"Tavern owner, give me a pot of hot wine," the shabby man said with a smile.
Evan Yang had plenty of wine; he wasn't here to make money anyway, so he told the waiter to serve the shabby man some wine.
The shabby man drank his wine, gazing at the scenery outside. After the wine went down, he sighed, "Still doesn't have that feeling."
"I wonder what kind of feeling you mean, sir?" Evan Yang was intrigued by his words and walked over, curious.
"Feeling? It's the kind of good wine that lets you enter a dream, makes you feel intoxicated as if lost in a dream." The shabby man smiled.
Evan Yang knew exactly which wine he was talking about. He'd once given a few bottles to the Fenn Family, but he was curious how this shabby man had ever tasted it.
"Sir, you've drunk that dream-inducing wine before?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"Yes, I've drunk it. It's been many years. I heard your tavern's wine was good, so I came a long way to try it, but..." The shabby man sighed.
Evan Yang was curious about this guy's background. "Quite a few years," he thought—could someone else really have brewed the same wine as him?
"Senior, what was the name of the wine you drank?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Dreamwine." The shabby man replied, lost in nostalgia.
Evan Yang was startled. The wine he brewed was Dreamwine, but how did this man know about it—and he'd drunk it years ago? Could someone else have brewed it before?
"Tavern owner, your wines aren't quite as good as Dreamwine, but they're not bad. I should be heading out." The shabby man sighed, seeming a bit disappointed.
When the shabby man stood up, the water he'd dripped on the floor vanished—as if the rainwater he'd tracked in had never dirtied the tavern at all.
This scene made Evan Yang realize the man's strength was definitely extraordinary. Seeing his obsession with wine, Evan smiled, "Senior, don't leave yet. If you want to drink Dreamwine, I might be able to give you a hint."
The shabby man, who had been about to leave, stopped and looked at Evan Yang in surprise. "You know where to find it?"
"Yes," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Tell me, quick!" The shabby man said excitedly.
"I can tell you, Senior, but you'll have to tell me your background first." Evan Yang smiled.
Hearing Evan Yang's words, the shabby man felt like he was being tricked, but the lure of 'As in a Dream' was too strong. He smiled, "You tell me, and I'll immediately tell you my background."
"Are you sure?" Evan Yang asked.
"Don't doubt my words," the shabby man said with a smile.
Evan Yang smiled. "Then come with me."
With that, he led the shabby man upstairs to a room on the second floor. Evan Yang closed the door, making it all seem quite mysterious.
"Shopkeeper, you could have just told me. Why all the mystery?" the shabby man asked, puzzled.
Evan Yang smiled, then took out a delicate wine bottle and placed it on the table. "Take a look."
"What's this?" the shabby man asked suspiciously. He opened the bottle, and in that instant, he froze in disbelief. With a wave of his hand, the wine flowed into his mouth like a fine stream.
The moment it touched his lips, tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, his face flushed, as if he were reliving something nostalgic.
"What did he see?" Evan Yang knew that 'As in a Dream' always let people see what they most wanted, which was why it was so captivating.
When the illusion faded, the shabby man asked excitedly, "Where did you get this?"
"I brewed it myself, years ago," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"You brewed it?" The shabby man exclaimed in shock.
"Yes," Evan Yang smiled again.
"How do you have such wine skills? Who was your master?" The shabby man asked in astonishment.
Evan Yang's current identity wasn't suitable for revealing. If word got out, people could easily guess who he was—after all, the Wine Immortal had only taken two disciples, one male and one female.
Seeing Evan Yang remain silent, the shabby man seemed to understand and smiled, "Never mind. But how much of this do you have left?"
"I still have some," Evan Yang replied.
"How much is 'some'?" The shabby man looked at Evan Yang expectantly.
Evan Yang had a few vats, but kept one for himself. As for the rest, he gestured with his hand.
The shabby man looked at Evan Yang's fingers. "Three bottles left?"
"Uh, not quite—there are three vats left," Evan Yang said awkwardly.
"What!" When the shabby man heard there were three vats left, his eyes turned red.
"Senior, what's gotten into you?" Evan Yang asked, seeing the man's excitement.
"Nothing. Can you sell me a vat?" The shabby man looked at Evan Yang, excited.
"That's possible, but each bottle costs one million top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore. There are a hundred bottles in a vat, so..." Evan Yang replied.
"A hundred bottles? That's a lot." The shabby man was excited, but he was determined to get the wine. However, he didn't have enough crystal ore, so he said, "How about this—I'm short on crystal ore at the moment. Could I work as a bouncer in your tavern?"
"A bouncer?" Evan Yang hadn't expected the shabby man to say that.
"Yeah, what do you think? I may look shabby, but I'm pretty good at keeping the door." The shabby man smiled.
