Lin Xuanzhi said, âGo and find an ordinary cup.â
Yan Tianhen took out a cup from the kitchen and placed it on the stone table.
Lin Xuanzhi picked up the wine jar with one hand, then poured wine into the ordinary cup.
He said to Yan Tianhen, âTry it.â
Yan Tianhen had drunk wine with Lin Zhan ever since he was young, so this small cup was nothing to him. He accepted the wine cup and downed it in one shot, and even smacked his lips and nodded before he complimented, âGood wine, this should be Daddyâs favourite Hundred Flowers brew ba.â
Lin Xuanzhi poured another cup of wine into the same cup, tasted it, then nodded and said, âIt is indeed the Hundred Flowers brew, and it should be about 50 years old.â
Yan Tianhenâs eyes opened wide; he stared at the wine cup that he had just drunk from that was taken away by Lin Xuanzhi and said, âDage, I drank from that cup.â
âIf you drank from it, then I canât use it?â Lin Xuanzhiâs att.i.tude was incredibly calm.
Yan Tianhen thought that he was probably being overly sensitive, so much so that he was treating Dage like an outsider.
He didnât have much contact with Dage before, but now they even share the same bed, so naturallyâŚeven if they use the same cup, it should be quite normal right!
Yan Tianhen quickly convinced himself and thought to himself happily: Dage is really getting closer to me.
Ah Bai and Hu Poâs sensitive nose picked up a whiff of the scent, then both of them waggled their b.u.t.ts as they ran over. They had wanted to drink some wine, but they received a knock on their heads from Yan Tianhen instead.
âThe two of you canât drink this. The last time you guys sneakily drank Daddyâs wine the house was almost torn apart.â Yan Tianhen pulled a long face as he said.
Ah Bai and Hu Po recalled how they had acted when they were drunk and appeared to shudder at the thought, but they couldnât endure their cravings for wine, so they stuck their tongues out and started to act cute in front of Yan Tianhen.
Yan Tianhen couldnât pull a long face any longer. He thought for a bit, then said, âWhat about this, if you guys watch the house obediently and wait for Gege and I to come back, Iâll let you two drink some wine.â
Ah Bai and Hu Po thus unwillingly drooped their tails and ran away.
âAre you treating these two tiger cubs as puppies?â Lin Xuanzhi smiled.
Sticking their tongues out and wagging their tails are not gestures that white tiger spirit beasts should be making.
But, if Ah Hen likes this kind of charmingly naive appearance, then so be it.
âTheyâre still young right now, so no matter what they do itâs okay.â Yan Tianhen thought simplistically, âRight now theyâre still in their infant stage, once they go past their infant stageâs nine stars and obtain their demonic beast inheritance, theyâll naturally become super amazing.â
Lin Xuanzhi nodded and said, âAh Henâs right.â
Beasts and humans are different. Beasts can obtain the inheritance that has been handed down through generations through their speciesâ bloodline. Most demonic beasts only awaken their inheritance after they get past their infant stage and only a few could awaken in their infant stage. But some sacred beasts, mythological beasts and auspicious beasts awaken their inheritance immediately after their feet touch the ground â the moment they are born, they would have already become the absolute overlord of beasts in their respective regions!
But the problem isâŚan infant stage nine stars beast is equivalent to a Hardened Body third layer cultivator, how much time would they have to spend to get to that kind of level!
Who knows when these two white tiger spirit beasts would awaken their bloodline and discover their true ident.i.ty, then they wouldnât treat themselves as little dogs anymore.
Lin Xuanzhi poured some wine into two of the cups that he had crafted.
âTry this.â Lin Xuanzhi handed one cup over to Yan Tianhen.
Yan Tianhen took a sip. Originally, he had thought that he would finish it in one gulp like he did before, but he didnât expect that when the rich and mellow glutinous wine had just entered his mouth and touched the tip of his tongue, his eyes would immediately widenä¸ä¸
Oh my G.o.d, this wine tasted way too delicious! If we say that the aroma of the Hundred Flowers brew just now was quite varied and bland such that its wine flavour was stronger than its flowery fragrance, then now, all the different types of flowery fragrances are suddenly 70% more prominent. Also, each unique flower fragrance would slide over the tip of the tongue one by one; its blandness had transformed into a light flavour and didnât seem heavy at all. It complimented the wine flavour in the brew very well, and had actually highlighted the inherent qualities of the Hundred Flowers brew.
Yan Tianhen could only feel like he was floating about in a sea of flowers, and when the Hundred Flowers brew slid down his throat and into his stomach, he actually felt that its spiritual Qi was even stronger than before!
