched Du Chen with a radiant smile.

“Since you put it that way, if I don’t drink, it would be disrespecting the Macallan Empire, wouldn’t it? Then I suppose I’ll grudgingly oblige!” Du Chen drained the bowl in one gulp.

*Oh, wait, that’s not right. The Thirteenth Master’s alcohol tolerance is excellent! Other human Battle Gods would probably be dizzy after chugging such a massive bowl, but he’s completely unaffected?! I must redouble my efforts!*

“Such incredible tolerance, Thirteenth Master! Why did you say your tolerance was merely ‘good’? It’s absolutely limitless! Come, this second bowl is to toast the success of our collaboration! You’re not afraid of a fragile woman like me, are you?”

This time, Du Chen said nothing, simply draining the bowl in another gulp!

Susanna was stunned for a moment. *Impossible?! The last few High-level Battle Gods who visited the Empire were all dizzy and mocked by us beastmen after just two bowls of ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness.’ How is the Thirteenth Master seemingly fine!?*

*Can it be that we beastmen can’t outdrink a mere human?!*

After downing a bowl, Susanna felt a warmth spread through her stomach. She had already told Du Chen that this wine, named ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness,’ was no ordinary brew. It was crafted from battle qi-infused fermented yeast, condensed and brewed from the pervasive battle qi of the Auerbach Grand Canyon. Ordinary High-level Battle Gods, even if they instantly shielded their stomachs with battle qi, would find the battle qi and alcohol fumes seeping into their bodies, leading to a state of utter intoxication.

However, ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness’ was still just wine; it wasn’t harmful to the body. Susanna wouldn’t poison Du Chen at this moment, nor would she dare use overly obvious dirty tricks against him—because their cooperation was a major prerequisite, and turning hostile was entirely inappropriate!

Bowl after bowl, Du Chen suddenly found himself rather impressed by Susanna’s eloquence. With every toast, she found a perfectly compelling reason that left him no choice but to drink—unless he wished to turn hostile!

When Du Chen drank the twelfth bowl, the third wine jar was already empty.

Susanna herself had only drunk one bowl less than Du Chen, so even with her formidable tolerance, she felt a little light-headed. She fumed inwardly, *Damn it, how can I not get this handsome young man drunk?! Twelve bowls of ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness’ should have knocked out even a colossal mammoth!*

“Th-Thirteenth Master, I… I’ll toast you one more time, for… for the healthy growth of your adorable daughter, that she may blossom into a beautiful young woman!”

Susanna’s slightly trembling hand raised the wine bowl, and she gulped it down.

“Oh dear, I truly can’t drink anymore. Ah, but the Princess is so gracious. Very well, one last bowl!” Du Chen tipped his head back, and the bowl was dry. *Boom!* Susanna felt a surge of heat rush from her abdomen to her forehead, almost knocking her off her seat. But she bit her lip, holding on. *No, tonight I must have this golden-haired handsome man. Dammit, I’m going all out!*

She hoisted an entire jar of ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness’ and smiled, “Thirteenth Master, if… if you say you’re going to get drunk again, little sister here will… will look down on you!” She tapped the wine jar. “We beastmen drink from jars. Come, let’s finish this in one go!”

*Gulp, gulp,* she truly chugged the entire jar of ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness’!

But then, Susanna thought, *I can’t drink anymore. I’ve reached my limit! I hope this jar can get the Thirteenth Master drunk; otherwise, even if he does pass out, I won’t have the strength to ravish him…*

Du Chen smiled faintly. “Since the Princess is so generous, I naturally must keep pace to the very end!” He also truly drained an entire jar of wine, his expression unchanged, leaving Susanna dumbfounded!

“The Princess has toasted me so many times! It truly makes Thirteen feel bad. Fine, Thirteen will risk his life to accompany you. Let’s finish another jar!” Du Chen placed a wine jar in front of Susanna, then *gulp, gulp*, he chugged the jar in front of him!

