Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

After hearing Qin Lie's words, the old lady stopped chasing after Li Hu.

The wooden stick in his hand stopped in mid-air. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly put it down.

"Broken Wind Pass?"

Qin Lie nodded.

"We just came back from a mission over there."

Upon hearing this answer, the old woman noticeably tightened her grip on the wooden stick, and the veins on her hands bulged out.

His expression changed, and a hint of worry appeared in his eyes, but this change only lasted for a moment.

She quickly suppressed these emotions.

The old lady turned her head and looked at Li Hu, who had already hidden behind Qin Lie.

"You went to Broken Wind Pass?"

Li Hu peeked out from behind Qin Lie.

"We accepted a mission related to Duanfeng Pass, so we went there."

Seeing that the old lady was about to get angry again, Li Hu quickly continued to explain.

"But don't worry, the matter has been resolved, there's no danger."

"Look at me, I'm standing here perfectly fine now, aren't I?"

The old lady did not respond.

He stared at Li Hu for a while, and only felt relieved after confirming that he hadn't suffered any serious injuries.

"Get in here."

"Don't stand at the door and make a fool of yourself."

Upon hearing this, Li Hu felt as if he had been granted a pardon and breathed a sigh of relief.

She had been hiding behind Qin Lie just now, but now she finally dared to come out.

He followed behind the old lady and muttered something in a low voice.

"If you hadn't hit me, I wouldn't be in this state."

The old lady immediately stopped in her tracks.

She turned around and raised the wooden stick in her hand again.

"Looks like you didn't get enough of that."

Li Hu's expression immediately froze.

"That's enough, that's enough."

"Ancestor, I was just saying it casually, please don't take it seriously."

"We still have guests today, let's entertain them first."

The old lady glared at him.

He then put down the wooden stick again and turned to walk into the wine shop.

After she walked a little further away, Li Hu approached Qin Lie.

"See that?"

"I already told you that."

"She couldn't bear to really hit me."

Qin Lie glanced at the old lady's retreating figure as she entered the room, then turned to look at Li Hu.

The smile on his face was impossible to suppress.

How dare you say that?

"If I hadn't spoken up, you'd still be running around the table right now."

The smile on Li Hu's face vanished instantly.

"You just said I can't speak human language."

"I've realized that you can't say anything that makes people feel comfortable."

Qin Lie ignored his words and walked into the wine shop.

Li Hu followed behind, muttering to himself.

The two of them continued bickering as they walked into the wine shop.

After entering the liquor store, the old lady leaned the wooden stick against the counter.

After putting it away, she turned around and looked at Qin Lie.

"Guests are always welcome. I'm sorry to have made you laugh today."

Qin Lie quickly clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"I am Qin Lie, and I work in the Demon Suppression Division with Brother Li."

"It's not a laughing stock at all."

"Our ancestor did this because he cared about Brother Li."

Since Li Hu had to address him as "Ancestor," he naturally had to be more polite as well.

The old lady smiled when she heard this.

"Good child, please sit down."

"The house isn't very spacious, please don't mind."

Qin Lie quickly waved his hand.

"How could I possibly dislike it?"

"I've heard people say that your liquor is famous in several nearby towns."

"I've come all this way today, so I might as well give it a try."

Before Qin Lie could even sit down, Li Hu had already casually sat down on the bench.

"Alright, you two, stop being so polite."

"Grandfather, bring us our finest wine."

"I'm treating my brother to drinks today."

The old lady turned and glared at him.

"Good lad."

"You've been away from home for so long, and you dare to order me around as soon as you get back?"

"What, have you forgotten where you put the wine at home?"

"Would you like me to use the stick again to help you remember?"

Li Hu had just settled into his seat when he immediately got off the bench.

"No, no need."

"Grandpa, I'll go get it myself."

"This is my brother's first visit today, so of course I have to personally serve him wine."

After saying that, he lifted his foot and prepared to walk towards the backyard.

The old woman picked up the wooden stick again.

"Alright, just sit still."

"You stay and talk to your brother, I'll go to the back and get you a jar."

When Li Hu heard that he didn't have to do it himself, he immediately sat back down.

"Then thank you very much, Ancestor."

The old lady ignored him and turned to go to the backyard.

Not long after, she came out carrying a wine jar.

The wine jar was not particularly large.

The mouth of the jar was sealed very tightly, and a piece of red cloth that had faded a bit was placed on top of it.

When Li Hu saw the jar of wine, his expression of surprise was not obvious.

"Just this one jar?"

The old lady placed the wine jar on the table.

"What's wrong? This jar of wine is no longer palatable to you?"

Li Hu quickly shook his head.

No, not at all.

"This is also a top-quality wine that you brewed yourself."

"You wouldn't even be willing to take it out for an ordinary person."

As he said this, he glanced towards the backyard.

"I was thinking, since I've finally brought my brother back for a visit, could we try the jar of wine buried in the backyard?"

"That jar of wine must have been stored for many years. I only saw it once when I was a child."

Upon hearing this, the old lady's face immediately darkened.

"Don't even think about taking that jar of wine."