Lin Xuanzhi didnât need to ask any questions. Just by looking at Yan Tianhenâs intoxicated expression, he had gotten his answer.
He smiled and said, âHow do you feel?â
Yan Tianhenâs eyes were gleaming. He stretched out his hand with the empty cup in front of Lin Xuanzhi and said, âDage, I want another cup!â
Lin Xuanzhi gave his head a knock and said, âLittle kids like you shouldnât be too greedy for drinks, donât forget that we still need to head out later.â
âOkay then.â Yan Tianhen stared at the wine jar that had been resealed by Lin Xuanzhi reluctantly, then licked his lips.
He finally understood why Daddy loved to drink so much.
Drinking was even better than becoming an immortal ah.
Thus, Lin Xuanzhi had inadvertently opened up a new door for Yan Tianhen to turn into a drunk cat1.
After he had regained absolute confidence in Lin Xuanzhi, Yan Tianhen rode on the carriage with Lin Xuanzhi and they drove towards the commercial district.
When the carriage was driving towards the Lin familyâs door, quite a few Lin family members saw this special carriage. In the past, when they saw this carriage, scorn of some sort would show on their faces or in their hearts. But now, all they felt was veneration for the person in this carriage, and a bit of fear.
Along their way to the Lin residenceâs main door, Lin Xuanzhi didnât hear any kind of ridicule or mocking laughter.
Yan Tianhen had also noticed this, and couldnât help but smile as he said, âThose people must have been bowled over by Dageâs handsome display today.â
Lin Xuanzhi couldnât help but rub his rub his head and said, âAh Hen, in this world, the strong is king. In the past they ridiculed me, mocked me and insulted me only because I was a good-for-nothing who had hit rock bottom. But now, they dread me and fear me only because I had become a craftsman.â
Yan Tianhen still didnât have the heart for cultivation. In his past life, it was only when he had been driven to a corner that he finally had the determination to cultivate. The fact that he had trodden onto an unorthodox path had always been a huge worry for Lin Xuanzhi.
So, Lin Xuanzhi grabbed the opportunity to enlighten him, âSo Ah Hen, you need to work hard on your cultivation and continuously train to get stronger so that no one would be able to bully you.â
âDage, the principles behind what youâre saying, I actually understand them all.â
Yan Tianhen said dispiritedly, âI want to cultivate properly as well, but when it comes to this aspect, I have no talent for it at all. Daddy had given me all kinds of elixirs and cultivation methods, but I just couldnât gather any Qi at all. If even Daddy was at his witsâ end, what else could I do?â
âThereâll be a way.â Lin Xuanzhi said, âHeaven never bars oneâs way. My Dantian was destroyed, yet I managed to awaken my craftsman soulfire. Ah Hen shouldnât feel sluggish and jaded just because youâre momentarily in a bind.â
Yan Tianhen nodded, then looked at Lin Xuanzhi with gleaming eyes and said, âDage is a craftsman now. Even though no one would dare to attack you in the Lin family, once youâre out of the house, there might be some evil people who would have ideas about you â so I must cultivate diligently and become the worldâs strongest person! By then, I would be able to thoroughly beat up anyone who dares to cause trouble for Dage!
When he heard Yan Tianhenâs words that were only filled with the intention of safeguarding him, Lin Xuanzhi felt incomparably pleased and calm.
This Didi of his is so lovable and cute. In his past life, how could he have had the heart to push him away?
Lin Xuanzhi lightly tapped on Yan Tianhenâs face with his finger, then said with a smile, âThen Weixiong would have to thank Ah Hen first, Iâll count on you to protect me in the future.â
Yan Tianhen forcefully nodded his head, yet he felt extremely vexed in his heart: great, heâs blown the cow up to the heavens2. His glib words had escaped the moment his lips touched, but if they really talk about whoâs protecting whom, didnât he still need to rely on his Dage to protect him?
Yan Tianhen was unprecedentedly gloomy as he was filled with sorrow the entire way to the commercial district.
Lin Xuanzhi only looked at him with a smile and didnât offer any words of comfort. After all, given Ah Henâs current situation, he probably needed some pressure before he would be compelled to improve.
In this life, Lin Xuanzhi was determined to explore and experience a world that was wider than the one in his past life. He hoped that in this life, no matter where he went, Yan Tianhen would accompany him by his side. Then, that would be true happiness for him.
When they reached the commercial market, Lin Xuanzhi stopped the carriage at a fence by the streets specially set up for transportation beasts to rest. Originally, this mortal horse was extremely afraid of the other transportation beasts that carried the blood of demonic beasts to some extent. But after Lin Xuanzhi smeared some blood that he had gotten from Hu Po on the horseâs forehead, this mortal horse held its head high and puffed its chest out â like it was a regent who was patrolling its territory.