*It’s over. Is the Thirteenth Master even human?! With this ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness,’ which disregards battle qi, even a human Battle God with good tolerance would pass out after one jar! And him? How many has he had? Even beastmen don’t have this kind of tolerance!*

*Hmph, tonight it’s impossible to actively ensnare this golden-haired handsome man, so I’ll have to resort to my ultimate move! I’ll pass out, then strip naked and lie still. I refuse to believe that a beautiful, drunken woman, stark naked, still can’t sway this Thirteenth Master! Unless… unless he’s impotent!!*

With that thought, Susanna steeled herself, ripped off her gauze-like attire, and chugged down the remaining ‘Mammoth’s Drunkenness.’ Then, *thud,* she collapsed in front of Du Chen.

“Princess, Princess!” Du Chen called out twice, finding Susanna completely passed out. He sneered coldly, cursing inwardly, *That was a close call. I almost lost my virtue tonight!* “Someone! Your Princess is drunk! Quickly, carry her back!” Du Chen shouted!

When the maids entered, they looked astonished as they carried Susanna away. Du Chen cast a disdainful glance at the completely naked vixen! *Hmph, it’s true I’m desperately doing good deeds for women, but not just any woman can capture my fancy! For a common privy like you to think you could move me, you simply aren’t worthy!*

Suddenly, Du Chen literally spat out a small lotus flower from his mouth. With a gentle tilt, streams of exquisite wine flowed from the lotus. He mused playfully, “So, the three fellows on the Qian Trigram also serve as wine barrels, huh? Heh, not bad!”

*Sigh, I wonder when I’ll achieve supreme mastery, then find a beloved woman to roam freely with across the heavens and earth.* Du Chen sighed inwardly. *Taking my most beloved woman, my only woman, and a large brood of children, soaring through the cosmos on a lotus—what a magnificent dream that would be!*

*Forget it, Susanna is already passed out. It’s time for me to get down to business!*

Du Chen poured all the wine from the lotus back into Susanna’s remaining wine jar, then hid the jar on his person. After that, stepping on the shrunken lotus, he flew out of the tent.

During his daytime reconnaissance, Du Chen had already confirmed the location of Johnson, Bibby’s son, based on the information provided by Old Bibby. As the leader of this group of Daobet laborers, Johnson was diligently and eagerly working at a construction site in the southeast. He had a distinctive patch of white hair, making him easy to spot.

The dull thud of digging echoed somberly in the night sky. Johnson was chatting with another compatriot while they dug.

“Brother Johnson, once we finish this project, I’ll have enough money to marry Jenny! You’ll have to ask your father, Elder Bibby, to officiate our wedding!”

Du Chen felt a pang of sorrow. This Daobet man’s fiancée had already been ripped to shreds in the Kuren River…

Johnson heaved a shovelful of dirt, laughing heartily, “Easy as pie! Your dad and my dad, you and I, we’re like brothers! Oh, and you and Jenny better have plenty of kids, my little rascal is waiting for a wife!” He didn’t know that his three-year-old son, Old Bibby’s little grandson, had been torn to pieces by the Black Bear Warriors…

“Haha, let’s speed it up! Once we’re done, we can go home, honor our parents, and marry our wives! I have so many Gold Coins waiting for me to count at home!” the other man laughed loudly.

Johnson nodded. “This time, we truly met good people. May the Supreme Father God Auerbach bless us! We can finally live good lives! Hey! Everyone, put in more effort! They gave us so many Gold Coins, allowing our parents, wives, and children to eat their fill and dress warmly! We must work hard to repay their kindness!”

During the deep night, the Daobet people continued to work diligently, their faces brimming with smiles and anticipation for their future lives.

Yet, their families and fellow tribesmen had already been slaughtered by those they now saw as ‘benefactors’!

Du Chen watched them silently. He couldn’t explain why, but the happier these Daobet people smiled, the more unsettled he felt. Finally, he spotted his chance. Johnson set down his work to find a secluded spot to relieve himself. Du Chen seized the opportunity, struck Johnson unconscious, and used the lotus to transport him to a wilderness far from the ranch.

