DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS BOOK 3 OF 5 (Breaching The Formation) by Jin Yong

Gray Journey Through The Snow Part 1

Xiao Feng traveled over ten li and saw a small temple by the roadside. He entered the hall, leaned against the wall, and napped for over four hours. His exhaustion gone, he continued heading north. After walking another forty li, he arrived at the northern crossroad, Changtai Pass.

Naturally, the first thing to do was to find a wine shop. He ordered ten catties of white wine, two catties of beef, and a fat chicken. After pouring and drinking ten catties of wine, he ordered another five catties. As he was drinking, he heard the sound of footsteps, and a person walked in. It was precisely A'Zi. Xiao Feng thought, "This little girl is here to ruin my passion for drinking." He turned around and pretended that he hadn't seen her.

A'Zi smiled and sat down at the table opposite him. She called out, "Proprietor, proprietor, bring the wine."

The bartender walked over, smiled, and said, "Little Miss, are you also going to drink wine?"

A'Zi reprimanded, "Miss should just be Miss. Why do you need to add a "little" to it? Why wouldn't I drink wine? Get me ten catties of white wine first. In addition, prepare another five catties to serve later. Get two catties of beef and a fat chicken. Hurry, hurry!"

The bartender stuck out his tongue and didn't withdraw it for a long time. He cried out, "Aiyo, my goodness! Is Miss serious or joking? You're so small. How can you eat this much?" As he said this, he looked sideways at Xiao Feng and thought, "She's directing this at you! Whatever you drink, she'll also drink; whatever you eat, she'll also eat."

A'Zi said, "Who says I'm so small? You don't have eyes, right? Are you afraid that after eating, I won't have money to pay up?" As she said this, she took out a silver ingot from her bosom. With a "dang" sound, she tossed it onto the table and said, "If I can't finish eating or drinking, then wouldn't I feed it to the dogs? What do you need to worry about?"

The bartender smiled and said, "Yes, yes!" He looked sideways at Xiao Feng again and thought, "She's really getting at you now and beating around the bush cursing you."

A while later, the meat and wine were brought up. The bartender carried a large bowl and placed it in front of her. Smiling, he said, "Miss, I'll pour wine for you now."

A'Zi nodded and said, "Okay."

The bartender poured a full bowl of wine for her and thought, "It'd be a wonder if you finish drinking this bowl and don't roll around on the ground intoxicated."

A'Zi held the bowl in her hands, brought it to her lips, and licked a bit. She frowned and said, "So pungent, so pungent. This inferior wine tastes really bad. Were it not for a few big idiots in this world who are willing to drink it, how could your wine be sold?"

The bartender casted another sidelong glance at Xiao Feng, saw that he had ignored her all along, and unconsciously laughed inwardly.

A'Zi tore a chicken leg, took a bite, and said, "Pei, it's smelly!"

The bartender cried out, feeling wronged, "This delicious fat chicken was still making "ge ge ge" sounds this morning. It's fresh and hot. How can it be smelly?"

A'Zi said, "Mm, maybe it's because your body's smelly, or else the other customer in your shop is smelly." Snowflakes were drifting outside, there was no one traveling on the road, and Xiao Feng and she were the only two customers in the shop.

The bartender smiled and said, "It's my body that's smelly, of course it's my body that's smelly. Miss, you should take care when you speak. Don't accidentally offend another gentleman."

A'Zi said, "What? If I offend someone else, could he beat me to death with one palm?" As she said this, she picked up her chopsticks and held a piece of beef. She took a bite, didn't even chew it, and spit it out. She cried out, "Aiyo, this beef is sour. It's not beef, but human flesh. You people sell human flesh. What an evil shop, what an evil shop!"

The bartender panicked and said hurriedly, "Aiyo, Miss, be charitable and don't stir up trouble. This is fresh yellow beef. How can you say it's human flesh? How can human flesh have such a rough texture? How can it have such a splendid red color?"

A'Zi said, "Okay, so you know the texture and color of human flesh. I'm asking you, how many people have your shop killed?"

The bartender smiled and said, "Miss, you really like to joke around. Changtai Pass is such a large city in Menyang prefecture, and we're a sixty-year-old shop. Where's the reasoning of killing people and selling human flesh?"

A'Zi said, "Fine, even if it's not human flesh, it's still smelly, and only a fool would eat it. Aiyo, my boots have gotten so dirty from the snowy ground." Saying this, she snatched a large piece of delicious simmer-fried beef from the plate and wiped it on her left boot.

The outer layer of the boot had originally been splashed with mud. After the wiping, half the mud was removed while beef grease was smeared on, making the surface shine like a mirror.

Upon seeing her use the beef that had been diligently cooked by the great chef to wipe her boot, the bartender felt his heart ache greatly. He stood to the side and sighed continuously.

A'Zi asked, "Why are you sighing?"

The bartender said, "This shop's simmer-fried beef has always been considered the best in the town of Changtai. If it's mentioned to anyone within a hundred li, he'll give a thumbs-up and swallow his saliva with "gu gu gu" sounds. Yet Miss uses it to wipe her leather boot. This...this..."

