"Cyrus, please, I'll drink to that!" Feng Yi exclaimed, raising a barrel of dandelion wine and chugging it down.
Kaeya was initially delighted. Feng Yi had saved him the trouble of coaxing him to drink and had even taken the initiative.
However, after a few minutes, Kaeya's expression grew stiff. Watching Feng Yi continue to guzzle the wine, half a barrel of dandelion wine vanishing in the blink of an eye, Kaeya's scalp tingled and his mouth twitched uncontrollably. The situation was spiraling out of his control.
'This guy is too much!' Kaeya's pupils dilated in shock. He had never encountered someone who treated wine like plain water before.
It was as if his mother's mother, who was also his mother, had given birth to an outrageous being – outrageous to the extreme!
"Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp~" Feng Yi stopped after drinking half a barrel, letting out a burp full of wine. He had only truly drunk the last two mouthfuls. The dandelion wine he had consumed earlier had been condensed by his divine power into a compressed liquid and held under his tongue. If not for the pretense, he wouldn't have drunk the last two mouthfuls either. The dandelion wine tasted slightly bitter and didn't suit his palate; it was not as delicious as his own demon god medicinal wine.
Feng Yi had considered taking out his demon god medicinal wine to show Kaeya what true delicious wine was. But he abandoned the idea the next moment. Kaeya was not worthy of drinking his demon god medicinal wine. If he gave Kaeya even a cup, how much of his precious supply would he lose?
"Cyrus, I've drunk half a barrel... *burp* Let me rest for a bit, it's your turn!" Feng Yi's eyes appeared slightly dazed, and the wine fumes from his burps added to the illusion. Such a convincing performance deserved an Oscar!
"Uh... Lord Feng Yi, your capacity is truly astonishing, it's an eye-opener. While my tolerance is decent, compared to yours, it's simply insignificant..." Kaeya glanced at the full barrel of dandelion wine before him and swallowed hard. He knew his own limits. If he drank like Feng Yi, he'd likely be carried out of the tavern. It wasn't cowardice; it was a prudent choice.
"Hmm? Wasn't it Cyrus who invited me for a drink? Or are you unable to hold your liquor? If so, you should have said so earlier, and I'll be leaving!" Feng Yi said, turning to leave. He knew a thing or two about using reverse psychology. If Kaeya didn't take the bait, Feng Yi wouldn't lose anything. At least after this incident, Kaeya wouldn't pester him with drinking contests anymore.
"Lord Feng Yi, you jest. Half a barrel of dandelion wine is no more than drinking water. Watch me!" Although Kaeya's voice trembled slightly, it didn't stop him from boasting. Kaeya had gone to great lengths to get Feng Yi to drink with him, and he had already invested a significant amount of capital (in terms of the bill). How could he give up easily?
(This is akin to emotional investment, like playing games or dating. The more you invest, the harder it is to let go!)
Kaeya would grit his teeth and drink the remaining half barrel of dandelion wine, then extract the information he needed from Feng Yi. After all, if he missed this opportunity, Feng Yi might become wary, and it would be much harder to probe him next time! More importantly, Kaeya noticed that Feng Yi was already slightly tipsy. If he could get him to drink a bit more, deepening his intoxication, he could start setting up conversation traps to lure the other party into revealing secrets. Success was just a step away; he absolutely could not let it slip through his fingers!
Feng Yi: Heh, the only thing that can get me drunk is my wife's imported wine!
Kaeya, mimicking Feng Yi, attempted to lift the barrel to drink directly. One, two, three, lift! Ugh… failed! The barrel was too heavy. Kaeya could only lift it about half a meter, and he couldn't hold it up to drink like Feng Yi with such apparent ease. So, he subtly grabbed a wine glass and poured himself a drink from the barrel.
Kaeya: How did that guy manage to hold such a heavy barrel for so long?
Feng Yi: That's the strength of a bear!
Glass after glass, accompanied by continuous burps, Kaeya managed to finish the other half barrel of dandelion wine.
Kaeya: I never want to see this stuff again in my life! This amount of dandelion wine was equivalent to his consumption for an entire year.
It wasn't the continuous drinking that was the problem; it was the after-effects of the binge drinking that hit him the moment he stopped. As soon as Kaeya put down his glass, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and his vision began to blur.
"Dil... Diluc? When did you get here? This... this dandelion wine, it's still... like before..." Kaeya stammered drunkenly, seeing a familiar figure before him.
Diluc, who was secretly observing from the second floor: ...
Observing Kaeya calling out his name to the mysterious guest, Diluc felt a sense of bewilderment.
Diluc: I'm the real one, he's the fake!
Feng Yi: Uh... should I play along at this point? (He's the fake, I'm the real one!)
"Ahem, Charles, Mr. Kaeya is quite drunk. Please take him to a private booth in the tavern to rest!" Just as Kaeya was about to say more, Diluc interrupted him, descending the stairs from the second floor. This was the first time Diluc had seen Kaeya so heavily intoxicated. Fearing that Kaeya might expose his identity, he quickly came out to salvage the situation. Although Kaeya was usually calm and cautious, in a state of drunkenness, his composure turned into a joke. Diluc hadn't expected to be cleaning up after Kaeya like this. Even though they had publicly parted ways, he still didn't want to see Kaeya risk his life by accidentally revealing his identity. He hated Kaeya's past deception, yet he worried about Kaeya's safety at the same time... This conflicting emotion consumed him. Therefore, even though Diluc hadn't yet decided whether to intervene when Kaeya was rambling drunkenly, his body reacted first, stepping out to interrupt Kaeya's slurred words. This was a result of a strong subconscious drive, where his concern for Kaeya took precedence.
"Two... two Dilucs? How can there be two Dilucs? Uh... well, it doesn't matter if there's one or two, I can't outdrink either of them anyway!" Kaeya pondered as he saw another Diluc descending from the second floor. However, after less than two seconds of thought, he let it go. In terms of drinking capacity, he was far from Diluc's match, so even an extra Diluc wouldn't affect the speed at which he got drunk.