My Wife Is A Sword Immortal-Chapter 699 - 432 Who is the Prettiest (Part 6)

"This river?"

At the table side, Zhao Rong’s expression was quite serious.

"Ahem," Fan Yushu coughed awkwardly, feeling that everyone, having finished eating and nothing better to do, had sought out a conversation with a bizarre, eloquent shopkeeper, which was quite far-fetched. Thus, he decided not to beat around the bush and directly said, "Actually, we’re all here to taste the drinks from this place."

Zhao Rong glanced at the little Qian’er, who was currently haggling for drinks, and with an expressionless face, he nodded:

"I knew it. The several groups of people who came before were dining at this out-of-the-way restaurant. It certainly wasn’t solely for its reputation and culinary delights; either there was something valuable hidden here, or the proprietress’s beauty was widely acclaimed—you had to brush with one or the other."

Fan Yushu raised a thumb in front of his stomach, "I knew with your intelligence, you couldn’t be fooled. Ziyu is indeed experienced."

Zhao Rong leaned back slightly, distancing himself a bit, and tugged at the corner of his mouth, "You flatter me, Brother Yushu. It’s you who knows much more."

"My apologies, my apologies."

"..."

The two shared a tacit round of business flattery.

Fan Yushu continued:

"Rumors hold that the drinks of the Summer Insect Pavilion are bizarre and extraordinary, yet for a customer to taste them, there are numerous difficulties. To enter the Summer Insect Pavilion, outsiders not only have to obtain its location through some concealed channels but also have to catch the eye of the Summer Insect Pavilion’s shopkeeper, in order to be allowed inside and seated at a table."

He paused, then added, "Even after getting a seat at the table, to drink the Summer Insect Pavilion’s treasured beverages, one must satisfy some strict conditions."

"What conditions?" Zhao Rong asked, then after a thought, his lips curled in jest, "Could it be that one must engage in small talk with the shopkeeper, triggering a key event in the plot?"

Fan Yushu looked at him, didn’t pick up the joke, but still nodded:

"Indeed, you have to engage in small talk with him, but the chat has to cover topics that interest the shopkeeper or information he doesn’t know. Sometimes he would also ask some questions.

"How exactly to chat, and what the rules are, it’s said that it depends on the Summer Insect Pavilion shopkeeper’s mood, and if he is satisfied, then one can taste the drinks of the Summer Insect Pavilion. However, whether or not he is pleased is entirely up to him; otherwise, he won’t sell a single drop of drink."

Zhao Rong showed some curiosity, "There’s such an oddity... well, now it seems like something just this guy would do."

Fan Yushu stealthily glanced at that black-hearted shopkeeper who was currently bickering with Miss Zhao and nodded in deep agreement, "Indeed."

Zhao Rong nudged his friend’s arm, "Brother Yushu, you haven’t yet mentioned what’s so special about those drinks."

Fan Yushu’s expression turned solemn, and he whispered softly, "It’s said that within the Summer Insect Pavilion there’s a drink called Ice Lady Wine, which possesses the miraculous effect of preserving one’s youth. Most of those customers who have been able to get inside and sit at a table and who manage to ’chat’ satisfyingly with the shopkeeper usually get to drink a cup."

"Eternal youth?" Zhao Rong murmured softly and chuckled, "Wouldn’t that be very popular among the ladies on the mountain?"

Fan Yushu thought for a moment and nodded, "That’s true. The Ice Lady Wine commands exorbitant prices in the Wangque Continent’s black market among the mountains due to its rarity, as the number of people who can catch the shopkeeper’s eye and succeed in getting a drink is just too few."

He looked around, then leaned closer to Zhao Rong, continuing:

"However, in my opinion, for us folks on the mountain, eternal youth, though rare, is not such a great fortune. What I think... is attracting the endless stream of odd and peculiar cultivators to the door... are the rumored three other kinds of drinks."

"There are other drinks?" Zhao Rong asked curiously.

Fan Yushu nodded, "According to the rumors, there are three other kinds of drinks in the Summer Insect Pavilion, named Summer Insect, Well Frog, and Qu Shi."

He stopped talking.

Zhao Rong leaned back slightly and looked at his friend, who was whispering closely and acting nervously.

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

Understanding his friend’s meaning, the latter just shrugged his shoulders with a helpless tone:

"What kind of miraculous effects the Summer Insect Wine, Well Frog Wine, and Qu Shi Wine might have, I’m not very clear. I only understand roughly that the Ice Lady Wine has the effect of preserving beauty, because although it is difficult to drink, there are still people who have tasted it.

"As for who might have tasted the other three drinks that supposedly exist, I have not heard of anyone over these years, leading to many mountaintop people generally believing that they are just a deliberate hype by this mysterious and quirky old brand from You City and don’t actually exist."

Fan Yushu scratched his head, "Nevertheless, it seems there are quite a few believers. Just now, you saw those odd visitors at the door; they should all be here for the three drinks rumored to exist."

While they were talking, the voices of Zhu Yourong, Su Xiaoxiao, and others chatting at the table began to rise.

Although these ladies did not join in the conversation between Zhao Rong and Fan Yushu, they had also heard quite a bit, especially about the youth-preserving Ice Lady Wine, which made them look over with various reactions.

Zhu Yourong looked as usual.

Yu Huaijin still wore his eternally unchanged stern face, straight as a ramrod.

Meanwhile, the little Fox Demon was fixated on someone, and despite occasionally stealing glances at her faithless lover, she didn’t seem to care much about any youth-preserving wine.