And when other low-level transportation beasts saw this horse that was emitting the odour of a spirit beast, they fearfully avoided it.
It wasnât just humans, even beasts would oppress the weak and fear the strong.
When Lin Xuanzhi turned around, he saw that Yan Tianhen was already wearing a black bamboo hat.
Lin Xuanzhi was stunned, then he recalled that Yan Tianhen would usually hide his face in crowded places because of his appearance.
Lin Xuanzhi walked over and said, âAh Hen, you can take this off, youâre not ugly.â
âNo, thereâll be kids whoâll cry, and some people would look at me with scorn in their eyes and point fingers at me.â Yan Tianhen adjusted his bamboo hat, then said, âI donât like to be looked at that way by other people.â
Lin Xuanzhiâs heart ached slightly before Yan Tianhen stuffed a white bamboo hat into his hat that was of a similar design.
Lin Xuanzhi, ââŚâŚ.â
Yan Tianhen resolutely said, âDage, to prevent people from staring too hard at your face, why not you wear one as well. These are matching hats for brothers, I specially asked an artisan to make these, and they even costed me one tael of silver!â
Lin Xuanzhi was thoroughly amused by Yan Tianhen. He couldnât help but smile as he wore the bamboo hat on his head.
The light muslin fell and covered his face.
Yan Tianhen looked at Lin Xuanzhi through two layers of muslin, then sighed and said, âItâs over, even without Dageâs face, your charm hasnât diminished at all and had even risen instead. Now you even have an added air of mysteriousness about you.â
Lin Xuanzhi lightly smacked his head, then pretended to say sternly, âWhat a bunch of nonsense. Looks like Iâve been pampering you too much lately, you actually dare to make fun of me now.â
Yan Tianhen chuckled a bit, then pulled Lin Xuanzhiâs hand and said, âLetâs go!â
The bazaar was filled with cultivators who were dressed in all sorts of bizarre clothing, so Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen werenât conspicuous at all. Their getup was considered common here â there would definitely be quite a few cultivators who didnât want to let others see their faces, so they would carry a bamboo hat around with them out of convenience.
Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen arrived at the lively bazaar, but Lin Xuanzhi didnât intend to sell his wine cups straightaway. He held Yan Tianhenâs hand and searched for a place to rent while they took a stroll â they looked so very carefree.
Lin Xuanzhi saw a kid tug at his mother and asked her to buy him a stick of candied hawthorn3, then smiled and asked, âDoes Ah Hen like to eat candied hawthorns?â
Yan Tianhen pursed his lips and said, âIâm not a kid, Iâve stopped eating that kind of stuff a long time ago.â
Lin Xuanzhi nodded and said, âUn, youâre already thirteen years old, those who donât know might even think that Ah Hen is already a hundred and thirteen this year.â
Yan Tianhen said, âDage, it seems like youâve been teasing me more and more lately.â
âFrom what I can see, Ah Hen is actually still a kid.â Lin Xuanzhi said.
âIs it becauseâŚmy hairs arenât fully grown yet?â Yan Tianhen asked softly.
Lin Xuanzhi casted him a glance, then nodded and said, âThatâs probably it ba, but, do you really want to discuss this topic with me in a bazaar?â
Yan Tianhen, ââŚâŚ.â
It really doesnât seem appropriate to talk about this kind of topic in public ei!
They strolled along the bazaar for awhile but Lin Xuanzhi didnât see Yan Tianhen take any interest in what they had seen so far. So, he decided to sell the wares that he had crafted a bit earlier then treat Yan Tianhen to a good meal.
Even though this street and its adjacent street was only separated by a single wall, there was a noticeable discrepancy between them.
Overlooking Immortals street only sold items used by cultivators, and the shops there were all opened by cultivators. The value of goods sold on this street were at least measured in silver and they could easily fetch prices measured in gold.
The adjacent Changle street was a market for mortals. The value of the items sold there were at most measured in silver, and most of its prices were calculated with copper coins.
Authorâs gossip:
Xuanzhi: Itâs time to earn some money, or else I wouldnât be able to support my familyâs Ah Hen.
Ah Hen: emmmâŚare you sure you meant supporting me, and not yourself?
Xuanzhiăsmilingsmilingsmilingă: Ah Hen, could you repeat that?
Ah Hen: âŚ.Ge is wholeheartedly being considerate of me, wuwuwu, but Iâm really not a spendthrift!
Xuanzhi: Be a good boy, when itâs time to take the blame, youâll have to take the blame~