Chapter 2023: Countryside Wine Shop

Zhao Hai sat in the living room on Yin Yang Peak. The Yin Yang Elders were looking at him. At this time, Zhao Hai opened his mouth and said, “Masters, this disciple accepted a mission related to Ghost Cultivators. I mainly want to see what they’re like. I hope that you’ll allow me to go.”

The Yin Yang Elders nodded, then the Yin Elder said, “You can go. Your future opponents will be Ghost Cultivators. The earlier you expose yourself to them, the better. Right, what mission did you take? How long will it take?”

Zhao Hai replied, “The mission is from Li Village. There’s been murders there and the villagers suspect that it’s a Ghost Cultivator. The mission states that the mission could be completed within three months.”

The Yang Elder nodded, “It seems like it’s not too difficult. Good. You can go, but don’t take Little Tie with you.”

Zhao Hai gave a respectful nod and said, “Yes, I’ll be leaving Little Tie here. I’ll depart tomorrow.”

The Yin Elder nodded, “You can go. But remember that Ghost Cultivators aren’t easy to deal with. Even if they’re weak, you should be careful when you encounter them. Although you’ll be inside the Tyrant Blade Sect’s territory, you can still meet troubles. After all, the sect doesn’t have a lot of disciples, so it’s impossible for us to get complete control over such a large territory. Moreover, there are outer disciples of the sect that cause trouble for local people once they head out. If you meet such people, there’s no need to be polite. Investigate the matter, then you can clean them up.”

Zhao Hai nodded, “Yes Master, disciple understands.” Then Yin Elder nodded and then waved his hand, “You can go back and prepare. Depart as soon as possible.” Zhao Hai complied and then left.

Zhao Hai didn’t bring Qiu Tie back but he told him about what he was going to do. Then Zhao Hai went back to resident complex 52 and had the robots prepare everything. He meditated until the next morning before he released his Demon Horse and set off.

Zhao Hai didn’t use his winged horse to travel. After several battles against beasts in the True Spirit Realm, Zhao Hai became more aware that the beasts of the realm weren’t to be underestimated. In the past couple of days, the Tyrant Blade Sect spent a lot of resources to deal with the beasts of Black Dragon Mountain. Not only did they increase the purchasing price of beasts, they also gave out discounts to those who were going to hunt them. This also caused quite a few losses of inner disciples. It must be known that the sect didn’t have a lot of disciples to begin with, so the sect was hurt by this outcome.

If Zhao Hai flew and met a powerful flying beast, he wouldn’t even have the opportunity to land. He would be wiped out before he could get off. When that time comes, he could only rely on the s.p.a.ce for safety. Zhao Hai didn’t want to use the s.p.a.ce too much in the meantime, so he took the slow route and traveled on land.

After coming out of his mountain, Zhao Hai traveled towards Yalong City. Yalong City was a major city that the Tyrant Blade Sect governed. Plenty of ordinary people lived in and around the city. There were also people who were related to the Tyrant Blade Sect. Some of them were former disciples who have no hope of progressing and also not strong enough to become an elder. So they went out of the sect to retire. There were people who are family members of the current disciples of the Tyrant Blade Sect. They came to the city in hopes of also being recruited by the sect. There were also those who were direct relatives of disciples with good spiritual roots. Despite being talented, because of their low status, they couldn’t bring their families into the sect. 

Zhao Hai knows that the True Spirit Realm was larger than the Great Realm of Cultivation. This made the realm more populous. This also meant that there were more people who couldn’t cultivate and remained as mortals. Maybe because of the realm’s rich amount of spiritual qi, but the lifespan of the mortals in the True Spirit Realm was longer. But in the end, these people were still ordinary, they were no different compared to the mortals in the lower realms.

The place Zhao Hai was living in was the strongest place in the Tyrant Blade Sect’s territory. You can only see inner disciples, outer disciples, serving disciples, and servants in this place. It’s not easy to see anyone who has no direct relations.h.i.+p with the Tyrant Blade Sect. But it was also because of this that the area was spa.r.s.ely populated. You might not even meet a person if you walk for half a day.

Zhao Hai continued to ride his Demon Horse. His traveling speed wasn’t quick. He hasn’t really paid attention to the surroundings of his peak. Before he acquired his portable transmission formation, he used his winged horses to travel. The views when traveling in the sky were different compared to traveling on the ground. So Zhao Hai used this opportunity to take a good look.

The path to Yalong City was in a different direction to Black Dragon Mountain. When Zhao Hai went down the peak, he went west and then turned north. If Zhao Hai traveled as fast as he could, he would reach the city in ten days. But if he traveled slowly, it would take about a month.

There were no supply points on this section of the road inside the Tyrant Blade Sect. Only when he exits the central area of the sect would Zhao Hai see towns and villages. 

