The waiter, hearing Li Yundong’s words, nearly popped his eyes out in shock and instinctively looked towards the floor manager. The manager snapped, “Idiot! Go move them! What are you waiting for!”
A moment later, waiters were hauling boxes of baijiu out, soon stacking them into a small mountain that left the watching diners completely dumbfounded, let alone Zhao Yougen and his companions.
After finishing a bottle of baijiu, Li Yundong felt the liquor sting his throat so intensely upon entry that he nearly spat it out. Yet, he forcibly suppressed the acrid fumes, and once he held it back, a fiery sensation began to spread down his throat.
Before long, the vital energy within Li Yundong started to boil and churn without him even needing to consciously circulate it, surging relentlessly through his meridians.
Li Yundong could even feel his Liver Qi suddenly becoming immensely strong and vigorous, drawing the entire body's blood flow toward the liver at high speed to dissolve the poison of the alcohol.
Since ancient times, martial artists have always been known for their capacity to drink heavily. The reason is that through long years of practice, their internal organs have been tempered to be exceptionally powerful. A person’s ability to hold their liquor depends first on their Gallbladder Qi, and second, on their Liver Qi.
Sufficient Gallbladder Qi breeds boldness—a drinking contest is a contest of spirit!
Sufficient Liver Qi dictates drinking capacity—the better one's liver, the faster and stronger its ability to expel alcohol!
Li Yundong not only possessed the physique of Golden Core Regeneration but had also rigorously strengthened his five major organs through the cultivation of the Five Qi Returning to Primacy. His liver's detoxification and sobriety-preserving ability was staggeringly immense. Though he didn't know precisely how much he could drink, his body was screaming the answer to his brain: I can drink, and damn it, I can drink a hell of a lot!
Li Yundong lined up the bottles of baijiu, one bottle in front of each of the five men including Zhao Yougen, and one bottle for himself. Ignoring how Zhao Yougen and the others drank, he simply sliced the bottle neck open with a hand-chop, pouring the liquor down his throat like a white silk ribbon. The sheer, unrestrained heroism of his drinking made onlookers, had they not smelled the pungent aroma, think he was merely drinking plain boiled water!
In the blink of an eye, Li Yundong finished another bottle. Far from showing any sign of drunkenness, his eyes grew brighter and his spirit more robust the more he drank. Every pore on his body seemed to open, frantically venting the alcohol from within.
Zhao Yougen and his group gritted their teeth and shared that bottle among the five of them.
By this point, they had each consumed roughly half a jin of baijiu, and since they were drinking rapidly, their faces were all flushed crimson.
Li Yundong didn't even wait for them to catch their breath. He sliced the bottle, tilted his head back, and poured—dong, dong, dong—downright chugging eight bottles of baijiu in one continuous session!
This feat stunned everyone in the restaurant, leaving their scalps tingling and their hearts chilled with horror!
“Is—is this even human?”
“He’s a reincarnated God of Wine!”
“How can a person possibly drink this much? This liquor must be fake!”
One skeptical diner edged closer, snatched Li Yundong’s bottle, and sniffed it. He was immediately overwhelmed by the intense spirit fumes, forcing him to clamp his nose shut. He then stared at Li Yundong with sheer terror and awe: “This guy just chugged eight bottles of sixty-plus-proof baijiu straight through, my god…”
For a moment, everyone in the restaurant looked at Li Yundong as if he were a deity. Some even started speculating privately: Could this young man possibly be a martial arts master, capable of expelling alcohol from his pinky finger like Duan Yu?
This notion crossed more than one mind, and several people instinctively glanced at Li Yundong's fingers and toes, hoping to see water seeping out between his digits.
But in reality, the moment the liquor hit his stomach, the alcohol was immediately metabolized and expelled by Li Yundong's powerful liver. The liquid then rapidly vaporized into white mist within his body, which was then discharged through his pores. It was as if the alcohol had merely circled through his viscera and blood vessels before exiting, never reaching the lower fu organs, let alone flowing out through his fingers or toes.
Having downed eight bottles without the slightest hint of intoxication, Li Yundong’s eyes shone with piercing brightness. He laughed heartily and pointed at Zhao Yougen and the others: “Your turn!”
A drinking table is like a battlefield; where one side's morale soars, the other's inevitably sinks. Li Yundong grew more heroic with every drink, while Zhao Yougen and his men became increasingly timid.
Zhao Yougen and the others exchanged glances, then resolutely opened the bottles before them, taking large gulps one after another.
Though they had decent drinking capacity, they were no longer young, and their bodies had been depleted by years of indulgence in drink and women. They couldn't even match an ordinary young man, let alone a powerhouse like Li Yundong.
