Monkey Wine, wine worm chance not to give in
The next day at noon, taking advantage of lunchtime, Fang Yuan returned to the marketplace outside the village.
Due to the need for work during the day, there weren't many villagers between the tent stalls at this time.
Fang Yuan walked to the place where he had seen the Intimate Grass being sold the previous night. He saw an empty cart parked in the same spot, pulled by a camel chicken.
It stood proudly, its body as large as an ostrich but shaped like a chicken, with a hump on its back forming an arc.
A pair of wide wings were folded at its sides, its feathers vibrant and colorful.
Its head was held high, with a large red comb resembling a crown of agate, glistening under the sunlight.
"It seems I was too late; the Intimate Grass has already sold out. It's a pity. If I had bought a few pounds of Intimate Grass, I could have saved a lot of primordial stones." Fang Yuan paused for a moment, then continued walking further in.
"Come, everyone, and taste the fine wines from various villages. There are over a hundred types of fine wines here, including top-grade Lamp Grass Wine, the mellow Nine Curves Wine, the light and elegant Ancient Dragon Well, the sweet and sour Flower Stone Wine, the refreshing Baiquan Aged Cellar, and the richly aromatic Drunk Three Autumns..." At a blue barrel-shaped tent, an attendant was enthusiastically promoting.
Fang Yuan's interest was piqued, and he turned towards the wine shop.
The shop's setup was quite unique.
At the back of the tent was a long counter guarded by a Gu Master. Behind him were dozens of crystal weevils, each the size of a bucket, clinging to the tent's fabric walls.
The ground of the tent was bare earth and stone, with a cluster of colorful mushrooms growing from it.
These mushrooms were vibrant and plump, some as large as table tops, others as small as low stools. Often, a large mushroom was surrounded by several smaller stool-like mushrooms.
"These are Innocence Mushrooms, deliberately cultivated by Gu Masters. They absorb dust and impurities, purifying the air. They are a type of plant Gu." Fang Yuan immediately recognized the origin of these mushrooms.
He chose a small mushroom to sit on. The surface of the mushroom slightly depressed under his weight, giving him the feeling of sitting on a sofa back on Earth.
"Young master, here is the wine list. Please see what you would like to order." An attendant approached.
Fang Yuan glanced at the wine list and found that the wines here were even more expensive than Green Bamboo Wine.
"I'll have a cup of Monkey Wine," Fang Yuan said, putting down the wine list.
"One cup of Monkey Wine!" the attendant shouted.
At the counter, the first-turn Gu Master heard and immediately bent down to take out a bamboo wine cup from the counter.
He then turned to the tent wall behind him. Dozens of large crystal weevils, head down and tail up, were quietly clinging to the blue canvas, looking like decorative ornaments.
These crystal weevils were also a type of Gu, their bodies hollow, often used by Gu Masters to store precious liquids.
They were completely transparent, as if made of crystal. One could see the various types of wine inside their round bellies from the outside.
The Gu Master quickly found the weevil containing Monkey Wine.
He placed the bamboo wine cup under the weevil's mouth and gently stroked the weevil's crystal carapace with his other hand.
A small amount of true essence flowed into the weevil, and soon it opened its mouth, letting a stream of wine flow into the bamboo cup.
The wine poured with a splash, then stopped abruptly.
The Gu Master placed the filled bamboo cup on the counter, and the attendant, who had been waiting, carefully took it and brought it to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan took a light sip. Monkey Wine, a type of fruit wine, had a clear, pure, and sweet aroma, smooth and mellow on the palate.
He didn't drink further but instead summoned the Wine Insect with a thought.
The plump white Wine Insect turned into a white light, tracing a half-arc in the air before plopping into the wine cup.
Wine splashed, spilling onto the mushroom table.
The Wine Insect rolled happily in the cup, and the Monkey Wine rapidly decreased, visibly disappearing. In just a few breaths, the cup was dry, not a drop left.
"It's the Wine Insect!" The Gu Master at the counter exclaimed, his eyes brightening. He was a first-turn Gu Master with only D-grade aptitude, following the merchant caravan and working at this wine shop, hoping to travel and find opportunities.
The Wine Insect could refine true essence, raising one's cultivation level by a small realm. For a first-turn Gu Master, it was an extremely precious Gu. This was exactly the opportunity he had been seeking.
"Young master, would you be willing to part with your Wine Insect?" He walked over excitedly, asking sincerely.
Fang Yuan shook his head firmly, refusing without hesitation, then stood up to leave.
His purpose in coming here was to deliberately expose the Wine Insect, not to sell it.
"Young master, please wait. I am very sincere. Perhaps we could sit down and discuss this further." The Gu Master followed Fang Yuan to the entrance of the tent, but Fang Yuan gave no response.
Finally, the Gu Master could only stand there, deeply regretful, watching Fang Yuan's back disappear around a corner.
