Wenren Ying returned from the secret realm at dusk. After entering the city, he did not head toward the bustling main street, but went straight back to the small courtyard he rented in the western part of town.
From a long way off, Lu Datong’s rough, hearty voice could already be heard.
“Brother Wenren! Brother Wenren, what have you been busy with today? I’ve been waiting ages!”
Wenren Ying asked, “Do you need something?”
Lu Datong laughed and offered him a wine gourd. “Brother Wenren, I found something good today... Come on, give it a taste.”
Wenren Ying’s senses were far sharper than those of ordinary people. The moment the wine gourd was opened, he immediately felt a frosty chill wafting from it. He frowned and said bluntly, “I told you not to go to the trouble. Nothing in the city that can calm the mind is of any use to me.”
Wenren Ying’s spiritual mansion was shattered, and the spiritual energy in his dantian and qi sea was difficult to control. Yet he was unwilling to cripple his meridians just to obtain relief. Thus, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth still circulated through his meridians, while his damaged golden core relied on that energy to forcibly sustain its operation.
It was practically a miracle.
But only Wenren Ying knew how painful that miracle was. The golden core circulating within his ruined spiritual mansion leaked core fire. If others merely had to endure the dryness caused by core fire in summer, then he could practically be said to be suffering the punishment of being roasted alive on heated bronze.
Of course, he had tried various ways to ease the pain... but there was another problem: no matter how effective something was, using it every day would eventually render it useless.
Frostglory Lotus and Everfirm Ice had long since stopped working for him.
Who would have thought that Lu Datong would say, “This stuff is very particular! Ice-cold to the core, spirits soar! ‘Ice-cold to the core, spirits soar’—you know what I mean, Brother Wenren? Ah, whatever! You’ll understand once you try it!”
With that, he stamped his foot and forcefully shoved the wine gourd into Wenren Ying’s arms.
Wenren Ying: “...”
Wenren Ying was like a consumptive who had suffered from a chronic illness for years and tried every medicine there was. After hearing people praise some new remedy to the heavens, he was already completely numb to it.
He merely said, “Just leave it there. I’ll try it when I have time...”
Lu Datong immediately grew anxious. “Brother Wenren, just take one sip—only one sip! If it doesn’t work, come find me! You won’t even try it—is that because you don’t—”
In his haste, he nearly blurted out one of the crude lines he usually used to pressure people into drinking at banquets...
The commotion had already drawn the attention of several people in the alley, all of whom were looking their way.
Wenren Ying: “...”
How embarrassing.
“All right, all right, I’ll try it. Just stop tugging at my clothes.”
He tilted his head back and took a sip...
His expression suddenly froze.
This stuff...!
The flavor was certainly novel. When the bubbles burst across his tongue, they brought with them an indescribably refreshing sensation.
But to Wenren Ying, something else mattered far more—
This stuff actually worked!
The moment the Sprite entered his throat, it brought with it a frosty chill. His body had never experienced anything like it. Almost instantly, the restless muscles began to twitch involuntarily, while the surface of his magma-hot skin seemed to receive an enormous shock and erupted in gooseflesh.
His body was hotter than other people’s, so naturally, its reaction to this mind-soothing coldness was also more pronounced.
Sprite... Sprite...
This truly was a heavenly treasure he had never seen or used before!
He lowered the wine gourd and immediately asked, “Which shop did you buy this from?”
Lu Datong could not help laughing. “The shop is on Qihua Road. It’s run by an innkeeper with a heart for the greater good...”
Wenren Ying obtained a whole gourd of Sprite, and that night, he finally managed to sleep soundly.
The next day, he set out for Qihua Road to investigate the inn selling Sprite—and to meet the great expert who was supposedly saving all living beings.
He had visited Qihua Road before. It was an extremely desolate place; even the rats there were probably thinner than rats anywhere else.
Yet when he arrived that day, Qihua Road was unexpectedly bustling!
Two wandering cultivators were fighting!
“I got here first!”
“I clearly got here first!”
“The stuff belongs to me!”
“What an arrogant claim! You say it belongs to you, so it does? We’ll settle this with our fists!”
“Fine! Let’s do it!”
This sort of scene would have been perfectly appropriate in a secret realm. Every cultivator who came to Meishan had something they wanted to obtain. Once they encountered one another in the secret realm, who would willingly hand it over? Even if it meant fighting to the death, they would fight first and worry about the consequences later!
But this was Qihua Road...
...What exactly were they fighting over? Could it be rats even thinner than those elsewhere?
With both hands folded over his saber, Wenren Ying leaned lazily against the mouth of an alley and watched the commotion.