By the sixth bottle, Zhao Yougen clutched his mouth, let out a great retch—wa!—and wine spewed out of his nostrils as he collapsed onto the floor, kneeling in agony.
Once he threw up, the others couldn’t hold on either. One by one, they covered their mouths and dashed toward the restrooms, letting out great retching sounds (wa!), filling the restaurant with an overwhelming stench of alcohol.
Li Yundong had consumed a total of ten bottles of baijiu, yet he remained rock-steady, his expression unchanged, his breathing undisturbed. Only his eyes were unnervingly bright, making it difficult for anyone to look directly at him. He gazed down upon the prostrate Zhao Yougen with disdain and sneered, “How does it feel to be bullied?”
Zhao Yougen trembled with rage. Recalling the wager he had made with this young man, he wished he could smash his head right there!
Five grown men couldn't outdrink one person! Heavens, did he really have to crawl between someone’s legs? How would he ever show his face again!
Zhao Yougen cried out in despair internally.
Bystanders pointed and whispered about Li Yundong: “Is that even a person? Drinking that much with no sign of being drunk!”
“That’s no person, that’s a Wine Immortal, a true deity of the bottle!”
“So badass, so manly! Now that’s a real man!”
Though Zhao Yougen’s cerebellum was numbed by the alcohol, leaving his body sluggish, his mind was relatively clear. Upon hearing the word "drunk," a spark ignited in his mind. He staggered to his feet, assuming the posture of a man embracing martyrdom, grabbed a liquor bottle, and started gulping it down wildly. The wine poured over him like water, far more spilling out than he managed to swallow, as if he were bathing in it.
After a short while, Zhao Yougen swayed and collapsed, seemingly passed out.
Cao Kefei, despite her profound dislike for Zhao Yougen, couldn't help but admire the old schemer's quick thinking: Passing out is a way to avoid the humiliation of crawling between the legs! Clever! However, for a high-ranking executive to be driven to such a state by a young man—this was a tremendous loss of face. Heh, Li Yundong certainly knows how to torment people!
Zhao Yougen was clever, but his companions weren't fools either; they hid in the restroom, too scared to emerge.
Li Yundong waited a moment, then nudged the motionless Zhao Yougen, who was snoring loudly in full view of the crowd, with the tip of his foot: “Hey, stop pretending. Get up and drink more. Weren’t you so arrogant?”
His words made the onlookers look strangely at Li Yundong, muttering amongst themselves: Isn’t it just you who’s been acting the most arrogant right now?
Cao Kefei also advised, “Forget it, let it go where you can. Let’s go back.” She flagged down a waiter and pointed to the bill: “How much? I’ll cover it.”
Seeing that the show was over, the crowd returned to their seats, though a few rowdy voices yelled, “They haven’t finished drinking the wine that was ordered!”
Li Yundong glanced sideways and sneered, “You want to come over and drink with us?”
The heckler immediately retracted his head, moving as fast as a turtle hiding in its shell. The restaurant erupted in laughter.
Cao Kefei settled the bill and smiled as she led Li Yundong out, teasing him: “Well, now you’ve completely offended CEO Zhao and his friends!”
Li Yundong scoffed, “What good would it have done if you hadn’t offended them? They would have just pushed further, refusing to stop until they got what they wanted!”
Although Cao Kefei was slightly tipsy, Li Yundong had helped soothe her breathing, making her feel much better. Her skin still held a charming, flushed rose color, and her eyes were dewy and affectionate. She laughed, “Okay, okay, I know you’re amazing, alright? By the way, you have to protect me now. If they cause trouble again, I’m just a weak woman and can’t defend myself.”
Cao Kefei usually presented herself as a powerful career woman, but in front of this man she’d known for less than a day, she let down her guard, positioning herself as the weaker party, instinctively wanting to lean on him.
Hearing Cao Kefei’s plaintive tone, Li Yundong waved his hand and smiled: “If I can help, I definitely will.”
Cao Kefei cheered like a little girl. She pulled her keys from her purse, jingling them cheerfully, “Let’s go, I’ll drive you back.”
Li Yundong looked at her drunken state and couldn’t help but say, “Hey, are you sure you’re okay? Driving like this? They crack down hard on drunk driving now! What if you get caught?”
Cao Kefei laughed, “As long as I don’t get caught, what’s the problem?”
Li Yundong was torn between laughter and tears: “That works too?”
Cao Kefei glared, “You were so manly a moment ago, why are you suddenly getting motherly now?”
Li Yundong sighed wryly, “I’m being responsible for my own life!”