"If you dare to dig this out behind my back, I'll really break your legs this time."

Li Hu shrank his neck.

"I was just asking casually, please don't be offended."

"It's not worth getting so angry over something so trivial."

The old lady didn't explain anything, turned around and took out two wine bowls from behind the counter, placing them in front of Qin Lie and Li Hu respectively.

Then he reached out and lifted the red cloth, and then broke the mud seal on the mouth of the jar.

As soon as the mud seal was broken, a very strong aroma of wine wafted out of the jar.

The aroma of the liquor also carries a unique scent from the fermentation of grains.

Li Hu leaned over and took a sniff, then a smile quickly returned to his face.

"Qin Lie, you'd better have a good taste later."

"I wasn't bragging to you just now. This wine was brewed by our ancestor himself. Even if our town mayor came, she might not be willing to bring it out."

"I'm only able to have a bowl of wine today because of you."

The old lady chimed in from the side.

"It's rare that you've been away from home for so long, yet you still remember what kind of alcohol we have at home."

Li Hu pretended not to hear, picked up the wine jar, first filled Qin Lie's bowl, and then poured one for himself.

The wine fell into the bowl, creating a small ripple on the surface.

Li Hu picked up his wine bowl, his face full of smugness.

"Come on, let's finish this bowl."

"Now you understand? This winery is owned by my family, so this meal is on me. No one will accept payment even if you want to."

Qin Lie ignored Li Hu's smug look.

He picked up the wine bowl in front of him and glanced down at it.

The liquor in the bowl was slightly cloudy, but it had a very strong aroma of grain liquor.

Before even taking a sip, the pungent smell of alcohol already filled my nostrils.

Qin Lie brought the wine bowl to his lips, tilted his head back, and took a sip.

The moment the drink entered my throat, a burning sensation traveled down my throat and finally settled in my chest.

"Ahem!"

Qin Lie was unprepared and coughed twice from the choking.

Li Hu burst out laughing when he saw his reaction.

"Hahaha, I told you you were a weakling. You can get this spicy from this kind of alcohol, tsk tsk tsk."

Li Hu held the wine bowl, his smug expression growing increasingly obvious.

"How about it? I wasn't bragging, was I? Isn't our family's baijiu (a type of strong liquor) absolutely top-notch?"

Qin Lie put the wine bowl back on the table and wiped his mouth with his hand.

"It is truly exceptional."

"This is the wine I've ever had that I like the most."

Qin Lie wasn't saying this to deliberately flatter Li Hu.

This jar of strong liquor was brewed by the Li family themselves. In terms of spiciness, it couldn't compare to the high-proof liquors Qin Lie had drunk in his previous life.

However, this liquor has a very obvious grain aroma, and the flavor lingers well after tasting it, making it quite unique in its taste.

Moreover, Qin Lie didn't like alcohol that was too spicy.

Those two coughs he just coughed were just because he drank too fast and was choked by the smell of alcohol; they had little to do with how spicy the wine was.

When Li Hu heard Qin Lie praise the wine, his smile became even brighter.

"Absolutely, I've been stealing and drinking our family's liquor since I was a kid."

"It's been the same taste all these years."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the old lady next to him raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

Snapped!

The slap landed squarely on the back of Li Hu's head.

"Good lad!"

"I was wondering why the family's liquor supply disappeared so quickly when you were a kid."

"I always thought it was your dad who was secretly drinking it behind my back."

"So it turns out you were the one who did it!"

Li Hu covered the back of his head and quickly changed his tune.

"I misspoke, I misspoke."

"I've smelled it since I was a child."

"I misspoke just now. When did I ever secretly drink any wine from home?"

The old lady snorted coldly, clearly not believing her words.

However, since there were guests present today, she did not bring up Li Hu's childhood grievances.

Qin Lie picked up the wine bowl and took another sip.

This time, he didn't bother to carefully taste the wine.

After swallowing the wine, Li Tiezhu came to mind.

At Duanfeng Pass, Li Tiezhu stuffed the piece of iron into his hand.

The origin of the piece of iron was not explained at the time.

He was simply told that once he passed Duanfeng Pass, he should come to the wine shop near the town entrance in Lijia Town for a drink.

As long as you take out the metal plate, you don't have to pay for the drink.

Qin Lie had previously thought that the piece of iron was just money left by Li Tiezhu for drinks.

But when he actually arrived here and saw the old woman in front of him, his thoughts changed.

This matter is probably not that simple.

Li Tiezhu must have had his reasons for keeping this piece of iron.

If you simply want to invite him for a drink, just tell him your name.

There is absolutely no need to leave a keepsake.

This piece of iron probably has other uses as well.

Qin Lie put down his wine bowl.

He then reached into his pocket and took out the piece of metal.

The metal sheet was only the size of a fingernail.

The edges have been worn smooth from prolonged friction.

In the middle, there is a crookedly carved character "Li".

Qin Lie did not speak.

He placed the sheet of metal on the table and then slowly pushed it towards the old lady with his fingers.

The old lady was originally standing to the side, watching Li Hu drink.

When she caught sight of that piece of metal out of the corner of her eye, she stopped moving abruptly.