"In total I have twenty-one primeval stones, fifteen from the Flower Wine Monk and six from Uncle. Two primeval stones should be deduced for my stay in the inn, foods and other accommodations. Another two will be deduced to purchase the green bamboo wine to feed the Liquor Worm and I will also need to purchase moon orchid which is a food for the Moonlight Gu, luckily the Spring Autumn Cicada feeds on the Water of the River of Time." Fang Yuan ate and calculated at the same time in his mind.
"A piece of primeval stone can buy me ten pieces of flower petals. The Moonlight Gu consumed four pieces everyday. A jar of green bamboo wine costs two pieces of stones, and it can support the Liquor worm for four days. In other words just to raise and feed the two of these Gu, I would need to spend nearly one stone everyday. Furthermore, in other to support my cultivation speed I will need to use three to five primeval stone per day to get more primeval essences."
It does not seem like much, but in reality this was very costly. The monthly living expenses for a mortal family of three only used up one piece of primeval stone. Thanks to Fang Yuan previous experience he had save a few primeval stones from not refining the Moonlight Gu and Liquor Worm but instead used the Spring Autumn Cicada aura to weaken both of the Gu's will.
Suddenly there was a loud noise, interrupting his thoughts. Fang Yuan looked at the direction of the sound, realizing that the 6 hunters seated around the table at the middle of the hall were heavily drunk. The atmosphere around them was fiery and their faces were all red.
"Brother Zhang, come, drink another cup!"
"Old brother Feng, we brothers admire your abilities! You took down a black skinned wild boar alone, what a man! This cup of wine you must drink, or else you'll be disrespecting us!"
"Thank you brothers for your sincerity, but I really can't drink anymore."
"Brother Feng can't drink anymore, perhaps you dislike this wine because it's not good enough? Waiter, come over! Give me some good wine!"
The noise was becoming louder; it was obvious that the group had drunk a lot. The waiter hurriedly went over and said, "Well good sirs, we do have good wine, but it is quite expensive."
"What, you're afraid we won't pay up?!" When the hunters heard the waiter, quite a few of them stood up and stared at the waiter. They were either big and tall or thick and burly in stature, capable and vigorous in a threatening manner, each having the courage that mountain men possessed.
The waiter quickly said, "I would not dare to look down on you brave men, it's just that these wine is really expensive, one jar costs 2 pieces of primeval stones!"
The hunters were stunned. 2 primeval stones was definitely not cheap – It was the sum of 2 months of the normal average household monthly expenses. Even though hunters earn more from hunting when compared to ordinary mortals, like how some times a black skinned wild pig could be worth half a primeval stone. However hunting was risky and a mistake could turn the hunter into prey.
To the hunters, using 2 primeval stones just to drink a jar of wine was just not worth it.
"Is there really such an expensive wine?"
"Boy, you aren't trying to lie to us right?"
The hunters were shouting about, but their voices felt a little timid, unable to back out of the situation with grace. The waiter kept telling them he wouldn't dare.
The hunter called brother Feng saw that the scene was not right, and he hurriedly said, "My brothers, let's not spend anymore. I can't drink anymore, let us drink this wine another day."
"What, you can't say that brother!"
"This is…"
The rest of the hunters were still shouting, but their voices started to fade away. One by one they sat back in their seats. The waiter was also a shrewd person. When he saw this, he knew that he was not able to sell the wine any more. However this situation hardly surprised him. As he was about to retreat, a young man's voice came from the table at the dark corner. "Hehe, hilarious. Each one of them blindly shouting for nothing. If you can't afford to buy wine, you should just obediently keep your mouths shut and go to the side!"
When the hunters heard this, one of them immediately retorted in anger, "Who said we can't afford it? Waiter, bring over that jar of wine, I'll give you the stones, two pieces of it!"
"Oh, give me a moment sir, I'll get it!" The waiter did not expect such a turn of events. He hurriedly replied and turned to grab a wine jar and brought it over. This wine jar was as big as the common jar of wine, but the moment it was uncorked, in that very instant a refreshing and mellow fragrance filled the entire cafeteria. Even the old man sitting alone at the window could not help but turn his head over when he smelled the wine aroma, and he gazed at the jar of wine.
It was definitely good wine.
"Dear guests, its not bragging. This is the green bamboo wine; the entire village only has one inn, which is us. Smell the fragrance!" The waiter inhaled deeply as he said this, his facial expression full of satisfaction and enjoyment.
