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

Chapter 266 The Inn's Wine
Thirty coins a day wasn't an exorbitant price, and even though Zhu Ye and the other two were short of money, they had no choice but to reluctantly "rent" it.

This place is so eerie; you'll only be able to get a full meal if you listen to advice.

The three of them carefully left the temple, carrying compasses.

It was already dark, the moon hung high in the sky, and the stars twinkled around it.

Because Taoyuan Village is very small, there are only a few dozen lanterns in sight. The most numerous and eye-catching lanterns are hanging in front of Taoyuan Inn. Each lantern sign has three lanterns, plus the ones under the eaves, making a total of six lanterns. They are bright red and illuminate the inn's courtyard very well.

Interestingly, there were two tables of people sitting in front of the tables and chairs in the courtyard, drinking and eating. They were all "outsiders," that is, people who were attending the Immortal Fate Conference.

Zhu Ye originally intended to go to the inn with Shi Yizhi and Jiang Wanli to order a pot of tea, rest, have dinner, and inquire about some news. However, the closer they got to the inn, the more the pointer on the compass in Zhu Ye's hand began to shake!

Shi Yizhi and Jiang Wanli also witnessed this scene. Jiang Wanli was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he whispered in a low voice, "No way, could it be that the innkeeper isn't human?"

Zhu Ye remained calm and said, "Whether it is or not, if there is a problem with the inn, with so many capable people in the village, how could they just leave people alone? It might just be a false alarm, or there might be some other hidden story."

Shi Yizhi also said, "They've been inside for so long during the day, if something was going to happen, it would have happened already. What's there to be afraid of? Let's go over and say hello to them; maybe we can find out what's going on!"

Zhu Ye and Shi Yizhi shared the same thought, so Jiang Wanli had no choice but to follow along, half of his body hidden behind Zhu Ye, and timidly entered the courtyard of the inn.

"Oh, it's you guys again?"

The innkeeper, holding a light red handkerchief and adjusting the gold hairpin in his hair, smiled and said, "It's so lively so late at night! What would you like to eat?"

Shi Yizhi was a little embarrassed to respond.

Whether it's noon or before dusk, everyone always buys the cheapest items.

Even though the female shopkeeper didn't show any disdain, it still made Shi Yizhi, who was never short of money, feel a little embarrassed.

As for Jiang Wanli, he deliberately lagged behind by half a step, hiding behind Zhu Ye, and kept stealing glances at the female shopkeeper, behaving suspiciously.

Although Jiang Wanli's original intention was to observe carefully and see if he could find evidence that the female shopkeeper was not human, it seemed very strange to outsiders.

The female shopkeeper, of course, noticed Jiang Wanli's "observation." Her expression immediately turned cold, and she glared at Jiang Wanli, asking sarcastically, "Is there something wrong with this guest's eyes?"

"Just bring me a pot of coarse tea."

Fortunately, Zhu Ye came to the rescue in time, smiling and waving her folding fan, saying, "He has never seen such a beautiful woman as the shopkeeper before, and he lost his composure for a moment. He probably thought the shopkeeper was some kind of mountain spirit. Please forgive him!"

However, Zhu Ye wasn't wrong. The female manager of the Peach Blossom Inn was indeed stunningly beautiful. She walked with a graceful sway, and her phoenix eyes swept around, always making people's hearts itch. Even outside, it was rare to see such a beautiful woman, let alone in this small village.

"Hmph! Slippery mouth!"

The innkeeper, long accustomed to flattery, wasn't angry anymore. He merely glanced at Zhu Ye, then gestured with his chin to an empty table in the courtyard, saying, "If you want to sit in the courtyard, find a place to sit yourselves! I'll go make you some tea!"

As soon as Zhu Ye and his two companions sat down, the people at the two tables next to them, who were chatting amongst themselves, came over to greet them.

The man leading the group was a middle-aged man with a graying beard, who looked to be in his forties. He cupped his hands and said, "Are you all new here? We haven't seen you before."

Zhu Ye returned the greeting and said, "We all came in this morning. How many of you are there?"

"Oh, no wonder. We only came in this afternoon. As soon as we arrived, we inquired about ways to make money and then went mining. Hehe, mining here is different from outside. You don't get paid for mining, but you can sell the ore you dig up. If you're lucky and find something good, you can sell it for a lot of money."

The middle-aged man spoke up, "This young man next to me, surnamed Wang, dug up a piece of jade of excellent quality and large size, and sold it for ten strings of cash! That's why he's here tonight to treat us brothers to drinks!"

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, the simply dressed martial artist next to him blushed and shouted, "Boss lady! I'll pay for this table too!"

After shouting, he chuckled and said to Zhu Ye and the others, "I am Wang Shanren. Hehe, since we've finally made it this far, we're all brothers, so don't be so polite with me!"

As he spoke, Wang Shanren patted his chest loudly, clearly quite drunk.

Zhu Ye, Shi Yizhi, and Jiang Wanli exchanged glances and could only thank them.

"Then I shall respectfully accept your offer. Thank you, Brother Wang!"

"Brother Wang is so magnanimous!"

"Thank you, Brother Wang!"

However, since the middle-aged man had initiated the conversation to exchange information, Zhu Ye followed up, saying, "We weren't as lucky as Brother Wang. My name is Zhu Ye. This afternoon, I did my usual job at the tea shop, telling stories for a while, and only earned enough for tea. My two brothers originally wanted to go hunting in the forest, but they were unlucky enough to offend the mountain god here. Not only did they not earn a penny, but they also got into trouble. Alas!" The people at the two tables had been listening intently for a while, and after hearing what Zhu Ye said, they became interested: "Oh? The mountain god?"

"Is there a mountain god in this place?"

"Is this mountain god the Peach Blossom Goddess?"

