I flinched as if scalded, leaping back and shouting at Ji Ye's retreating back, "Are you trying to kill me? That's some joke to play!" My extreme reaction stemmed from the fact that I had smelled that odor not long ago—yes, the scent of alcohol, identical to the aroma wafting from the jars in the thatched hall. Having been bitten by a snake once, I feared the well rope for ten years; Man Niao Niao was still wilted like a frost-bitten eggplant precisely because of that wine. How could I not feel my liver and gall cracking and rage surging when I smelled that pure fragrance again?

"This is not that wine. The wine in these bamboos was specially put there by the ancients," Ji Ye stated simply, ignoring my mounting fury.

"Really?" Though the wine’s fragrance made my insides writhe as if swarmed by a thousand ants, I still couldn't believe the liquor stored in the bamboo was some alleged 'treasure.' What if it was another soul-stealing Gu? If I rashly drank it and Ji Ye force-fed me some fat earthworms, I’d rather commit suicide and set off on the path to reincarnation.

"Can't you see the difference between this environment and the main hall?" Ji Ye muttered again.

Difference? I recalled that the main hall was impeccably clean, virtually spotless, while this bamboo grove was littered with dead branches and decaying leaves, teeming with ants, insects, mosquitoes, and moths—a truly filthy mess. Compared to the thatched hut, the level of cleanliness here was heaven and earth, utterly incomparable. Could it be that the wine inside these bamboos wasn't some breeding ground for Gu after all?

Sensing my prolonged silence, Ji Ye retreated to my side and, with a swift swing of his blade, severed the nan bamboo stalk I had been attacking. An even richer, purer fragrance of wine diffused through the grove. Ji Ye swung his blade again, cutting down another section of nan bamboo, brought it to his lips, and began gulping loudly. The sound and the smell together tormented my parched nerves.

Seeing Ji Ye act without a hint of hesitation, my heart was filled with doubt. I stared intently at his face, searching for any change. After taking several deep draughts, Ji Ye deliberately wiped his mouth and let out a long, satisfied sigh. "It’s no wonder you were suspicious. You nearly lost your lives just now; it's understandable that you fear this wine is poison. But I tell you, this is genuinely real wine—pure, sweet, and mellow, with no Gu insects inside. This is a method the Tujia people invented specifically for storing wine, designed to strip away the harsh, fiery taste. These wooden pegs you see were inserted only after the wine was poured into the bamboo; their purpose is to prevent the alcohol from evaporating. This method of storage still exists in many remote Tujia mountain villages today."

So that was it. Hearing Ji Ye speak with such certainty, my dread gradually subsided. I took the bamboo tube from his hand and slanted it, noticing the pale, clear liquor inside, not cloudy in the slightest. Mustering my courage, I cautiously took a small sip. Indeed, the wine was rich, pure, and gentle, possessing the flavor of wine mingled with the fresh scent of bamboo. The wine wasn't overwhelmingly strong nor too weak; it had a sweetness, reminiscent of lao zao (sweet fermented rice wine) that the Tujia people often serve to honored guests.

This was the finest wine I had ever tasted in my life. That pure, sweet, and mellow flavor instantly banished all worries about Gu to the farthest reaches of my mind. I clutched the bamboo tube and began to guzzle mightily, and the raging fire of thirst and dryness in my chest was instantly quelled.

How could half a bamboo section be enough for me? The more I drank, the more comfortable I felt, and my strength was almost fully restored. I pulled out my sharp sword that was stuck in the bamboo, swung my hand, and cut down another section. Finding half a tube of wine still remaining, I didn't hesitate—I drank again until my stomach was gurgling loudly before stopping. Picking up a wooden plug that had fallen to the ground, I touched it and realized it was made of tea wood, which resists decay. The end inserted into the bamboo was wrapped with something like cotton, though it had mostly rotted away, preventing me from being certain it was cotton. But by now, I fully understood the plug's purpose.

"Man Niao Niao must be feeling terrible. Give him more of that wine... get those things out of him. And Miss Tan's lips are chapped; let her have some too," Ji Ye urged when he saw me staring blankly at the plug after drinking.

Startled, I quickly swung my sword to sever another bamboo section containing half a tube of wine and woke Tan Ping'er. When Tan Ping'er awoke with a start and smelled the wine, she instantly leaped up from the ground in fright. She frantically pushed the bamboo tube away, retreated into a corner, and stared with wide, terrified eyes. "Ying, what are you doing? Throw that away immediately!"

