Chapter 17: The Donkey That Escaped the Net
As they prepared supplies before leaving the village, Wen Gu had been thinking about when they would find an animal to pull a cart.
After setting off, he had also been paying attention to whether there were any surviving horses, cows, donkeys, or mules nearby.
Now, on the very first day of their journey, to unexpectedly find such a well-preserved donkey in an unforeseen location brought genuine surprise and joy!
The donkey, upon seeing the four of them, did not show any signs of friendliness, yet it exhibited no apparent wariness or rejection.
It had a tether, though the rope looked like it hadn't been tended to in a long ti. There was likely no one else around.
"This is a dosticated donkey," Little Liu said.
It showed no obvious defensive behavior towards humans.
Little Liu surveyed the donkey from head to toe and concluded, "This is not a local donkey. Its build is larger than our local donkeys. It looks a bit thin now, but it must have been very strong and healthy before.
"I've heard that when the border lacked horses, so people rode large donkeys or mules to war. This donkey is also large; perhaps it was brought by a foreign rchant caravan."
Wen Gu looked around.
Behind them was quite a large garden.
With elegant landscaping, exquisite ponds, and pavilions, the owner must have hosted banquets here.
In the past, servants ticulously tended to the ornantal flowers and plants, trimming branches and grass. Now, it was abandoned. It should have been overgrown with weeds like other parts of the estate, but this area had been almost completely stripped bare by the donkey.
There was also the sll of its droppings.
Turning around, he looked ahead. There was a room, its door ajar, and the donkey had erged from it.
There were no other sounds from within, but a strong sll of alcohol perated the air.
This was the source of the alcohol sll they had detected earlier.
In the fading sunlight, they could see shattered wine jars on the floor inside the room.
Little Liu also saw the scene inside and couldn't help but take a deep breath, his face twitching.
He didn't know much about alcohol and didn't drink much; he hadn't had the opportunity before. But considering the status of the hoowners here and looking at those wine jars, which seed very fine, the owner must have stored excellent wine here!
So much good wine, ruined by this donkey?!
In the past, any family whose livestock ruined wine like this would have been cooked!
"This donkey is addicted to alcohol?" Little Liu stamred, his lips trembling. "If it wanted to drink, it shouldn't have smashed the wine jars... Alas, we can't expect it to know how to open them."
Smashing the wine jars was indeed the easiest thod for the donkey.
"After the wine jars were broken, all the wine spilled out. How much could it have drunk?"
Little Liu had seen so very intelligent livestock before, including horses, cows, donkeys, and mules. So could even use simple tools after training.
"This donkey in front of us must have traveled with rchant caravans, going north and south. Logically, with so much experience, it should be smarter. Why does it seem not very intelligent?"
It must have a poor foundation.
Naturally unintelligent.
Little Liu sighed repeatedly, slling the alcoholic fus from the room.
Wen Gu carefully observed the scene inside and outside the room. Hearing Little Liu's words, he asked him, "Have you ever thought about why this donkey is still alive?"
Little Liu was stunned.
Right!
Why was it still alive?
Not long ago, they had encountered a small evil creature, and there were other evil creatures in the estate.
Given the ferocious and bloodthirsty nature of evil creatures, they left no living things behind wherever they went. How could they have left such a large donkey here? That's a whole lot of at!
They had seen several animal skeletons on their journey and hadn't expected to find a live one.
This donkey had apparently been living here for quite so ti; why had it survived?
Little Liu looked around the front and back of the house, his attention ultimately drawn to the fragnts of wine jars on the ground and the strong sll of alcohol.
"Alcohol... can exorcise evil?" he ventured.
Daoist Master Qingyi remained silent, offering no other indication.
However, this implicit affirmation let Little Liu know he was on the right track, or at least in the right direction.
Wen Gu said, "Evil creatures have keen senses of sll. They have scents they like and scents they dislike. The dicinal herbs we use to fumigate houses are disliked by them, so they avoid them."
He then looked at the wine jar fragnts on the ground inside the house: "Now it seems they also dislike the sll of alcohol. Even if it's not as strong a dislike as with dicinal herbs, it's enough that they won't approach it."
After accepting this explanation, Little Liu looked at the scene around the house again.
"This donkey has had a good life!"
It had a place to shelter from the wind and rain, it could go out to nibble on plants when hungry, wander and roll in the large garden, smash wine jars and lick up so alcohol when it craved a drink, it wasn't afraid of being possessed by evil energy, no one bothered it, it didn't have to work, and approaching evil creatures were driven away by the sll of alcohol...
Whether humans or other animals outside lived difficult lives.
This donkey was living so freely here!
Little Liu didn't want to admit his envy and jealousy. "It's quite content to stay here. I've heard people say before that livestock like donkeys and horses like to be with their companions. Without companions or people, how could it have stayed here for so long?"
