The Young Brewmaster’s Adventure Chapter 1 

The Young Brewmaster’s Adventure 

少年白马醉春风

by Zhou Mu Nan (周木楠) 

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第1章 楔子

Chapter 1: Prologue

Qiandong City.

 

In August, the city is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus flowers.

 

Street vendors selling osmanthus cakes are beaming with smile as he open the steamer, the fragrant cake scent accompanied by the sweet osmanthus scent, instantly tempted those playful children one by one, when the peddler are ready to reach out to pick up the copper plate, suddenly he heard a cry from the distance.

 

“Young master is here!”

 

The hawker immediately retracted his hand, closed the steamer basket and led the children in the neighborhood to quickly retreat five paces, only to hear the sound of clear hoofbeats, and when everyone raised their heads, they saw a fiery red foal galloped in, although the foal was not yet grown up, it was a not inferior in any respect and its speed was no less than that of an ordinary adult horse and the one sitting on top of the foal was a young man just over nine years old. The young man was wearing a small soft armor from a military school, but not properly dressed, his belt was loosely tied, his helmet was tied to his shoulders with a rope. His hair was not tied up and it was scattered randomly.

 

“Jia ! Jia! Liefeng, if you run any slower and I get caught, I’ll eat braised horse meat in soy sauce tonight!” The youngster said in a loud clear voice, the fire-red colt horse seemed to understand his words and ran a little harder. The youngster passed by the stall selling osmanthus flower cakes, but suddenly turned his head and said, “Big Brother Luo!”

 

The vendor smiled and threw up that piece of osmanthus cake that he had just picked up, “Xiao Gongzi, catch it.”

 

The young man took the osmanthus cake and stepped on his horse like a gust of wind, he put it to his mouth and bit it fiercely, “It’s too sweet!”

 

Not long after the young man left with his horse, a group of light armored warriors also rushed over, about a dozen or so, each sweating and red in the face. The leader stopped his horse, took off his helmet, and cursed furiously, “This little bastard!”

 

“Boss, boss, don’t be crazy and talk nonsense!” The men under his command hurriedly came forward and advised, “If you call the young master ‘son of bitch’, are you not also scolding…?”

 

“Deputy general Chen, the little young master is not attending class again, secretly sneaking out again?” The hawker who was called Big Brother Luo by the teenager greeted him with a smile.

 

Qiandong City, simple people, law and order is very good, in ZhenXi City, under control of Marquis Baili Luo Chen, although the military authority is not reduced, but the soldiers have always been peaceful to the people, they also very close to each other, so the street vendors here dare to strive a conversation with this vice general.

 

Vice General Chen shook off the sweat on his hair, and then said angrily: “You say that what this Hou Ye gave him is not good? but I gave him this Liefeng Shenju (the horse name or title) , how can we catch it? How can we catch it? Luo Cheng, did you see him just now? Where did he go?”

 

[Hou Ye is how a marquis dressed themselves]

 

“Young Master ran in that direction.” Luo Cheng pointed to the west.

 

“Go, chase him to the east!” Vice General Chen put on his helmet and threw the reins, “This nature of this Xiao Gongzi, it’s all because he’s been spoiled by this Marquis (Hou Ye) and you guys, these dog’s legs (henchmen)!”

 

Luo Cheng looked at the group of light armored warriors leaving and smiled, “What can be done about it, Hou Ye treat us well, so we naturally have to repay Hou Ye ah.”

 

“You, you, you, go towards Luo Cheng’s alley. You, you, you,block him from Cross Street. The rest of you, follow me to Xiyu Street to catch him! I don’t believe I can’t catch him today!” Vice General Chen shouted.

 

“What happens after we catch him?” His subordinates asked.

 

“Of course, that goes without saying! Coax and deceived him well and completely in order to send him back to the marquis residence!” Vice General Chen was disappointed, “Hou Ye, only this little grandson, can’t he serve the military law?”

