Blood Moon Hunters

Many people were laughing and cheering by the lake. Their laughter and cheers arose mixed with the smell of wine.

“Burp!” Zhao Changge’s face turned red. He was too drunk to support himself.

He fell on Feng Tianming’s back and became the second wasted person.

“Well, that’s some real wine.” Yu Wude could see illusory sparks flying before his eyes. Later on, he fell down and used Shangguan Yiyi’s thighs as a pillow. Under that sweet floral scent, he fell asleep.

“Get up! You want to fight? I…” Shangguan Yiyi’s scolding sounded weak.

She was surprised that Yu Wude had fallen down before her. She was so drunk that she could barely lift her arms to wake him up. Finally, she fell down on the ground and blacked out within the blink of an eye.

“Brother, I’m drunk…”

Chu He already had a facial flush. Before he finished talking, he fell asleep on Wang Bugui’s shoulder.

“Hey, I bet you’ll fall down!”

“Not if you do first!”

Lyu Hao and Blood Demon King were still trying to get each other drunk. More than half of the wine present was in their bellies now. The smell of alcohol in their mouths was stronger than anybody else’s in this place.

The two struggled and finished the last drop of the half jar of wine, then they collapsed onto the ground, falling asleep and snoring.

“I want more big fruits!”

Even Xue Yu’er was drunk. After a few sips, she stumbled and fell in Wang Bugui’s arms, huddling herself like a white ball.

Lan Chuan was already tipsy before Tian Ming started to drink. Chu He was leaning on Wang Bugui’s left shoulder, and Lan Chuan was leaning on the right.

Wang Bugui wasn’t even able to move anymore. He had to be careful when picking up his cup, or Lan Chuan and Chu He would fall down on the ground. Seeing those two sleeping made him feel warm.

These people didn’t share his blood, but they were so real, and he cherished them so much. It was a great pity that Chiou still didn’t wake up. Wang Bugui looked worried again when he thought about her.

When Xue Yu’er was being caressed, her little ear twitched for a bit. She felt the familiar warmth of Wang Bugui, so she rubbed her head on his hand and continued to sleep.

“They are drunk again? What a waste of the beautiful illusion of my Flower Lake.” Zi Yuxiao sounded a little upset.

“It’s a rare chance for them to relax. Please don’t be mad at them.” Yun Jinghong was apologizing for those drunkards.

“That’s right. Cultivators don’t have as many chances to get drunk as ordinary people do. They have reached the Greater Power Realm, and this is the time for them to temporarily get away from the past 50 years of painful memories.” Leng Shuangrong laughed.

“You’ve made peace with each other so fast… I’m so surprised. The ice queen is now being melted down by a gentleman. We should celebrate this. A toast to you two,” Zi Yuxiao said with a smile.

Her words made Yun Jinghong and Leng Shuangrong blush. Leng Yueyan and Ning Zhe were leaning on each other and sleeping, and Wang Bugui was the only one that was still drinking. The couple had no choice but to lift a cup and drank it down.

Zi Yuxiao finished the toast and looked at Wang Bugui. The man couldn’t move his eyes away from his cup. Zi Yuxiao smiled and asked in her charming voice, “Penny for your thoughts? Why are you mind-wandering? Do you miss your beloved beauty?”

Wang Bugui was shocked because Zi Yuxiao had seen through him. He answered hastily, “I’m so sorry. This is a place for celebration and laughter, not my bitter face. I’ll have three more cups of wine as an apology.”

He refilled the cup in his hand and had three more cups. Then he grinned while showing his teeth to the three others to apologize for his bitter face. However, the three of them became more concerned about him because of his forced smile.

The confidence and arrogance in his eyes were all gone by now, and they were replaced by endless sadness and tiredness. Outside, he was smiling; inside, he was dying.

The man was trying to look as indifferent as he usually was, but his heart had been tortured so much. His family and friends had died and left him, and the relationship between him and Hanae Chiou and became so frustrating.

She was willing to die for him, and he started to cultivate just to bring her back to life. He had been so close to the Greater Power Realm, and he nearly found the way to rebuild Chiou’s body, but unfortunately, Chiou’s primordial spirit was nearly devastated in the west.

Her soul puppet was too broken to be used again, and Wang Bugui was also willing to die for her. Wang Bugui was later pulled back from death by Azrael, which gave him a real experience of death.

Hanae Chiou’s primordial spirit was just rebuilt a while ago, and nobody knew how long it would take for her to wake up. Wang Bugui had been going through all the difficulties of life since he was a kid.

