Neck Wine

"Happy birthday, Feili!" In the first-floor hall of the villa, after offering their congratulations, everyone gathered around to watch Feili blow out the candles on the cake, close her eyes, and clasp her hands to make a wish. "So that's what a birthday ritual is like," Igola said. "I've learned something new." "Eh?" Feili asked. "You've never celebrated a birthday before?" "We all grew up in rearing institutes. You can think of us as born orphans. Where we come from, a birthday is just an ordinary day, not something to deliberately celebrate," Igola said. "And frankly, preparing a cake with candles matching your age on the day of your birth, blowing them out in one breath, and then closing your eyes to make a wish... I would never take part in such a bizarre ritual. Heaven knows what might happen." "Though the necromancy faction does have a ritual similar to a birthday, called a 'death anniversary,'" Harvey said. "On the day a corpse transforms into an undead, a memorial ceremony is held every other year, where a large number of maggots are stuffed into—" "Weixi, did they have birthdays in your era?" Yaxiu quickly cut Harvey off. "There were, but how should I put it? We didn't celebrate; it was more like a consoling event." Weixi held out her hands. "We Everdusk elves held a ritual together on the last day of every year, grieving that another year of our lives had slipped away. For you humans to actually celebrate aging a year is truly beyond comprehension." Rose shook her head. "Because humans are so fragile, easily wounded, and easily killed, surviving each year is worth celebrating." With that, she twisted open a bottle of alcohol and chugged straight from the bottle, her throat bobbing as she gulped it down, finishing the entire bottle in five seconds. Covering her mouth, Rose let out a burp and thumped the bottle firmly onto the table. A faint blush rose on her face as she looked around. "Aren't we having drinks?" "Is the drinking etiquette in the Country of All Stars to down it bottle by bottle?" Yaxiu was shocked. "No, I wanted to play party drinking games!" Feili hurriedly said. "The kind where everyone plays games and drinks together to make good memories! Drinking like that won't leave any memories at all!" "I don't understand birthday parties, but I know all about drinking parties." Weixi produced a box. "I'm already prepared. Let's play the undercover game. "Next, everyone gets a glass of wine. For one undercover cup, I'll add all kinds of sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy essences. Before we begin, I'll draw a card from here as the punishment. Whoever is found out to have drunk the undercover wine must carry it out." Igola asked, "How will everyone else know if someone actually drank the undercover wine?" "Whoever gets pointed at the most definitely drank it," Weixi argued plausibly. "If you're drinking normal wine, why would the others suspect you? It takes two to make a quarrel!" Yaxiu questioned, "There aren't any punishments in there that cross the line, are there? Like physical contact between the opposite sexes?" "I refuse contact with the opposite sex as well," Rose said, letting out a wine burp. "Then all physical punishments on the spot must be between the same sex, alright?" Weixi blinked, distributing the glasses to everyone. "All right, the first punishment is... confess your feelings over the phone to a member of the opposite sex who isn't present!" Yaxiu sprayed out a mouthful of wine as soon as he took a sip. Looking up, he saw everyone pointing at him. "This isn't fair! Aside from me, Feili, and Rose, who else among you even knows a woman who isn't here? And has her phone number?" Harvey raised his hand. "Balinna, the cemetery caretaker." Igola raised his hand. "Korenna, Bertie, Jill, Nara... all met at bars." Weixi folded her arms over her chest. "Are you a sore loser? Are you going to ruin such a small wish of Feili's? Master, isn't this a bit too..." "Fine!" Gritting his teeth, Yaxiu pulled out his phone and dialed the only woman in his contact list who wasn't present. "Niya, are you free right now?" "Yeah." "I like you, Niya." He paused. "This is a penalty for a drinking game. Sorry to bother you—" "Say it again." "Huh?" "My signal is bad over here, and I didn't hear what you said. Say it again. Enunciate clearly, and speak slowly." By the time Yaxiu put down his phone, his entire aura had completely changed. "The nature of this game has changed, Weixi!" Yaxiu's lips twitched as he ground his teeth. "You'd better not give me an opening!" "My favorite entertainment back in the day was soaking in a pool of wine and making prophecies." Weixi raised her glass and took a sip. "You want to compete against me? You're a few millennia too—pfft!" "Did you forget that you currently have a normal human body?" Yaxiu gave a provocative laugh. "Let's go down to Hell together, Weixi!" * "This time, the punishment is having a cake slammed into your face!" While drinking, Harvey's armpit was suddenly tickled. He couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of wine, and naturally, everyone pointed at him. Before he could speak, a cake was violently smashed into his face, the force knocking him flat onto the ground! The necromancer calmly wiped the cake from his face and looked at Igola, who had swiftly plastered him. But Igola had already shifted seats, sitting diagonally across the room from Harvey. "Igola, aren't you going too far?" Yaxiu was thoroughly annoyed. "Why did you get to smash it? You should've given me that chance!" "No one is more qualified than