THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER by Jin Yong

Gaining Blood Part 3

"Well, I am a bit afraid of these...Five Jewels." Linghu Chong confessed with a wry smile.

Raising the bowl of wine high, Blue Phoenix drank a big gulp of it. "We Miao people have this custom. When we invite a friend to drink wine and eat meat with us, if the friend refuses to drink or eat, then we don't treat him as a friend no more."

Taking the bowl from Blue Phoenix, Linghu Chong drank the entire bowl of wine in big gulps, swallowing the five venomous pests together with the wine down his throat. Although he had plenty of spunk, he dared not to chew on them.

Blue Phoenix was overjoyed. Embracing Linghu Chong's neck into her arms, she gave two kisses on his left cheek, leaving two red marks on his face from the lipsticks on her lips.

"That's my good brother!" She beamed.

Linghu Chong also let out a smile, and then his heart skipped a beat when he suddenly noticed the stern look on his Master's face from a glance with the corner of his eyes.

"Darn! That was audacious, running wild right in front of my Master and Master-Wife. Undoubtedly Master will give me a good scolding after this, and perhaps little apprentice sister will despise me even more," he muttered to himself.

Blue Phoenix opened another bottle and refilled the bowl with wine, pouring the five venomous pests into the bowl as well. Handing the bowl in front of Yue Buqun, she said with a grin, "Mr. Yue, have some wine! My treat!"

Yue Buqun had already felt sick just from looking at the many venomous pests soaked in the wine. When he smelled the vague, indescribable fishiness covered by the strong scent of blossoms, he was seized with a sudden urge to vomit. Extending his left hand out, he pushed toward Blue Phoenix's hand that was holding the wine bowl, but unexpectedly, Blue Phoenix didn't draw her hands back. Seeing that his finger almost touched the back of her hand, Yue Buqun jerked his hand back.

"How come the Apprentice is even braver than the Master?" Blue Phoenix grinned. "Friends of the Huashan School, which one of you would like to drink up this bowl of wine? It will be of great benefit to you if you drink this."

She held the bowl high with a hand. But there was only complete silence on the entire boat. There was no response.

Blue Phoenix heaved a long sigh. "I guess other than Linghu Chong, the Huashan School has not another true hero."

"I'll drink it!" a man suddenly shouted out. It was Lin Pingzhi, who stepped forward and reached out for the wine bowl.

Blue Phoenix expanded her eyebrows with a smile. "Well, turned out...."

"Little Lin," Yue Buqun suddenly yelled out. "If you eat those dirty things, even if you survive the poison, don't expect me to ever talk to you again."

"Go ahead, drink it up!" Blue Phoenix handed the bowl in front of Lin Pingzhi.

"I...I am not drinking it," Lin Pingzhi replied haltingly. Then hearing the loud laughter from Blue Phoenix, he went scarlet in the face. "It's not...it's not because I am afraid of death that I am not drinking the wine," he mumbled.

"I know! You are only afraid that this pretty girl will stop seeing you. You are not a coward. You are an affectionate lover. Ha-ha! Ha-ha!" Blue Phoenix laughed out loud. Walking next to Linghu Chong, she said, "Big brother, I'll see you around."

She set down the bowl on the table and then waved. Getting the command, the four Miao girls collected the rest six bottles of wine, followed her out of the cabin, and then leapt back onto the small boat. Once again, sweet and intimate singing rose and floated above the water. Following the flow of the tide, the small boat soon gained speed and went further and further. The sounds of the singing also fainted gradually and eventually died away.