He had overcome death and learned the truth of samsara this time, and he had dispelled the heart demons inside himself. There was nothing colder and more painful than what he had witnessed; all the bitterness in this world had been tasted by him.

“Bugui, don’t push yourself too hard,” Yun Jinghong said, seeming so worried.

Wang Bugui shook his head in response. He smiled and explained, “Master, I won’t push myself to the limit. It’s just… I’ve seen through things and learned things.

“That may be a good thing. You called me an unprecedented genius, and those hardships were what it took for me to grow strong enough to shoulder those responsibilities.”

The other three people didn’t know how to react to what Wang Bugui just said. He was a very young cultivator. Other people of his age knew nothing aside from being cynical. It’s very rare for a young man to express such painful feelings.

The three elder cultivators sighed. They were the greater powers, and it was their responsibility to protect the world from demons. They felt so guilty that the duty had fallen on the younger generation now.

Wang Bugui had no childhood. He spent all his time cultivating and killing. Nobody knew what had been driven him up to this point.

“Sigh! Bugui! I feel incompetent for not being able to help you!” said Yun Jinghong, who felt so ashamed.

“You’re not alone. Most geniuses like you had lost their precious childhood, and they were born to shoulder great responsibilities. I feel sorry for them!”

Leng Shuangrong also shook her head and sighed a little. The life of a genius was usually pre-defined, and they would have to reach a realm that seemed impossible for ordinary people.

Their right to have fun had been deprived as soon as they were born, and even if they weren’t able to be immortal, they would also be forced to follow the certain path of other geniuses. They were born for Taoism, and they would one day die for it as well.

“You don’t have to blame yourselves. That was what it took for Bugui to grow strong enough to face future challenges. The future belongs to the young.

“He is an unprecedented genius and the hope of the world. Those hardships might be God’s way of training him so that he could shine as soon as possible.”

Zi Yuxiao spoke in a lazy and coquettish voice. She didn’t feel bad about this like the other two did. She thought that a genius like Wang Bugui should be smart enough to understand whatever had happened to him.

Wang Bugui slowly nodded and said, “One who wants to save the world bears the pain. To wear the crown of the Human Emperor, one has to withstand all the tortures of the human world.

“In other words… those so-called geniuses were nothing more than the unlucky ones chosen by the world.”

Then he raised his head to look into the beautiful starry sky, murmuring like he was praying, “I’ve never wanted to be a genius. If I had a choice, I’d like to be an ordinary man.

“However, I’m afraid that God will never leave me a choice and wants to take the people I love away from me. I don’t want that to happen, so I have to be what He wants me to be.

“I want to stop God from taking my people away, and I want those immortals and demons to stop challenging me. I want to grab my destiny in my own hands!”

Wang Bugui clenched his fists so hard that the stars above twinkled as he did so. He looked very decisive and determined.

It seemed that he had made up his mind to go against Heaven’s will. He did it not for himself, but for those people he loved. He wanted to be with them forever and live a normal life.

Zi Yuxiao nodded and said slowly, “I’m so pleased to see you being so decisive and confident. You’re right! We should fight against Heaven’s will. Sometimes it’s too unfair.

“It’s said that God treats every creature equally by torturing all of them like useless bugs. There are plenty of injustices in the world, and there are enough bad guys. Then why do innocent people like us always suffer?”

“It seems that you have had a bad time, too. Do you need someone to talk to?” Wang Bugui asked.

“Yes, but let’s keep it between us. Now is not the right time. We’ll wait till you become the Human Emperor. Then I will not hide anything from you.” Zi Yuxiao smiled calmly.

“That won’t be long!” Wang Bugui also gave her a smile.

“Let’s drink!” Zi Yuxiao waved her hand to them, inviting Wang Bugui and other people to join her.

This time, they were drinking to have fun, not to make themselves numb. That was the essence of wine culture, and that was the right way to enjoy wine.

This used to be one of the traditions of Hua Xia, but now people were twisting it. They always messed with each other and competed, playing drinking games, which was no better than an insult to wine culture and table manners.

The real wine culture should be respected. That was what Wang Bugui and other people were doing now. They sat down in a beautiful spot in a cheerful moment, and they toasted to the moon with their best friends. Then they would take in the wine slowly while talking about the world and their own life.

When they ran out of warm wine, they made some more immediately so that they could keep their topic going. That was how good wine should be enjoyed, and that was what a real wine culture lover was supposed to do.

It was no big deal if people got drunk from time to time just for fun, but if they did that too often, they would definitely get themselves in trouble.