Awakening Johnson, Du Chen handed him Old Bibby’s token—a clump of blood-stained hair—and then uttered the secret phrase!

Johnson saw his father’s hair and was slightly startled, quickly asking, “Esteemed Battle God, since you know the secret phrase, I fully believe you were sent by my father. But what’s with this hair? Why is it stained with blood?!”

Du Chen had observed Johnson for a long time, knowing him to be a meticulous Daobet man, not a rash brute. So, he said in a low voice, “Not long after you left the village, someone massacred your people. Aside from your father, whom I rescued, the others…”

“What happened to the others?!” Johnson suddenly grabbed Du Chen’s collar.

Du Chen didn’t mind, lowering his head and saying painfully, “I’m afraid they are all dead!”

“All dead? No, that’s impossible, absolutely impossible!” Johnson’s expression instantly changed drastically. He tightened his grip on Du Chen’s collar, pulling at Du Chen, who was much taller than him, his eyes bloodshot with rage. “You’re lying to me, aren’t you?!” But then, his gaze fixed on the clump of hair in his other hand, and he trembled, muttering, “Why, why?! This is my father’s neck hair. Even if you wanted to trick me with my father’s hair, you couldn’t possibly have chosen the neck hair; only my father and I know about this…”

*Thud*, he collapsed to his knees, feeling increasingly terrified as he spoke. “And the secret phrase… Father would die rather than tell the enemy the secret phrase!” He suddenly sprang up, almost demanding, shouting, “Tell me, my seventy-year-old mother, my pregnant wife, my three-year-old son, and my people are not dead! Please tell me! You’re lying to me! I beg you…”

Du Chen remained silent.

“Ah!!!”

A piercing, heart-wrenching scream echoed across the vast grassland.

However, not long after, Johnson wiped away his tears, suddenly knelt before Du Chen, and said with a grim expression, “Esteemed Battle God, have you come to inform us of this unfortunate news? Then please also tell me, who are the murderers?! We will have our revenge!”

To react with such quick wit after such a grave upheaval, Du Chen hadn’t misjudged him; this Johnson was trustworthy and capable of action!

Du Chen patted his shoulder. “I regret to tell you again, I am not merely here to inform you. Though it’s hard to say, I also don’t want to deceive a pitiful man who has lost his mother, wife, and child. I now need you to do something for me, something that is both for me and for your people!”

“Yes, please tell me!”

“First, I need you to return to the ranch smiling, conceal everything, and urge your compatriots to accelerate the project’s progress…”

Johnson listened to Du Chen’s demands with his head bowed. He gritted his teeth. “You mean to say that the ones who killed our loved ones are the Imperial Princess! And she wants to use us to excavate the tomb of the Supreme Father God?!” His eyes instantly turned crimson red; this was the ultimate expression of extreme emotional agitation for Daobet people.

The people of the great grassland were simple and honest, revering their gods, and holding grudges that could not coexist with their enemies. And desecrating the Supreme Father God Auerbach was something they simply could not tolerate!

“I regret that I know you doubt this fact, but facts are facts!”

“No, I believe. The fact that Father entrusted you with his neck hair and the secret phrase proves that you, at least, won’t harm us!” Johnson prostrated himself heavily. “Don’t worry, I will do as you say, but I have one request…”

“Speak!”

“I wish to kill those damned butchers with my own hands!” he shouted furiously!

…

After Johnson adjusted his emotions and returned to the ranch with Du Chen, smiling, the Daobet people’s pace of work accelerated significantly. Du Chen looked at the sky; the moon was still not at its zenith. Susanna was dead drunk, attended by a few male concubines. The other beastmen and grave-robbing experts were also sound asleep. Only a few soldiers patrolled the vast ranch.

Deboning stood guard outside the tent, and Beibei was still snoring loudly, sprawled out. Seeing such a quiet and peaceful scene, Du Chen felt relieved. He then fiercely channeled all his Lotus Internal Force into his artifact, shooting like a bolt of lightning towards the Auerbach Grand Canyon!

Two days later, the Auerbach Battle God Assembly would convene there!