Volume Four: Renowned Across the Lands Chapter 151: Fire Spirit Wine

Everyone gathered around the table, where several delicate side dishes looked refined. The Butcher looked at the potent liquor that had been brought out, noting its rich aroma. He took a sip, but found it as tasteless as plain water.

He slammed his hand on the table and barked, "Old Freak Jiu, are you messing with me? We're old acquaintances. My boss coming here is doing you a massive favor, and you actually try to fob us off with this swill?"

"Go on, brew a few catties of Fire Spirit Wine."

Hearing this, Old Freak Jiu sprang to his feet. "Why don't you just go rob someone?"

"No way, no way! All the Fire Spirit Wine in the Ancient Martial World has already been drunk by you lot. Where on earth would I find the ingredients to brew any now?" He shook his head like a rattle-drum, declaring that no matter what the Butcher said, he simply wouldn't go.

"I'll go then. My fiery temper..." Just as the Butcher was about to take matters into his own hands, Old Freak Jiu took two steps back and chuckled sheepishly. "Ahem, now hold on a second. Don't be impulsive. I seem to remember there are still a few jars left in the cellar. I'll go fetch them for you."

A faint smile played across Qin Yang's lips, while Xu Ming sipped the strong liquor before him. It was already potent enough; if there was wine even stronger than this, just how fierce could it be?

Jiang Lan looked at the group and giggled. "Don't mind him. He's just an alcoholic who's so used to Fire Spirit Wine that anything else tastes like nothing to him."

The Butcher sat sprawling in his chair. "Once you all drink the Fire Spirit Wine later, you'll understand why I said those things."

"Besides, Fire Spirit Wine is a hot commodity throughout the entire Ancient Martial World. If auctioned off by itself, it's worth several million!"

"Don't let this old codger fool you. When it comes to financial assets, this guy might even be wealthier than the richest man in the world."

"My goodness!" Fang Weiwei instantly gasped in astonishment. Wealthier than the richest man alive—just how much money was that?!

Her eyes sparkled with stars. "Hehe, Big Brother Butcher, could you ask Old Freak Jiu if he's looking to adopt a god-daughter? I can be his god-daughter! When he kicks the bucket eventually, all his inheritance will be mine. At worst, I'll cut you in for ten percent."

Hearing this, black lines etched themselves across Qin Yang's forehead. He had never realized before that this sworn younger sister of his was quite such an extraordinary piece of work.

He gave her a direct rap on the head. "What on earth are you thinking?"

Fang Weiwei stuck out her tongue and chuckled mischievously. "Brother, I was just joking, purely joking."

The Butcher looked at Qin Yang and asked with a smile, "Qin Yang, how do you plan to handle things in three days?"

"And since the Chen family are just lackeys of the Zhong family, the Zhong people are bound to show up. Do you want me to summon some men over?"

Qin Yang rolled his eyes at these words. To deal with the Chen family, a single person was more than enough; why would he need to drag a bunch of people along?

"No need. A mob of miscellaneous trash isn't worth my attention. I can annihilate the entire Chen family with a single hand."

Standing nearby and listening to their conversation, Fang Weiwei curled her lip in disdain. In her heart, she was all the more convinced they were just blowing hot air. The other party was the wealthiest man in Jiangnan, yet these guys were currently so broke they couldn't even afford taxi fare. Oh right, even their lunch earlier that day had been on her dime.

Although Boss Li hadn't charged them anything in the end out of gratitude, in her eyes, this "brother" of hers was nothing more than a pauper.

He had no other real skills, but his talent for boasting was second to none.

***

Down in the cellar.

Old Freak Jiu looked at the mere thirty jars of Fire Spirit Wine remaining before him, the corners of his mouth twitching violently.

"Sigh, I already hid away in this godforsaken place, yet the Butcher still managed to track me down. This is truly bad luck. It looks like I'll have to head up the mountain in a few days to offer some respects to the deities."

He had already been lingering in the cellar for five minutes, weighing how many jars of Fire Spirit Wine to take upstairs. If he took only one, the Butcher would undoubtedly kick up a fuss; taking two would make him look petty. Gritting his teeth, he finally decided to bring up three jars of Fire Spirit Wine.

When he emerged, the Butcher kept his eyes locked on him with undisguised greed.

"Come on, Old Freak Jiu, are you playing dumb with me? How come there are only three jars? How is this supposed to be enough to drink?"

"Go on, go get ten more!"

Old Freak Jiu wore an expression that said "I knew it would come to this." This time, he resolved that nothing could make him go back down. If he sold these three jars of Fire Spirit Wine, he could easily rake in tens of millions. Giving them away for free now without charging a single penny was already going above and beyond. If not for the sake of an old friend, even these three jars wouldn't be here.