Her reaction was exactly what I anticipated. I quickly explained the wine's origin to her. Tan Ping'er listened, half-believing. Seeing my encouraging gaze, she took the bamboo tube with a trembling hand, inspected it as I had done, and then looked up at me with a questioning expression. I nodded at her. Tan Ping'er hardened her resolve, closed her eyes, and loudly downed a big gulp. She smacked her lips to savor the flavor, then tilted her head back and began drinking wildly without any reserve.

Watching her unrestrained actions, I was momentarily transported back to the first time I drank with her at the Red Lantern Spicy Hot Pot restaurant, and a wave of bittersweet emotion washed over me: this girl had been worn down too much by everything she had endured recently.

Seeing Tan Ping'er drinking, I chopped down seven or eight more sections of bamboo, carried them to Man Niao Niao's side, flipped him over, pried open his large mouth, and inserted the bamboo tube. This fellow was utterly exhausted in spirit and body; despite all my efforts, he didn't wake up. His throat reflexively twitched, swallowing tube after tube of wine.

I completely ignored the aftereffects of the bamboo wine. Just as I began to feel heat surging through my body, Man Niao Niao suddenly rolled over and sat up, his eyes snapping open. "Damn son of a bitch... what are you waving in front of my eyes... Let me sleep... Huh? Whoa—" Something nauseatingly foul spewed out of Man Niao Niao’s mouth, nearly splashing my face.

After vomiting several times, Man Niao Niao gasped for breath and said to me, "You bastard... hold this ground for me... stop it from spinning... Motherfucker... it's making my head dizzy..." I froze, realizing Man Niao Niao was drunk, having reached the stage of nonsensical babbling. A mischievous urge struck me; I gently probed his throat with my index finger. Sure enough, Man Niao Niao couldn't help it. His abdomen convulsed violently, his shoulders hitched, and he vomited up another pile of blackish material. The stench made Hua'er, who had been busy licking the bamboo tube nearby, back away a few steps unhappily, an expression of infinite disgust in her eyes.

Man Niao Niao was past caring about the spinning ground now. He reached his own fingers into his throat to fish things out while vomiting, vomiting while fishing things out, until finally, the area around his head was covered in the foul things he had expelled. Tan Ping'er and I stood far away, pinching our noses and frowning as we watched his ordeal.

After a long while, Man Niao Niao slumped motionless on the ground. Startled, I covered my nose and mouth and hopped over to him, cautiously turning him over. I saw that thin, stringy saliva was dripping from the corners of his mouth, and he was breathing with a loud, rhythmic snore—he had fallen asleep again, his breath deep and resonant.

Relieved, I avoided the 'landmines' Man Niao Niao had laid, walked over to Ji Ye, and had just called out when Ji Ye cut in decisively, "We cannot stay in this place long. You carry Man Niao Niao, and we'll find a relatively safe spot to talk." Ji Ye's authoritative tone startled me. Smelling the stench still hanging in the bamboo grove, I agreed that this was not a place for a heart-to-heart chat. I figured we should quickly find somewhere suitable to really hash things out.

Man Niao Niao's clothes were smeared with the filth he had vomited. I cut down a few sections of bamboo and used the wine inside to wash off the grime. I bent over, hoisted him onto my back, and followed the direction Ji Ye pointed toward the deeper parts of the bamboo forest.

I couldn't tell how vast this bamboo grove was; the nan bamboos were layered one after another, growing denser the further back we went. Fortunately, the gaps between the trees were not difficult to pass through. Man Niao Niao’s body felt even softer now due to his intoxication, forcing me to stoop and stagger forward. No one spoke during the journey; the forest was dead silent, and the only sound was my own panting.

After walking for about half an hour more, the terrain became increasingly steep, but the nan bamboos grew sparser until finally, there were no bamboo stalks left. We were surrounded by shoulder-high scrub trees, haphazardly tangled with countless vines, and dense thorns relentlessly scratched every part of my body, soon leaving me burning with pain all over.

I was in no condition to observe my surroundings. Man Niao Niao rustled noisily on my back, clearly snagged by the thorns. I paid no mind to his substantial rear or strong build, focusing only on crawling like a dog through the sparsest gaps in the dense growth.

We walked for a long time along this route, and I noticed several strange things. Unfortunately, I was already exhausted, persisting purely on a breath of willpower, with no energy left to examine the environment closely. I only vaguely registered that we had passed through some vicious terrain typical of deep mountain forests: river beaches, gorges, and swamps.

Finally, we arrived at an even more perilous place.