Zhao Hai wasn’t in a hurry, so he leisurely moved forward. He met some disciples along the way, both riding beasts or walking. Some of them were in a hurry to complete their missions. Seeing Zhao Hai’s leisurely pace, they couldn’t help but raise their brow.

Zhao Hi didn’t care about these people and continued his carefree stroll. Although his pace was called leisurely, the speed of the Demon Horse wasn’t slow. It galloped at a fast and steady speed, with speeds much faster than sprinting horses.

Along the way, Zhao Hai didn’t stop to eat. Instead, while on horseback, he took out a pot of liquor to drink. Once in a while, he would throw one or two peanuts in his mouth.

Although he has all kinds of food in the s.p.a.ce, Zhao Hai liked drinking liquor and eating peanuts. The more he chewed, the more fragrant the wine became. 

The Demon Horse doesn’t need to eat anything. It was like a camel who could survive without eating for a long time. Naturally, Zhao Hai wouldn’t unjustly treat the Demon Horse. As the Demon Horse ran, Zhao Hai would give it fruit from time to time. The Demon Horse was also an intelligent beast, so it would turn its head when Zhao Hai threw the fruit over. And once in a while, it would let out a happy neigh. 

A human and a horse leisurely traversed the main road. Zhao Hai also had a blade hung on the side of the saddle. It was truly a picture of a lone warrior venturing into the world.

When darkness came, Zhao Hai found a spot in the forest and sent the Demon Horse to the s.p.a.ce before entering as well. He had yet to leave the central area of the Tyrant Blade Sect, so the area was still spa.r.s.ely populated. He wasn’t worried about anyone finding out that he has the s.p.a.ce.

After accompanying Laura and the others the entire evening, Zhao Hai went out when morning arrived. Then he continued his travels. As he proceeded, Zhao Hai discovered that the people he met on the road began to increase. Moreover, he could see merchants with their carriages as well as farmers pulling cow-like beasts. There were also other people walking on foot.

Zhao Hai suddenly had a thought that he returned to ancient China. He couldn’t help but slow down his horse. If he continued with his previous speed, then he might possibly hit someone on the road.

Sure enough, when noon came, Zhao Hai began to see a village in the distance. The village wasn’t that big, but it made the road more alive.

Zhao Hai liked such sceneries. Suddenly, Zhao Hai found a building not far away that had a wine flag on its front door. It was a yellow flag with the character of ‘wine’ written in red. It was very eye-catching as it fluttered in the wind.

Zhao Hai couldn’t help but smile. Such wine shops could only be seen during ancient times. He hasn’t gone inside one before, so he wanted to go experience it for himself.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hai patted his Demon Horse. The horse sped up and reached the wine shop in no time.

The shop wasn’t big. Its main foundation was made with cyan stone. There were 5 to 6 round tables inside. There was also a small counter with a few jars of wine. There was a busy waiter who was wearing a green coat and a small hat. The shop had a few customers drinking. There was also a woman drinking wine on the counter. The woman wasn’t very good looking, she looked like a hardworking village woman. With just one look, one could see her muscles beneath her clothes.

When Zhao Hai arrived, his Demon Horse caused the people in the shop to look over. Whether it be customers or the proprietors, all of them were attracted by the Demon Horse. After all, the Demon Horse was just too eye-catching.

When the Demon Horse stopped, the waiter immediately came out of the shop and then bowed towards Zhao Hai, “I have seen Mister. The shop is honored to accept Mister’s patronage. You can tell me if you want to take food or liquor to drink along the way.”

Zhao Hai jumped down from his Demon Horse, then he smiled towards the waiter and said, “I’ll drink liquor here. Do you serve side dishes?”

The waiter immediately answered, “Yes, yes. Our small shop has homemade side dishes. But Mister might not be used to it. Our wine is also home brewed, so it’s a bit muddy. I’ll have to apologize in advance.”

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “It’s fine, bring me two jugs of your wine as well as four side dishes. By the way, bring ten catties of wine for my horse.”

The waiter didn’t say anything and complied. Then he led Zhao Hai into the wine shop. But before going inside, Zhao Hai waved his hand and then threw a huge rabbit towards the Demon Horse. The horse could eat anything, but it liked meat a lot, so Zhao Hai didn’t treat it badly.

Sure enough, as Zhao Hai threw the rabbit, the Demon Horse let out a happy whine as it opened its mouth to eat. This caused the people inside the shop to stare. This was the first time they saw a horse eat meat. But this also informed them that the Demon Horse couldn’t be underestimated. Zhao Hai’s status inside their minds increased.

The waiter became even more respectful when he saw this. He was bending his waist more as he welcomed Zhao Hai into the shop. He looked for an empty table and carefully wiped it clean before asking Zhao Hai to sit down.