Li Xueyou, who had been quiet and shy all along, turned her head to look towards the counter, her profile tranquil.

At this moment, Lingfei, with her chest puffed out, was sitting on a soft cushion provided by a toady, furrowing her brows and mumbling:

"Preserving youth... Wouldn’t I never grow up then? What a terrible drink, it’s nothing but trouble!"

Zhao Rong and Fan Yushu: "......"

The ladies at the table: "......"

Zhao Rong couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his eye and really wanted to tell this ’little’ girl that there’s such a term as ’baby-faced giant breasts’ in the world. Eternal youth isn’t the same as eternal age, and some parts of the body will grow as they should regardless of one’s wish, but after thinking it over, he decided to drop it. With so many people around, it’s not easy to drive, and furthermore...

What if after listening to him and drinking the Ice Lady Wine, the ’little’ girl really stopped growing and blamed it all on Zhao Rong and the alcohol, demanding him to be responsible? What would he do then?

She’s so petty and holds grudges so easily, it’s very likely she would do something like that.

Zhao Rong had no doubts about it.

Meanwhile, Fan Yushu, unaware of his friend’s silent grievances, looked at Zhao Rong, who was sitting upright as if contemplating, and thought Zhao Rong was digesting his previously spoken words. Fan Yushu pondered and said:

"About those three kinds of wine rumored to be in the Summer Insect Pavilion, I don’t know much. I only heard from my old man..."

He paused, his tone serious:

"Summer Insect Wine, one cup can make you speak with ice."

"Well Frog Wine, one cup can reveal the sea."

"Qu Shi Wine, one cup can enlighten you to the Dao."

Zhao Rong frowned and muttered, "Speak with ice, reveal the sea, enlighten to the Dao..."

Silence fell between the two men.

After a moment of quiet, Fan Yushu shook his head and took out two flasks of fine wine from his waist, which were shaped like hollowed jade gourds, placed them on the table, and poured a small glass for both Zhao Rong and himself.

Fan Yushu laughed and patted Zhao Rong on the shoulder.

"Regardless, it’s none of our business as small fries. No need for those unnecessary thoughts; we’re here today because Zhao’s little sister has invited us to a meal. Tsk tsk, Fairy Zhao truly is a leading figure of Taiching Prefecture, with exceptional reputation and connections. Casually inviting us to a meal equals a legendary establishment in Du You, even I, a local, couldn’t find my way here before..."

Fan Yushu chuckled, glanced around leisurely, and sipped his wine.

Zhao Rong turned to look at him, nodded slightly, still frowning slightly, not aimlessly fantasizing about those alcoholic concoctions. Right now, he just wanted to peacefully get through dinner, not caring for any unexpected adventures.

"Speak with ice," "reveal the sea," "enlighten to the Dao," Zhao Rong did not have time to ponder these riddles; who knows if they’re just made to mystify...

Later, he would have to ask Qing Jun, what involvement he had with the Summer Insect Pavilion, and how he came to know that manager Zhao... He thought to himself, taking the glass of wine offered by his friend and taking a sip.

As soon as Zhao Rong put down his glass, he fortuitously turned to look at Li Xueyou, who was biting her lip while stealthily glancing at him, chatting with Zhu Yourong and Jingzhi.

After making eye contact for a while, Zhao Rong was about to speak when, in the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a graceful figure appearing in the hallway leading to the kitchen.

Lingfei, with a strand of black hair falling across her forehead, was coming toward them with a bowl of hot soup.

Zhao Rong pursed his lips and turned his eyes; he stood up properly and walked over to greet her.

"You have worked hard," Zhao Rong said with a smile, raised his hand, and put it down again, expressing his sincere thanks.

But then, his gaze couldn’t help but fall on his wife’s originally picture-perfect face, which was now stained with oily water marks on her rosy cheeks. Her cheeks were flushed; it was unclear whether she got splashed with hot oil.

Zhao Rong pressed his lips together, not daring to look at Li Xueyou behind him. He raised his right hand, which had been hanging down, to brush away the hair from her forehead to behind her left ear, took out a handkerchief, wiped her cheek with his fingers, and then took the bowl of hot soup from her.

"Be careful, it’s hot."

As her husband tenderly brushed her hair and showed his care, she looked at his gentle and cautious demeanor and gave a sweet, faint smile, then couldn’t help but say a worried word and moved forward to lightly clasp Zhao Rong’s arm, assisting him together.

The latter nodded gently.

Their tacit affectionate gestures were seen by everyone sitting near the dining table, silently and without a word.

Zhao Rong, holding the soup, returned to the table with Lingfei.

He was about to say something.

At this moment, Qian’er returned with a smile on her lips and hands behind her back.

Following her was a man with short hair and stubble, carrying a black lacquered wine jar and mumbling to himself.

...

————

PS: I haven’t run away, I’ve been here all along...

But some readers might as well treat Sword Lady as being canceled, no need to keep reading, it’s just a flop of a book. Xiao Rong can’t write the books you want to read. Now you feel bad reading it, and Xiao Rong feels dejected writing it. Seriously, don’t suffer for nothing. After calming down over the past few days, you’ll probably feel indifferent about it; having it or not is actually the same.

Until now, I haven’t asked for subscriptions or tickets for over half a year, not to mention that since the book started, I’ve never sought rewards, never egged anyone on to compete on the charts, and never persuaded ’other website’ readers to give up the comfort of freeloading.

None of that.

Because I’m afraid of owing a debt.

Because owing a debt means responsibility.

Once there’s responsibility, there’s no running away, so the enthusiasm and support of some brothers always make me feel apprehensive.

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