What do you mean I'm a ghost story?

Chapter 71 Drinking with Generals and Discussing the Past and Present

Is the general here today?

Upon arriving at the location and seeing the rising fog, Xia Qing knew something was amiss. After getting out of the car, she immediately shouted into the fog.

Tap tap! Tap tap! Tap tap!

The familiar sound of horses' hooves mingled with the billowing mist, and a figure emerged from the mist as if out of nowhere.

The white horse and mirrored armor, the man fully armored, were none other than the valiant and scholarly general from yesterday.

"you……?"

The valiant and learned general rode up on horseback, spear in hand. After seeing Xia Qing, he looked around, but only saw Ling Shuang in the jeep behind him. He immediately looked puzzled.

He also said that Xia Qing had brought strong reinforcements today, which is why he came to challenge him.

But seeing that it was still just the two of them, with no reinforcements in sight, they were naturally puzzled.

"I am not here today to challenge the general to a duel."

Xia Qing glanced enviously at the tall horse on which the valiant and scholarly general sat, then smiled and raised his hand, conjuring a jar of wine from the Mirror Demon Card: "I have just found some fine wine and wish to invite the general to drink with me."

The valiant and scholarly general: "..."

Ling Shuang: "..."

The two people present were speechless upon hearing this.

Ling Shuang, in particular, was completely disheveled in the wind.

You said you had something to do, but it turns out you just came to find someone to drink with? Or are you looking for a ghost story to drink with?

She had seen people who hated ghost stories, people who feared ghost stories, and even people who fanatically believed in ghost stories.

But to do something so casual, like visiting a friend, bringing a jar of wine and saying you want to drink together—forgive my ignorance, I've never seen anything like it before.

"...It is inconvenient to drink alcohol in the army."

After a long silence, the valiant and scholarly general seemed to finally come to his senses. He glanced at Xia Qing with a hint of surprise, then shook his head.

"Where is the army? Is the general not alone?"

Xia Qing's gaze fell on the heroic and scholarly general, and then on what lay behind him.

"..."

Perhaps stung by Xia Qing's words, the valiant and scholarly general remained silent for a moment before speaking again: "This general... will not drink anything but fine wine."

"I will not let the general down."

Xia Qing chuckled, picked up the wine jar, tilted his head back and took a sip, then tossed the jar toward the valiant and scholarly general.

The valiant and scholarly general remained silent, but he flicked his long spear outwards, perfectly supporting the bottom of the wine jar. Then he pulled it back, lifted the jar with his other hand, and silently tilted his head back to take a swig.

A pungent aroma of liquor entered his mouth, and even he couldn't help but exhale and exclaim, "Good liquor! Strong enough!"

After saying this, he threw the wine jar back.

"General, do you intend to sit on your horse and drink with me?"

Xia Qing took another big gulp of wine, then looked at the valiant and scholarly general with a smile.

"Sorry."

The valiant and learned general did not hesitate any longer. He immediately dismounted his white horse and strode toward Xia Qing.

Xia Qing also took out a picnic blanket from the Mirror Demon Card, and with a wave of her hand, a table of still-steaming barbecue and snacks appeared on the picnic blanket.

"Taste it?"

Xia Qing sat cross-legged on the picnic blanket, picked up a few skewers of lamb, and handed them over with a smile.

The valiant and scholarly general also sat down properly amidst the clatter of armor plates. Looking at the mutton skewers that Xia Qing handed him, smelling the aroma of spices and roasted meat, he hesitated slightly, but still accepted them.

After taking a bite, he immediately exclaimed, "Delicious!"

"Come on, let's keep drinking. I may not be as good as you at fighting, but I might be better at drinking. Let's drink until we're drunk and see who gets drunk first."

Xia Qing handed over the wine jar again, adding a note: "Of course, let's agree beforehand that we can't cheat using special methods."

"I... am no ordinary person, and the pleasure of intoxication... is hard to come by."