Zhu Ye shook her head, not overstepping her bounds, but looked at Shi Yizhi and Jiang Wanli with a questioning look in her eyes.

Because the courtyard was bustling with noise, and Zhu Ye had already put away the compass, Jiang Wanli was no longer as timid as before. He immediately unleashed his natural social skills and loudly chimed in, "Calling him a mountain god is really just a mountain spirit. It has cultivated for countless years and become a spirit, connecting with the rocks in the mountains, which is why it is revered as a mountain god. In reality, it is far from being a true mountain god! It can't compare to the Peach Blossom Goddess who protects Peach Blossom Village!"

Everyone suddenly understood, and one of them asked, "Mountain Lord? Is this gentleman referring to a tiger?"

"Oh dear, you mustn't speak carelessly," Jiang Wanli said with a mysterious expression. "This mountain lord is petty and has a bad temper. Gentlemen, please don't speak carelessly and offend him! This afternoon, I accidentally wandered into his territory and was chased by him. My brother Shi shot an arrow at him to save me, which offended him! If it weren't for Miss Hu's protection, we would both be in grave danger!"

This experience was indeed extraordinary, prompting everyone to ask a barrage of questions—

"Miss Hu? Are you perhaps referring to the daughter of Master Hu?"

"If it were a mountain lord that had become a spirit, a mere arrow wouldn't be able to harm it, would it?"

"On the other hand, if that mountain lord is petty, you might offend it even more by saying that!"

The jumbled questions raised even more questions. Someone asked curiously, "Master Hu's daughter? That's right! I heard that Master Hu's daughter is getting married in three days... Wait, is the bride even allowed to leave the house?"

Then another person chimed in, "Hey, this Peach Blossom Village is different from the outside world. How can those rules possibly restrain the people here? Besides, that Master Hu is no ordinary person! He's a fox spirit!"

"A fox spirit!?"

This time, even Shi Yizhi and Jiang Wanli were shocked and exclaimed.

Someone urged the whistleblower, "Quick, tell us in detail!"

The person who spoke of the "fox spirit" was a female knight-errant, not very old, looking to be only in her twenties. She had a long curved sword hanging at her waist, but her eyebrows and eyes were deep-set and her nose was high, making her look unlike a person from the Central Plains.

"You didn't know?!"

The female knight seemed shocked by the crowd's reaction and said, "Master Hu's wife is a fox spirit under the jurisdiction of the Peach Blossom Goddess here. She is an earth immortal, but she and Master Hu had a falling out and separated. Master Hu refused to accept this and came to Peach Blossom Village to pester her, which is why he became the 'Master Hu' here. In Peach Blossom Village, if any family has any problems, they go to Master Hu for help. Originally, some families even worshipped Master Hu's ancestral tablet, but Master Hu was worried that it would be considered as stealing the incense offerings from the Peach Blossom Goddess, so he privately asked them to remove it... However, even without incense offerings, Master Hu is still a famous fox spirit in this area!"

Jiang Wanli suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! So Miss Hu is the daughter of a fox spirit. No wonder that mountain lord had to give her some face!"

Another person exclaimed, "How come there are so many spirits in this place! When I went to work at the slaughterhouse this afternoon, the shopkeeper's big yellow dog could actually speak! The shopkeeper even told me not to be afraid, that his big yellow dog had cultivated into a spirit and refined its transverse bone, which is why it could speak..."

After listening for a while, Wang Shanren had drunk quite a bit, and his tongue was slurred. He squinted and hiccuped as he said, "Hiccup—you're talking nonsense! The place that the immortals sent us here—hiccup! Could it be an ordinary place? Maybe it's just to let us get familiar with the environment first. Who knows, maybe the White Stone Immortal Sect is a place where even the flowers, plants, and trees have become spirits!"

The food and drinks were all paid for by this benevolent Wang. As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding," so although Wang spoke rather recklessly, everyone overlooked his behavior because he was quite drunk. Some even chuckled and said, "Benevolent Wang, you truly live up to your name—a great philanthropist! Why don't we open another jar of wine, have some more to eat and drink, and talk some more? We can think about this information more thoroughly; who knows, we might just find a clue to the 'key to the pass'!"

"Okay, okay—burp!"

Whether Wang Shanren was truly drunk and somewhat giddy from the flattery, or simply didn't care about the small amount of money, he loudly shouted to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, hiccup, shopkeeper! Two more! Two more jars!"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "My wine is called 'Ten-Day Intoxication,' and it's brewed with spiritual ingredients. If you have a low alcohol tolerance, one jar will keep you drunk for ten days! You've already drunk quite a bit. I can only give you one more jar at most. If you drink any more, you'll probably sleep for three days before you wake up. How am I supposed to do business then?!"

"Bullshit! Old man, hiccup! I've always had a huge capacity for it!"

Wang Shanren was enjoying his drink to the fullest, and being drunk, he couldn't stand anyone questioning his drinking capacity. So, his stubbornness flared up, and he retorted, "Even if you bring me ten more jars! I, bam! I can still drink them all!"

The shopkeeper gave a cold laugh, neither answering nor fetching wine, but instead glancing sideways at Wang Shanren, his lips parting slightly: "Three."

Wang Shanren didn't hear clearly and looked at the shopkeeper in confusion: "What?"

The shopkeeper then said, "Two."

This time, the others also sensed something was wrong, but before they could say anything, the shopkeeper uttered the last word: "One."

Then, Wang Shanren fell to the ground with a thud.

The middle-aged man next to Wang Shanren was immediately shocked. Just as he was about to think that the innkeeper had done something, Wang Shanren's snoring suddenly became as loud as thunder, and could be heard clearly in the bustling courtyard of the inn.

(End of this chapter)