 

More than a dozen riders instantly dispersed, vice general Chen could not help but sigh a long sigh. The Marquis of Zhenxi, Baili Luo Chen, joined the army at the age of sixteen and has spent his whole life in the military. From a centurion rose to become the Marquis of Zhenxi, when he was young on the battlefield, he was a ruthless character who tied a head to his waist when he killed a man, so when he became the general, he was the ferocious general that buried a few thousand people alive with a wave of his hand. However, when he got his only grandson in his later years, he spoiled and cherished his grandson as if he were a precious treasure, which has resulted in the development of this very young and untameable nature, stubborn and unruly. They come to the city practically every day, from the army to the military and from there, they mix with the common people which the three religions and the nine social strata neatly turned into ‘Qian Dong City’—–

 

[Three religions (i.e. Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism) and nine schools of thought (i.e. the Confucians, the Taoists, the Yin-Yang, the Legalists, the Logicians, the Mohists, the Political Strategists, the Eclectics, and the Agriculturists)]

 

“Xiao Ba Wang (Little Tyrant)!” A young man wearing ordinary clothes shouted out in surprise when he saw the rider of Liefeng.p

 

“Yu.” That little young master rein in his horse and looked at the common-clothed youngster with his head hung down, “Xiao Yu’er, where are you going?”

 

“To buy some rice for my mother.” The boy replied.

 

“Come, put on my clothes.” The little young master jumped off his horse and put that soft armor on the cloth-clothed boy’s body, and then placed a silver ingot in his hand, “Is your mother’s illness better?”

 

The common clothed boy hastened to excuse himself, “Thanks to you last time, the doctor came to see her a few times, and she is much better now. There is no need to give any more money.”

 

“Take it, buy a few more medicines for your mother, and stew an old hen to eat. But you have to do me a favor, put on this soft armor, ride on the fierce horse, and drive around the city for several times, the longer the better!” The little young master led Liefeng over, the common clothed boy was helped by him onto the horse in a flash. He said with some fear: “But I… don’t know how to ride a horse….”

 

“Don’t be afraid, hold on to the reins!” The little young master passed the rope from his hand, “Liefeng opened up to people, so it will not throw you down, you only need to close your eyes and hold the reins tightly.” As soon as he finished speaking, the little young master slapped the horse butt, and with a long neigh, Liefeng rushed out, crying out to Xiao Yu’er in misery.

 

The young master clapped his hands, smiled with satisfaction, and then walked into a small restaurant at the side, and said loudly, “Hua Yu Big Sister (Jie Jie) , give me a cup of good wine to calm my nerves first!”

 

“A nine-year-old child, doesn’t learn well yet learn to imitate adults to drink wine?” Only to see a person dressed in white, a beautiful and attractive young girl’s sound heard out, she hit the little young master on the head.

 

The little young master laughed: “This morning I secretly drank a cup of ‘osmanthus jade’ given by the emperor in the city of Tianqi in my grandfather’s house, and now there is still a lingering flavor in my mouth, so I have to take advantage of the lingering flavor not to dissipate and hasten to drink a few more cups or else it will be a waste.”

 

“You’re always talking in roundway, but I can’t do it today. Not today, today the shopkeeper has an important guest, he is discussing a big matter inside, and he won’t welcome guests for the whole day.” Hua Yu shrugged his shoulders.

 

The young master frowned: “Guests?”

 

“It’s my master.” Suddenly a voice with a bit of childishness rang out.

 

The little young master turned his head, only then saw the door near the corner where a little schoolboy sitting there, carrying a not small bookcase, was seriously flipping the book in his hands. The little young master was so curious as he said, “Who is your master?”

 

The little pageboy closed the book, jumped down from the chair, and walked step by step, reciting words in his mouth: “I am a banished immortal—a wayward genius, riding on the wind and falling to the human world. With a white jade staff in my hand, I climbed the stairs in a drunken dream.”

 

The little young master looked puzzled: “What are you reciting?”

 

“You won’t understand even if I tell you.” The little page boy shook his head as if he was an old bookish man and then took out a jade bottle from his pocket and handed it to the young gentleman, “My master came to visit suddenly and disturbed you. You were talking about osmanthus fine jade. My master also gave me a sip. I hate to waste a drink, so I’ll give it to you.”

 

This little young master thought to himself that although this little schoolboy spoke oddly, he was a generous man, so he took it, and asked, “You also love to drink?”

 

“This novice has been drinking 30 glasses of wine in a row, and my fingertips have been filled with the noble spirit and thunder of spring. Wine is a good thing.” The little schoolboy shook his head as he said this.

 

The little young master laughed, “Looks like you love reading (study) even more.”

 

The little page boy suddenly looked at him sternly and interrupted, “I only love reading.”

 

“Interesting, little page boy, what’s your name?” The little young master had a good feeling about the little pageboy in front of him for no reason, although they were very different in one point. What the little young master hated the most was reading and studying, but what he liked was the two words “only love” that the little page boy said.

