The word hung in the air like incense smoke. Friendship. A concept far more dangerous than any cursed liquor in Kai's experience. His eyes narrowed as he studied Gin's face—the laugh lines around his eyes that spoke of hardship weathered with humor, the calluses on his hands from decades of rough living, the faint scar along his jaw that told stories of narrow escapes. This was no pampered sect disciple playing at being a rogue cultivator.

  Lu Bu, who had been watching the exchange with wide-eyed fascination, suddenly piped up. "It smells amazing! Like the candied fruits the merchants used to bring during—"

  "Not now, Lu Bu," Kai said, his attention never leaving Gin. The man held his gaze steadily, despite the alcohol in his system. That alone was telling—most drunks he had met couldn't maintain eye contact if their lives depended on it.

  Kai's fingers twitched. The sensible part of him screamed that this was a trick, that no wandering cultivator would part with something so valuable without ulterior motives.

  "What are you playing at?" The words came out like drawn steel.

  Gin threw up a hand in protest. "Nothing! Swear on my mother's grave!" He hiccuped, then corrected himself. "Well, if she were dead. Which she's not. Probably. It's just a gift of friendship! Not poisoned or anything nefarious!"

  Kai's eyebrow twitched upward. "I wasn't thinking it was poisoned until you mentioned it."

  Gin's already ruddy face paled beneath its alcoholic flush. "No, wait! Let me prove it's safe!" Before Kai could react, the drunken cultivator tipped the jar back and took three enormous gulps, his Adam's apple bobbing violently with each swallow.

  The effect was instantaneous.

  Gin's entire face transformed into something resembling an overripe persimmon. His eyes crossed slightly as he swayed like a sapling in a typhoon. "Sheeeeesh," he slurred, the word stretching out like taffy, "It'sss saaaafeyyy..." A dopey grin spread across his face as he attempted to stand at attention, succeeding only in listing dangerously to starboard.

  For one precarious moment, the drunken cultivator achieved something resembling verticality - then physics reasserted itself. Gin's knees buckled like wet parchment as he pitched forward in what might have been the world's slowest faceplant.

  Kai moved with a cultivator's reflexes, one hand shooting out to catch the precious jar of wine while the other grabbed Gin by the collar just before his nose could make intimate acquaintance with the ground. The liquor sloshed perilously but didn't spill, its golden surface catching the light like liquid amber.

  "Idiot," Kai muttered, hauling the limp cultivator upright only to find Gin had gone completely boneless, his limbs dangling like a marionette with its strings cut. The man's eyes rolled back in blissful intoxication, a contented smile plastered across his face.

  Lu Bu, who had been watching the entire spectacle with a mixture of confusion and fascination, finally found his voice. "Is... is he dead?"

  Kai gave the unconscious cultivator an experimental shake. Gin responded by snoring loudly, a thin trail of drool escaping the corner of his mouth. "No," Kai sighed, "just profoundly stupid."

  The jar in his hand radiated warmth, its contents swirling with visible strands of qi. Even through the clay, Kai could feel the potent energy contained within. He glanced at Snow's still form, then back at the unconscious drunkard now draped over his arm.

  With his free hand, Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. This was exactly why he avoided people. They were messy, complicated, and invariably more trouble than they were worth. And yet...

  "Lu Bu," he growled, "help me get this walking disaster near the fire before he freezes to death."

  Stolen novel; please report.

  As they dragged Gin toward the warmth, the jar of Five-Peak Mountain Dew sat cradled carefully in Kai's other hand, its contents undisturbed. Against all logic, against every instinct screaming at him to throw the drunkard back out into the wilds, Kai found himself making space near the fire for one more.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like his old teacher chuckled. The path of cultivation, it seemed, had a sense of humor after all.

  Once they got Gin settled by the crackling fire, Kai carefully retrieved the lid for the wine jar containing the infamous Five-Peak Mountain Dew. With a deft hand, he managed to reseal it, ensuring that its potent allure would no longer tempt him. The fact that someone like Gin had fainted after indulging in this intoxicating brew suggested that the strange cultivator was either a lightweight or that the wine itself was extraordinarily strong. Kai leaned toward the latter conclusion.