Evan Yang had planned to refuse, but after thinking about it, he smiled, "Alright, no problem."
"With a shopkeeper like you, that's great! So, where's the vat?" the shabby man asked excitedly.
"Before you came in, you said you'd tell me your background. Are you going to tell me now?" Evan Yang asked with a smile.
"Of course. But even if I told you my name, you wouldn't know it. People used to call me 'Mad Elder,' but I haven't heard anyone say that in ages. Most of them are probably dead by now," the shabby man laughed.
"Senior, you make it sound like you're some ancient monster," Evan Yang commented, speechless.
"Heh, whatever. You can call me Mad Elder or just Madman, doesn't matter. Names are just labels now," the shabby man smiled.
Evan Yang nodded with a smile, "Alright, I'll call you Senior Mad from now on."
"Senior Mad? Kid, don't put me on a pedestal. I'm just a shabby wanderer, good for odd jobs. If you need someone to handle real experts or those flying in the sky, that's out of my league," Mad Elder laughed.
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Evan Yang knew the man was hiding his real strength, but didn't call him out. He smiled, "No problem, I'll treat you as a senior."
"Whatever works. Got a place for me to sleep? Or I can just crash downstairs," the shabby man said.
Evan Yang smiled, "Senior, just stay here."
There was a table and a bed here. The shabby man smiled, "You're a great shopkeeper—good wine and a nice place to stay."
"You're too kind, Senior," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Go on, get back to work. If you need anything, just call me. I'm great at beating dogs," the shabby man joked.
Evan Yang smiled and left the shabby man's room. The shabby man took out a spatial pouch containing a vat of 'As in a Dream.' Seeing the vat, he felt deeply satisfied, poured some into a bottle, and savored it slowly.
Sometimes, tears would slip from the corners of his eyes.
Walking downstairs, Evan Yang was curious why the shabby man had tears in his eyes earlier. Did he see something heartbreaking?
When he got downstairs, the waiter had already tidied up the tavern. On nights like this, few people came, so Evan Yang usually closed up, locked the door, and waited for the next day's business.
Just as he was about to lock up, a group of Third Peak disciples appeared. Mason Liu was among them.
Mason Liu said to Evan Yang, "Shopkeeper, could you prepare five hundred vats of wine for us to deliver up the mountain?"
"Five hundred vats?" Evan Yang thought he'd misheard—this was way too much.
"Yes, five hundred vats," Mason Liu replied.
"Why do you need so much?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Three days from now, our peak will invite the lords and stewards of all the other peaks. It'll be lively, and we need wine to celebrate. We think your wine is pretty good, so we're placing an order," Mason Liu said with a smile.
Evan Yang thought for a moment. "I'll go out these next few days and see if I can get enough stock ready."
"Thanks," Mason Liu said with a smile, then left with the others, laughing.
"Three days from now? All the peak lords? What could be so lively?" Evan Yang decided to figure out what was going on before making his next move.
The next morning, as soon as day broke, Evan Yang opened his tavern and paid attention to the conversations of disciples from the surrounding peaks.
As these people drank, they chatted, and naturally all their conversations reached Evan Yang's ears.
It turned out the Third Peak Lord had acquired a great treasure and was so excited that he invited all the peak lords and stewards to celebrate together.
Getting a treasure from someone else and making such a big deal out of it? Evan Yang was puzzled about what the Third Peak Lord was really up to.
Aside from the news about the treasure, Evan Yang also heard another rumor: the Third Peak Lord was appointing someone as Vice Peak Lord. On the other peaks, there was no such position, but now it appeared here, which made Evan increasingly curious as he listened.
When some people complained about the new Vice Peak Lord’s background, Evan figured it out—the Vice Peak Lord was none other than Elder Liu.
"He’s becoming Vice Peak Lord? What’s he up to?" Evan wondered suspiciously.
This banquet for the other peaks was supposedly about the treasure, but Evan couldn’t shake the feeling something was off. Was the treasure actually that map fragment? If so, showing it off like this would only cause trouble.
To get to the bottom of it, Evan decided he’d go along with the wine delivery and see for himself.
The day before the banquet, Mason Liu and his group arrived. Mason grinned at Evan, "Tavern owner, did you get everything I asked for ready?"
"All set. But these wines need to be opened in a special way right before drinking to taste best. If you open them early, the flavor will spoil," Evan explained.
"Special way? Tell us how," Mason Liu said with a smile.
Evan frowned, "To learn the technique takes years. I doubt you’ll have time."
"Seriously? Even opening wine is that complicated?" Mason Liu exclaimed.
"Yep," Evan replied, nodding with a slight smile.
"Alright, then bring the wine over today, and tomorrow you can help with opening it. As for payment, we’ll add a little extra," Mason Liu said.
Evan nodded and smiled, "Sounds good. I’ll get everything ready."