Chapter 51 - 50: Su Wanqing Figures Out the Truth

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Su Wanqing Figures Out the Truth

Su Yuanpeng felt his little sister was a lost cause.

He had clearly told her the wine was fake, but she was just too stubborn, insisting it was real. She wouldn’t even let him have a single sip.

"Little sis, you can’t hold your liquor. Don’t drink too much at once."

"I know!"

Although Su Wanqing agreed, she didn’t find the wine strong at all. In fact, it was sweet on the tongue, without even a hint of a burn.

She downed all the wine in a few gulps, destroying the evidence.

Su Wanqing muttered, ’Doesn’t even taste like wine. That idiot, Xiao Chen, must have been scammed.’

She stood up and opened the door. "I’ve tasted it. It’s real wine, no problem."

"I’m going to cultivate now. You watch the door for me and don’t let anyone disturb me."

Su Yuanpeng didn’t believe her for a second. "Little sis, with your tolerance, if that were really Spirit Wine, you’d be under the table by now."

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Su Wanqing fell straight backward, passing out in the doorway.

"Little sis!" Su Yuanpeng cried out, startled, and started to rush toward her.

But before he could move, he felt waves of unusual Spiritual Qi fluctuations from nearby.

It was then that Su Yuanpeng realized with a shock, ’Could the wine have been real?’

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from all directions suddenly became active, gathering around Su Wanqing until a faint Water Curtain began to manifest.

Then, above the Water Curtain, the mystical image of a moon reflected in a spring appeared.

Su Yuanpeng was utterly dumbfounded, his eyes as wide as copper bells. ’How could that wine be real?!’

The following day at noon, Su Wanqing found herself making the very same exclamation: "How could that wine be real?!"

When she woke up that morning, she found that all her female relatives had gathered. They stood in a circle around her, chatting idly as they examined her sleeping form.

Su Wanqing was on the verge of a breakdown. ’That damned Xiao Chen! Passing out after drinking Moonlight Wine is such a crucial detail—why didn’t he tell me beforehand?!’

She had completely forgotten that just yesterday, she had been the one to tell Su Yuanpeng she would accept the wine on his behalf.

"Little sis, you’re awake!"

Hearing that Su Wanqing was awake, Su Yuanpeng immediately ran to her door and knocked. "I need to talk to you."

Su Wanqing yanked the door open, her expression dark. "Where were you last night?"

Su Yuanpeng answered honestly, "I went to the lantern festival last night to buy wine, but I couldn’t find it for the life of me. Little sis, quick, tell me, where did you get it?"

"SU! YUAN! PENG!"

Su Wanqing gritted her teeth. "So you just abandoned me here all alone! In your eyes, is wine more important than your own sister?"

Su Yuanpeng was completely baffled. "What could have happened to you here at home? You’re perfectly fine now, aren’t you?"

"Just hurry and tell me, where did this wine come from? Who’s so resourceful that they could get their hands on Moonlight Wine right now?"

"I asked everywhere this morning, and there wasn’t a single word about it."

BANG! The door slammed shut.

Su Wanqing yelled, "Get out!"

Afterward, she buried her face in her pillow and finally started to ponder his question.

’Su Yuanpeng has a whole crowd of wine-loving friends, and none of them heard anything. So how did Xiao Chen get his hands on Moonlight Wine?’

’Could it be that because I gave him water from the Bone Tempering Spring last time, he wanted to give me a gift in return?’

’Did he prepare Moonlight Wine specifically for me because I have a Water Spirit Root? That couldn’t have been easy. He must have been planning this for a long time.’

As she thought of this, Su Wanqing had a sudden realization. ’Oh, right! After I gave him the water from the Bone Tempering Spring, he completely stopped accepting my invitations.’

’But yesterday, he invited me in for fish soup. Was it because his gift was finally ready?’

’Tsk, tsk. Such a strong sense of pride. So concerned with saving face.’

Su Wanqing felt she had grasped the entire truth and understood exactly what was on Xiao Chen’s mind.

’Was it because I didn’t warn him that the Bone Tempering Spring water has a strong aftereffect? Is that why he got his revenge on me, down to this very detail?’

She giggled and punched her pillow. "Hmph. So petty."

Xiao Chen was completely unaware that, in Su Wanqing’s eyes, he had now been labeled as ’petty’ and ’prideful’.

He directly refined the Dawn Fire Cloud Fruit. Not only did he feel his physical strength increase significantly right away, but he also felt much more energetic over the next few days.

The fruit truly did have the effect of nourishing one’s Primordial Spirit.

Now, apart from his necessary daily cultivation, he spent the rest of his time repeatedly engraving the Treasure Talisman with his Magical Power.

He strove to reach the Minor Success stage as soon as possible so he could wield the ultimate killing move composed of a thousand wisps of Profound Fire.

The Li Huo Sect was supposed to gradually return to its normal operations starting from the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

Xiao Chen also remained on the mountain instead of going to the riverbank to cultivate.

However, there were some complications this year. The opening ceremony for the new year was postponed twice and was ultimately canceled altogether.

Rumor had it that this was because a significant number of Low Tier disciples were late in returning, or had even gone missing entirely.

As a result, many of the sect’s affairs were also repeatedly postponed.

By the evening of the twenty-second, Xiao Chen had received a third notice from the Merit Hall regarding the delayed posting of some missions in the Task Hall.

Not long after, Elder Qi also paid him a visit, asking if he had run into any trouble with Tribulation Cultivators during the New Year festivities.

Xiao Chen shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, Elder. I did not encounter any Tribulation Cultivators."

’The attack he’d suffered had been before the New Year, so it probably didn’t count.’

Elder Qi advised with concern, "That’s good. Recently, a large number of Low Tier Cultivators from Quanzhou and Hezhou have flooded the area, so it’s very chaotic outside."

"Yesterday, an Outer Disciple was confirmed to have been murdered, and the sect is now hunting for the killer. If you don’t have anything urgent, stay on the mountain and cultivate. Don’t go wandering about."

Xiao Chen nodded. "Rest assured, Elder. I have no urgent business, so I will definitely not go out."

He wouldn’t go out if he didn’t have urgent business, but the truth was, he did have something urgent to attend to.

Tomorrow was the first quarter moon, the time for the Black Market gathering.

Whether it was to sell his spare Flying Sword and Storage Bag, buy an inexpensive Wood Attribute Technique, or purchase some of Quanzhou’s local specialties, he had every reason to visit the Black Market.

He could also use the opportunity to gather some intelligence about the activities of the Cultivators from Quanzhou.

Of course, just to be safe, Xiao Chen first made a special trip to the Marketplace.

There, he purchased six Light Body Talismans and two of the more potent Wind Riding Talismans, just in case.

Perhaps due to the unstable situation, the prices had inflated. Light Body Talismans now sold for one Spirit Stone for three, while Wind Riding Talismans had risen to two Spirit Stones each—both had doubled in price.

’Hmm, I still have that Talisman Dao inheritance tome and all the associated materials,’ he thought.

’I originally planned to keep them to study myself, but it looks like I won’t have the time for that now.’

’I should get rid of all that Talisman Paper, Talisman Ink, and the rest, so they don’t expire from sitting around and go to waste.’

’When I have some free time, I can just buy new materials. I could even get a better Talisman Brush then.’

’Based on my experience with the Three-legged Refining Furnace, spending Spirit Stones on better equipment really does make things much easier.’

On the twenty-third, Xiao Chen once again woke up bright and early.

Wearing his Stealth Cloak, he arrived at the southwest side of Niu Village before 7:45 AM.