Demon Hunter: I have a red gourd

Chapter 27 East of East

"The beer here is terrible!" Ivan and Trico were chatting happily when Trico suddenly interrupted the conversation, threw down his glass, and complained with a red face, "Even the best beer here is barely drivable!"

After saying that, he nimbly jumped off the chair and quickly walked to his luggage. After rummaging through it for a while, he excitedly raised two wine bottles with a look on his face as if he had discovered treasure.

"Ivan, it's been such a pleasure chatting with you today! At times like this, we must have something good to moisten our throats."

He was already a little drunk and threw the bottle directly at Ivan. Ivan was quick-eyed and quick-handed and caught it steadily with his backhand.

Looking down, I saw the bottle was emblazoned with ornate gold lettering, and the label had the words from Nilfgaard on it: "Est Est."

"Is this East of the East?" Ivan raised an eyebrow, looking up at Trico with a hint of surprise. He had long heard of this wine, reputedly the best in the Witcher world. He hadn't expected to actually taste it in person today, in the wilderness of Velen.

Trico snorted in triumph, picked up another bottle of wine, hopped onto a chair, and expertly opened it.

"This is no ordinary wine!" Trico raised the bottle in his hand. "It's the pride of Toussaint, produced in the most famous wine cellar in Castel Ravello. Every bottle must be matured for years in Beauclair oak barrels. Even the Duke of Toussaint has to reserve a special place for them in the palace cellar!"

He tilted his head back and took a sip, completely disregarding any etiquette, his face full of intoxication: "Only wine like this can match our good mood tonight!"

Ivan followed Trico's lead, slowly pulling out the cork. Suddenly, a strong, smoky aroma shot straight into his nostrils, choking him slightly. He slowly poured out a glass of wine, swirled it gently in his hand, and then took a cautious sip.

"Hmm," Ivan smacked his lips, his brow furrowing slightly. He knew nothing about wine and had no experience tasting it. His criteria for judging were simple and straightforward: whether it tasted good or not.

Maybe his expectations were too high, and the taste was far from what he had imagined.

Come to think of it, it was all because of the lamb wine he drank before. The rich and lingering taste was like a magic spell on the tip of his tongue, which made his taste buds picky.

After tasting the spirit wine, other ordinary drinks seem bland like water, without any flavor.

Trico was stunned when he saw Ivan's expression.

"You don't like the taste of it?"

"Maybe I'm just lucky. I've had the opportunity to taste better wines. This Dongzhidong..." Ivan shrugged, "seems a bit inferior."

"Absolutely not!" Trico's eyes widened instantly, as if he had heard something out of the blue. His features twisted into an exaggerated expression, and his voice suddenly rose several pitches: "There is no wine in the world more delicious than Dong Zhi Dong!"

Before he finished speaking, he nimbly dragged the chair to Ivan's side, jumped onto it, stretched out his arms and hugged Ivan's shoulders tightly, as warmly as if they had known each other for many years.

He patted his chest and said firmly, "Brother, your bottle of red wine must have gone bad. Don't worry about it! Come, try this bottle of mine. I guarantee it will be an unforgettable experience for you!"

He was clearly drunk, his breath thick with the smell of alcohol, and his tone and gestures were the exact equivalent of a true halfling. Unable to resist his enthusiasm, Ivan took the glass from Trico and took a sip. The wine glided across his tongue, still offering that familiar, smoky flavor, without any surprising changes.

He put down his glass and shook his head at Trico, with a look of helplessness on his face.

Trico's face flushed visibly, as if deeply offended. "That's outrageous! I don't think you've ever tasted any real good wine, so you're just talking nonsense!"

Ivan couldn't help but laugh at Trico's exasperated expression. "I'm not kidding. I've had better wines. Think about it, if Dong Zhidong could really control me, how could I hide my feelings for him? It's clearly written on my face."

Trico shook his head like a rattle, his hair swaying in his wake. His face flushed, and he barked rapidly, "I don't believe it! I won't believe it even if you kill me! Dong Zhi Dong is the top of the list of fine wines. I bet there's no other wine in the world that's so much better than this!"

"What would you say if I could really produce a wine that was much better than Dong Zhidong's?" Ivan said with a smile on his face.

"As long as you can produce it, I'll give you the entire caravan without hesitation!" Trico stiffened his neck and patted his chest. "But let me make it clear first, I'm an expert in wine tasting. If you can't pass my test, it won't count!"

"What do I need your caravan for? I don't have your talent, so you'd better earn the money yourself." Trico was already drunk, but he was a nice guy, and Ivan would not take advantage of him.

Ivan took off the red gourd from his waist, pulled out the cork from the bottle, and placed it on the table.

"Trico, do you know what this is?"

"A gourd?" Trico swayed, the alcohol seeming to wear off a little. "It's so exquisitely crafted, it must have been made by a master, right?"

There is also a plant called gourd in the world of witchers, but they rarely hang gourds around their waists as a portable container.

"What are you doing with it? Could it be that the wine you mentioned, even more delicious than East of the East, is hidden in here?"

"No." Ivan shook his head. "This is not an ordinary gourd. It's a magical item given to me by a warlock. I use it to store wine in case I run out of wine during a long journey."

"I do not want your caravan, but if you can fill it with dwarven liquor, I will give you a taste of wine better than that of the East."

"Such a small gourd can be filled with just two bottles of liquor, right? What's so difficult about that?"

Trico snorted indifferently and waved his hand to call the waiter over. "Bring me ten bottles of dwarven liquor. I want to see how much this little gourd can hold."

The waiter quickly complied with his request, placing the bottles on the table one by one. Trico expertly unscrewed a bottle and poured the wine directly into the gourd. However, he quickly stopped when he noticed that the level of the liquid in the gourd hadn't changed at all—perhaps only slightly?
At the same time, Ivan secretly controlled the system, completely sealing the transformed wine aroma in the gourd to prevent any leakage. He didn't want to reveal the secret of the red gourd, as that would definitely cause countless troubles.

(End of this chapter)