The Path Toward Heaven

Chapter 787: Reciting Books at Night While being Drunk

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zong Lizi dumped the entirety of the strong spirits down her throat, and almost chocked on it. She coughed twice, her face flushed.

Jiang Yuxia picked up a handkerchief from the table and was ready to wipe the wine stain off the corner of Zong Lizi’s mouth.

A barrage of cheers broke out again among the guests, and hand clapping even occurred in a corner of the hall. It was evident that the people were impressed with the high tolerance of alcohol displayed by this red-haired girl.

Zong Lizi flashed an amiable smile at Jiang Yuxia before she toppled forward and hit her head on the table with a thud.

Nothing unexpected or miraculous had happened.

As anticipated by Jing Jiu, the magic methods in this world couldn’t help the Cultivation practitioners avoid getting drunk, at the very least not in the Fire-Observing State and the Golden State.

The Cultivation here was rather useless as far as this aspect was concerned.

Jiang Yuxia was startled and hurried over to check on Zong Lizi.

A female caretaker came over and examined Zong Lizi. After she was certain that Zong Lizi was not in danger, she motioned for Jiang Yuxia to continue taking the test and to pay no heed to Zong Lizi.

Countless surprised cries went up in the praying hall the moment Zong Lizi was drunk and fell. After that, many whispers could be heard, and so was the laughter in some places.

Different people have different opinions on the same issue.

Mr. Xia maintained the same standing posture with no expression on his face after he learned from the hand gesture of the female caretaker that Zong Lizi was not in danger.

Seeing the drunk girl, the CEO of the Twirling Rain Company, on the other hand, thought that his father-in-law also had a low tolerance of alcohol, and so did his wife; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to persuade her to marry him if she hadn’t been drunk at the time…Was this the so-called genetic effect?

The surprised cries in front of the TV sets contained different emotions. Most of the audience showed surprise and sympathy, but the inhabitants in the underground neighborhood displayed shock and worry.

“I told you,” the owner of the barbecue stand pointed at the TV set and said after he took off his hat and threw it onto the ground angrily. “The way she fell forward is exactly how she had before, including the angle, force and sound of the falling. I told you guys that she can’t drink much alcohol. But this test is about drinking alcohol. I suspect that the people above are trying to sabotage us.”

“She is not only ill-mannered, but also ignorant of her own capability, yet I didn’t expect her to be eliminated so easily.”

Mo Zong curled up the corners of her mouth to reveal a brief sneer. She brought the wine glass to her lips and drank the red wine in a leisurely manner.

After making sure Zong Lizi was not in serious trouble, Jiang Yuxia sat back at her own table. She picked up a ceramic cup and tasted the rice wine intently.

Hua Xi opened her eyes wide while looking at those wine bottles curiously. She poured a bit of each wine into her glass; it was unclear what kind of wine she intended to mix.

The turbulence caused by drunken Zong Lizi had soon subsided. The gazes of the people resumed once again being fixed on the three girls with black hair. They couldn’t help but praise the fact that they were indeed from famous families and were the favorites of this selection. And they could display their respective elegant demeanor even though it was something as simple as drinking wines.

A short while later, Mo Zong had filled three glasses with a little bit of wine in each and drank them all. Then, she stopped drinking, flashing a confident smile.

She thought that the test was intended to observe the self-control of the candidates.

Later on, some more girls put down their wine glasses, indicating that they were not to drink more.

Jiang Yuxia was still drinking. She lifted her wine cup at a measured pace and in a steady manner, showing an elegant air. Any onlooker would feel pleased to witness her behavior.

Hua Xi’s naïve face was quite red. The alcohol with mixed wines might taste fine, but it made the drinker easier to get drunk.

She suddenly lifted her sleeve to cover her face while uttering a burp. Then, she glanced at the crowd embarrassingly, her face turning redder.

The guests let out a barrage of friendly laughter.

…

…

Half an hour later, the girl who had the highest tolerance of alcohol and was from the military base of the Third Canyon set down the wine glass. The final test for the evening was officially over.

What made Mo Zong and some girls feel displeased was that the authority of the praying hall hadn’t announced the eliminations of Zong Lizi and other two girls who were drunk by now.

The three to them were so drunk, but why hadn’t they been disqualified?

Mr. Xia came to the middle of the grand hall after he talked to a main preacher in whisper.

The discussions in the praying hall vanished as they all waited for the final announcement, or at least the result of this test.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Xia did none of them. Instead, he…announced the beginning of the test.

As he announced this, the preachers and female caretakers came out from behind the stone pillars like tide and took away the wine bottles and cups as quickly as they could. At the same time, they brought back the scripts of divinity and put them on the tables.

The scripts on the tables were the ones the girls had read earlier; it was evident that the praying hall had prepared for this ahead of time.

Seeing this scene, the crowd uttered another barrage of surprised cries. Some people in the rear of the crowd couldn’t help but stand up. All the people, be it in the praying hall or the audiences in front of the TV sets, had thought the first test of memorizing a book was too simple and meaningless; it turned out the true test of memory was taking place now.