 

“My name is Xie Xuan.” The little pageboy suddenly bowed, “Telling a name is a big deal. Please ask….”

 

“Little Gongzi, Vice General Chen is coming!” That Hua Yu girl suddenly shouted.

 

The little young master turned his head and saw that Vice General Chen’s horse had already appeared at the end of the street. He patted the shoulder of the page boy: “If you haven’t left tomorrow, come to the Marquis of ZhenXi’s residence to look for me!” After saying this, he jumped up and tumbled onto the opposite roof, although he was very slow in practicing kung fu, but he still put in some effort in his light kung fu (qing gong) and so on.

 

The little young master ran on the roof, Vice General Chen rode his horse and chased him all over the city.

 

The citizens should be eating their meals and doing their work. They seem to have long been accustomed to this little tyrant of Qian Dong’s chickens flying and dogs jumping (idiom) (fig for. In chaos) every now and then. Just in the corner of the long street, a black sedan chair suddenly stopped, the person inside gently lifted the curtain, looked at the little young master on the roof and said in low voice: “This young man …”

 

The little young master turned a few circles, finally bypassing the Vice General Chen, himself also gasping for breath and sweating. He suddenly saw a nearby courtyard, where the osmanthus bloomed exceptionally well. He could not help but become interested,one jumped with all his strength, brush passed towards the courtyard. He just stepped on the opposite side of the eaves, but it was like hitting a vertical wall.

 

‘Thunk’ sound, his forehead was solidly hit, the young master’s head was dizzy, the whole person fell straight down towards the wall.

 

When he woke up, it was already dusk.

 

At evening sun, the warm yellow sunlight illuminated the courtyard into a golden color, under the huge osmanthus tree in the courtyard there was a small wooden table, a white-robed and long-dressed old man with an immortal aura was sitting on the ground, one hand holding a cup of wine, the other hand twisting the osmanthus flowers that fell down, looking at the little young master who had just woken up, and smiled: “You are awake?”

 

“Am I… dead?” The little young master was confused, “Are you an immortal? Here is…”

 

“This is Qian Dong City, your home. You have slept here for quite a long time, it’s time for you to return to your mansion, otherwise your parents would be worried.” The old man pointed to the small door in the corner of the courtyard, “Push open that door, you will know the way.”

 

“Oh, oh.” The little young master stood up, still feeling a little dizzy in his head.

 

The old man laughed: “Ordinary people can’t come to my place, here. You are able to come, that means you have some fate with me. Before you go, I have a request, are you willing to take me as your teacher?”

 

The young master was puzzled: “Ask you to be my teacher? What will you teach me?”

 

The old man stretched out his hand and twisted an osmanthus flower, then pawed it back, the osmanthus flower instantly dispersed into powder, he then flicked it upwards, and the powder instantly fell all over the osmanthus tree.

 

“Martial arts?” The young master said in doubt.

 

The old man did not say anything, just smiled a little.

 

The young master turned around and shrugged his shoulders, “Not interested.”

 

The old man is still smiling: “Then, our fate is only up to here.”

 

The young master was walking towards the door, suddenly smelled the garden full of osmanthus fragrance and suddenly smelled another smell.

 

“Peach blossom!” The young master turned his head in surprise, looking at the small wooden table with a cup of wine. He took three steps and ran over. The old man understood and immediately poured him a glass. The young master took that cup of wine and drank it all in one go, then slowly closed his eyes.

 

Now it was already autumn and osmanthus flowers were all over the city, but in that instant, it was as if he had gone back to April, when the spring breeze was gentle and the peach blossom trees were in full bloom!

 

He opened his eyes again, his eyes were full of joy: “Where did you buy this wine?”

 

The old man picked up the wine cup and poured it downwards, the cup full of wine fell down and suddenly turned into a peach blossom, which landed in his hand. He spun the peach blossom and said quietly, “I brewed it myself.”

 

Immediately, the young master knelt with a straight back on the ground: “I beg this Mister to be my teacher! Please sir, teach me how to brew wine!”

 

The old man smiled, reached out and threw the peach blossom in his hand upwards, the ancient tree that had lost all its osmanthus blossoms once again sprung into spring, but what bloomed once again was a tree full of peach blossoms! Fragrant and full of fragrance, the scenery was full of wonder. He reached out and assisted the young master up from the ground, and said softly.

 

“Good.”

 

(End of chapter)