A'Zi glared at him and asked, "This what?"

The bartender said, "It seems too much of a grievance."

A'Zi said, "Are you saying it's a grievance for my boot? Beef comes from cattle, and leather boots also come from cattle, so it can't be considered a grievance. Hey, what other specialty dishes does your shop have? Name a few of them."

The bartender said, "Naturally there are specialty dishes, but the prices aren't so cheap."

A'Zi took out a silver ingot from her bosom, threw it on the table with a "dang" sound, and asked, "Is this enough?"

The bartender saw that this silver ingot weighed five taels, which was enough to buy two entire tables' worth of food and wine. He smiled hurriedly and said, "It's enough, excuse me, how could it not be enough? The shop's specialty dishes include carp cooked in wine, sliced white lamb, pork marinated in soybean paste..."

A'Zi said, "Very good, give me three portions of each kind."

The bartender said, "If Miss wants to try the flavors, I think one portion of each kind is enough..."

A'Zi said calmly, "I said I want three portions so it's three portions. Is it any of your business?"

The bartender said, "Yes, yes!" He called out, lengthening his words, "Three portions of carp cooked in wine! Three portions of sliced white lamb..."

Xiao Feng watched from the side, knowing that this little girl was clearly stirring up trouble for the bartender when she was actually making fun of him. Presently he ignored her and minded his own business, drinking wine and appreciating the snow.

A while later, the sliced white lamb was brought up. A'Zi said, "Leave one portion here, bring one portion over to that gentleman, and place one portion on that table. Place a bowl and chopsticks over there, and pour good wine."

The bartender asked, "Is there another customer coming?"

A'Zi glared at him and said, "You're so talkative. Be careful or else I'll cut off your tongue!"

The bartender stuck out his tongue, smiled, and said, "I'm afraid that Miss doesn't have the ability to cut off my tongue."

Xiao Feng's heart jumped and he glared at him, thinking, "Aren't you asking for death? How can you dare to say such words to this rebellious little devil?"

The bartender brought the lamb to Xiao Feng's table. Xiao Feng said nothing, picked up his chopsticks, and ate it. A while later, the carp cooked in wine and pork marinated in soybean sauce were brought up in succession. There were still three portions, one for Xiao Feng, one for A'Zi, and one was placed on another table. Xiao Feng refused nothing and ate them one after the other.

A'Zi only took one bite of each portion and said, "It's smelly and only fit for pigs and dogs to eat." She snatched the lamb, carp, and pork to wipe her boots. Although the bartender's heart ached, he couldn't do anything.

Xiao Feng gazed outside the window and thought, "This little devil is seriously hateful. Now that she's following me around, there will be no end of trouble. A'Zhu entrusted me to take care of her, but this ghost spirit can take care of herself just fine, and I definitely don't need to worry about her. I should just avoid her. Out of sight, out of mind."

As he was thinking, a person in the distance suddenly walked over on the snowy ground. It was midwinter in the twelfth month, but this person only wore a garment of yellow hemp cloth, as if he didn't feel the frigid cold at all. In a moment he was nearby and it could be seen that he was around forty years old, with shining yellow hoops hanging from his ears. He had a lion-like nose and a broad mouth. His appearance was rather vicious and strange, and clearly he wasn't from the Central Plains.

This person arrived at the wine shop, lifted the curtain, and entered. When he saw A'Zi, he stared blankly, and then his face revealed a happy expression. He wanted to talk but restrained himself and sat down at a table.

A'Zi said, "There's wine and meat. Why won't you eat it?"

That person saw the unoccupied table filled with food and wine and said, "Is that for me? Many thanks, younger martial sister." As he said this, he walked over and sat down. He took out a small gold knife from his bosom, cut the beef, and used his hands to eat it. After eating a few pieces of meat, he drank a bowl of wine. His wine tolerance wasn't bad.

Xiao Feng thought, "So he's actually a disciple of the Old Freak of Xingxiuhai." He originally didn't like this person's appearance or bearing, but upon seeing that his wine tolerance was quite good, he felt that he wasn't actually extremely hateful.

Upon seeing that he had finished drinking the wine, A'Zi said to the bartender, "Bring this wine over and give it to that gentleman." As she said this, she dipped her hands into the bowl of wine in front of her. She stirred a little and washed off the meat grease on her hands, then pushed forward the bowl of wine.

The bartender thought, "Can this wine still be drunk?"

A'Zi saw his hesitation and noticed that he hadn't picked up the bowl of wine. She urged, "Hurry up and bring it over. He's waiting for his wine."

The bartender smiled and said, "Miss, you're at it again. How can this bowl of wine still be drunk?"

A'Zi's face hardened and she said, "Who says it can't be drunk? Are you contemptuous that my hands are dirty? Let's do this. You drink a mouthful of the wine, and I'll give you a silver ingot." Saying this, she took out a small silver ingot weighing one tael from her bosom and placed it on the table.