Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 239 Another World Version of "Cola"

The first snow of winter falls in late October.

A vast expanse of white fluttered down from the sky, obscuring the greenery of Baishi Mountain.

To be precise, this is the second winter Zhang Chengdao has experienced since his transmigration, because he originally transmigrated at the beginning of the year when the heavy snow had not yet melted.

Although less than a year had passed since he transmigrated, Zhang Chengdao still felt that the modern world seemed to be getting further and further away from him, as if it were something from a past life.

until……

"Master, would you like some cola?"

As Zhang Chengdao stood beside Tianchi Lake, contemplating the passing of spring and the coming of autumn, a glass suddenly appeared before him—

It was Chang Ping'an, who had finally returned from the Taiyue Sword Sect, who handed it over with a silly grin on his face.

Actually, this "glass cup" should be called a glass cup. Because the purification methods are limited at present, it is unrealistic to expect Zhang Chengdao, who has long been working as a slave, to recall his high school chemistry knowledge. So, as time went on, the glassware produced by the sect, although much more transparent and of better quality than those outside, was still colored and could only be considered glass.

Of course, it can also be called inferior glass, but the name doesn't sound as prestigious as "crystal glass"!
Inside the glass, which was read as "liuli" but written as "inferior glass cup," a semi-transparent green liquid, resembling a gemstone, was bubbling and churning, releasing tiny bubbles. A familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar aroma wafted to Zhang Chengdao's nose, making him involuntarily lower his head to glance at this "cola."

That's right, this is the otherworld version of Coca-Cola, and I even came up with the name by accident.

This story begins a month ago.

It is worth mentioning that as the concentration of spiritual energy increases, all sorts of plants that have never been seen before have also grown in the medicinal fields on the Spirit Medicine Peak.

Most of them are mutated spiritual herbs and plants; some can still be recognized as what they were originally, while others are completely unrecognizable.

One of the strange, large-leaved vines grew so well that it took up space for the normal herbs, so Zhong Hui would often go and clear it away.

A month ago, when Zhong Hui was cleaning the medicinal herb fields, he pulled up these vines and leaves and casually threw them into a wooden bucket, intending to dispose of them after all the fields were cleaned. However, he forgot about it after dinner, and the pile of large-leaved vines accumulated in the bucket, collected rainwater, and fermented for several days. It wasn't until Anche Hexiang, who was passing by, saw Xiaoli actually licking water from the bucket that the forgotten bucket was finally discovered.

When Xiaoli saw Ansha Hexiang looking at her curiously, she thought that Ansha Hexiang also wanted to try it, so she tried her best to invite Ansha Hexiang to drink the water in the bucket that had turned dark green.

Anche Hexiang hesitated for a long time, but couldn't resist the enthusiastic little raccoon, so she dipped her finger in the water and put it in her mouth to taste.

It's sweet, like sugar water, with a hint of herbal fragrance...

It actually tastes pretty good!
Seeing that Xiao Li was fine after drinking so much, An Che He Xiang, after tasting it, simply picked up a leaf from nearby, rolled it up, scooped some out, and drank it.

She had only taken a big gulp when she was surprised to discover that the green liquid in the bucket actually contained spiritual energy!
Although it's a bit harsh on the mouth at first sip, and leaves a tingling sensation on the tongue, its sweetness is irresistible. But the most important thing is that it contains more spiritual energy than the immortal peaches and spiritual rice and wheat in the sect!

Could this be some kind of miraculous elixir made by one of the disciples?
After the initial surprise, Anche Hexiang felt a little guilty.

Although she had always lived in the White Stone Immortal Sect and the disciples there treated her with great respect, she knew very well that she was not a disciple of the White Stone Immortal Sect, so she was always very self-conscious.

What if you accidentally drink someone else's concoction of "elixir"?

Completely bewildered, she scooped up the little fox—it was a bit heavy, she almost couldn't carry it! Then, after carefully looking around and making sure no one was paying attention, she quickly left Spirit Medicine Peak.

While sneaking away with Little Fox, Anche Hexiang scolded, "Little Fox, you can't steal food just because you're greedy! Those must be spiritual herbs refined by the senior sisters of Spirit Medicine Peak. How could you steal them!"

The little raccoon was so anxious that it stretched out its paws and scratched in Anche Hexiang's arms—

It didn't steal any food!

Unfortunately, Anche Hexiang didn't understand Xiaoli's meaning at all. She thought Xiaoli was unwilling to be taken away, so Anche Hexiang became even angrier. She gently patted Xiaoli's head and scolded in a low voice, "Stop making a fuss! If you make a fuss again, I'll send you to Spirit Beast Peak! Let Sandy teach you a lesson!"