me," Igola said leisurely. "All right, the punishment this time is," Weixi refilled everyone's drinks, then drew another slip of paper, "getting wine poured over your head." While Igola was drinking, his chair lurched violently, causing him to cough twice. He glanced down, only to see a corpse swiftly crawling away from under the table! When he looked up, everyone was pointing at him—and a wine bottle came flying right at him! Smash! The bottle exploded accurately against Igola's head, alcohol and blood streaming down together. Harvey said calmly, "Wine poured over his head—no problem, right?" "If Igola doesn't have a problem with it, then it's no problem," Weixi said, stifling a laugh. "No problem," Igola said, wiping the traces of wine and blood from his face, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. "How could there be any problem? This is how drinking games should be played. But I won't hold back next, Harvey. You wouldn't run away halfway through, would you?" "I won't," Harvey replied. "By the way, I'm writing some punishments into the box, such as hugging my family members." "I'll write some too," Igola said coldly. "I've always felt a bald necromancer would have far more presence." * "This time, the punishment is pouring wine over your neck and collarbones and letting someone else lick it off!" After finishing her drink, Rose coughed violently. Looking up and seeing everyone pointing at her, she cleanly and crisply poured wine over herself. "Feili?" "I... I think..." "Let me!" Weixi walked over without haste, embraced Rose, and buried her head to lick it clean. The sight made Feili blush all the way to her ears, while Yaxiu, Igola, and Harvey turned as pale as sheets—thank goodness they hadn't received that punishment, or it would have haunted them for life. Such punishments ought to be banned by law! Only after a full minute did Weixi let go of Rose, visibly wanting more. She walked back and drew a new punishment from the box: "This time, the punishment is biting a jelly candy between your teeth and letting someone else lick it away." Harvey chose to apply localized cold flowing fire to his tongue. Igola used a mind miracle directly to numb his nerves. Yaxiu shook a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed it viciously into his thigh. "I... I can still drink..." By now, the first-floor hall of the villa was a total mess. Rose lay on the carpet holding an odd plush doll, sound asleep; Weixi was slumped over the table, half of her face soaking in her own vomit; Igola lay drunk on the stairs, having evidently failed in his attempt to return to his room; Harvey had somehow hauled his coffin up from the basement and climbed right inside, squeezing together with his family to sleep. Feili crept up and moved everyone to comfortable spots to sleep. In truth, she had lied. She had already tasted alcohol the year before. Senior Leah had once brought a crate of booze back to the dorm wanting to drink her under the table, only for Senior Leah to end up passed out drunk instead. From then on, Feili knew she was remarkably good at holding her drink. She moved the thoroughly drunk Yaxiu onto a soft armchair. Noticing his pocket vibrating, she took out his phone and saw an incoming call on the screen: "Niya." Feili suddenly felt a mischievous impulse. Answering the call, she said, "Hello, is this Niya?" "...Where's Yaxiu?" "He's asleep. He was too tired earlier and can't wake up right now. Is there something you need? I can pass a message when he wakes up." "Never mind!" Hearing the other person hang up in a fury, Feili felt both the thrill of a successful prank and a twinge of unease over hurting someone. She looked at the sleeping Yaxiu, sitting beside him and whispering softly: "You weren't mistaken, you know. Hearing that you'd die if I died really did make me feel a lot better... In fact, it felt wonderful. "You probably thought I'd use this chance to make some strange demand of you." Feili brought her knees together and gently rested her head against his shoulder. "But I would never do that. That would be far too pathetic. We still have time. While saving the world, I'll make you fall in love with me along the way... A story where the hero and heroine gradually fall in love while saving the world—isn't that far more interesting than your meeting with the Sword Princess? And if we fail, reuniting together in Hell—isn't that even more romantic than your adventures with the Witch? "My true wish... is for you to stay forever." She nuzzled her head gently against him. "But if I said that out loud, I'd be even worse than Sister Weixi." Feili reached over and took a bottle of wine. With no one watching, she stopped pretending and drank straight from the bottle. But her awkward posture made her choke, accidentally splashing wine onto Yaxiu's face. "Sorry." Feili hurriedly pulled out a tissue. Just as she began dabbing at his face, she found herself staring blankly at the wine on his lips. His lips looked so soft, shimmering with a curious luster beneath the liquid, as if the wine had become even more delicious. Quickly shaking her head, she wiped the wine from Yaxiu's face. Then she raised the bottle and carefully poured wine onto Yaxiu's neck. "The Sword Princess wouldn't want to, and neither do I want to kiss somewhere someone else has kissed." Straddling Yaxiu's lap, Feili leaned down, gripping his shoulders with both hands, and gently buried her face against his neck—with the urgency of a vampire preying on its quarry, yet as tender as a kitten nursing. "It tickles..." the drunken Yaxiu murmured.