Chapter 081 – Snowbrew - Part 1

Inside a private room at the Ginger Tavern, Li Yuan sat looking rather distressed.

He had brought Zhou Jia here to meet the staff, but no matter how much he insisted, Zhou Jia refused to sit. Instead, he stood rigidly at the door with a polite bow, not even stepping into the room.

“Old Zhou, what’s the point of this?” Li Yuan tried coaxing him. “I said you should come in and have a bite to eat. What’s so bad about that? Here, take pen and paper if you need them.”

Zhou Jia took the pen, then immediately started scribbling on the paper. “

I cannot do that! A blade servant should never share a table with his master!

”

Li Yuan rolled his eyes. “We don’t stand on that kind of ceremony here. Come in and sit. It’s a snowy day, and I’ve got ginger and dates simmering in some mulled rice wine. It’s a special batch from a traveling merchant. Once we finish it, there’s no more. If you don’t like wine, at least have some tea or food.”

Despite Li Yuan’s efforts, Zhou Jia remained unmoved. He stood there with his head down, hand resting on the slender blade at his hip, staring at some fixed point in the shadows—lost in his own world or memories, unable to snap out of it.

Just then, quick, light footsteps sounded on the stairs.

In the glow of the lanterns flanking the private room, a striking woman appeared.

With delicate features, almond-shaped fox eyes, and her shapely form wrapped in a crimson fur-lined robe, she radiated a graceful warmth. Even just walking over, she projected a kind of soft allure that put men at ease yet feeling slightly unworthy.

“Dearest.” Xue Ning smiled, her eyes lighting up. She quickly approached Li Yuan’s side, then turned to look at Zhou Jia, who stood half-hidden in the darkness. “So you must be Mister Zhou? I was just over at the teahouse and already heard mention of you. Please, don’t stand on formality. Think of this place as your home.”

Zhou Jia said nothing.

Xue Ning offered a polite smile. “My husband rarely drinks, so for him to order ginger and red dates in a pot of mulled rice wine is something special. Don’t ruin his fun. Come in and have some to warm up.”

Li Yuan beckoned once more. “Old Zhou, in my own house, even I do what my wife says. Come on, have a seat.”

But Zhou Jia still didn’t budge. The room grew awkward for a few moments before he finally bent at the waist in a low bow, then retreated a bit farther into the shadows, silent as ever.

Li Yuan sighed and exchanged a look with the proprietress.

Xue Ning said gently, “Mister Zhou, why don’t I have Manager Wu show you around the tavern first and get you settled into a room? After all, you’ll be living here from now on.”

At that, Zhou Jia nodded. Xue Ning signaled for Manager Wu, reminding him to address Zhou Jia respectfully. She also let him know that from now on, the stables would be Zhou Jia’s responsibility and that he’d be paid at a manager’s rate.

Manager Wu stared, surprised, sneaking a glance at the blade at Zhou Jia’s hip. He wasn’t sure if it was some intimidating ornament or a real weapon. After all, who would carry a blade if they were just coming here to work in a tavern?

Then Li Yuan called out, “Uncle Wu, Old Zhou is an eighth rank martial artist. He’s also someone from my own martial lineage. Be sure to treat him with respect.”

Manager Wu nearly tripped over his own feet, his throat bobbing nervously before he rushed to bow and scrape.

Once they were gone, Xue Ning looped her arm through Li Yuan’s, leading him back into the private room. “Dearest, this eighth rank expert is from Senior Li’s circle?”

Li Yuan nodded. “He’s part of our Fallen Moon School. He’s had a difficult past and just wants to follow me now. I had him come here to keep an eye on things.”

“Then let him look after the stables, and the wine-brewing area is right next to there, so it’s a natural fit,” she said.

“Just don’t ask him to patrol,” Li Yuan replied. “If he wants a couple of helpers, fine. But if not, don’t force him. By the way, how are things coming with the equipment for brewing wine? Everything ready?”

She nodded. “All set.”

“And the distilling apparatus we talked about?”

“It’s done, and tested. It really does produce stronger liquor!”

“Good,” Li Yuan said. “Make sure only trusted people handle the brewing. No outsiders in the distillery.”

Though Li Yuan didn’t know every detail of winemaking, he did know that distillation could yield stronger liquor.

He had told Xue Ning about it, and once they had secretly tested a small batch, they decided to wait until the right moment to launch it. Now that he had advanced to the seventh rank and Zhou Jia was here to help, he felt the timing was right.

She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve arranged everything.”

Li Yuan nodded. “In that case, I’ll get official approval tomorrow to expand the tavern’s operation to include wine-making on the record.”

“But Cicada's Cuisine might make trouble. Two tigers cannot coexist on one mountain, as they say...” Xue Ning said with a slight knit of her brows.

Li Yuan gave a confident little smile. “The Dark Visage Elder is too proud to deal with this himself. And if any eighth or ninth ranks think they can stir up trouble in Silver Creek, let them try. I’d like to see it.”

He felt fully capable of handling any threat. With his Master level Tracking and Scent Seeking, and a peak combat power of 370, how could he be too timid to file for a simple brewer’s license?”

As an eighth rank inner disciple talent of the Blood Blade Sect, plus his own martial lineage connections, why shouldn’t he profit?

Others might not realize that the only remaining senior members of the Fallen Moon School were Senior Li and Zhou Jia. And even if they did, so what? It was time for the Ginger Tavern to step up from a mere inn to a legitimate business that served its own house brew.

A proper tavern distillery would bring in far greater revenue. And with more funds, Li Yuan could do much more.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Late that day, wheels on an old cart crunched through the snowy street, leaving tracks along the icy road. Past the shops, around a corner, heading deeper into the inner district...

Inside the carriage, Xue Ning hugged a hand-warmer close, leaning gently against Li Yuan’s shoulder. She spoke in a quiet voice, “Life feels harder and harder these days.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked.

“I’m worried that troubling times are coming.”

“If trouble does come to Silver Creek, it’ll be the last place in the county to fall into disarray,” Li Yuan replied.

“That may be, but this year’s harvest was poor, even though there wasn’t any natural disaster. How could that be?” Xue Ning sighed softly. “And these new members the Blood Blade Sect took in. They’re nothing like Senior Wu or Senior Li. Some of them are basically bandits or thieves, who’ve done their share of terrible things.”

“The Blood Blade Sect’s been targeting the Sun Family and the remnants of the Wei Family. Last year, they wiped out all the leftover troublemakers in Silver Creek, Parasol Town, and Violet Haven. But there are still plenty alive elsewhere,” Li Yuan said casually, then added, “Have you heard any news from outside the county?”

“I’ve talked to a few traveling merchants,” she replied, her pretty eyes turning bleak. “They say famine is everywhere. It started last year and it’s only getting worse. Places that used to be fertile are suddenly producing almost nothing. They don’t know why. Starving people everywhere...slave brokers roaming every corner...” She let out a heavy sigh.

No matter how far removed these tragedies might seem, it was hard not to feel empathy and sorrow for others’ suffering.

“Really?” Li Yuan answered quietly. But inwardly, he recalled that the meat fields owned by the Blood Blade Sect and the Wei Family had actually produced a bumper crop this year. Plenty of ninth rank demonic beast meat was being used to feed the new recruits of the Blood Blade Sect, helping them advance from early to peak ninth rank in record time.

He fell silent. Xue Ning cradled her warmer, resting her eyes against his shoulder.