“This is nothing. If I were ten years younger, I could finish this half bottle of liquor in one gulp.” Unknown Elder let out a burp, grabbed a piece of marinated dried tofu, and started chewing heartily.

Earlier, before Unknown Elder arrived, Edward Brooks had already been drinking for a while. There should be about eight taels left in the bottle now. With 52-proof liquor, to drink eight taels in one gulp—this isn’t just a strong tolerance, it’s practically immortal-level drinking.

Edward Brooks had originally come here to drink alone, but now with Unknown Elder for company, he was even more in the mood. He immediately picked up the bottle, and, imitating Unknown Elder, tilted his head back and gulped down two big mouthfuls. The Laobaigan from Shumuling Township has a history of several decades; the distillery was established in the early years after the founding of the country. The taste is spicy and strong. After two big gulps, from his throat to his stomach, it felt as if a fire dragon was passing through.

“Refreshing!” Edward Brooks shouted. His drinking capacity had improved greatly by now. He remembered that back in school, even a glass of beer would make his face red, but now, drinking a whole jin of Laobaigan was no problem at all. Maybe, as others say, drinking capacity can be trained. He had been practicing almost every day lately, and without realizing it, his tolerance had increased. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought two bottles of liquor to Sanqing Daoist Temple this time.

“Hey, how is it empty already?” Unknown Elder hadn’t noticed that Edward Brooks also had a strong tolerance. He was just upset that he only got one sip of the half bottle, and the rest was finished by the other in one go.

“It’s fine, there’s another bottle.” Edward Brooks shook his head. He didn’t feel dizzy at all, and the burning sensation in his throat was gradually fading. It seemed his drinking capacity really had been trained. He had actually drunk more than Unknown Elder just now.

“This time, let’s not drink such big gulps.” Seeing there was more liquor, Unknown Elder’s eyes lit up. After taking a big swig, he “kindly” reminded Edward Brooks, as if he had bought the liquor himself.

“Alright.” Edward Brooks took the bottle and also drank a big mouthful, but in Unknown Elder’s eyes, it was heartbreaking. Edward Brooks found it amusing—this old Daoist was obsessed with “liquor” to the point of madness. Can a Daoist who loves liquor this much really be a good Daoist? “Unknown Elder, is your Daoist name really ‘Wuming’ (Nameless)?”

“Not exactly. I did have a Daoist name, but I haven’t used it in so long that I’ve almost forgotten it. I’m too lazy to think about it or remember it. Isn’t ‘Nameless’ a good name?” Unknown Elder took another big gulp, as if unwilling to discuss the matter, and said lightly.

The Daoist name “Wuming” sounded ethereal and mysterious. When he casually mentioned it back then, it was well received by the local villagers. Otherwise, with his image, would this temple still have incense offerings? Even if there were, it would probably be after he was driven out. The main reason he could stay at the temple was largely because of this Daoist name.

Since Unknown Elder didn’t want to talk about it, Edward Brooks didn’t press further, and Unknown Elder also tactfully didn’t ask about Edward Brooks’s situation. The two simply took turns drinking and chatting casually. In the end, most of the liquor was snatched up by Unknown Elder, and the peanuts were eaten up without a single one left. Although Edward Brooks still felt he hadn’t drunk enough, being able to drink with someone, listening to Unknown Elder tell all sorts of strange stories from around the country, made him feel much more relaxed.

When he returned to school, it was already the middle of the night. The campus was very quiet, and he could hear his own squeaky footsteps. Edward Brooks felt cheerful. Although he hadn’t talked to Unknown Elder about his feelings, after chatting for half the night, he felt much less stifled inside. Back in the dorm, Edward Brooks ignored the thunderous snoring of the other two teachers, pulled the quilt over his head, and soon fell into a sweet sleep.

Chapter 3: No Peace for the Ears (Part 1)

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Edward Brooks was woken up. The two teachers in the dorm were snoring like thunder, which he really couldn’t stand. In his ears, it sounded like explosions. There was no way he could go back to sleep. Edward Brooks found it strange—he’d been sharing a room with them for more than half a month, but never felt their snoring was this “powerful” before.

Strange as it was, Edward Brooks had no intention of waking them up to ask about it. Disturbing someone’s sweet dreams can sometimes be more hateful than cursing them for an hour—he’d learned this well at school. Since he couldn’t fall back asleep, he simply got dressed, put on his sneakers, and went for a few laps around the track.

The track was empty in the early morning, except for the occasional chirping of birds, making it very quiet. But as soon as Edward Brooks started running, he found that his ears simply couldn’t find peace. Shumuling Middle School had only three buildings: the teaching building, the student dormitory, and the staff dormitory. The teaching building and student dormitory were separated by the track, and the staff dormitory was behind the teaching building.

Now, as Edward Brooks ran on the track, all he could hear were the various breathing sounds, snoring, sleep talking, and the whispers of early-rising students coming from the student dormitory.

What was going on? Wasn’t he nearly a hundred meters away from the student dormitory? Besides, the doors and windows of the dormitory were all closed. Could the school’s doors and windows really have such poor sound insulation?