  He turned the jar in his hands. Part of him wondered if a carefully measured dose might help Snow, but the risks were too great. Administering potent spirit wine to an injured beast would be like trying to extinguish a fire with oil - the sudden influx of energy could shatter Snow's already unstable meridians.

  Lu Bu draped one of their spare leather blankets over Gin's snoring form before approaching Kai, who was massaging his temples in a futile attempt to ward off an impending headache. Most of the spirit beasts had dispersed, leaving only Ning standing guard over their unconscious guest, her massive head lowered in what Kai recognized as protective vigilance.

  Lu Bu settled beside Kai, his expression a mix of curiosity and concern. “Um, Uncle Kai? Can I ask you something?”

  Kai glanced at him, his brow furrowing slightly. “We’ll be delaying some of those lessons for a little while, sorry Lu Bu.”

  “It’s not that,” Lu Bu replied, shaking his head. “I kinda got a sense from that conversation, but what is the Drunken Master’s Physique? You said it explained a lot.”

  Kai let out a long sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. The fire crackled between them as he gathered his thoughts.

  "Some people," he began slowly, "are born with unique physiques that shape their cultivation path. There are as many variations as stars in the sky." He plucked a twig from the ground and began breaking it into pieces to illustrate his points. "Some enhance - like the Frostborn Constitution that makes ice techniques flow like water through their veins." One piece of twig snapped sharply. "Others hinder - like the Ember-Heart Defect that prevents any water-aligned cultivation." Another piece snapped.

  Kai gestured toward Gin's prone form with what remained of the twig. "The Drunken Master's Physique is... complicated. It's not quite a boon, not quite a hindrance, but absolutely a life sentence." He tossed the remnants into the fire. "Their meridians only open when saturated with alcohol. No drink, no cultivation. Simple as that."

  Lu Bu frowned. "So sects reject them because they don't want drunk disciples?"

  “No, that’s not the main issue,” Kai replied, shaking his head. “To reach higher realms of cultivation, a Drunken Master must consume increasingly potent, qi-infused wine. This becomes prohibitively expensive very quickly. For most sects, the cost of supporting someone with that physique simply isn’t worth it. Consequently, those born with the Drunken Masters Physique are often left to fend for themselves, becoming rogue cultivators by default the day they are born.”

  “Why is that?” Lu Bu pressed, his curiosity piqued. “You taught me that a rogue cultivator is someone who practices without an organization backing them. But why does being born with this physique make you one automatically?”

  Kai sighed again, the burden of the truth weighing heavily on him. “You see, Lu Bu, the moment a person with the Drunken Masters Physique consumes any alcohol, they automatically begin cultivating. This makes them a rogue cultivator according to the laws of the Righteous Alliance. The only way to avoid this fate is to abstain from alcohol entirely. But for those with this physique, that’s nearly impossible. By the time they reach eighteen, they develop an insatiable craving for alcohol that they cannot resist. That’s what Gin meant when he said he had a physique that forced him to cultivate. They become addicted to booze, and when they drink, they start cultivating, whether they want to or not. Because of this, individuals with this physique often have to go into hiding, lest they encounter a faceless judge who would execute them for cultivating without the backing of an organization.”

  “But if these people are born this way and can’t help it, how is that fair?” Lu Bu asked, his voice tinged with indignation.

  “Lu Bu, the cultivation world is not fair,” Kai replied, his tone somber. “I don’t disagree with you, but that’s the reality we live in. And it’s precisely why we’re here in Zan—far away from that kind of world.”

  As the fire crackled and the night deepened, Kai’s thoughts drifted to Gin and the challenges that lay ahead. Wondering what to do with the strange drunkard.

  (Author's Note: Just putting this here for when a bot scrapes and repost without my permission. Hey there! You're reading a story by me, Saberfang. This was likely taken from royal road or scribble hub. If you like my work please read it on those websites or on patreon at patreon.com/user?u=83747391)