Saying that, he suddenly spotted a taxi approaching. Li Yundong quickly waved it down, opened the door, and unceremoniously pushed Cao Kefei into the back seat while he took the front passenger seat. Turning back to her, he said, “Where do you live? I’ll take you home first.”
Cao Kefei giggled coyly, “No, I have to take you. You can’t know where I live.”
Li Yundong looked helpless: “You’re too drunk to even get home yourself, let alone drive!”
Cao Kefei lay back in the rear seat, screaming drunkenly, “If you don’t let me take you, I won’t say! See what you do then!”
Li Yundong felt a headache coming on. He threatened, “Hey, are you really not going to tell me?”
Cao Kefei immediately curled into a ball, looking up at Li Yundong with wounded vulnerability: “Are you going to bully me?”
Li Yundong was completely defeated. He turned to the taxi driver, who was snickering on the side, and gave her his own address.
After the car started moving, Cao Kefei sat up, leaning her body against the front seat. She leaned close to Li Yundong’s ear and chided, “Why are you so bossy?”
Knowing Cao Kefei was just indulging in a drunken outburst, Li Yundong played along: “Fine, fine, I’m bossy, I’m bossy.”
Seeing Li Yundong concede, she giggled again: “It’s good that you know you’re bossy, always bullying poor little me! Hey, you need to remember to go to work tomorrow, or I’ll dock your pay!”
Li Yundong was speechless, caught between smiles and tears, “I don’t even work for your company, how can you dock my pay?”
Cao Kefei beamed proudly, “Yin Mengfan already loaned you to me—for a whole month! If you don’t want your salary docked, then you better behave!”
Li Yundong stammered, “What? That’s allowed? So I collect my wages from you then?”
Cao Kefei fluttered her eyelashes, her breath like orchid fragrance near his ear, and laughed, “That’s right. Scared now, aren't you?”
Li Yundong chuckled, “Then can I ask how high the salary is?”
Cao Kefei laughed brightly, “Not telling you!”
Li Yundong looked displeased, “Hmph, if you won’t say, fine. I went out of my way to help you today, and you have no gratitude!”
Cao Kefei kept giggling, like a child who had just successfully snatched a toy.
The driver kept stealing glances at Li Yundong from the corner of her eye, musing to herself: Could this guy be one of those handsome men kept by a rich woman?
The car drove for about twenty minutes before Li Yundong reached his residence. He got out, instructed the driver, “You need to take her all the way home. Wait until you see her safely inside before you leave, okay?” He then pulled out a hundred-yuan note and handed it over: “This is all for you. Please take good care of her, alright?”
The driver thought, Since he’s already being kept anyway, why should I be polite? and readily agreed.
Cao Kefei sat in the back window, gazing softly at Li Yundong. The ancients said gazing upon a beauty under the moon enhances her allure, but gazing upon a handsome man under the moon certainly adds a layer of mystery.
The more Cao Kefei looked, the more she adored him, finding no fault. She suddenly beckoned him closer with her finger, giggling, “You wanted to know how much the salary is, right?”
Li Yundong leaned closer curiously, “How much is it?”
Cao Kefei beckoned again, saying mysteriously, “Come a little closer!”
Li Yundong moved even nearer, staring intently at Cao Kefei. The woman exuded such captivating charm, like a bundle of fierce fire—one touch and he might be reduced to ashes.
Seeing Li Yundong remaining cautious, unwilling to approach too closely, she pouted slightly, “Hey, do you really not want to know? Lean in, ahh, yes, turn your face to the side, I’ll whisper it to you.”
Li Yundong turned his head and leaned in. The moment he did, his cheek was lightly touched by something warm and moist. Immediately, Cao Kefei burst into triumphant laughter, slapping the driver’s seat and shouting wildly, “Drive, drive quickly!”
The taxi driver shook her head inwardly, stomped the accelerator, and the car roared away, leaving Li Yundong standing stunned on the spot, pressing his cheek and lost in thought.
Li Yundong wiped the spot Cao Kefei had kissed with his finger, and an uncontrollable thought surfaced: Damn, does this count as cheating? No, no, the one I love is Su Chan, my girl!
If that girl found out, wouldn't this gentleman be utterly doomed?
Li Yundong frantically ran his hands through his hair, wracked with inner conflict: Damn it, how is earning money at work leading to this kind of trouble? I shouldn't have saved her! This woman is a seductive vixen!
Li Yundong looked up toward his home, his face a mask of frustration: At home, there’s a cute, innocent little fox spirit, and at work, there’s a mature, dazzling, seductive great fox spirit!
What is a man supposed to do now? Did they think he was a saint?