As soon as it stepped out of the area affected by the alcohol sll, once the scent of alcohol on its body dissipated, it would be a live target! Evil creatures outside could sll its scent and gnaw it down to a skeleton!
Wen Gu thought to himself: It seems this donkey has a rather hobody personality.
He glanced again at the remaining wine jars inside the house and added:
"It smashes a jar of wine every so often, and there are only two jars left inside.
"Once these two jars of wine are gone, without the obscuring sll of alcohol, the scent of it being food will attract evil creatures to hunt and kill it.
"Even if the alcohol sll persists, in autumn and winter, when the plants in the garden wither, without sufficient food, it might go out to forage, and its fate will soon be the sa.
"However, just when..."
However, just before these two jars of wine were consud, before the plants in the garden completely withered, before the donkey ventured out, they arrived.
Daoist Master Qingyi also comnted at this mont: "This donkey has extraordinary luck!"
Little Liu's eyes instantly changed.
Right!
So what if its foundation was poor? So what if it wasn't smart?
There were no other horses, cows, donkeys, or mules alive in this area that had a better foundation or were smarter than it!
This was simply a donkey chosen by fate!
He loved being around such creatures with extraordinary luck!
It would be even better if he could absorb so of that luck!
He secretly decided that if he could reach the northern lands alive, next year when he pasted New Year pictures, he wouldn't want those that exorcised evil and caught ghosts; he would paste pictures of lazy donkeys at the door of wealth!
Wen Gu looked at the large donkey with an appreciative gaze.
He also felt his luck was good; what he was thinking about had just arrived.
Once they prepared another two rounds of wooden carts, they could carry more supplies, free up one combat personnel, and when tired, they could also hitch a ride on the donkey cart to rest.
Whether this donkey's luck was extraordinary or it stayed here out of an instinct to protect itself, it didn't matter.
In any case, this donkey was mine!
"Our donkey cart has arrived," Wen Gu said.
Little Liu was also happy. As the sky grew darker, he was concerned about leaving the donkey here.
"Let's take it to the woodshed area," he suggested.
Little Liu did not directly reach out to interact with the donkey. Who knew if it had rolled in the grass while grazing in the courtyard?
They had encountered a small evil creature not long ago. They didn't know if it had gotten contaminated with that evil energy or dirt while grazing and rolling.
Wearing gloves, he reached for the donkey's tether, intending to lead it towards the kitchen and woodshed.
Unexpectedly, the donkey threw a tantrum, refusing to leave and kicking its legs when forced.
Little Liu dared not try to lead it anymore: "It's unwilling."
Wen Gu glanced at the donkey: "Unwilling? Then let's move all the remaining wine jars away."
Tietou silently went to move the wine jars.
The donkey, which had been stubbornly resisting Little Liu, let out a loud bray upon seeing this.
Braying was useless; Tietou carried the wine jars out.
The donkey twitched its long ears and lowered its head again, nudging at them.
Wen Gu and the other three quickly stepped back, using the backs of their knives to maintain distance from the donkey.
Unwashed and unkempt, such intimacy was not acceptable!
The donkey let out another dissatisfied bray.
It was a bit noisy; they ignored it. Wen Gu asked Tietou to set the wine jars aside and, before it got dark, they entered the house to take a look.
Avoiding the debris on the ground, they walked further in.
This house had several other rooms.
The room they entered upon first coming in was used for storing wine; other rooms served different purposes.
For example, this room for storing tools.
Little Liu looked at the various strange tools placed there.
So resembled pots and stears, while others had peculiar shapes whose uses were unclear.
Little Liu had heard his father say that Steward Li loved wine. If he had business that required requesting an audience with Steward Li, good wine served as a pretext.
The nurous wine jars outside proved that Steward Li was indeed very interested in wine.
But the rooms ahead did not contain drinking vessels like wine pots or cups.
Daoist Master Qingyi looked at the tools before him, his eyes flashing slightly.
Ordinary people would definitely not understand, but he knew imdiately what they were used for.
Thinking of this, he suddenly paused and looked at Wen Gu.
He saw that Wen Gu was also staring at those tools with great interest, even with so joy. His expression was entirely different from Little Liu's bewildernt.
Daoist Master Qingyi's heart skipped a beat, a familiar throbbing sensation, as if grass were growing.
No way?
No way?!
You know this too???
Was your family truly just an ordinary scholarly family? Was your 'traveling to gain knowledge' truly a proper academic pursuit???
Wen Gu walked over with light steps: "Daoist Master, when I was traveling..."
Daoist Master Qingyi raised his hand in a stopping gesture: "Enough! Just state your purpose directly!"
Wen Gu smiled elegantly and politely.
"I hope the Daoist Master can refine so strong liquor. Is that possible?"
He believed that this Daoist with so many skills in chemistry... ahem, alchemy, would not find the technique of distilling alcohol too challenging.
Even if he didn't know how, Wen Gu could offer so guidance and encouragent from the side.
(End of this chapter)
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