"Finally is time for me to buy the green bamboo wine now." Fang Yuan was waiting for this moment.
The hunter was distressed, he wanted to return the wine back, yet he was unable to do so in fear of being humiliated. "I was too rash and bought the wine by impulse. This waiter is not too typical. He immediately brought the wine, now the cork is unsealed. Even if I want to return the goods it is too late."
At last he could only bang on the table and said with a strong smile, "Damn, this wine is good! Brothers please, drink all you want. Today this wine is on me!"
At this moment the young man at the table in the corner hissed, "How is this small jar of wine enough for six? If you have the guts then go buy a few more jars."
The hunter was furious when he heard this and stood up in a rage, his eyes fixed on the young man who spoke. "Brat, you sure have a lot of words. Come, stand up and fight me!"
"Oh? Then I will stand up." The young man got up from his seat as he heard the hunter's remark, grinning as he walked out from the shadows. His body figure was tall and thin, his skin pale. He was dressed in navy battle robes, and looked clean and neat. His head wore a blue headband; his upper body had a jacket that showed his thin and weak shoulders. The lower body had long pants, the feet were covered in bamboo sandals and the calves were tied.
The most important thing about him was the green belt on his waist. The middle of the belt was a shiny piece of copper; on the copper plate was a black "One" word.
"It's a Rank One Gu Master?!" The hunter clearly understood what this manner of clothing represented. He drew in a deep breath, the anger on his face dissipating, replaced by alarm.
He had never imagined that he actually provoked a Gu Master!
"Didn't you want to fight me? Come on then, hit me." The young Gu Master walked slowly towards the man, a playful smile on his face. But the hunter who had challenged him earlier had become frozen like a sculpture, unable to move from his spot.
"Maybe you guys can all come at me together, that works too." The young Gu Master slowly walked to the hunter's table, casually speaking.
The expressions on their faces had changed. Some of the hunters who had drunken red faces had gone pale suddenly. Each of their foreheads was drenched in cold sweat, and they felt restless, too afraid to even breathe heavily.
The young Gu Master stretched out a hand, picking up the green bamboo wine jar. He put it under his nose and sniffed, smiling. He said, "It sure smells good…"
"If my lord likes it, then please feel free to take and drink it. It is an apology from me for offending my lord," the hunter who provoked him earlier hurriedly replied and cupped his hands together before his chest, pushing a smile to his face.
Unexpectedly the young man's facial expression changed fiercely; with a loud crack the jar fell into pieces on the ground. The Gu Master looked cold as ice, his gaze sharp like a sword. He hissed angrily, "You think you have the right to apologize to me? You bunch of hunters must be really rich, even richer than me, since you guys spent 2 primeval stones to drink wine?! Do you have any idea, how upset I am over primeval stones right now! You actually dare to show off your wealth in front of me at this time! You mortals can even compare to me?!"
"We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare!"
"To offend my lord, it is a heinous crime!"
"We mortals did not mean to offend you, these are our primeval stones, please accept lord Gu Master."
The hunters quickly got on their feet and took out the primeval stones they had. But how could these mortals have money, all they pulled out was just bits and fragments of primeval stones, the biggest fragment piece was no bigger than a quarter of a primeval stone.
The Gu Master did not accept these primeval stones, but he did not stop sneering. He used his hawk-like gaze and swept past the entire cafeteria. The hunters that he scanned over lowered their heads. The old man who sat at the window watching the scene also quickly turned his head to avoid the Gu Master's gaze.
Only Fang Yuan watched quietly, ready to make a move.
"Alright Jiang Ya, you already taught them a lesson. Let's not further embarrass these mortals. If it gets out, even if you are not embarrassed, I would be," the other young person sitting in the corner voiced out.
When everyone heard the voice speak, they realized that this young person was a woman.
The young Gu Master called Jiang Ya stopped sneering as his female companion chided him. He did not even bother looking at the fragments of primeval stones that the hunters had taken out; these stones were not even the sum of two primeval stones, he was definitely not interested in it.
He flicked his sleeve and walked back to his original table. As he strode back he said maliciously, "If you think you have the guts to continue drinking, then go and drink green bamboo wine. I want to see, who still dares to drink this wine?"
The hunters all lowered their heads, acting like six obedient sons after being scolded.
Fang Yuan put down his chopsticks; he had eaten enough. Then he took out 2 primeval stones and put them on the table. "Waiter, give me a jar of green bamboo wine," he said indifferently.
The whole scene froze.