The two wandering cultivators were poised on the verge of drawing blood. They were just about to start fighting when a young girl with two braids suddenly ran out of the neighboring inn. With righteous conviction, she declared, “No fighting! No fighting! What are the benefits of Sprite? Whoever gives the best answer gets some!”
(*)
Wenren Ying: “...”
Wenren Ying: “...?”
The two wandering cultivators immediately began shouting over each other.
One said, “One sip of Sprite and you’re cool to the core, refreshed and ready to explore secret realms!”
The other said, “Sprite down the throat, spiritual meridians flow; core fire vanishes, and the spirit platform clears!”
One hurriedly added, “I’ve had a fiery constitution since I was little. How could I possibly manage without Sprite?”
The other declared, “I have a fire spiritual root. Without Sprite, how could I survive the summer?”
The adorable and lively girl nodded sagely. “They’re both very reasonable. The shop made plenty of Sprite today, so you can each have a share!”
She then handed each of them a bowl. The two men smiled, letting bygones be bygones. They laughed, clinked their bowls together, and drank their Sprite, while the girl stood to one side with a satisfied smile.
Wenren Ying: “...”
Seeing the two cultivators fight so fiercely over a drink of Sprite, the passersby could not help becoming curious. They all came over to buy a bowl as well.
The girl once again called out with the solemn air of an old shopkeeper, “Don’t push! Don’t push! Everyone gets some Sprite!”
Wenren Ying: “...”
Wenren Ying was fairly certain he had never been rendered this speechless in his entire life.
So this was the... great expert Lu Datong had mentioned?
He stood in the corner with his arms around his saber for a while, then suddenly let out a laugh. After that, he strode forward and joined the queue in front of the inn.
He was certainly curious about what heavenly treasure Sprite was made from, but he was not so shameless as to snatch someone else’s secret recipe. Besides, as good as Sprite was, it would probably only work for him this summer. Why pry into the secret? He could simply buy it.
Wenren Ying was a famous figure on Meishan. Wherever he appeared, there were always people who recognized him.
“That’s... Wenren Ying?”
“What’s that kid doing here?”
Two cultivators who happened to be passing by whispered to each other.
Wenren Ying suddenly turned around and flashed them a smile, revealing two rows of dazzlingly white teeth.
“Having some Sprite!”
“...”
“...”
The two cultivators said nothing at all and ran away as fast as they could.
Still, word of Wenren Ying drinking Sprite on Qihua Road quickly spread throughout the city. As a result, Wu Guanyue discovered that the number of customers had risen yet another level that day—and so had her popularity points!
Sure enough, advertising was incredibly effective!
Once again, I’m in awe of the game’s freedom! Once again, I’m in awe of the power of real-time AI computation!
And the game’s management system is genuinely a lot of fun!
It feels just like playing “O Fang’s Night Sparrow Diner”—you have to be quick-eyed and quick-fingered, combining all kinds of dishes and drinks, then serving each customer the perfect pairing before their patience runs out. It gives you this wonderfully relaxing, mind-emptying sort of experience…
It’s utterly addictive! I can’t stop!
After several days of happily grinding away in this relaxed atmosphere, Wu Guanyue’s inn finally leveled up!
【Inn Details】
【Name: Ah Ah Ah Oh Oh Oh Uh Uh Uh Let Me See What This Game’s Longest Name Is, I Need to Pad It Out, Pad It Out, Pad It Out, As If the Emperor Himself Had Arrived—Inn】
【Inn Level: LV.2 (You now have a small handful of regulars)】
【Inn Popularity: 105\1,000 (Everyone traveling along Flagflower Road has heard of your inn)】
【Inn Revenue: 13,000\100,000 (Although it looks like a lot, these are only copper coins)】
【Owner Details】
【Owner: Wu Guanyue】
【Level: LV.2 (Your strength and the inn’s fate are inseparably linked)】
【Acquired: [Skill Proficiency · Rapid Food Delivery]!】
【Rapid Food Delivery: You no longer need to leave the serving station. With a single “whoosh,” you can toss a dish directly toward the customer, sending it along a perfect arc right to their table!】
【Acquired: [Skill Proficiency · Rapid Fertilization]!】
【Rapid Fertilization: Once your fertilizer enters the soil, it takes effect immediately, eliminating the need to wait and shortening the time until harvest. However, take note: if the fertilizer has not been fermented beforehand, it will trigger the [Root Burn] effect, damaging the plants!】
【Unlocked: Building Mode!】
【Building Mode: You can now renovate your inn more conveniently. With a single thought, you can activate it. Everything inside the inn is now yours to command!】
Yay!
(*) The Jinkela ad slogan is here. From now on, I won’t write out the inn’s full name every time. If I keep doing that, I really will just be padding the word count.