Upon hearing this, the little fox stopped scratching its paws, looking pitifully at Anche Hexiang.

Anche Hexiang softened again, patted Xiaoli's head, and comforted her, "If you're really craving something, I'll buy you two fried chicken legs. But you're not allowed to steal other people's food again!"

With that, he picked up the little fox and headed towards the food courtyard.

They thought the matter was over, but that very night, Sandy, who was always elusive, suddenly appeared at Spirit Medicine Peak, grabbed Zhong Hui who was arranging herbs, and gestured for him to come with her.

Zhong Hui did recognize this "Squirrel Senior Sister"—

The disciples in the sect always called Sandy and Little Fox Senior Sister. Little Fox was just mentioned in passing, while Sandy was indeed highly powerful. In addition to her powerful tail, which was as strong as an iron hammer, she had also cultivated a supernatural ability to fly. She could leap from trees or cliffs, then spread her limbs and fly in the sky for a short time.

Although it wasn't a proper wind-controlling technique, the fact that she could comprehend supernatural powers through her own instincts made her quite extraordinary. In addition, she entered the sect earlier than these outer disciples, which is why everyone always called her "Senior Sister." She was also very polite to the two demons, and some disciples who liked furry things would often pay out of their own pockets to feed the little fox.

Hmm... Sandy doesn't eat "food offered with contempt," so feeding her is useless.

In short, it seemed that Senior Sister Squirrel had something to ask him, so Zhong Hui immediately put down the herbs in his hand and followed her eagerly. Then he was surprised to find the wooden barrel that he had forgotten about for a long time.

The water in the wooden barrel ferments further, and you can smell its fresh, sweet aroma as soon as you get close to the barrel.

Sandy carefully reached the edge of the bucket, scooped up a few drops of liquid with her paws, put them in her mouth, and exaggeratedly smacked her lips a few times before looking at Zhong Hui with anticipation.

"This stuff... you can drink it!?"

Zhong Hui immediately understood Sandy's meaning and squatted down to carefully observe the liquid in the bucket.

There was some dust inside, and some small pebbles had vaguely settled. Even though the upper part was a clear, dark green liquid, it didn't look very clean.

Especially this color, it doesn't look safe at all!

However, Zhong Hui glanced at the squirrel-like senior sister who seemed very anxious, and seeing that she had drunk it without any problems, he carefully dipped his finger in and tasted it.

It's very sweet, and has a very unique plant fragrance. It tastes pretty good?

Zhong Hui's eyes lit up, and he reached out and pulled out some of the vines and leaves stuck to the inside of the bucket to examine them.

These vines are very common, growing everywhere in the medicinal herb fields, like ivy, and she has to put in a lot of effort to clear them away each time. She even has to report to the sect leader and ask him to post some requests to clear the medicinal herb fields on the bulletin board, otherwise she and Ye Hanxing simply can't handle it! But... can these "weeds" be used to make sweet water?
Surprised, Zhong Hui found some of these large-leaved vines in a nearby medicinal field, then soaked them in a bowl of water and stared at the contents of the bowl.

It seems that nothing has changed.

After staring at it for a full quarter of an hour, Zhong Hui finally couldn't resist and tasted the water in the bowl.

It's just water. Although it has a slightly unusual plant scent, it's not sweet at all. It's just ordinary water!
She lowered her head, glanced again at the dark green liquid in the wooden bucket, and fell into deep thought.

Should we crush it?

Zhong Hui never thought of "fermentation." He only thought that the leaves had to be crushed because of their dark color, so he rushed to the pharmacy and took out a mortar and pestle.

She carefully selected some beautiful, intact leaves, put them into the mortar and pestle, and then slowly began to grind them.

The leaves were wet, making grinding them a bit of a hassle. It took quite a while to grind them into a green paste.

This time, Zhong Hui mixed the green paste with water, tasted it, and immediately frowned.

It's bitter!

How could it be bitter!?
Zhong Hui was a little confused. She took another closer look at the leaves and vines soaking in the bucket, and they were definitely the same! She pulled these things out every day and would never mistake them!
But how could it be bitter?
Looking at the greenish but not clear liquid in the bowl, Zhong Hui was completely puzzled.

"Senior Sister Zhong, what are you still doing here?"

From afar, Ye Hanxing, who was packing up to leave Lingyao Peak, saw Zhong Hui and called out in confusion.

There are only two disciples on Lingyao Peak, Zhong Hui and Ye Hanxing, so the affairs on the main peak are handled by the two of them in shifts.