...
Unknowingly, the sun gradually set, and the crescent moon rose into the sky.
In the night, the moonlight spread like water but was evaporated by the bright lights of countless shops.
The shops were bustling with business tonight. Fang Yuan, moving with the crowd, couldn't avoid hearing the various discussions around him.
"Shops are usually open for three days and nights. Tonight is the second night, and the caravan will set off again the morning after tomorrow. So if we want to buy something, we have to hurry."
"Yesterday, I had my eye on a Gold Bell Gu, but it was too expensive. I haggled with the shopkeeper for a long time, but the price barely dropped. I'll go check again tonight."
"Have you heard? Last night, a young man actually found a Leprous Toad at the gambling stone market and made a profit of five hundred primeval stones!"
...
Fang Yuan listened carefully, feeling a bit disappointed that he didn't hear any news about the Wine Insect.
"The Wine Insect is just a first-turn Gu, which is significant for first-turn Gu Masters but can't refine primeval essence for second or third-turn Gu Masters. It's normal that no one is paying attention to it. However, I can't rush to expose the Wine Insect too eagerly; doing so too obviously might backfire," Fang Yuan pondered as he walked.
Just then, the crowd ahead surged rapidly.
Immediately after, Fang Yuan heard someone shouting, "Come and see! There's a black-hearted shop selling fake Gu to our clansmen!"
People in the crowd were instantly filled with righteous indignation.
"Hmm? Such a thing is happening?"
"Let's go see which shop dares to deceive our clansmen!"
Fang Yuan followed the crowd.
A group of people gathered around the entrance of a large red tent, crowding in layers. Some were watching curiously, some with arms crossed and indifferent, but most had thin layers of anger on their faces.
Two people stood at the tent's entrance.
One was a young second-turn Gu Master, clearly a member of the Gu Yue clan by his attire.
The other was a familiar face, the shopkeeper from the gambling stone market, Jia Jinsheng.
The young Gu Master held a dark Gu worm, raising it high and shouting to the surrounding people, "Clansmen, it's this man in front of me who sold me a fake Gu yesterday. He deceived me, claiming it was a Black Boar Gu, and sold it to me for 250 primeval stones. But when I refined it last night, I found out it was just an ordinary Stinky Fatworm!"
Jia Jinsheng sneered, "Don't slander me. When did I say this Gu was a Black Boar Gu? Do you have any evidence?"
The young Gu Master, seeing Jia Jinsheng's adamant denial, grew furious and grabbed Jia Jinsheng's arm, "You scoundrel! Still trying to deny it? How dare you deceive a member of the Gu Yue clan on Qing Mao Mountain! Are you looking for death?"
"Let go!" Jia Jinsheng was also angry, shaking off the young Gu Master's hand, "You want to cause trouble and extort money from me? Know who you're dealing with! I'm not afraid of you! My brother is Jia Fu, a fourth-turn Gu Master. What can you do to me?"
"You!" The young Gu Master glared furiously but didn't dare to make another move. The name of a fourth-turn Gu Master had already frightened him.
"Bah!" Jia Jinsheng spat on the ground, looked at the young Gu Master with disdain, and sneered, "You're the one trying to get a cheap deal. Think about it. The Black Boar Gu can fundamentally increase a Gu Master's strength. It's an extremely rare first-turn Gu, worth more than the Wine Insect. It usually sells for six hundred primeval stones. You thought you could buy it for 250? Dream on!"
"Bastard..." The young Gu Master gritted his teeth, his face turning red with anger, trembling all over with the fury of being humiliated.
The crowd buzzed with noise, restless and full of discussions. But no one dared to step forward. The reputation of Jia Fu, the fourth-turn Gu Master, was like an invisible mountain, suppressing the scene.
"This guy is too vile, a real scoundrel!"
"No wonder he's so arrogant on Qing Mao Mountain. Turns out he's Jia Fu's brother."
"I heard they're half-brothers. He's only a first-turn Gu Master himself, but he bullies others relying on this connection."
...
"What's happening here?" A loud voice suddenly rang out.
"It's Jia Fu!"
"The leader is here to resolve the dispute. Make way, everyone."
The discussions stopped abruptly. The crowd quickly parted, forming a narrow path.
A short, stout middle-aged Gu Master with a big belly walked in through the path. He wore a long-sleeved yellow robe and was the leader of this caravan, Jia Fu.
"Greetings, Master Jia Fu." Although the young Gu Master was full of anger, he dared not act out, forcefully suppressing it and respectfully saluting Jia Fu.
Jia Jinsheng stood frozen, seemingly not expecting his brother's arrival. His face turned pale, and a flash of shock and anger crossed his eyes.
This small change in expression didn't escape Fang Yuan, who had been observing from a distance, and he began to ponder.