"Butcher, let it be. Less wine is less wine. You've hyped it up so much that even I want to see if this wine is really as magical as you claim."

The Butcher was thrilled, cradling the jar as if it were a beauty, his face radiant with excitement. "Qin Yang, have a taste."

A rich, crisp, and robust fragrance washed over him continuously, causing his eyes to light up abruptly as the genuine Qi within his body even began to flow a little more smoothly.

There was not the slightest hint of pungency in the wine's aroma; instead, it resembled a fine wine, brimming with infinite temptation.

It contained numerous precious medicinal herbs, and the brewing process was clearly extremely intricate. Anyone whose mind wasn't entirely at peace would utterly fail to brew such a concoction.

Fang Weiwei took a sip with her crimson lips, and her face instantly turned as red as an apple, looking utterly adorable.

A warm sensation spread through her body, leaving her somewhat intoxicated by the experience.

After drinking it, Xu Ming found that his internal genuine Qi became almost impossible to suppress, actually showing signs of making a breakthrough.

Qin Yang took a sip. Aside from it being crisp and refreshing, there wasn't much of a change. "Hmm, it's all right, I suppose!"

Hearing this, Old Freak Jiu blew his mustache and stared with wide eyes. He took immense pride in his wine and his brewing technique, and now it had received nothing more than an "all right" evaluation, filling him with boundless indignation.

Bang!

He abruptly produced five more jars of Fire Spirit Wine. "Hmph! A real man drinks straight from the jar!"

The Butcher wore a puzzled expression, utterly baffled as to why Old Freak Jiu had suddenly become so generous. Then, recalling Qin Yang's remark just moments before, he felt a twinge of inward regret.

Sigh, if he had known that dropping a remark like that could net five jars of Fire Spirit Wine, he would have said it much sooner.

"Oh, so that's the rule." With that, Qin Yang picked up a jar and began to drink. The terrifying spiritual Qi within his body began to stir restlessly, rising like a blazing fire within his dantian and burning fiercely, though this was still far from his limit.

***

The first jar was finished, then the second...

Finally, after draining the fourth jar, he looked around with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"

The Butcher's eyes bulged as he laughed bitterly. "Qin Yang, when I first drank Fire Spirit Wine, do you know how much I had?"

"I didn't even finish half a jar before I was dead drunk and blacked out."

Fang Weiwei held her wine cup and giggled endlessly upon hearing the Butcher's words. "Butcher... Big Brother Butcher, you... your alcohol tolerance is truly abysmal."

No sooner had she spoken these words than she slumped over the table and passed out cold.

Xu Ming fared slightly better than Fang Weiwei. He drank another cup, and his cultivation realm instantly broke through, followed by a dizzying, whirling sensation. Before he even had time to speak, he too passed out.

Seeing this, Qin Yang and the Butcher burst into hearty laughter.

"When drinking with a bosom friend, a thousand cups are still too few. Old Freak Jiu, come join us for a drink."

Old Freak Jiu hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Seeing this, the Butcher immediately grew displeased. "Old Freak Jiu, this here is my boss, Qin Yang of Beihai! Inviting you to drink is doing you an honor. Why the reluctance?"

"Qin Yang of Beihai?" Hearing this name, Old Freak Jiu widened his eyes in shock, then shook his head. "Impossible, surely? I remember Qin Yang of Beihai doesn't look like this. I saw him back during that great battle. Don't try to pull a fast one on me, Butcher."

Hearing this, Qin Yang was slightly stunned before realizing that he had altered his appearance for convenience. The Butcher had seen his true face before and could naturally recognize him at a glance, whereas Old Freak Jiu had never spent time alone with him, so he wasn't familiar with his aura.

"Damn it, Old Freak Jiu, why would I lie to you? Look, if I can prove that my boss is indeed Qin Yang of Beihai, you cough up another ten jars of Fire Spirit Wine."

"Fine, deal!"

With a single thought from Qin Yang, a sharp, silvery fox blade materialized in the air—the Silver Fox Blade. Anyone who had ever witnessed Qin Yang in action would instantly recognize it.

Old Freak Jiu's eyes rounded to the size of saucers, and his body trembled with excitement. "You... you really are Qin Yang of Beihai?"

"Authentic and true."

As he consumed more and more of the Fire Spirit Wine—draining a full ten jars in total—a sensation akin to an explosion occurred within Qin Yang's body. A towering wave of fiery energy seemed to have been ignited inside his dantian, and a flash of pleasant surprise crossed his eyes. He had never expected the spiritual Qi contained within the Fire Spirit Wine to be so dense, actually allowing him to touch the threshold of the intermediate stage of the Profound Origin Realm.

"I'm about to break through. Butcher, don't let anyone disturb me." With those words, his figure vanished from the spot.