It had been more than one hour since they memorized the book, and the girls had gone through the test of martial art hosted by Ran Handong and drank so much alcohol…Could they still remember the contents of the script?

Hearing what Mr. Xia said, the girls were shocked. Influenced by the effect of alcohol, many of them failed to maintain a serene demeanor, showing a nervous expression on their faces. Some girls couldn’t help but look at the audiences on the platforms in an attempt to find their family members or schools to get some clue from them.

Mo Zong looked at the chaotic scenes around her with curled up corners of her mouth, letting loose a confident faint smile. She thought she could remember the contents of the script easily because she had an outstanding memory and she hadn’t drunk much alcohol earlier…

As she was thinking of all this, a preacher, standing in front of her, asked her expressionlessly, “What are the three definitions of god given by the Eastern Preacher in the second line of the fourth paragraph in the Simple Principle article?”

…

…

The other girls were being asked the very same question at the moment.

When they went through the first test, they had just read the script of divinity assigned to them and had a fresh memory of it; they could answer the questions without hesitation. But, many of them had a hard time answering the question.

Their memory was greatly affected by the attack from Ran Handong and the alcohol.

It didn’t take long before several girls were eliminated from the selection after they had answered the questions incorrectly three times in a row.

Soon after, more and more girls left their seats, and the faint crying could be heard coming from the long corridor.

…

…

Jiang Yuxia showed a calm expression on her face, her head slightly lowered, her eyelids not blinking. It was unclear what she was thinking at the moment.

Some people believed that she, like the other girls, had forgotten the contents of the script, feeling a bit disappointed.

She lifted up her head and looked at Zong Lizi who were drunk and stooped over the table, uttering a faint sigh. Then, she started answering the questions put forth by the preacher in front of her.

It seemed that Zong Lizi was out of action; then she had to do it herself.

Jiang Yuxia had received the special education since a young age, and the ideal she had was to become a female priest. Though she developed some sort of rebellious mentality and grew apart from the ideal as she matured; but she still regarded the position of female priest as something that should be as clean as a pearl.

She didn’t want to become a female priest, but she was even more unwilling to let such a holly position be taken by someone like Mo Zong.

The answers given by Jiang Yuxia were accurate and precise without a single incorrect word said. The words came out from her mouth like the smoothly flowing water, which reached everyone’s ears.

The testing preacher revealed an affirmative expression on his face.

Hua Xi answered the questions successfully. Though the pace of her speaking was a bit slow and her tone was somewhat childish due to the effect of alcohol, no mistake had been made by her.

The female caretaker in charge of testing her showed a gentle expression in her eyes.

Unexpectedly, Mo Zong, who was the most confident one among the girls, had made a mistake at the beginning of the test.

The three definitions of god given by the Eastern Preacher in the Simple Principle article was rather unusual to start with, and she hadn’t read it during her preparation for the tests. In addition, she felt a bit over-confident at the moment. As a result, she recited the sentence “God is not the origin of everything but the focus of everything” in the wrong order.

Fortunately, a candidate would be eliminated only after making three mistakes; and she didn’t make any more mistakes after she concentrated more on the test and tried harder to recall the content she had memorized earlier.

As time went by, only a dozen girls with black hair had passed the test, those that did remaining in the arena.

Another person remaining in the arena was the red-haired girl who was still unconscious because of drunkenness.

The main preacher of Shou’er City came over and looked at the preacher in front of the table where the girl was at, saying expressionlessly, “Why haven’t you started the test yet?”

“She is not even conscious; how can I test her?” the preacher replied helplessly.

The main preacher came before Zong Lizi and put his finger under her nose.

Seeing this, the people felt dumbfounded, wondering if it was possible for her to die from drunkenness.

It was then that Zong Lizi came back to her senses and showed a baffled expression on her face, her breath reeking of alcohol. She had no idea what had just happened.

The main preacher told her the content of the last test and turned to head toward a place in the distance. He wiped off the secret medicinal paste on his right hand undetected.

Zong Lizi felt much less drunk than she did earlier; but her headache didn’t diminish. She held her forehead with her hands in a stupor for a while, after which she remembered the content of the test the main preacher had told her. She couldn’t help but utter an astonished cry.

The preacher, who stood in front of Zong Lizi, didn’t delay any further and started asking her the questions.

Zong Lizi couldn’t pay close attention to the demeanor Jiang Yuxia reminded her of at the moment. She sat with her legs crossed and yelled with her right hand raised up and left hand holding her forehead, “Wait a second! Wait a second!”

All the gazes were fixed on her.

The people of the whole planet gazed at her.

The CEO of the Twirling Rain Company couldn’t sit still any longer. He leaned his upper body forward slightly, a nervous expression showing on his face.

A great many audiences in front of the TV sets were encouraging her.

The underground barbecue stall was crowded with people in the night market. The people shouted incessantly while clenching their fists, “Wake up! Wake up!”

Zong Lizi suddenly took a deep breath and brought back her hands. She took a hair band from her wrist and tied her red hair with it; then, she scooped some water in the green ceramic bowl with her hands and splashed it onto her face and rubbed her face a few times forcefully.