The scholar-general picked up the jar and began to drink, downing almost half of it in a short while.

"What a coincidence, I'm also someone who can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk." Xia Qing smiled, took out another jar, and drank heartily as well.

Besides the arms, Drunken Fist primarily strengthens the internal organs, or rather, drinking. The claim of being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk is an understatement.

The valiant and scholarly general was not eloquent, so he didn't say much. He simply toasted silently, drinking alone and occasionally eating some food and wine.

However, after consuming a large amount of strong liquor, his body, which was neither immune nor particularly restrained, eventually reacted and he gradually started talking:

"Are the people here... here... living in peace and happiness?"

"Apart from generals, the overall situation is relatively peaceful and happy. Although there are some worries, it is an unprecedented golden age. Not everyone is happy, but at least few people lack food and clothing. Everyone can read and write, and having enough to eat and wear is commonplace."

Xia Qing answered while drinking.

Aside from wanting to drink with heroes, he had no other motives; he was simply drinking and chatting with this admirable general.

But when faced with the appearance of these ancient people, it's hard not to feel a sense of pride and honor when talking about the present world.

“…Very good.”

Hearing the undisguised pride in Xia Qing's words, the valiant and scholarly general nodded slightly, then looked up at the moon: "The... Central Plains... can they be recovered? The barbarians... can they... can they still invade our borders?"

"Friction never ends, but as previously stated, we are now in a golden age."

Xia Qing then didn't hesitate to show off his limited historical knowledge.

He started talking about the Tang and Song dynasties, the transition from Yuan to Ming, the Qing army's entry into the pass, the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, and continued all the way to the present day.

During this time, one cannot help but pay close attention to the expressions of the valiant and scholarly generals.

When Song Shi was mentioned, his expression became quite complex and melancholy.

When the Yuan Dynasty was mentioned, a sense of shared hatred and indignation was revealed.

When Zhu Taizu (Emperor Hongwu) repeated the description of Chinese clothing and customs, he clapped his hands in praise.

Upon hearing of the Manchu invasion, he was once again enraged, as if he wished he could throw himself into that time and personally fight again.

Then came the news of the invasion by eight nations, which forced China to cede territory and pay indemnities, filling him with a visceral and overwhelming rage.

Only after hearing the golden monkey wield its mighty cudgel, clearing the jade sky of dust for thousands of miles, and hearing the various precedents set in thousands of years, did he slowly calm down, and his expression gradually became intoxicated.

But it's unclear whether it's the wine that's intoxicating, or the overwhelming sense of time passing over the vast landscape.

"The general is drunk. It seems I am better than the general at drinking."

Xia Qing tilted his head back and drank the last mouthful of wine from the jar. He looked at the scholar-general and smiled, "Can this be considered a victory for me over the general?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the white dragon horse leisurely grazing by the roadside.

He was extremely envious of that magnificent mount, and the Overlord Halberd Technique was also in need of a suitable mount.

"I'll...I'll consider it a minor victory, White Dragon, no way."

The valiant general still struggled to speak, but Xia Qing had already gotten used to it.

After waiting a moment, I felt something being tossed over by the valiant and scholarly general.

The words that had been cut off came out: "This... is for you."

Xia Qing casually caught it, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a token-like object.

"What is this? What is its purpose?"

Xia Qing looked at the valiant and scholarly general with a puzzled expression.

He was joking when he asked for the White Dragon Horse; he never really thought he could get it easily by drinking, nor did he expect to gain anything from it.

Unexpectedly, there was an additional benefit.

"Useless... useless, a memorial."

The valiant and scholarly general spoke.

"Okay, that's fine."

Xia Qing nodded, thought for a moment, and realized that she didn't have anything to give the other party.

As if knowing what Xia Qing was thinking, the valiant and scholarly general shook his head and said, "Good wine, good food, good stories, that's enough."

After saying that, he stood up and beckoned to Xia Qing: "Let's... let's have another fight."

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(End of this chapter)