Today was supposed to be Ye Hanxing's turn to clear the weeds from the medicinal herb field, and Zhong Hui's turn to organize the herbs...

Why is Senior Sister Zhong here?
"Hanxing! You've come at the perfect time! Come here quickly!"

As if seeing a savior, Zhong Hui waved to Ye Hanxing and said, "Senior Sister Squirrel asked me to do something, but I can't do it! Please come and save me!"

"Squirrel Senior Sister?"

Ye Hanxing jogged over, full of questions, and found the famous Sandy squatting in front of Senior Sister Zhong, looking serious and solemn.

"Senior Sister Sandy wants the water in this bucket. It's sweet and delicious, you should try it!"

Zhong Hui pointed to the wooden bucket at his feet, then said with a mournful face, "But I clearly found the same leaves, and whether I steeped them in water or crushed them and mixed them with water, it doesn't taste the same! What should I do?"

"This one……"

Ye Hanxing, who had once worked as a kitchen helper, remained silent for a moment before whispering a reminder: "Senior Sister Zhong, this is fermented, isn't it..."

"Fermentation!?"

Zhong Hui certainly knew what fermentation meant, but he had never thought about it before.

However, although she knew about "fermentation," she didn't really know how to ferment it.

So she pressed on, "How do you ferment it?"

Ye Hanxing had only ever worked as a helper, so how would she know anything about fermentation? She could only honestly reply, "This... I'm not quite sure either. Senior Sister, do you know how this is made? Why don't you just try it again?"

"I think I just picked some leaves and threw them in, then went to eat, and then I forgot about it..." Zhong Hui squatted down, staring at the wooden bucket with a bitter expression as he recalled, "And I don't know where the water in this bucket came from! I didn't put any water in it!"

Ye Hanxing helplessly reminded him again, "It rained a couple of days ago, didn't it? It should be rainwater."

"Oh right! It rained!"

Zhong Hui suddenly realized what was going on, and finally stood up confidently, saying, "That's easy, let's pick another bunch of this grass, add water, put it in a bucket, and wait!"

Hearing such a simple process, Ye Hanxing felt it was somewhat unreliable and couldn't help but whisper, "Will this... will this really work?"

Then she suggested, "Why don't we go ask Lady Liao?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Hui was so excited he almost jumped up. He quickly picked up the wooden bucket, grabbed the remaining vines with a few scattered leaves, and hurried towards Lingxiao Peak.

As she hurried on her way, she kept muttering, "That's right! Lady Liao seems to know how to brew wine, so she should also know how to make this stuff!"

Lingxiao Peak is the main peak of the Baishi Immortal Sect, and the core buildings such as the Disciple's Courtyard and the Dining Courtyard are located here.

Originally, this place didn't have a name. It was only because the disciples in the sect referred to it as "Lingxiao Palace" and shortened it to Lingxiao Peak that the name spread and became a fixed name.

The main staff in the dining hall consisted of two cooks, one in charge of the restaurant and the other in charge of the teahouse.

The cook in charge of the restaurant was surnamed Liao, so everyone called her Lady Liao. The cook in charge of the teahouse was surnamed Ye, so everyone called her Lady Ye.

Lady Ye is skilled in pastry making and has excellent dim sum, which is why she took over the management of the teahouse.

Lady Liao is skilled in both white and red dishes, and also possesses a family-inherited brewing skill. After taking over the management of the restaurant, she used the peaches from the peach orchard to brew a sweet fruit wine, which became the most popular beverage in the sect.

So when Zhong Hui found Lady Liao carrying the wooden bucket, Lady Liao first took a wooden spoon, scooped some of the liquid from the bucket, tasted it, and then said with a smile, "It's fermented, but this looks quite novel. I've never seen grass or leaves ferment before! And it doesn't taste like wine; it's very sweet, but a bit harsh on the mouth..."

“I once heard my father mention that this pungent wine is called ‘Fuliang’, and it has some bubbles on top that look like soapberry bubbles, called ‘Fuqu’. The famous wine from the previous dynasty, ‘Yu Fuliang’, was just like this…”

"However, 'Jade Floating Beam' is really rare. It is said that once the pot is opened, its 'floating maggots' will disappear in no time, so it is very precious."

"Although yours is a bit harsh on the mouth, there are very few 'floating maggots' and the wine flavor is often not very pronounced, so it probably isn't much of a wine. However, it can be used as a beverage, and it even has more spiritual energy than many spiritual foods made from spiritual materials!"

(End of this chapter)