The water beads were trickling down from her young and attractive face like she had just experienced a rainstorm. A flower petal was still stuck to her face, looking appealing.

Looking at the preacher the way as if she was examining her own life, Zong Lizi said loudly, “Come on; let’s begin!”

…

…

After seeing this, Jing Jiu quit watching her. He got up and headed toward the other side of the gray screen.

He was fully aware of what plot the story would have.

This had nothing to do with the novel of two million words he had written; the story that was unfolding had something to do with him.

The reason he stayed around and watched her for a long time was because he was worried that Zong Lizi, after getting so drunk, would throw up later and it would be troublesome to clean the mess.

However, the guests in the praying hall, the candidates and the audiences in front of the TV sets had no idea what plot the story would have.

Countless people with various emotions were watching the red-haired girl.

The voice of Zong Lizi was a bit hoarse in the beginning, and she would halt after reciting a few words; it was evidently due to the effect of alcohol. As time went by, she could answer the questions more quickly and more fluently; her performance was marvelous. It was unclear if it was due to the reduced effect of alcohol or other reasons.

Watching her on the side, Jiang Yuxia felt proud and astonished, her eyes beaming.

Mo Zong’s face grew more unsightly. The big eyes of Hua Xi’s were full of admiration; she was impressed with this red-haired girl, thinking that this girl dared use the water with flower petals in the green ceramic bowl to wash her face even though it was not an outstanding feat to recite those difficult sentences; this red-haired girl was truly audacious…

As more questions were answered, the astonished cries in the praying hall grew increasingly louder. The guests in the hall didn’t expect this girl from the underground neighborhood to achieve such a feat.

The CEO of the Twirling Rain Company nodded slightly and felt relieved, thinking that she was indeed a child…favored by the chairman.

A barrage of cheers burst out on the prairie outside the praying hall. The people in front of the family TV sets, who had chosen to support Zong Lizi, shook their fists in the air excitedly; the children were running around nonstop.

The canteen at the New Era Institute was in a chaos. The former classmates of Zong Lizi banged the dining tables constantly, shouting in words with undetermined meanings.

The boss of the gaming parlor in the underground neighborhood stared closed at the TV screen. He suddenly kicked the little thief onto the ground, yelling, “Get the hell out of here!”

The bottles of rice wine were piled up by the barbecue stand of the night market. The owner of the barbecue stall kept clanking his wine bottle against others’. Mr. Dan, who didn’t usually drink alcohol, was sipping spirits from a small bottle.

He was physically feeble because he spent all day in the sunless workshop day after day. He felt dizzy after a few sips of the alcohol. “She is indeed outstanding,” he muttered . “She is indeed the daughter of a professor. It’s just that that professor was too foolish…”

…

…

After finding out that she hadn’t made any mistake when answering the questions, Zong Lizi felt a bit relaxed. The drunkenness that she had suppressed forcibly came back again; and her face, once cooled by the cold water, became heated again.

It seemed that the tests for the candidates were over. The female caretakers and the preachers from the priest clan were to ask some more questions, the answers of which would be recorded.

The voices of the female caretakers and the preachers were very soft and amiable. It seemed to have a certain magic, making the listeners feel affectionate and would rather tell them everything they knew.

A dozen girls still remained in the arena. Most of them were still influenced by alcohol. They, guided by such a mesmerizing voice, started to answer the questions.

Mo Zong was fully aware that this was the real final test. As such, she didn’t answer any question raised by the female caretaker, while smiling slightly.

Jiang Yuxia was also smiling faintly at the moment; but she didn’t give out any useful information. The female caretaker didn’t obtain any answer she intended to get.

Zong Lizi was seriously affected by alcohol again.

She kept on pinching her own thigh in an effort to keep a cool head as she thought that she couldn’t fall down heading into the last stretch.

It was a preacher who questioned her. The preacher asked while looking at her affably, “You don’t have to answer any of my questions; but I suggest you do.”

Zong Lizi uttered a vague “hmm”.

“What does your best friend do?” the preacher asked softly.

Zong Lizi thought that Jing Jiu had so many secrets and that he might have a deep grudge against somebody. She decided that she couldn’t tell anybody about him and shook her head steadfastly.

“What kind of boy do you like?” the preacher pressed.

Zong Lizi thought that Jing Jiu had so many secrets and that he might have a deep grudge against somebody. She decided that she couldn’t tell anybody about him and shook her head steadfastly.

“What is your most hidden secret?” the preacher asked.

Zong Lizi thought that Jing Jiu…Well…it seemed that she had already thought of this before.

The medicine applied to her by the main preacher of Shou’er City had gradually worn off. She felt a bit drunk again and didn’t have a clean head at the moment. She shook her head while giving a foolish smile.

The little girl by the name of Hua Xi had also drunk too much. She was smiling at the female caretaker in front of her foolishly.

The guests felt it rather entertaining when they saw these two girls smiling foolishly, and couldn’t help but laugh out themselves.

All of a sudden, the vast and solemn praying hall was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.